#and the two of them giving enemy soldiers the chance to run away if they have families to go home to

[waitineedaname]

the combo of ling's "it's my duty to protect and take care of the people I consider my own" + greed's "everything is mine, including people" to create the extremely potent philosophy "everything is mine, including people, so it's my duty to protect as many people as possible"

[phsychobanana]

In your eyes

Pairing: Zuko x Firebender!reader

Summary: When Zuko falls for a member of the gaang, he fears that his mistakes may ruin his chances with them.

Word count: 2.3k

A/n~ I think this is gender neutral? I don't remember putting any specific pronouns, but correct me if i'm wrong. Enjoy!

Funnily enough, the first time you met Zuko was at the northern water tribe. Two fire benders surrounded by waterbenders during a full moon. Not exactly an ideal situation for any firebender, but you were welcome, whereas Zuko was not.

You were running as fast as you could, your legs carrying you in a speed you didn't know was even possible. Katara was in trouble and the moon was slowly disappearing from the sky, fire nation soldiers were everywhere, the water benders were struggling with the loss of the moon and you were terrified.

"Katara!" You yell to her as you get closer to the girl. She was fighting a boy you had never seen before.

You jump on the boy's back and hold your hand to his throat, heating your palm up slowly.

"I would choose my next move carefully if I were you." You say as Katara puts her own hands to her neck and moves them around trying to mimic an explosion.

Suddenly, the boy moves his hands to your face and you feel a burning swipe across your eyebrow. You let go of him and move your hands to your face, a searing pain on your eyebrow almost making you drop to your knees. Katara rushes to your side in a panic,

You see the boy grab Aang and run off before you could do anything.

"Who was that?" You ask Katara angrily.

"Zuko."

***

Zuko followed you and the gaang around for weeks, those weeks turning into months. And the more he saw you, the more he wanted to see you again.

Unfortunately for him, the more you saw him, the more you wanted to smash his head through a window. But every couple has their problems.

You held a very strong grudge towards him, seeing as your eyebrow had scarred and you now had a line going through your eyebrow and over your eye. It made you angry every time you looked in the mirror.

Unbeknownst to you, Zuko felt absolutely terrible for what he had done. He didn't mean to scar you, he would never wish his fate on anyone. Not even his greatest enemy, which lamentably, happened to be you at the moment.

***

The next memorable time that you saw Zuko was in the crystal cave. You had both been thrown in there as a punishment and you were freaking out. Aang, Katara, and Sokka needed you.

You started hitting the walls, throwing as much fire power at it as possible, you even broke a crystal into one big sharp shard and slammed it against the door repeatedly, but it was no use.

"There's no point in doing that." Zuko says, looking at you with his blazing golden eyes. "We aren't getting out until they want us out."

You just scoff in response, unsure of why he was even talking to you in the first place.

He looks at you when he hears your scoff, "You don't have to be rude."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings by being mean?" You mock him in a baby voice, causing him to roll his eyes.

"What's your problem?" Zuko asks, looking you up and down with pinched eyebrows.

"What is my problem? You're my problem, Zuko. You've been hunting my friends and I for months, you've hurt us -or attempted to- more times than I can count, you gave me this," You point to your scar, making him flinch, "And you have the nerve to ask me what my problem is?" You let out another scoff and turn around, giving him your back.

Zuko looks down at his hands, not knowing what to say. He watches as you light each one of your fingers up like a candle to keep yourself distracted.

He walks over and sits next to you, doing the same with his fingers.

You look at him and roll your eyes.

He smiles softly to himself. You haven't moved away from him, yet.

***

If there had ever been even a sliver of you that had liked him in that cave, it was completely gone now. He had betrayed you that night in the cave and it hurt you.

It was the day of the eclipse and you were running through the underground tunnels, looking for Sokka. As you were running you bumped into something, falling hard to the ground.

"Ow!" A familiar voice huffed as the other person made contact with the ground.

"Zuko?"

He looks up, his hair falling into his eyes. You notice his eyes widen and light up, but just as he goes to say something you lunge at him.

With your hands around his neck, you yell at him through gritted teeth. "I trusted you!"

"I know, I'm sorry." He barely gets the words out, gasping and clawing at your hands.

You let go of him and slam him into the ground hard.

"I swear to the spirits, if you ever try to hurt my friends again I will kill you with my own two hands. No bending, no help, just me and you." You say and walk away to go find Sokka.

Zuko sits there for a moment replaying what you said in his head over again. A small smile spreads across his face and he jumps up, running after you.

***

"You have got to be kidding me!" You yell at your friends. They were letting Zuko, the guy that had tried to kill you and capture Aang on more occasions than you could count, into the group.

"Everyone deserves a second.....or 100th chance, Y/n." Aang says, placing a hand on your shoulder as Zuko takes a step towards you.

You clench your fist defensively, making him put his hands up in defense as he takes another step forward.

"I get why you wouldn't trust me, but I've changed." He says, taking one of your hands in his. You pull away with a hollow laugh and walk away.

"Fine, let this psycho join us. I don't care." You say as you disappear behind a wall.

Zuko looks down with a sigh. "Challenge accepted..." He says under his breath as he thinks of ways to win you over.

***

Two days after Zuko joined the gaang, you were attacked. A pack of firebenders found you, attacking the group. You all paired together, Sokka with Toph, Katara with Aang, and you with Zuko. You had begged Toph to pair with you but Sokka stole her, leaving you with the one person you did not want.

You were back to back, fighting off the soldiers when another fleet arrived. The gaang chose to run, not wanting to be captured. You stayed behind to fight off the rest of the soldiers so the others could get away.

"Y/n come on! Hurry!" Sokka yelled for you as you were running after Appa. A soldier dived at you and their hand grabbed at your ankle, making you tumble to the ground.

"Go!" You yell and Aang pulls Appa out of there. You kick your foot back at the soldier, successfully kicking them in the face. You run off into the forest, You can hear the soldiers running after you as you twist through the trees.

You feel something grab your arm and pull you toward them. Looking up, you see Zuko. He's not looking at you, instead looking at the soldiers running around looking for you. You notice that he pulled you into a clearing hidden by trees and bushes. He places his hand over you mouth as you go to say something.

His adams apple bobs as he swallows harshly, listening and watching for any signs that the soldiers might be headed towards the two of you. After no signs, he looks down at you, finally making eye contact.

His golden eyes shine as he looks at you and he smiles softly.

"Thank you." You say quietly, not wanting to be too loud.

He nods.

"Do you still hate me?" He asks with a barely there smirk.

You shake your head. "I don't think I ever really hated you." He smiles at you. "I just strongly disliked you. It was a very strong dislike. Very strong."

"Okay, I get it."

You laugh softly at his dismissiveness of the subject.

"Do you think I'm still a bad guy?" His voice is quiet. Barely a whisper, but you hear it.

You look at him, he's looking down at the grass, his fingers are playing with each other out of habit, his hair is fallen over his face and covering his eyes. You never quite realized how pretty he was.

"Of course not-" You begin to tell him your answer, but your words are interrupted by yelling.

The two of you turn your heads in the direction of the noises and see your friends running to you.

"There they are!" Katara calls to the others as she makes eye contact with you.

Zuko lets out a frustrated breath at the interruption, but he gets up and dusts off his clothes, offering you his hand.

***

The days after that moment in the woods would replay in your mind every night before you would sleep, every morning when you'd awake, every meal, every training session with Aang and Zuko, every group meeting, every day all day.

You had started watching Zuko more than you would care to admit. The way he tried to make up for all of his past mistakes always seemed to put a smile on your face. He helped Katara in the kitchen when he could, he always made time to talk about weapons with Sokka, he always played games with Toph and Aang, and he was especially trying to make it up to you. Though you didn't notice that part.

He always pulled your chairs out for you, he helped teach you how to control the lightning within you, he even got you flowers one time. Unfortunately the flowers backfired and Appa ended up eating them, sneezing petals for a week.

You were currently training Aang on the beach with Zuko. The sun was blazing down on your back and your cotton shirt was absorbing all of the heat, making you sweat more than you would normally.

You walk over to where Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki are sitting, sipping their little coconut drinks as they watch you and Zuko beat the arrows off of Aang.

You take both ends of your shirt and pull it over your head, leaving you in your shorts and bathing suit top. When you walk back over to the boys you notice how red Zuko's face is.

"You alright over there, Z?" You ask, worried that he might be overworking himself in the heat.

His head snaps to look you in the eyes, his face going an even deeper red.

"Y-yeah, heh. Why wouldn't I be?" He looks around, avoiding looking at you with everything in him.

You decide to ignore his weird reaction to your words and go back to teaching Aang.

"This one is a partner move. So, I'll demonstrate with Zuko and then when you understand how to do it, you can try with him." You explain as you walk over to the spluttering and red as a beet, boy.

You move his hand to your waist and his other in yours, your own face heating up a bit at this position. You then kick his own foot out from underneath him and flip him over your shoulder. You light your hand ablaze and put it near Zuko's neck like one would a sword.

"I thought you said this was a partner move," Zuko groans out.

"Yeah, good guy and bad guy. Partners." You say with a smirk.

"You can do that, right Aang?"

Aang nods his head excitedly.

After another hour or two of flipping Zuko over your shoulders, you all sit down around a camp fire on the beach for dinner. You and Zuko offer to collect the plates and take them back up to the house.

"You did good in training today." He says as he takes the plates from your hands and places them on the counter.

You let out a small laugh.

"Well I would assume I did considering the amount of times I was able to flip you."

He rolls his eyes and you take this moment to admire him.

His hair falls in perfect strands across his forehead, his golden eyes reflect the light of the setting sun peeping through the window, his skin is soft as you place your hand on his.

He looks at you confused when he feels your touch.

"You did good, too." You say softly.

He smiles at this, looking down at your hand that was still on his.

"How do you see me?" He asks, breaking the peaceful silence.

"What do you mean?"

"What am I in your eyes?"

You think for a moment, pondering how your answer.

"You're a person who has made many mistakes." You begin, making his shoulders droop a little bit. "But you are also a person trying to make up for all of those mistakes. You're a kid, a kid who has been through a lot. Yet, you're still sweet and funny and kind and loyal. You try to hide how you feel, but I can still see every emotion you have in your actions. You're trying. And for that, I think you are amazing. That is who you are in my eyes."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, making you feel nervous about how he would react.

With a million thoughts racing through his mind, he decides not to say anything. You said that his actions meant more, so he spoke with an action.

He gently placed his hand on your cheek and leaned in slowly, giving you time to pull away at any second. But you don't.

His lips meet yours in a soft kiss, his hair tickling your cheek. You smile into his kiss making him smile as well. Your arms wrap around his neck and you pull him closer as he pulls away from the kiss. You rest you foreheads against each other, catching your breath.

"I think I like you." He says, making you laugh.

"Oh shut up." You say and lean in for another kiss.

[shitpostingkats]

Zack Fair has a really fascinating relationship with killing where a lot of the rest of the cast doesn't. He fights people as well as monsters and gradually stops being able to differentiate the two. He helps clear out beasties and ghoulies but he also intros the game with a massive attack on a foreign nation just to shore up corporate interests and for a good chunk of the game places those two activities in the same spot in his mind. One of his side projects at work is quashing the last remnants of rebellion in said occupied country and rooting out the spies in their resistance, at which point he hands them over to his bosses to be interrogated and presumably tortured. But if he comes face to face with the same people in a combat scenario, he won't kill them, because he views their desire to see themselves free as an honorable trait. Then he turns around and attacks hordes of people who defected Shinra. He uses the blunt side of his sword, not to spare lives, but because he doesn't want to damage the sharp edge.

Wutai forces and Genesis clones have a different categorization to him, something he can mentally label as "other". But after Nibelhiem, your primary enemy type becomes other Shinra soldiers. Just after Zack has had his realizations that the monsters he was wiping out share a haunting amount of basic building blocks with his coworkers. And with himself.

Actually, let's pause. Zack is the only character we see have any sort of acceptance of being Jenova-ed. Every other character is unwilling and usually not even a conscious being yet, but Zack A) knows what is being done to him, and B) openly states he wants those monstrous traits for himself. "Those wings / I want them too." Up to this point, every other character has equated being Jenova-ed to being baser, to being subhuman, but Zack at the very beginning tried to convince Angeal that it meant freedom. Power to do what you want.

Zack Fair willingly and with open arms embraced being made less than human because he thought it would give him the strength to break out of captivity.

So he busts out, and the first thing he's greeted with it a horde of enemies that he knows are human, has worked and talked with, and are in fact the same shape and type of person as Cloud. Just a couple cutscenes ago, these were his coworkers.

The easiest way to get through them is to set them on fire and blow up the munitions they're carrying on their person.

(It's such a beautiful demystifying of the elemental system. I love it.)

Oh also, you're on a time limit, so you gotta kill all these guys fast, because they're trying to go for the weak spot, Cloud, who can't fight and is getting dragged away.

After that, the next thing Zack does is find a gun and start taking long ranged killshots.

There's a tangible feeling of a lesson being learned.

Zack is (I think?) the only SOLDIER we ever see use a gun. It's worth noting that even the most fallen of SOLDIERs stick to their flashy blades and their weird swordfights. Other characters even comment how bizarre it is, but ffvii also runs on that fantasy world logic where if you just Get Good enough, swords are just as good as guns if not better. Guns are the lower, more primitive weapon, fit for grunts and hitmen but not elite fighters.

(I could also go into detail on how some of the SOLDIERS weapon are sold as bespoke merch in world, and basically another tool in the toolbox of how to sell these flesh and blood men as mythologized products. But we don't have time to unpack all of that.)

For Zack, we know that his sword is even a symbol of honorable combat and a legacy of trying to do the right thing. Zack picking up a gun is basically debasing himself to being just another man in the field. And it's a sniper rifle. The weapon guaranteed to get him as little contact with his opponent as possible and does not even give them a chance to fight back. But it's whatever gets the job done.

Zack starts the game as someone who kills people, but it's hand-waved aside the same way it is for most everyone else, only for him to bite that awareness apple like five minutes before it becomes absolutely vital he survive at all costs. Zack becomes aware that he's on a slippery slope and due to circumstances has to start sprinting. Over the course of the game, we watch as Zack Fair goes from being someone who kills people to a killer.

[neptuneiris]

for the crown (03/03)

two things can kill the soul, emptiness and false hope.

pairing: prince!aemond × lowborn!reader

summary: you gave yourself to him, you love him, he said that despite your low status at court, he will still marry you, because you are his, the woman who was his friend since childhood, until the war comes.

word count: 9.3k

previous part • series masterlist

and here ends another story, I can't believe it :( thank you so much to all the people who supported me and who read, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, you are incredible beautiful people, I love to write all this with pleasure for you❤ see you in the next stories. this is the end, there will be no epilogue.

warnings: angst, denigration, abusive behavior, possessiveness, infidelity, betrayal, mention of death, blood, cuts.

"Prince Daemon sends his greetings."

That's what the man says as he holds a dagger menacingly against your throat, feeling the cold metal firmly against your skin, while with his other hand he quiets your sobs as tears fall down your cheeks.

Even you still don't process how you got into this situation. It just all happened too fast.

All the commotion happened so suddenly, a soldier in green armor shouted ambush and suddenly men with black banners appeared surrounding the camp at Harrenhal, while everyone barely had time to react and suddenly they were already surrounded.

Even Aemond.

The maidservants were the first to flee towards the castle in fear, so you too quickly decided to go after them as the enemy soldiers began to surround everything and kill the men attacking them.

When you suddenly felt someone grab you from behind forcefully without expecting it at all and silenced your screams with his hand, instantly bringing the dagger to the side of your stomach, placing the tip ready to be embedded in your skin, threatening you.

"If you want to live a little longer, I suggest you put up no resistance and don't make a fuss, my dear," the unknown man threatens in your ear in a low, slightly amused voice.

He tells you as he moves the dagger threateningly firmer against your skin, warning you.

However, not thinking correctly and acting on a survival impulse, you gather courage and manage to get the man off you by hitting him with your foot in his intimate part as hard and fast as you can.

The man gasps loudly from the pain, releasing you, giving you time to run and call for help, crying and completely terrified.

But the man immediately pulls himself together and angrily grabs you again in a quick and calculated motion, knocking you to the ground.

