#but nothing will beat Darius Dutiful Day

[gingericywolf]

Unlocked: YAZ YAY DAY

The sugary peachy taste still lingered in the back of her tongue as she looked over the treehouse 'project'. Or better her sketch refined so over and over with the same almost drying pen that it was near illegible. The cracking sound of the support pilon begged for their attention. Like the missing planks on the first floor or the need to find a way to bring materials up more efficently.

There was so much to do. And they were short on arms today. Darius gave her the supervisor role as he and Brooklynn left to find useful stuff at the zipline and Kenji was just standing around, moving a broken piece of wood with his foot from time to time.

The only one working was actually Sammy of course, moving mountains of debris on her own.

Using a branch as a crutch she limped over to them

'Are we gonna so something for that crying pole or not. I don't want the floor to fall on me while I rest after all this hard work'

'Maybe don't rest under the unstable flooring' she replied to the rich boy.

'She got a point!' Sammy said, looking at a broken beam to see if there where any nails they could use.

'Well. Okay yeah, sure, whatever. But we can't finish the flooring if that thing keeps breaking down. Or bring stuff up. Useless if we finish all the house and then can't use it cause it can't bear weight' kenji rolled his eyes, kicking another plank.

With a sigh she had to admit, kenji was right -ew-.

'Fine. Let's think of a way to stabilize that.' She scanned what they had to work with

Broken wood pieces, some bamboo sticks, dinosaur bones, some spare elastic bandage.

[Prev] - [Next]

[tragedybunny]

The Blade’s Edge - A League of Legends Fanfiction - Chapter 18

I beg your forgiveness for a shorter chapter. This was a story note that seemed to be contained by itself. As always - comments welcome and appreciated. ❤Tragedybunny❤

They had a simple arrangement. She was the weapon to be used on his enemies. Things get more complicated when emotions bleed into what should simple. Now the two of them find themselves on the precipice of something that was entirely unexpected.

Piltover’s delegation has arrived and my orders are clear, be polite and charming, put them off guard, find their weaknesses. I am the Grand General’s wife and an officer of High Command, they will throw themselves in my path, and I will pretend to be swayed by their flattery into being their ally. General Talus assigns me the contingent of warmasons from that region, to make sure our operation remains completely secure, yet another “promotion”. Jericho would likely be pleased if he ever deigned to come home. He remains the same since his return, cold, aloof, disinterested. At the very least I convinced Coraline Montrose to host the gala that would welcome our esteemed guests. She can be trusted to put together something appropriately decadent.  I already feel as though I’m made of glass, desperately keeping myself together, one more pressure might shatter me. 

We sit across from one another in heavy silence, the only noise coming from the carriage as it rattles along the street. I’m drowning in the absolute costume of a dress I’m wearing, tight black satin, a neckline that plunges low enough to just be at the edge of tasteful, and black feathers encircling my shoulders and collar. I at least look the part of his wife, even if I don’t feel it at all. Tired of staring at the floor and watching him from the corner of my eye, I finally break that silence. “Did you really threaten to have to whole Crimson Circle arrested for treason?” I don’t bother with niceties, he’d likely ignore me if I did. 

For the first time in days, he meets my eyes, no emotions to be found. “I did.” 

His lack of further elaboration doesn’t surprise me, it fits his temperament of late. “Are you mad? Do you really intend to start a feud with that fiend?” 

He makes a noise, indignant with having to be bothered to explain. “I am sending him a message. The Black Rose continues to plot in the shadows. He can either be a part of that or keep his little pet cult.” His infuriatingly condescends to me. 

“Still seems like a terrible idea to me.” I mutter turning away to look out the window. Not that he asked my advice at all anyways. I am no longer privy to his schemes and plots. 

The carriage rolls to a stop in front of the immaculate and impressive Montrose estate. It’s taken on a new life with Coraline’s manufacturing income, restoration making it gleam against some of its more time-worn neighbors. The last time we were here was Solstice. That night, between the dancing and those moments at home, there was something indefinable and soft between us. That was when I convinced myself I could live as we were, my existence complete with just his presence. I’ve had the smallest taste of more though, I’ve seen what we could be, and I can’t go back. No matter that he seems intent on doing just that, and perhaps going even further. 

