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gyuvinsmistress · 5 months ago

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˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡ the assistant ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

synopsis: you’ve just been hired for a mystery role at wakeone entertainment to work with members of zb1. your job description is slightly more than you bargained for.

♡ gyuvin & jiwoong x reader fic

♡ gwajaz sexual tension & well..

♡ dominant jiwoong teaching gyuvin how to fuck though he doesn’t need much help

♡ female reader , 18+, explicit

tysm if you read!! also posted on my ao3 :3

You pull up outside of the WakeOne Entertainment building. "This must be it..." you think to yourself as you park your black sedan in the parking lot labeled "staff only" in front of the building. The first day of work jitters are overwhelming you with anxiety as you put the vehicle in park and pull down the mirror to look at yourself. You remove a shiny silver lip tint from your purse and begin to apply it. Fidgeting with your hair and your beige pencil skirt, it's hard to focus as scattered thoughts fly through your mind. This job fell into your lap after responding to an online ad for an entertainment assistant just a week ago. Badly in need of money, you eagerly accepted the job offer quickly, though the pay was meager, and the circumstances were mysterious. No one told you exactly what you'd be doing. "Better than nothing..." you thought to yourself.

The person who posted the job listing wouldn't give you many details over the phone, just that you'd be assisting some members of a kpop group at the entertainment company. This excited you as you enjoyed Kpop casually and the music industry interested you. You get out of your car, lock the door, and proceed to the entrance of the fancy glass building. Your stilettos make a steady beat as they click and clack against the pavement. A well-groomed man in his forties is seated at the front desk.

"Hello, how can I help you?" he asks smiling slightly.

"Hi," you begin, placing your bag down. "I'm here for the job listing, I replied a few days ago..." you trail off, unsure if the man will know what you're talking about.

"Oh yes," he grins. "The entertainment assistant!" he declares excitedly.

"Yeah, that's me I guess," you laugh anxiously still unaware of what awaits you.

"Follow me right this way." He stands up and walks around to the other side of the desk where you're standing. He extends his arm out toward a hallway, gesturing for you to follow him. "After you."

You begin walking down the narrow corridor while the front desk man walks behind you. You can't help but feel like his eyes are watching you intensely but don't dare to look back at him.

"Stop, right here--" he says abruptly as you reach a door leading to a practice room on your right. "Go right in there and someone will be with you very soon." Confused, you decide to glance at him for more information as to what to do, but he's already vanished back to the front of the building. You shrug, twisting the cold doorknob and walk into the empty practice room. No one appears to be inside.

"Hello?" you call out. No reply. You sit down in one of the empty chairs at the far side of the practice room, which gives you a view of anyone entering the room.

---

Kim Gyuvin and Kim Jiwoong are getting dressed at the dorm. The other members are either at a schedule or out on their off day. The two guys stand in front of the mirror fixing their hair and putting on cologne.

"I can't believe little Gyuvinnie isn't going to be a virgin anymore!" Jiwoong teases.

Gyuvin instinctively punches Jiwoong's arm. "Don't make this fucking weird," he says annoyed. "We can't all be womanizers like you."

Jiwoong laughs. He had a reputation for being quite the ladies' man. It was well-hidden by the company but Jiwoong was frequently out at clubs meeting women, buying them drinks, and taking them home. He was shocked that Dispatch hadn't exposed his ass yet.

"Don't worry Gyub, you'll be just as good as me in no time." He turns to Gyuvin and teasingly messes up his hair. "I'll show you everything you need to know, promise." Jiwoong sticks his tongue out and smirks. "I heard she's super hot too." He sprays two spritzes of cologne on his wrist and gently rubs them together. Jiwoong glances around the room and out the door to make sure the coast is clear and pulls out a small metal flask of vodka from his back pocket.

"Open your mouth, Gyuvin. A little liquid courage"

Gyuvin makes an adorable shocked face before obliging his hyung. He looks Jiwoong in the eyes and opens his mouth wide. Gyuvin had drank alcohol before but not very frequently so it was still a new experience. Jiwoong gently grabs Gyuvin's chin and tilts his head back before pouring the contents of the flask in his mouth.

"Now swallow."

Gyuvin couldn't lie, he liked this dominant side of Jiwoong he hadn't seen much of before. Their dynamic was interesting, the two flirting from time to time. As the alcohol runs down Gyuvin's throat, he begins to feel his inhibitions subside and relax.

"Let's go, I'm ready." Gyuvin smirks at Jiwoong before the two make their way to the van taking them to the company building.

----

You had been waiting in the empty practice room for around ten minutes, fidgeting and nervous, waiting for someone to provide you with some context as to what you were doing there. Suddenly, you hear the door handle and in walk two attractive young men, idols you assume. One is extremely tall and lanky yet strong looking with big eyes and hands just as big. The other is not as tall, but still towers over you, with bleached blonde hair and defined muscles he shows off in a white wife beater. They are both a little intoxicated and laughing hysterically as they stumble into the room. Startled and wanting to appear professional, you stand up from your chair and bow politely at them. The guys' expressions turn serious for a moment as they take in your appearance for the first time. They glance at each other and smirk subtly.

"Hello," you say while bowing to the two guys. "I'm the new assistant. It's nice to meet you."

Jiwoong and Gyuvin can barely contain themselves when they see you. You are an extremely attractive and unique beauty with a petite yet curvy physique that most men (and women) are attracted to.

"Hi," the blonde one begins. "I'm Jiwoong. And this is--"

"Gyuvin." The big eyed boy extends his huge hand to meet yours. You take his hand and gently shake it. It's cold and clammy, and the sheer size of his hand along with the veins running up his forearm is enough to turn you on.

"Nice to meet you both." You smile and the three of you naturally sit down in the practice room chairs. "So, what do you guys need help with today? I mean, they did tell me to wait here until someone tells me what to do." You laugh and your eyes dart between both of the good looking men, both of their gazes fixated on you.

Gyuvin looks at Jiwoong and back at you.

"Well," Jiwoong begins. "Our little friend Gyuvin here has sort of a problem..." He puts his hand on Gyuvin's thigh right above his knee and squeezes and shakes his leg playfully.

Gyuvin's smirk drops from his face as he delivers the same punch to Jiwoong's upper arm from earlier. "What the fuck did I say about not making shit weird..."

You are still naive to what's going on and confused. "Oh, what's your problem Gyuvin? And how can I help?" you ask innocently.

Jiwoong cuts in without letting Gyuvin talk. "Well you see, Gyuvin has never felt a woman's touch. He has no experience with the ladies. Isn't that so sad? So I think we have to fix that, don't you?"

You feel your cheeks get warm and red. You think you have an idea what he means but aren't sure. It would make sense why the job listing made you send pictures and gave hardly any information. Did they bring you here to be used as a fucktoy? Would you allow that to happen? Did you even have a choice?

"I'm sure there's plenty of girls who want you," you say to Gyuvin playing coy.

"Yes, but he needs practice before he gets with those girls." Jiwoong stands up and stands in front of you, still seated in the chair with Gyuvin next to you. "What if he actually likes one of those girls?" Jiwoong squats down to match your eye line. "That's where you come in. Get on the floor."

You were taken aback by his demand but couldn't deny that you were turned on and attracted to both guys. You slowly move down to the floor from the chair without breaking eye contact with Jiwoong. As soon as you're seated on the ground, he aggressively pulls you away from the chairs and lays you down in the middle of the floor. Gyuvin is still seated in the chair shocked at what's happening.

"Here's your first lesson, Gyuvin. Normally you would be on a bed or something but we're working with what we have. You take the girl and you lay her down on the bed or whatever."

Jiwoong pushes you down and holds your hands above your head with one of his hands. "You can be gentle or you can be rough. Just depends what she wants. Something tells me this whore wants to be fucked like a little slut, so that's what we'll go with this time."

Jiwoong begins at your neck just below your ear and starts planting sloppy kisses working his way down. You can feel him leaving marks as he sucks on your skin with his teeth at each point on your skin.

"Don't kiss her on the lips unless you actually like her. Don't let her get the wrong idea." Jiwoong looks to Gyuvin, who is still looking on anxiously. He motions to Gyuvin and says, "now you try."

You were extremely attracted to both men but there was something about Gyuvin. He was so fucking sexy and you were more than happy to show him how to please a woman but didn't want to seem too eager. He looks at Jiwoong who still has your hands pinned above your head, and then looks at you. "Hurry up." Slowly and anxiously Gyuvin moves onto the floor and toward you and Jiwoong. You can tell he is nervous, his cheeks red and sweaty. You look at him expectantly and smile. His innocence made him extremely attractive to you. Jiwoong lets your hands go and moves away. Gyuvin locks eyes with you and then begins to kiss your neck with an unexpected aggressiveness on the opposite side that Jiwoong had already marked up. He was suddenly not so innocent to you anymore. It seemed like he already knew what he was doing. Gyuvin begins to nibble on your ear.

"You're really hot..." he whispers as he continues to bite down your neck and mark you up just as well as Jiwoong did. Gyuvin bites even harder and you feel yourself getting wet as he kisses your collarbone through your white blouse. You can't produce any words and utter just a moan as Gyuvin starts to touch your breasts through your shirt.

"No bra?" Gyuvin says and laughs.

"Wow, what a fucking whore. It's like she knew she was coming here to get fucked."

You are drunk on lust and have a slight degradation kink so you don't mind his cruelty. His words make your pussy even wetter than it already was.

"Let's take this off, you won't be needing it anymore," Jiwoong says and suddently rips your blouse open, the buttons flying all around the room. The motion literally takes your breath away and you gasp. Jiwoong grabs your throat and sits you up slightly with your bare tits now exposed.

"Open your mouth" he demands. You oblige him and part your lips opening wide. He spits in your mouth still gripping your throat. "Swallow it slut." You do as you're told of course.

Both men on either side of you begin to suck on your nipples and squeeze your breasts, Gyuvin on your left and Jiwoong on your right. They are both ferocious and aggressive, using their teeth to nibble on you. Your nipples are super hard as you feel their tongues make circles on them.

Jiwoong pauses for a moment and looks at Gyuvin still holding your breast.

"You seem to be getting the hang of things little bro," he laughs.

"I guess it comes naturally to me," Gyuvin giggles devilishly.

Your nipples are covered in saliva, now hard and bruised from the abuse. But it feels so good. Jiwoong then parts your legs with his hand and runs it up your pantyhose-covered thigh. When he reaches your pussy, he makes a hole with his finger and rips a larger one with both hands.

"No panties either? Oh, you're so fucking slutty... You're just begging to be used as a cum dumpster."

His long fingers slip inside you. "Time to get you ready for what else is going inside of you." You're dripping wet from all of the foreplay and how fucking hot these guys are. He starts with one finger and then adds another. Soon his pointer finger and middle finger are deep inside of you making the "come here" motion inside of you and hitting your g-spot. His long fingers find it easily and you whimper with pleasure.

Jiwoong flips you over onto your side and rolls up your pencil skirt. He rips the hole in your pantyhose even larger. Jiwoong slips his cock inside of you. He's long and extremely girthy. He smashes against your body and your wet pussy easily takes his cock even though it's sizeable. He lifts your leg up to get as deep as possible. You're almost screaming from pleasure as he hits your walls with his dick. To the side Gyuvin takes his cock out of his grey sweatpants and begins stroking it, watching Jiwoong rail you.

"Now give Gyuvin his first blowjob while I fuck you."

You're so excited to take Gyuvin's blowjob virginity. He comes closer and inserts his cock into your mouth. You're good at giving head and fold your lips over your teeth and drool all over him. Gyuvin pushes himself deeper into your throat and you're gagging on it. The combination of both men at once is pure ecstasy.

"Hey Gyuvin, let's fuck this bitch together. Let's really stretch her out."

Gyuvin nods and takes his cock out of your mouth, moving down to your pussy that Jiwoong is already in. Gyuvin's cock is even longer and you're unsure if you'll be able to take it, but you're definitely willing to try and don't have a choice. He puts himself inside of you and a small moan escapes his mouth as he begins to thrust. He matches Jiwoong's rhythm and both men are deep inside you. It's painful as you've never been stretched like this or fucked by two men at once before, but you love being used like this. Your face is smushed against the floor as the force of both guys jackhammering your pussy is almost too much to handle.

"I'm gonna fucking cum in you," Jiwoong grunts.

"Me too," Gyuvin mumbles.

Both men ejaculate deep inside of your pussy. The liquid is hot and uncomfortable. You lay on the practice room floor completely used up and exhausted.

Jiwoong pulls out of you quickly.

"Going to the bathroom. Gyuvin, meet he in the car." He nonchalantly stands up, pulls his pants up, fixes his hair in the mirror, and exits the room.

Gyuvin is still deep inside of you, laying behind you. You're a dirty mess filled with both men's cum. You feel drunk from having been fucked by both men and your body aches from the torture.

Gyuvin unexpectedly pulls you closer to him by your hip. He gently grabs your chin and turns your head toward him. You look into his big brown doe eyes and he gives you the most passionate kiss on the lips, delicately sucking your bottom lip and flicking your tongue with his.

"Thank you. You're the best assistant ever."

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anyaeras · 2 years ago

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sugar mommy PT. 2 || E.Olsen

Paring || sugar mommy Elizabeth Olsen x y/n

Summary || y/n and Elizabeth both are working to figure out emotions, yet they also take some time to relax and be together.

Warnings || SMUT! ,, Dom/sugar!mommy Elizabeth ,, sub/sugar!baby reader ,, they/them pronouns ,, reader!pussy ,, strap!on sex,, vibrator ,, eating!out ,, overstimulation ,, mommy!kink ,, pet!names ,, praise!kinks ,, slight!ropes ,, legal!agegap

Part one ,, Masterlist

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Times gone by, and y/n's doing well, along with their relationship with Elizabeth, being her sugar baby was pretty much all positives, she was caring and nurturing, yet strict and demanding as she lived up to being in charge yet it kept y/n in line well. Besides the money was needed, to pay for school, and keep going in life, you didn't wanna worry about living paycheck to paycheck, and struggling to keep the lights on, with Elizabeth y/n didn't have to, it was nice.

Y/n was sitting in her English lecture, and it was only 8am, ON A MONDAY! Who the hell wants to be an English lecture at 8 AM on a Monday after a rough Sunday night... not y/n. as they started to daze off y/n was slowly pulled back to reality by the buzzing on their phone which sat in there lap, looking down to see a good morning text from Elizabeth.

"Good morning darling, I'll pick you up from class at 9:30 when it ends. -love Liz" the text from Lizzie made you smile, it was sweet moment like this that drew y/n to the older women more, honestly it was worrying that these real feelings wouldn't be reciprocated and everything would be lost.

"Mx.y/l/n, something to share with the class or are you gonna read from the text book like asked?" The professor, standing at the front of the room called out to y/n causing their face to fade quickly into a light shade of pink.

"Yes, of course sorry" was stuttered out of y/n's mouth quickly fumbling with the textbook to begin reading aloud, which was dreadful to the young college student, public speaking, wasn't really their thing, only adding stress to the missing assignments, and hangover stress they were already carrying for this morning.

"Late night? OOOO who ya texting?" Zack asked in a whisper as the class continued. Getting a nod from y/n yet they ignored the question which went with who they were talking to. I mean y/n did sign the privacy contract.

What felt like forever, the clock that y/n had been staring at this entire time, and finally the clock made it to 9:30 and the lecture hall was dismissed.

Rushing out of the class, y/n made their way to the main parking lot, looking for the black SUV that almost looked shady yet it was still classy to which Elizabeth was driving. Spotting the car quickly making their way to the door pulling on it, causing Elizabeth to jump not expecting it yet still welcoming y/n into the vehicle.

"Do you have ibuprofen?" Y/n asked immediately as a hangover headache was hitting

"I do, did you go out, and party little to hard last night?" Elizabeth asked with a cheeky smirk as she reached into her purse, handing over a small bottle of painkillers.

"So plan is we go back to my place, I'll order us some food, and we have a nice day, just you and me, stress free. How does that sound darling?" Lizzie asked as she shifted the car into drive heading off towards her place, which was definitely uptown.

The ride was alright Elizabeth ended up actually stopping to pick up some Chinese takeout, not before placing large sunglasses on her face, and slipping on a hat, after doing a little research y/n now knew a lot more about the star Elizabeth Olsen, so they realized more on why the older women was so privet. With that Lizzie left y/n in the car for a minute to think about their growing feelings for the older woman.

In the blink of an eye, Elizabeth handed off the food to yourself to hold onto it while she continue driving back to her place, unlike your college apartment, she lives in a beautiful penthouse in Manhattan, it's more relaxing, then hanging out on y/n's twin size bed that's for sure.

"Y/n? You alright? Something seems off" Lizzie asked not once looking away from the road as she pulled in to her buildings car park, fully stop in the car before turning her head.

"Oh yeah I'm fine haha" was the quick response given before hopping out of the car and carrying the food while also following her into the elevator.

Elizabeth was extremely smart. She could tell by body language alone, something was up in y/n's mind, I mean, the older woman could read the younger one like a book.

Elizabeth unlock the penthouse through the elevator, before allowing y/n inside, taking the food from the younger girl to go dishes onto plates before bringing it up to the living room so that they could watch a movie and chill, yet there was definitely a motive in Elizabeth mind.

Lizzie handed a plate of fried rich and sweet-and-sour chicken to y/n before sitting down next to them herself, reaching for the remote, and turning on a film that was unfamiliar to y/n, yet they just kinda went with it.

I didn't take long for y/n to realize why Elizabeth pick this movie, the opening scene was a little steamy, yet pretty damn hot, as they both finished eating and setting the plates on the coffee table, Liz reached over pulling y/n closer into her body.

You started to move around more, from discomfort, but honestly, the movie was quite a turn on, and it didn't help that the beautiful woman you are falling in love with is running her fingers threw your hair, ever now and then she moves her fingers down your back before going back to your hair.

"Y/n you seem to be distracted, you alright" Lizzie chimed in at a random point her voice staying soft yet it was a harsh rip back to reality.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine!"

"Really honey, you seem all bothered?" the other woman was relentless, she knew y/n was turned on and she was interested in pushing y/n to their breaking point.

Elizabeth went with the bolder option, pulling y/n more into her lap before kissing the side of their neck, moving slowly upwards pulling soft airy moans from y/n as Lizzie reached y/n's mouth turning the younger one to face her now as they made out.

Y/n pulled away desperate for air gaining a smirk from Elizabeth before she spoke

"And here I thought that movie didn't effect you, saying you're fine hmm?" The older women teased.

"Is this okay baby?" Elizabeth asked gaining consent before continuing her game.

With the yes coming quickly from y/n lizzie moved her hands down to the waistband of the sweat pants the younger one was wearing, reaching through their folds

"baby you're fucking dripping" was the first thing that came from Elizabeth, as she pulled her fingers back shoving them into y/n mouth.

"Clean them off."

Soon Elizabeth pushed y/n off her lap, standing up, which caused a whine to fall from y/n's lips.

"Mmm why don't you go to the bedroom, I'll be right there" Elizabeth instructed causing y/n to jump up and move to the bedroom, sitting on the bed patiently waiting for the older women.

A small gasp fell out of y/n's mouth as Lizzie came on with a rather large strap around her waste, and a very pretty and lacy lingerie set hugging her body wonderfully.

"You have a staring problem princess" Elizabeth stated strutting closer to the younger one, before hovering over y/n.

"Strip." The demand left no room for argument as y/n stood up and undressed form the comfortable sweatpants and hoodie they had thrown on for their classes this morning.

"Pretty pretty girl, I can't wait to take you" Elizabeth groan out her words as she shoved y/n down onto the bed taking them in as her eyes freely roamed causing y/n to get a little shy and impatient.

"Why don't you tell me what you want baby?" Elizabeth pressed, wanting to get something out of y/n

"You, I want you now" y/n said deprecarla and that was enough to get a rise out of the older women.

The celebrity reached for their tits harshly causing y/n to squeal in reaction to the strong grip, running a pleasurable pain throughout their body, going straight to y/n's core,

"Please mommy just fuck me" y/n cried out causing Lizzie to freeze for a moment, which forced y/n to realize what just came from her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry!" Y/n tried to get an apology out, but was cut off by Elizabeth

"No say it again"

"Mommy?" Y/n question still in a vulnerable position.

"Yes, I like it" Elizabeth stated before going back to messing with y/n's tits, the actresses hands were roaming on their body.

"Now, what do you want from me princess?"

"Fuck me please mommy" y/n complied quickly Lizzie lined up quickly, with a cock a bit bigger then last time, honestly it was a bit worrying.

Lizzie did add lube before hand, yet it was still large, as she slowly started to slip into y/n's core. Slowly bottoming out, the older women could see the bulge in y/n's stomach as Lizzie gave them a quick moment to adjust before trusting harshly. Making y/n yelp out at the quick pleaser rush.

"Goddamn I've been waiting to fuck you" the women groan making her trust quicker, fucking y/n in to mattresses as they let out high pitched moans.

" baby you are so tight, and you are taking my cock so well" Elizabeth pushed out never once's lightening up and by this point y/n was starting to be fucked dumb, they could only respond in incoherent mumbles, letting the older women have their way with them. Y/n was starting to get close when Elizabeth pulled out quickly causing their whole build up to be flushed down the drain, quickly y/n leaned up on their elbows, looking at Lizzie like a sad puppy.

"Aww look at you, so needy, and sad you didn't get off hmm? You know mommy is a little tired maybe you should encourage me to let you cum?" the actress purred and the college student knew what they were asking for and like they y/n was quickly begging. Pulling herself up to her knees before they started

"Please please let me get off. I'll do whatever you want just please fuck me till I cum!" Y/n spilled out as Elizabeth laughed at her, yet also the women shoved y/n back down onto the bed and started railing them once's again, quick and deep causing that same feeling to return to y/n's stomach, Elizabeth was rutting into y/n, the sound of sex mixed with loud moans filled the room.

"Fuck can I cum? Can I cum? Please!" Y/n pushed out fast almost not comprehendible, yet Elizabeth allowed it. With a loud moan y/n let go coating the faux cock with their cum, Elizabeth kept the cock inside the younger one, reaching down to kiss y/n harshly, waiting for them to calm down, before pulling the cock out of y/n.

"I think you can handle one more orgasm don't you?" Lizzie said kinda in a mocking tone as she removed the strap from her own waist and reaches into the nightstand for a vibrator, pulling one out.

Elizabeth moved keep y/n on the bottom, as she placed the vibrator using some rope she threw on the floor earlier to keep the vibrator in place on y/n's clit. Clicking it on, immediately y/n responded with a low moan, still extremely sensitive, their body jerking quickly at first from the overstimulation. While the actress moved to throw her legs over both sides of y/n's face lowering herself.

"Get to work, when I cum so can you"

And like that y/n was eating Elizabeth out quickly, on a mission to make her cum fast, enjoying the sounds of the older women's moans, and the vibration running threw y/n were great motivation, the idea of getting off the hot women above them in return getting to cum themself.

"Fuck fuck y/n so good for mommy" Elizabeth praised feeling y/n's tongue on her clit was enough, for the older women to fold over and let go, her juices all over y/n's face.

Lizzie pulled herself off, quickly making out with y/n tasting herself, as y/n moaned into Lizzie's mouth as they both could still hear the vibrator going, and y/n could still feel it for sure, trying to hold themself together and not cum just yet. Elizabeth slowly pulled away still aware of the vibrator.

"You can let go baby" softly Elizabeth let y/n cum, yet she was still feeling in charge, and was having fun with this. And like that y/n let go with a deep moan, yet Lizzie didn't once even move, the vibrator kept going pushing y/n fully into a dumb mindset of overstimulation.

"You look so pretty, all hot and messy for me" Lizzie let off a small giggle as y/n jerked and squealed trying to pull away, yet Elizabeth held them their.

"Mmm let go one more time for mommy, and then you can be done."

Tears in y/n's eyes as they mumbled some curse words before letting go one more time with a loud high pitch moan.

And like that the vibrator was turned off and pulled away, and everything was done.

