#but it reminds me of when the Ms mare show came out

[bookish-cravings]

“Kamala should be with Bruno!!”

Kamala should be with literally anyone else 😘

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Robin and Gale Hood; Ben Hardy x reader Chap. 8

*Author’s note*

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! THERE IS A RAPE SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE OR HAVE BEEN A VICTIM YOURSELF YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Please call a local hotline for rape survivors and talk to the people there, they’ll help you. I’ve also put a notice on when the scene is about to begin and where it ends so if you’d like to skip that section of the chapter, go right ahead i DO NOT WANT TO CAUSE FURTHER MENTAL HARM BY REMINDING YOU ALL OF THIS TRAUMATIC THING. 

Chapter 8,

A capture and tainted soul

Taglist:

@simonedk

@ixchel-9275

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@geek-and-proud

@wormzteef

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@queendeakyy

_______________________________________________________

God all mighty. That Prince John sure made good of his threat, and his subjects paid dearly for his humiliation believe me.  Taxes, taxes, taxes. Why he taxed the heart and soul out of the poor people of Nottingham.

And if you didn’t pay your taxes, you went to jail.  Yes my darlings, I’m in here too. Prince John saw to it that I have my own cell for my song.  I think I may even be coming up on death row in the next little while, who knows.

So unfortunately I myself can’t tell you the rest of the tale of what happens, but what I can say is that it’s not a pretty sight. Especially for our beloved heroine Gale Hood.  So those out there who are light hearted or sensitive to certain reading material, proceed with caution.

Ever since Prince John’s decree, it had been nonstop raining. The sun never once came out to grace the land, and the soil became wet and muddy.  Storms happened almost every day, other days it was just mild rain.

Robin, Gale and the rest of their crew kept a low profile for a bit cause at this point anyone who tried to interfere with business to the crown would be executed right on sight.  It broke their hearts that they couldn’t spare the poor people from Prince John’s wrath this time.

Especially Gale because she knew which family was going to be targeted next, the Sharpe’s.  But one night she would do something that would regretfully change her life forever.

Riding through the rain cloaked and disguised, Gale rode towards the Sharpe’s family cottage.  She stopped her horse and unmounted off of her and walked towards the cottage.  She came up to the door and knocked on it and from inside she could hear the panicked whimpers from the children.

“Veronica, take the children upstairs.” She heard Adam’s voice say.

“Adam, it’s just me.” She softly called out.  The door peeked open and fearfully peaking out was Adam. Gale revealed her face to him and when he saw it was his friend, he sighed with relief and quickly brought her inside.

“It’s alright my love, it’s just Gale.”

“Oh thank God. I was so scared it was the Sheriff. He’s been threatening to come by any day now to take us away cause we couldn’t pay off our taxes.” Gale lowered her hood and comforted Veronica.

“They’ve already repossessed my blacksmith shop. Soon he’ll get the cottage and then……” he sighed heavily as he sat down on his chair. “What has England come to?”

“That’s why I’ve come here.” She told them. “Listen…..England’s no longer safe for you and your family. You all need to leave.”

“What?” Adam asked in shock.

“Leave England? But we—we can’t….where would we go?” Veronica asked.

“I’ve talked with Kit and he’s got some friends along the docks who are willing to do a bit of smuggling with no questions asked. They’ll take you to Scotland and you guys can start a new life there. At least until things calm down. Or pray to God above when and if good King Richard returns to England to set things right.”

“But Gale we—we can’t just up and leave…..”

“Adam please!” Gale pleaded. “The prisons are filled to the brim with everyone. Not just men and women but children! Children! Now I have been there for you for each of your children and I look at them like they were my own. Other families have already lost their children to hunger in the cells. I refuse to let that happen to any of yours!” tears filled her eyes. “I can’t let any more children of England die, I can’t.”

Adam cupped the young woman’s face and wiped her hidden tears away.

“Alright then, when do we leave?” Gale smiled and hugged the blacksmith and praised him.

“Thank you.” she separated from him and told him. “Meet me at the river in an hour. It’s too risky to travel by carriage or horses, we’ll take the river to the docks. I’ve got a boat ready for us to travel in. Take nothing just come with the kids.”

“Alright. One hour.”

“Thank you Gale.” Veronica thanked her as she took the young female rouge’s hand and kissed it.

“Thank me when we get you lot onto the ship. Remember one hour at the river. Bring nothing else but you and the children.” She lifted her hood back over her head and snuck out of the cottage.

She went back over to her mare and urged her onward to the river to get the boat ready.

But they were unaware that just short of the Sharpe’s cottage, someone was watching them.

As promised, the Sharpe family arrived at the river and when they saw Gale, the older children hugged her and the babies all babbled out her name.

“Ms. Gale mummy and daddy wouldn’t tell us what’s going on?” Laura said.

“Yeah Ms. Gale where are we going?” asked Michael.

“Shh, okay now children listen to me. We’re gonna play a little game okay?”

“What kind of game?” asked Robert skeptically.

“We’re gonna play a quiet game. If you kids can stay as quiet as possible till we reach the docks. One of you will receive a special prize from me.”

“Really? WOW!!” Michael cheered.  Gale shushed him and he quickly covered his mouth.

“Alright now everyone onto the boat. And remember children, not a sound. Not a squeak, a peep, or even laughter. We need to be as quiet as possible.” The children nodded and they piled onto the boat first, then Veronica holding her 4-month-old child, and finally Adam.

Gale stirred the boat and soon the family along with Gale rowed downriver.

All was going good so far till the baby started to cry. Gale grew fearful cause she knew if anyone heard a baby’s cry out here, there would be an investigation.

“Ronnie please quiet Aggie down, we’ll be spotted!” Gale hissed softly.

“Shhh hush my little one.” Veronica tried to calm her crying baby down, but it would take a full 15min till the baby finally went quiet.

“Well we know Luke isn’t going to get the prize.” Michael whispered.

“Michael shush!” Robert hissed.

“Yes Mikey shh!” Laura echoed her brother.

“Children please, not another word.” Adam used his stern father tone on is children.  Finally after what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the docks.

After unloading everyone from the boat, Gale lead them through the docks, ducking the guards who were patrolling to make sure no one got passed them except for the merchant ships that were ready to depart.

When Gale found the sails that Kit told her about that showed the Scottish flag, she told the Sharpe’s to stay low in the shadows while she did the talking with the ship’s captain.

She then walked up to a big built man with long flowing hair who was giving out orders.

“Captain Hagrid?”

“Aye that be me. Who are yah?” he spoke with a thick Scottish accent.

“You spoke with one of my informants about a smuggling job. Goes by the name of the Scot.”

“Ahh you’re the lass he wanted me to smuggle that family for yah.”

“Yes. Now you are to promise me that no harm will befall this family. They have no weapons, only their children.”

“You have my word lass. No harm will come to them.” They shook on it when a horrified piercing scream echoed through the docks.

Gale turned and soon found the royal guard taking the Sharpe’s out of their hiding places and binding them in shackles.  But when broke her heart the most were the children being separated from their parents.

“I’ve always hated that Scot. Plus the Sheriff got to me first before he did.” Hagrid sneered.

“You—you bastard!” Gale quickly took out her knife and sliced the captain’s throat with quick precision before going to the Sharpe’s to help them out.

She knocked out a couple of the guards and freed Adam from his shackles before giving him one of the guard’s swords to him while she withdrew her sword.  The two of them stood protectively in front of Veronica and the children before a neigh was heard from the shadows.

Walking out riding on top of his menacing looking black horse was the Sheriff of Nottingham himself.

“Going somewhere Mr. Sharpe?” his low graveled voice spoke as he stared down at all of them with cold, dead eyes.

“Sheriff of Nottingham……I’m taking my family and we’re leaving. You can’t harm us if we aren’t in England anymore.”

“True. But you haven’t left England yet, have you?” soon one of the guards quickly grabbed Gale under her arms while another knocked Adam over the head sending him down to the ground.

“NOO!!” Veronica screamed.

“DAD! DADDY! PA!” the kids chorused out worriedly.

“ADAM!!”

“Take the Sharpe’s to the jail for refusal of tax payment and for fleeing the country.” The Sheriff said.  They once again shackled Adam’s unconscious body before dragging it away as well as the rest of his family.

The kids all crying out for Gale to help them.  Gale tried as best as she could to get out of the guard’s arms but he kept a tight hold on her.

“Sir, what should we do with this one?” asked one of the guards.

“This gentlemen is the notorious Gale Hood, sister of Robin Hood. Allow me to take her from here. Go rejoin the others in putting the Sharpe’s away. And also see to it that the children get a special accommodations.” The Sheriff said grinning cynically at the last statement.

He knew this would get a rise out of Gale due to her closeness with the family.  When the guards left and the bigger guard released her, she quickly withdrew her bow and notched an arrow in the blink of an eye and had it aimed right between the Sheriff’s eyes.

“You think your life is worth more than theirs?! You’re a demon Sheriff of Nottingham! A vile, prideful, lustful, incubus of Satin. I swear if anyone of those Sharpe children die, I will cut off your cock and force it down your throat!” she snarled threateningly.

The Sheriff spoke not a word, only just looked down before suddenly whipping out his sword and slashing apart Gale’s bow.  She stood there frozen for a split second before withdrawing back her sword but the Sheriff forced her to drop it when he slashed her right arm.