You cry and cry for help as he drags you away and you continue to put up resistance, terrified and desperate, but still he places you at his feet and then stands over you, immobilizing your movements.

"No! No, please!" you cry out to him pleadingly, crying, resisting and beating him as best you can with your hands made into fists.

"Shut up!"

He shouts angrily at you, then unexpectedly hits you with his raised hand right on your right cheek, hitting your lower lip as well, bursting it, while a wave of pain runs through your face and you stop resisting.

When suddenly everything goes strangely quiet.

Rhaenyra's army does not kill Aemond's forces, there is no bloodshed or battle as such, except when the green soldiers put up too much resistance and the archers shoot them right in the forehead, killing them instantly.

This is strange to Aemond, who with his sword in hand, alert and defensive, watches as he is surrounded by all those men along with his army, attentive and waiting… though they are not actually attacking them.

Not yet.

Desperately he looks for some way to free himself from the situation, needing his dragon to have a better chance, observing how his men don't even have their swords with them or at least not many of them, most of them being unarmed by the unexpected situation.

When then he remembers you.

More desperate than before, he searches for you among all the people, unsuccessfully, starting to worry, feeling the nerves invade him even more, hoping and wanting to believe that perhaps you have escaped in time along with the maidservants.

But if you've been ambushed so suddenly and so carefully, where even he didn't have time to react, he doubts that you were able to get away from it all in time.

But if you're in the castle, hiding, equally that comforts him a little. However, Aemond did not expect to see Alys came out of the castle.

Static and with clear surprise on his face he sees how a tall man, of broad build, with strong arms, wearing brown leather clothes, with brown hair and beard of the same color along with his wrinkled face, holds tightly by her hair.

Alys gasps in pain and he make her walk and with his other hand he holds a dagger against her throat.

She cries and looks hopefully at Aemond, asking for his help and completely frightened, while the man continues to hold her tight to make her move forward and threatening her with the dagger in her throat, until they reach the middle of the whole ambush.

Aemond cautiously observes the whole scene, trying not to look as worried as he actually is, taking a few steps towards them, about to speak when a voice catches his attention.

"Ah prince Aemond, there you are!"

He then feels as if a wave of fire will burn him completely alive as he now sees how a tall, skinny, hairless man with some visible scars on his bald head and also brown leather clothes holds you firmly, making you walk as you cry and continues to threaten you with the dagger this time at your throat too.

Aemond wants to believe this really isn't happening as the man holding you stands next to the man holding Alys, his two women now in front of him, each being threatened with a dagger, on the verge of death.

His heart rate increases to a faster, unstable one, feeling like he will vomit at any moment, seeing the scene in front of him.

But his attention is drawn more towards you, with the man mumbling at you, threatening you to stop crying, as he notices the blow on your cheek and the blood coming out of your lower lip, instantly watching everything with his jaw clenched and his hands making them into fists, clenching his sword too tightly.

"We've been waiting to see you, Prince Aemond," says that man holding you, watching him amused, "Couldn't miss the show, could you?"

"Let them go, both."

He demands in a serious and deep voice, angry, hiding his desperation and concern, cautious and attentive to anything, while the man holding you watches him even more amused.

"I don't think you are in a position to demand a thing prince, or are you?"

"Then what do you want?"

Aemond instantly snaps at him, his voice hard and threatening, his whole posture tense and still clenching his hands tightly into fists.

He doesn't understand anything.

If they're here to kill them, why didn't they do it from the beginning? He doesn't understand what they're getting at with this by taking you and Alys.

"What do we want?" the man repeats, then laughs bitterly and with cruelty, "No," he denies with his head and then looks at you, "What we want we already have… right here."

This sends shivers down Aemond's body, who unable to hide it any longer, watches worried and alert as the man presses the dagger harder against your throat.

Your stir and cry in fright, to which the man quickly covers your mouth with his hand, making you gasp from the pain, so you close your eyes tightly and let out more tears, sobbing into his hand, wishing for this to be over soon.

"When Prince Daemon heard that his nephew took the Crown in the Usurper's absence and that he took Harrenhal to gain more support throughout the Riverlands against his wife, apparently enjoying the company of not one, but two women in the midst of war… this got his attention and he decided to act about it."

Then the other man holding Alys speaks with a deep voice and a determined look, while Aemond listens and watches everything carefully.

"Now he can avenge the death of his son, Lucerys, properly."

The tension rises at that moment, Aemond completely transfixed watches with his eye wide open at the scene in front of him, with the man's words constantly replaying in his mind as he sees the two of you more than willing in killing you and Alys.

Then the realization also hits him like a wave.

Blood and Cheese.

These two men are the same assassins that his uncle sent to kill one of his nephews, in revenge for Luke's death.

They were never found, both successfully escaping the Keep after such an act that his sister witnessed and drove her into madness.

Aemond truly took full responsibility and understood that his sister could no longer even accept his touch or tolerate his presence, crying completely devastated the next few days after losing her son and to this day.

But now… the victims are not his niece and nephews due to the lack of children of his own, now it's you and Alys.

He didn't bother to keep his activities with Alys discreet. Everyone knew there was an intimate relationship between him and her, he even knows that word must have gotten as far as King's Landing.

As well as with you, the words spreading since he stole you from the Keep and brought you here with him.

This is why he understands that these men have taken you and Alys successfully, until now realizing the grave mistake he made in carelessly letting his weaknesses be known.

Watch as Alys watches him intently, pleading, as the man continues to hold her tightly with the dagger at her throat, and then watches you, you already watching him the same way she is, frightened and begging for his help.

"We will tell you the same thing we told your sister, Prince Aemond," Cheese says in a more serious and firm voice, "We are debt collectors. In this case a son… for a mistress."

Cheese's grip on you grows tighter, as you gasp from the pain and continue to cry, while Aemond presses his lips together and stands as still as ever, afraid to make a false move, watching and listening to everything intently.

He feels as if his heart is going to burst out of his chest at any instant, he wants to vomit and wants to burn everything to the ground because of the fact that he can't do anything about it.

He is completely helpless in the face of the situation.

"We only want one to balance things out. The other one we won't touch a hair on her head."

Cheese continues, along with Blood still holding the daggers menacingly against yours and Alys' throats.

"Then… which one would you prefer to save, your Grace?"

The tension increases with every second, as Alys stares at him pleading and you too, crying.

These words hit not only Aemond, but also you, desperately asking for his help, terrified, crying harder, knowing full well that the dagger in your throat can kill you at any instant, the decision being his.

You watch him completely attentively, as Aemond slightly raises his hand towards the men, swallowing hard, wanting to keep calm and peace, as he feels the despair all over his body.

And now he understands what his sister had to go through.

"No, wait," he says instantly, trying to sound calm and look less desperate and worried, "Wait," he repeats firmly and cautiously, trying to reason with them, "I'm sure we can come to a beneficial agreement. Just let them go."

Cheese laughs bitterly, as Blood answers for both of them.

"An agreement is not a mistress, prince."

"It has to be one of the two of them," Cheese makes clear, in warning, "And I advise you to make up your mind soon before Blood gets bored and decides to enjoy one of the two, prince."

Your heart rate increases in panic, as Aemond purses his lips and starts to become clear in his indecision, really wanting to believe that none of this is happening, when the moment is more real, terrifying and vivid than ever.

"Choose or we kill them both," Cheese says as a final warning, his gaze determined.

Alys stirs hard, drawing the attention of Aemond, who with the clear worry and desperation on his face, watches as Blood orders her to stand still while she pleads with him to choose her. Worry invading him more, feeling his fingernails dig into his palms as he squeezes hard.

When then his gaze turns to you.

Your eyes completely teary, red and panicked look back at him, pleading with him to choose you, feeling just as scared as he is, feeling your fear increase and you breathe harder each time you feel the man place the dagger more firmly against your throat.

Aemond says nothing. His gaze is completely hard, his jaw clenched and clear indecision is on his face as he watches continuously between Alys and you, watching the daggers in each other's throats.

And in that moment you have hope.

All the moments you shared with Aemond since you were both children you remember, all the gifts, details and the caresses that happened as you both grew up.

All those moments together, when he gave you your first kiss and when he claimed you as his.

You've been his friend since you were both children and his companion ever since, to this day. And you are hopeful that he will choose you, because that is what you would do.

However, seeing Aemond's hesitation and how he watches you so deeply, his eye desperate and full of concern, you still wait for all this to be over once and for all, wanting to stop feeling the edge of the dagger against your throat.

But Aemond remains silent, being aware that he has to choose soon, because he can't lose both of them. But seeing you and then Alys, the decision is very difficult.

You watch him without understanding, expectantly, while begging and crying for him to choose you, while the man's hand hurts you by your broken lip, but still completely attentive to him, wishing that this horrible torture where you are on the verge of death is over.

When finally Aemond seems resigned and finally points.

"Her."

And in that moment… everything around you stops.

Your face slowly softens in surprise, watching Aemond with your eyes wide open, your soul falling at your feet.

You watch perfectly well as he points to Alys.

You watch perfectly well as he chooses her.

Then all the realization also hits you like a wave, not even crying anymore because of the panic and because of the man who can kill you at any second.

But you cry because you realize that not even in this kind of situation where you are on the verge of death, he will choose you.

All you feel is an empty feeling inside you, as if something is missing, with a huge sharp pain in your chest, as you watch Aemond and you can't even hear what he says to the man holding her, everything sounding too far away and feeling like you are flying for a moment.

With your gaze completely devastated, you watch as the man releases Alys and Aemond quickly takes her in his arms, concerned, everything about him looking for a moment relieved, as he holds her and makes sure she's all right.

The way he holds her face, the way she watches him as she is now safe in his arms, everything hurts.

Feeling completely weak and watching the scene, really not wanting to believe it, it's as if your very mind is going into a state of resignation unconsciously, as that sharp pain in your chest is more constant and you feel like you're breaking into a thousand pieces.

The man removes his hand from your mouth to hold you tightly by the jaw, you barely feeling his touch as you continue to watch Aemond's choice attentively.

The two of them embrace, he holds her against him as if she is the most precious thing he has, making sure that no one will ever take her away from him again.

When then his gaze turns to you and though you don't know it… his cold heart breaks into pieces at the sight of you.

All he can see on your face is how completely broken you are, tears streaming down your cheeks, confusion, sadness and betrayal completely to him, all of you totally devastated.

He presses his lips together, leaving Alys aside for a moment when you've seen it all and now you understand it all, looking away from him and focusing on the ground, all realization in your broken gaze.

And it all feels worse when Cheese says in your ear, loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Did you hear that, my lady? Your prince wants your death."

Letting out a sigh, you close your eyes and let some more tears fall, accepting all this, Aemond, Alys, your destiny, everything… and you wait for death, giving yourself completely to it.

Cheese watches Blood with a malevolent smile, that being the signal, while you silently cry and wait for it all, when Aemond again intervenes, worried.

"No, no, wait," he urges.

But both assassins already have what they wanted, so Blood watches him with a dark look.

"There is no more demand here, Prince Aemond. You have made your decision."

"No, wait," Aemond says again more firmly, desperate, watching behind both men and again at them, so continuously, "Just wait."

"No, prince," Cheese denies with his head slightly amused, "No more waiting."

He says to again place the dagger against your throat decisively, causing Aemond to freeze completely and you weak freely allow access, hoping it will all be over soon, as Cheese gives Aemond a dark smile.

"Prince Daemon sends his regards."

And then everything happens too fast.

You let out a last sigh, with your eyes closed, letting yourself go completely, waiting for the moment when you will feel how the blade cuts your skin and the blood will come out of your throat, running all over your body to the ground and so you will bleed to death.

However, the sensation of the blade against your skin never comes.

When suddenly, the whole place again explodes into chaos.

The men surrounding Aemond's men are surrounded by Lannister and Hightower bannermen, neither of them expecting it and they are killed instantly, this being the opportunity for Aemond's unarmed men to take up their swords and defend themselves.

This immediately catches the attention of Blood and Cheese, also that of Aemond, who pushes Alys away and again takes his sword, looking desperately at Cole, who observing the situation, orders one of his archers to attack.

And then… an arrow pierces perfectly through Cheese's head, killing him instantly.

Without expecting it, you fall to the ground in a firm hit, feeling how blood splashes in your direction, only it is not yours, while the army that was with Criston Cole makes its way through the whole place to rescue Prince Aemond and his men.

And the moment that happens, Aemond reacts quickly, holding his sword tightly, in an instant heading towards Blood, who completely bewildered watches the whole scene confused, to then behead his head in a calculated and firm movement.

He yells at Alys to hide in the castle, quickly, then rushes towards you, who crying on the ground with Cheese's body next to you, he quickly takes you in his arms, lifting you up.

You look at him completely bewildered, while everything around starts to be a battle and a bloodshed, as Aemond makes you run for safety.

But the instant you finally react and understand what is happening after such a sudden situation, you move his hands away from your body, avoiding his touch, to seek refuge in the castle yourself, scared.

Aemond then begins to kill the men who had surrounded him before, with fury running through his veins, without measuring his strength and his limits, feeling how his fear from before is replaced by adrenaline and kills every man who fights for his half-sister and his uncle, furious for the situation he was forced into before.

And he kills every one of those men, until there are none left.

Some time later, all is quiet again, as carriages take away the dead bodies that were seen around and inside Harrenhal, while Aemond's men supervise everything and Aemond has a meeting with Criston Cole and all his advisors, talking and discussing about what happened.

Aemond immediately orders the word to reach King's Landing about the ambush and also how he has avenged his nephew Jaehaerys.

They also discuss how they could have been ambushed in such an unexpected way, really none of them having an answer, as Aemond runs a hand over his face and feels completely exhausted in every possible way.

It is not until he has a short break, still having many things to discuss and do, that he goes to your chamber, where he was informed some time before that you were being attended to by the Maester, that he can finally come to see you.

He finds you alone in your chamber, without any trace of blood and your hair still wet from the bath you took, the wound on your lip is already clean, but the bruise on your cheek is more than visible.

Even when you hear how they enter your chamber, you still don't turn around and continue watching through your windows, knowing perfectly well that it's him, since you would recognize the sound of his boots walking anywhere.

With your gaze completely broken, disinterested at the same time and with dry tears on your cheeks, you look at the mountains beyond, still feeling that sharp pain in your chest and still feeling weak.

Aemond lets out a long breath, shortening the distance between both of you, placing himself behind you, while you continue without watching him, the tears wanting to come out of your eyes again and pressing your lips together, avoiding sobbing and crying in front of him, not wanting him to see you that way.

In fact you don't want anything from him anymore, you just want to be alone.

"Y/N—

He starts to say to you in a soft voice, while his fingers touch your arm, but immediately your face hardens and you pull his hand away in a cold, abrupt and curt way, not caring, not wishing him to touch you, even without looking at him.

Aemond remains completely still, watching you, not expecting at all that reaction and behavior from you, while you continue firm, without looking at him and without saying anything at all.

He lets out another long breath as he looks away from you for a second, to look at you again with some anger in his gaze, expectantly.

"Now what's wrong with you?"

Nothing, you don't watch him or say absolutely nothing to him.

Do he still dare to ask?

You ask yourself, incredulous, not believing he's fool enough not to know what's wrong with you. Of course he knows, he just wants to make you look weak and dramatic.

But how are you supposed to feel and how are you supposed to act, when hours before in that horrible moment, he practically condemned you to death?

Aemond runs a hand all over his face and hair, his patience beginning to wear thin, not wanting to have to deal with you now when he's already had so much to endure this day and it's not even over yet.

"Are you done yet?" he asks you annoyed, "Believe me I'm not in the mood for your behavior right now."

And that's when you can't resist any longer, answering him even without looking at him.

"Then leave," you tell him without much emotion, "I didn't ask you to come and I'm certainly not holding you back if you have more important things to do. I'm sure Alys will be more pleased to see you, after all… she is part of your important matters."

Aemond completely loses his patience and in a second he's already grabbing you hard by the jaw to force you to look him in the eye, while you stare at him without expression, your gaze completely dead and empty.

"You are going to stop this fucking nonsense and you are going to stop it now," he warns you in a serious and threatening tone.

"Do not touch me," you tell him seriously as you again abruptly pull his hands away from you.

And again you turn your back to him, staring at the window, instantly feeling tears run down your cheeks, only you dare not make a sound, waiting for him to leave and leave you alone.