"You were so good for me y/n, so good" Elizabeth praised and y/n was clearly dazed.

Cleaning up the room a bit, before Elizabeth went back for y/n pulling the now calmer girl up to her feat, and leading them both into a bath the older women had drawn for the two of them, giving them time to relax now together.

It was moments like this that made Elizabeth question the relationship of sugar mommy, yes, she pays the younger girl, and yes the younger girl attends to her needs, it's just does Lizzie want more, does y/n even like Elizabeth is this just for the money even though she liked supporting the girl financially yet if so, Elizabeth could pay up and go, but no matter how hard she tries it seems like a real relationship with feelings is forming.

Now laying in the bath all the feeling inside Elizabeth mind as y/n laid on top of her, resting her eyes it seemed. Yet all thought stopped when the small

"I love you" slipped from the young college students mouth, and that was enough for the older women.

#marvel #marvel mcu #marvel edits #lgbtqia #writing #lizzie x reader #mommy issues #fanfic #marvel fic #wanda maximoff #elizabeth olsen x reader #lizzie olsen #sugar mommy #marvel smut #wlw smut #anyaeras #mommy wanda #wanda x reader #actress

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miowritings · 6 months ago

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uhhmm I don’t.. know.. if ur request are still.. open.. but.. :3.. Sophia.. d4dj x reader… instead of her being obsessed with.. Neo… iiits.. reader.. :3..

Please choose me..!♡

Sophia x gn! Reader

✮a/n: hihi!! So sorry i took so long, i barely had any motivation left but gradually it came back lolol, im much more online on my ig and fb, so sry for that.. im also sorry if its out of character? I didnt unlock bunch of her stories and i only read the stories to yt. Idk if you want headcanons or a oneshot so i chose for ya hehe

✮synopsis: headcanons in which sophia is obsessed with yoy

✮contains: unhealthy obsessive behaviour if you squint and stalking(sorta?) , and taking pics without consent(adding a warning just in case)

-sophia became obsessed with you way before you two became friends, you didnt bother asking though..

-she would take pictures of you here and there, whether the moment is beautiful or even embarrassing.. she'll pull out her camera and take a pic

-she doesn't really talk that much.. she's reserved and awkward when some people try and talk to her, sometimes even running away, but with you?, it's different, she'll gladly talk to you, even if it meant standing for hours

-she's not very noticeable, sometimes when walking, you'd think you're alone but you didnt notice sophia behind you, when she finally tapped on your shoulder thats when you finally noticed her

"Eek! S-sophia..?! When did you get here..?!" You ask, she was a little sad you didnt notice right away..

-sometimes, sophia likes getting lost when being with you, that way, she has an excuse to hold your hand, she blushes at the thought, wanting you by her side everyday

-LOVES talking about her interests to you, she might go overboard too.. wether it would be horror, neo, music or anything she likes, she'll tell it all to you

-she's hella rich so she tends to overspend when it comes to you.. sometimes she forgets to spend some for herself..

-loves getting scolded by you, she may or may not enjoy being reprimanded my her groupmates.. but with you? She'll be smiling with pure ecstasy , she usually puts on a facade but inside shes gushing over you

-she would feel bad when you spend your money for her.. yes she was thankful but why her? Sometimes she feels disappointed.. when using your money for her, shes occasionally as if you are sure or if you wanna split

"H-hey.. y/n..? Is it really okay for you to spend money on me..?" She suddenly asks

-is surprisingly good with reassuring you.. one time when you were doubting yourself, she would put her hands on your shoulder and look at you in the eye

"Y/n..! Dont say that about yourself, you are the most special person in my life.. if it werent for you i dont know what i'd do.. please dont say that about yourself y/n...!!" She sobs, not entirely crying but you get the idea!

-she'll do whatever you want! Laundry, dishes, anything, ask for it and you shall recieve! Just be aware that shes clumsy sometimes..

-would feel so mad and dissapointed on herself when she accidentally made you upset.. even if its not a big deal like ordering a food you dont like or stepping on your foot, she'll go on all fours and beg for forgiveness as if its a sin to insult you.

Bonus:

"H-hehehe..! Y-y/n~~~!! Y-youre so beautiful.. i feel my face melting.."

She says while cupping her own cheeks, seeing you in her clothing made her... Too affectionate than normal.. "w-wait...!! Dont change yet.. i-i'll take a picture to c-cherish this memory!!" She exclaims, pulling out her phone.

#x reader #d4dj #abyssmare #d4dj abyssmare #d4dj sophia #sophia x reader #d4dj x reader #abyssmare x reader

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hyenahunt · 11 months ago

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Rouge & Ruby: February's Situation - 4

Writer: Umeda Chitose

Season: Winter

Characters: Hiyori, Ibara, Nagisa, Jun

Proofreading: royalquintet (JP) & Skyress (ENG)

Translation: Mirei (Adam) & hyenahunt (Eve)

Hiyori: Huh, so in the end it's all about money rather than dreams? ...I'm not a fan, honestly.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Jun & Nagisa: … ?

Hiyori: It's not clicking at all. Explain it better!

Ibara: During Eden’s performance, I want both Adam and Eve to perform as well, and in the end, we will come together to perform as one.

I want to make use of this special structure of ours as part of the strategy — we can stand alone as Adam and Eve, but also unite as Eden.

Nagisa: … I see. So you want to fit in time for Adam and Eve to perform during Eden's timeslot.

… And the current increased exposure for Adam and Eve must also be in preparation for that strategy.

Jun: Back when we had Conquest, we did nothing but separate work, but it's been a good while since then, huh~?

And considering SS, people's main impression of us is bound to be of us all together as Eden.

I think it makes sense that we can show off the appeal of our unit structure to the public once again.

Hiyori: After all, if they're new to our unit's inner workings, they'll wind up wondering why just the two of us are on stage.

Ibara: We might be focusing on Adam and Eve for now, but as Chocolat Fes approaches, I plan on giving Eden more exposure.

To be more precise, I'll be adding work to show that the two have been combined to become Eden.

Just as His Highness said, If we don't show how our form and structure works, the show we have planned will lose its meaning.

Jun: Mm... So right now, we're supposed to use this time to prepare our individual strong points so we can use them to the fullest in Chocolat Fes?

Hiyori: I think that's a good take on it, Jun-kun. What a great summary, coming from you!

Jun: I mean, he went through all the trouble of preparing these documents. I paid proper attention to what he was saying, so even I understand this much.

Hiyori: Well, now that me and Jun-kun's questions have been answered to some extent.... next up is answering what Nagisa-kun had to say, too.

Nagisa: … Yes, please explain the whole structure of the event so we can understand how ES' Chocolat Fes will work.

…And also, I’d like to know what conditions must be met to count as Eden’s victory in Chocolat Fes in your eyes, Ibara.

Ibara: Aye aye ♪⁠ As you wish, Sir. Well then, to answer that, please turn your eyes to the documents on hand—

Time: A little while later

Jun: So we'll be selling chocolate or merchandise per unit, and our sales will be reflected in L$ earnings?

Ibara: Exactly. The amount of sales at the Chocolat Fes will be counted, so it can be said that the unit that sells the most products is the winner

Hiyori: Huh, so in the end it's all about money rather than dreams? ...I'm not a fan, honestly.

Ibara: Even if you’re against it, that’s simply how ES’ Chocolat Fes works.

Actually, they designed it to be quite accommodating. ES will generally provide chocolate and merchandise for all participating units.

Nagisa: … It's written in the document. They will prepare merchandise that is packaged and designed differently for each unit.

Jun: That's generous~ Though the contents are the same, just making the packaging different means it feels like you've gotten merch from a specific unit.

Hiyori: Well, making the contents the same essentially means all units are equal...

But since he's gone so far as to even come up with a special stage, I feel Ibara wouldn't be quite satisfied having the same merchandise as every other unit.

Just from what I've heard so far, I'm assuming you're planning something to outdo everyone else, aren't you? I mean, it's you we're talking about.

Ibara: …The way you put it is a little irritating, but I suppose I'll take it as a compliment. Please carefully read the notes on the bottom of the page.

Nagisa: … "Units are also allowed to plan and develop their own merchandise on the condition that they bear the costs themselves."

Ibara: Fufu. That is an extra clause I managed to add after discussion with ES management...☆

Jun: Ugh, that's playing dirty. There are only so many units that can even pull that off.

Ibara: And it's exactly because I'm confident we can pull it off that I've gotten that clause added in the first place!

Nagisa: … Ibara also has a sweets company right? If that’s the case, then you can make chocolate exclusively for Eden.

… I wonder what kind of chocolate it will be. I'm excited…♪⁠

Hiyori: Heheh, you sure do love chocolate, don't you?

Now that you've said there'll be chocolate made just for us, I'm starting to really look forward to it, too... ♪

Ibara: — So to say, what does achieving victory mean for me? It simply means that we — Eden — will stand at the top of Chocolat Fes.

However, my apologies for contradicting my earlier explanation, but see, if I were to simply aim for getting the highest sales, I'd only focus on developing a sales strategy.

We must garner the most attention with a combination of chocolate sales, profits, audience retention, and performance hype.

It is only when we dominate both numbers and our audience's emotions that Eden can count as being number one in Chocolat Fes. That is my victory condition.

Jun: So basically, it's for that purpose we're gonna go along with Ibara's plan and do our best, huh.

Ibara: Yes. I would very much appreciate your cooperation.

All for the sake of me — I mean, us, conquering this year's Valentine's Day… ♪⁠

Time: Eden's lunch together after the meeting

Location: Cafeteria

Jun: ...Ooh. Wouldja look at that, you've actually managed to put together a balanced meal today.

If you grabbed nothing but chicken and broccoli again, I'd be piling up my karaage on your plate.

Ibara: If I didn't put more on my plate, I would have to deal with your unnecessary intrusions. I prefer to fill it up myself.

Hiyori: Come now, everyone, hurry and sit down so we can start eating!

Thank you for the food... ♪

Nagisa: … Thank you for the food.

Ibara: … We can finally have lunch now that I’ve finished explaining. Alas, I did not set aside time for a Q&A session afterward.

If you have any other questions or opinions outside of what has already been said, let’s hear it now.

Hiyori: My opinions on it, hm? Let's see...

I do feel that it's frankly nonsense for things such as victory and defeat and money to be tangled up in an event focused on the wonders of love.

But as for our fans, whether they be fans of Adam, Eve or Eden, if we can make them happy then that will be our gift to them.

And I'd be happy if we can take advantage of the excitement and meet new fans, as well. After all, if we can do that, then we can convey our love to many people, no?

So personally, I think it's a good plan.

Ibara: I’m truly pleased to hear your feedback, Your Highness, given your reluctance to work separately as “Adam” and “Eve”.

Hiyori: With a proper explanation and the presence of love, even I would agree to it.

Nagisa: … Yes, I’m also in agreement. It’s inevitable that working in separate units will remind us of the situation in Conquest.

... I could tell that Ibara has no intention of making our fans worry unnecessarily.

…For that reason, I’ll go along with Ibara’s plan to make everyone happy while he guides our way to the top of Chocolat Fes.

Ibara: … It is an honour to hear that, Your Excellency.

[ ☆ ]

✦✦✦✦✦

← prev ✦ all ✦ next →

#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #hyenahunttl #s: rouge and ruby #jun sazanami #ibara saegusa #hiyori tomoe #nagisa ran

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achitka · 2 months ago

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Doors: Chapter 49

Recién Llegados (Newcomers)

Alma does not appreciate surprises. Isa is working extra hard at imperfection, while honing the newer aspects of her Gift. Bubo's family is coming to grips with a non-existent money system. His Tío Jose is up to stuff. Mirabel is trying hard not to let things freak her out. Tuli is almost settling in and there be a ghost in the Encanto - go figure. This is the first half of a longer chapter I decided to break into two. I'll probably post the next sooner and not later. Not sure how it managed to get so big... For those still reading - thanks! It's been a busy time, that has hopefully settled back into its usual boringness. Oh and btw I don't like Miguel... he's a jerk.

Recién Llegados (Newcomers)

Rodrigo Iguarán came out of his tent to stretch his legs and clear his head. He could not wait to interview Alma Madrigal about this place, and had spent the last two hours formulating several questions he wanted to include. While it was obvious she was the matriarch of her family, the Madrigals were all looked to as leaders of this place. He was surprised how easy she and her family were to talk to. In his experience, people in charge tended to be a bit more arrogant, but not this family. Rodrigo wished there was telephone service here or even just postal service of some kind, but since there was not, he’d have to be patient. Of course, he would need to think about how he would tell his abuela about her sister. Finding out someone you thought was dead, was not, would be a bit of a shock.

He walked the short way toward the center of town. There were still a few people out in the plaza, which for some reason surprised him. Not sure why he was expecting it to be deserted. There were no children, just people having a night out. It was a welcome change to the life he’d been living up until now. He used to enjoy camping during the holidays, but after his trek through the mountains… not anymore. He saw there were a few food vendors still set up near the shops that had closed for the day and feeling a little peckish, he went over to one hoping he had enough to buy something small. He was surprised that the elderly man running it did not ask for money. He instead asked him for his name and his promise.

Rodrigo was confused by this but told him his name and explained that he had just arrived today and only had a small amount of money on him. This made the old man smile then after taking a few wrapped sandwiches out of the warmer he said, “Ah, since that’s the case, please take this as my welcome gift, Señor.”

“Welcome gift? Your little town has already given us so much, I couldn’t impose further,” Rodrigo said, holding up his hands.

“Of course you can,” he said and set them on the edge of his cart, then added, “There is a standing request from Doña Alma to use our Gifts to assist our newcomers as we can.”

Still taken aback, Rodrigo decided it would be impolite to refuse and said, “Thank you, Señor.” He took the sandwiches, which were a little warm, and said, “You must allow me to repay you in kind. You mentioned a promise?”

The man paused a moment and replied, “Will you be remaining in the Encanto?”

“Only for a few months. I have to get back to my university to complete my studies.”

“A scholar then. Well let me think on it. I am not in need of anything right now.”

His curiosity got the better of him, and Rodrigo asked, “Pardon me for asking, but have you always lived here?”

“Yes, I was fifteen when the Encanto was born.”

“Born?”

“Yes, it was a miracle born from Doña Alma’s grief and despair...or perhaps it was the spirit of Don Pedro protecting her and his newborn babies after he was murdered.”

Rodrigo blinked. He'd said it so easily. No hesitation at all. Given the number of people he’d interviewed about that time period, he should not be surprised. Still, Rodrigo’s shocked expression must have shown because the man quickly added, “My pardon, Señor. I did not mean-”

“Oh no no, Señor, please forgive my ignorance. I only know small bits of the story, and I’ll admit I am already quite intrigued to learn more. I am a student of history and personal stories.” Rodrigo looked down at his watch and realized it was getting pretty late and asked, “Would it be possible for me to speak with you again?”

The old man thought on that for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Gracias Señor...” Rodrigo paused, waiting.

“Tabarez,” the man responded once he realized what Rodrigo was waiting for.

“Señor Tabarez,” Rodrigo nodded and pulled the meaning up from somewhere in his head and thought, a strong family name. “How will I find you?”

“I’m here most nights,” he said and patted his cart.

“Then I will look forward to it. Good night, Señor Tabarez.”

“Good night, Señor Iguarán,” the old man said and sat back on the small bench.

Rodrigo turned and started back toward his tent. The warm sandwiches he was carrying smelled absolutely delicious, so he carefully unwrapped one and took a big bite. He delighted in the taste of guava paste and melty cheese. It was something he'd not tasted since his last visit with his Mamá. He also did not recall a time when he’d come to a place as a stranger and been met with so much kindness. Halfway back, he heard a ruckus behind him and turned.

As he did, he saw Miguel running a bit crookedly, then falling into a bush on the side of the road. Given the way Miguel was moving, Rodrigo assumed he was drunk again, so did not go over to see if he was all right. What in the world was he running from, you would have thought he had the devil on his tail. When they were on the road, his primo had asked him to make sure Miguel didn’t fall off the trail or some random cliff. There were a few occasions when he’d found this one almost too drunk to walk. It stopped happening once Gabi told him he could either turn over all the liquor he’d brought, or he’d be forced to leave their group.

Miguel had drunk a fair amount during supper and his behavior during the meal was pretty appalling, but was actually better than Rodrigo was expecting. Given that he’d found time to get drunk, it was a good bet he’d already told his mother about that event. He took another bite of his sandwich and was about to leave when the bush moaned then shuddered. Rodrigo sighed. Here he was just thinking of the kindness of the people here, so he walked over and looked down at Miguel as he rolled over and groaned.

Definitely drunk, Rodrigo thought. Where did he find enough drink to be this inebriated? Then he remembered the welcome gift he was just given. Leave it to this one to take advantage. He wondered how many promises Miguel had offered in exchange, knowing full well he’d not remember a one. Irritated now, Rodrigo said as he dragged Miguel to his feet, “Come on then, Miguel.”

“I don’t need your help,” Miguel sputtered as he shook Rodrigo’s hand off his arm.

“Of course you don’t,” Rodrigo said, “What was it you were running from anyway? Black cat cross your path?”

“Brujas,” he said, trying and failing to dust off his rumpled clothes.

“Brujas?” He had Rodrigo’s attention now.

“Yes, I barely escaped. Those... those witches, tried to kill me,” he added with a shudder.

“Kill you? That’s a pretty serious accusation, Miguel. Where were you when this happened?” Rodrigo asked.

Miguel shut down as he realized he’d said more than he wanted to, but Rodrigo was curious now, so repeated the question.

“It was near the edge of town,” Miguel said cautiously.

“Edge of town… does that mean you were down near the Madrigal home.”

“Why would I go there?”

Rodrigo shrugged, he knew Miguel was lying but resisted the urge to say so. He got Miguel moving again then said, “Here take this, you should probably eat something,” Rodrigo said and offered Miguel the other sandwich, “It’s pretty delicious.” Rodrigo didn’t think one sandwich would be near enough, but he thought it best to distract him before he could wander off.

Miguel was still swaying some but took the sandwich and asked, “Where did you get this? None of these devil people accept money.”

Rodrigo actually took offense to Miguel’s choice of words. He had never met such an ungrateful… He certainly was not about to waste time explaining anything to Miguel while he was drunk, and probably wouldn’t bother when he sobered up. Irritated, Rodrigo asked, “Does that matter?”

Miguel shook his head and seemed to calm down some. As they walked, they finished the sandwiches and Rodrigo took the wrappers as he walked Miguel back to his tent. He waited for him to go inside and heard Miguel trip. The tent was silent after that, so Rodrigo headed back to his own. He emptied his pockets onto his journal, then quickly undressed and laid on his cot. He was going to need to talk to Bubo about how things worked around here. No wonder, Bubo didn’t have a job. He didn’t need one.

“Was that Miguel’s voice?” José asked.

“Yes.”

“Drunk?”

“Unfortunately, and I thought you were asleep.”

“No.”

“Something bothering you?”

“Other than feeling like we’ve brought a darkness with us to this place? No.” He was silent for a time and added, “I’ll not fail my sister a second time. Tuli won’t be safe here if Miguel and his mother remain, and getting them to move on might be difficult.”

Rodrigo agreed, but didn't have any solutions either but said, “Perhaps there is a magical solution to that problem.” José didn’t answer, he only grunted, so Rodrigo let himself relax and went to sleep.

--------------------------

Alma woke to a gentle tapping on her door. Today was finally the day. Alma got out of bed and pulled on her robe when the gentle knock repeated. The door swung open, and Mirabel was there, looking concerned.

“Good morning, Abuela. Are you feeling rested?”

“I’m doing well, Mirabel,” Alma replied. Her nieta had a nervous look and set to swinging her arms. This reminded Alma of when Mira was small and had done something she shouldn’t, so she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Mirabel shrugged as she folded her hands up in front of herself, and Alma decided something was definitely up. Mira took a deep breath, and all the fidgets stopped, and she said, “Well, I have something to tell you and I wanted you to hear it from me first. Can I come in for a minute?”

“Of course,” Alma replied and glanced at Mira’s door. The smaller butterfly was resting on its hand, and nothing appeared out of place, but Alma noted that Casita closed the door as she guided Mirabel to the bed. “Now, what did you need to tell me.”

Mirabel sat down and fiddled with her skirt for a moment then said in a rush after a deep breath as she adjusted her glasses, “I did something really dumb last night… ”

“Surely, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

Mirabel let out some nervous laughter and said, “Oh no, it was… I kind of snuck out of the house last night.”

“Mirabel Valentina Rojas Madrigal, that was so dangerous. You could have been hurt.”

“I know, I know, but I just wanted to look at that tree Isabela grew yesterday…” Alma felt that all too familiar stab of fear that used to rule her thinking as Mirabel continued, “and I did… but while I was out there…” Mirabel hesitated and took another deep breath.

“While you were out there… ” Alma said bluntly. She could not hide the anger in her tone but decided she might as well hear all of it.

Mirabel flinched slightly but took an even deeper breath, closed her eyes then said even faster, “While I was out there, I ran into Señor Rodriguez, and I’m pretty sure he’d been drinking because he was swaying and smelled like alcohol.” As each word came out of Mirabel’s mouth, Alma’s alarm was rising. “And from the direction he came�� I think he was by Casita,” Mirabel stopped at Alma’s look of horror.

“Such a reckless and foolish thing to do, Mirabel,” Alma said curtly as she put a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she said a little breathlessly, “I thought I made it clear to you, that you were not to leave Casita by yourself.”

“You did, Abuela-”

“But you did it anyway?”

“Yes, and I’m sorry, I know I didn’t think that through, but I just wasn’t expecting there to be anyone out there. Nothing happened, Isabela-”

“Isa went with you?” Alma asked, her confusion increasing as Mira picked at some imaginary lint then said with a nervous laugh, “Ah, actually no. I went by myself. Through a window, and told Casita not to rat me out.” When she noticed Alma’s frown deepen, she quickly added, “Yeah, not the best idea, thankfully Isa saw me and followed me.”

Though Alma felt relieved, she was now a little uncomfortable. This was not how she wanted to start this day and there was something else she wanted to do today, but it wasn’t coming to her as she responded, “Well, thank goodness for that.” She tried to calm herself and breathe through her nose as she twisted slightly. “You must use better judgement, Mirabel. Please do not do that again.”

“Oh, I definitely won’t,” Mirabel said as she stood up. When she turned back, she tilted her head and asked, “Are you okay, Abuela?”

Alma nodded, but doing so made her feel a bit dizzy and she wavered slightly. Mirabel moved closer and said something else, but Alma didn’t catch it. She felt a little hot as she tried and failed to undo the tie of her robe. Mira knelt in front of her, saying something, but her voice was muffled. Mirabel gently touched her forehead with the back of her hand, then helped Alma lie back against her pillows. Alma did not resist as she yawned. Casita opened the door and Dolores was there. She said something to Mira that made Mirabel nod.

This was all so disconcerting. Alma’s heart had not slowed, and she wondered why it was beating so quickly. She didn’t feel concern, but she remembered the Doctor’s warnings as she yawned again. So tired, it felt as if she’d run all the way around the Encanto. She turned on her side as she yawned a third time but resisted the urge to sleep. She remembered now. Noon... that was it. She needed to get through that yellow door.

---------------------

Julieta was working on breakfast and keeping an eye on Tuli as she and Antonio set the cutlery and glasses on the table. It was a beautiful day, so she’d asked Luisa to deposit the table on the patio. Her daughter’s overt yawn after doing so caused Julieta to ask how Tuli had slept. Luisa told her how often Tuli had awakened, even with the medication. Each time, it was obvious she was terrified, but seemed to easily settle back. Sometime after midnight, Tuli woke one more time, but on that occasion Luisa had her climb into her bed and Tuli stayed asleep after that. Helping Isa with her chores and the stress of seeing her Tío again had taken a lot out of her.