She screamed in pain as she knelt down on the ground gripping her bleeding arm.  The Sheriff got off his horse and just walked over to her and grabbed her hair and forcefully threw her head back.  She hissed and groaned in pain.

“Now this is how a woman should behave. Best to be seen, never heard. And always at the knees of her man.”

“You think I’d willingly suck you off? I wouldn’t touch you to punch you.” she hissed.

“You’ll soon know your place Gale. Just like your whore of a mother did.” She clenched her hand into a fist and punched him right in the dick sending him down to the ground and she quickly raced away from the docks and into the forest.

A chase soon happened as the rain once again became a thunderstorm.  Gale ran as quickly as she could through the forest but the Sheriff was close behind her on his horse.

This time he wouldn’t lose her.

Through the muddy trails, Gale would slip but she’d quickly use it to her advantage as she turned another way while it took his horse awhile to turn back around.  Gale then scaled up a tree and proceeded the jump from branch to branch, but the Sheriff was close behind her.

When she came to a familiar path she jumped down to the ground and slide along the mud but quickly came up and jumped through a narrow opening between the narrow opening of the end of the forest.

The Sheriff’s horse neighed as it reared at the sudden closure of the forest but the Sheriff driven by his hatred and desire to capture at least one of the Hood siblings, tried to find another way out of the forest.

Gale ran across an open field until she reached a graveyard. For just ahead was the church where Friar Tuck would give her sanctuary.  Exhausted and tired from the fighting and getting dizzy from the blood loss in her arm, Gale pushed on till she reached the church.

“SANCTUARY! PLEASE FRIAR TUCK GIVE ME SANCTUARY!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs over the loud rain and thunder while pounding on the closed doors.  She heard the roar and hoofbeats of the Sheriff’s horse and he was now coming right for her.  

Gale quickly ran to the back towards the graveyard of the church but she didn’t get far.  She felt her cloak being grabbed from behind, choking her before feeling herself get kicked in the back but what sent her into a world of blackness was when she hit her head against a gravestone.

Her mother’s gravestone to be exact.

The Sheriff got off his horse once again and walked towards Gale’s unconscious body.  What was going through his mind at that moment was—pure lust.  But it was soon interrupted with a flash of lightning lit something on her left ring finger.

He looked down at her hand confused and intrigued as he reached out and took her left hand and wiped the mud away to reveal a familiar ring. He gasped and said.

“The Queen’s ring.” His fear then turned to pure disgust as he fully turned Gale onto her back. “To think the Prince would choose you. You’ll never be anything to him. Well after I tell him he beloved committed suicide, I’ll have to help him out of his misery.”

He took out his dagger and raised it over his head.  But before he could plunge it into Gale’s heart, he was hit over the head and knocked off of her unconscious body.

“Get away from my daughter!” a voice snarled at him.  The Sheriff held his head to see that it was bleeding and when he looked up, there was Friar Tuck holding a long candelabra in his hands, standing protectively in front of Gale.

“This is none of your concern Friar. You’ve known from the beginning that their family’s been cursed with black magic!”

“You claim her to be a witch just because of your lustful desires towards their mother all those years ago! You then convinced Richard to proceed with a witch trial and have their mother burned at the stakes when she was completely innocent! If you so much as lay a sinful finger on her again……”

“You’re mighty preachy Friar and you’ll end up preaching yourself right into a hangman’s noose. Now for the last time, stand. Aside.” Friar Tuck refused and swung the candelabra right at the Sheriff’s face.

The two men proceeded to battle it out with each other. The Friar getting a good few shots at either the Sheriff’s face or jabbing him in his gut.

“You want damnation?! I’ll give you damnation!” The Friar yelled at the Sheriff.  But soon the Sheriff grabbed the candelabra and pulled it out of the Friar’s grip and pushed him down to the mud.  He placed his sword at Friar Tuck’s neck and the Sheriff spoke.

“I’ll do you one better. You’re under arrest for high treason to the crown.” He then took out some shackles and placed one around Friar Tuck’s neck.  Knowing he couldn’t fight back anymore, Friar Tuck surrendered to his fate.

The Sheriff then walked over towards Gale’s unconscious body and hauled it over his shoulder before going back to his horse and draped her across the black Shire horse.  

He then walked back over to Friar Tuck and grabbed the chain, then like a dog, led Friar Tuck over to his horse and the three of them left the church.

From inside the church, Anita and Jim who had watched the entire thing stood in shock and horror.  Sister Anita wept into her hands while Father Jim tried to comfort her and the two watched helplessly as their Friar and Gale were taken away by the Sheriff.

At the palace as the thunder continued to softly rumble in the sky, Prince John sat down in his throne room surrounded by his gold coins but had a permanent angry scowl on his face.

If one had to compare, his eyes would be seeing red right at this very moment.  Heston stood by his throne looking up at his master anxiously.

“Sire, if I may—you’re not your usual cheery self today.” The Prince didn’t answer him, just kept his fists clenched till his knuckles turned white. “I know. You haven’t counted your money for days, hmm? That always cheers you up.” Heston then fiddled with some of the gold coins with his tail but still the Prince didn’t even flinch from his throne. “Sire, taxes are pouring in, the jail is full. Oh and guess what sir, Friar Tuck and Gale Hood are in prison.”

“FRIAR TUCK!?!?” Prince John exploded as he knocked down some of his piles of gold when he stood up with rage. “IT’S ROBIN. HOOD I WANT YOU IDIOT!!! Oh I would give all my gold if I could get my hands on—” he stopped when he remembered the second name.  He wet his lips with his tongue as he asked Heston.  “Did you say Gale Hood?”

“Did I? Y-y-yes sire. She was trying to aid an escape for the Sharpe family when the Sheriff stopped them.” Prince John pondered before he exclaimed joyously.

“Ahh! Heston I have it! I’ll use that lascivious sister of his to lure Robin Hood into another genius plan of mine.”

“Another trap sir?” Heston asked hesitantly.

“Yes, yes you stupid serpent. Gale Hood will be led to the gallows in the village square tomorrow and burned at the stake for the crime of witchcraft.”

“But sir. Burn Gale Hood, for witchcraft? Shouldn’t there be a trail for her before we suddenly execute her?”

“I’ve seen it for myself back at the tournament of her witchcraft. And the Sheriff has told me more things she’s done to prove herself a witch. Hell even their own mother was a witch. And when our brave hero comes to rescue his sweet, little sister from the breath of hell’s fire. Ha-ha. My men will be ready. Ah-ha!” Prince John spoke cold and darkly as he stared down at the stake where they’ve used to burn witches in the past while thunder continued to rumble.

*WARNING START OF SCENE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION*

When Gale finally woke up, she found herself in a dark room. At first her vision was blurry but her other senses started to come back, she felt on her wrists and ankles chained down.

She tried pulling on them but she was tightly bound.  She felt on her back she was lying on some sort of bed.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t wake up.” Her heart began to beat in fear for when she turned, standing over the bed was the Sheriff staring down at her with lustful eyes.  “If you’re wondering where you are, you’re in the palace. But don’t even bother screaming. Not even your precious Prince will be able to hear your screams.”

At this point Gale was too horrified to even speak, plus she was still out of it from hitting her head as the Sheriff’s face seemed to double even triple through her unfocused vision.  The one thing she did feel was him stroking over her bare arms.

“Such…….beauty. I can see why the young prince would fall for you. Your skin…….so soft. Just like hers was. I wonder,” he then lightly clenched his hand around her throat. “If you can perform as well as her.”

The next thing she knew, he got on top of her, her clothes were being ripped apart and he proceeded to rape her.  No matter how much she tried to fight back, she couldn’t do anything to get the Sheriff off her.

Her screams echoed through the room but no one could hear her. For you see he had taken her to the lowest dungeons the palace had, a place where it’s eternal darkness and emptiness.  Even if the rats and dripping water from the walls don’t make you go mad, the eternal darkness will.

And it was there the Sheriff committed the ultimate sinful action of taking a woman’s innocence before marriage and without consent.

After raping her for over an hour and a half, a knock was soon heard at the door.  He covered Gale’s mouth and hissed down at her.

*END OF SCENE. WORD IS MENTION BUT IT’S NOT ACTUALLY HAPPENING AT THIS POINT*

“Not. A. Word.” He held up his trousers and opened the door just a bit and there stood a guard who relayed Prince John’s decree to the Sheriff. His brow quirked with intrigued and he said to the guard. “Alright, tell the Prince I’ll be setting it up in a moment.”

“Yes sir.” The door closed and the Sheriff told the broken woman.

“Seems you’re finally following in your mother’s footsteps. At dawn you will be burned at the stake and your marriage to the prince will be forgotten. After all why would he want a tainted bride such as you? And even if he did, at least I loosened you up for him.”

After dressing himself and making himself look presentable once again, he left the room and slammed the door behind him and locked it up.

Gale, now a broken shell of her former self allowed the tears to fall down her face as she softly began whimpering brokenly.  

Why didn’t she fight harder? Why was she weak to stop him? Had she just turned around and stopped him back at the church none of this would’ve happened.  It was her fault she had been raped.  It was her fault the Sheriff overpowered her.