"Can you stop behaving like this? I'm sick of it," he demands, annoyed, "I knew Cole was coming, I saw him approaching and I knew you would be fine, I saved you," he exclaims serious, explaining.

Again you say nothing to him, not daring to look at him, tears falling more freely down your cheeks, unable to hold back.

It makes you sadder that he doesn't really know why you are this way, and it certainly isn't because you were terrified of dying. In some part if it was, but what hurt you more was that he chose her and you were condemned to death, is that because he didn't choose you… for her.

And if he knew Criston Cole was coming, then why did he still choose her?

He could have chosen you, he could have taken you in his arms as he did with her, that's what you would have done because you have known him for years and you are the one who has always been with him, not her.

However, you understand that you should stop thinking about what you would do for people, because that doesn't mean they will do the same for you.

That has become more than clear to you, because even if you choose him, he won't choose you.

He couldn't risk losing his precious Alys one way or another, wanting to make sure he had her really safe first, while you remained in that man's arms, waiting for your death.

You are not more important than his witch. He needs her to win the war for his brother, his family… and you are not more important than the crown.

"Hey, did you hear me?" he urges you, annoyed "I knew Cole would come."

You sniffle, lowering your gaze, then nod even without looking at him, looking the saddest and most disinterested, really wishing he would leave and leave you alone.

"Of course," you murmur to him without emotion, bitterly.

He didn't know anything.

Your mind tells you, only making you feel worse, even though you knew from the moment he chose her, not wanting to say anything to him about it, not having the energy to fight him.

And at this, Aemond has had enough of your attitude and disinterest, so he snorts bitterly, annoyed and tired, turning around to leave, not saying anything else to you and certainly having more important things to take care of.

You press your lips together, your gaze completely hard, really not wanting to say anything, but needing to get it out of your system, so in a low murmur you say:

"Liar."

And even though you've said it to yourself, still Aemond hears you and in an instant stops, turning to you again, instantly feeling his watchful and annoyed gaze, hearing you as he takes a few steps towards you, while you stand firm even though you don't even return his gaze.

"What did you say?"

He asks you slowly, like a madman about to explode, not liking your word at all. And you make it clearer to him, swallowing hard first.

"It was Criston Cole and the archer who saved me, not you," you answer him coldly, "Even in that kind of situation, you will always choose her," you tell him bitterly, "It was you who gave me over to death, because you didn't even know if Criston would arrive, it was just a coincidence that it came at the ideal moment."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Y/N. You don't know anything," he tells you menacingly serious, "So I advise you to stop acting like a fucking little girl and stop bringing Alys up every second when I've already explained to you, countless times, that I need her to win the war."

"Yes," you mutter, your gaze bitter, "You need her so much that you'd rather kill me first, than lose her."

"Seven fucking Hells," he mumbles, sick of it, "That was necessary, what do you not understand?" he says to you annoyed, "And yet why do you care so much? At the end of all this I'm not staying with her, it's you I'm marrying."

"Oh is that so?" you say without emotion, "I'm not sure about that anymore. At this point maybe your witch will marry you first before me," you shrug, "And I wouldn't be surprised. Even if that happens, you won't let me go. I'll just be just your whore, like I've been all this time."

"Don't say that," he warns you.

"Or I will finally end up dead."

"Y/N," he warns you for the last time.

You let out a soft sob, closing your eyes tightly, breaking into pieces again, the memory even more vivid than ever, the dagger against your throat and him choosing her, over and over again.

And you feel again how Aemond tries to grab your arm, but you push him away again in an instant.

"'Go away. Leave me alone," you beg him hurt and upset, no longer bearing his presence.

He tries to speak, when at that moment there is a knock on the door, so resigned and irritated he orders with a firm voice to enter, turning around to observe who it is, being the Maester.

He catches your attention as well, at once calming you down and wiping your tears away.

"Oh my prince," he bows his head to him, as you continue to turn your back to both of them, still controlling yourself, "I'm sorry to interrupt, my prince. I just came to attend to Lady Y/N's wound, I have already gotten what I need."

"I understand you have already cleaned and tended to her wounds, Maester," Aemond tells you cold and serious, watching him intently and intimidatingly.

"No, my prince. I tended to the wound on her lip, but the one on her throat is missing. I didn't have what I needed, so I went to get it," he explains softly.

Aemond frowns slightly, as the Maester makes his way across the room to you, who once calmed down and with a calmer and more serious attitude, you let him do his job, not looking at Aemond for a second and pretending that he is no longer there.

While he continues standing, observing the work of the Maester. He didn't even know that the assassin had managed to cut a bit of your throat, being a barely visible and small cut, but deep enough.

He lets out a long breath, looking away for a moment, running a hand over his face to finally leave the chamber.

He feels furious, annoyed and stressed by everything that still awaits him, instantly meeting again with all his advisors, the matters of the war at this point really bothering him and a lot.

While you, when the Maester finishes cleaning your wound, continue to be locked in your chamber, not having the energy for absolutely nothing, reliving the moment in your mind over and over again about Aemond choosing her… and not you.

You cry silently, thinking about it and also about Aemond's words of justification, only making you feel worse.

Even lying in your bed, really having no peace and unable to sleep properly, you still feel that sharp pain in your chest. Fortunately Aemond doesn't appear in your chamber again, but still you continue to suffer in silence.

And when you finally manage to sleep, the nightmare repeats itself, the words of that man leaving the choice to Aemond, and then he chooses her, and finally the man kills you in a fine and perfect movement.

At that moment you wake up, bringing your hands to your throat in an instant, breathing hard and gasping in fear, beads of sweat all over your face and body, hugging yourself and in an instant crying again.

He choose her.

Your mind tells you, not leaving you alone, thinking that Aemond probably hasn't come to see you because he is with her. After what happened… he must still be with her.

It's not like you want him to, but all this just reinforces more what happened and how you are nothing to him, how you are not more important than her and that you just don't matter to him.

All these thoughts don't leave you alone, feeling completely alone and more than vulnerable, letting the ghosts of the cursed castle of Harrenhal consume you in darkness… letting her consume you, the witch.

When the next morning, after one of your maids brings you a tray with breakfast, even though you have no appetite and do not wish to eat anything, there is something hidden among all the plates and napkins laid out for you.

Then it's as if you again feel like you're floating, the realization hitting you harder than before and that ache all over your chest making you feel weaker and more vulnerable.

Just now truly understanding… the role you play in Aemond's life.

Everyone in Harrenhal hears the huge roar of Vhagar in the skies, approaching.

It is not until shortly after that a vibration is felt throughout the ground, indicating the landing of the huge dragon and also indicating the return of the Prince Regent.

Aemond runs one of his hands over his face as he removes the helmet that complements his armor, instantly seeing the ash permeate his fingers from all that he ordered burned and destroyed to the ground, heading towards the black castle.

Since the ambush yesterday, having the meeting with all his men and advisors, this morning he decided to head alone towards Rhaenyra's army that was slowly approaching, deciding to wipe them all out from the skies, responding to the harsh ambush and killing all those men fighting for his half-sister.

He didn't act instantly, he had to wait for the perfect moment to attack and take them all by surprise.

And when the moment finally came, he burned every single one of them with their carriages and supplies, leaving absolutely nothing, making sure of it.

Criston Cole and all his advisors wait patiently for their return, watching Vhagar in the distance on some mountains, while the figure of Aemond begins to get closer and closer.

And once they are all in the Council Room, again the discussions begin.

"There is not a man or carriage left," says Aemond firmly, "All is cleared as to any movement on the part of the blacks."

"There are no claims that there are any more soldiers fighting for the blacks in the Riverlands, my prince. According to the spies and soldiers you sent."

"Good," Aemond says with a nod.

"Ravens arrived as well, my prince," Cole tells him, extending rolled parchments to him, "All from Kings Landing."

"There was an attack?" he asks instantly, taking the paper.

"No, they report that all is well, Prince Daeron is guarding the entire Keep. It is King Aegon's answers as to the ambush, the assassins Prince Daemon sent and he has also let it be known that he has sent soldiers for the loss, to equal again the men we had, all from Oldtown and Storm End."

Aemond nods, understanding and being pleased to hear that, finally hearing good news since he arrived at Harrenhal and feeling some of that peace he needed, also that hope of winning the war again.

He continues to discuss other plans, until finally the meeting ends after several hours, where his advisors begin to leave the room, except for Criston, whom Aemond watches him expectantly as he notices that he does not move from his spot.

"Is there anything else, Cole?"

The man watches him for a moment in silence, then lets out a long breath and finally speaks.

"Yes, my prince, there is something else."

"Well, speak," he tells him without understanding, watching him intently.

Cole again remains silent for a few seconds, while Aemond watches him, waiting, beginning to lose patience. When Cole finally speaks.

"It's Lady Y/N, my prince."

Aemond stands completely still, still watching Cole intently, not understanding.

"What about her?"

"She's missing."

He says and at that moment Aemond feels his whole body tense up completely.

"Her maid said she wasn't in her room this morning, so she searched all over the castle and the surrounding area but she didn't find her."

He lets him know as Aemond feels all that peace at seeing progress in the war fade away. He lets out a long breath, closes his eye and runs a hand over his face, wanting to believe this isn't happening.

"Since noon I've sent guards to search for her all over Harrenhal, my prince," Cole adds, "But there's no sign of her."

"Fucking Hell," Aemond mutters tired, irritated and now worried, watching him instantly annoyed, "And why didn't you say anything before?"

"I-I…" Cole is speechless for a moment, nervous, "I'm sorry, my prince. You had just arrived and I thought you would want to take care of crown matters first."

Aemond rolls his eye, beginning to feel furious, his whole face annoyed, instantly rising from his seat.

"Fetch the maid, bring her here. Now," he orders him upset.

"Yes, my prince."

Cole immediately complies with the order, while Aemond feels that at any moment he will go mad, trying to calm down.

When your maid enters the room in fear, followed by Cole, to be instantly interrogated by Aemond, being intimidated at all times and answering his questions in caution.

Then he himself gathers more men, even men on horseback, ordering several of them to head for the roads leading out of Harrenhal.

"If she's gone on foot, she can't be far, so find her and get her complete, do you understand? Without any wounds," he threatens, to which the men instantly obey.

Aemond at once gathers the men who are searching all over Harrenhal, wanting to hear news, but they all inform him the same thing: there is no sign of you.

And he instantly orders them to keep searching, not caring how exhausted they already are or that they have already scoured the area, he just wants to find you.

But the men last all night until the Hour of the Wolf looking for you, without success.

The next morning, Aemond in a sorry state, not having been able to sleep all night, being on the lookout to hear some news about you, receives the men he sent on horseback and they let him know that there is no trace of you on any road.

Aemond demands that they tell him exactly what they saw, how far they got and making sure they did their job well, annoyed and beginning to lose his patience completely, taking his bad mood out on all those men, demanding answers.

However, no one finds anything, but he forces them to search again, not caring about anything, feeling that at any moment he will go mad, despair and worry eating him alive.

When they leave him alone in the room, even Alys comes looking for him, asking him if he's all right and offering a distraction for a moment, but he dismisses her instantly, not having the slightest interest in her now, too occupied thinking only of you.

He is left alone in the Council Room, running his hands all over his face and eye, feeling more despair all over his body, when a few moments later, Cole enters the room, cautious and watching him with some pity.

"My prince," he makes him aware of his presence, approaching towards him.

"Did you find her?" he asks at once in a serious voice and looking completely tired.

"Yes, my prince."

He answers in a murmur to his great surprise, making him watch him instantly attentive. Then he lets out a long breath, feeling all that tension and despair leave his body completely, feeling relieved.

"Fucking finally," he mutters still angry, getting up from his seat, ready to head towards you.

"My prince," Cole tells you instantly, taking a step towards him, "You must know something—

"What?" he inquire annoyed, "I don't have time for this. Where is she?" he demands to know, putting on his black coat, watching him expectantly.

"Wait my prince, s-she's—

"Just tell me where the fuck is she!" he demands desperately.

"She's dead!"

Cole tells him without further ado, stopping Aemond completely, as he looks at him seriously and with a sorrowful look, assuring him completely that he is serious and that he would never dare to say something like this if it were not true, while Aemond is completely paralyzed.

He watches him with his lips half open and his eye wide open, surprised and not expecting it at all.

"She was found in the lake just beyond the main road of Harrenhal, hidden in bushes," he explains to him gently, cautious, not wanting to disturb him further, "She had a dagger and cuts on both wrists," he says very carefully, preparing to say the next thing in the same way, "Apparently she did it to herself, my prince."

Aemond feels like he can't hold himself on his feet, leaning back against one of the chairs, watching Cole in bewilderment and as if he can't believe it.

"She was brought back here and is now with the Silent Sisters," he adds, "She had this with her, as well as the dagger."

He tells him to then drop in front of him on the table apparently a letter, instantly Aemond's gaze hardening and refusing to believe that you, his Y/N, is dead.

"No. It's not her," he says firmly, "Y/N is not dead."

Cole watches him with pity, lowering his gaze for a moment.

"Yes it is her, my prince," he assures him gently, as Aemond looks at him completely serious and on the verge of losing control, "I'm very sorry."

Aemond feels as if he is floating, his whole body tense and his mind refusing again and again to believe his words, telling himself that it is impossible, that you couldn't have abandoned him like that, that you have always been with him, by his side, since he was a child.

He denies, feeling how his heart begins to beat strongly, besides starting to feel that sharp pain all over his chest, tensing more, feeling as if he were drowning and short of breath, besides an emptiness, something missing.

He hardens his gaze and tightens his lips, feeling a huge lump in his throat and a discomfort all over his stomach, as if he feels like he is about to throw up, losing strength.

It just can't be.

No.

That's all Aemond thinks, incredulous, in denial and feeling all his palpitations getting stronger, the whole world crashing down on him, despairing and feeling completely dazed.

It is not until some time later that Aemond, with his hard look and tight lips, orders Cole coldly to leave the room, to which the knight obeys, not really wanting to leave him alone, only to stand right at the doors once he closes them, being alert.

And a few moments later, Criston Cole hears how Aemond finally reacts and starts breaking everything in the room, listening to his screams of rage, he even breaks and curses that letter you had with you when you were found, because now he understands why you did what you did.

This is the first and last time I will respond to one of your letters, Y/N. But first I want you to understand that I don't want you to write to me ever again.

You have brought shame to our entire family name, you have brought shame to me, destroying the few things I built so that we could afford a life. After all I did for you, you decided to turn your back on me and give yourself away like a common whore to a prince, allowing him to ruin and disgrace you.

You are not my daughter, you are not that woman I cared for and raised, because if you had been, you would not have allowed any of this. And yet you expect me to forgive you by believing that the prince is going to marry you by the time all this is over?

The news has reached here about how the prince has taken another mistress, a witch, so you are a complete fool to believe that he cares about you and will marry you. Open your eyes at once and understand that you are nothing more than just a desire, a whim, a woman to warm his bed, becoming his whore and nothing more, which is all you will be useful to him.

You have not only embarrassed and disappointed me, but also your mother, because believe me Y/N she would be very disappointed in you. Don't write to me again and don't look for me when he leaves you and you have nowhere to go, you are just a naive fool who got carried away by the whims of a man, believing his lies.

I truly don't recognize you and want absolutely nothing to do with you, so as I told you, don't ever write and look for me again.

These same words are the ones you had read when they brought you your tray with breakfast.

You definitely not expect that your father would truly respond as you decided to send him a letter hoping he would forgive you by explaining the whole situation, why you left with Aemond and what would happen when the war was over.

You did everything in secret and with Ellya's help, fearing that Aemond would find out but fortunately that didn't happen, until you fortunately received your father's reply.

However, you did not expect such words from him.

Reading it all, with your mind still fresh from what happened with those assassins, Aemond and Alys, you now really understood what you mean in Aemond's life…. nothing.

Your father's words broke you completely, realizing that he is right.

You also understand that you have no family anymore and that you are completely alone in all this, that your father hates you for what you did and thinking about your mother too, how terribly disappointed she would be in you.

You understood that even if you stay by Aemond's side, you are only his whore and that is how everyone recognizes you now, Prince Aemond's whore.