Bubo looked exhausted at breakfast the day before, and Julieta was thankful he'd asked to stay with her overnight. Though Tuli did not sleep well, she seemed less drained this morning and did not appear to be as fatigued as she seemed to be yesterday. She’d sent word to Bubo and his Tío to come this morning for breakfast. They would need to accompany Mira to register Tuli for school. That, and Gus needed to speak with them about the shoe shop. Julieta was not really concerned that they would reject living there, but she knew those townsfolk that were aware of the house's history would, of course, comment. Hopefully, no one in town would do more than whisper about the fact that Jorge died there, and that the place was haunted. Pepa being so in tune with the weather, always said there was a cold spot.

Julieta paused in her work when Casita shifted a few tiles. She listened as the house relayed that Mira was with her Abuela. Dolores had been alerted to Abuela’s heart beating very quickly and had already contacted the Doctor. Isa came into the kitchen with Agustín, and Julieta waved her over to her. Her hair was in mild disarray, and her outfit was as mismatched as she’d seen of late, and this amused Julieta. Gus didn’t stop after giving her a peck on the cheek, instead he continued out onto the patio to mediate a disagreement that had broken out between the children.

“What can I help you with, Mamá?” Isa asked.

“I need to meet the Doctor, he’s on his way here. Your Abuela is not feeling well this morning. Could you please finish up breakfast for me?” Julieta asked her oldest. Isa appeared a little taken aback but nodded as she took the wooden spatula from her. “Thank you, mija,” Julieta said and gave Isa a quick squeeze before she headed for the front door. She hadn’t told Isa about Bubo and his Tío coming for breakfast, and Julieta noted that her daughter had only barely brushed her hair. As part of her bid to be imperfect, her once perfect daughter had come down for breakfast in the most interesting outfits since the breaking. Less so since they’d moved back into Casita. Something about this house, she supposed.

Doris and Inez would be coming after breakfast to register Lucia and Sophia. Both girls had been out of school for almost two months because of the strife Colombia was currently experiencing. Inez, though softer spoken than Doris, was very keen to get them back into school, even if it was only for the time being. Julieta glanced over at the tree Mirabel had left the house to look at last night. It was a mighty oak, that was for sure. Her thoughts were interrupted when Dolores began to provide her with a little more information as she picked up her pace toward the town. She pulled up short when the Doctor appeared around a corner. He looked a little disheveled, and Julieta wondered if they’d inadvertently pulled the Doctor from his bed. She immediately tried to apologize, but the Doctor waved her off, and together the pair headed back toward Casita.

“So, tell me, has your mother had any other episodes?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Julieta replied.

He nodded and asked, “And the child?”

“Still having nightmares, but I believe she slept better.”

Again the Doctor nodded. They reached Casita and the Doctor paused, seeing a set of stairs in the middle of the courtyard. He took it in stride as Julieta nudged him forward, and Casita opened Mirabel’s door as they reached the top. They entered her mother’s room to find Alma laying on her side, yawning but not sleeping, and Mirabel pacing near the window. Julieta collected her daughter, and together they left the room as the Doctor began his examination. She pulled the door most of the way closed and guided Mira to the sofa. After they both sat in silence for a bit, Mirabel asked, “Is Abuela going to be okay?”

Julieta glanced over at Mira’s door and said, “I believe so.”

“I mean, is her health okay… really?”

Julieta paused, trying to decide how much she should tell her daughter. Mirabel’s apparent ‘destiny’ as someday matriarch still made Julieta a little nervous. Almost grown was not the same as all the way grown. Still, it was probably better for her to know than to not know, so she replied, “Since her illness, your Abuela has been having trouble with her heart.” Mirabel’s change of expression made Julieta think, Mira was blaming herself, so asked, “What were you two talking about?”

Mirabel sighed as she rubbed her hands on her skirt. “Well… ” she started, then went silent as she stared at her lap.

Julieta put an arm around Mirabel and asked, “Were you telling her about your little adventure last night?”

Mirabel let out a small groan in response, but Julieta noted that Mira only nodded. She didn’t hunch in on herself or attempt to make excuses. Julieta gave her a squeeze and said, “Your Tío told me about it. I’m glad you see how foolish that was.”

“I’m sorry, Mamá. I didn’t mean to frighten Abuela. I know I didn’t think that through. I just wanted to let her know about what happened before someone told her a more embellished version,” Mirabel said with a shrug.

“By someone, did you mean your sister?”

Mira snorted and said, “Maybe?”

Julieta let out a chuckle. Mirabel’s propensity for ratting her sister out when she was younger was something Isabela had held a grudge about for a long time, even after Mira grew out of that stage. “Did she say something or shout at you yesterday?”

“No, actually. She hugged me and asked if I was okay.”

“Maybe, Mira, you need to let go of who your sister was so you can help her be who she is.”

“Yeah, I see that now. Just so different. Thanks, Mamá. Guess I really do need to grow up a little more.”

Julieta nodded, even though it hurt her heart to admit her last baby really was no longer a child. “Now go help your sister with breakfast while I talk to your Abuela and the Doctor.”

“What’s Luisa making?”

“Isa is handling breakfast.”

Mirabel let out a giggle snort as they stood up. “This ought to be interesting,” Mirabel said and was out the door. Julieta turned back to her mother’s room as the Doctor came out and beckoned to her. Her mother was now sitting up in bed, fussing with her blanket. The Doctor indicated Julieta should sit on the bed as he pulled up the only chair. Her mother took her hand as the Doctor began, “To start, I am not a heart specialist, just a general practitioner, but what you experienced, Doña Alma, is called tachycardia. An excessively rapid heartbeat. I am glad that it’s resolved itself quickly, and you're back to a normal rhythm. Your blood pressure is a little elevated, so I’m going to ask you to take it easy for today.” Her mother just nodded, and the Doctor said quietly, “I know how frustrating this must be for you, but there is some consolation. The murmur that was present previously is much less prominent. To me, that suggests that you are improving, but as we discussed, it is important you let your children know if something like this happens again.”

Her mother nodded again and said, “Thank you, Doctor.”

“You’re most welcome, Doña Alma. I’ll check on you later when I come by to speak with the child if that is acceptable.” Her mother, again, nodded, so he rose and put his equipment back in his bag. Julieta joined him as he headed toward the door. He exited, and Julieta sighed when she turned back. Her mother appeared to have only waited until the Doctor was through the door before she’d thrown off her blanket. She was quickly up and out of bed as she took off her robe and cast it toward the chair. Casita caught it in a basket and Julieta just sighed and said, “Oi, Mamá, at least let me help you.” Her mother only hurumphed as Julieta helped her out of her nightgown.

--------------------------

Isabela finished making the arepas her mother had started and moved on to carefully peeling eggs while the beans and rice were warming. She never liked this chore, so when Mirabel came into the kitchen asking if she could help, she took her sister up on the offer to take over. Isa thanked her as she dried her overly wrinkled hands and handed her an apron. Mirabel got to work, humming to herself as she peeled. Working quickly, she made Isa a tad bit jealous since the eggs looked ten times better than her efforts. Isa moved back to the stove and stirred the pot of last night’s beans and rice, as Luisa came into the kitchen. She seemed aghast to find Isa cooking and asked, “Where is Mamá?”

Her tone was almost horrified, and Isabela frowned at her sister as she felt the petunias sprout. Isa let the flowers fall apart. She knew they were petunias since her sister returned the frown. Luisa knew she never liked those flowers – always so finicky, and she dreaded any order that requested she make them. But before she could answer, Mirabel said, “She’s with Abuela and the Doctor upstairs.”

“Is something wrong with Abuela?” Luisa asked.

Mirabel looked startled as she realized then that the question hadn’t been for her and cleared her throat before she replied, “Casita told me Dolores called the Doctor because she said Abuela’s heart was beating really fast.”

“But she’s alright?” Luisa asked.

“Mamá seemed to think so,” Mirabel said as she focused on the egg in her hands. If Isa didn’t know better, her hermanita was blushing. Which meant she was either straight-up lying or wasn’t telling them everything, and why would Casita need to tell her that? Dolores would have had to call the Doctor on the map in her room. She didn’t get to ask, since Dolores walked into the kitchen then with her mother. Both stopped as the three sisters were now staring as a cloud formed over Tía Pepa’s head as Antonio ran into the kitchen and wrapped her legs up in a giggly hug. Their Tía’s cloud evaporated, and she knelt down and thoroughly kissed his face.

She stood and Dolores leaned in and said something that made Tía’s cloud return, and she caught Antonio’s collar as he tried to sidle away with an anxious look. Isa had no idea what was happening but just then her father came in off the patio carrying Tuli who had her head buried into his shoulder. Given that Tuli was not a fan of men in general, everyone’s attention went back to Antonio. He took a quick step behind his mother as her cloud became a small thunderhead. Tío Félix came in and took one look at his wife’s cloud, raised an eyebrow as he noted his wife’s grip on their son’s collar. With almost a sigh, he motioned to Antonio. Tía Pepa released him, and together the trio left for the courtyard.

Camilo came into the kitchen from the opposite side with a box of books that he set near the door. He was wearing his new clothes since he would be testing at the school to see if he got the apprenticeship. He looked up and noticed everyone standing around, not doing anything, and asked, “So what’s going on?”

Isa started and realized the beans and rice were burning. Mira resumed her egg peeling with vigor, and Luisa moved over to help her. Dolores did not answer her brother's question either. She instead picked up the stack of plates and headed for the patio without saying anything. Her father watched all this as he set Tuli down and said softly, “It’ll be alright, Tuli.” He then motioned to Camilo, who gave them all a look then followed their father out onto the patio.

Tuli remained where their father put her, hands scrunched up in the folds of her skirt. Mirabel dried her hands, then went over and coaxed Tuli onto the nearest chair and asked, “You okay, Tuli?” Tuli responded with the barest of nods. What did he do? Isa wondered. Her thoughts were again interrupted when the front doorbell rang. She handed off her spoon to Luisa and went to see who it was, ringing the bell at this hour of the day. She had no fond memories of the people who would turn up at all hours. Just because they wanted something that only one of the Madrigal Gifts would provide. This thought left her mildly irritated, so as the door swung open, she was ready to dress down whoever was there. Isa froze, seeing Bubo there with his Tío and felt the roses sprout in her hair. Bubo's initial look of surprise changed, as he smiled and said, “Buenos Días, Isabela.”

She immediately blushed and though the greeting was echoed by his Tío José, Isa was a bit stunned by the fact that they were standing there and jumped a little when her Tío Bruno put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Buenos Días, Señors. Please come in.”

Completely mortified, Isabela’s blush deepened, and her embarrassment was worsened when Bubo’s Tío nudged him and tilted his head in question. Isa let out some nervous laughter as she silently thanked the heavens her Tío had appeared and said, “Yes, Señors. Please come in.”

They did, and Isa noticed then that her Tío Bruno was not wearing his ruana, nor did he appear to have any rats with him. His hair was neatly combed, and he was smiling. What the hell was going on? It was odd enough that it made her a little more nervous. Before the breaking, something like this would never have broken her composure. A few unusually random thoughts popped into her head as the pair moved past her into the courtyard. She didn’t get much of a chance to contemplate those thoughts either, as her mother appeared. She had a small smile on her face and Isabela absently smoothed her clothes and thought, ‘Oh good God, I’m still wearing this stupid apron’ her mother glanced down at her feet, and Isa had a second realization... she was wearing her pink fuzzy slippers. She closed her eyes as her mother’s smile broadened. She patted her daughter's cheek, then she and her Tío guided their breakfast guests to the patio.

Isa’s shoulders drooped as she watched them go and thought, ‘Well, so much for appearances.’ There was no way her Mamá didn’t know Bubo and his Tío were coming for breakfast. She could have at least told her. She sighed. That was probably the furthest thing from her mother's mind with Abuela not feeling well. Isabela decided to head to her room to change, but stopped when she saw her Abuela coming out into the courtyard. Isa noticed that she looked a little tired, and her steps seemed just a little slower than usual... If what Mira said was true, then Abuela might need some help, so Isa went over and asked as she held out her hand, “Good Morning, Abuela. Mind a little company on that long walk to the patio?”

“Thank you, Isabela,” was all she said as she took Isa’s hand. Isabela noted her Abuela’s hand was cold. What was her mother thinking, letting Abuela wander around by herself when it was obvious she wasn’t feeling well? Isa paused in her thoughts. Less than a week ago, she would have simply gone another way to her room to avoid Abuela altogether. She actually felt a little guilty about that, but at the same time, still felt some of that anger, though it was very muted now. Being the first grandchild, she’d always had a bit more responsibility. A bit more of Abuela’s time and attention. She didn’t miss the attention to detail, but more the companionship. None of which she actually hated. Well, until the end, but Isa had to admit, even then, she'd enjoyed herself to a small extent. She didn’t want to get Mirabel into any trouble with Abuela, though she toyed with telling her Abuela about her and Mira’s run in with Señor Rodriguez. In the end, she decided she’d let her mother handle that. Chances were good that if Tío Bruno knew, then her mother and Tía Pepa did as well. No one asked her about it, but someone would have told her Abuela about it by now.

After the breaking, Isa found that certain people she’d thought of as friends treated her differently once she was bereft of her Gift. Worst of all were the ones that blamed Mirabel and would say the most hurtful things. It was, at that point, she realized that she’d once thought similar things about her sister. Eventually, most of those folks fell away whenever Isa would defend her sister and she decided, they were not the people she thought they were.

This was when Isabela found herself shifting blame to her Abuela. She’d also begun to avoid her, much to her mother’s dismay. More than once, her Mamá dropped a few 'suggestions' that Isa chose to ignore. Even her Abuela Valentina, who had no lost affection for Alma Madrigal noted, that even with everything that had happened, it was clear Isabela missed her Abuela Alma and should go visit. Instead, Isa let her anger fester. She also didn’t want to burden anyone with her dark thoughts while they worked to rebuild Casita. That and she felt like she’d already caused a lot of unnecessary pain for a certain other person in her family. It was why she’d started cutting herself. She wanted to mar that perfection her Abuela valued so much. Just little cuts to start. Never where it could be seen, never more than a few millimeters, and always perfectly straight lines. As she thought about that, she felt the vine sleeve begin its march down her arm.

That was something she never expected when the magic revived. The first time it happened, it startled her, but it had afforded her some relief by taking her mind off that anger she still stubbornly clung to. Even now, she was unsure if Abuela actually did approve of the new ways she’d been using her Gift, and there was no way she would have missed Isa’s interest in Bubo Márquez. She knew that Bubo had already met her Abuela, and she did genuinely seem to like him, so why was she so nervous about that then?

Her thoughts were interrupted when her Abuela asked as she pointed, “Isa, where did you get those shoes? Are they something new?”

Isa’s heart sank as her vine sleeve sprouted a thorn and gave her a poke. Stupid slippers, she thought, and she said a little nervously, “Yeah, ummm, they’re not actually shoes… I got them from my friend Juanita. She’s one of the newcomers from a year ago. She gave them to me after I helped her and her husband revive some of the cassava cuttings she brought with her...” Isabela realized she was talking too quickly so took a breath and said in a more normal tone, “I was just going to get something more appropriate… ”

“Can I get a pair?” Abuela asked.

“Wait, what?” Isabela replied.

“Do you think I could get a pair? Those look very comfortable.”

“Ummm, yeah, they are, but not very practical. Great for in the house though,” Isa said and smiled a little as she wiggled her toes. She needed to stop overthinking things. “You know, I may be able to get a hold of another pair. They may not be pink like these, but maybe I can trade for them. Would you like me to see if I can find some?”

Her Abuela smiled as she nodded. They reached the kitchen and Isa paused long enough to take off that apron before she followed her Abuela to the patio. Isa stopped in the doorway as everyone said good morning. Tía Pepa had already made a plate for Abuela, so Isa guided her to her seat. She got herself a plate and turned to find Luisa smiling as she looked knowingly at the empty seat next to her. Bubo was on the other side and Tuli was between him and their Tío. Luisa elbowed her as she sat down, then winked. Bubo hadn’t noticed she was sitting there yet; he was speaking quietly to Tuli who did not appear to be listening. Instead, she was staring somewhat blankly across the table at Antonio, holding her fork but not eating. Her primo usually sat with Mirabel and would talk non-stop, but not today. Today, he was sitting, looking angry between his parents, eating but not talking to anyone. Come to think of it, she didn't see any of Antonio's usual entourage. Except Parce, he was lying in the sun, near the gate. Now she was really curious. Was it Antonio, or did Tuli say or do something? What were those two arguing about that it required her father to go out and break it up? Isa was mulling this over, pushing her food around with her fork, when Bubo asked, “Isabela, do you have any plans for today?”

“I have some requests I'll be working on this morning.”

“Requests? Oh, right. Are they for some occasion?”

“At least one is. That’s for an upcoming wedding, the next is actually for a friend, then after lunch, I get to examine some sickly turnips and the last... I'm not exactly sure. Señor Sanchez is requesting a plant I'm not familiar with, but he says he has a book with a picture and a description so-”

“Wait, Isabela, you said that before. Do you remember all the plants you create?”

“Yes,” she replied and smiled because he’d said her name with that peculiar accent.

“Have you always been able to do that?”

Isabela's smile broadened as she nodded.

“How?”

“I’m not sure, really… It’s more the feeling I get when making them. It’s unique to each, but related plants do feel similar, like they’re family. That sounds weird, doesn’t it.”

“Not at all. Insects are much the same, they tend to look similar if they are from the same order. I believe plant groups are referred to as a genus.”

His acceptance of the small things she could do was still so surprising to her. It really wasn't that big a thing. The first time she did it, she spent days recreating flowers and plants from a book of herbs her mother had. Once she learned the names, she could make them anytime she wanted to. She only started doing it on the down low since she was thirteen. That was when she'd begun her training to be Señorita Perfecta. Her vine sleeve, that was thankfully hidden under her shirt, poked her a little deeper than usual and Isa had to take a moment to make it retract. This caused her to close her eyes as she clenched her teeth. She was no longer smiling and Bubo, eyebrows raised, was probably thinking he’d said something wrong. He cleared his throat and picked up his coffee then after a drink, he turned his attention to Tuli. He spoke to her softly. Isa noticed their Tío José was watching her and felt herself blush as she too, picked up her cup, hiding her face. His expression was unreadable, but she still felt like he was summing her up.

As far as she knew, Bubo probably didn't know much about any of the things that happened before the breaking, but was already aware it was a subject she avoided. Isa knew she would have to tell him about it. That all by itself seemed like an almost insurmountable task. While she didn’t want him to think less of her Abuela or her family, she also didn’t want those thorns stabbing her every time her thoughts wandered in that direction. She wondered then what he'd heard from the villagers, Mariano especially. Sometimes it felt like the ghost of Señorita Perfecta was something she’d probably never get rid of, but damned if she wasn’t going to try.

Tuli, she noticed, was now eating some of her breakfast. Bubo was again drinking his coffee, and Isa decided she needed to make him understand he was not the cause of her frown. She did not want him leaving thinking she was angry with him, so to change that, she touched his arm and asked, “So, Bubo, what will you be doing today?”

He set his cup down and said, “Since Tuli will be remaining here, my Tío and I will be registering her for school, and your father wants us to look at a small house that Tuli and I may be able to use.”

“Oh, I wonder which house it is.”

“I’m not sure, but he said it is near the school.”

Isa pondered that, but just then a dog could be heard barking near the gate. More people? Then she remembered Doris and her brood. Those girls of hers were going to be attending school while they were in the Encanto. Tuli heard the dog and leaned forward a little to look past her Tío toward the gate. Isa remembered Doris’s reaction to her Tía telling Doris that Tuli was actually a girl and Dolores mentioned She’d called her mother a witch, just because she healed her. Tuli was back to staring at Antonio and Isa asked, “Tuli, I bet you're excited about your first day at school, yes?”

Tuli nodded, but had a hold of her locket again. Her Tío leaned in and said something that made Tuli nod then as she let her hand drop to her lap. Since breakfast was over for the most part, the family began getting up from the table. Today was Luisa's dish day, so Isa got up and said, “Well, good luck, Bubo. Maybe we can have lunch in town later and Tuli,” Isa paused until Tuli looked up at her. “I'll see you after school?” Tuli smiled a little, nodded, then got up from her seat and promptly disappeared. Bubo watched her go, then asked, “Did something happen? She seemed so withdrawn.”

“I’m not sure exactly what took place, but she did have some sort of disagreement with Antonio this morning.”

Bubo nodded and looked over at her primo who still sat frowning between his parents, “Okay, well, thanks for telling me. Where should I find you for lunch?”

Isa grinned and said, “Near the oak in the plaza?”

He nodded then said, “I’ll see you then, Isabela,” and moved away with his Tío over near Isa’s mother, who was talking to Doris and Inez.

Isa crinkled her nose when the dog came around the corner, spotted Parce and started furiously barking. Antonio, who had been released by his parents, went over to the dog and said quietly, “Bruno,” the dog went silent and sat back on his haunches waiting, “You’re safe here. Parce’s not going to eat you or your people. He says you’re all far too stringy.” The dog let out what sounded like a whine of relief, then laid down at Doris’s feet. Doris looked at the dog, then smiled at Antonio and thanked him. Antonio smiled and nodded as he called to Parce. The jaguar came over, Toni climbed up, and the pair left the patio, Isa assumed, so he could get his school bag.

She went inside and up to her room to get ready for her appointment with Señora Martinez. Her youngest daughter's wedding was to happen in a few weeks, so she was itching to get the flower arrangements decided. Isa was happy to visit with Juanita. Her baby would be coming any day, and Isa really liked the farmer’s wife. She was easy to talk to and knew so much about farming and the outside world. After lunch, she would be meeting up with Luisa to see Señor Ortiz. One so Luisa could visit with the donkeys, and two to check on the turnips Señor Ortiz was growing to feed them. He was worried it was a bug infestation. Hopefully, none of that would take too long. She was actually more interested in getting to Señor Sanchez’s home. He’d never asked her to create anything in the past, and the plant he’d asked for sounded intriguing. The name itself was exotic enough to get her interested. Bonsai. She had no idea what sort of plant that could be. After she changed into something more appropriate for her first meeting, she headed out the door toward town.

----------------------------

Mirabel watched Tuli pick at her breakfast. Tío Bruno, who was sitting beside Mira, was becoming increasingly fidgety but was trying to act ‘normal’. Well, as normal as he could be. Tuli had said nothing about what happened on the patio prior. Mira also did not get a chance to speak to Bubo. Tuli did appear happy to see her cousin and didn’t shy away from her Tío when they came. She even got up and went over to greet them. Once breakfast was underway though, Tuli caught sight of Antonio, then she barely touched her food. Tuli’s Tío noticed where she was looking and seemed concerned that she was not actually eating. He motioned over her head to Bubo. After a moment, Bubo said something to Tuli very softly. Tuli glanced up at him, then in her Tío's direction. When she started to eat again, she didn’t look like she was enjoying it. Whatever had happened between her and Antonio, had left her very sad.

While it was unlike her primo to be unkind on purpose, his blunt honesty could be painful if you weren’t used to such things. She decided not to ask Dolores, since it was clear Tía Pepa and Tío Félix had already talked to Antonio about it. She was not the boss of anyone, and it was probably why her Mamá asked her not to listen in on private conversations. Mira still felt a little guilty about that, and it was what prompted her to ask Casita to promise not to tell her all the random things her family did. If she really needed to know, she could always ask the actual people involved. When she thought about it, they might not tell her anything. She was determined to try because she was sure she could help if she knew what the problem was… maybe.

She noticed, when Isa was talking to Bubo, she quite suddenly gritted her teeth and closed her eyes for a long moment. Mirabel wondered why she was doing that but remembered that Isa had taken to longer sleeve shirts after the breaking. Probably to hide the thin line of cuts on her upper arm. Now, with those vine sleeves sprouting when Isa was upset, it made Mirabel wondered if that was what caused her sister to grit her teeth just now. Bubo noticed Isa’s change of expression as well and was now sipping his coffee. To her credit, Isa restarted her conversation with Bubo. Just like her, her sister was still dealing with the remnants of their past.