It was all her fault.  She thought to herself over and over again.

Someone was walking down towards the cell where Gale was said to be.  The cloaked figure walked through the dark, black hallways with only a torch to light their way.  When the person arrived at the cell, they brought out the key and unlocked it.

The door slowly opened and the person walked inside and knelt down beside Gale.  Their heart broke into a thousand pieces as soon as they saw the broken form of her still body chained up to the bed.  

The person then unlocked her bounds then as soon as she was free, she suddenly lashed out like a wild animal.

Gale knocked the person over and nearly punched their face in when a soft female voice said.

“Gale! Gale! Gale it’s me! It’s Maid Marian!” Her anger suddenly flashed to horror.

“Marian? Oh god I-I-I-I-I…….” Gale quickly got off of her and went over to the corner of the cell and made herself smaller, hoping to disappear into the darkness.

Marian shined the torch towards her and when she saw Gale was stripped of her clothes, exposed to the elements, she set the torch down and unhooked her cloak.

“It’s okay, it’s okay now.” Very cautiously she got closer and closer to Gale and covered her up so that she had her decency back.

“I don’t deserved to be covered in a white cloak. White is pure, untainted, innocent. And I—”

“Stop right there Gale Hood. What has happened to you was—unforgiveable. But it doesn’t make you less of a lady than I am.”

“But Marian…….I—I’m not a…..I’m not a virgin anymore. He’s taken it away from me. I don’t even deserve to even be in your presence.”

“Wrong. You do. Because what you need now more than ever is a friend. Nay your future sister in law. And I will not allow you to degrade yourself like this. God will forgive you because you did not commit the sin of lust. The Sheriff did.”

A sniffle was heard from Gale as she said.

“What if James finds out? What if he won’t—”

“He will not care. If anything, he’ll kill the Sheriff should he find out. In fact, I’ll tell him myself if I……”

“NO!!” Gale snapped out.  She looked down shamefully and gripped the cloak tighter around herself. “He can’t find out. Not like this. I—I should be the one to tell him. Please Marian promise you won’t say a word to James.” Even though every bit of her was wanting to run to James, tell him what the Sheriff had done to his future wife, Marian knew that Gale had to be the one to tell James of what happened tonight.

“I promise.”

“Thank you, sister.” Gale leaned her head against Marian’s chest, right over her heart.  Marian slowly wrapped her arms around Gale and held her little sister in her arms.  

Sending her every bit of comfort she could muster while the two of them sat in the emptiness together.

Outside the village square, the Sheriff of Nottingham along with two of his guards were prepping the stake for a witch burning. The Sheriff stroked the stake with his gloved hand and he said.

“The fox siblings will finally meet their end come daybreak.”

“Sheriff, everything’s in order.” Said one of his guards.

“Excellent.”

“Alms, Alms, Alms for the poor.” A crackly voice spoke up. The three men turned and saw an old blind man coming towards them with his cane poking at the ground and a small mug in his hands. “Oh say now, did me ol ears hear the melodious voice of the Sheriff?”

“Who wants to know?” the Sheriff asked.

“Oh just an old praiser of yours. Being blind, you help keep the thieving scoundrels off the streets after all.”

“Well then…..I suppose you are worth staying around then, aren’t you?” the old man walked closer to the gallows and poked the stage with his cane.

“What’d be going on here?” the old blind man said.

“If you must know old man, we’re finally gonna be rid of one of those thieves once and for all. We’re going to burn Gale Hood.”

“No burn my—” the old man lifted his glasses to reveal Robin Hood but he quickly lowered his glasses back down as soon as the Sheriff burned down and he spoke in the gravelly voice again, “Burn Gale Hood?”

“You bet, at dawn. And maybe it’ll even be a double burning.” Said a smaller, leaner guard.  But the bigger and bulkier one hit him on the head as he snarled lowly.

“Put a cork in it yah wanker.”

“A double burning eh? Who be the other fellow who gets the hellfire?”

“Sheriff, this old man’s asking too many questions!” said the bulky guard as he held his crossbow at Robin.  Robin tried to ease the situation as he said.

“Nahh sonny I didn’t mean no harm by it. But umm…..couldn’t there be trouble if her brother or—even Prince James were to stop it?”

“Well what do you know Sheriff he guessed it. And he even found out about our plans for the young Prince.” The smaller guard laughed out boastfully.

“Oi Nutsy! Button your beak.”

“Oh no need to worry about that. The Sheriff be too crafty, to clever, and too smart for the likes of them says I!” Robin praised the Sheriff who took his compliments like a praise.

“For being blind old man, you sure do know a good character when you see on. Says I.” The Sheriff boasted to himself, while from underneath the hat and glasses, Robin was glaring pure hatred up at the Sheriff. Robin then snuck away carefully as the bulkier guard told him.

“Sheriff. I still got a feeling that this old coot knows too much.”

“Oh shut up Jacob. He’s just a harmless old blind beggar.” Robin then continued his mantra of calling out alms for the poor as he tried to guide himself out.  When he reached the exit, in the shadows stood the rest of the Merry Men.

“Rob!” Little John softly called out.  Robin quickly stood by his men as Little John continued, “We can’t let them burn Gale.”

“A jailbreak, tonight. Is her only chance.” Robin said as he removed the glasses from his face.

“A jailbreak!?” said Gilbert and Kit in unison.

“Robin there’s no way we can…….”

“Boys we’ve got to!” Robin hissed at them as he removed his raggedy hat.  “I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose Gale the same way we lost our mother.”

His men looked at him apprehensively but they all looked at Gale like a sister and couldn’t bare it if she were to burn at the stake.

“What’s the plan?” asked Little John.

“In order for that to happen, we’re gonna need three more players.”

“You don’t mean…..” David said.

“Yes.”

“It’s too risky. What if—”

“If James finds out, he’ll immediately jump at the chance to help. Besides he’s involved already. If he dies, King Richard’s line comes to an end. And we’ll be stuck with Prince John and the Sheriff till England burns to the ground.”

“Robin’s right. But—how are we gonna get into the palace, break into the jail, free Gale as well as the people without being seen?” Gilbert asked.

Together the five men left to regroup and carefully plan out their jailbreak.  And time was of the essence.

[typicalmidnightsoul]

𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖇𝖑𝖚𝖊 -Chapter 1

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭

Hogwarts AU After Feyre and Elain spot Nesta go into Borgin and Burkes with her friends they get concerned and as time goes on the inner circle realize that Nesta Archeron is indeed hiding something that may be life threatening, which is why she will not open up to anyone, and would rather face this alone. The inner circle and a very determind Cassian is not, however minding their business which puts everyone in knee deep shit.

Exquisite. She was exquisite, standing there in her robes. Well, on Nesta Archeron school uniform didn’t really look like uniform. Her skirt was more high-waisted, her jumper tucked in with no crinkles and since she hated knee high socks she work sleek black tights with black heels.  As she fixed her blue tie Cassian took his eyes off her and sat down.

Feyre came in a few minutes later and glared at the sight he was staring at down the train passage way.  They were only waiting on Mor and Amren.

“Did something happen?” Azriel inquired.

Elain and Feyre exchanged a look.

“Well…something did happen with Nesta,” Feyre began. Rhys sat up next to Cassian, Azriel lifted a brow.

“What something?” Cassian asked.

“Something a bit disturbing.”

“Care to elaborate?” Amren came in with Mor shutting the door behind them.  Feyre glanced at the door.

“Elain and I planned to meet up with Nesta at the leaky cauldron at 1 but since Elain wanted to find a gift for one of her friends younger sister’s and as we were coming out of Eeylops Owl Emporium we saw Nesta 1 hour early with Cresseida Maree and Eris Vanserra…”

Elain picked up the story, “She looked so weird, and they all did wearing all black. But that wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that they went into Borgin and Burkes.”

“What?!” Amren hissed.

“Why would Nesta Archeron need to go there?!” Cassian demanded.

“When she came out we asked her and she said Eris had business there so they tagged along.”

Cassian relaxed, “Eris Vanserra is in Slytherin and as much as I don’t like their friendship it makes sense for them to tag along.”

Feyre looked at him, her eyes hard “We would’ve believed that but the second Nesta saw us she handed a bag over to Cresseida and they both left. Leaving Nesta with us, without as much as a glance.”

They all went silent until Elain said, “It’s her life so I don’t-”

The compartment door slid open, “Elain it seems that I mistakenly put my spare Ravenclaw tie in your satchel, may I look?” Elain got out her satchel and handed it to her.

“Sure, who’s it for?”

“Cressida, she left hers at Tarquin’s.”

The atmosphere went awkward.

“Skirt got an inch shorter this year?” Cassian chuckled.

“Maybe it’s just your perverted view” she didn’t even look up.

“Or maybe you’re just an attention seeker,” Mor retorted.

“Morrigan take a long look in the mirror because according to history there aren’t any lengths you wouldn’t go to hide that pretty little secret of yours.” Mor paled at the drawling voice leaning on the doorway.

Nesta groaned, “Cat meet dog.”

“Are you Nesta’s dog then Eris?” Feyre asked, sneering.

“Well, if being Nesta’s dog means she gives me 10 times more affection than she gives you then I’ll gladly comply.”

Nesta looked up at him from her rigorous search. “Aw, thanks.”