You understood that even he could get bored of you at any moment and take Alys permanent, that made it clear to you the moment he chose her over you with the assassins, because you are of no other use to him, you can't see the future and help him in matters of war.

You are simply of no use to him, other than to warm his bed.

And you don't want to live like that, where at any moment Aemond leaves you unexpectedly, having no one else, nowhere to go, realizing that you yourself ruined your life for a man who doesn't even care about you and doesn't love you.

With your heart in a fist, sadness completely invading you and the realization getting harder by the second, the moment you found out that Aemond had left Harrenhal to attack an army of the blacks, you decided to escape.

You took a dagger from the kitchens without anyone seeing you, you passed the guards unnoticed and you walked away until you reached that lake, with tears in your eyes and feeling completely alone and hopeless.

The memory of Aemond choosing her over and over again, the letter from your father and how you ruined your life by making the wrong choices, did not leave you alone at all times and you decided to slit your wrists.

All alone, taking a seat on the ground, near the trees with bushes and the beautiful lake in front of you.

And with the view of the dusk, you let yourself go completely with blood dripping down your hands, staining your dress and tears streaming down your cheeks.

It wasn't so painful even though you felt completely alone, starting to feel very weak and disoriented, breathing hard and waiting for the Stranger to take you away.

That last memory of the world comforted you and taking your last breath, you closed your eyes and thought of Aemond. Even though he did not love you back, you truly loved him until the day you died.

And you left, not really wanting to leave, but being necessary.

Now Aemond finds himself watching you at the table in one of the large unoccupied rooms of Harrenhal Castle.

Earlier the Silent Sisters were about to begin their work with you, only to be interrupted by him and asked for a moment, where he had heard before entering how one of them had said in a low whisper; "Poor child…she died alone."

He continues to feel that sharp pain in his chest, all hard stare and tight lips, barely processing that this is really you.

Your eyes are closed, your whole face in a slight expression of pain, still looking completely serene and still, your skin pale and without color… without life, still wearing your dress, stained with dried blood.

Aemond clenches his jaw and gathers courage to look at your arms, all the way to your wrists, where he sees the deep cuts perfectly, feeling that pain all over his body again.

Then he dares to raise one of his hands and delicately touch your cheek, almost with fear, instantly not feeling that warm and soft touch from you.

When the first tear falls on his right cheek.

Just at that moment alone, Aemond realizes all the damage he did to you, understanding that you are dead because of him, because of the decisions he made, because of the way he treated you, because of Alys, because of everything, leaning towards you and holding you in his arms.

It's not just the feeling of loss, he's also furious with himself and your father for that letter, asking you in low whispers to please wake up, only to see your eyes closed again… forever.

He made you a promise and was always willing to keep it, yet he never thought about your feelings, never really cared about you, because his problem has always been that he thought he would always have you by his side and that you would never leave him.

Even choosing duty, the crown, his family, you were always with him and that kept him confident, until you couldn't anymore.

Until just then Aemond realizes the terrible decisions he made, regretting over and over again, wanting to tell you that nothing of what your father told you is true, that he does care about you, that you are important to him.

However, he never proved it to you, not in the way that was right, always treating you as his possession, choosing others over you, because he always thought he would have you.

He didn't know you were suffering so much and now… because of him you are dead.

Aemond doesn't know how long he lasted that way with you, holding you in his arms, wanting to feel that warmth and comfort you always gave him, but instead you were just a cold and lifeless dead body.

Criston Cole is the one who convinces him to leave you in peace so that the Silent Sisters can finish their work with you, leaving him no choice.

Then, before nightfall, Aemond gives the order to Vhagar to burn your body, not caring that this is a Targaryen tradition, only he and Cole being present, this being the least he can do for you.

And the last.

"You knew, didn't you?"

Alys Rivers, the witch of Harrenhal, raises her gaze and observes the figure of Aemond in the doorway of her chamber, watching her attentively, without much emotion on his face, but with a cold and distant look, catching the woman's attention, who frowns and adopts her posture willing and seductive at the same time.

"What do you mean, my prince?"

She asks him with her attractive tone, the one that always has an effect on men and also on him, only that this time no anymore.

"You knew about the ambush… and you didn't tell me anything," he tells her with a deadly tone, "Because you knew what would happen, you knew that I would choose you and not her… sending her to her death."

Alys is confused, not understanding the prince's behavior, when he has always been so responsive to her, continuing her seduction.

"You know that I have always kept my word, my prince," she says slowly approaching towards him, "I have told you every single one of all my visions. But in this case, I saw nothing about the ambush."

In an instant, Aemond shortens the little distance between them, unexpectedly for Alys holding her firmly and tightly by her neck in a threatening manner, while Alys opens her eyes wide in disbelief and horror as he begins to choke her, everything about him emanating fury.

She immediately brings her hands to his, trying to stop him, watching him in fright, as Aemond watches her like a mad man, demanding answers, his eye red and swollen, his pupil dilated and all the pain in his gaze.

"You knew about the ambush, you knew what would happen and that's why you didn't tell me anything," he repeats to her in a deadly tone, "All to get her out of your way, isn't it?"

Alys squirms and gasps for air, watching him in complete terror, beating her hands and chest desperately.

"N-no," she says as best she can, needing air.

"Don't lie to me!" he exclaims unexpectedly, furious.

Alys coughs, tears beginning to spill from her eyes, crying, as Aemond watches her with as much hatred as possible, completely disgusted, to finally have enough and let her go, instantly her falling tactlessly to the ground, gasping for air, coughing and with all the fear invading her body.

Aemond thinks of course she knew, again feeling the urge to cry, but completely resisting, he turns around and walks out of the chamber, completely exhausted, furious and hurting, no strength left.

The next morning, Aemond orders the death of the witch of Harrenhal, being beheaded in an instant for carrying out the prince's order, to continue leading his side of the war… with the difference that nothing is the same anymore.

Aemond Targaryen was always haunted by all the ghosts of Harrenhal, especially you. Every day he woke up and you were no longer by his side, it was complete torture.

He couldn't sleep, had very little appetite and began to lose the war slowly.

From the beginning he always chose the crown over you, but in the end, it wasn't worth it at all. Aemond lost himself, all the time thinking about you, where he also lost his sister, his brothers, his grandfather and all those sacrifices being in vain.

Nothing he did was worth it, not even Alys, because he lost you and he also lost the war, with nothing left of him or his family.

And all for what?

For the crown.

Taglist:

@targaryenmoony @skzenhalove @yentroucnagol

[callofdudes]

Can I request TF141 x Reader where they’re on a mission til suddenly Y/n got into a fight by the enemy. Til she went trigger bringing out the savage beast and started to kill the enemy who get into her way. TF141 are shock what they’re seeing. They try to calm Y/n but she lost control and about to attack them. Price brought out a record tape that Lasewell give it to him and told him to play it for Y/n calm down just in case. Once Y/n hear the lullaby song the voice from her mother she started to cry and passed out.

Take all the time you need. No need to rush. Btw I love your work. I read all of them.

Ah, thank you for the request. I'm glad you enjoy my writing @silverwolf-108 I realized that you'd sent in a second and third request so I thought I needed to hop to it and finish this one for you!

A/n: I made the tape an ipod instead, I hope you don't mind, it's a bit easier to play quickly in a frantic situation.

Also thank you for being so patient with me, you are an angel 😊😅

The battle had gone on long and hard. Bullets sprayed across the field, wind whipping around you and the boys. Ghost was hidden back against a shed, practically pinned down and unable to move while Johnny bled out. He cupped the sergeants cheek to try and keep him awake, his heart beating out of his chest.

"Y/n!! Find cover!" Simon urges.

He turns back to Johnny, trying to keep him awake.

Your heart pounds out of your chest. Everything is a blur and it's way too much for you. Too stimulating. A bullet whizzes by your hair, blood rushing through your ears.

Your fingers start to itch on your gun, wanting to pull the trigger on these motherfuckers and give them a piece of your fucking mind.

You look back at your team, trying to hide for cover as well. Gaz is tucked into Price's shoulder, hiding against the ground to try and survive the bullet spray.

"Johnny!! Open your eyes sergeant!! We're not done here!"

You see Simon in desperation and Johnny's limp body. It's all too much. Your heart lurches in your chest and you feel like you're going to puke.

Blood drips from Johnny's chest and you lose it. Seeing his blood makes you violent. Animalistic.

You regrip your gun and run from your hiding spot.

"Soldier!!" Price yells at you.

You can't hear, blood rushes in your ears. You throw a smoke grenade one way and take out the two soldiers closest to you. You disregard their fallen bodies and run into the smoke.

You raise the stock of your gun and hit another man upside the head and send him down to the ground.

You drop your gun and grab your knife, grabbing another man by the throat and carving it out and up his jaw. Blood spilled across your face and you kick his body away.

They try to shoot you through the smoke, bullets whizzing and whipping by you but never touching.

You shoot two more men and advance on the others.

Everything is red. Murder and blood was all too much. Too stimulating. Your fingers itch as the smoke clears. Another soldier attempts to take hold of you, your blade meeting him first, followed by you snapping his neck before he has the chance to bleed out.

Another soldier grabs you but you sink your blade into his shoulder, chopping and hacking away at the spot before drawing a deep line across the expanse of his chest.

You don't stop to catch your breath, throwing your knife into the forehead of another man.

Two men grab you and pull you back. You snarl, kicking in the dirt and grab another knife, slicing it into one of the men's wrists and pulling him around and swinging him into the other men.

"I will not let you touch my family." You growl before sinking your blade into his chest and twisting it around in the cavity. The second man tries to get up and run but you slice his leg and slam your blade into the back of his head, blood spilling and splattering across the ground.

The 141 watches in horror and shock. The men that just moments ago were about the kill them all were now being demolished by you. What had happened.

Simon watches, honestly impressed. Though he'd kick your butt for pulling such a stunt and putting yourself in the way like that.

He clutches Johnny tightly to his chest, another bullet whipping past his head before you rip the man's gun from his hands and smash the side right into his face.

Another bullet whizzes by and Price pulls Gaz against his chest, breathing heavy. "It'll be ok, it'll be ok." He reminds Gaz, watching you from where they were hiding with shock and is just as impressed as Simon. Although he sees where your safety is in immediate danger.

Your heart is still beating out of your chest even when things slow and the soldiers are gone.

Using the soldiers gun you shoot down more of the soldiers until the troops begin to slow in numbers.

The last of the soldiers run at you and you hit him with the stock, slamming him on the ground and stomping on his head, cracking it and splattering more blood across the ground.

Price sits up and looks at you, he's not sure if he should congratulate you or slap you over the head.

You just stand there, hunched over and breathing heavily. Your fingers itch, bloody blade still clutched in your hand while you try to recover some semblance of thought.

Gaz gets up from his spot and rushes out to see if you're ok. "Y/n, wh-what was that??"

His footsteps make your head twitch. His hand grazes your shoulder and you push him back, throwing him into the dirt.

Price grabs you and pulls you into a roll with him, ripping you away from Gaz. Your blade drops from your hands and narrowly misses Gaz's eye, slicing a cut against his forehead.

Price is already reacting when he sees you climb on top of Gaz and raise your blade. Gaz tries to kick you off, trying to get away.

You snarl at him, your eyes are dark and he can see that you're not in there, not fully present right now. His heart lurches when the blade starts to come down and he scrunches his eyes tightly.

Price tries to hold you down while you scream and kick and squirm. You hit him with all your might, trying to take him down but he's just so much stronger than you.

Price firmly but lovingly holds you against him, shielding you from the world.

"I'll bloody murder you!!" You scream, trying to bite him.

You grew distressed and uncomfortable in his arms. Too tight, tol restricting, to unsafe. You scream again, trying to kick and punch and spit.

"It's ok y/n, it's ok, it's just us. It's just us." He tries to soothe you with his voice but it's not affective.

You continue to kick and squirm, hitting him in the shoulder and trying to bite his arm.

And then he remembers protocol. He'd been given a rundown on this when you'd joined the 141.

"Gaz, check my bag!"

Gaz whines, clutching his bleeding forehead but rushes to complete the task and searches Price's bag. "When you find and old ipod let me know."

Gaz keeps digging until he finds the phone at 100 percent. "Got it."

"Play the first song, now!"

"Is now the time for songs, captain??"

"Kyle Garrick do it now!!"

Gaz is shaking as he presses play and a soft moldy starts. He holds it's closer to you and your fighting starts to slow. Your nails dig into Price's forearm and your bottom lip quivers.

You go limp and burst into sobs. Hot, wet tears flow down your face and your breathing gets faster. You cling to Price now instead of trying to fight him.

You clutch his gear, trying to breath through heavy tears.

Price runs his hand over your head. "It's ok sergeant, take a deep breath soldier. Take a deep breath."

You whimper and exhaustion floods your body, and your eyes close.

Gaz pauses the music as you fall asleep in Price's arms, curled up in his safety and his warmth.

"What... Just happened??"

"Classified sergeant. But it's over now." He strokes your hair gently. "Now we need to get both Y/n and Johnny out of here now."

Simon comes over, still a little stunned with a shivering, weak Johnny in his arms.

They all move to the evac site where they meet medical. They take both of you and fly their soldiers back to base.

Price is nervous for you to wake up, but he sits the boys down for a chat to try and explain what happened as much as he can. it brings a bit of light to the subject, but doesn't change the fact that Ghost and Gaz didn't see it coming and are a stunned.

Ghost had never seen anything like it. The absolute rage that drove you into that battle like a madwoman.

Nonetheless they were all happy that they survived, it was all thanks to you.

You woke up a day later, exhausted and tired, but alive. You didn't all remember what happened. You remember you were fighting, and then you were cradled in Price's arms. Looking back on it felt like a mindless blur.

You slowly sat up, seeing small wounds of yours patched and stitched.

In the next bed lay Johnny, out cold with bandages tightly wrapped around his chest.

The door opened and you snapped up to look as Price, Ghost and Gaz come in.

"Guys!" You smile and hold your arms out for hugs. Price hugs you tightly, kissing your forehead. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Ghost pats your head and Gaz also hugs you.

You notice the bandage on his forehead and brush your thumb over it. You don't like to see them hurt.

"Who did this to you, Gaz?"

Gaz smiles awkwardly. "Just some guy on the field, but with how you were hacking around I think you got him."

You clutched your head when you felt a sharp headache come on. "I... I don't remember much... I'm sorry."

Price takes your hand and squeezes it. "You were very brave y/n, you saved our asses back there. You don't have to remember it for it to have happened."

You look up at him and nod. "Thank you."

Ghost moves closer to you and grumbles under his breath. "I don't know what the bloody fuck you were doin', but you could have gotten yourself killed!!" He sighs and squeezes you in a tight hug, surprising you.

"So bloody glad you're alive. You hear me??"

You hug him back and smile. "I hear you lieutenant."

He pulls away and leans over the other bed, clutching Johnny's limp hand in his own.

"What about Johnny??" You ask.

They all look over at Johnny who is still unconscious and breathing quietly. The heartbeat monitor near his bedside plays in soft smooth rhythms.

"Johnny is alright. Lost a lot of blood and needs rest, but he is doing ok."

You sigh in relief. Price helps you off your bedside and you shake out your sore limbs. "I think I'm gonna go rest in my room for a bit... Thank you."

"Of course sergeant, call us if you need us."

"Will do Captain."

You headed down to your room, still with a headache you crawled into your nice warm bed, and drifted asleep. The anxiety and overstimulation got to you sometimes on the field, reminding you of things and sending you into overdrive fight mode.

But I guess this time it really did save your asses. Johnny doesn't remember anything, but he'll thank you for saving them regardless.

And they all lived happily ever after, I hope you like it 😊

[darkstarofchaos]

EarthSpark spoilers ahead. Also a possibly unpopular opinion regarding Breakdown and Bumblebee.

I said previously that Breakdown's line to Bumblebee about the Cons being his family rang hollow because we had previously seen no good will between almost any of the Decepticons in S2. And I stand by that - him seeing them as family would have felt a lot more genuine if we'd ever seen the Decepticons interact like people, not cardboard cutout villains.

But I think the betrayal itself makes perfect sense. Yes, even in light of Breakdown letting himself be captured to save Bumblebee in S1.