He does help me down from the carriage and offers me his arm, the perfect noble gentleman. There’s no affection or warmth to any of it. Still, I put on my best diplomatic smile, unassuming and welcoming, while my heart falls down into my stomach. My fondness for these occasions has not grown, and instead of his support, I’ll have his expectations at my side. “Do try to keep that smile up, and no running off and drinking yourself into oblivion.” He whispers, as if I need reminding. Of course, his wife is merely another of his pawns, to be ordered around and used as needed to achieve his glorious vision

The ebb and flow of the crowd freezes as we enter, all eyes affixing themselves to us, the pinnacle of Noxian society. The whispers begin almost immediately, that low chorus of malice I’m accustomed to. Coraline greets us, moving to the forefront of the crowd gathered in her grand hall. Even she seems to sense the brooding tension between us, foregoing all small talk and letting Jericho drag me further into the sea of faces. It doesn’t take long before we’re swarmed by the first wave of our eager Piltovan guests. 

It’s an eclectic mix of merchants, diplomats, and scientists, and often some combination of those roles, according to the Intelligence reports. Introductions are given and hands extended, a fine pair of gloves conceal Jericho’s secret as always. Their names wash over me and drift away even as I try to latch on to them, my smile still frozen in place. For their part, they seem pleased enough, with only those I know for diplomats tempering that with prudent wariness. They press and cluster around Jericho as we part through the crowd, a more private venue the obvious destination. These are early negotiations for this trade agreement, they will try to charm us now, and press hard later, in retribution for our warmason found hidden in their city. 

He pays no mind as they wedge their way between us, intending to divide and conquer. How quaint. I take a glass of wine from a passing servant and begin to wander away, pointedly ignoring a dark-eyed woman who looks for a moment as though she’ll try to engage me. Truthfully I should do my duty, stay at his side and play my part or find some vulnerable party to extract information from. I’m so numb though, and it feels like I’m wandering in a fog. I take another sip from my glass and know I’ll likely disobey him and end up falling into sweet oblivion sometime tonight. I wander, my feet unconsciously carrying me toward the ballroom, unbidden memories stirring, threatening my constructed demeanor. Voices around me barely bother to whisper, excited by our obvious rift, they take glee in my downfall. I turn behind me to shoot a threatening glare toward a gaggle of nobility brats, I still have some pride, and I collide with a massive form, my glass mercifully empty enough to not soak us. “You trying to kill me, Kat?” A warm chuckle follows his word. If all you’ve ever know of Darius was to face the Hand of Noxus on the battlefield, you would likely never believe he was capable of that laugh. 

“Sorry, Dar.” I slip back on my mask, intent on not looking like a wreck. Darius has his part to play tonight as well, and I’ve got no wish to distract him. 

Towering above me, looking constricted as usual in his formal military attire, he studies me for a moment. “Are you alright?” And I fail utterly at my attempt to conceal it from him. 

“No, but really there’s nothing for it.” I shrug and hope that satisfies him. There’s no place private enough to even begin to confide in him. 

He rolls his eyes and lets out a massive snort. “And he’s supposed to be the smartest man in Noxus.” He mutters and puts a massive hand on my shoulder. “Whatever I can do for you, just let me know.” 

A heart of gold beats within that massive form of his; why couldn’t it have been him back in those brief days we shared together? Loving Darius would have been easy, but I suppose easy was never in my nature. “There is one thing. Dance with me?” 

He gives me a small smile and offers me his arm. “Been a long time since we danced.” 

Somehow, Darius is an even worse partner than Jericho, flinging himself about haphazardly to become a menace to everyone around us. There’s plenty of laughter though, as we cause a small retreat from the dance floor, and glares of disapproval come from all corners. I’m honestly glad Jericho’s not with me to sour it. When the music winds down he escorts me off the floor to find a much needed glass of wine. “Why are you always so good to me?” 

He gives me a smirk. “Well, I’ve got one idiot sibling, might as well take on another.” I lightly smack his arm in mock indignation. “Seriously Kat, we’re friends, even if you don’t always believe you’re capable of having friends.” 

I chew my bottom lip for a moment. He’s always had me figured out. “Thanks, it means more than you know.” I bring my glass to my lips and look up to catch the eye of a handsome, square-jawed man, blatantly staring at me.  The bright white and gold of his formal attire tell me he’s one of our guests and the staring means he’s no practiced political agent. I sigh, the fun is over it would seem. “Time to go serve my Empire. See you later Dar.” 