She got the tie and ruffled Elain’s hair as she was going out only to be stopped by a tornado which pushed Nesta back into the sliver of space next to Elain.

“What the fuck is Helion doing in our compartment?” Vassa hissed.

Nesta looked utterly shocked, “I called him, why what’s wrong?”

“He has been flirting with everyone, Cresseida, Clare now he is on Thesan, Nesta kick. Him. Out.”

Eris pulled her back, allowing Nesta to get up.

“He knows, Vass. We need the information.” Vassa straightened at that only to almost topple at the jolt of the train that made Nesta fall straight into Cassian’s arms. Her honey blonde hair fell like a curtain around them. Sliver eyes met gold ones. His smirk faded.

Eris cleared his throat. Nesta jumped off him. As they went out Vassa nudged Nesta and gave her a smirk which Nesta dutifully ignored.

In Borgin and Burkes

“Ms Archeron, what a pleasure your aunt told me you’d be dropping by.”

Her voice was like a knife cutting through silk, “Hello Mr Borgin, I hope my aunt told you why.”

“No. she didn’t risk it, she feared that someone might be listening.”

“No issues,” she opened a black duffel bag and took out a black box to show a hollow flower crystal rhinestone choker.  Mr Borgin chuckled.

“Ever so sorry, Ms Archeron but I don’t buy pretty jewellery.”

Cresseida sniggered.

Nesta gave a saccharine smile to Mr Borgin.

She leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t touch her; she might put a curse on you.”

That made him stumble back. The trio snickered.

He gave her an inquiring look.

“It’s a blood-Bourne curse, and as you know it resurfaces after many generations to affect the descendants of the one originally cursed. I want you to find out who was the person originally cursed and who their descendants are.”

He nodded but asked, “Do you know what the curse is?”

She nodded, “But unfortunately I cannot tell you, nonna’s orders.”

“Ah, yes that reminds me, your grandmother has told me to give this to you.” He gave her a box. She opened it. Eris came up behind her and gave a smile that promised death.

The box had a rifle, a sniper and a machete and a note inside read,

Make sure these reach to Ms Laurent,

She will know where to plant them

You will be notified of their whereabouts the morning after you

You give them to her. Stay safe, keep your

Sisters safe.

Love Nonna.

They quickly worked, unloading the weapons and into the Burberry duffel bag. As they were leaving Cresseida got a text.

“Nesta your sisters have been following us.”

“Too late,” Eris replied as they caught sight of them at the end of the alley. Nesta handed the bag over to Cresseida.

“Put the bag in your trunk. Give it to me on the train.”

They both nodded and left without turning back

@skychild29​

[justlindseymorgan]

If you’re at all familiar with The CW’s “The 100”, then you’re probably aware of Lindsey Morgan. Lindsey has played the ever-evolving bad-ass mechanic Raven Reyes on the hit show since it’s first season and it looks like she’ll continue on. Outside of her success as an actress, Lindsey enjoys the more leisure side of life often indulging in books and possibly catching a few zzz’s. Be on the lookout for more of Ms. Morgan’s appearances in the near future as she is continually working!

Tell us about your home life before you were introduced to the industry. I had a very suburban childhood. I grew up in Houston, Texas with virtually zero ties or knowledge about the film industry. I think I was a normal kid. I was a pretty high achiever from debate team to swimming to journalism to drama club. I had a lot of interests but a lot of things I was just good at. There was nothing I was great at. I think that variety of interests made me realize I need to find something that can encompass all my interests and acting was the only thing that did that for me.

What was it about acting that captured your interest? The idea of transformation has always fascinated me about acting. The idea that I can start the day as one person in one life and in one world and end it somewhere else as a character made it seem like my life would always be exciting and interesting. Acting feels like it’s never mastered, which can be frustrating but also means an infinite ability to be creative and to continually learn and evolve. I love that.

Have you ever forgotten your lines? Of course! It happens here and there. I may miss a line or skip it by accident. I try not to. I don’t like changing the lines of the writer or their intent.

Tell us some film projects you’re currently involved with. I just signed on to an indie that shoots this June but I’m not sure what more I can say until it is announced. But, a film that I am very proud of “Summertime”, just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival so I’m excited to see where it goes next.

How was your character Raven Reyes introduced on The CW’s hit show, “The 100”? Raven was introduced in the second episode in a very iconic way. Full of fire and sass with shit to do. If you haven’t seen it it’s on YouTube.

How has Raven changed over the series? You really see Raven evolve over the last five seasons. You see her grow up and mature. She came out of the gate, guns blazing. She was very strong and very naively sure of herself but then her strength and her self assurance was tested over and over again. I feel like we as people all of have pillars of strength inside of us, what we can depend on, what gives us strength, what catches us when we fall and most of her pillars were taken away from her; Finn, her love, her friends, the physical strength in herself, the use of her body, her mind, her brilliance, her purpose and her value. She’s been repeatedly tested in a various ways and she has failed and succeeded, broken down and rebuilt sometimes stronger, sometimes not and I love that. I love her humanity and constant evolution.

What do you look forward to the most this season? This season is all about character evolution. It’s been six years since the end of Season 4 and six years is a very long time for changes to occur. Some of your favorite characters are going to change, for the better or the worse, and you’ll have to watch how it all plays out.

Are you currently reading any books? I just finished The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. My PA at a Comic Con I was doing in Melbourne gave me the book as a gift because I am the lead fan cast for the role of Mare Barrow. It turns out Victoria was also a guest at the same Con. I had no idea and basically devoured the book in three days. I am ready to start the next one.

What is a song you listen to on repeat? I listen to a ton of music but right now I can’t stop listening to Cardi B’s “I Like It”.

Being from Houston, who is your favorite artist from there? Beyonce’, obviously.

Who would you enjoy working with if given the opportunity to do so? My acting idols are Meryl Streep and Daniel Day Lewis.

How do you feel about the portrayal of women in Hollywood versus how men are portrayed in Hollywood? I think it’s mostly unfair. From the archetypes women have been portrayed as for centuries to the pay gap between men and women. It just feels like for some unknown reason it was just decided in Hollywood women would be deemed as “lesser” but in reality all the women I know are strong, fierce, capable and had to endure unfair disadvantages to progress in society and life that men never had to, all with the expectation of having perfect makeup. It reminds me of that famous quote said about Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in the 1930’s, “Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” I feel that is how women are portrayed and made to feel in the industry when compared to men.

What are your thoughts on the ongoing allegations coming out about some of the industry’s “big names”? It’s shocking and heartbreaking. I feel for the victims and can completely sympathize and empathize on why they would stay quiet and how it could be such an epidemic because so many people were afraid of being black balled. That’s a very real thing. I feel like that kind of behavior will not be condoned or hidden anymore because everyone is taking it very seriously and I am very glad about it. It feels like there is finally some security in the industry and I thank the fearless victims for standing up and creating that for the rest of us.

What is a guilty pleasure of yours? Sometimes, if I am super busy and I finally have a free day, I will sleep as long as I humanly can, which can be about 14 hours. Then, I’ll just spend the rest of the day lying around with my eyes closed, not even watching TV or looking at my phone. Just lying, doing absolutely nothing.

You recently had a birthday. How did/do you plan on celebrating? I haven’t begun to think about it! Maybe skydiving?

What do your hobbies include? I really love being active so anything that has to do with exploring or traveling or experiencing something new, I’m all in!

Lastly, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? Believe in yourself.

[tristikovart]

A Magical Time of Year (Part 3)

Continued from Part 2.

This short story explores a young Fontania Eraclare's family life over the holidays and what it is like to grow up learning to use magic! This story is part of the same universe as the Avania comic, but takes place years before the events depicted in it, so no prior information is really needed other than knowing this a world of anthropomorphic horses.

Story below the fold!

A Magical Time of Year - Part 3 - By Tristikov

* * *

The following morning at breakfast, Fontania was surprised to find her mother sitting at the dining room table, albeit instead of tea and breakfast before her she had a ledger and quill pen.

“Good morning, Ma-ma!”

Freya looked up momentarily. “Good morning, Fontania.”

“Where’s Pa-pa?” asked the girl, sitting down at the lone place setting across from her mother.

“Your father is in the city on business.”

“Aw, I wish I could have gone too!”

“He left quite early, and you need your rest… Especially since you were up late.”

Fontania pouted. She had almost forgotten her botched triumph the night before, but then she realized the opportunity that now awaited her if she could find time alone to experiment.

“Excuse me, ma’am…” came a voice from the kitchen door. “Is the young miss ready for her breakfast?”

It was the kitchen maid, Ms. Wheatley.

“Yes, you may bring it in,” replied Freya.

The servant disappeared momentarily before returning with a large tray. She laid out the small assortment of plates for Fontania and tucked in her napkin.

“Can I fetch you anything else, my lady? More coffee, perhaps?”

The white mare didn’t look up. “No, that’ll be all. Thank you.”

The younger equine curtseyed and returned to the kitchen. Fontania ate the strawberries she had been given first, before moving on to the cantaloupe. The only sound to interrupt her chewing was scratch of a quill on paper. “What are you doing in that book, Ma-ma?” she asked, in between bites.

“Ensuring our affairs are in order.”