We know almost nothing about why the war reignited after S1, and what we do know comes from incredibly biased sources. I'm of the opinion that the Autobots were more to blame for it than we'll ever be told. Obviously both sides would have had to work to keep the peace, and neither had a reason to trust the other. But considering the only reason we've ever been given for the war's continuation was "Cons will be Cons", I think the side that's being all self-righteous and refuses to take any responsibility is probably the one most at fault!

(And no, I'm not taking "the Cons did want power, though" for an answer. This is the cartoon about characters who basically worship Quintus even though he seems to have been pretty terrible, and the cartoon that treats war veterans relying on child soldiers as the correct course of action. None of these characters are reliable narrators and I'm not taking their word for it that the Cons restarted the war because they just can't quell their thirst for power).

Anyway, back to Breakdown.

With the above in mind, I propose the following:

Breakdown chose the Cons over Bee a long time ago - that's why they're on opposite sides.

Breakdown gives himself up to save Bee because he still cares about him.

On being released from jail, Breakdown goes with the Cons instead of helping to fight Mandroid because he still cares about Bee - but not enough to break ranks with the rest of the Cons.

The jailbirds meet up with the Seekers and explain why they were set free; Starscream tells them they're all stupid and takes them back to fight the factions' mutual enemy; Breakdown gets to help Bee and stay with his faction, so this is his best-case scenario.

With Mandroid dead, the two sides try to work together for a while; the Autobots treat the situation as "we're giving all of you a second chance" instead of "neither side has a reason to trust the other so we all have to work to overcome our differences".

The Cons get fed up with being blamed for everything and dip. Breakdown goes with them, choosing them over Bee for the third time (that we know of).

Fast forward to S3: Breakdown wants to get all of the Cons out of the dome, and gets in contact with Bumblebee. Bee tells him he's not like the other Cons and makes it very clear the Bots won't let the Cons run free again. Breakdown lies to Bee about being mad at himself for joining the Cons because it's easier to explain away his anger than pretend he's not angry.

Breakdown sees an opportunity to free the Cons and takes it, even if it means finally ending his friendship with Bee.

TL;DR: Breakdown has chosen the Decepticons over Bumblebee over and over again. He may have wanted to keep his friend and his so-called family, but if he could only have one, he was never going to choose Bee over them.

[hummingjay]

Hey Jay! Sorry for the bother with the frequent questions and such(?), but you're the only person I kinda know that has some military knowledge(???) AND fleshed out SAPR units 😅

So, in the hypothetical case that a Mynah unit gave up on pacifism and really poured her heart into becoming a "tough girl", what training or skills would she need to be on a similar level as a SAPR?

HAHA YAPPING TIME!! Okay so it depends on what this mynah wants to be when she says tough. I'd invest in a sick leather jacket and some spiky bracelets or something but if she specifically wants to fight it out and lean into what schnäppers do, then I'd mostly focus on weapon operation and speed/endurance.

As anti-tank units, they'd use anti-tank firearms. Think of powerful high-caliber rifles, machine guns and projectile cannons. We humans use rocket-propelled projectiles instead of cannons because we can't handle the recoil, but since SAPRs are large, they forego this problem. These rifles, machine guns, and cannons are pretty high maintenance and difficult to keep in good shape, and also hard to physically handle in combat, so this mynah would probably wanna learn how to handle and keep the weapons in good shape. If she intends to fight alone and without infantry support, make sure she has both anti-tank weapons and crowd control, like a cannon and a machine gun. Remember, a gestalts machine gun is the SAPRs smg, so don't worry about her carrying too much.

She'd also wanna don some plating. SAPRs are heavy units, so don some plating that'd protect from a tank round. Thing is that the armor is heavy, and you need your soldiers fast, so she'd also train for carrying weight. Medieval squires trained by dancing in armor, if you'd believe it. Maybe give the girl a jukebox.

Now to the actual habits. You'd want aggression in this girl. You want her to look a tank through the barrel and charge it. She needs to sidestep a tank round and walk off another. Here's the real struggle: there's people in that tank. A pacifist would struggle to begin killing, but she can't hesitate. She'd have to unlearn her empathy to the enemy and unlearn it fast. That's not a tank crew and that's not a soldier. That's a tank and that's the enemy. Shoot it. Unlearn whatever honor existed. She hides and waits and ambushes, don't give the enemy a chance to do anything.

But that's just for a mynah taking after SAPRs. She may just want to fight against everyone, not just tanks, maybe even against the nation, and that means possibly other SAPRs. Hand to hand combat training for a big unit seems useless; She's the biggest in the room, why bother? Thing is, cqc is more technique than anything else, and if she runs into a SAPR she'll need it. She'd wanna learn punches and kicks for maximum effectiveness as well as a few grapples, especially if she's going toe-to-toe with a schnäpper, much less a tank. If another mynah-like replika attempts to take her down she'd wanna punch harder and faster. because she's literally on a separate level than gestalts, we'd go for big swiping/boxing movements to bash them away, like a bear. Also, in a pinch, a big gun like the one she probably has works as a very useful club.

Also! speed! Big girl = big target. Big slow target = dead target. One of the many problems that tank designers face is that tanks are huge. Huge targets are easy to hit and easier still to see. Mynahs aren't tanks but they face this problem too. She needs to be fast and able to maneuver terrain and infrastructure designed for gestalts two thirds her size. A foot placed badly is a stuck foot and a foot too slow is a shot foot. She has longer legs, maximize on natural advantages and take longer strides. She's the biggest and she's gonna wanna be the fastest. Tanks can move 70 kmh, and if she's fighting those things, she needs to keep up. If not, the best way to take down a mynah is with a tank, so she'll be targeted. She still needs to be able to outmaneuver them.

About her personality; she doesn't have to change it but there's wiggle room. If she adjusts to violence well, she can keep her motherly and caring personality while being able to administer force when needed/wanted. On the other hand she can also fall right down the slope and become threatening and quiet, and generally monsterous. Violence is a slippery slope but she can keep herself on her feet if she tries. OH! Final note: If she really wants to she could change up her paint! This is more for her own benefit. Kinda like a 'new me' thing. Kind of like that cool magical girl sequence except with paint and the big woman becomes scary big woman. This makes it easier for people to designate her from other mynahs and it's more believable when she says she's a warrior.

ALSO ALSO! I love asks! Shoot as many as you want and as frequently as you want, they make me all fuzzy, even if you're just saying hi. This goes for anybody!

[roachsideblog]

Day 17: Held Down/Restrained

Thanks @nonsenseafterdark for the list!

TWs: Chasing, kidnapping, POW, the beginnings of torture, Philip Graves

Words: ~500

Summary: The Shadows grab Roach while they're looking for Los Vaqueros, Ghost, and Soap. Graves isn't happy to see him.