Mirabel refocused on her breakfast and was lost in thought. She started slightly when her Abuela touched her hand. She hadn’t noticed her sitting down and realized Tío Bruno had left. Her Abuela leaned in and said softly, “Mira, thank you for telling me about your encounter with Señor Rodriguez. It is important everyone knows to be wary of that one.”

Mirabel nodded, but was again, feeling really embarrassed and said, “I’m so sorry Abuela, I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“I will say the same. I believe your mother explained?” Abuela asked. Mirabel nodded and Abuela continued, “Good. I actually planned to make a sort of general announcement this morning, but I had forgotten we were having guests. So that can wait until supper. I am not needed in town today, so I think I will rest until noon.”

“Oh? Is there something happening at noon?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

It was a mild rebuff, and very reminiscent of past treatment, but Mirabel accepted it because she really did have a lot going on today. When she was younger, her Abuela would dismiss her, turn away and expect her to leave. These days, her Abuela kept her hand over Mira’s and gave it a little squeeze. Mirabel relaxed a little, though she realized that even though her Abuela had changed so much, she still needed to remind herself that things were different now and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you this morning, Abuela?”

“No, you already have your hands full helping with Tuli and aren’t you working on some costumes for Camilo?”

“Yeah, I really do need to check in with the twins. I’m also stopping by Abuelo Joseph’s shop to work on some things while Tuli is in school.”

Her Abuela smiled and said as she gave her hand another squeeze, “You see, you already have much to accomplish this morning. Don’t forget to take a break, Mira. I know how focused you can be.”

Mirabel nodded again and couldn’t help but smile. So different… “I won’t, Abuela.” Mirabel said as she got up and collected both her and her Tío’s dishes. She went into the kitchen and set the plates on the counter for Luisa, then walked out into the courtyard. She noticed Tuli was standing near the front door that was slightly ajar. Her expression was tense as she watched the folks gathered on the other side. Mirabel went over and put a hand on her shoulder and said, “You look worried.”

Tuli only nodded. Mirabel could see she was watching Doris and Inez, who were off to one side with their two older girls. Both were dressed in some of the clothing they’d received when they arrived that was not too dissimilar to what Tuli was wearing. Luisa had braided Tuli’s hair into two pigtails, tied off with yellow ribbons. Antonio had selected a light yellow shirt that he paired with a pale green skirt decorated with similarly colored yellow ribbon. Tuli was still watching the others when Doris looked around. Tuli ducked back so as not to be seen and since Doris did not seem to find what she was looking for; she returned her attention to Tuli’s Tío who was speaking to her.

Tuli looked up at Mirabel and said, “Do you think Tía Doris is mad at me? I feel like she’s mad at me.”

“For what?”

“Being a girl.”

“That seems an odd thing to be mad about, and she did take you in when you were on the mountain.”

“I know, but I was Fernando then... ”, Tuli faltered, then grabbed her locket.

Mirabel knelt in front of Tuli as she turned her to face her. She took her hands and said, “That’s true, but your circumstances were different. Plus, you haven’t talked to her since you left them, and you don’t know how she feels about it,” Mirabel said with a shrug, “It was probably a surprise to her as well. Sometimes folks just need a little time to think about stuff, and besides, you shouldn’t let that stop you from being who you are.”

Tuli’s worried expression faded, and a more determined one took its place as she nodded. Mirabel got up and Tuli said in a rush, “Do you know where Toni is? I need to talk to him. I thought I would see him before he left… I need to apologize... I said something awful this morning and... ”

“Hey, hey, Tuli, he’s probably already on his way to school, so you’ll have to do that later.”

“Okay, but if you see him before, could you please tell him for me?”

“Apologies are best done in person by the person, Tuli,” Mirabel said as she tapped the door, which Casita opened. “School starts in less than an hour, and I’m sure Bubo and your Tío are starting to wonder where you are. You don’t want to be late on your first day, and we have to get you registered this morning.”

“Yes,” Tuli said as she smoothed her skirt, “I’m staying, so I need to do this right.”

Mirabel stood up and held out her hand. Tuli took it, and together they went through the front door. They were met on the other side by Bubo, his Tío, her Mamá and Papá. Only Inez was there with Lucia and Sofia. Doris was gone, and so were the boys and the dog. The group started toward town and after a short while Tuli had taken a hold of Mirabel’s arm but released it when Bubo gently touched her shoulder and offered her his hand. She took it, and Mirabel could see she was trying to walk without looking like she wanted to grab hold of his arm.

Her mother was speaking with Inez, while her father was answering questions about the Encanto as he walked with Tuli’s Tío. Well ahead of them were Camilo and Toni. Antonio was speaking animatedly to his friends. Camilo was carrying the box of books he’d been studying, probably listening to his brother's conversation. Her group wasn’t close enough to hear what was being said and weirdly, Parce was not with them, so Mira wondered where the jaguar was.

Camilo happened to look back and saw her. He did not pause but raised one finger on his left hand then tapped the box. Mirabel automatically responded to this by pushing her hair behind her left ear. Camilo smiled a little and returned his attention to his brother. Camilo wanted to tell her something important, but didn’t want anyone else to know about it, meaning his sister Dolores. This was just one of the weird little hand signs they’d come up with over the years when they were planning some shenanigan.

Mirabel looked over and saw Tuli talking to Bubo. She had visibly relaxed and though she still had a death grip on his hand, she was not as tense as when they’d left Casita. They really were more like brother and sister than cousins. Tuli even asked him if he was going to go on another date with Isabela. To which Bubo did not respond. Tuli’s Tío was paying attention, but trying not to be obvious that he was. Mirabel watched him a little longer. Tuli's description of him made her think he was an oft angry sort, but he'd been nothing but polite since she met him. The way he was watching Tuli made her think he was trying to get to know this 'new' Tuli.

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the girls with Inez came over and Tuli’s expression turned to one of concern as the other said, “Hola Tuli!”

“Hola, Lucia,” Tuli responded. The other girl with Inez drifted over and said hello as well. Tuli’s look of concern increased as she replied, “Hola, Sofia.”

“Is it alright if we walk with you?” Lucia asked. Tuli blinked but nodded, and Lucia smiled and said, “I really like the color of that skirt better than the one you were wearing yesterday.”

Tuli blushed and smiled a little and said, “Thanks.”

Lucia’s reddish blonde wiry hair was tied in a multitude of long thin braids with colorful wooden beads at the ends. The lot of them were pulled into a ponytail with some orange ribbon that matched her skirt. Sofia's skirt was a bright red and her black hair was separated into two braids, tied off with red ribbon. Lucia looked a little nervous as they got closer to the center of the town and asked Tuli, “There are so many people here. I know you’ve only been here a couple of days, but do you know any of them?”

Tuli’s expression relaxed a little more, and she said, “Some of Toni’s friends but mostly just the Madrigals.”

“Are they Madrigals?” Sofia asked, pointing at Bubo and her Tío. Her Tío was now talking to Mira’s parents as the group came to a short halt when they reached the plaza. In the distance, a bell rang.

First bell, half an hour to go.

“This is, Bubo,” Tuli said as she pointed up. He nodded to them as Tuli started to add, “the other is-”

“Is he part of your family?” Sofia interrupted as she grabbed Tuli’s arm. Tuli only got the chance to nod as Sofia said, “You’re so lucky, Tuli. I wish I could see my family, but they are so far away. We at least have Tía Inni and Doris. They said it’s gonna take a whole nother couple of months to get to Cartagena from here. It just seems so far away, and I’m so tired of walking. Someday though,” Sofia said wistfully. They walked along in silence for a bit until Lucia elbowed Sofia. Both girls moved a little closer, and Sofia leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Tía said why you were a boy before.”

Tuli stopped abruptly and Bubo, having heard that, paused but after looking at Tuli seemed to decide to give her a little space, so he released her hand and continued on. Mirabel only stopped because Tuli touched her arm as she passed her. “You okay?” Mirabel asked.

Tuli nodded, but she looked frightened and had hold of her locket. Tuli’s expression made Mirabel think she was going to bolt. Tuli glanced up at Mirabel, took a deep breath, then hesitantly released the locket and only started walking again because Lucia and Sofia pulled her along. They ignored Mirabel as they walked on either side of Tuli and with their heads close to hers, Sofia said, “Last night, before bed, Tía Doris said it was always obvious that you were a girl.”

Lucia nodded and Tuli asked, “What? Tía Doris told you that?”

The girls didn’t let her stop when she hesitated again. Lucia leaned in and said with a look back at Inez, “Actually, we were kind of in another room, but that doesn’t matter. What she said is true.”

And Sofia added, “We just want you to know. We talked about it last night, we’re not going to tell anyone you used to be a boy.”

Again, Tuli stopped, and Lucia said quite matter-of-factly as she pulled her along, “Why are you stopping, we’ll be late, besides you were terrible at it anyway.”

“The brothers agree,” Sofia added.

The brothers… Mira decided that must be the boys who were traveling with them. She also realized she didn’t know any of their names. She wondered if they were triplets. They were all about the same size and looked very similar. Mirabel looked over at Inez, who was walking a short way behind with her Mamá. She likely could clearly hear everything that was being said. She smiled and looked away when Sofia looked back at her. Mirabel was starting to think that overheard conversation was a planned thing. She’d only spoken with Doris very briefly, and at the time Mirabel had assumed she was not at all happy that Tuli was a girl. Mirabel was glad she was wrong in her assumptions, but that only emphasized to her to not judge other’s intentions. Mira thought then of that vision tablet of an angry Doris and the kids she had behind her. Was Tuli one of them? Mirabel determined she was going to need to look at it again, knowing what she knew now.

“But...” Tuli started to say.

“But nothing, Tuli. You’re the only reason we made it here, and we finally get to go back to school and,” Lucia said lowering her voice as she poked Tuli for emphasis, “you got away from that horrible smuggler all by yourself. I could never be that brave.”

“I didn’t do anything. The Madrigals did all that.”

Sofia and Lucia both rolled their eyes, “Not without you. If you hadn’t told Tía about that guardian tree, we never would have been able to find this place,” Sofia said with a grin.

Lucia nodded and said, “Yeah, we’d still be wandering around on the mountain, starving to death.”

Tuli had her hands knotted up in front of her, and Mira realized that’s what she looked like whenever she did that. Anxious and unsure of herself. No wonder, Isa and Luisa were constantly poking her.

“Thanks,” Tuli said, “But I still don’t think I did all that much. I just got really lucky.”

Sofia took one of her hands as Lucia waved her hands in front of herself to end that topic. “Even if you don’t see it, it’s true and enough about that,” she said then turned to Mirabel and asked, “You think since we’re all the same age, we’ll be in the same class together?”

Mirabel was not expecting to be included and said carefully, “Probably, it all depends on what the principal does. Though they’ve tried to keep the kids who arrive together and are the same age in the same class.”

Lucia nodded, and she skipped a little in front of them. Sofia pulled Tuli along, and it was clear Tuli was still trying to process everything the girls had said. Mirabel hoped these two would be staying for a while. Tuli needed friends her own age that she could trust. In the distance, another bell rang. Second bell, school would be starting in fifteen minutes. The adults that were keeping watch over the kids, who had been playing in the school yard, called out to them. Children scrambled to get their book bags and headed for the open front door.

Everyone, including Tuli started walking just a little quicker. Once inside, she noticed Camilo come out of Señor Gonzalez’s office. He was holding a small notebook as he headed down the opposite hall. Since he was walking into the school and not out, Mirabel hoped his testing went well.

Each of the girls was handed a small lunch basket, as they sat on a bench outside the principal's office while the others went in to complete some forms. The door was not closed, and Mirabel noted that Bubo was the one that completed the form for Tuli. His Tío would point at something, Bubo would listen then fill in whatever. Once done, his Tío simply looked it over, signed it and had Bubo do the same. Inez, they discovered, could neither read nor write, but did not hesitate to ask her mother for help with the form. As they went over it, Inez watched her mother a little nervously, but thanked her for this opportunity for her girls to go to school, free of charge. Did kids really have to pay to go to school on the outside?

Her mother also told Inez about the small class Esteffi Martinez ran for anyone who was beyond school age. She taught what she called readin, ritein and rithmatic and met in the evenings three times a week and there was also no charge for that. Tía Pepa often joined her mother-in-law in this and did not alter that schedule after the magic came back. She instead only worked with the weather during the morning hours. With the new irrigation system that had been put in place after the breaking, she only made sure the natural reservoir has sufficient water. Still, Mirabel wondered how many of the other newcomers had similar challenges.

Everyone who was in the Encanto before the breaking could at least read, write and do basic sums. Her Abuela had made it a priority that a school be established once the original refugees got past the surviving day to day thing. That was one of the things she genuinely admired about her Abuela. It was something Mirabel wanted to emulate. Her Abuela's ability to motivate others. Mirabel wanted to add to that her wish to bring about change when it was needed.

With everything turned in, Señor Gonzalez stepped into the hallway and gestured for the girls to follow him. After they disappeared around a corner, the rest of the group went back outside. Inez thanked her Mamá for her help and said she was looking forward to attending the evening class, then said goodbye to the group and headed back toward the house she and Doris shared. Her father, Bubo and his Tío also left.

Mirabel was trying to decide if she should go to the twin's house first, or Abuelo Joseph’s shop, when her mother touched her shoulder and said, “I’m glad that went well, Corazón. Thank you for helping with Tuli. I’ll see you after lunch, Mira. Will you be at the shop?”

“Yeah, but first I’m going to head over and talk to Bea and Bri. I need to thank them and see if there is anything they need me to do for those costumes for Camilo’s play.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later, mija.”

“Adios, Mamá,” Mira replied, and realized her mother had been talking to her like she was an adult all morning. While that felt a little weird, it was nice, but also made her a little anxious. She’d been expecting a right and proper scolding from her mother for leaving the house last night. That never happened. Mira also realized that she should have spoken with her mother before talking to her Abuela as she went over that conversation in her head. While she hadn’t known about her Abuela’s heart problems, she realized her motivation for doing it was selfish. Either way, she was feeling just a little more confident about her day, so when she turned and saw Mariano waiting nearby. Her Abuela and Tío’s admonition to not go out by herself settled in her head. Her mother had likely noticed him, and that was probably why she was okay leaving her here ‘alone’. Mirabel looked around, but no one seemed to be paying her any mind as Mariano came over and said, “Buenos Días, Mirabel. Dolores requested I be your personal escort for the morning.”

“Escort?”

Mariano leaned down and said in a low voice behind his hand, “She thought that would sound better than babysitter.”

Mirabel couldn’t help but giggle and said, “A little.”

“So, where are we headed, Señorita Madrigal,” Mariano asked as he straightened and held out his arm.

“To check on some costumes,” Mirabel replied, taking it, “and thanks for taking the time out of your day. I know this is a hassle.”

“Not at all, Mirabel. So it is to the Ramirez home then,” he said as they turned back toward the center of town.

---------------------

Next Chapter: ... mostly written?

Previous Chapter:

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angel-inked · 1 year ago

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Silenced Fire, Chapter 7: Kidnapped

Never got around to posting a WIP yesterday, so have a chapter instead 😅 (chapter masterlist here)

Taglist: @vvkingofgaybisciutsvv @thequeenofthewinter @thedevilshardy @mollybegger-blog @wandawiccan60 @cameleonhardyfan63 @inkwolvesandcoffee @liliac-dreamer @potter-solomons

Forrest opened his eyes and was met with blackness. from what he could feel, his hands were bound behind his back and a burlap sack covered his head. Suddenly he heard a car door open and he was violently dragged out and, from what he could tell, into a building... of some sort. When the pair who were yanking him around came to a stop, one of them pulled the cover off his head. Forrest could see a dark room layed out before him, tables and chairs set up, not unlike at the station, and metal hooks lining a concrete wall at one end of the room "Well, aren't you a pretty one. Can see why the boss wanted you" a scruffy looking man explained, leaning down to inspect his face. The man smelled of smoke and bad booze, something Forrest was used to but in his current situation it was rather unsettling. Suddenly, what Forrest assumed was the boss appeared "Forrest Bondurant, haven't seen you in years" no this can't be, this can't be the man that broke into the Bondurant household all those years ago. "Well, look's like you're our guest of honor" the man exclaimed, "chain him up boys" he added. "Yes boss" the two men said in unison. They jerked Forrest to his feet and walked him towards the concrete wall at the back of the room. They threw him around roughly and chained his wrist bindings to one of several iron hooks embedded in the wall. "If you so much as utter one word, you get the whip. You understand me?" The second man, the blonde from before, explained. Forrest nodded, not daring to open his mouth. "Good" the man smiled, well it wasn't a pleasant smile but Forrest supposed it was a smile nonetheless. Once the two men had left him alone in the room, Forrest wondered, how long would it be before Howard and Jack found him? Wherever he was.

Three days, that's how long Jack and Howard had been searching for their missing brother "where could he be?" Howard exclaimed, pacing up and down. "I don't know.. but I'd bet money he didn't go willingly" Jack explained, from Forrest' desk chair. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with you" Howard said reluctantly. He had really hoped this wasn't the case, that one of his little brother's had been taken against his will. He felt like he felled Forrest, he wasn't around to protect him when he needed it "it's not you're fault Howard" Jack said as he rose from the chair, as if he'd read Howard's mind. "We're gonna find him, alright?" Jack explained, putting his hands on Howard's shoulders. "Alright" Howard sighed, doing something he hadn't done in years, he hugged Jack. Jack hugged him back, they missed Forrest, they missed what little he spoke, they missed everything about him. They pulled apart upon hearing the door to Forrest' office open, revealing Rose and Cricket "any sign of'em?" Jack asked, Rose shook her head sadly. "Damn" Jack sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned on his missing brother's desk. "Rose, I guess I'll tell you" Cricket spoke up. "Tell me what?" Rose asked. "Forrest likes you, he asked me what I thought he should do before he disappeared" Cricket explained. The room fell silent, no one knew what to say. Howard and Jack simply looked at each other, knowing they needed to find their brother sooner rather than later.

At this point, Forrest wasn't sure how much time had passed, he hadn't been moved from the wall he was chained to, except to relieve himself. Other than that, nothing. His body hurt from staying in the standing position for too long, he felt like crying but no tears came. Weird as it sounded, he wanted his brothers to hold him, as they had done before when he was upset. He felt safe when they did that but he wasn't sure when or if he would feel that safe again. Now granted, his captors hadn't really done anything to him, except sit in the room and watch him shift around uncomfortably. He wondered why that was, in this position they could've easily had their sick way with him several times over. Finally a single tear rolled down his cheek, he wanted his brothers. That was all he could think, he felt helpless in his current state. Rose, he hasn't thought about her until now and God it stings, Cricket and Howard were right, he did like her, but now he wasn't sure if he'd ever get to tell her. Suddenly, the scruffy looking man that had dragged him in here burst through the door, a bottle of whiskey in hand.

The man grumbled as he flopped himself into one of the chairs. it was like it was some kind of game to these people, some kind of entertainment to watch somebody suffer. The man downed some of his drink and continued to stare at Forrest in silence. Suddenly the man stood and walked towards Forrest "hungry?" The man questioned, Forrest could tell this man was drunk from a mile away. The guy tilted Forrest' head back and forced some of the liquor down his throat, Forrest grimaced, it wasn't even good whiskey, how could somebody drink that? "Oh, you don't like it" the man muttered, "well, too fucking bad" he exclaimed, pulling out a whip and cracking it over Forrest' shoulder, causing Forrest to exclaim in pain. After a few good crackings from the bull whip, the man pulled out a knife and started cutting into Forrest' arms. "You keep flinching like that and I'll snap you're neck" the man growled. Forrest bit his lip, trying his hardest not to move. Forrest never took orders from anyone but in this case he didn't feel like he had much of choice being at someone else's mercy, to see Rose again, to see his brothers again. Finally satisfied, the man put his knife away, leaving Forrest alone in the room again. Once he left, the tears came and didn't stop, Forrest could feel his blood trickling down his arms and dripping onto the floor. He sniffled, he's never wanted his brothers protection more than he did right now.

#tom hardy #hope you enjoy #forrest bondurant #lawless #sorry not sorry for the angst 😅

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khoicesbyk · 2 years ago

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The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 18K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

And this is Part 1 of Chapter 12! I hope you all enjoy it!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @shewillreadyou @txemrn @peonierose @twinkleallnight

Chapter 12.) Best Birthday Ever. Part 1.

It was finally October. This means Shanelle had just a few more weeks until her Princes made their worldly debut. In the meantime, it's celebration time for the Royal Family.

Khari was turning 5 and her parents were still in disbelief. Their little girl was growing up right in front of them. And her personality was budding. According to her mother, Khari ran the palace.

"Daddy I want a big parade and party for my birthday this year," Khari said to Marquise over breakfast.

Marquise raised an eyebrow at his daughter as he sipped his coffee.

"Little girl, do you have 'Daddy I want a big parade and party for my birthday this year' money?" Shanelle asked.

"No, but Daddy does," Khari replies.

Marquise made a face.

"My love, do I look like an ATM to you?" he asked Khari.

"Yep. ATM stands for All The Money. And you have all the money, Daddy." Khari replies.

Shanelle cackled. Marquise just stared at Khari.

"Do we have a deal?" Khari asked.

Marquise smiled tightly as he leaned in close to his daughter.

"Finish your breakfast then go put your uniform on and get ready for school," Marquise said to Khari through clenched teeth.

"Okay. We'll talk about it later." Khari said as she finished her breakfast.

Marquise watched his daughter walk out of the dining room before turning to his wife who was still laughing.

"Did you put her up to this?!" he asked Shanelle.

"No, I didn't put her up to this," she replied.

Marquise squinted.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I did not!"

He gave her a side-eye.

"I didn't!" Shanelle protested.

Marquise shook his head.

"She is worse than you are. I'm supposed to be raising the next Monarch, not a gold digger!" Marquise complained.

"Oh stop complaining. Besides, you only turn 5 once."

Marquise shook his head.

"It's bad enough she's getting a photoshoot for her birthday now she expects me to empty the treasury for her."

"I'm still not hearing why you're complaining."

"She thinks I'm made of money!"

She shrugged.

"I mean technically..."

Marquise groaned.

"You're not helping!"

Shanelle kissed her husband on his cheek.

"You're such a grumpy teddy bear."

Marquise grumbled into his coffee.

Later as Khari got ready to leave she had to say goodbye. She wrapped her daddy in the biggest hug she could muster.

"Bye-bye, Daddy! I love you!" she said sweetly.

He kissed her forehead as he hugged her back.

"Goodbye, my love. I hope you have a great day at school today," he replies.

Khari smiled at her daddy before turning and hugging her mother.

"Bye Mommy! I love you!"

Shanelle hugged her baby girl.

"Bye, baby. Have a good day."

Khari even said goodbye to her brothers.

"Bye, boys! See you later!"

"Come along my darling. It's time to go." Margo said to Khari.

"Okay, Grammy."

Khari waved at her parents one last time then took Margo's hand and left the residence to head to school. The couple watched as Khari was off to another day at school. Shanelle laid her head on her husband's left shoulder.

"You would think I'd be used to watching her leave for school by now," she said to him quietly.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I know you're not. And I know it's hard to watch her grow up right in front of us but she'll always know we love her."

Shanelle closed her eyes.

"I know. I guess I'm scared that one day she won't need us anymore."

He wrapped his arms around her.

"That day will never happen. Because no matter what she or the boys do in this or any life that they choose, they will always need us. Just as much as we need them. They will always love us just as much as we love them."

Shanelle chuckled softly.

"Why do you always have to be a voice of reason and logic?" she asked.

"King," he replied.

Shanelle scoffed with a smirk.

"Smartass."

"Indeed. Now what's on your schedule today?" he asked as they began to walk down the hall.

"I have a FaceTime call with Dee to finalize her birthday dinner menu, I have a virtual visit with Dr. Ramirez. I'll be seeing her twice a week until the boys are born, and I have to count the last of the RSVPs for The Last Apple Ball," she replies.

"They've all come back?" he asked.

"Yup, every last single one," she replied.

"Even..."

"Yeah. Even the one I sent to Cass and Myah."