Fontania wasn’t entirely sure what was meant by that, but her mother looked busy, so she decided to start in on her buttered oat cake instead of prying further. After some minutes though, her mother set down the quill and closed the large, leather-bound book with a sigh.

She smiled at her daughter. “There, now comes the primary task of the day…”

“Whatth’s that Ma-ma?” asked Fontania through a mouth full of cake.

Her mother drew her lips in exasperation. “Fontania! Really, I shouldn’t have to remind you to not speak while you have food in your mouth. We’re to have company soon.”

The girl’s ears perked up at the comment. She finished chewing.

Freya continued. “We have the honor of hosting a Solstice dinner party for several distinguished families… It’s not to be a symposium or a grand ball, but I will expect you to be on your best behavior.”

Fontania wiped her mouth with the napkin. “Yes, Ma-ma.”

“Perhaps you could even demonstrate what you’ve learned in front of an audience.”

The little girl beamed. “Really, Ma-ma?”

“Only if you’re feeling confident in yourself. You can show me later and we can work on it if you want, but for now I need to start making preparations.”

“Will there be other children too?”

The mare nodded. “I believe you may have some friends to play with, yes.”

“Yay!” Fontania kicked her legs under the table.

Her mother stood up. “Why don’t you get ready for magic practice, and you can come find me later when you’ve finished for the day.”

Taking the ledger and quill with her, Freya left the dining room as the maid returned to collect the now empty flatware. Fontania guessed her mother would be in her study for the rest of the day, which was typically the case when she was home through daylight hours. That meant there would be a small window of time without supervision before Ms. Roberta came down to begin their daily routine of exercises.

Fontania began to trot toward the living room, then slowed to a calm walk so as to not draw undue attention with the noisy gait. It wasn’t long before she’d reached the spot where she’d stashed the foil the night before. Taking a quick look around first, then getting down on her knees to reach under the couch, the girl’s eyes widened, and she groped frantically but found only dust bunnies. Had someone taken it?

She looked around the room again, but nothing appeared to be out of place. Perhaps she had just misremembered the location. She tried again, this time getting down on her belly to look under the large piece of furniture. After squinting a bit, the shiny pommel of the foil shone amongst the dusty shadows, and she reached in to retrieve it.

“There! Now to try…” Fontania said under her breath as she held up the foil.

It was a good thing the leather safety ball had been removed from the tip of the weapon, or else it may have been lost in the underworld of living room furniture. Her arm and shoulder were covered in dust though, and she wrinkled her nose at the sight. “Ew!”

After brushing herself off and wiping her hand on the side of the couch, she was finally ready to test the foil as an armature for casting. She held the weapon out in a ready stance, gripping it as she had become accustomed to holding the mage’s quills. The girl closed her eyes and felt for the energy around her.

The foil felt like a void in her hand. As she willed the magic through, it seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come. After half a minute of channeling though, it began to warm ever so slightly, and feeling of emptiness gradually went away. Fontania opened her eyes and saw that the foil was covered in a pale aura of energy. She turned it over slowly and then moved it through various positions. Normally after channeling without rest for a minute or so she had felt a tingle, but not now.

Ms. Roberta had said that as she practiced, her endurance would increase—and continue increasing, until she reached her full potential as an adult, but this was different. Unlike the small quill, this implement offered a relatively large increase in mass, and it was able to carry a far larger load of energy without growing uncomfortably hot to the touch.

It now occurred to the girl that she’d need to release this energy without disrupting the room’s décor.

As Fontania looked around the room for a suitable place to accomplish this task, her wandering mind ceased channeling energy into the foil. To her surprise, the foil retained its glow, but more peculiarly, felt almost alive in her touch. “How peculiar…” she noted, moving the weapon around again.

After another minute of thinking about how best to rid the object of the magical charge she had imbued it with, it started to feel as though this situation may have resolved itself. The foil’s glow had dwindled to nothing, and it no longer felt as alive though it was still a little warm.

“Oh…” Fontania frowned at the less-than-climactic result.

Had the magic simply dissipated back into the cosmos? She tried channeling again and the same cycle repeated itself. “That must be what it’s doing,” she thought.

Growing in small measure equal parts disappointed and annoyed, she scanned the room for something to test her next hypothesis on.

“There! Hehe…” The girl grinned and paced toward the far end of the room, charging the foil up as she went. With her target in sight, she trotted the last few steps and swung the foil in a sweeping cut that it was never designed to be used for.

“Die, you wretched rogue!”

Letting her channeling swell up to the apex of the strike, she struck the bouquet of flowers standing on the coffee table and released the energy stored in the foil.

BZAT!

Petals of different shapes and colors rained down around her, and the broken, steaming stems once bearing flowers toppled over in their vase and spilled onto the table. Fontania’s mouth was agape at the terrible display of destructive power she had just unleashed. Amazing!

Then she noticed the vase. “Oh no!” Quickly she righted it and held it in place for a moment as if it might be inclined to fall again. Fortunately, only a small amount of water had made its way onto the coffee table, but the flower petals now blanketing the surrounding area were another story.

With the crisis now averted, Fontania examined her weapon. The foil felt mundane again, so she must have pushed the energy out of it like she intended… It had certainly produced a dramatic effect on the bouquet formerly of flowers.

“This is fantastic!” she thought and gave the sword a swish. “Now if only it had an edge...”

“Oh my!” came a voice.

Fontania turned around with a gasp, not realizing she had said the second part aloud. Ms. Roberta had appeared in the doorway to the living room.

“You must be careful,” said the mare. “Young miss could have put someone’s eye out!”

“Ms. Roberta! I didn’t… I mean, I meant to…” Fontania stammered, not sure if she was in trouble or not.

“It’s all right… I think I have an idea for what I can show you today.” Roberta said as she crossed to the site of the floral disaster. “But first, let’s get this mess picked up!”

* * *

Fontania was extra attentive in her practice that day, if not for the concern that Ms. Roberta would inform her mother of the incident with the foil and the flowers, then for the new technique that incident inspired.

“It is important you train to use your magic without any aides,” said Roberta. “Although they can increase your capacity for channeling, they can easily become a crutch if you only ever use them.”

To this end, she was not only forced to leave the foil inside, but her nanny-turned-mentor had put it back on the wall alongside the others. Fontania was relieved when she did not ask why she had it, however.

“Shaping the flow of magic is crucial to learning proper spells… Those are beyond what I can show you, but the fundamentals are useful all on their own, so they are doubly worth your time to practice.”

Roberta had demonstrated by kneeling on the snowy lawn and pointing her first two fingers at the frozen grass. When she began to channel, a small cone of glowing energy streamed from her fingertips. Fontania thought it looked like the flame of a candle, but one that always remained in line with the candlestick regardless of the direction you pointed it.

“The key here is to concentrate the release of energy into a small area. Guide it with your will and hone it to a fine point.”

Fontania watched the Morgan inscribe her initials in the snow. To the girl’s amazement, not only had the snow been precisely melted away, but the blades of frosted grass had been neatly severed where her fingers had passed.

“Now you try, Miss Fontania,” she said when she was through.

“How did you make such a fine cut!?” Fontania asked.

“You were already on your way when you destroyed those beautiful flowers. Think of that, but take your time and release the energy at the same rate you channel it.”

It had taken Fontania a few tries and several relocations around the yard before she turned her practice patch of frozen lawn into anything more than a small wet depression. After an hour though, she was beginning to get the hang of what her mentor was describing.

“Look Ms. Roberta!” she had excitedly cried when at last she crudely wrote “F.E.” in the snow.

At that point both equines’ dresses were well dampened, and so they retired back to the house. Roberta thought it would be best if Fontania recuperated for a time after this rigorous session of channeling too.

“Always rest after channeling if you have the choice. Focusing your will for a length of time may lead to a headache, but drawing energy through your body can and will harm you if done in excess.”

The warning was serious, but Fontania was excited to show her increasing mastery to her mother. When she asked Ms. Roberta if people often used magic at parties, the Morgan told her that subtlety spoke greater volumes than flashy spectacles, and that if she wished to make a performance, she should consider creative things to do with the skills she was already learning.

After having lunch, Roberta had taken out her leather-bound tome and together they read. The old magic treatise was becoming easier to comprehend. When the day began to darken, Fontania was ready to go see her mother. With any luck, Fontania thought, her growing magical talents would be just the thing to put the older equine in a more generous mood regarding swords!

Filled with enthusiasm, Fontania confidently demonstrated everything she had mastered. In only a few months, she had gone from only being able to explode sticks, to setting them on fire, to channeling through them without setting them on fire, and finally even able to move them a little bit using only her mind. With her latest skill, she could now make a relatively fine cut in a sheet of newsprint… At least until that caught on fire too.

Fortunately, her mother was quick to extinguish the flames with a gust of magical wind contained within itself. Once again, the girl was in awe of her mother’s abilities, and how effortlessly she seemed to control the world around her. Never-the-less, she was still feeling proud of her own progress, and her mother seemed to be in agreement with her.

“Well Fontania…” said Freya, smiling as she dissipated the last of the smoke with a flick of her hand. “Refrain from igniting anything at the Solstice party, and I think you shall justly impress.”

The jumped with a whinny. “Thank you, Ma-ma!”

“Now, speaking of Solstice, is there anything in particular you would like?”

This was her chance. She looked her mother square in the eyes and smiled as big she could.