He turns to follow my line of sight with a quick glance and then gives me a wolfish smile. “Draven and I’ll be down at the Bowery later, getting rid of the taste of pretension. Find us if you want.”

He gives me a wink and parts the crowd, his massive form leaving an inviting space before me. That curious stranger wastes no time awkwardly inserting himself into the space. He clears his throat and presents himself with a stiff, inelegant bow. “Would you give me the pleasure of this dance…” He freezes for a moment, he hadn’t thought what title to call me by, he’s out of his depth. Good. 

“Madame is fine. I’m not here in an official capacity, and my husband and I take no titles we have not earned. And of course, the pleasure is all mine.” I hold out my hand, intending to seem warm and inviting, let him trust me. 

He takes it gingerly and unsurely follows as I lead him out onto the floor. The first note plays and his foot stomps onto mine. “Sorry.” He flushes. 

“Shh, no worries. Just let me lead.” I try to be gentle with him, guiding him where he needs to be, earning his trust. 

“You’re a sublime dancer, Madame.” He smiles, confidence growing. 

“You know what, just call me Katarina. And let me make a guess about you. You’re one of the scientists in the group.” The lack of social polish or talk of finance eliminated the other two. 

“Lovely, graceful dancer, and very keen, the Grand General is a lucky man.” I keep myself from frowning. 

“Now you’re just flattering me! And you haven’t even given me your name yet.” It sounds overly saccharine, I hope he doesn’t notice. 

His eyes go wide. “By the Shining City, how rude of me. I am Jayce, of clan Giopara. Now I have to beg your indulgence as I make a confession to you.” He pauses to await my permission. 

Perhaps this will pay off much sooner than expected. I incline my head. “Go on.” 

“I’ve been intentionally following you.” For a moment I forget to breathe, please gods, nothing like that. “I need help and I believe you may be the only one who can provide it.” I exhale, infinitely relieved. “I am seen as somewhat of a champion of Piltover. I used that to coerce my way onto this delegation because I fear greed will rule the day and something truly foolhardy will be attempted. My fellows will try to squeeze too much profit from Noxus, demanding more in tariffs and fees than ever. They believe their position is secure, snd they may take as much as they like. I am concerned they will go too far and break the Empire’s patience.” 

“Given the incident that occurred, that is disheartening but not surprising.” No use talking around what happened with the warmason, I need him to be clear and direct. 

 “We are on the same page then.” His confidence in his actions is growing. “Piltover relies on the Empire’s trade, its use of the Sun Gate. We can’t lose it. And we can’t fi…” He stops short, but it’s too late, he’s confirmed the one thing he didn’t want to tell me. That’s an interesting morsel, not all of them are convinced Piltover is invulnerable. 

“You can’t fight a serious invasion if that’s what we wanted. If your delegation pushes too far and the Grand General breaks allegiance with Piltover, you fear what war would bring. So tell me Jayce, what do you wish me to do about this situation?” I step closer to him, a bit of intimidation mixed in with my kind demeanor.

“Please speak with your husband, they may well be mollified if he holds firm but makes a small concession. Please, encourage him to be to not respond hastily. I saw you with the Hand, it seems you have his ear as well. We can reach an agreement where we both will benefit. Noxus and Piltover can be the greatest of allies and stand strong together.” He has a gusto for his idea, I’ll give him that. 

If Noxus plays the situation right though, we could end up with ever-increasing influence in Piltover, and eventually be positioned to easily subdue them. A thing I’m sure Jericho’s dreams are made of. Our dance is over and I delicately guide him off the floor. “Walk and talk with me, I would learn more about your City of Progress.” And any other secrets you may have to give me. 

I take his arm, giving him a sense of familiarity, and navigate my way towards the same back parlor from Solstice, putting the crowds behind us. “It shines like a jewel. Everything is always moving, there’s always something new. It isn’t just science, there are theaters and museums and art galleries. I hear you’re quite the patron of the arts yourself.” He beams, clearly I’m supposed to be impressed. 

If that’s the extent of their intel, Piltover clearly needs better spies. Or maybe they foolishly haven’t told their unintended member everything they know of me. I let out a soft laugh. “It would sound too self-important if I called myself that. I just throw money at things I enjoy.” 