Marquise nodded.

"How did they respond?" he asked.

"They'll be here," she replied.

Marquise had a thoughtful look on his face.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"You do know this is the second time this year that you've extended an olive branch to them right?" he replied.

"Yup. I know. At least this time I won't be surprised if it comes back to bite me in my ass."

"To be fair, Cassian did apologize for what he said to you."

Shanelle scoffed.

"No. He said I'm sorry. That's not the same as apologizing. Anyone can say I'm sorry. Even you and me. But not everyone can apologize."

"True enough. So why extend the olive branch now?" he asked.

"For the family. I'm not about to be responsible or aid in our family potentially falling apart. I'm not about to lose the people that I love and care about the most nor would I ever force them to choose just because of two people I don't care for. So I will put my pride aside for the good of the family," she replies.

"Like you always do?" he asked.

"Yes, like I always do," she replies.

The two were walking to her office.

"What's on your calendar, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"I have a meeting with the generals to monitor the situation going on in Gemmora," he replied.

"Are they still worried about the Civil War going on?" she asks.

"Yes. The war between King Eli and Queen Vanda could be disastrous for us and many of our allies," he replies.

Shanelle winced.

"Who knew a divorce would spark an actual war?" she asked.

Marquise shrugged.

"I certainly didn't know. But I can't be too surprised by it. Eli has always been selfish and Vanda has always been stubborn," he replied.

"Is that all you have to do today?" she asks.

"Nope. I also have to name the new military base and destroyer in Cronullia, and then I have to officially welcome the now-former King and Queen of Auveral to their new living quarters here," he replied.

Shanelle made a face.

"Does that include their two little demon seeds?" she asked.

"Unfortunately," he replied.

"Ugh! Tell me again why you agreed to let them live here?" she asked.

"To gain Auvernal as a kingdom I had to make this unfortunate concession. But! Queen Reena is paying for it. Literally. They will foot the bill. Cordonia will do nothing but play host." he replies.

"Their devil spawns won't be going to school with Khari, will they?" she asks.

"Nope. Their new home is in Lythikos. So they'll be far away from our daughter." he replies.

"But that means they'll be near Olivia..."

Marquise winked at her.

"Precisely. She insisted that they be placed there. So they'll have to deal with The Scarlet Duchess and her new wife."

Shanelle snickered just as they arrived at her office.

"And this is where I must bid you adieu, my Queen."

Shanelle kissed him sweetly.

"I'll see you for lunch?" she asks.

"Of course," he replied.

"Okay. I'll see you later."

She watched her husband disappear down the hall before she walked into her office and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want her husband to know what she was up to. She was having a birthday surprise made for him and she needed to confirm with the artist.

After spending an hour confirming the final details of the present with the artist, she was on the phone with Dee about her birthday dinner.

"Girl you look ready to pop."

Shanelle groaned.

"I am. I want these two out of my womb! I want my bed back!"

Dee snickered.

"I can't wait to meet them."

"You and their sister," Shanelle said with a laugh.

Dee giggled.

"Okay, baby what are we doing for your birthday dinner?" she asked Dee.

"I'm thinking Italian. Preferably something with pasta." Dee replies.

"Hmm...how about a pasta bar?" Shanelle asks.

"Don't you think that's a bit much? It's not gonna be that many people." Dee said.

"Hello, table for three."

"Fair. Also, that way everyone can get whatever they want." Dee replies.

"Precisely, and what about dessert?" Shanelle asked.

Dee and Shanelle said the answer together.

"Cheesecake!"

The two laughed.

"Then I guess that does it on my end. I will send these off to Everett and I will see you in a few days."

"Thank you so much, Nelle. I appreciate your help and your hosting."

"Always love. You know me. Anything for family."

That's when Shanelle noticed the faraway look in Dee's eyes.

"Are you okay babe?" she asks.

"Huh?" Dee replies.

"You looked like you were a million miles away for a second."

Dee sighed.

"Can I be honest?" Dee replied.

"Always."

"Something happened."

"What? What is it?" Shanelle asks.

Dee took a deep breath.

"I went out with Zack and a few of our old friends a few days ago and got a little too white girl wasted."

"Uh oh."

"But that's not the part that should worry you."

"Talk to me. What's going on?" Shanelle asks.

"I'm not sure how to tell you," Dee replies.

"You know I will never judge you."

"I know I just..." Dee trailed off.

"What is it, babe?" Shanelle asks.

"Zig was there," Dee replied.

Shanelle winced.

"Yikes!"

"Yeah. He helped me into an Uber. And I swear it was totally innocent. But the paparazzi were there too. And they took pictures."

Shanelle groaned.

"What kind of pictures?" Shanelle asks.

"Very compromising pictures..." Dee replies.

"And how do you know they took pictures?" Shanelle asks.

Dee just looked at Shanelle.

"My publicist told me a paparazzo was trying to leak them."

Shanelle let out an explosive breath.

"Please tell me that dragon your husband dares to call a mother doesn't know about it."

"No. At least not yet. And normally I would've let her handle it but I don't need her lording it over me."

Shanelle nodded decisively.

"Say no more. I'll take care of it."

Dee visibly relaxed.

"I love you! Thank you so much."

"Of course. You have enough to deal with. Besides I am not trying to give that old windbag any more ammunition to use against you. It's bad enough that she's constantly around my niece."

"She's AJ's grandmother Nelle."

Shanelle made a face.

"I don't give a goddamn who the bitch is or who she thinks she is. I don't like her being around my niece. And another thing! That old hag is as much of a grandmother as she is a saint. Which is to say not at all!"

Dee died laughing.

"You are so petty."

"Made you laugh. Mission accomplished."

Dee shook her head.

"Thank you, Nelle. Really."

"Babe, I love you. And I only ever want to see you happy. You know this."

Dee smiled.

"You've always been that way."

"And I always will be. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon!"

After hanging up with Dee it was time to eat. She met Marquise in her favorite side courtyard for lunch. When she walked out to the courtyard he was on the phone. He winked at her as she got closer.

"Oui mon oncle. On se voit la semaine prochaine. Très bien. À plus tard." he said before hanging up.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Abhi. He'll be here next week to do the final fittings and measurements on us," he replies.

"Yay! It's been ages since Abhi has been home. How is he? How's Vivienne?" she asked.

"He mentioned that she is doing great. They have a grandson of their own on the way," he replies.

"They do? That's great! I'm happy for them."

"Indeed. He's due in December. Now I'm hungry so let's eat. We have quite the spread. They made us Lobster Rolls with prosciutto-wrapped scallops and creamed Spinach."

"If these Lobster Rolls aren't like the ones at Harry's Sea Shack in Martha's Vineyard, I will be highly disappointed. Also, what's for dessert?" she asked.

He uncovered two dishes revealing two deluxe hot fudge brownie sundaes.

"Yes! Let's eat!"

The couple sat down and tucked into their lunch.

"Mmmmmm! Okay so these aren't like Harry's but they're pretty damn close. And these scallops! Where have they been all my life?" Shanelle said as she enjoyed their lunch.

"I'm glad you like it. I was feeling nostalgic so I asked the kitchen for Lobster Rolls."

"Missing Boston?" she asked

"Somewhat. Maybe after the boys are born we'll take them and Khari on a trip," he replies.

"I love that idea. It's been way too long since we've been to the brownstone anyway."

"Then it's settled when the boys are here and a little older we'll visit."

"I love it when a plan comes together."

Marquise shook his head with a smirk.

"This was such a good lunch. My compliments to the kitchen." Shanelle said as she finished her dessert.

"Yes, it was my love. Now how are you feeling?" Marquise asked.

"I'm okay. My virtual appointment is in an hour. I'm nervous though." she replies.

"Why?" he asks.

"There's a big possibility that she may put me on bed rest until these two are born," she replied.

"Why is that a bad thing?" he asks.

"Bronwyn's birthday party is Saturday and I still need to find an outfit. Khari's birthday party is the week after. Not to mention your birthday and The Last Apple Ball is the week after that! And if that's not bad enough, we still have to finish setting up the nursery here at the palace! I don't have time to sit still. I have too much to do." she replied.

Marquise rubbed the knuckles of her right hand.

"And that is why I hope she does put you on bed rest."

"Marquise!"

"Listen to me before you bite my head off! I know you don't like sitting still. Hell, you outright hate it. And I understand that. Get up and go is who you are. But what I don't want or need is you putting unnecessary stress on yourself. Especially when we're so close to your due date. It's not good for you or the boys. So if Dr. Ramirez decides that bed rest is what's best for you for the remainder of this pregnancy, you will abide by it. Is that clear?"

Shanelle sighed deeply.

"Yes. I will abide by it," she said defeatedly.

Marquise nodded before bringing the back of her right hand to his lips for a soft kiss.

"I know you're apprehensive. But no matter what happens, always remember it's all in the best interest of your health and the health of our boys."

"I know."

Marquise stood up and helped her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close as possible.

"I love you. You know that right?" he asked.

"I know. I love you too," she replies.

Shanelle sighed.

"I know it's all in my head. It's just that I'm so close. I can't stop now."

He kissed her forehead softly.

"I know. You don't know how to stop. But I promise you, it'll be alright."

She smiled softly at him.

"You always know how to reassure me."

"And I always will," he said as he kissed her slowly. "I should let you go. The former Monarchs will be here soon."

Shanelle made a face.

"Make sure they don't touch anything. I don't want their little crumb snatchers breaking my shit."

"Noted. I'll see you later my love."

"I'll see you later baby."

With one final kiss the two parted ways. When Shanelle got back to her office, there was an envelope sitting on her desk.

"That was not there when I left," Shanelle said to herself.

As she sat down at her desk she stared at the strange envelope. Contemplating what it could be.

"This is too small and too light to be a bomb. This shit better not be anthrax," she said as she picked up the envelope.

She tested its weight in her hand. It felt weighty but not heavy. And when she shook the envelope something moved. There was definitely something inside.

"Okay. I want to know what's inside but I don't want to know. But I want to know. But I don't want to know. But I want to know. But I don't want to know. But I want to know!"

So she decided to open the envelope. After grabbing a letter opener she faced the envelope away from her, squeezed her eyes shut, and opened it. When she didn't see any kind of powdery substance she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay since you're not a bomb or anthrax what are you?"

As if she expected an answer. She turned the envelope over and a card fell out.

"Seriously?"

When she opened the card and read it she damn near dropped it. Inside the card was a note from Marquise.

For you my Queen. Happy Birthday.

There were also tickets to see Usher in Vegas for her birthday.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" she squealed happily.

She couldn't believe that her husband got her VIP tickets to see Usher live in concert. And the best part is he even got tickets for the girls. What she didn't know is that His Majesty was listening on the other side of the door. With a smirk, he had the doorman open the door.

"Are you alright my love?" he asked as he walked in, "I heard you screaming. Oh! I see you got your birthday present."

She nearly ran him over.

"Oh My God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank youuuuuu!" she squealed as she hugged him.

"You're most welcome, my love."

"When did you have time to do this?!" she asks, holding the tickets in her hands.

"A few weeks ago. I had to call in a few favors but I was able to get it done," he replies.

"I can't wait to tell the girls! They're gonna flip!"

Seeing the joy on her face made his heart flip.

"I'm sure you girls will have a lot of fun."

"We always do."

Just then her phone rang.

"That must be Dr. Ramirez."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it. Let me know what she says."

"Will do."

He stepped out just as she answered the phone.

"Good afternoon Dr. Ramirez!" Shanelle said in greeting.

"Good afternoon Your Majesty! How are you?" Dr. Ramirez replies.

"I'm doing okay. All things considered."

"That's good. I have your latest test results. Everything looks good. Your final weight is good. You're not over or under. Your blood pressure is still a little higher than I'd like it to be but it's not too concerning. Your iron levels have significantly improved. So that's good news there. So far I'm pleased with how you're progressing."

Shanelle nodded.

"Now I know that the Last Apple Ball is in a few weeks. And I know you're eager to know if you'll be able to attend."

"I am kinda hoping for good news. I have a few trips planned."

Dr. Ramirez chuckled softly.

"You needn't worry, Your Majesty. I see no reason to put you on bed rest for now."

Shanelle breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness! Thank you, Dr. Ramirez."

"You're quite welcome, Your Majesty. Now lets you and I schedule our physical meeting for Friday morning at 8:30."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Good. I will see you Friday."

"See you then Dr. Ramirez."

When Shanelle hung up the phone she was relieved.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh my God! What a relief! Oh, how I love the month of October!" she said to herself.

Meanwhile, His Majesty made his way to the throne room. The former King and Queen of Auvernal were arriving and he wanted to rub it in their faces. He had just gotten to the throne room when they arrived. As the former Royal Family walked in surrounded by guards, Marquise couldn't help the smug smirk on his face.

"Bonjour à vos anciennes Majestés. Bienvenue à Cordonia. It's good to see you all in good health. I know the four of you are used to private flights so I hope flying coach wasn't too uncomfortable for you."

Isabella just glared at Marquise.

"Bradshaw! How are you? How have you been since the collapse of you and your wife's reign as King and Queen hmmm?" Marquise asked.

Bradshaw just stood there fuming.

"And of course, I can't forget about little Lyra and Issac. It must be tough not being a Prince and Princess anymore. But do not worry you two! You'll get used to being commoners soon enough."

"Don't you dare speak to my children that way!" Isabella snapped at Marquise.

"I think you mean Bradshaw's children, Izzy. How fitting that you two who clearly can't stand each other can't get a divorce without running the risk of the true paternity of these two lovely twins getting out. Because if you thought the trouble you went through before was bad...just wait until the world finds out that those two precious demon seeds aren't actually yours."

"Are you here to torture us Marquise?" Bradshaw asked impatiently.

"When you address me from here on out Bradshaw, you are to address me as Your Majesty," Marquise replied with a growl. "And no I won't waste much more of my time on you lot. I just wanted to see you before you're sent to Lythikos." Marquise replies.

"Lythikos?! Near that Duchess?" Isabella asked.

"Yes," Marquise replied.

"What is a Lythikos?" Isaac asked.

Marquise gave the boy a wolfish grin.

"I'm so happy you asked Issac! It's a place that's as cold as your daddy and mommy's hearts. It's a perfect place to put you and your God Awful twin sister," Marquise replies.

"How dare you! I have had enough of this!" Isabella sneered.

"Finally we agree on something. Guards!" Marquise called out, "Get these peasants out of my sight."

Guards quickly swarmed the four before they hauled them away.

"Au revoir mes amis. Que votre nouvelle maison soit aussi misérable que vous l'êtes."

Marquise walked to his office where he met Margo. She had a look on her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"We need to talk," she replied calmly.

He knew the tone in her voice. He led her into his office and to the small couch.

"Now what is it? Why do you want to talk?" he asked.

Margo took a deep breath.

"My doctor called. They've found pancreatic cancer."

Marquise just stared at her stunned.

"What? What did you just say?" he asked.

"I have cancer, son," she replies.

Marquise shook his head no.

"No! No! No!"

Margo covered his hands with hers and squeezed gently.

"Please do not worry my son. It's in the very early stages. And my doctor is positive about the diagnosis."

"Mom."

"Sweet child. I am not going anywhere. I will fight until I can't anymore. Only God can take me away from you, my daughter-in-law, and especially my beautiful grandchildren."

"I want to speak to your doctor and I want a second opinion."

Margo chuckled softly.

"You will never stop. Very well. You have my permission to speak to him on my behalf. But don't you dare yell at him! This is not his fault. It's my fault. And it's certainly not your fault. Is that understood?" she asked.

Marquise smiled sadly.

"Yes ma'am."

She kissed his cheek.

"My boy. Papa would be proud to see you still protecting our family."

"I always will Maman. Now do you need anything? Do the others know?" he asked.

"Yes. I've told almost everyone. I haven't told Shanelle or Khari or Callie." she replies.

"I want Shanelle and me to be there when you tell Khari."

"Of course my King."

"Tell Khari what?" Shanelle asked as she walked in.

"Here come sit down for a second," Marquise replies.

Shanelle sat down next to Margo.

"Okay. I'm sitting down. What is it?" Shanelle asks.

Margo cleared her throat.

"There's no easy way to say this but I have Pancreatic Cancer."

Shanelle was stunned.

"Oh, my God! Margo..."

"Please not you too. I will be okay. It's in the early stages. I'm not going down without a fight."

Shanelle shook her head with a small smile.

"That's my girl! Don't you dare give up!"

Margo winked at Shanelle.

"As much as I loved my George I have grandbabies to love more. I can't leave them."

"What about me?" Marquise asked Margo.

Margo scoffed.

"What about you? You're even more of an old codger than your father was. I don't have to love you anymore. My love is now strictly for all of my grandbabies." Margo replies.

Marquise made a face.

"Fine...I can accept that."

"It's not like you have a choice." Shanelle quipped.

"I swear I regret getting married in the first place," Marquise muttered.

He shook his head.

"Mama you look tired, you should go rest."

Margo cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Is that an order my King?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll get Khari from school so you don't have to."

"Very well Your Majesty. I shall relax at your request."

"No need to get smart, Maman."

Margo smirked before she stood up and hugged him.

"Thank you, my son."

He kissed her forehead.

"Always. I'll check on you later."

Margo smiled at Shanelle before leaving his office. Shanelle looked at her husband.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he sat down next to her.

"No, but I will be on the phone with her doctor after Khari gets home and I will be getting her a second and third opinion," he replies.

Shanelle rubbed his arm.

"Babe..."

Marquise sighed.

"I know. I just...I hate this. I hate feeling this way."

"I know you want to protect her. In the same way, she has always protected you but this is a monster that you can't fight on your own. You have to trust Margo."

"I do. I trust her with my life. I just..." he trailed off.

Shanelle kissed his cheek.

"That's what I love about you, you always want to protect your family. That's your driving force."

"Indeed."

Just then Marquise's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"What is it?" Shanelle asked.

Marquise read the notification and died laughing.

"Now I gotta know. What's so funny?" she asked.

"See for yourself," he replied as he handed her the phone.

"Former Queen Genevieve Stannos-Miller files for divorce! Citing infidelity. Claims her husband King Edward Miller fathered a child with their now former daughter-in-law!" Shanelle read out loud.

"Now you see why I laughed so hard."

Shanelle cracked up.

"Oh, my God! This will ruin them! I mean they're already ruined but this will seal the fate of that family." Shanelle said with a satisfied smirk.

"Your Majesty! How cruel can you be to your own kin?" he asked in feigned shock.

Shanelle cackled.

"I'll say one thing for your pet project: she turned out to be more useful than I could've ever given her credit for."

Marquise snickered.

"How is she by the way?" Shanelle asked.

"Curious, my love?" he replies.

"I want to make sure that she's living up to her end of the deal."

"She has been doing fantastically. According to Drake."

"How would Walker..." she trailed off.

Marquise smirked.

"How indeed..."

(Shanelle's reaction).

"You didn't!"

He shrugged.

"She knows and willingly agreed to the terms of the contract she signed. Besides, since we'll be busy this month, he's my eyes and ears on the ground at the border with Gemmora. So the way I see it, two birds and one stone."

"Alexa! Play Ho by Ludacris!"

Marquise laughed.

"You're a mess."

"And you love me for it, sir."

Marquise looked at his Apple Watch.

"Time for me to go get our little one."

"Let me go with you. I can use the fresh air."

Marquise offered her his arm.

"Let us be off."

The two departed the palace and headed to Khari's school. Marquise actually enjoyed picking her up from school. It gave him a chance to get out and be amongst the people. Especially the other parents of the school. He enjoyed speaking with them and learning who they are and what they do. It made him feel more connected to them. Whether or not he liked seeing Khari walk out with her friend was a different story entirely.

He and Shanelle were standing out by the main gate when they opened up and the children came out. When Marquise first saw Khari he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. That smile melted when he also saw Khari's new friend Xavier. They were walking out holding hands as they had been doing.

When Shanelle looked up from her phone and saw the look on her husband's face, she started snickering.

"Why is she holding his hand like that?" he asks in a very disgusted tone.

"Like what?" she replies.

"Like that! Like they're really close friends."

"You mean like they're boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asks.

"Yes!" he replied.

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

"Stop being jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" he sneered.

"Uh-huh. Then why do you look like somebody shot your dog?" she asked.

Marquise groaned as Khari got closer.

"Hi, Daddy! Hi Mommy!" Khari said as she walked up.

"Hi, baby!" Shanelle said to Khari before addressing Xavier, "Hello Xavier!"

Xavier smiled.

"Hello, Your Majesty!" he said to Shanelle before holding his hand out to shake Marquise's hand, "Hello Khari's dad!"

Marquise smiled tightly as he shook Xavier's hand.

"Hello, Xavier! How are you today?" Marquise asked.

"I'm good Mr. King! How are you?" Xavier replies.

"I'm doing quite well, thank you."

Xavier heard his name being called.

"That's my mom! I gotta go! Bye, Khari! Bye, Your Majesty!" Xavier said before running off to his mom.

"You ready to go Daddy?" Khari asked.

"Yes, my love. Let's go!" Marquise replies.

Khari hopped in with Shanelle softly laughing at her husband.

"Shut. Up. Get. In." Marquise said to Shanelle.

Shanelle got in before Marquise joined them and they were off.

"Daddy? Can we stop for a snack?" Khari asked.

"Sure. What's your pleasure?" he replies.

"Ice cream!"

Marquise nodded.

"Ice cream it is. What about you, my love?" he asked Shanelle.

"I could go for a double scoop."

"Gerald! Will you take us to Khari's favorite ice cream shop?" Marquise asked the driver.

Later that evening Shanelle was on the phone with her girls.

"Sooooo I have a question for y'all! How do you girls feel about going to Vegas with me to see Usher live in concert?" she asked.

"Usher? As in fine as hell, can sing his pretty tail off, and can dance for days? That Usher?" Chut asks.

"Yes, THAT Usher. So what do you girls say? You in?," Shanelle replies.

"I'm already packed when do we leave?" Robin asks.

The girls laughed.

"Oh! I'm definitely in." Bronwyn said.

"So am I!" Dee piped up.

"Agreed!" Aly and Chut said together.

"And okay. I might have an ulterior motive for this trip. Because the concert is on my birthday, which is a Friday. And I was hoping that on Saturday we could celebrate a certain someone who is getting married the weekend after with her bachelorette party?"

"Ooh!" the girls said.

Shanelle looked at Nina.

"Whaddya say best friend? You coming?" she asks Nina.

"Viva Las Vegas!" Nina replies.

"Pack ya bags girls! We going to Vegas!" Shanelle announced.

That Friday after her appointment with Dr. Ramirez was done. The Royals were on a flight to LA for Bronwyn's all-white birthday party. And when they landed Shanelle still hadn't found an outfit to wear.

"No! No! No! No! And no! I don't like any of these!" she complained.

Marquise peered at his wife over his book.

"And why don't you like any of these dresses?" he asked.

"Because I look like Moby Dick in these dresses!" she replies.

Marquise let out an annoyed sigh before putting his book down and walking over to Shanelle and pinching her.

"Ow! What was that for?" she asks.

"That was for annoying me," he replies.

Shanelle rubbed her arm.

"So now I annoy you?" she asks.

"You always annoy me. Especially when you act like this," he replies.

Shanelle crossed her arms and glared at him.

"And how am I acting?" she asks.

"Like a spoiled brat who doesn't understand that there is nothing wrong with her or the way she looks," he replies.

Shanelle pouted.

"You didn't have to snap at me like that," she said quietly.

Marquise ran a hand down his face.

"You're right. I'm sorry. But you know I hate it when you get like this."

"I can't help it. I'm huge. It's hard not to notice."

"Do you want me to pinch you again?" he asked.

"You pinch me again and I will punch you dead in your face," she sneered.

He scoffed before leaning closer.

"I'd love to see you try."

Shanelle glared at him.

"Now you can either pick one of the dresses to wear tomorrow or you can stay here while I go to the party alone. Either way, I'm done hearing you complain."

He watched her storm out before going back to his book.