“I want a sword, Ma-ma! A real saber with a blade and brass hilt and a grip just like Pa-pa’s!”

“Absolutely not,” Freya said without hesitation. “You’ll poke someone’s eye out.”

“But Ma-ma! I promise I’ll be—”

“No swords, Fontania. Not for Solstice.”

The little girl’s pale face flushed, and she pushed out her lower lip.

“You have been attentive with your magic practice, and I want that to continue. This is your future you are building for yourself.”

A quiet sniffle permeated the solace of the study.

Her mother sighed. “Would you like to go into town and shop for a fine wand, or a nice set of quills?”

Fontania shook her head, sending her neatly brushed hair into disarray.

Freya frowned. “Just keep it in mind, Fontania.”

She leaned over and tidied the errant strands of platinum with her fine fingertips.

“I’m more than happy to provide you with things which further your education.”

The child petulantly stared straight ahead, saying nothing.

“Now, now dear,” said her mother, kissing the top of the girl’s head. “Go upstairs and wash up. I expect dinner shall be ready soon.”

At the instruction, Fontania turned on her hoof and marched out of the study while maintaining her glowering countenance. Freya put her hands on her hips and watched until her daughter had gone out of sight. Then Roberta appeared in the doorway and curtseyed. “All well, ma’am?” she asked.

“Come in. I have something to ask you,” the lady of the house responded.

* * *

That evening, mother and daughter sat down to supper in the dining room. After the servants had finished setting out the steaming plates of vegetables and grains, the two were left alone together. Still wearing a sullen expression, Fontania prodded her bowl of greens with a silver fork. Her mother took several measured bites before dabbing her fine muzzle with her napkin.

“Fontania, if you must dither with your dinner, please use the correct fork.”

The little girl scowled and replaced her prodding implement with the slightly smaller one beside her plate.

“That’s better… But even if you are not hungry, it is polite to at least take a few bites.”

Begrudgingly, the greens began to be consumed and the only sound was of silver against porcelain.

“When will Pa-pa be back?” asked Fontania.

The elegant mare dabbed her mouth before responding. “Past your bedtime, I’m sure.”

The girl’s ears pricked, and she stopped chewing. “That late, Ma-ma?”

“Perhaps…” said Freya. “…But you are going to bed early tonight.”

“Why, Ma-ma!?”

“When you came to see me after your practice, you neglected to mention the havoc you visited upon the bouquet in the living room.”

“Ma-ma, I… I was just—”

“You practice magic outdoors for a reason. If you can show me that you can be disciplined with your channeling, I may allow it inside… But whether you’re using your father’s foil, or only your magic, destroying our home is not something I will tolerate, Fontania.”

Fontania’s ears sank. “I’m sorry, Ma-ma, I wanted to badly to see if I could channel through a foil!”

Freya narrowed her eyes. “That wouldn’t be the real reason you were up last night, would it?”

The little girl shrank back in her seat and her voice was barely audible. “Yes Ma-ma.”

“I see…”

“Are you cross with me, Ma-ma?”

Her mother took a deep breath.

“I am disappointed, Fontania. A lady does not tell lies, and a child should obey her parents.”

“I know…”

“Finish eating and then get ready for bed,” said the mare, crossing her arms. “I want you to think about what you have done with your honor.”

Honor? Fontania cast her gaze down to her plate. Like the unfinished meal before her, the promising warmth she felt earlier that afternoon had cooled, and all that was left was a soggy mess. Not feeling hungry anymore, she excused herself from the table and dutifully trudged upstairs.

* * *

Fontania’s father had returned by the time she woke up the next morning and the days passed without incident. It seemed the entire Eraclare household was bustling with activity as her parents and all the servants prepared the premises for the important dinner party her mother had mentioned. That left Fontania and Roberta on their own for much of each day, and besides her regular magic practice, they had taken long walks around the property, admiring the snowy landscape and making creative use of the snow when it came to channeling.

After her mother’s admonishment at dinner, Fontania had resigned herself to practice and tried to enjoy it on its own without thinking how much fun it’d be channel through the sword again. Though she suspected Ms. Roberta to have been involved in the revelation of the ravaged bouquet, the Morgan’s habitual empathy had again directed Fontania’s frustrations in a constructive manner.

“When you release the energy, try to project it away from your palm. Imagine you are pushing a ball.”

She had fashioned tiny snowmen on the fence encircling the estate and prompted Fontania to knock them down or otherwise dislodge them from the railing without touching them. The little girl had managed to melt two of them, blast one into powder, and finally unseat the last.

“I did it! It’s easier than levitation, Ms. Roberta!”

“Yes, you have only to will your magic in one dimension here. Let’s try it again…”

Her mentor gathered the snow and compressed it into balls with her mitted hands, then reconstructed the miniature formation of snowmen on the fence. After Fontania had more reliably knocked them down, she repeated the actions, but this time had the girl stand a few paces back from her targets.

“Now, you’ll be pushing away from yourself, but you’ll also need to constrain the magic to a narrow path if you want to hit one of the snowmen.”

Fontania narrowed her eyes and braced herself.

“Relax, you’re not trying to hit all of them at once.”

The girl grinned. Could she take them all down with one blast of energy? Maybe, but it was a much wider area at that distance, so she’d likely have to channel more than she was used to. She decided to try it the way she was instructed first.

“I’m aiming for the first one on the left.”

Fontania held out her hand and pointed her first two fingers at the chosen snowman. Then straightening her arm, she thrust her palm forward while curling her fingers in. Ms. Roberta had showed her the technique and said it was a good method for developing consistency. It didn’t seem to help this time though, as she only succeeded in blowing a few snowflakes off the railing.

“That’s good, Miss Fontania. Relax and then try again. Same amount of energy but try to focus it more.”

“Focus it…” the younger equine said under her breath as she took her stance once again.

FSHEW!

The release of energy made a woosh as it passed through the air, taking Fontania by surprise. It had a more discernable shape this time, and it struck the unfortunate snowman next to her target.

Snow flew up in the air and a prominent gap was left in the formation standing on the fence. From a distance it might have appeared that the girl was throwing snowballs, but up close Fontania grinned. This was all magic. Her magic.

After the girl had finished off all who remained standing, the two equines continued their walk. Roberta explained the importance of this skill should a lady ever need to defend herself from attack. It occurred to Fontania that for the most part, all the techniques she was learning could be used in such a way.

“That is why the young miss must be careful. As you grow and develop, your abilities will become much more dangerous—both to others, and yourself. You are responsible for your magic.”

As they climbed a gentle hill, the treetops of the yard and chimneys of the house gradually came back into view. Soon after, a trio of equine figures could be seen approaching the front door. The larger two were carrying a large object over their shoulders. It was wrapped in brown burlap and loosely bound with string. Fontania thought it looked like a giant-sized version of the cigars she’d seen men smoking sometimes. Coming closer, they saw Johnathan run up to open the door for the others.

“That must be your tree they’re carrying in,” said Roberta.

Fontania’s ears swiveled forward “Oh, I can’t wait to decorate it!” she said.

In the midst of all her magical learning and the mischief with the foil, the girl had almost forgotten that the Solstice tree would be going up in the living room soon. She recalled breaking one of the glass ball ornaments a year prior, and then only being allowed to hang the sugar fruits and peppermint canes. She took her nanny’s hand and started to trot towards the house.

“Come on, Ms. Roberta, I don’t want them to finish it without me!”

“I don’t think they’ll be quite that fast, Miss Fontania,” said Roberta, trotting after her.

They reached the door and the young colt bowed as they entered. “Good mornin’ Miss Eraclare, Ma’am!”

Roberta smiled and nodded to him as they passed. “Thank you, Johnathan.”

“Are you going to help us decorate the tree?” asked Fontania.

Following the ladies inside and shutting the door after them, the boy shook his head. “Naw, I’m helpin’ my pop and Mr. Birchfield set it up, then we have to get one for the front too.”

They all walked to the living room. The gardener and the footman were wrangling the massive burlap cigar upright, almost knocking the fan of foils off the wall in the process.

“Johnny! Be a good lad and get the stand under this here trunk!” said the older chestnut stallion.

“Comin’ Pa!” The colt gave Fontania a toothy smile and then hurried to assist his father.

Fontania watched with rapt attention as the swaying spire was stabilized in its metal base and its wrappings were subsequently unfurled. Great green branches folded down as their binds were removed, and an assortment of long needles littered the floor.

“Ahh, you wouldn’t find a finer tree in all the Umbral Forest!” said the gardener.

“Aye, and a beauty it’ll be, all done up!” the roan footman nodded in agreement. “How do you do, ladies?” he added, bowing to their audience.

“We are well, thank you, Birchfield. You and Williamson have picked out a lovely tree this year,” said Roberta, giving a slight curtsey in return.

“I’m much obliged, ma’am. I only hope the mistress agrees with your assessment,” said the older man.

“I think it’s a grand tree!” said Fontania, trotting up to take a closer look.

Birchfield grinned as his compatriot “Well if the young miss thinks so, then I reckon we should be safe!”

Johnathan followed the girl’s gaze up to the high crown of the tree. “You know, Miss Eraclare, I saw this one from a mile off and told Pa it’d be worth all the sweat bringing it back!”