“You should come to Piltover someday, I could show you all the sights. I’m sure you would love it.” We’ve come to a dead stop in the hall and he’s standing terribly close. “You and the Grand General of course.” He adds quickly. I’ve let this get too far, time to reign him in. 

“Perhaps when these negotiations are successful.” My heart drops as I hear footsteps behind us. 

“There you are, Katarina. Some of our guests would like to make your acquaintance.” He would decide right now is the time to come find me. 

“But of course. I was just speaking with another of our guests.” His presence is oppressive in this small space and I worry I’m not the only one that feels it.  “This is Jayce of Clan Giopara. Jayce, Grand General Swain.” 

I step back and allow them to go through the motions of civility before Jericho hooks my arm tightly in his. “Do excuse us.” Jayce nods, seemingly unaware of the storm brewing between us, as I’m lead briskly away. 

We walk in silence until we reach a cluster of diplomats who have taken over a corner of the Montrose gardens, lounging about, drinks in hand, looking pleased with the evening’s events. They pounce on me once we arrive, each greedily attempting to draw my attention, and leave a favorable impression. The rest of the evening passes in a blur one vapid conversation after another. Jericho hovers over me the entire time, ensuring I can’t escape,  speaking to me only as much as necessary. He smiles and compliments me for the benefit of the crowd, but I can see the anger in his eyes and it wears on me until I feel as though I will suffocate. 

When at last etiquette allows us to make our exit the carriage takes us home in quiet that is somehow more terrible than our journey here. I stare at the floor with no desire to even begin to speak of tonight. Instead, I try to steady the thundering of my heart against my ribcage and remind myself to keep breathing. I steal a glance at Jericho, and his gaze is fixed out the window, jaw tight, brows furrowed. As soon as we exit the carriage, with Fex and Dras closing the gate behind, I hurry to put distance between the two of us. I want to go upstairs, pull Skadi into bed with me, and sleep until the sun is high and the day nearly spent. I wasn’t fast enough and I’m only halfway across the hall when I hear the door shut behind me.  “Tell me why it was necessary for you to throw yourself at him?” Of course, he won’t let it happen like that. 

I whirl around to face him. Fine, if he wants a fight, I’ll oblige. “I was being friendly like you ordered me to!” I raise my voice, let the whole house hear, I’m beyond caring. “Or am I so beneath your notice you forgot.”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh please, I could see the way he was looking at you. You were being excessively warm with him. Perhaps you were enjoying the attention.” 

“Well maybe if you could have been bothered to know where your wife was, you’d know the truth and you wouldn’t throwing a jealous fit right now.” I close the distance between us, snarling at him. How dare he insinuate this. As if I’ve ever been anything but loyal to him.

“Jealous, don’t be ridiculous, I’m not jealous. As my wife I expect you to behave with decorum in public. Other than that I care not what you do.” His voice cold he makes a dismissive hand gesture. 

“Well, if I matter so very little to you, then maybe I’ll just leave!” I just want any sign from him that it’s not true, any indication his affection for me was ever real at all. 

“Then go! I am sick to death of dealing with you and your melodramatic attitude.” I really believed he couldn’t break my heart anymore than he already had. 

The sharp burning of that pain gives way to numbness. “If that’s really how you feel.” There’s no fire in my words, no fight. What is there left to fight for? Everything was an illusion, a beautiful lie I wanted so badly to believe. I turn and head back toward the stairs. Perhaps it is my lot in life to be nothing more to anyone than a weapon to be used and discarded as needed. 

[thornstocutyouwith]

After a few months of living at the Diamond Castle, Rheas had become pregnant by one of the guardsmen. But he had not claimed to be the father. As no one would. Since Rheas was only seen as property. The baby was as well, just seen as property. Sage had, though, seemed extremely excited to hear the news " No way? You're going to have a baby, Rheas." She reached out to touch the bump on the smaller woman's body " That's great." A almost vicious look had seemed to cross Sage's face at this news " I wonder how much those baby's would go for on the market." She then said before turning and walking away " Well, get back to work, Rheas. I'm sure you've got a busy schedule, despite the condition." Sage paused though when she seemed to have an idea " Flowers spring up pretty quickly." Sage commented earning a confused look from Rheas. Sage then turned to her " Which means if your baby's become high demand. Instead of getting more flowers from your colony. Oh but who wants to raise a baby. Ignore me, Rheas. go to work." Sage then walked away.