There's another WIP I have for the 17th that I may post later (on my nsfw sideblog @sideroachblog) involving roach tied to a table, price, and gaz 😳

~~~

Roach pushed himself off the ground in hopes of escape only for a steel-toe boot to bash the back of his skull. It sprawled him forward, arms out in front like some stupid looking Superman impression. Suddenly, his arms were twisted behind his back, and a burlap sack tugged over his head. They shoved a rag up the neck hole. Chloroform, probably, considering how he slowly lost the energy to kick and scream as someone threw him over their shoulder.

His consciousness waned as they loaded him in a van. The last thing he remembered was the door slamming.

The mission had been going well until he was separated from his team when an enemy grenade collapsed an alleyway between them. The Shadows caught up, surrounded him, stripped him of his weapons as his team promised help, then ripped his comm unit off. He broke away but not for long.

Roach woke sitting on the floor of a dark concrete cell in the with his arms tied around a pillar behind his back. His body ached; looking down, there were bruises and scrapes from the chase. They stripped him to his skivvies and undershirt. A killer headache split his brain with every heartbeat. One of his eyes had swollen shut. He let the other one fall closed. Drool dangled from his busted lip.

Someone wolf whistled. It brought him to attention. A metal door screeched open behind him and slammed, then Commander Philip Graves came sauntering info view.

“In a bit of trouble, aren’t you, son?” The man drawled.

Roach spat at his feet.

“Easy, now, tiger. I don’t want no trouble. Seems like my boys played a little rough; I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting them to nab you, Sanderson. Was hoping they’d get one of those remaining Vack-way-rows.”

“You say that like a dumb Texan.”

Graves narrowed his eyes. “Help me help you,” he commanded, grabbing Roach’s jaw, gripping the Sergeant’s cheeks tight. “I’m happy to let you go; you’re a good soldier. You follow orders well. It’s what you’re doing now—I get that. I enjoyed working with you and it’s a shame our professional relationship ended the way it did. So, help me get you outta here by telling me where Parra, Riley, and MacTavish are.

“Otherwise, you’ll be thrown in with Colonel Vargas,” Graves sighed with a head shake. “You don’t want that. See, I have strict control over my men, but I’m focused on finding Hassan. They tend to run things like a zoo when I’m not around to… keep ‘em in line.”

“There’s only one double-crossing cunt in this room, Graves. I won’t tell you a damn thing. I don’t care what you do to me.”

“I’ll give you one last chance to play nice with me.”

“Choke on it.”

A heavy kick smashed Roach’s abdomen. He grunted and lurched at the impact. Graves gripped his hair with two fists to hold his head down, bringing a knee up to bash Roach’s forehead.

[blingblong55]

Eyes off you- Alejandro Vargas

Based on a request:

hello, i really like alejandro and i really love the angst but I'd like to have an angst with happy ending with him 🥺 thank you!

GN!Reader, angst, friends to lovers, happy ending

Don't ask why I can paint a picture of you in my mind, love All my life I never thought someone would make me feel so high But here you are

It started off as him just seeing you as another soldier. Then it progressed to you and him spending training, meetings and even missions by each other's side. Slowly you started to consume his life but as with most things in his life, he will have to fight for you. You are in a very long and committed relationship and you let be known you won't cheat or leave said partner any time soon. You had become the sole purpose to why he woke up ten minutes earlier. Just so he can get ready and rush out the door to see you in your quiet and grumpy morning self.

The more time he spent with you the more he saw himself spending his life with you. You never took notice of him. He was always the friend that waited for the girl, a cliche thing you hated but oh how much he clings to the idea of you and him, two friends that end up together.

Four months after you and your partner, you let Alejandro know. You had taken time to heal behind his back. Wanted to preserve the feelings before he could even come in and shake them up. "You did, like really did break up?" He tried to sound sad about and he really did his best to hide the smile after the news.

Now, as you and him run across Las Almas looking for yet another cartel, he has one thing in mind for when you two get back to base. Confess his undying love for you. So far that love has been one-sided but oh does he hope you love him like he loves you. You two are being chased down by the enemy, running and shooting at them. One bullet, that's all it took to have you on the ground and have him calling Rudy for help.

As Rudy and the team took time to get there, you felt it was your time to depart the world. Your weak hand holding his, "Ale, please just listen." But he shook his head, refusing to believe it was your time to leave, to leave him. "No, R/, N, you don't get to poison me with your half-assed love and just leave, not when I was so close to having you as my antidote."

You furrow your eyebrows, confused as to what exactly he meant. "You can't just leave me, not when I finally have the chance to get the love of my life, porfavor cariño, no me dejes." Tears form in your eyes and all you do is let out sobs of desperation as the pain sets in. It's another romantic movie, the guy gets the girl just at the last second of her life. "R/N! R/N...CARIÑO!" his voice muffled as you blackout from the loss of blood.

It's a cruel world for him to live in, what if your next words were that you loved him all this time? A man like him needed you, the antidote to all his poisoned past lives. Couldn't you be less cruel when you left him like that?

It's been days since he last heard your voice and all he hears now is the machines in your hospital room, the muffled voices between the nurses and doctors who talk to Rudy instead of him because at this time he can't comprehend the living hell he has been in. And there it was, his antidote, finally squeezing his hand back. His gaze immediately on yours. Tears of joy and despair run down his already saddened face.

"Cariño?" a small smile across his face, Rudy leaving with the nurses and doctors so you two can have this chance. "Alejandro." That sweet voice, the one he has been needing since you left him in tears days ago. "Are you okay? Are you cold, hungry, sore-" You pulled him in for the first of many kisses to be given. "Don't ever think I would leave you and not give us both the medicine that was needed." You say and wipe his tears away.

A/N: Blaming an angst reading session I had in the morning.

[peachymilkandcream]

Kingdom of Ash and Greed|Part 6|King Levi x Evelyn

WARNINGS: noncon/dubcon, big age difference, kidnapping, slavery, violence, power imbalance, implied somnophilia, forced pregnancies, mind breaking, yandere behaviour, yandere themes, etc.

===============================================

Levi leaned back lazily after his escapade in the closet with the maid. It was just what he needed to think with a clear head before setting to work on strategies once more. He wanted to conquer the Northern Kingdom by the winter, since his soldiers wouldn't be able to withstand that severe cold. Frustration had made everything seem impossible, until he finally cleared himself of that stress by using a warm body.

"Your Majesty." The guard kneeled down in front of him.

"What is it. What could you possibly have that would justify interrupting me at this time?"

"A thousand pardons Great One, you see, I saw one of your maids leave the castle gate. When I questioned her she claimed that you had sent her out to collect wild flowers to torment the captive princess."

Levi's eyebrow rose. "Torment? I didn't send for any such thing."

"She claimed it was to give the ex-princess a taste of the outside life before ripping it away, forgive me sire, it seemed like something you would think of."

His temper rose with each word. "I could behead you for such stupid actions. Tie you up like the pig you are and roast you."

The guard bows his head lower, trying to seem even more reverent.

"But." He pauses and sits back down. "I'm a merciful king and will let you go. This once. Where is this maid you speak of."

"I left her at the front gate Your Highness, she promised she stay put until I checked with you."

Now it rose more. "Idiot! That's exactly what she wanted! To leave her unattended and escape!" He takes a deep breath to keep himself from going off the deep end. "Summon my guards. Tell them to comb the surrounding area, and get my horse." He starts for the stairs.

"Where are you going sire?"

"To check on a royal cunt."

================================================

Evelyn had started to run since she got through the tree line. Barreling through the forest at top speed to try and escape.

No doubt Levi had discovered her missing by now, sending all of his thugs after her. She had to cover a lot of ground very quickly, if she even had a chance at making it home.

Her quaint little kingdom seemed so far away now, burned down and hollow without the life in it. She would come back, give her father and mother their spark back and teach them how to rally the kingdom and defeat their enemy once and for all. She had seen inside his lair, she knew enough that together they could rise above this tyranny.

They would all be free!

She kept running until she was too exhausted to anymore, sleeping in a hollow burrow for the night, praying that no one would find her.

================================================

It had been two days since Levi had left on his hunt for Evelyn, she would almost be back in her kingdom by now.

While in theory that wasn't the end of the world, there could be a secret passage to another kingdom he hadn't conquered yet hidden in the walls of that crumbling tomb of a civilization.

The dogs searched non-stop for their master's mistress, picking up her trail stronger one moment and weaker the next. The pace was infuriating, but if he wanted to track her right he needed to have patience for once.

It was no different from his own conquests, playing the waiting game to let his prey slip up. This would be no different.

And then the dogs started barking.

================================================

Just as the towers of her home were insight Evelyn heard the dogs far behind her. The horses hooves hitting the forest floors with great big thuds.

They had found her.

For faster travel Evelyn made the split decision to break from the tree line, bolting towards the ever closing in walls surrounding her home. She could take the servants door in, taking her in the belly of the castle while Levi searched, keeping her hidden until they left so she could be safe.

"Stay right where you are!" The crude and nasty voice of a soldier rang out behind her, and furious hooves pounded ever closer.

Pure adrenaline kept her going, her feet pounding on the grassy hills and onto the stone as she leapt over the crumbled section of wall and disappearing in the stone of her home.

"Search the grounds! Don't let that bitch escape!" Levi's voice was angry and ruthless. Armored feet clanked around the stone, before she heard the great wooden doors of her father's house open.

Distracted while guarding their king, Evelyn took the chance to sneak out of her hiding spot and bolt towards the servant's door, climbing quietly up the wooden stairs until she was above her father's Great Hall.

She climbed the rafters until she could see down into the room, the ceiling long since crumbled away with the battering it had taken.

Levi stood before her father, just as proud as before, bit with a touch more anger.

"So. I mercifully give you your pathetic lives and you steal from me."

To Evelyn's surprise, her father drops to his knees before Levi. "I never would steal from our merciful ruler oh Great One. Your servant wouldn't dare throw you generosity away. Please, tell me what I have done to displease you so that I may atone for my actions!"

Levi scoffs. "Your brat of a daughter escaped two days past. My soldiers and I saw her making a line for this castle. Now I'll only ask once. Where is she?"

"I don't know, honest and true oh Levi the Magnificent! We had no idea my daughter would attempt to spit in your face. Please I beg you to believe me!"

Levi pauses a long moment. "At least you're consistent. Very well. I'll take your word. However, I assume you wouldn't mind if my men inspect every inch of this dump then?"

"But of course my lord, please. You must be weary, sit, only allow me to inform my servants to let you roam freely so they won't give you any trouble, and unlock any doors."

Levi sits in the offered throne. "As you wish. But if my men even see a hint of rebellion, I'll take your whore wife and tie her up in my streets."

Evelyn's father nods profusely and hurries away.

Evelyn stares down at the man who has been holding her captive, his strength, pride, and commanding presence. She should like to see him brought low, brought to the point her father is now.

She had to find her father, and tell him he didn't have to be a slave any longer.

[nextinline-if]

A Chance Encounter - Constantine Short Story

There's still some time left on the poll but Constantine is clearly going to win (big shocker lol). Here is the first short story I ever wrote for Patreon and for Next in Line. I hope you enjoy <3

Warning: violence, blood, death, war

The world spins as Constantine flies from his horse. A kaleidoscope of blue, gold, red, and black swirls in his vision. Until it's just black. The sounds of the battlefield have been replaced by ringing. A groan escapes his lips as he tries to push himself up with his left hand while his right-hand searches for the hilt of his sword.

“Looking for this, little Knight?”

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face. He stumbles up and turns around, his icy blue gaze landing on an Arandale soldier who grins as he spins the missing sword. Constantine blinks several times, hoping the world will stop spinning.

It does after a few seconds and he spits, blood landing on the ground around him. Even after all this time, he hasn’t gotten used to the way iron tastes. “Wouldn’t be much of an Elite Guard Knight if I need that to kick your sorry ass,” he growls at the soldier.

The soldier’s eyes narrow, rage rolling off him in waves. He sticks the Kinght’s sword in the ground, drawing his own from his hip. “Let’s put that theory to the test,” he replies, a smug smirk on his face.

Constantine takes a deep breath, tuning out the sounds of the war around him. Until he can no longer hear the clashing of swords or the dying cries of his comrades. He sends a silent prayer to Gaia. This could not be the moment before his death. He would not allow it.

The thud of the other soldier’s footsteps float to Constantine’s ears as the soldier moves toward him and throws his weight into his sword, but the Knight moves at the last moment, leaving both of them off balance on this foreign land.

And although the young Knight was larger than this other man, he was still nimble enough to kick the soldier’s hand, knocking the sword to the ground. The soldier lent down to retrieve his sword, but Constantine grabbed the man’s outstretched arm, locking it in place as he wrapped his other arm around the soldier’s neck.

The man struggled, his gasping echoing in the air around the pair. He desperately sought to fight the Knight’s arm away with his free one but it wasn’t long until Constantine had control of both arms and held them behind the soldier’s back. Then came the sound of snapping and the soldier’s neck went limp.

Constantine drops the body and hurries to retrieve his sword before looking around the bloody field in search of his horse. He finds her, her eyes fluttering as she tries to fight the inevitable. An agonized sigh leaves his lips as he kneels in front of her, his steel in one hand. “I’m sorry, girl,” he whispers as he runs his free hand through her mane. Nausea rises in his throat but he pushes it down.

He stands and swiftly plunges his sword through her chest. Then he turns on his heels and strides away. This was far from over and he knew that to linger even a moment on the pain of the necessary deed was to invite death.

One slain enemy after another turns into hours until finally, the light begins to give way to the night. The sounds of the dying are less frequent now. Still present but if he closes his eyes at the right time, he could have the illusion of peace. And he did just that as he embraced the shadow of a tree. But a strangled screech causes his eyes to snap open. Flames fill his vision as he rushes toward the sound.

A pair of distraught eyes meet him across the wall of flames. Two soldiers are circling a young man. Constantine runs through the flames, his armor and speed protecting him for the most part, although his cloak succumbs to the flames. The boy’s eyes widen in surprise and one of the soldiers turns to look, their eyes landing on the Knight.

They smirk as they turn their body toward him. Constantine wastes no time attempting a blow. But it falls short. As the minutes tick by, the sound of the growing flames knot his stomach. He glances over to see the boy barely holding off the other soldier, who towers over him. The Knight clenches his jaw as he directs his attention back to the one in front of him. He parries a strike, arms aching. But this is no time to think of rest. Or his next slumber will be eternal.

A surge of adrenaline propels him forward and the tip of his sword plunges through the neck of his opponent. He moves around the body, heart pounding in his ears.

The boy stumbles from the weight of the enemy’s weapon coming down on his sword and he falls to the ground. The soldier moves in for the final blow but Constantine intervenes from the side, knocking the sword out the soldier’s hand and then shouldering him hard in the chest. The Knight takes advantage of the soldier falling to the ground and sticks a hand out to the boy.

But just as the boy stands, the Arandale soldier grabs a dagger from his boot and plunges it into Constantine’s abdomen, in a place of weakness that his cloak previously kept hidden from view. He drops to one of his knees, a hand pressed against the gushing blood.

The boy gasps, eyes wide as he watches the Knight’s blood spilling over his fingers. Constantine swallows, only able to hear his heart in overdrive as he grabs his dropped sword with his other hand and thrusts it behind him without looking.

It makes contact with the soldier’s stomach. Constantine looks into the boy’s eyes. “End this.”

The boy’s eyes widen and he looks behind the Knight, at the struggling soldier who is preparing a final blow of his own.

“Now,” Constantine growls.

The boy heeds his command, tears rolling down his cheeks as he parries the soldier’s swing before his shaking fingers tighten around the hilt and drive it into his heart.

The Knight looks over his shoulder, a groan escaping his lips. He watches as blood pools around the fallen body. When he’s certain the chest is not rising, he uses his free hand to push himself up and turns to the boy, whose face is full of anguish.

Constantine sighs, remembering his first kill. And his second. And his third. And how it took years for him to stop seeing the faces of each new one when he closes his eyes at night. But there are still many faces he cannot forget. He puts a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What’s your name?” he asks gently.

The boy blinks and turns to look at him. “James…just James. And yours, Sir?”

The Knight smiles a little. “Just Constantine is fine, James.”

James nods and then looks back at the body before turning his gaze back to the Knight. “Thank you for saving my life.” Before Constantine can respond, James' eyes move to his bloody hand. “Let’s not linger, you need medical attention.”

“We should find some horses,” Constantine supplies.

“Okay, I’ll lead the way,” James says.

The Knight chuckles. “Sure you know your way back to camp?”

James’ lips twitch. “I’m not an imbecile.”

“Hmph.”

James rolls his eyes and starts walking in the direction of camp. They stick to the shadows until they come across two Arandale soldiers resting with their horses. After a successful sneak attack, the two ride off toward Castelon’s camp.

A sigh escapes Constantine’s lips as his vision begins to blur. James looks over at the Knight, his brow knitted. “Just a bit longer, okay?”

“Yeah,” Constantine responds, his voice weaker than he intends.

A few agonizing minutes later they come to a stop. Constantine lets out a grunt as his feet hit the ground. James wraps an arm around him and insists that Constantine lean on him. “You sure?”

James huffs. “Yes, I’m sure. Do I really look that weak?!” Constantine’s lips twitch, but James cut him off before he can respond. “You know what? Don’t even answer that.”

“James! There you are.”

An authoritative voice grabs their attention. Constantine’s breath catches in his throat when his eyes land on the crown sitting atop the man’s graying hair. The Knight pulls away from James and drops to one knee, biting his lip to contain the pain as he sticks his sword in the ground. “Your Majesty,” he says, voice dripping in awe as he stares at the sandy ground.

“I see you’ve met my son,” the King says. Constantine’s head snaps up and his eyes land on James. Both shock and pride surge through him. He had protected his future King. And not many could say the same.

James smiles at Constantine as he grabs his arm and pulls him up. “Save me would be more accurate, father.”

The King beams at the Knight and gives him an enthusiastic clap on the shoulder. “Then we shall drink in my tent tonight,” he announces, before taking his leave.

After escorting Constantine to the field hospital, James refuses to leave his side and waits for the doctor to tend to his wounds. “You don’t have to stay, Your Highness,” the Knight tells him.

James chuckles. “I wouldn’t dare leave my hero behind. Besides, my father wants to drink with you after this.”

Constantine glances at the Prince. When he decided to become a Knight, he never imagined that he would ever cross paths with his King, or his future King for that matter. He’d only hoped to raise his station in life by fighting for his kingdom. “I assumed he was only being polite, Your Highness.”

James grins. “My father doesn’t do ‘just polite.’ And the Highness stuff gets old real fast, stop it, would you?”

The Knight shakes his head and turns his gaze away from the Prince. “As you wish…”

A couple hours later, James and Constantine are walking toward the King’s tent. The doctor had advised Constantine to rest because he’d lost so much blood. But he couldn’t do that. When would he ever again have the opportunity to drink with his King? He only hoped he wouldn’t pass out from exhaustion. The other Knights would never let him live it down if that was the case.

But he needn’t worry about that - because the night was only full of ale and stories of Castelon’s royal family. A few hours where he forgot there was a war waiting to be waged again when Aurora rose the sun.

The King laughs and takes a sip of his ale. “That’s the perils of twins, Constantine. They gang up on you! Keep that in mind in case you ever have children.”

The skin around Constantine’s eyes crinkles as he takes another sip from his own mug. “I shall heed your words, Your Majesty.”

“Please,” James says, “my father over exaggerates. Besides, being a twin is the best thing about life.”

Constantine raises an eyebrow. “And why do you say that?” he asks. The King’s eyes bore into James.

James looks down into this mug, a small smile on his young face. “Because I have someone to fight for and to live for.”