“That’s ‘cause you had only to carry the saw!” said Williamson, mussing his colt’s forelock.

Both men laughed and Johnathan, blushing, frantically tried to straighten his hair.

“Well, C’mon, boys, we still have much work to do before this party,” said Williamson.

“Take care, ladies!” the young stallion said as they trouped out of the living room.

“Goodbye, Miss Eraclare! Hope I can see your tree all nice and pretty as you are!” said Johnathan before bolting after his father. Roberta gave a reserved wave and Fontania giggled as they left.

“When can we trim the tree, Ms. Roberta?”

“That is up to your mother, Miss Fontania. Why don’t we eat lunch first, since I’m sure the maid will be in to tidy up all these needles in the meantime.”

The little girl agreed, having worked up an appetite with their long walk and snowy sharp-shooting.

* * *

That evening, as the snow was gently falling beyond the living room’s great windows and the fire blazed bright behind the hearth, the Eraclare household gathered around their tree. The servants had already decorated much of house both inside and out with festive bunting and shining tinsel, waxed fruits, and intricate punched paper ornaments, but the family’s Solstice tree demanded a personal touch. Fontania was adamant about hanging the colorful ornaments, at least on the boughs she could reach, and her father was happy to oblige, though neither could overrule the meticulous design directions from the lady of the house. Freya sat at the piano, playing an enchanting melody while periodically calling on her daughter and husband to adjust the lay of a ribbon or the position of an ornament.

“We really are expanding our spheres of influence…” remarked Faustus, as one of the maids delivered another box of tissue-wrapped enchanted glass balls from the attic. “Where will we hang all of these?”

“Pa-pa!” said Fontania, grinning. “Where does a tree store its belongings?”

Faustus twisted his moustache. “It pines me to say I don’t know my dear, where does it store them?”

“In its tree-trunk!” said the little girl, cracking up.

“Oh ho ho ho!” her father laughed. “Very good—I’ll needle to keep that one in mind!”

From the piano bench, Freya made a silent wish that no more holiday puns would present themselves.

As the Solstice tree became ever more densely decorated, the piles of empty boxes around the room grew. Fontania handed ornaments to the older equine until there was only one left to affix… The great star!

“How are we going to put the star on top of the tree, Pa-pa?” asked Fontania, holding the luminously enchanted ornament in her hands.

“I have an idea, but I’ll need your help…” replied her father, crouching down.

“Faustus…” began his wife, getting up from the piano.

“…And up you go!” said the stallion, lifting his daughter up by the waist.

“…I don’t think this is a good idea.” continued Freya, preparing to intervene if the plan fell through.

Faustus grunted as he held the little girl over his head as close to the tree as he could manage.

“Can you reach the crown, Fontania?”

“A little closer, Pa-pa…”

The stallion’s hooves inched forward on the tree skirt and his knees brushed against the lower boughs, disturbing the outlying ornaments. Behind him, Freya cringed at the thought of trying to magically suspend everything should they topple the heavily-laden tree.

“Almost…There…”

Glass balls clinked against the stiff needles and the carefully laid ribbon was beginning to pull taught as Faustus tried to close the distance. Fontania stretched her small arms out as far as she could, but the highest point on the tree was still a few inches farther.

“Can you slip the star on now?”

Faustus felt his muscles tiring as the girl tried in vain to complete the task.

“I still can’t reach it, Pa-pa!”

His arms burning now, the grey stallion grunted again as he made a final effort to boost his daughter to the summit. Unable to watch this terrible struggle any longer, Freya made a small lateral motion with her thumb and index finger. Bent by an invisible hand, the tip of the tree arced to one side until it was within easy reach of her daughter.

“Oh! Thanks Ma-ma!” said Fontania as she hurriedly mounted the grand star in its place.

“There, all done!”

Groaning, Faustus lowered the girl gently and set her back on her hooves. He let out a long sigh and shook out his aching arms. Fontania stepped back as well and looked up at the star.

“Wow! It’s beautiful, Pa-pa!”

“Whew, I should hope so! That is the point, after all.” said her father, giving her mother a sheepish smile.

“I could simply have set it there without all that effort, dear,” said the graceful mare, touching the stallion's shoulder.

“I know you could, darling…”

Faustus put his arms around his wife and his daughter as the three admired the wonderous sight of the completed Solstice tree standing before them, bedazzled with all its softly glowing ornaments.

“…But I like to think that it takes the whole family, to make this tree truly special.”

* * *

--- Stay tuned for Part 4, tomorrow night! ---

[petergrantkavinsky]

My Small Bean

Note: This is my first ever fan fiction, so please don’t expect too much. The prompt is too cute I had to write it. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Pairing: Mare ♡ Cal

Word count: 1,926 

“We’re both baristas and sometimes I have trouble reaching for things and I show up to work one day to find a personalized stool with hearts and my name on it I HATE YOU but also thanks”

“Two Raspberry White Chocolate Mocha for Eve and Elane!” I wait as Eve and Elane, two of our everyday customers come and get their orders.

“Thanks, Mare!” Elane says, smiling.

“I’m not going to answer that with the usual thanks, come again. I know you two will come back anyway.” I reply, smiling back.

“Absolutely! Eve and I have been to all the cafés here in New York City, but yours is the best!”

Eve rolls her eyes and starts sipping her drink. “Oh, come on, Elane, don’t say that or she’ll get those praises into her head.”

“It’s true, though,” Elane looks at Eve, smirking. “You even said so yourself. ‘Mare, that bitch, has the best barista skills in the whole land of New York City.’ That’s exactly what you said while drinking the cappuccino she made and producing those orgasmic sounds at the same time.”

I laugh as Eve chokes on her drink. She quickly recovers and playfully glares at Elane, who’s burst out laughing with me. “You know what? We better leave. We’re late as it is. We really shouldn’t be abusing Ms. Skonos’ kindness and tolerance for tardiness.”

“Okay. Alright.” Elane turns to me. “She pretty much admitted those praises came from herself by changing the topic.”

Eve sighs dramatically and starts dragging Elane with her toward the doors. “Bye, Mare.”

“Bye, Mare.” 

“Goodbye, you two.” I giggle. Because of those two, I’m starting my eight-hour shift with a bright smile.

Like every day, the café is jam-packed with people in the morning. It’s an everyday occurrence, so today’s supposed to be just like any other day, but unfortunately, all my three co-baristas are absent today for reasons I don’t know. This means I’m the only barista here to attend to all the orders. Kilorn and Cameron are present as well, but their job is limited to taking orders and handling the cashier. Technically, I’m not the only barista here. The café’s manager and owner is a professional barista whose skills are a mile better than mine.

Cal doesn’t usually make coffee with us, baristas, as he’s the boss; he only helps when more manpower is needed. Like today, for example. He’s been too grumpy the whole morning because the three absentees didn’t inform him at least one day in advance that they would all be absent at the same time today. Thanks to his skills, agility, and charm, not a single customer complained that their order is taking forever, and so, the café managed to accommodate God knows how many customers in the morning.

It’s noon now, the time of the day when there are only a handful of customers in the café. I’m about to take my 30-minute lunch break when Cameron places four more empty cups with names and orders written on them on the coffee bar. “Sorry, Mare. I know you’re really tired.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s my job.” I tell her, smiling.

I proceed to make Caramel Cinnamon Latte for four cups but notice that there’s no enough milk in the pitcher. I check the shelf beside the coffee bar but find nothing. We were very busy this morning that nobody remembered to replace the stocks on this shelf. Sighing, I make my way to the stockroom.  

Whoever built the cupboards and wall cabinets in this café surely didn’t consider short people like me. The cupboards where packs of powdered milk, coffee, and sugar can be found are designed for the reach of literally 6-feet-tall people only.

I’ve been standing on my tiptoes, both arms raised vertically, trying my best to reach the tall cupboard, for a few seconds now. My co-baristas, who are all very tall people, usually do this stuff for me. I could ask Kilorn for some help, but he hasn’t returned from his 30-minute break, and it’s been more than 30 minutes. He couldn’t have chosen a better day to overspend his break. Of all days, it’s today when there are only the three of us and the boss is not in a good mood. Oh, poor Kilorn, he’ll definitely get an earful from—

“Short people problems, I see?”

A voice I would always recognize anywhere startles me and causes me to lose my balance. Apparently, I haven’t mastered my tiptoe balance.

I’m back on my feet right away. “Oh, God. You startled me!”

There he is, Cal, arms folded across his chest, a crooked grin on his beautiful face, his body leaning against the doorway connecting his office to the stockroom. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It was a nice show, though.”

I walk toward him, a smile I can’t control suddenly forming on my face at the sight of his beautiful smiling face. “So instead of helping your girlfriend reach things she couldn’t reach, you just watched.” The moment his smile spreads so wide it crinkles his eyes, I realize what I’ve just said. Your girlfriend. I can feel the heat slowly spreading on my face.

“And here I thought you said you don’t like me acknowledging you as my girlfriend here in our workplace because we have to be ‘professional’.” He grins. “Though, I still don’t understand how you being my girlfriend and me your boyfriend makes us any less professional.” 

“I’m sorry. It just came out.” I’m totally blushing now.

“Oh, come on, Mare. You know I would willingly announce in the middle of the café that ‘Mare Barrow is my girlfriend and I’m a lucky man.’ In fact, I can do it right now. Pity there are only four customers who will hear it.”