Lifting the rock up Rheas went to continue her assigned duty. Once night hit she was told to return to Darius. Who was still doing something at the castle. Which had Rheas following him around the castle for the next few hours.  She jumped when he asked what she was doing, and that she was putting on a little bit more weight, before seeming to realize what was going on. At the others question she gave a nod, holding the rock up to play with it nervously as Darius said nothing more and just continued doing whatever Sage was having him do. Though when she was following him into the kitchen she dripped and pumped into one of the guards who shoved her before ripping the rock out of Rheas' arm, calling it stupid as well as her, before tossing the rock into a water filled sink. Rheas gasped as the water splashed onto her before Darius stepped into tell the guard to leave her alone, and that they were going to be leaving soon. Rheas had reached into the sink then pulling the rock out with a grown as chunks of the rock started to dissolve and fall out.

She sniffled as the rock continued falling apart in her hands. Still following Darius as they were going to the other males house. Soon the two had been inside and Darius was walking into the kitchen to go make some tea. Rheas at down on the floor and watched the remaining chunks of the rock falling apart. Only to see that the rather large rock hadn't lost too much mass. But had actually been taking on a different shape. Standing up Rheas quickly brought the rock to the kitchen and held it under the sink, washing away several chunks of hard, caked on dirt. Soon revealing a diamond underneath. Before she could do anything more with it Darius had reached over snatching the diamond from her hand. Rheas turned to protest a little, but stopped realizing Darius wasn't going to be nice and just give back her shiny rock. She watched Darius look over it then shout at her, asking where she found the diamond. Then under his breath he muttered that it shouldn't have been there, but instead it should have been in a garden on a tower. Rheas reached out for the rock only for Darius to tell her that he was taking it for himself.

The next day Rheas sadly went back to work, this time without her rock. Darius wouldn't let her take it and she hadn't even seen him with it that entire day. Coming back into the house with Darius that night she looked around. Then he walked out with the diamond, talking to it about saving 'him'. Rheas tilted her head then before reaching over and poking Darius in the side. He jumped, giving her his attention. Only to tell her she wasn't allowed to poke him. Then muttering about 'only him' being able to poke them. Rheas sat back then and moved to a chair as she watched Darius mutter on and on about a plan to save some 'him'.

Over the next decade Rheas' had to listen to Darius mutter on and on about bringing someone named Asher back from the dead.  So much so she had become numb to hearing about it. Darius had seemed to kind of lose his sense of self and had gone slightly mad over this plan to revive something. Rheas was continued to be used like property. Having multiple children with the guardsmen that were quickly taken away to be ...well, actually, murdered. But everyone else was told they were being adopted out into good families. Rheas was rubbing her stomach when Darius again was starting on another ran about this Asher person he had been obsessing over for the last ten years or so. It seemed, as far as Rheas could tell, Darius was starting to make a breakthrough. Rheas Stood and reached over to pat Darius on the should when the other then started sobbing a little to himself as they realize their current idea wouldn't work at all. Turning away she then made her way toward the really tiny bedroom Darius let her sleep in, to take a nap.

Sage had walked in as she heard screaming and smacked the doctor upside the head " Don't you dare ruin my property." Sage then moved to Rheas' bedside, running a hand over her sweaty forehead " It's always so painful. I know. Soon it will be over though." She smiled at Rheas as the other pant and gasped beside her. What Rheas didn't know was that Sage had intentionally made sure she would have the most painful births possible.

Pulling away Sage cleared her throat, stopping herself from giggling as Rheas continued to give birth. Sage looked toward the doctor before saying " You know what to do with that baby once it's out. I'll be going now, to tell Darius Rheas won't be coming home with him tonight." Though Sage had also wanted to talk about how oddly Darius was acting the last week. She exited the room and quickly makes her way away from the screaming behind her. Soon catching up Darius who was enjoying some tea at the moment " Hey, Darius. You look like you've been up for ten years. Rough couple of nights?" She asked the older male with a small Asher like giggle under her breath.