Silence wraps around Constantine as he considers the Prince’s words. He’d heard that siblings could be protective of one another, but he was an only child so he didn’t know what that felt like. But there’s something else about James’ words that leaves him questioning the meaning. “But don’t you have the throne to fight for? To live for?”

James glances up from the drink, his expressionless eyes meeting the Knight’s curious blue ones. “The throne is only meant for us to die for, my dear hero.”

My Patreon is currently paused due to my focus on completing chapter 2 so it's not possible to subscribe at this time.

[lyledebeast]

Captain Vidal vs Colonel Tavington

Long ago, I rewatched Pan's Labyrinth (2006) with the intention of comparing its villain with from The Patriot's. Then and also in last week's rewatch, I was surprised to find even more similarities than I expected. In no particular order, some things these two men have in common: rooting out rebel forces, child-killing, torturing, speech-making, and shaving. So, why is it that Vidal is the most terrifying movie villain I've encountered in my adult life while Tavington is my babygirl? There are three reasons.

Vidal is crueler to his enemies than Tavington.

Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) sees the rebels as vermin to be exterminated. Within about ten minutes of his first appearance he brutally and unexpectedly murders a young man with a wine bottle in front of his father for having Communist propaganda, and then murders the father. He seems to relish torturing rebels and attempts to do so on two occasions. In the first scene, Vidal addresses the man in a conversational tone while showing him the implements of torture he plans to use to get him to talk and explaining the effects he believe they will have. He taunts the man, who suffers from a speech impediment, that he will let him go if he can count to three without stuttering. He also makes a speech to Mercedes, but it is interrupted when she attacks him with the knife we saw her sew into her apron earlier. Although Vidal views the rebel man with contempt, he faces him during his speech. Mercedes is only able to escape because Vidal is so little concerned about her as a threat that he makes the whole speech with his back to her. Like Tavington, running his mouth gets him into trouble.

Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs), in spite of claiming to find "real pleasure" in his victim's suffering, is prepared to ride away from his first encounter with the Martin family without killing anyone. He metes out Martin's punishment for having aided rebel soldiers, threatens him and his children with his pistol, and seems content until Thomas ignores the warning and rushes to free his brother. After one rebel dies under torture, Tavington offers his companion a chance at more riches to add to his stolen ones if he gives up the information. I think Tavington is lying here and would kill this man even if he had accepted the offer, but that he is trying to get out of torturing him too provides a sharp contrast to Vidal, who is clearly mixing business with pleasure.

2. Vidal is crueler to those close to him than Tavington.

Vidal's men are as rattled by his murder of the farmer and his son as the audience, and yet he lays the blame for his actions at their door: "Let this teach you to search these fools before you come bothering me." He berates them similarly throughout other scenes. Tavington is clearly annoyed that the lieutenant he replaces as the highest ranking officer at the Martin farm does not know who carried the dispatches handed directly to Tavington in spite of having arrived two whole minutes before him, but he does not reprimand him. Tavington's second in command shows signs of being afraid of him both during his interview with the wounded soldier and after the first tortured militaman dies, but Tavington never behaves towards Bordon in ways that justify that fear. After Tavington's men follow him into Martin's trap, he does make some attempt to stop the charge and mitigate the damage he caused.

The sharpest contrast, though, lies in Vidal, unlike Tavington, having members of his own family on hand to mistreat. Initially, he seems to show some concern for Carmen, his wife and Ofelia's mother, but it quickly becomes clear that this is only a facade. When Dr. Ferreiro tells him that Carmen should not have traveled so near her due date, Vidal responds, "a son should be born where his father is," and when she falls dangerously ill, he tells the doctor to save his son, even at the expense of his mother. Vidal is indirectly responsible for Carmen's death, and, of course, very directly responsible for Ofelia's, but one particular incident of cruelty really resonated with me on this last rewatch. At the dinner party Vidal hosts, one of the officers' wives asks Carmen how she and Vidal met, and she explains that her late husband had made his uniforms. Vidal apologizes for her and says, "My wife is uneducated, and she believes these kinds of silly stories are interesting to people." If he is embarrassed at having married is deceased tailor's wife, perhaps he should not have married his deceased tailor's wife? Embarrassed or not, he saw a polite exchange between two women and said, "What in the fuck is that? I hate it!" Carmen is not a wife to him but a broodmare, and Ofelia is simply a nuisance. The only person he really cares for is his son, though even that care is questionable.

3. Vidal's evil actions are backed by evil principles

While Guillermo del Toro's heroes in this film are communists, the film is so much presenting communism in a favorable light as it is absolutely skewering fascism and the kind of masculinity that goes with it. Tavington and Vidal's attention to personal grooming initially appears to be a similarity, but closer inspection reveals the differences. The scene where Tavington shaves in the creek sets him apart from his own men, who are socializing with each other, but also the more rugged militiamen who cannot be bothered with such superficial concerns (and yet remain barefaced nonetheless . . . somehow). Vidal, though, is shown shaving on several occasions. And shining his boots. And cleaning his watch. As any second wave feminist can tell you, it's not about the final effect but the work it takes to produce it. Vidal is reproducing a rigid, militaristic masculinity like it's his job, which in some respects it certainly is. It is also a family legacy.

Both films provide stories about the villain's fathers, but while Tavington's is told by him in a scene of surprising emotional honesty given his usual propensity for lying his ass off, Vidal's is told by an unnamed man at the aforementioned dinner party. When he describes General Vidal breaking his watch in battle so his son would know at what time he died, Vidal replies, "That's ridiculous. My father never owned a watch." If you want to dispel a rumor, telling an even more ridiculous lie is not the way to do it. It is not a rumor, though, and Vidal confirms that when he hands his son to Mercedes at the end of the film and holds up his watch, saying, "Tell my son when his father died." In his eyes, this child is less a child than a replica.

Vidal's masculinity is one rooted in violent domination of both women and men that he sees as less than himself. He wants to pass these traits on to his son. As he explains to Ferreiro, "That boy will carry my name and my father's." Tavington also seeks to subjugate the local population, but like his shaving, this does not set him apart from the film's heroes in the ways the filmmakers intended. Vidal is evil because he's a patriarchal fascist in a feminist fantasy/drama. Tavington is evil because he's British in an American nationalist propaganda piece. I would argue that Vidal "works" better as a villain simply because Pan's Labyrinth is a better-written, smarter story than The Patriot. Of all the insights comparing these films has brought me, my favorite has to do with fatherhood. While Roland Emmerich sets it up as a virtue in and of itself. del Toro reminds the audience that being a father does not necessarily have to do with being selfless and caring. On the contrary, it can be narcissistic. Caring for one's own children carries little weight if it does not also entail caring for other people's children, as Mercedes does when she takes Vidal's son from his arms and when she tries to protect Ofelia from him. She breaks the patriarchal cycle when she responds to Vidal's final demand with, "No. [Your son] won't even know your name."

Indeed, it has been a real struggle to write this post without digressing onto the topic of how well-written and amazing the heroes of Pan's Labyrinth are in comparison to The Patriot's, but that's another post!

[kudzuoath]

Bullying the Wizard

Karlach tells Gale he's being an idiot.

Direct sequel to this.

--

“It’s amazing how much of a perfect arsehole you’re being about all of this,” said Karlach.

She’d dropped beside him and draped an arm over his shoulders. In any other context this might have felt like a threat, but since stabilizing her engine, their wildheart friend had been touching anything and anyone who gave her half a chance. Usually with a giddy and contagious giggle. Even Astarion had deigned to allow her to vigorously shake his hand — after ducking an enthusiastic and ill thought out hug first.

“Elaboration would be most welcome,” he said, eyeing the arm about his shoulders. “Considering I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re referring to.”

The tiefling leaned into him, nearly sending him off the log and into the dirt. He had to drop his book and hold on to avoid it. “Karlach!”

She grinned at his aggrieved tone, but did indeed lay off on the leaning. Her grin quickly morphed into a more serious expression — but being who she was there was still a hint of cheer in her face. He had no idea how she did it. He’d never taken his impending doom with as much aplomb.

“You’re looking at me the way the proprietor of the Yawning Portal looks at a set of green adventurers who want to see the pit. Should I be worried?”

“Maybe. Don’t know yet.” Karlach removed her arm so she could cross them. “You were left in camp this morning. Bit unusual, that.”

Blood was rushing in his ears. “Well, who am I to question the decisions of the leader of our merry band of miscreants? It seems she found Astarion more needful.”

“Uh-huh,” said Karlach. “Listen, everyone’s noticed the two of you are on the outs. You ought to try actually, you know, talking? Like adults?”

“I assure you there’s quite nothing to talk about,” he said, busying himself with retrieving his book and dusting it off. “Tensions are bound to run high given our current locale. And considering the manner of enemy we’ve found ourselves facing off with, I can understand why one might prefer someone better at sneaking about to a purveyor of the arcane seeing as – personal connections aside – I have very little to do with the divine.”

“The cracking of your joints is a bit of a give away.”

“Jest if you must, but I distinctly remember your heart serving as a glowing orange target when we tried to free that woman from the hag’s lair.”

“Oh, ouch!” She clapped a hand to her chest dramatically. “Someone is feeling prickly tonight.”

“I give as good as I get,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me –”

“Oh no you don’t, soldier –” and there was her tail blocking him in. “I’m not done.”

Annoyance was beginning to temper his mortification. He settled back on the log with a put upon sigh. “Truly, I don’t see how it’s your business, Karlach.”

“The two of you are some of the best friends I’ve got,” she said, leaning in. “And neither one of you knows the bell end of a bugbear when it comes to talking about things. Temperance’s lips oughta have buttons sewn on. And you’re so set on burying yourself while you’re still breathing you’ve stopped seeing anything other than a bloody tombstone!”

Gale stared at her.

“I’m not just gonna sit by and watch the two of you avoid each other until we’re all six feet down, yeah? Seeing as you’re so set on taking all of us with you for the sake of –” and here Karlach visibly restrained herself from saying… something. He had the sense it was unflattering. “-- For the sake of a goddess who doesn’t give a rat’s left hand for you.”

“What Mystra asks of me is not something she does lightly –”

“How d’you know?” Karlach interrupted. “I didn’t see any gods traipsing about camp, just that grandpa who ate all the cheese wheels we’ve found since we crash landed. Second hand knowledge, mate.”

“Elminster would hardly lie to spare my feelings on the matter,” Gale bit out. “And Mystra is not some – some tyrannical wicked goddess. She is the mother of all magic! All that is beautiful in the fabric of the world! If she says the only solution to this Absolute lay in my sacrifice – well who am I to question? Something that has historically gone very poorly indeed, I might add.”

“Okay, fine, set that aside or whatever. If you’re living on borrowed time why are you wasting all of it?”

“I hardly think there’s so much time as all that left to me, Karlach –”

“Left to us,” she pointed out.

A little chill slid down his spine. How easily she took their impending demise at his hand. It had to be worth it. If it eliminated the Absolute… it had to be.

“Given the half chance, I would endeavor to do all I could to see as many people as possible are clear of the blast before I… go to meet my goddess. She would not… she would not ask for so much death without cause.”

Karlach frowned at him. “Sounds like she’s as much of a bitch as Zariel. She never asked for things lightly either. ‘Cept for when she did.”

Gale swallowed, but did not rise to the bait. His own death was easily accepted, terrifying a concept as it might be. It was all he deserved. But the thought of so many others… of his… his friends… that clawed at him as surely as the orb had. At least Elminster was well clear of them by now. And Tara and his mother were safely in Waterdeep. Though that was a hollow comfort. So too the knowledge that nearly everyone in camp was living on borrowed time anyway.

There was a burning pain under his ribs. Radiating up into his neck and spiraling around his skull. He set his hand over the place where his folly slept, grimacing. Stable, yes. But the pain lingered, and bit at him.

You deserve no less, Gale. Grin and bear it.

“What are you asking of me Karlach?”

The tiefling huffed, but when he looked at her he saw concern creasing her brows. “Tell her how you feel. Obviously!”

“And what would that accomplish?” he said. Perfectly rational. “I would not put the onus of my feelings on her for the sake of my comfort.”

“Gods, you’re thick! ‘Onus’ what does that even mean – no, don't answer.” She blew out a rough, frustrated sigh. “Tell her. Seriously! You have to know she feels the same way, right?”

“Not after all I’ve done to put her off. Even the deepest well of patience will eventually run dry and I can only imagine I have reached its not insignificant depths. It’s too late –”

“Bollocks,” Karlach insisted. “If I had someone I sure as the hells wouldn’t be waiting to kick it before I kissed them. But then I’ve been real short on kisses since I was dragged into Avernus by the one horn. C’mon, where’s the cocky mage who told me to my face he could be smooth enough for two?”

“Several weeks and morbid missives behind us,” he said sharply.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “Look – just – say something, Gale! Don’t let all this end with the two of you avoiding each other. If I can’t be happy, at least my friends should be, damn it!”

Her voice cracked there at the end. A dagger to his heart. Karlach might have been the best of all of them. And hearing even that little crack in her cheer…

“I shall try,” he said softly. Hand going once more to his chest, clutching at the fabric there. The razor edge of pain had dulled to a red throb. Easier to ignore. “It’s – the very least of what I owe to my friends. To you.”

Karlach smiled at him. “Damn right it is. Now. What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

Gale couldn’t help laughing at the abrupt change in subject. “I’m afraid the vittles leave much to be desired in a place as blighted as this – however, my skills are more than up to the challenge. Tell me! What do you crave?”

“Well…”

Karlach followed him as he got started on the nightly meal – and only tried to help a little before raising both hands in surrender to his unquestionable prowess. A hard little knot in his throat refused to loosen itself – but the warmth of the fire and his second favorite tiefling soothed.

The question now though – how to approach Temperance?

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Hearing about the Hunger games continuation and thinking about all the Story continuations/prologues I wish we could get for The Underland Chronicles

Gregor's dad

I want To know what Gregor's dad (Who I want a name for... Steve, Lee, Heidi... What is his name? ) first trip to the underland was like. How was he found and brought to Regalia? We know he met Vikus and Luxa's Parents, SO what did he think of them? The Books say he stayed in Regila for two weeks (During which time he was very worried about his pregnant wife, children, and mother) and that he took a BB gun from the Museum. So I am guessing he knew about the war with the rats, but his family was in hell and he felt he had to get back soon. What happened during his capture.

I don't really want to know about his torturous time with the rats, but I would like some on how he was able to keep both hope and his humanity, the interesting relationship he is hinted to have had with Ripred in book 3 (He says Ripred used to feed him sometimes. He also was not scared of Ripred, Even though he was a rat and was "pretending" to attack his son). And lastly I want to know what coming home felt like for him and why, unlike his wife, the experiences did not make him fear or hate the underland.

Ripred

Speeking of Ripred I want All of his backstory, being a pup and growing up with his litter mates. Going into battle and finding out he is a Rager. How this made him famous all around the Underland, but also made him hated by enemies, and feared by allies, unless they needed him. What was going on when He tried to "Take over the fount with an army of Lobsters"? Seriously the Rat's don't even want The Fount. It is surrounded by rapids and sea monsters! What did was your interest Buddy?

Also I want to see his Mate, their family, and how their loss first broke him then made him change his stance on the war. Him building his relationship with the human side. Going up to the Overland to visit Libraries. His view of his relationships with Gregor and Lizzie and how it feels to him to being taking care of kids again after so long.

Hamnet

Up Next is Hamnet. Solovet and Vikus son, the beloved twin brother to the wife of the King/Queen, Brother in Law to the King (recently reread has me thinking they had more of a business relationship than a familiar one), the Regalian Army's most skilled soldier, and for a long time he was Solovet's heir to becoming captain of the Army, because everyone thought he was just like his mother. This is what everyone thought, but they thought wrong. Unlike Solovet Hamnet felt guilt. Guilt that drove him to speak against his mother in a war meeting to which she locked him in the dungeon for a month. When he was finally let out he went back to being obedient to her and buried his grief down, let it eat away at him, until one last horrible act (As a solider) destroyed him.

But give me Hamnet's complete story. Show him being a ruthless soldier and a fearsome killer on the field of battle, then coming home to be a loyal son, good friend, loving brother, and doting Uncle; becasue that is how many soldiers have to be. Show me him not being Okay but doing his best to hide that because that is all he could do. Then show me when everything went to far, and when he decided to leave Regalia, everything he knew and loved and run to a place that he and all his allies feared, for good reasons. Show me him missing his former friends and family. But also show me him meeting Frill and her deciding to take a chance and help him, him also taking chance and letting her (The books generally imply he wanted to leave his old life but did not expect to make anew one). Give me him learning about life in the jungle. How the animals there do not attack each other and instead employ a method of survival where first you hide, then you try to give a warning, then run. fight last. Show me him finding an overland women lost in the jungle and helping her. With the pair eventually forming a relationship and going on to have a child. Why did she never return to the Overland? Hamnet is a good father to Hazard, but you cannot tell me that he wasn't terrified during the entire pregnancy. Anything about Hamnet has to end where he ended. Having to once again fight in a pointless battle on behalf of Reglia, that the city once again brought on itself and got nothing out of. Our tragic beauty

Ares

Speaking again of Tragic Beauties I want Ares to. What kind of Stuff did he get up to to earn the reputation of a reckless, rule breaking, ...thrill seeker?...strength tester? To where he bonded with Henry to be able to get away with more. What were things like in the time HE and Henry were together. I don't think it was all bad. The Books clearly state that what hurt Luxa, Ares, Aurora, Nerissa the most was that they had loved Henry and could remember good things about him. Things that no longer felt the same after he betrayed them, and things they struggled with only becoming memories in the wake of his death. But the also show me his side of his and Gregor's bond, of him coming to love Gregor like he once loved Henry, and how their friendship helped him move on from the Trauma Henry put him through.

Nerrisa

This last one will never happen because its not really Susanna Collins style, but since none of this will happen, I want more Nerissa. What is it like for her loving her family and people so much, but knowing with her frailty and the Kingdom consistently being on the brink of war she cannot protect them. Show me what her visions are like for her. Note whatever we learned about Sandwhich I do believe Nerissa is an actual visionary. Her Visions of a bad and mysterious fate happening to Henry, Hamnet living for 10 years and building a diverse family, and Gregor being secretly being hidden away in the dungeon by Solovet...all came through.

Knowing that I have another question: Did she know suspect that Sandwhich was a fraud? Nerissa spends more time in the Prophecy room, analysis them than any other character. Many of the "misunderstood translations" are later "explained" by Nerissa. She got Gregor and the other questors off death row by replacing Boots with the Bane as the aforementioned "Baby" in the prohpecy and telling everyone: "they actually did complete the prophecy, you are are safe from the imaginary threats Sandwhich illueded to. Let them go and let's get back what's actually going wrong." When Greogor sobs about not understanding what the point of the journey to the jungle was (It had no point) and how him fulfilling the prophecy did not make everything better, Nerissa twist the prophecy to being about a war for the cure and reminds Gregor that because of what they discovered in the Jungle the council was forced to give the Gnawers the cure instead. Lastly she loves the one Prophecy that suggest hope for peace, even though its title is the only suggestion of it. On the day of the surrender she knowing her cousin will want to make the wrong choice about how to end this. So when she see's Ripred marked himself with an X (If Gregor and Luxa knew he did it himself there was no way Nerissa did not, she was always smarter than the pair of then) she decided to lend him a hand in getting everyone to believe he is the peacemaker, and they need to have peace. I really love the theory that Nerissa had realized what Sandwhich and the prophecies were and spent the books studying them, so she could try and mitigate the damages they caused.