I smile at his words. Cal and I have been dating for only a month, and since one month is a very early stage of this relationship, we’ve both agreed to keep it a secret for the meantime. Sometimes, though, he can’t help teasing me about it.

“I see your mood has improved. Tell me about it?” When we were working together earlier this morning, he was kind of annoyed that three of his baristas were absent without notice. He was quiet and only talked when necessary.

“Actually, I came here to apologize for my attitude a while ago. When I was alone in my office, I realized I should have been happy that we were working together. Just the two of us. I should have savored every moment making different coffees and beverages with only you. I kind of love the idea of ‘barista couple’, what do you think?” Again, he smiles so wide it crinkles his eyes. It just reminds me of one of the many reasons why I like him so much. I don’t even realize I’m smiling like an idiot, mirroring his smiling face, until he mentions it. “Oh, you’re smiling. I guess that means you love the idea too.”

“That’s very cheesy. You know that, right?”

“Who cares? As long as we both love it. And so, instead of scolding the three for standing me up today, I rang them and generously extended their vacation by another day. This way, we can be ‘barista couple’ again tomorrow, and I promise I won’t be sulky; you’ll like me.” He says, eyes twinkling.

“Are you serious? Did you even ask why they are suddenly MIA today?”

“Of course, I did. It’s purely coincidental that they are all MIA on the same day. They thanked me for my understanding and for another day-off tomorrow.”

This time I laugh out loud. “I can’t believe you, Cal. You’re too kind and cool to be the boss man. Not scolding them for not showing up at work without notice. Handing out free day-offs. They won’t take you seriously.”

“So? You’re the only person I need to take me seriously.”

“Oh, shut up!” I giggle. I didn’t know until now that I, Mare Barrow, am capable of giggling. And it’s because of this wonderful man right in front of me.

“Not my fault I’m so in love with you.” He says so casually as if he’s just stating a statement he’s said so many times before.

My be-professional-at-work rule be damned, I’m going to kiss him right now. Standing on my toes, I cup his face in my hands and lean in.

Cal is quick to react. He places his hands on my waist and whispers, “I should have known that you’d break your own rule at some point.”

“My rule, mine to break.” I continue to lean in slowly and close my ey—

“Mare! Are you done yet? The customers are getting impatient!”

Cal and I immediately pull away from each other as Cameron walks in. “Oh, hi, Cal.” Cal doesn’t really like his employees calling him Sir. 

To me, Cameron says, “Mare, what’s taking you so long? They’re getting pissed.”

Cal clears his throat. “No worries, Cam. I’ll do the orders. Mare can take her lunch break. She’s been working since 7AM.”

Cameron looks at the two of us. Her eyes alternating between my face and Cal’s as if searching for something. I suddenly feel like we’re under scrutiny. I can’t even look at her face. Finally, she says, “Okay. If you insist,” and makes her way back to the cashier.

I never once thought my attempt at kissing would turn out to be so awkward. I force myself to turn to Cal. “Uhm, thanks. I…I’ll go now…and…have my lunch.” I say, pointing my thumb in the direction of the door. It’s so unlike me to stammer, what’s happening to me?

“That’s what I said.” He grins.

“Alright. I’ll see you later?”

His smile slowly disappears. “I’m not sure if I’ll be here when you come back. I have to attend a business meeting.” But the smile quickly returns just as how it slowly disappears. “But don’t worry. We’ll definitely see each other tonight.”

“Okay. Take care.”

When I come back exactly 30 minutes later, Kilorn is already back. He smiles at me in greeting. There are only a few customers enjoying their drinks. Cal must have prepared those for them before he left for his meeting.

I pass by the stockroom on my way to the staff’s restroom when something catches my eye.

A ribbon. A beautiful big red ribbon tied to a heart-shaped wooden stool painted with small red hearts and my name carved in its surface. My name. There’s a small note on top of it.

I had this thing made and personalized for you a few weeks ago but didn’t know when I should give it to you, so it’s been hidden in my office. Your scene earlier today pushed me to just give it. I won’t always be there to help you reach those cupboards and cabinets. And neither your coworkers for that matter. I hope you’ll find this gesture cute. You can thank me later. See you tonight, my small bean. x

My small bean. Cal’s favorite endearment for me. According to him, it’s perfect for me; ‘small’ because obviously I’m a short woman, and ‘bean’ because while he’s always surrounded by different kinds of coffee and coffee beans as a barista, I’ll always be his special ‘bean.’ Cal and his horrible puns that I love. He likes making fun of my height. I pretend I hate it when he does, but honestly, I find it really annoyingly cute and endearing.

I read the note for the sixth time and suddenly burst out laughing and collapsed into giggles so loud, Kilorn comes running, asking if I’m alright.

You have no idea. I’m so much more than alright.

[madamedefarge]

Orange is the New Black Season 5 came out on Netflix last month, and I’ve been eying this tag for a long time. So I decided to finally buckle down and try to get some solid answers.

Piper Name a main character who you think is with the wrong person in the love triangle

  This one is hard for me because I tend to not ship characters in books and just let the story play out. I usually find myself shipping characters in TV series more. That being said, the first thought that I had for this was Hermione in Harry Potter.

I don’t think Hermione and Ron are a good match for each other, and while I originally liked, in my naive teenage way, that Hermione didn’t end up with the hero, I think she would have thrive with someone like Harry as a life partner.

There is a whole other blog post here so I am going to leave it at that.

Alex Name a character who doesn’t quite know how to open up about feelings

  M.M. Banning in Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson doesn’t quite know how to open up about her feelings. She doesn’t connect with Alice and she doesn’t communicate her feelings well towards other people. Her one love is writing.

Crazy Eyes Name a character who does some not so great things but isn’t necessarily an antagonist

  Thinking about Crazy Eyes makes me think of Melanie in The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Melanie is a girl who isn’t quite sure why she’s treated the way she is, or why she acts the way she does when we meet her.

If you’ve read the book. I think of Melanie as Season 1 Crazy Eyes. In Season 1, Crazy Eyes was misunderstood, really just had an attachment to Piper, but underneath it was just that she didn’t pick up on social cues.

I really can’t say more without giving away the entire plot. Read the book, or see the movie, and then come talk to me about Melanie being like Crazy Eyes.

Ms. Claudette Name a character who makes a bad first impression but you have grown to love

  I really didn’t like Caden when I first met him in The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa. I thought that he was really rude and kind of a scumbag, but as the story progressed I was really drawn in by him.

Pornstache Name a character who you feel needs retribution for their behavior

  I think the obvious answer to this is Amy from Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. And I can’t really say more than that. So, let’s party in the comments if you want to discuss it more.

Sophia Burset Name a character who puts on a strong outer exterior when they’re dealing with inner turmoil

  I feel like the main character in Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is the perfect example.

One’s under interrogation by the Germans after working with the French resistance and she will consistently correct them when they say she’s an English spy. (She’s a scotsman!) Despite this strong exterior, the book is an account of her “confession,” and she openly confesses to regrets she has.

Nicky Nichols Name a character who always says what they’re thinking – tough love.

  When I think about Nicky I think of a line she said in the trailer for season one. We don’t quite know what she’s talking about but it turned out she was talking about the SHU:

It’s just like the Hamptons only f*cking horrible!

That kind of sass is what made me pick Stevie from Paperweight by Meg Haston. Stevie has been sent to a treatment center for an eating disorder, but she has other plans. She caused the death of her brother and she wants to die. She’s done the math and she knows exactly what she needs to do.

I say in my review that the entire plot reminded me a bit of a lifetime movie, but a really well written one. What made it for me was Stevie’s voice. Her determination and struggle is real and palpable. She’s really sarcastic and calculating and still tells it like it is.

In one of her conversations with her therapist she actually says: “You’re f*cked up too.”

Red Name a character who will stand up for those they love

  It’s a little serendipitous that I am going to use Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard for a character who calls herself Red. Mare Barrow from Red Queen is a victim of circumstance, but she’s also fiercely loyal, and that’s why I picked her.

Even though, by some freak accident, she’s discovered an ability she has, and it’s forcing her to play a role, she’s still thinking of her family and her brothers.

Yoga Jones Name a character who deals with some deep regret in the story

  Kodi Scheer’s Midair is drenched with regret. You won’t tell by the first line but as the story progresses it is clear that Vanessa has some deep regret regarding her previous state of mind.

She is wrestling with some tough issues and a death she feels responsible for. It’s a compelling and meditative book, but it also shows a real dichotomy between the teenage late 90s Vanessa and the modern Vanessa.

Polly Name a character who betrays someone and doesn’t seem to give a shit

  All I have to say is: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. This is a case where unpacking that statement will just give away the entire plot, so I will leave it at that, and just let it be!

Okay that’s it for the Orange is the New Black Book Tag, now I am going to tag some people for fun! So, for this, I tag:

Lindsay @ Paradis Books Em @ Keystroke Blog Analee @ Book Snacks Jackie @ Too Much of a Book Nerd Asunder @ Tea and Paperbacks And any other Orange is the New Black fans who want to do this tag!

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Orange is the New Black Book Tag Orange is the New Black Season 5 came out on Netflix last month, and I've been eying this tag for a long time.