The two spent most of the day not speaking to one another. Even when they went out to dinner at Spago together neither paid any attention to the other.

Later that night Marquise had just finished writing in his daily journal when Shanelle finally came to bed. Out of the corner of his right eye, he watched her climb into bed and lay her head on his shoulder. He knew she wouldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Are you ready to talk to me now?" he asked as she snuggled next to him.

Shanelle nodded her head yes.

"Good. Now why are you so upset?" he asked.

"I'm not upset. I'm annoyed," she replied.

"Okay, why are you annoyed?" he asks.

"Because you were being a dismissive jackass again," she replied.

"I'm being a dismissive jackass again? Okay, so what was I supposed to do Shanelle? Was I supposed to just sit back and listen to you berate yourself again? Is that what you're telling me?" he asked.

"No," she replies.

"Sure sounds like it."

Shanelle scoffed.

"Of course, you wouldn't understand."

"Okay then help me to understand."

"You don't understand how hard it is to be pregnant and not find something that doesn't make me look bad or worse feel bad."

He rubbed her arm.

"I do understand my love. I know that this entire pregnancy has been a challenge. I'm not dismissing how you feel about that. Because I know that this pregnancy has brought out the worst of your insecurities. What I am doing is trying to get you to stop berating and belittling yourself just because an outfit doesn't look right on you."

She stayed quiet because she knew he had a point.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asks.

"No," she replies.

"You sure? Normally you have a smart-ass retort ready."

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

"Now are you still annoyed?" he asks.

"Not as much as I was," she replied.

"That's better than yes so I'll take it."

Shanelle sighed.

"I may have overreacted just a bit."

"You may have overreacted just a bit?" he asks.

"Yes. Are you happy now?" she replies.

Marquise pushed her off of him.

"Are you sick? You don't have Covid do you?" he asked.

"No, I don't have Covid you idiot!" she replies.

"Are you sure? Because YOU just admitted that YOU may have overreacted."

"I take it back!"

"Too late!"

Shanelle chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe you did overreact but you're not the only one that needs to apologize."

"Admittedly you didn't do anything."

"I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm sorry."

She snuggled against him.

"You're such a teddy bear. Grumpy yet lovable."

"That's not what a teddy bear is."

"Whatever."

"If it makes you feel any better, I ordered you some more dresses. They'll be here in the morning."

"What happens if I don't like them?" she asks.

"As long as you don't show up in a feathered boa, a g-string, and stilettos, who cares what you look like?" he replies.

Shanelle snorted.

"A feathered boa, a g-string, and stilettos, huh?" she asks with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't steal my joy," he replies.

Shanelle shook her head before kissing her husband goodnight.

"Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight baby."

He laid his left hand on her stomach as they drifted off to a combined sleep.

The next day they were getting ready for the party with Robin who was riding with them. Marquise got ready before the girls and was waiting for them when Robin got dressed first.

"Okay, big bro. Whaddya think? How do I look?" Robin asked him.

"Do a spin for me?" he replies.

Robin spun around once.

"Still beautiful as ever."

"Thank you, big bro."

Robin noticed the watch in his hand.

"Ooh! That's a nice watch. Is it a Rollie?" she asks.

"Nope. Patek Philippe," he replies before rolling up the right sleeve of his suit jacket showing two more watches, "That's a Rolex. On top of an Audemars Piguet."

"Soooo..." she started to say before he cut her off, "No."

Robin sucked her teeth.

"You don't even know what I was about to say!"

"Yes, I do. You were getting ready to ask me to buy you one. As if I don't spoil you enough already."

Robin rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't gonna ask you that! But since you opened your big mouth..."

Marquise groaned.

"You gonna buy me one?" she asked.

Marquise looked at her like she had two heads.

"Do I look like a jewelry store to you?!" he asked.

"Yes," she replies.

"Ugh! You are the worst!"

She hugged his arm.

"And you love me for it."

Marquise grumbled under his breath before handing her a small box.

"Here."

"You serious?" she asked.

"Should I take it back?" he replies.

Robin snatched the box out of his hands. And when she opened the box there was a Rose Gold and Diamond Ladies Audemars Piguet watch.

"You had Rain's name and his birthday put on the bezel..."

"You're welcome."

She hugged him.

"Thank you, big bro. You do love me."

"Yeah, I do. Otherwise, you'd be taking a cab to the party."

Robin punched him in the arm.

"You jerk!"

He snickered.

"You love me."

"Sometimes."

"Better than never."

They may be blood-related but they are still siblings. He cares about her. Even though she always gives him wrinkles.

"You know you never told me what happened with Cole."

"I didn't tell you what happened with Fencio either. Besides the less you know the better."

"What did you do?" she asks.

"That's on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know," he replies.

"Ugh!"

He looked at her out of the corner of his right eye.

"Fine. All you need to know is that it involved a reimagining of Dr. Frankenstiein's monster."

Robin just looked at him.

"What does that mean?" she asks.

Marquise just shrugged.

"D'awwwwwwwwww! Look at the siblings bonding!" Shanelle said as she walked into the room.

Robin and Marquise were both stunned by Shanelle's outfit. Or lack thereof.

"Daaaaaaaaammmmmmmnnnnnnnn Girl!" Robin said to her.

"That's what you're wearing?" he asked his wife.

"Yeah," she replied with a slow twirl. "You like it?"

"You look stunning mama!" Robin said to her.

"Thank you, baby."

Marquise made a face.

"What?" Shanelle asked him.

"Where's the rest of it?" he asked.

"What do you mean? This is it." Shanelle replies.

"There's nothing there."

"I'm wearing a bodysuit!"

"And not much else. Is that mesh?" he asked.

"Yes. Loosely styled like a toga," she replies.

Marquise shook his head.

"Well, you certainly know how to bend the rules."

"Aren't you the one who said it didn't matter what I wore as long as I didn't show up to the party in a feathered boa, a g-string, and stilettos?" she asked.

"First of all, that's not what I meant when I said that and you know it. And second, I'd like to point out that your outfit is not white," he replies.

"Noted. Now let's go."

Rather than argue Marquise got up and walked out. When he and the girls got outside their rides were waiting. He helped Robin into her ride before helping Shanelle into theirs. And off to the party they all went. As they rode to the winery, Shanelle's phone buzzed. When she looked at her phone she smiled.

"I know that smile. What did you do?" he asked.

"Just confirmed that most of Bron's birthday presents will be delivered," she replies.

"Most of them?" he asked.

"Yeah. The biggest one won't fit in the parking lot," she replies.

"Gotcha."

When they got to the winery the party was in full effect. The drinks were flowing. The cameras were flashing. It was a great time to be had. The couple found a corner to sit in out on the patio.

"Well, this party is a rousing success," Marquise said to Shanelle.

"Yup. Bronwyn really outdid herself. Everything looks amazing."

"Everything tastes amazing," he said as he poured himself a glass of the winery's newest flavor, Sexy Red Bomb.

"Are you really about to drink that in front of me?" she asked him.

He took a big sip.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Did you want some of this?" he replied.

"You're such an ass." she sneered.

Marquise snickered.

"Nelle!" Bron called out.

"There's my birthday girl!" Shanelle replies.

The two embraced.

"Umm, what are you wearing?" Bronwyn asks.

"Oh, this? This is an improvisation of the dress code. Unless you wanted me walking around looking like Moby Dick." Shanelle replies.

Bronwyn looked at Marquise.

"You let her walk out wearing this?" Bronwyn asks him.

Marquise snorts before taking another sip.

"Since when does she listen to me?" he replies.

"Point taken."

Shanelle rolled her eyes good-naturally.

"You two can stop ganging up on me now."

"How are you two enjoying the party?" Bronwyn asked.

"Everything is beautiful, baby. You did great." Shanelle replies.

"Thank you, Nelle. That means a lot."

The two smiled at each other before a loud truck horn blared. Everyone looked around.

"What in the world was that?" Marquise asked.

Bronwyn and Shanelle looked at each other.

"We have no idea," they replied.

"I'll be right back," Bronwyn said before running off to investigate.

Marquise looked at Shanelle who had a smirk on her face.

"Is that the birthday surprise?" he asked.

"That's part of it," she replies.

He nods.

"Let's go see the fun shall we?" he asks.

She smirks as they both stood up and walked to where everyone was gathered. A large transport truck carrying a Cadillac Escalade, a Mercedes G-Wagon, A Range Rover, and a Porsche Cayenne was parked outside by the entrance.

"Nice variety," Marquise whispered to his wife.

"Just wait," she whispered back.

"I'm looking for the owner of the winery." the driver of the transport truck announced.

"That's me." Bronwyn replied, "What is this?"

"I was told to deliver these to you." the driver said to her.

Bronwyn looked at Logan.

"Did you do this?" she asked Logan.

He shook his head no.

Shanelle and Marquise snickered to themselves.

"Then who did?" Bronwyn asks.

The driver started to unload the vehicles with many looking around at each other. Once the trucks were unloaded the driver handed Bronwyn the keys to each as well as a card and wished her a good night.

Bronwyn turned the card over in her hand before opening and reading it.

"It says to look in the glove box of the Escalade," Bronwyn said out loud.

"Watch," Shanelle whispered to her husband.

Bronwyn climbed into the Escalade and looked in the glove box and found an iPad inside. When she opened it a video played.

"Good evening Mrs. Ellis! My name is Capt. Rolando Gueverra. If you've found this iPad, that means it's time to reveal your final birthday present." the man said before panning out to show a private jet in a hangar. "In addition to your new trucks, this is your brand new Gulfstream G650. The crew and I can not wait to serve you and your family."

The video ended with one final message.

"Happy Birthday Beautiful! Love always, Nelle."

Bronwyn couldn't believe it. When she got out of the Escalade she was in shock.

"What did you do?" Marquise whispered to Shanelle.

"I got her a jet," Shanelle replies.

"Custom?" he asks.

"Of course," she replies.

"Nice!"

They watched as Bronwyn explained everything to Logan. Logan looked over at Shanelle.

"YOU GOT HER A JET?!" he asked.

Shanelle just shrugged with a smirk.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TOP THAT?!" he asks.

"That's a you problem, not a me problem sir," Shanelle replies.

Logan shook his head with a laugh.

"Gee, thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

When Bronwyn ran over to Shanelle she gave her a giant hug.

"Thank you so much, Nelle. You really are a Queen."

"Bout time you peasants realized it."

Bronwyn snorted.

"You're a mess."

Bronwyn looked at Marquise.

"Sir. Did you know she was gonna do this?" Bronwyn asked him.

Marquise took a big gulp of his drink.

"Nope. Didn't know about this until we got here," he replied.

Shanelle shook her head.

"But in all seriousness, I truly hope you enjoy the gifts."

"We sure will!" Logan piped up.

Shanelle scoffed.

"We?! When did you start speaking French?" Shanelle asked Logan.

"When my wife got a jet for our birthday," Logan replies.

"I can't stand you," Shanelle said with a snicker.

"You love me."

"Maybe. Also, your move sir."

"Sheeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

Logan started patting his pockets.

"What are you doing?" Shanelle asks.

"I'm looking for where the hell you think I'm supposed to get that kinda money from," Logan replies.

"Ooh! I hate you!" Shanelle said with a laugh.

"Made you laugh. But for real, thank you, sis."

Shanelle hugged him.

"Always."

"Love you."

"Love you too Squirt."

Logan groaned.

"When are you gonna stop calling me that?" Logan asks.

"When you stop being the runt of the family," Shanelle replies.

Logan looked at Marquise.

"Dude. Get your wife."

Marquise snickered.

"You two enjoy the rest of the party," Logan said to the couple, "me and this sexy thing are going for a ride."

"Don't you crash her car, Logan." Shanelle warned.

"Yes, Mom..." Logan teased.

"Boy get out my face!" Shanelle snapped at him.

The two smiled at each other.

"I love you, sis."

"I love you too."

Shanelle watched them climb into the Porsche and drove off.

"Take a victory lap, my love. You did good." Marquise said to Shanelle.

"And I'm just getting started," Shanelle replies.

That following Monday the couple was back home in Cordonia, finishing their lunch in their side garden and previewing the photos of their daughter's birthday shoot.

"Look at her! She looks great! Sev did amazing!" Shanelle said as they looked at the pictures.

"Yes, she does. I can't believe she turns 5 Friday." Marquise said. "Where has all the time gone?"

"I wish I knew. Our baby isn't a baby anymore." Shanelle replies.

"She'll tell anyone who'll listen that she's a big girl now."

"Yeah, I know. I look at her and I still can't believe that the tiny little human who wrapped her hand around your finger is a big girl."

Marquise rubbed her shoulders.

"I know. It's amazing to see her personality begin to blossom. She's so much like you."

"Give yourself some credit babe. She's like you too. She has your sense of compassion and fairness. And your sense of utter foolishness."

He chuckled.

"True enough."

"At least we don't have to worry about party planning. I'm so grateful to Bron and Lo and their staff for hosting her birthday party."

"Same. She'll love it."

"Indeed she will."

Just as they were finishing breakfast an attendant walked up.

"Pardon the interruption Your Majesties, but you have a guest waiting in the boutique."

Marquise shook his head with a smile.

"Abhi is here. Which means we have measurements and fittings to get done."

"Then let's not keep him waiting, my King."

The couple left the garden and made their way to the Palace boutique where Abhi had just finished setting up.

"Bonjour oncle Abhi! Ravi de vous voir!" Marquise said as he and Shanelle walked in.

"Neveu! C'est bon de vous voir, vous et ma nièce aussi!" Abhi replied as the two embraced.

Abhi looked at Shanelle with a fond smile.

"Hello, my niece! Look at you, my dear! You are glowing!"

"Thank you, Abhi. I appreciate that. It's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home. Now all I need is to spoil my Princess."

Shanelle shook her head with a chuckle.

"Just what she doesn't need."

Abhi laughed.

"In the meantime, come nephew. Let's get you fitted."

For the next hour and a half, Shanelle watched and laughed as Abhi and Marquise fussed at each other.

"Ai!" Marquise yelped as Abhi stabbed him with a sewing needle.

"Stop fidgeting!" Abhi fussed.

"Put your glasses on, old man!"

"I can see just fine nephew."

"If that were the case you wouldn't be stabbing me in my hip with your needle!"

"You never have learned to hold still!"

"That's because you're always stabbing me!"

"Then hold still! Besides, I'm almost done."

"I hope so," Marquise muttered.

"You two are adorable," Shanelle said to them.

"Totally hilarious." Marquise deadpanned.

"And done!" Abhi announced.

"Finally!" Marquise said.

"Taisez-vous! Now how do the pants feel?" Abhi asked Marquise.

"Stab wounds aside, they feel good. They can be taken up at the hem of the legs a little bit." Marquise replies.

"I will keep that in mind. Now let's try on the jacket."

Marquise slipped on the suit jacket.

"How does the jacket feel, nephew?" Abhi asked.

"It's a little tight in the shoulders but other than that it feels fine," Marquise replies.

Abhi nodded as he scribbled something on a notepad he took out of his pocket.

"I will take it out at the shoulders when I get to the shop," Abhi said to Marquise before turning his attention to Shanelle, "Now for my Queen. Come, come! I have your dress ready."

Abhi unzipped a garment bag revealing a beautifully flowing red gown.

"Abhi, it's beautiful!" Shanelle said to him.

"Thank you, my niece. Now let's see how you look in it."

Shanelle ducked behind a screen and reappeared wearing the dress.

"Well, how is it, my Queen?" Abhi asked.

"Oh. My. God! Abhi, it feels amazing," Shanelle replies.

"Good, good! Now that I'm looking at it I need to take it up at the hem so that it's not sweeping the floor so much."

"No, keep it. It helps hide my huge feet."

Abhi looked at her confusedly.

"There's nothing wrong with your feet, niece."

"Tell that to your nephew."

Abhi looked over at Marquise with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Neveu, avez-vous menti sur ses pieds pour lui faire peur?"

Marquise shrugged.

"Non. Je lui dis juste la vérité qu'elle n'aime pas entendre et accepter."

Abhi shook his head.

"Uh-huh. Stop scaring her. Her feet are not that big."

Marquise raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine. I'll leave her alone. For now."

"I'm gonna change," Shanelle said before she ducked behind the screen. When she re-emerged she had the new dress in its garment bag.

"Well now that I have the Queen dressed all I'm missing now is my little Princess."

"Lord, if she finds out that you're here," Shanelle said just as a pair of feet were heard coming down the hall.

"Sounds like she already knows." Marquise quipped.

"You told her, didn't you?" Shanelle asked Marquise.

"Maybe..." Marquise replies.

The door to the boutique bursts open revealing a very excited Princess with Margo right behind her.

"Uncle Abhi!" she squealed as she ran to him.

"There's my Princess! How are you my dear?" he replies as he hugs her.

"I'm good! Are you here to bring Daddy a new suit?" Khari asked Abhi.

"Yes, and I even have a special surprise for you," Abhi replies.

"Really?!" Khari asked.

"Yes, my dear. It's in that small garment bag."

Khari grabbed a small garment bag off a chair.

"This is for me?" Khari asks.

"Yes, my Princess. Now let's get you dressed." Abhi replies.

"Okay. Grammy, will you help me?" Khari asks.

"Of course darling," Margo replies.

Margo helped Khari change into her dress. When they emerged Shanelle and Marquise were speechless.

"Well Princess, what do you think?" Abhi asked Khari.

"I love it, Uncle Abhi! Thank you so much!" Khari replied as she twirled in her new dress.

"You look as much of a vision as your mother. Speaking of, what do the parents think?" Abhi asked.

"It's gorgeous Abhi. Really." Shanelle replies.

"I look like you, Mommy," Khari said to Shanelle.

"You look better than me," Shanelle replied.

Abhi looked at Margo.

"Well? Any biting remarks from my sister?" Abhi asked her.

"Non! You did beautifully. You know this." Margo replies.

Marquise remained quiet.

"What's wrong son?" Margo asks.

"I've seen this dress before," Marquise replies.

"You have Daddy?" Khari asked.

"Yes, my love," Marquise replies.

"I would hope so. I only ever designed this dress for one other person." Abhi said before handing Marquise a folded old photo.

It was a picture of his mother and him as a child. She was wearing the same dress in a cream color with a hand on his shoulder.

"That's why I know this dress. This was the dress my mother wore to the first Cordonian Cotillion I ever went to."

"You mean the same Cotillion you fussed about going to?" Margo asks.

"I didn't fuss!" Marquise replies.

Margo made a face.

"But Mother! I don't want to go!" Margo said mockingly.

Shanelle guffawed and Khari giggled.

"For the record, I was seven!"

"My sister's point exactly, nephew." Abhi quipped.

Marquise shook his head.

"Okay fine. So I may have whined just a tad."

"Hah! That's an understatement." Margo piped up.

"You, thin ice," Marquise warned.

Abhi smiled wistfully.

"I remember when your mother called and asked me to make a special suit for the Master Of Ceremonies."

"Master of Ceremonies?" Khari asks.

"Yes. It was the only way my mother was able to get me to go. She named me the Master Of Ceremonies for that night." Marquise replies.

"What is that Daddy?" Khari asks her dad.

"It's the same as you being the Mistress Of Ceremonies for the Last Apple Ball," he replies.

"Can I see the picture?" Khari asks.

Marquise handed her the picture. She looked at it with a smile.

"Your Mommy looks so pretty Daddy."

"She was." Marquise agreed.

Khari held the picture to her heart.

"Uncle Abhi, can I keep this?" Khari asks.

"Of course. It's your father's picture anyway." Abhi replied.

Khari looked at her father who simply nodded.

"I like her hair. Can I wear my hair like that?" Khari asks.

"In one long braid? I don't see why not. Right mom?" Marquise replies.

"Fine by me. Now come on sweetie. Let's hang your dress up." Shanelle said.

As she and Khari went behind the screen, Marquise pulled Abhi and Margo to the side.

"I could've sworn you told my father that you would never make that dress again when he asked you to make it for Regina," Marquise said to Abhi.

"Non, I told him I never had a reason to make that dress again. But now thanks to my great niece, I do." Abhi replies.

Marquise nodded.

"Thank you, Abhi. It means the world to me that Khari is wearing the only other rendition of my mother's dress. I am curious though. How did you get this photo?" Marquise asks.

"I gave it to him," Margo replies. "When your father started burning your mother's photo albums from her childhood in Auvernal, I got scared that he would burn her albums from her time as Queen as well. So I hid them from him and then when it was safe I sent them to Abh. And he's kept them all these years."

Marquise nodded gratefully.

"I understand."

"I will send them back to you," Abhi said.

Marquise shook his head no.

"Keep them, uncle. They're safe. That's all I care about."

Khari came from behind the screen with the garment bag in her arms.

"Thank you, Uncle Abhi. I love my dress." Khari as she hugged Abhi.

"You're so welcome, my niece. I promise that you will be the most beautiful belle at the ball." Abhi replies.

"Will you be the Last Apple Ball?" Khari asks.

"You know I'm not sure. I think my invitation got lost in the mail." Abhi replies.

Khari made a face at her father.

"Daddy!" she fussed.

Shanelle and Margo died laughing.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don't look at me! I'm not the one who is handling the invitations."

"You're the King, Daddy! You're always supposed to invite everybody!" Khari fussed.

"I do! Besides, Uncle Abhi has a standing invitation! You know this."

"But how will the people at the door know?" Khari asks.

"We'll make sure they know to let Uncle Abhi and Aunt Vivienne in," Shanelle replies.

"Okay, Mommy."

"Now I believe you have homework. Go get your homework done." Shanelle said to Khari.

"Okay," Khari replied before leaving the boutique.

Later that night as Shanelle got ready to climb into bed she noticed her husband standing on their balcony staring off into the distance.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asks as she stepped out onto the balcony.

"Sure," he replies.

"Are you okay babe?" she asked.

"I will be," he replies as he leaned against the stone railing.

"Is the picture? Is that it?" she asked.

"That obvious?" he replied.

"You're not mad at Abhi and Margo are you?" she asks.

"No, not at all. It just..." he trailed off.

"Brought up a whole bunch of emotions you thought were buried?" she asks.

He nodded.

"Yeah. I hadn't seen that picture in years. It just hit. That's all." he replies.

She softly kissed the back of his left shoulder.

"It's okay to feel, baby. You're allowed to."

He chuckled softly.

"I know. It's getting late so we should get some rest."

She slipped her right hand into his left as she led him back into the bedroom.

#khoicesbyk #choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry #fanfic #choices fanfiction #king marquise #king of cordonia #queen shanelle #queen of cordonia #love everlasting #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #black marriage #black couple #black love #king and queen of cordonia

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theruinsofalcion · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 1 - Ye of Good Faith

I'm so excited to post the first chapter here! Hope you all have a good time reading it, and I'll post the second chapter soon.

"There is work to be done in Foldreast. If you or any compatriots are available, I am looking for hired help. Research, Traveling, and More. Pay dependent on length of service.

If you are interested, Please come to the Good Faith Inn and show this Flier. Compensation for Travel will be provided.

Signed,

C.Galore."

That was the sign that had caught Malon's attention. It had been plastered on a signpost in Bridgertown. It had been old but the due date for the request wasn't for another month, and the numbers at the bottom that talked about payment had been promising. She'd needed to go to Foldreast anyway, there were some farmers interested in buying her flock of sheep, and the shepherdess needed the money for the oncoming seasons.

That had been almost a month ago, and Malon now found herself in the bustling village of Foldreast. She had sold her flock already, saying goodbye to each one of the sheep before handing them away to the man who paid her three alems for each. That amount alone would keep her well fed for a while, but why not see what other jobs she could get done while in town anyway.

Malon took her time walking around town. She didn't stand out in the small crowd of other people going about their day, she dressed in a brown skirt and beige blouse, the only color present in a long faded purple sash tied around her waist and long red hair that fell down her back. She had her satchel of things slung over her shoulder, filled with the bare necessities she needed to live. Azelma, her horse, had already been boarded at the Good Faith Inn, where Malon was now headed.