[thewitchwannabe]

The Masked Kunoichi

Despite things in New York having been relatively calm the past 2 years, or as calm as things can be in this city, Leona still made sure to go out to patrol every other day. Sometimes her brothers would tag along, and they’d do a few runs to keep up their skill. Other times Donny would go out in her place, to both give Leo a break, and to give himself a chance to disconnect from his projects. But it was mostly her, she still didn’t think Mikey and Raph were ready to go out on their own, despite Raph’s complaints. When the Shredder left New York he took most of the Foot with him. And the ones who remained tended to carry out minor crimes. But it was still dangerous, whenever Leona encountered them during her patrols, she’d fight them and leave them tied up for the police. This was one of those times, as she was making her final run before heading back home, she caught sight of a couple of foot ninjas breaking into a chemical lab. She quickly send a text of the situation to the family group chat informing them that she’ll be slightly late. 

Leona moved closer to the situation, counting up to five foot soldiers.  down from the roof she was at, landing perfectly silent. Sticking to the shadows, Leona approached the ninja that was keeping watch. With a swift hit at their head the ninja fell, Leo catched them before they hit the floor and placed them quietly against the wall. She then made her way inside the lab, she tried to knock out another ninja, but as they fell they knocked over some test tubes immediately alerting the other three.

The ninja quickly drew their weapons out, two had katanas and the other had a bunch of shurikens. Leona kneeled avoiding the throwing stars coming her way, acting quickly she exploded a smoke bomb to change her location to the other side of the room. The ninja looked around the room trying to pinpoint where she had moved to. When she assumed her new position she threw a shuriken of her own to a glass cabinet on the other side of the room, breaking it and making the ninja turn their backs to her. She then leaped at them with both her swords drawn, she took a swing at one of the katana users, but the other one blocked her. Using her second sword, she took another swing to attack her blocker. She immediately dropped down and slid her leg in a circular motion making both of them fall. Leona kicked both swords as far as she could, letting them crash against the wall. She turned to face the long range ninja who was already charging a variety of throwing weapons. Leona approached them using both her swords and her body to block and dodge the attacks coming at her. The ninja kept throwing kunais and shurikens at her at an exponentially increasing speed. She kept getting closer, jumping over the two ninja still moaning in pain on the floor until they were a few inches apart, when the ninja went to reach out for more they came out empty handed. “Finally ran out?” Leona asked with a slight smirk on her lips. With the hilt of her sword she hit the ninja knocking them out. She turned around as the other two were getting back to their feet. 

They got into position, Leona remained still ready to respond to their attacks. In unison both ninjas came at her, throwing kicks and punches. Leona would block each attack, analyzing their patterns. ‘Punch, punch, back away, kick, punch, repeat’, she thought. As they continue Leona would block and respond faster, and stronger. Both ninjas went in for a punch, but before they could pull away, Leona crossed her arms to catch the fist coming from the opposite direction. Then she uncrosses her arms, pulling the ninjas and making them crash into each other. She front flipped so she was behind them before swiftly turning around and giving them a good kick to their bodies that launched them to the wall, effectively knocking them out too. With all the enemies passed out, Leona dragged them all outside, and tied them all together, as well as gathering and checking all the weapons the long range ninja threw at her. She took some of the ones that seemed in best shape, and placed them with her own. Unlike the Foot, she and her family didn’t have easy access to weapons, so she’ll occasionally take some from the Foot. Stealing wasn’t her favorite thing, but she decided it was necessary. ‘Steal from a thief and you get 100 years of forgiveness’ she thought to herself. 

She quickly got to the roof of the chemical lab ready to finally head home, when her instincts picked up another presence. Her hand immediately went to the hilt of her sword as she turned around. Looking at her from a building slightly above the one she was standing, a short female figure stood looking at her. Leona couldn't see her face, because she was wearing a kitsune mask. The mask was white with red and black accents and had a mischievous smile painted on it. On her left hand she held a kusarigama, the chain wrapped around her opposite hand. With a little imagination, you could figure she was wearing what once was a regular foot uniform, but was clearly altered and paired with a red pair of matching shorts and crop top. What was clear on her person was the Shredder’s emblem on her belt. “So you’re back” Leona said, the masked kunoichi jumped from where she was standing and landed in front of her. Leo’s grip on her sword relaxed, and she returned to a normal stance. Her hand went up to the mask “I see you remember me” she pulled her mask off “Leona-chan”. The kunoichi smiled at her with a sly smile, her yellow eyes shining mischievously. “Karai,” Leona said with a smile “it’s been a while”. Karai let out a sigh, switching her weapon to her right hand so both the blade and the chain were together. “Yeah, dad wasn’t in any shape to come back and get revenge”. The kunoichi walked over to the edge of the building and took a seat, Leona followed. “To be honest I don’t think he should be back in action yet, but you know my dad”. 

Leona did know her dad, Oroku Saki, the Shredder, the one who tried to drain her father’s life force. According to her dad, the Foot and the Hamato clan had always been enemies, and the Foot made it its mission to get rid of the Hamato clan. So when the Shredder realized that it was Hamato ninjas who were fighting his ninjas, he became filled with a clan given mission to end Leona and her family. She and her brothers never learned much about their clan’s history, Splinter told them that what came before wasn’t important. Luckily for her, Karai seemed to not care much about fulfilling her clan’s ancient desires either. “So I can assume you’re not here to kill me, are you?” Leo said teasingly. Karai laughed, her laugh still sounding slightly unhinged as it did 2 years ago. “Of course not silly! I just wanted to find you before my father did” Karai said, “let you know we were back in New York myself”. Her expression changed to a more serious one, “My dad is about to start lots of havoc around the city”. Leona looked down at the street below them, already picturing the chaos that was gonna happen. 

She turned back to look at the human girl, “what kind of havoc?”, Leona asked. “You know the purple dragons?” Leona nodded, listening intently at Karai, “well they made a deal with my dad, and so they’re about to get a major upgrade”. Leo’s face increased in worry, the purple dragons were a big and dangerous gang, she and her brothers would stop them from time to time. “Dad has this new genius working for him, Dexter Stockmen or something like that” The kunoichi explained, “he’s not part of the clan, he made that clear, he’s just working with us for the resources' '. The girl was clearly not a fan of this new guy, although Karai didn’t exactly agree with the clan’s work, she was still loyal to the Foot and her father. So this guy who explicitly stated that he wasn’t part of the clan and still had his own agenda, put her on edge. 

Leona wasn’t sure what to think about this “Stockmen”, on one hand he was working with the Foot, so he was dangerous, but his questionable loyalty to them was something to keep in mind. She still knew nothing about what his personal goals are, and how working with the Foot played into them. She’ll have to ask Donnie to run a background check on this guy. “What about the Foot? What are you planning?” She asked. Karai's eyes opened wide, before returning to a mischievous smile. “Himitsu~1”, she said with a smile. Leona’s turned playfully annoyed, “really?! You’re not gonna tell me?”, she asked. Karai lets out a short giggle while she stands up “I gotta leave something for you to discover”. She pulled her kitsune mask over her face once again, she took a few steps back. “I’ll see you around, Leona-chan”, the masked kunoichi said before throwing a smoke bomb to the ground and disappearing.

Leona was left alone on the rooftop, a tired sigh left her lips. As much as she valued Karai’s friendship, she was still very much on her father’s side. Still her warning left Leo worried, more trouble was coming their way. She’ll have to talk to Master Splinter about it. She looked back at the city one more time before running back home.

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[links-in-time]

Links in Time

Part 15

This has to be the longest fight scene I've written so far. I hope everything makes sense!

The clash of steel and the twang of bow strings rang out through the courtyard. Two dozen Yiga surrounded Wars and Maari. The chasm in the centre now between the two of them. Maari was fending off as many Yiga as she could, her blade a shining blur in the approaching moonlight. Link was struggling to keep up with the speed of the Yiga, and their ability to disappear and reappear somewhere else at will. Their teasing laughs were starting to grate and every time he managed to wound or kill one of them he found himself chuckling too.

They were still no closer to reaching the end of the valley and the path to safety. If only they had told someone where they were going. If only Maari hadn't been so desperate to find any sign of her mother. Regret filled her mind which played on her thoughts. Dragging her mind this way and that causing her to lose focus. She mistimed a spin which cost her a cut from a scythe. The blade struck her arm, but it was only a surface would. Though it stung Maari could tell she wouldn't be needing Wars' stitches this time.

She kicked the Yiga who had cut her hard in the chest and sent them sprawling on their back, likely very winded. She was just about to turn her head and check on Wars when...

"Ouch!" Maari keened, as an irritating pain struck her neck.

She shook it off and returned her attention to the two Yiga facing her with their windcleavers. Unaware of the soldier who had backed up into the shadows, armed with a blow dart.

On the other side of the pit Wars was hidden behind his shield as a barrage of arrows rained down upon him. The Yiga were careful to keep up the onslaught to prevent giving him a moment to attack.

"This isn't working" Wars exclaimed, though Maari was too far away and too distracted to hear him. He was starting to think the same as Maari, that this had been a foolish plan all along.

He chanced a glance in her direction, keeping his head well hidden. Link watched her slice the throat of one of her attackers with the tip of her blade. Like a felled tree they hit the ground, tripping the other attacker who Maari stabbed through the sternum.

Maari didn't pause to look down at her dead enemies. She looked over at Link, but frowned when she found her eyesight had gone slightly blurry. Maari blinked hard a few times but her failing vision persisted. Her hand went to her neck. Poison. The question was, was it lethal or not? She preyed to the Goddess that it was the later, but doubt began to crawl into her mind as more Yiga began to surround her. They walked over their comrades as they pressed her closer to the canyon wall.

"Alright, which one of you traitorous bastards is next?!" She almost screamed at them, adrenaline pumping furiously around her body. She quiverred with the rush but fought to stay in control.

A soldier to her right answered her question. He ran at her with a sickle raised. He swung at her head and missed as she ducked, but Maari missed also. She tried to stab at his back but she lost her footing and stumbled forwards. She almost fell into another soldier, but they moved aside and let her tumble. Maari shook her head, her cloudy vision was growing worse and now it wasn't just the adrenaline making her shakey. This was bad. If she couldn't stay conscious long enough for them to escape they were going to be in big trouble. No not they, her. She was going to be in big trouble. Link on the other hand. She had to get him to run.

"Link!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, raising her sword just quick enough to block a strong blow from another wind cleaver. "Link!"

Link was on his feet again, running around the perimeter. His eyes kept flicking between Maari and the Yiga. But he quickly realised Maari was in some kind of trouble.

"Link! You have to get out of here!" She hollered at him.

"I'm not leaving!" He cried in reply, smashing a soldier over the head with his shield.

Maari barely heard his response. She was striving to retain consciousness, but her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. Fatigue weighed her down like a physical load had been thrown on her. Maari endeavoured to hold her sword out in front of her, but she barely had the strength left to weild it.

"Link! I can't fight anymore. You... You have to get out. Please, go..." Just talking required far too much brain power and Maari found herself closing her eyes between each sentence.

Link watched as Maari swayed where she stood, her sword arm faltering. Something was very wrong. He couldn't see any injuries from where he was, but he could tell Maari was in a bad way.

"Maari I'm coming!" Wars bellowed, clashing blades left right and centre.

Maari could barely see Link anymore. She could barely see anything anymore. At last she lowered her blade and leant forward against the handle. Her eyelids fluttered down and down. Somewhere nearby she saw a flash of green, but it was too late.

"Link, run...please..."

Slipping into unconsciousness, Maari fell to her knees and slumped against the floor. Her sword slipped from her grasp and the world went dark.

Not far away, Link struggled to barge his way towards Maari. He howled and screamed as he watched two Yiga soldiers approach her and roughly tie her hands behind her back.

"Get away from her!" He cried. "You bastards leave her alone!"

"Don't worry. You'll see her again very soon."

A rather beafy looking Yiga said close to his ear. Link spun around ready to defend, but instead he took a punch to the gut which knocked the wind clean out of his lungs. He tried to suck in air but failed.

Dropping his shield and clutching his stomach, Link tried to keep some distance between him and his assailants. But the large soldier had moved behind him again and grabbed him in a headlock. While he was pinned someone grabbed Link's sword, and someone else gave him a hard right hook to the jaw.

He wasn't unconscious, but part of him wished he was. In the corner of his vision Link saw Maari being hoisted over someone's shoulders and taken away into the Yiga base. His heart sank. Maari was unconscious. No one knew where they were. And now both she and Link were at the mercy of a very dangerous enemy.

***

"Murph..." Maari groaned, as she opened her eyes.

She blinked a few times to adjust to the dim light, which seemed to be coming from torches somewhere nearby. The floor was hard and her muscles felt stiff. When she tried to move her arms to sit up she was met with a sharp pain from her shoulders.

"Argh!" She cried in frustration.

"Carful," Link's voice warned nearby. "Your hands are tied. Take it easy. I don't know what they drugged you with but it seemed pretty potent."

Maari took the voice's advice and shuffled herself a little more carefully. After a moment she managed to sit herself up, hands tied firmly behind her back. Link sat opposite her, hands also tied, crossed legged and staring at her with intense concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Stupid question, but Maari supposed given the circumstances anything would have sounded stupid.

"I guess," she replied unenthusiasticly. Maari blinked a few more times and tried to stretch out her neck. "I suppose things could be worse. I thought that dart might have killed me."

"I'm glad it didn't," Link replied. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Don't think so. Got a cut on my arm and a couple of bruises but nothing feels bad. You?"

"I'm alright, a few scrapes but nothing a potion won't fix."

With the small talk out of the way they fell into an awkward silence. They avoided eye contact, staring at interesting places on the floor or the walls. Maari took the opportunity to assess their surroundings. They appeared to be locked in a cell cut into the rock of the canyon. A barred door spanned one wall and she could see others like it on the other side of a corridor. Torchlight flickered over them but half the cell was in semi darkness.

"Why do you think they kept us alive?" Link asked, his voice low.

"I don't know," Maari uttered, keeping her eyes on a spot on the floor in front of her. As she spoke she twisted her legs so she was sitting crossed legged like Link.

"Yes you do, I can tell you know," Link probed.

The truth was Maari didn't want to tell Link what she suspected. Based on what they knew about how the Yiga had been operating lately, kidnapping random people. She had a strong idea about what fate had in store for them. Maari had made the connection between the Yiga and the strange runes created by the dark portals. One key piece of the puzzle was still missing however.

Maari sighed. "I told you to run, Link. Why didn't you run?"

"Because I'm a stubborn hot head, you know that."

"No you're not," she replied.

"Whatever, look I didn't run because I couldn't leave you behind. I would never leave someone I care about. So I wasn't going to start today." Link said firmly, punctuating his sentences with nods and shakes of his head. Maari knew that if his hands were free he would be gesticulating wildly.

"I just didn't want them to get you too," she sighed.

"I get that, but that's not how I operate Maari. And I'm here now. So you might as well tell me what I've got to look forward to," Link urged, trying to lighten the situation.

Maari closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, then she looked up and fixated her gaze on Link.

"I think I know what the Yiga are doing and I think it's connected to your portals somehow. The runes they use to appear out of thin air, they're the same ones crested by the dark portals. The missing researchers and the eye drawn in Zelda's chambers. They're all connected. I don't know how yet but the Yiga have something to do with the dark portals and if I know anything about how their magic works, they're probably using blood magic."

Link's eyes were wide. His own mind was following Maari's thoughts to their conclusion and coming up with the same answer. She was right.

"So if the Yiga kept us alive..." Link began, afraid to finish his own sentence.

"They're going to sacrifice us to work their dark magic." Maari finished his thought.

Link sighed and let his head fall back against the wall as he contemplated his potential end.

"Wonderful."

"I can't believe I'm going to die like this. I can't believe I'm going to die by their traitorous hands," Maari whimpered.

For all her strength and fortitude of character, Link was reminded that they were roughly the same age, and still both so young.

"You're not going to die," he said in a low voice.

"Look I don't want to give up either, but you have to admit our situation isn't exactly hopeful. No one saw us leave but by now they'll know we're missing. Even if the others figure out what's happened to us there's no way for them to get here in time. I don't want to face the truth any more than you do. But... "

"But you won't be alone," Link put in. Maari looked up at his face. He smiled at her. A kind and crooked smile, one he rarely used. "No matter what happens, I'm not gonna leave your side."

"Thank you Link," Maari nodded and tried to smile back, but she was too overcome with thoughts of failure. She turned away and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry. I always thought I would be able to face my end without fear."

Link shook his head. "We all feel fear. Especially when we think the end is near. That's just human. But it doesn't define you. What defines you is how you move past it, how you face it."

"How should I face this? It's my fault we're here. I've lead you to your death. When you've done so much for me. I can't bare the weight of your death on my conscience. Especially since I..." Maari trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish what she was about to say.

Link wished he could reach out and embrace her, hold her close and never let her go. Or better yet, find some way to escape. But he just couldn't see one. They had no weapons, no hope of rescue. All they had left were words.

"You know, growing up during the calamity I never knew if my parents were going to come home alive or not. I was so afraid of losing the people I loved. Then when the upheaval happened and the world seemed like it was going to end, I just wanted to grab everyone I loved and hold them close until the danger was over. But I kept everything else at a distance. My duty to my clan and my family came first, nothing else mattered. Couldn't matter."

"You, afraid? I don't buy it!" Link teased, alleviating her mood slightly.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better by acting showy, but you don't have to. Whatever you want to say, say it as yourself Link. Not the as the Captain, or the Hero." Maari insisted.

The smile on Link's face lessened, but not from his heart.

"Alright. You know, I've always been afraid of losing people I love too. I grew up without really knowing my parents. During the war I was afraid to get close to anyone in case I lost them. I didn't want to feel the loss. I decided it was better to be alone than to lose what I could have had."

"Sounds like we both closed ourselves off from everyone else." Maari mused. "But, when I met you... Well, when I met you I thought you were a bit pompous."

"Hey!"

"But then I met the real you in Hyrule Castle. The warrior and the healer. A kind soul. I wanted to know you. I wanted... I wanted to open myself up to you. I don't think I'm making any sense." Maari shook her head and tried to turn away.

"No, no, please. You're making perfect sense." Link implored her. "Please don't stop."

"Link, I know we're probably going to die in a few hours and I know it might not mean much but I've grown to like you. I don't know much about love, but sometimes when I'm with you everything seems possible. Even the impossible. And I thought you should know that before we die." Maari tried to look Link in the eyes but struggled to meet his gaze.

He was still smiling warmly at her, his eyes glistening with the threat of tears. He bit his lip and his breathing hitched as he let out a long sigh.

"Maari your words mean a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. I don't have enough time left to say all the tings I want to say. But you helped me take down my walls too."

After a moment of silence as the two contemplated each other's confessions, Maari turned back to Link.

"Come here," Maari almost whispered. Surprised but obediently, Link shuffled towards her so they knelt face to face. Maari blinked away a tear and sat up straighter. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, memorising the colours and patterns. Blue stared into red as they slowly drew closer. Their vision began to blur as their noses touched. Maari closed her eyes and then there was nothing else in the world except for them and their kiss.

< Part 14 : Part 16 >