The town of Foldreast bustled with life. Right outside the Good Faith Inn were large bushes as well as rows upon rows of plant life. The roads weren’t paved but they were worn down enough by footravel that they might as well be. Benches and unlit lanterns dotted the road that the three were walking down, other shops such as a Tailors or Bookkeepers served as landmarks. As soon as Malon had entered the town, she had felt the buzz of magic around the town, the white noise that came with the constant use of magic in a small area.

The Good Faith Inn was fairly large. It was made of wood and a light brown stone that could only be found in the surrounding mountains. There were clearly parts of it that Malon could tell were added on later, extra rooms, a small shed behind it, the stables right next to it. The double doors were wide and welcoming, with colored glass giving the inside a warm appearance. Malon pushed through one of the doors, and was greeted with a dozen conversations all at once. Multiple people sat at tables and talked excitedly with one another, others played cards and drank, all of them were enjoying themselves thoroughly.

The inn had two floors, the second floor having a balcony that stretched across the main room, where people could sit and watch what happened below, or simply keep to themselves, two hallways and a staircase led to the multiple rooms that one could stay in for a night. The main room itself had many tables and chairs, and at the back a wide bar and shelves full of alcohol ready for purchase. There was a small set of swinging doors that led to a backroom, good smelling food being brought out every few minutes, steaming hot and ready to eat. Someone was playing a piano that sat on the top floor, a happy tune that didn't seem too complicated to replicate.

Malon pulled the flier out of her bag and approached the woman at the bar. She had amber skin and dark brown wavy hair pulled into a bun, no older than thirty. She wore an apron covering a pale blue dress, and smiled when she saw Malon. She set down the rag she was cleaning the counter with and wiped her hands. "How can I help you?" Her voice was warm and genuine.

"Hey there," Malon's voice was cold in comparison. She cleared her voice and tried to sound lighter. "I'm here because of this." She showed the woman the flier. "Would you know anything about this?"

The woman's face dropped, what used to be a smile was now tired and resigned. "Yeah, I'd know what that's about. You wouldn't be the first to ask for him."

"Him?"

"Caleb, or Galore I guess. He's the one looking for people. He's going to hold a meeting talking about this job here soon, there's a few people staying here waiting for him."

"When's the meeting?"

"Tomorrow actually, you came just in time." She smiled again, trying to shrug off the tired look in her eyes. "I can set you up with a room if you'd like?"

"Sure, smallest you have." Malon pulled out her coin purse, happy with how full it was.

"Don't worry about paying, the flier says compensation for travel." The woman assured her.

"Are you sure? I can pay."

"I'm sure you can, but so can he." She said it with such surety that Malon didn't feel like it was her place to question her. "You can take room three on the second floor, here's the key, dinner is whenever you want it before ten at night."

Malon took the key and nodded to the woman. "Thanks."

"No problem, hope you have a good stay."

Malon found her way to her room. It was small with only a bed, a single pillow, two blankets, and a dresser drawer that held a lantern and a shallow basin filled with water. Malon checked inside the drawer and found nothing but a dusty cobweb and some abandoned paper. There was a window above the bed that looked out to the roads below, Malon closed the curtain that was provided to give herself some privacy before collapsing on the bed. It was late in the day, and she should get her food soon, but Malon was tired from riding and walking all day.

So she closed her eyes, and slept through the entire night.

The next morning was calm, Malon woke up surprised that she had been able to sleep through the entire night. There had been another person behind the bar that greeted her and given her a simple breakfast. She'd learned that the meeting would be held at noon, in one of the backrooms the inn had for small private events like this.

She was sitting in it now, alone because she was the first person to arrive. She kicked her legs back and forth, wondering when other's would start arriving. She'd began to count the floorboards when somone pulled the narrow door open.

An Avia shuffled through. He was tall and lanky, with ashey brown skin. The wings on his back and feathers that crept up his face were a soft min green. He was able to make it through the door and waved violently when he saw Malon. "Hey there! I'm Kylyre, but you can call me Kyle!" He sat down forcefully, and tucked his wings behind him. "So about this job you posted about, consider me very interested."

Malon stared at him for a second. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the guy that posted about the job."

"Oh no, oh no I'm so sorry." Kylyre, or Kyle, was blushing violently. "I uh, I thought-" he trailed off into silence.

"Yeah." Malon bounced her head lightly. "I'm here for the same reason though, so you're not lost."

"Oh, oh that's good." Kyle looked away from her, still embarrassed. "I had my whole speech memorized too." He mumbled.

"You can still say it. It's not like I'll tell him you had it planned."

"Would you? That'd be nice."

"Sure. I'm Malon by the way." She offered her name, since she already knew what Kyle's name was.

Kyle perked up, and flashed her a wide grin. "Nice to meet you, Malon! You look around my age too, what brings you here?"

Malon didn't even consider being candid "Money." The research and travel might end up being interesting, but she'd do anything if it paid decent and gave her something to do.

"Nice, me too. I saw this weird flier at a settlement that promised twenty five alems a month, that's a steal! So I had to come check it out and see if it's any good." He talked excitedly, waving his hands around as he spoke, all pretenses about talking to a stranger were gone.

The door opened again and in came two teenagers, younger than Malon by a few years at least. The first was a boy with shiny blond hair and a poor man's excuse for armor. The other was a girl who was wearing a yellow dress and a bored expression. Both of them took their seats, not bothering to introduce themselves. A few more people entered, and Malon saw the first adult of the night. A lady with wrinkles on her face and a hard expression, and a man with a shaved head and few missing teeth.

The two teenagers talked to each other, but the rest of them stayed silent. After a few moments of silence, the door was opened a final time. This time by the woman that Malon had talked to the night before, she was in a hushed conversation with a man behind her.

"-Can't we talk about this later Clarissa." He sounded defeated.

"Oh I'd like to see you try getting out of this conversation later." She sounded a little upset. There was a sigh, and the man strode through the door that she shut after him. He looked disgruntled, but shook himself and straightened his posture.

He was a Tissian man who dressed finely with a crisp blue waistcoat and an undershirt that gathered at his sleeves and covered his neck. Decorated with a dark blue ascot. His silvery white hair fell in wisps around his face and was loosely pulled back, showing off his pale skin, thin face, and sharp, pointed ears that were decorated with gold earrings. Everything was tailored to fit him perfectly, and he held himself with all the importance of a king that was meeting with rabid thieves. Everything about him appeared perfect.

Except for the hat.

There was a brown deerstalker hat that was too large for his head haphazardly thrown on, and it looked utterly out of place. Ridiculous even.

"Good afternoon everyone." He had a pronounced accent and a smooth voice. "My name is Cassius Galore, it's good to meet all of you."

Funny, Malon thought. Didn't that lady say that his name was something else? She waved that thought away and concentrated on what Galore was saying. She was interested in this job after all.

"I’m sorry, your end goal here is what?"

Galore, sitting across from Malon, didn't hesitate to repeat himself. "I said my end goal here was to kill The Beast."

"If your end goal is to kill the beast, why on earth are we here then?" She countered, "I didn’t sign up for a death mission?"

"I said my goal was to kill him. My goal for you is to have you all get some research done for me."

The Beast was the demon that had brought upon the apocalypse almost a hundred years ago. From what Malon could remember from word of mouth, had come from hell to take over their world as they knew it. There had been an earthquake, accompanied by a week of constant rain, snow, sleet, ash, and everything else imaginable falling from the sky. It scorched the earth for decades, and killed more than half of Alcion’s population. The world was just starting to get on its feet again.

The beast never left Alcion. No, the shadowy figure had spent its energy destroying the world, and now hoarded itself in Alten, the once capital of Alcion, and is said to have never left the castle. Most people didn't know what it looked like, let alone if it could be killed.

Another voice rose up "And how are we ‘sposed to just sit back and just do some research’n when we know your gonna try and up and kill that goddess damned thing?" It was the woman with the lined face.

"There are a lot of unseen factors, research is a very practical and important factor when it comes to-"

"When it comes to nothin’ I say." She got up. "I’m out of here, You said you’d pay my dues for traveling here and my stay at the inn?"

The man wordlessly pulled out a bag, and handed her Ten alems. "For your troubles then." She grabbed them from his hand, and left the room, leaving the others watching. "The research I’m looking to conduct is on lost ruins. I know that doesn’t narrow it down much seeing as we live in Alcion, but I am specifically looking for the three Temples of the Gods."

Malon couldn’t help but snort "Aren’t those lost? Since forever?"

"They happen to be, yes. Hence all of the researching and traveling mentioned in my flier. I don’t why any of you are surprised by this, it was all implied."

"I’m sorry, but killing the scourge of the living realm wasn’t exactly implied."

"And as I recall, I never asked you to partake in that particular quest." He sighed. "I’m looking for a group to travel around Alcion, and find the location of all three. They’re not as lost as some people might think they are."

"Then why are you asking us to do it?" The man with missing teeth asked.

"I’m not asking you to do anything, I’m paying you." Galore was growing increasingly exasperated. "I have some things that I need to do that will further my plans."

"So we’re just part of a plan huh?" He countered, sneering.

"If you’re intent on just picking arguments with me, you can leave."

He got up, and as Galore paid him his due, he tried to snatch the purse away from him.

Several things at once happened.

There was a knife at the man's throat, held courtesy of Galore himself. Malon was also standing, ready to cast a spell if needed. Kyle had a long and thin sword drawn, and the two teens in the corner sat in the corner looking dumbfounded.

The man let his hands drop, and stepped away. No one stopped him as he quickly left the building.

"Well" Galore put his knife down. Malon hadn’t seen where it had come from. "That was certainly unexpected." He eyed the rest of them. "Good to see you’re at least confident in your skills to fight."

Of course they were, Malon thought. Ever since the Collapse of Alcion, not one person left their hometown without knowing how to defend themselves. Monsters could be around any corner, not to mention thieves, or other unsavory persons.

"You, are you a spellcaster?" He singled out Malon.

"I am." Spellcasters, or mages, weren’t entirely rare. Everyone in Alcion, or even the world, Malon didn’t know, were able to use magic to some degree. But it was a toss up on how good a person was, or what they specialized in.

"That’s good." He nodded, "Now please tell me that none of you are going to try and rob me, or argue nonsensical things that don’t matter."

Kyle shrugged, "That’s not why I’m here." He looked to Malon and the teenagers. "Are you?"

"What? No! But if I were, why would I tell you that?" The boy protested. The girl stood up and tugged on sleeve. Malon could hear him try to protest, but soon the two of them were out the door in a rush, arguing the way down.

Malon shook her head watching them go, "Anyway like I just said, I’m here to see what you're on about, killing the Beast or no."

Galore sighed, "Well I guess that would make two of you." He said, the room feeling quite empty with only the three of them."Do you two remember the Collapse? Well I guess not remember, you'd be a bit old if you did. Do you two remember the story of the collapse?" He paused briefly, but continued talking before Malon or Kyle were even able to answer his question. "The downfall of Alcion was a disaster decades in the making. But one of the direct causes was the Beast overtaking many sacred places, and loosening the grip of the gods on this earth. The god’s power on earth is directly linked to their temples, it’s their place of residence. Taking those out, by overpowering and hiding them was the most strategically important thing that the Beast had done, although taking out is a strong word, poisoning them is more correct. But without these points of power, gods couldn’t stop the Beast before it was too late. Only able to trap it in the confines of Aitan." He spoke like he was giving a history lecture.

"Wait, is that why it never leaves the capital?" Kyle frowned, "I thought it just didn't like moving."

"There are many reasons, I assure you. The popular myth that it was just too tired to leave Aitan is true, for the first part. It rested there for a time, and that is when the gods tied it down to the castle. So while the world still feels the effects of its rampage, the capital is still currently living it." He paused for a second "But I am getting horrible sidetracked. I believe that if we find these three temples and clear them, I’ll have a better shot at killing the Beast." Finishing his explanation he looked at the two of them. "Now it’s going to be your job to find them, no more no less. I have some leads, and the money to get you started."

"I’m down!" Kyle responded quickly. "It’s a lot more than I was expecting, but it sounds alright!"

Malon shrugged, "Sounds like a good way to kill some time."

"Well if you’re up to the task, your first is to visit a friend of mine, she has most of the equipment you’ll be using." Galore wrote an address down on a slip of paper, and passed it to them, Malon was the one to take it. As the two of them got up, Galore did as well. "If you two are the ones that I’ll be employing, after you are finished there please return to the Inn and we’ll move on from there."

They all agreed, and were soon out of the room, pushing into the much busier main room of the Inn. It was mid afternoon, and there was a large amount of people that were either getting an early dinner or a late lunch. The Lady who had been arguing with Galore and talked to Malon yesterday, greeted them as they exited. "Did you have a good time back there? I saw a lot of you leave."

"We had a good time!" Kyle chirped, "By the way, thanks for showing me back there Ms Kruger."

"It was nothing. And please, call me Clarissa." Malon stood as Kyle quickly caught Clarissa up on what happened. "So he’s sending you on a research mission?" Clarissa repeated "Well I hope you’re getting off on the right foot, Caleb can be quite-" She paused, "Difficult." Her voice grew colder as she annunciated the last word.

"Wait- Caleb? I thought his name was Cassius."

Clarissa shook her head and went back to wiping at the table. "He’s changed his name a few times. I wouldn't question it."

"Do you know each other then?"

Clarissa faltered for a second "We do. Although we hardly talk anymore."

"You don’t seem to like him a lot." Kyle added.

"Well, things change."

"Did he do something?" Kyle kept on asking "See I’ve only known him for half an hour, but he doesn’t seem like the best guy to hang around with, really he feels like just another rich guy who’s a little bit rude to other people and-"

Someone cleared their throat, and Kyle stopped. Galore was standing next to the table with his arms folded. "Don’t you have someplace to be?"

Wordlessly, Kyle turned and walked away, Malon caught a glimpse of his blushing face. She followed, giving Clarissa a short nod goodbye. As she left she could hear a curt "Good to see you, Clarissa." followed by an even colder "Galore."

What the hell had she just gotten herself into?

#the ruins of alcion #chapter 1 #new chapter #writblr #ye of good faith #formatting is weirder on tumblr oh whoops #authors on tumblr #aspiring author #book #fiction #3k #3.4k #3k words

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burrowkit · 12 days ago

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Okay, I'll give this one a shot. Why not procrastinate further, right? Anyways, villain name inspired by the book name Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian.

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{Edit: Added a Read More}

I down another shot of liquor, not even caring anymore what the contents of it was.

No, I do care, I realize as the lemon juice hits my tongue, causing me to cringe slightly at the taste. Sure, I love sour stuff, but straight lemon juice?

"Nice one, Fred." I comment, setting the shot glass back onto the bar.

"Anything for you, miss." He answers calmly, taking the glass back and putting it with the pile of dishes to return to the kitchen. Judging by the tray, he'll have to make a trip sooner rather than later.

I glance in the mirror behind the bar, my reflection always catching me surprise, even though it's been 3 years.

3 years since I pretended that Sir Wavesalot killed me. 3 years is a long time for everyone to believe it.

Hell, some days even I believe it.

The woman in the mirror doesn't look like me. Her eyes appear brown with the fake coloured contact lenses, turning my magenta eyes into a more normal shade. My hair was once many shades of red, orange, yellow. Lady Smoke, they often called me. Not that I really bothered to correct them.

No, a woman villain arguing over names would be seen as petty. And I'm not a petty villain.

"Another?" I ask Fred, my pen and papers discarded for the night. No, pen and notebook. I'm working on a novel. One could call it fanfiction on actual events. What If Lady Smoke Succeeded?

Fred hesitates. "Are you sure, miss?"

Of course he'll hesitate. Another shot of lemon juice? I must be slightly mad.

And yet, for the first time in a year, I almost felt something.

"Yes please." I force a smile. Fred has never once asked for my name. I always pay by cash. I once offered to pay by credit card, just so he'd learn a name.

He just smiled at me, nodded, and pulled the money out of the tip jar to pay my, incredibly small, bill.

"Of course, miss." He answers, flipping the bottle containing the lemon juice and pouring it into my previously emptied shot glass. How he remembered which one was mine, is a miracle. And yet, I know it's the right one. "I love seeing you in here, miss. But perhaps, you'd find better company at the library?" He suggests.

I know he's seen me writing in here. Night after night.

"The chaos soothes my soul." I offer, lifting the glass up. "Cheers!" I toast him. He just smiles at me, heading to the kitchen with the full tray.

I close my eyes and down my drink, not even caring about the sour taste of the lemon juice. Not that it matters.

Then, a hand rests on my shoulder.

"Easy there, miss. You don't want to get drunk."

I recognize that voice. My eyes snap open, briefly confirming in the mirror that my hair, also a muted shade of deep brown to hide my true origins, are all hidden.

They are.

I turn my head ever so slightly, trying not to drop my jaw in shock. Of all the places to be... who would've thought Sir Wavesalot would be in my bar.

Not that I own it. But...

"It's just lemon juice." I offer back, giving him a smile. I force myself to relax, knowing that if I were just a random civilian, I would be in owe. "You're Sir Wavesalot." I comment.

His eyes. As blue as the sea. Somehow, our abilities reflect in our hair and eye colours. His hair is a sandy brown. It's a tad surprising, considering last I saw, it was a brightly blonde as the sun.

"Ah." He forces a smile, taking a step back. "Another fan." His voice is tight. He glances back towards a group, his friends I assume, and turns back to me. "Look, if you want an autograph, I charge 20 bucks. 50 if you need me to supply the photo."

I stare at him for a moment. Is he... is he serious? "Oh, no, I'm fine." I wave him off, focusing back on my notebook.

Unfortunately, I fear I've piqued his interest by dismissing him. I mean, how many regs ignore a superhero standing in front of him.

He slides the book in my direction. "Is this a chronicle of my life?" He inquires.

I grip the book, hands covering his, trying to hide the words. "Sure." I grit out, desperate to keep them away from him. He can't know it's me.

He stares at me, likely notes the true terror in my widened eyes, and releases, allowing me to pull the book to my chest. "You aren't one of those villain freaks, are you?"

Villain Freaks. Either a villain, or a reg obsessed with the villains.

"I think she was handed a raw deal, is all." I answer quietly.

The heroes eyes flicker with pain. No, with fire. Some how, he must've absorbed a slice of my fire in our last battle. And the mere mention of me has reminded the flame of my existence.

I blink, and the fire is gone. Just... grief.

"Do you miss her?" I ask.

"Of course not." He answers automatically. He glances back to his friends. "Look... miss..." He trails off, clearly unsure of what to say.

"Fiona." I offer.

"Fiona." He nods, rubbing a hand over his chin. "Why don't you come join my friends?"

Is it a true offer?

I turn my head ever so slightly over to the table. There, the heroes are less in regular... well, regular appearance. Their abilities practically pulsing around them, giving them an air of undisturbed power.

It's a true wonder, how any of them because heroes instead of villains.

Although, with how the world's been going, maybe a villain is a hero, and a hero a villain. I've certainly spent plenty of time saving regs, even back as Lady Smoke.

"Call me Adam." He offers, holding out his hand.

My initial thought: It's a trap.

We were once pitted against each other because of our abilities. His was water. Mine was fire. And yet, we each hold a small sway over earth. Air. Life. What is the sun, but a giant fall of fire, after all? And plants do require water.

I tentatively take his hand.

A mistake.

He yanks me off the bar stool and I barely have a chance to grab my pen before we're moving towards his friends.

"Hey guys, I want you to meet Fiona." He introduces to me.

I meet the eyes of each and every one of them, keeping my mind guarded.

I recognize most of them by their hero names.

"Nice to meet you." I offer, hugging my pen and notebook to my chest.

"I caught Fi over there writing a story about Lady Smoke." He teases lightly, taking a seat and tugging me into the one next to him. I hesitate a moment before sitting down. Still, I feel tense. Prepared to flee at any moment.

"Fi?" I ask, trying to seem more calm. Adam shrugs.

"You can't seriously be interested in a fangirl? Come on, dude, she's into your enemy!" One of the other heroes practically cries out. Greg. I think I once heard his reg name as Greg.

"Greg, come on." Adam admonishes him. "Besides, maybe if someone else believes in Lady Smoke, I'll be allowed to look for her again."

Look for her again?

"Not this again. Adam, we all saw the videos! You killed her! Water beats fire and all that jazz!" A woman argues, she takes a sip of her daiquiri. "No offence, Fiona. I'm sure your idol would have loved to fight longer. But the facts are, she's dead."

I turn to Adam, surprised. Does this mean... has he been looking for me? Is this why he's here?

"I told you, Cat. She's still out there. I saw a flash of her before she left." He argues, staring down the woman with the daiquiri.

"Adam..." she trails off, looking sad, setting her drink down. "We all saw it. She lost control of her power. She turned herself to ash, and you spread her ashes across the globe. She'll never come back."

I watch Adam carefully. A flare of anger is there. I can almost hear the words I didn't cast the wind. And Lady Smoke was not suicidal!

"Look, maybe me sitting here was a bad idea. I'm clearly just bringing up old wounds." I quickly stand up.

"I'll walk you home." Adam stands up, offering automatically.

"No, no. It's okay. I'll just pay my tab and go. I don't live far." I answer, immediately retreating to the bar.

"Fi!" He calls out, and I can hear something in his voice. Grief.

I quickly slap the bills onto the bar, not caring if I over or under paid. Fred's been good with letting me skip by. I run out onto the street, needing to get away from everyone.

I'll have to find another bar. I'll have to find another city. Another province. Hell, maybe another country-

"Fi!" Adam calls for me, stepping out onto the street.

"Just leave me alone!" I shout back, storming away.

I'm wearing booties, and although they were comfortable for the semi-cold weather, and hanging out at a bar, they aren't exactly ideal running shoes.

"Wait, please." He calls out desperately. And then I feel it. His power.

He wraps me around in a wall of air. One that, if I outed myself as myself, I could break out of.

I don't. I turn slowly, watching as my villain chases after me. The hero to my villainous ways.

"I just..." he trails off, standing so close to me.

I hate being trapped in spaces, and I can feel my mounting panic. "Get me out!" I shout at him, shaking slightly.

"Please, just hear me out." He pleads.

But I can't.

"Please." He begs, ignoring how badly I'm shaking. "Look, if you're as much a fan of hers as I think you are, I can pay."

That... that hurts. He's just looking for some cheap woman to hook up with? Some of that old fire ignites in my bones. The one that becomes furious anytime someone abuses someone else.

"If you truly care about her, maybe you can find her. Maybe you can follow the trail I've been unable to follow." He pleads.

That fire fizzles out.

"What will you do, if you find her?" I ask, unsure if he heard me because he's connected to the air. Because he felt the words push on the oxygen atoms in such a way, or if they just carried my words to him.

"To say sorry." He offers, looking further down the street, then forcing them to look to me. "Look, I know I wasn't the best back then. But without her, I'm nothing."

I want to point out that that's not true. My death earned him a coveted spot on one of the many hero teams.

But then I remember the last several news reports. How he seems to be relegated to the sidekick.

"You could find another villain." I suggest.

"But they aren't her." He shakes his head, and I can see the tears brewing in his eyes. "I just... she was the villain to my hero." He practically whispers the words.

"You would have tried to kill her one day." I say, some of my anger returning.

"No." He shakes his head. "Maybe that was the expectation of the others. Some bit of glory. But here's something that the news never told. After every one of our battles, somehow, our combined powers would cause plants to grow. It was a pain for anyone to investigate anything, because rose bushes or trees would sprout. Sometimes, their seeds carrying for miles. That's how I know she's still alive. If she truly died... there'd be another forest. Another plant. Something, to show she was there."

I stare at him, jaw dropping slightly. "You're lying." I accuse.

"I'm not." He whispers. "Fi, please. She was my best friend. Well, my best enemy, I guess. But I knew anytime I was having a bad day, she'd have my back. And I saw what she was trying to do. Quote me, and I'll be forced to have your memory erased, but there were times that I let her actions go unpunished. She was making a difference, Fi. Maybe not the best way, but she was."

Adam pauses, looking up into the stars for another moment, then focusing back on me. "Were you there for the funerals?"

I shake my head. No, I would've have been able to go. Not with other villains waiting for me to show up. Not for the heroes, hoping I would watch my own fake funeral.

To watch as everyone cheered and toasted over my 'dead body'.

"It was a mess, Fi. The official one, at least. But... another one of her Villain Freaks handed me this." He pulls out something from his wallet. I reach out, and realize the wind shield has disappeared. I frown, staring at it.

The paper is painted in my colours. And it called for a proper funeral.

"I went." He tells me. "I went, because I wanted to see what was going on. And she never showed." He stares me down for another moment. "But what I heard... I heard her regular acts of villainy. She paid the rent for single parents struggling to come up with the cash. Sure, the money was frequently stolen. But then I also learned that sometimes, she came up with some inventions that she sold. She primarily used that to pay their rents. To buy them food. Does that sound like a villain?"

"No." I offer up, because really, how could a villain be running around selling what little they can come up with to keep others safe.

"Sure, she beat some people up. But after the died, I learned they were abusers. I've spent the last 3 years tracking down each and every one of them, and pursuing justice. I've called it the Lady Vigilante." He pauses. "I wonder how she found out about their abuses?"

I shake my head. "I don't know."

But he didn't seem to be looking for an answer. "Fi..." he trails off. I don't bother pointing out that I'm not a fan of the nickname. "Please. I've been trying to find her. To try and see if we can fix the world without the villainous plans. But I can't do that if I can't find her."

I take a few steps back. Because there's no way I can trust a hero. The heroes are the ones in it for the glory. Hell, he did start this conversation off, pretty much, with offering an autograph.

And then I stop. Because if he knows about all I did then, he could easily track me down to my current whereabouts, doing similar tasks.

Slowly, I open my notebook, ripping a sheet of paper out. I jot down my name, Fiona, and my number. "Here." I offer. "I... I don't think I'll find much. It has been 3 years..."

"Anything is better than this Hellscape." He says, taking the paper. "I just..." he trails off as he looks down.

I glance down, spotting a few rose petals.

His eyes flick up, eyes widening in disbelief. "Smoke?" He gasps.

I shake my head, taking a few steps further back. "No, it's just a coincidence." I offer.

"If you have amnesia, I can help-"

"Just leave me alone, Adam. Please." I plead. I take another few steps back.

He doesn't follow. Instead, he bends down, picking up the petals. "If you're her... please, Fi. I need her help."

I can feel my heart cracking ever so slightly. "I can't help you, Adam." I answer. "I wish I could."

"If you're her...?" He prompts.

I shake my head. "Lady Smoke is dead, Adam. Leave her to her afterlife."

He looks ready to make another argument.

"ADAM!" A voice shouts. Greg again. Followed by some laughter. My eyes move to the bar door. There, his friends are stumbling out. There's no way they could be drunk already. And yet... I had no doubt that a bunch of egotistical heroes would have fun getting drunk.

"See you in the next life, Adam." I offer him.

"Fi..." He whispers.

I'm not sure what makes me do this. I really can't explain it. Still, I tug on the wind around us, causing it to whip up, sending the rose petals flying. "Another life." I smile softly at him. Sadness tinging our meeting.

"Another life." He nods. "I'll never stop looking for her." He offers, emphasizing her.

Despite him now knowing exactly who I am.

"She'll never stop running." I answer, turning away.

"Yo, Adam!" Another hero shouts, and I hear the hands slapping his back. "What's up with you and the chick?"

"It's nothing." He lies, as I walk away. I hear him crumpling the piece of paper. "I think in another life, we could've been friends."

You, the villain, faked your death and started over years ago. But you never expected the hero to stumble into your new favorite bar, laughing with their friends.

#superheroes #villains #writing prompts #writers on tumblr #this broke my heart

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casspurrjoybell-21 · 1 year ago

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Pirate Chains - Volume 1 - Strong Tides

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 1 - Fate’s Game - Part 2

"You, son of a bitch. Even after starving for three days, you can still attack me. You think you can beat me? Look at you. You're as pale all hell. Foolishly young. You cannot beat me, not even in your best shape, you bookworm."

"Tsk, always cherished and protected by others like the important delicacy that you are. First your damn father, then your stupid mother, your uncle, sister, cousin, Ugh. Always fucking reading those stupid books as if they could change a single thing around you," he smirked and added sarcastically.

"Heh, what the hell would you know about a real fight?"

He looked down on the young man.

He could kill him.

He could kill him long ago but the bookworm was useful at keeping the business going enough for the money to keep coming but that wasn't enough.

Terry wanted more.

Remembering his purpose for all of this, he decided to try one last time.

One last time, then he wouldn't be blamed for finishing the worthless shit.

“Look, I don't want to hurt you, boy. We worked together for years and it wasn't all that bad. God knows I don't want to hurt your mother. She is a lady like no other and she's been a decent wife. So, either tell me where the money is or tell me if your sister knows about it. Maybe I should go ask her, nicely, huh? I bet she wouldn't last as long as you did. You'd be surprised how fast she would sing if I left her alone with the sailors..."

"Don't you dare go near her."

Nyx grabbed the wooden edge of the deck with his tied hands and pulled himself to stand with difficulty.

"Raya is happily married now. You are well aware that she knows nothing about my father's business. She kept away from these matters before and after his passing."

Feeling fed up and impatient, Terry yelled...

"This is your last chance, pretty boy. I already went this far. Kidnapping and threatening a fucking highborn. Hell, at this pace, it would be much easier to go back without you than with you. I'll just tell them you stupidly fell off the deck. Yes. You fell like the idiot that you are and I spent days looking for you. How does that sound? Your end is near, kid. Speak, God damn it, speak and spare your own life."

"You bastard. I endured your annoying selfishness for so long. I covered your petty thefts for the sake of my mother and to protect my family's reputation. I left my studies and future to help you run the business. We regarded you as part of the family but you never treated us like one. You never saw me as a stepson. I was nothing but a nuisance to you. You coward. Look at you, hiding behind a sword."

Terry's anger and impatience took the best of him.

He raised his arm with the sword and decided to send the insolent boy to his maker.

"Fuck you," Terry cursed, as he took a step towards the young man.

He was about to end this when he noticed Nyx being distracted.

The young man was staring at something other than the sword.

He was looking sideways in surprise and horror.

Only then did the imposing shadow reach his right shoulder.

Terry looked over his shoulder to see a huge ship closing in on theirs in eerie silence.

Their eyes moved upwards to stare at the crude smiles of the men standing on the edge of the larger ship, eagerly waiting to be close enough to jump on their deck.

Nyx's gaze halted on a certain distinguished man among them.

He was tall with a strong build and an undeniably heavy presence.

They locked eyes together and Nyx found himself frozen, unable to break free from the grey, cold gaze that was looking down at him with the most arrogant smirk.

Like a predator observing it's helpless prey.

When he noticed the waving black flag attached to the main mast of the mysterious ship, Terry shouted to alarm the crew below deck.

"PIRATES," Terry screamed as he rushed to get back to his unfinished business.

In an act of confusion and despair, he turned to Nyx, grabbed his collar and pushed him making him lean backward on the edge of the deck.

"I'd be damned if I let some fucking pirates know about my treasure. Spit it out, Nyx. It's now or fucking never, where is the God damned money?"

Nyx looked above his shoulder at the sea.

Half of his body was pushed out of the deck.

He moved his legs trying to secure himself but with tied hands, he was unable to escape the old man's grip.

He opened his mouth to say something when a sudden impact shook the ship.

Ropes were instantly sent dangling and boarding the fishing ship in seconds.

All the sailors that came out of the hull in panic were immediately attacked and easily beaten.

The pirate ship had bumped violently into theirs.

Terry lost his balance with the impact and he let go of his stepson.

Nyx gasped, unable to grab the edge of the deck, he fell backward into the sea.

The scene didn't escape the Captain's eyes.

Everything happened so fast.

One second the young man was staring at those grey eyes and the next he was thrown out of the ship.

Seeing the handsome young man disappear into deep waters, the Captain instinctively threw his leather jacket behind him and jumped from the deck of his pirate ship and into the sea.

As the water became darker, Nyx's fear rose steadily.

He struggled to swim back up towards the light but he couldn't use his tied hands to swim.

Still, he moved them and did the best he could despite the lack of energy and the bruises around the ties that stung painfully in the salty waters.

He panicked and put all his efforts into his legs in order to stop sinking any deeper.

Soon, however, he felt weakness and despair sneak into him as his body became colder.

A moment later, his arms stopped trying, his legs stopped fighting.

‘I'm sorry, mother,' he thought to himself.

Memories of his mother and sister flashed before his eyes.

He felt deeply sorry and unfilial.

Despite all his sacrifices and efforts, he was still unable to protect them from Terry's greed.

'Am I giving up? After everything I've been through, is this the way it all ends? I don't know. I cannot think. I'm exhausted. I'm alone, helpless... hopeless.'

His lungs hurt excruciatingly with a piercing pain.

Out of breath and with no will to live, he could struggle no more.

He looked up at the fuzzy sunspot that was slowly disappearing and felt an odd sense of peace mixed with deep despair.

Through his blurred vision, he saw a shadow swimming towards him.

'Death?' he wondered.

He felt deeply sad about this lonely ending yet looking forward to the prospect of finding peace.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and surrendered to the shadow.

The shadow of death put his hand around Nyx's chest and pulled him towards the surface.

As soon as he resurfaced, he was met with crew members, anxiously waiting for their Captain.

The pirates instantly regained their arrogant smiles and cheered victory.

The Captain held a thick chain dangling from the side of his ship and some of his crew members hurried to pull the chain and their Captain along with it.

Captain Agenor stepped onto the deck of his pirate ship and stood proudly.

He then threw Nyx on the wooden deck and received his fellow pirates' praise.

"Captain. You got our ransom money back."

"It's not dead, Aye?"

The Captain looked at the silent body that lay before him in a haughty way.

He approached him and poked him rudely with his boot.

Feeling no response, he knelt on one knee, turned Nyx on his side and then moved his head backward.

As soon as his neck stretched, Nyx coughed violently while spitting the water he had inhaled.

The Captain closed his eyes discreetly in relief, then he stood up and resumed his cold stare.

Some of the pirates surrounding them found the scene entertaining and the young man's poor state didn't spare him their jokes.

"Heh, the beauty is back from the valley of the dead."

"Aye. Right into the valley of hell."

The two pirates looked at each other and everyone laughed brashly.

Nyx could barely focus.

He looked around him and saw people laughing.

"I'm in hell?" he whispered to himself.

He felt lightheaded.

He tried but failed to focus on their faces or gather enough strength to say something.

His forces left him as he lost consciousness.

One of the pirates rolled his eyes.

"Again? Oh well. We can still play with the others we found until he wakes up."

"What do we do with him, Captain?"

Captain Agenor was still staring down at his caught prey.

He remained silent for a moment before a smirk tugged the corner of his mouth wickedly as he ordered.

"Take him to my cabin. I'll deal with him later."

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kimbap-r0ll · 2 years ago

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Hii! May I have a fic for chrollo 🍮? One where reader is extremely disappointed to found out what Chrollo did to those poor Kurta kids. Reader is on full on raging yet he'd just brush it off, smth like "So? They're already dead anyway. I don't think you'd hate me either." Yes angst!

Oof this is good, thank you for the ask! Yes it did come out super angsty!

Chrollo x Kurta!reader : Brush it Off

Chrollo was everything to you. The moment you two met it seemed as though you had fallen in love at first sight. He was cute when you saw him that day in the museum, seemingly lost in thought over an artifact. You decided to go up and stand near him, but you were too afraid to say anything. The two of you had been standing in the same place for what felt like an eternity and you finally decided to give up on ever asking the handsome man how you wanted to talk to him about the museum until he looked at you with a smile.

"You seem to like this piece as much as I do," you froze up when you heard him. Spinning yourself around back to him, you looked at him with a surprised face.

"Ah, well, yes I do think that the work i-is, pretty neat," you scolded yourself for sounding so petty. You didn't think you sounded cool at all!

"Even if that is the case, I wonder if you have any other objectives, you were standing here for a long time and not many people do that. Did you want to talk to me about something?"

He could read you like a book. The two of you ended up spending three hours together in the museum, sharing things about yourselves while also admiring the artworks. He was also the one that suggested the two of you go for a coffee run together. It was what felt like heaven to you.

Things became even better when you really started liking him. He was even the one that confessed his feelings to you, and of course you said yes when he asked if the two of you could be in a relationship. How could you not? He was the only one that protected you from people that tried to harass you in the streets, and he seemed to understand you better than you knew yourself. It became even more apparent when you revealed to him your origins.

"Do you have a family by any chance? I would love to meet them," you ask him while the two of you were in your apartment. He paused while looking through your bookshelf, you had welcomed him to borrow any books that he wanted. Turning around. he gave you a weak smile.

"I don't have any, rather, I have always lived with people that I consider 'family' but it doesn't fit the standard definition of one," he responded. Ah, so the two of you were similar.

"I see," you shifted your gaze down. "I'm sort of like that too, since I'm, well, I'm a Kurta."

You didn't notice him furrow his eyebrows when you said this. "I was out in the world doing work when the incident around my clan happened. I never got to say goodbye to my family, I never saw my friends celebrate their birthday there either," you added on, looking out the window. "I wonder if they're angry at me for being the survivor, almost everyone died in the incident except me," you said. Of course, this was not true. Chrollo met someone recently that was a Kurta survivor as well. But instead of showing his true colors right away, he decided to play a bit more.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," his voice was soft, he was walking towards you. Brushing some hair out of your face, he saw that your eyes were glazed over with tears brimming. "I'm not sure what the best way for me to help you is, but I want you to know that you aren't alone. You have me, and I'll always be by your side."

Ah, where did that chivalrous man disappear to? The moment the two of you were hugging and kissing the next it seemed like the two of you were enemies. It happened after you ran into a bounty hunter, one who explained to you what the Phantom Troupe did and such. You weren't sure why the hunter was telling you all of this, but then he grabbed your shoulders and looked desperately at you.

"Man, do you even know how much fucking money is on their heads?!" He shook you.

"Stop, you're scaring me!" you pleaded with the man, but he kept rambling on.

"They're going to get me set for life! I'm gonna be richer than the mayor of Yorknew if I even kill two of 'em! I know you know one of them, so just lead me to the guy will ya?!"

"I don't know anyone from the troupe! S-someone help!" you looked around, but the two of you were in a quiet alleyway in the city. You were trapped. You didn't know nen either, but your eyes started to turn red. Thinking your emotions were overflowing, you squeezed your eyes shut so the hunter wouldn't know.

"TELL ME WHERE THE HEAD IS AND THAT'LL BE IT! DON'T TELL ME I HAVE TO KILL YOU AS WELL FOR BEING AN ACCOMPLICE YOU PIECE OF-"

Suddenly you heard something and a splatter of liquid across your face. Slowly opening your eyes, you looked up to see a single pen stabbed into the hunter's head. Blood trickled down your face as the man slipped and fell, his eyes still open in shock. What made you scream however wasn't the fact that the hunter was dead, it was the fact that someone you knew had killed him.

"C-Chrollo, what's going on?" you muttered. He looked unfazed however, simply giving you the same smile he did back at the museum.

"You were running late for our trip to the market today, I was worried and it seems my intuition was correct," he was so calm.

"H-how could you kill someone though! More importantly, are you, are you part of the Phantom Troupe?" you asked him, now your voice was rising. He turned to you after kicking the man's head to the side with his foot.

"Yes, I happen to be the leader as well."

"S-so, you were the one that was behind the death of my clan as well," you stumbled back, too shocked by the news. How could he not be ashamed that he did such a thing?! "Y-you said you cared for me, you even told me that the Kurta did nothing wrong yet YOU KILLED THEM!"

"Ah, you're so naive, y/n, you should learn how to read people better," suddenly the Chrollo you knew disappeared. His eyes were cold, but he kept smiling. You wanted to punch him, scream at him for what he did to your life, but all you could do was let tears well up in your eyes.

"Darling, don't cry, you know I don't like seeing you-"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME YOU MONSTER!" you shouted, turning away from him. A horrible sob came out of your throat and you buried your face in your hands. Chrollo still watched you, now slightly amused.

"You called me 'sweetheart' yesterday, but now it's changed to 'monster.' You can be quite indecisive you know," he commented. "Besides, the Kurta was buried with their village, they are not with us anymore," he walked slowly towards you, almost like you were some prey and he was a lion.

"You trusted me so much, you sang love to me every night, I don't think that would change for some creatures, right?"

"Are you saying I'm one of those 'creatures' then?" you looked up at him, he was directly above you.

"Perhaps, but I'm not out to get your eyes and sell them yet," he was so direct with his words. "I want to still stand by you, I'm sure you have no one else to turn to either way."

He was right. He was always right. You wanted to tell him you had your brothers and sisters, your best friends from Lukso Province, but no one was there behind you. You were all alone, the sole survivor of the Kurta clan (at least to your knowledge). Sighing in defeat, you let Chrollo wrap his arms around you. He shushed your weeping, whispering sweet nothings to calm you down.

The day went on as if the event never happened. Instead of going to the market, the two of you settled to stay indoors. He was reading on your couch as always, and you were making some food. You looked at the pan, it was a mix of ingredients you were familiar with. The dish was a favorite of yours when you were younger, one that your mother had always made.

"Remember to share it with those that care for you and those that you love," your mother said while patting your head. You nodded and watched as she showed how to prepare the dish.

"'People that care about me' huh," you mumbled to yourself. "How ironic."

#hxh #hunter x hunter #hxh x reader #hxh imagines #hxh scenarios #hxh kurta #hxh chrollo #hxh chrollo x reader #hxh chrollo lucilfer #chrollo #chrollo x reader #angst #gn!reader #hxh phantom troupe #phantom troupe x reader

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respectable-username · 3 years ago

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🔐 Why You (Probably) Don't Need A VPN

A rant by a software engineer sick of VPN ads from her favourite YouTubers

TL;DR:

Here are some legitimate reasons the average internet user might want to use a VPN:

To connect to their company's internal network

To bypass the Great Firewall of China (or other types of website blocks at country or organisation level)

To watch Netflix etc as if you were in another country

Here are absolutely rubbish reasons to use a VPN:

Privacy

And today, I'll tell you why.

Hang on, won't a VPN stop hackers from stealing my passwords?

I mean, it does encrypt the web traffic coming from your device.

You know what else encrypts web traffic coming from your device? Your browser.

Yes, in the year 2021, pretty much all websites on the internet are accessed over HTTPS. The "S" stands for "secure", as in "your request will be securely encrypted". If your browser is using HTTPS, nobody can capture the data you're sending over the internet. More detail in the "I like too much detail" section at the bottom of this post.

It's very easy to check if you are using HTTPS by looking at your URL bar. In most browsers, it will have a lock on it if secure:

(From top left to bottom right: Chrome on iOS, Safari on iOS, Chrome on Windows, Edge on Windows, Firefox on Windows, and Safari on Mac. Screenshots reflect the UI at the time this post was written. Oh gosh this has taken over 4 hours to write.)

But isn't moar encryption better? What if somebody breaks HTTPS?

For starters, nobody's breaking your HTTPS, and there isn't any benefit from double encrypting. This is because of the maths behind encryption/decryption!

Encryption works kinda like a lock and key, except the lock is maths and the key is a special number only known to the person allowed to unlock the information.

The important thing is, without the key, all the locked data looks like complete and utter garbage. Completely unusable. Barely distinguishable from random noise. There's absolutely no way to tell what the original data was.

The other important thing is that the key is nearly unguessable. As in, with current technology, will generally take more than the lifetime of the universe to guess by chance. And when technology gets faster, we just make the numbers bigger again until they're once again secure.

For any major website you use, they will use a strong encryption algorithm (ie lock) with big numbers so your keys will be strong enough to withstand an attack. This means your data is safe as long as that lock icon is in your URL bar.

A VPN will not make the existing garble any more garbled. The extra $10/month or whatever you're paying for does not buy you any extra protection.

If you want to know more about how encryption and HTTPS in particular work, see the "I like too much detail" section at the end of this post.

Something something viruses

How's a VPN going to stop viruses? It controls the path your internet traffic takes, not the content that gets sent down that path. I guess it could block some known virus-giving hosts? But if it's known to the VPN provider, it's probably also known to the built-in antivirus on your computer who can block it for you.

(Oh yeah, 3rd party antivirus is another thing that's not worth paying for these days. Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender is as good as the third party options, and something something Macs don't get viruses easily because of how they're architected.)

Honestly though, keep your software up to date, don't click on anything suspicious, don't open files from sources you don't trust, and you'll be right most of the time.

And keep your software up to date. Then update your software. Hey, did I mention keeping your stuff updated? Update! Now! It only takes a few minutes. Please update to the latest version of your software I'm begging you. It's the number 1 way to protect yourself from viruses and other malware. Most major software attacks could have been prevented if people just updated their damn software!

But my ISP is spying on me!

Ok, it is true that there are TWO bits of data that HTTPS can't and won't hide. Those are:

The source of a request (your IP)

What website that request is going to (the website's IP)

These are the bits of information that routers use to know where to send your data, so of course they can't be hidden as the data is moving across the internet. And people can see that information very easily if they want to.

Note: this will show which website you're going to, but not which page you're looking at, and not the content of that page. So it will show that you were on Tumblr, but will not show anyone that you're still reading SuperWhoLock content in 2021.

It's this source/destination information that VPNs hide, which is why they can be used to bypass website blocks and region locks.

By using a VPN, those sniffing traffic on your side of the VPN will just show you connecting to the VPN, not the actual website you want. That means you can read AO3 at work/school without your boss/teachers knowing (unless they look over your shoulder of course).

As for those sniffing on the websites end, including the website itself, they will see the VPN as the source of the connection, not you. So if you're in the US and using a VPN node in the UK, Netflix will see you as being in the UK and show you their British library rather than the American one.

If this is what you're using a VPN for and you think the price is fair, then by all means keep doing it! This is 100% what VPNs are good for.

HOWEVER, and this is a big "however", if it's your ISP you're trying to hide your internet traffic from, then you will want to think twice before using a VPN.

Let me put it this way. Without a VPN, your ISP knows every website you connect to and when. With a VPN, do you know who has that exact same information? The VPN provider. Sure, many claim to not keep logs, but do you really trust the people asking for you to send them all your data for a fee to not just turn around and sell your data on for a profit, or worse?

In effect, you're trading one snooper for another. One snooper is heavily regulated, in many jurisdictions must obey net neutrality, and is already getting a big fee from you regardless of where you browse. The other isn't. Again, it's all a matter of who you trust more.

For me personally, I trust my ISP more than a random VPN provider, if for no other reason than my ISP is an old enough company with enough inertia and incompetence that I don't think they could organise to sell my data even if they wanted to. And with the amount of money I'm paying them per month, they've only got everything to lose if they broke consumer trust by on-selling that data. So yeah, I trust my ISP more with my privacy than the random VPN company.

But my VPN comes with a password manager!

Password managers are great. I 100% recommend you use a password manager. If there's one thing you could do right now to improve your security (other than updating your software, speaking of, have you updated yet?), it's getting and using a password manager.

Password managers also come for free.

I'm currently using LastPass free, but am planning to switch after they did a bad capitalism and only let their free accounts access either laptop or mobile but not both now. I personally am planning to move to Bitwarden on friends' recommendation since it's not only free but open source and available across devices. I also have friends who use passbolt and enjoy it, which is also free and open source, but it's also a bit DIY to set up. Great if you like tinkering though! And there are probably many other options out there if you do a bit of googling.

So, yeah, please use a password manager, but don't pay for it unless you actually have use for the extra features.

No I really need to hide my internet activity from everybody for reasons

In this case, you're probably looking for TOR. TOR is basically untraceable. It's also a terrible user experience for the most part because of this, so I'd only recommend it if you need it, such as if you're trying to escape the Great Firewall. But please don't use it for Bad Crimes. I am not to be held liable for any crime committed using information learned from this post.