Listening to the other sputter about she gave a nod " Rheas will be staying in the castle for tonight." Sage managed to say, cutting Darius off who only waved a hand at her about Rheas. Darius then finished his tea and set the cup down before muttering something and walking of. Sage narrowed her eye s after him " Huh, I really do wonder if all this stress I've been putting him on for the last thirty years has finally broken him. Hm. About time..." She then turned and exited the room herself and started in on finishing the rest of what she had to do for the day.

After a couple of hours Sage was brought a baby by one of the maids " Oh, is this the little one from our dear sweet Rheas?" She lifted the baby boy up then before tossing it back into the maids arms " Dispose of it like the rest. I don't want her to ever see any of these children. It's about the feeling of having them. I want her to...feel what my mother felt, the pain my mother went through." Sage said this so heartlessly that the maid had back away in horror. Then the maid nodded and told Sage she had understood the order before turning and rushing off to get rid of the newborn.

Sage looked around then " Ten years of it isn't worth the life my mother lost trying to have me, that was thrown away for...Darius." Sage glowered at that name " That disgusting perverted Hatter, corrupting my father. My mother deserved to live, more than that freak deserved to be happy." Sage whispered before turning and seeing Darius far off down the hallway doing ....something " Darius! What are you doing now?! Why are you sneaking?" Sage asked before moving toward the other only for them to suddenly shoot at her. Dodging she moved out of the way as he shouted something about a time machine he had found out she had.

" You can't just take it. It's too big to move! Give up now and I won't BEAT YOU with in an inch of your life!"  Sage then got up as the other ran down a hallway toward the time machine Sage really, actually, did have. Sage pushed herself up and started to chase after him " I mean it, Darius. DO not open that door! Do not go in there!" As Darius absolutely ignored her he turned to hold out that purple colored Diamond she had thrown over the tower roof decades ago. A look of recognition coming onto her face " Where the hell did you find that. Did you steal that from the garden. You really have gone completely mad! Haven't you?!" Sage says, full well knowing she had tossed that diamond away. As she watched Darius enter the room he was quickly tossed out by one of the knights that were guarding the inside. Right onto his ass.

Sage walked over to him before grabbing his hair up in her hand " You are never getting into that machine, and you are never going to bring him back. He's all mine. He has his punishment-" She said, as if present tense " And you have yours, Darius." Sage gave a grin before gesturing for the guards that were following her, to come and lift Darius up " Now why not spend a few days in prison to get your head right." Sage reached over then and yanked the Diamond out of Darius' tightly holding hand " Thank you very much for finding this thing. -Take him away." Sage gripped onto the diamond before turning abruptly away from the scene as Darius was shouting something at her " I don't care, Darius. Asher is dead, you are going to have to just get used to that."

Rheas was sitting outside in the garden when Sage came up to her " Darius has been arrested, you're on your own for the next couple of days. Fend for yourself. Or something. I don't care. Just be good." Sage paused then, watching Rheas as the smaller woman stared up at her. A sudden bout of anger coming over her before she suddenly struck Rheas in the face " And don't ever look at me again. Understand." Something about the way Rheas had looked at her just then had made her feel, almost, bad. It was so sudden and new to her that Sage couldn't react any other way then to hit the other girl. Hearing her sniffling Sage rolled her eyes " And don't be so loud. I barely even touched you." Turning away Sage started to march off and back toward the castle. One entering she told her guards that she would be taking a nap and to wake her if anything serious happened. Though nothing serious had ever really happened. Upon entering her room she dropped down onto the bed and closed her eyes. But instead of falling asleep her mind had simply drifted off to the day she brought Rheas home with her. Or what people had thought had happened, anyway.

Asher had been standing in the room as a knight had stopped him from getting out. Blinking he looked toward them before glaring " Who the hell even are you?"  Sage then came through the door, staring at her father " Who the hell are you!?" Asher asked before he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his shirt and pulled back toward the chair in the other side of the room. Asher stumbled back before being forced to sit down. His protests being cut off by Sage who had held out a strange drink to him then demanded he drink it before she let him go back " Where exactly is this place?! Why the hell did you even bring me here in the first place?" Sage only held out the drink and told him to drink it and she would tell him.

After another threat Asher tilt his head back and drank the entire strange drink " Eck that's disgusting. What is it, piss? Is this some kind of sick game?" Asher stood up then and shoved Sage out of his way only to be forced back by another knight that had been standing to the side " Get out of my way!" Sage grabbed Asher by the neck then, half strangling him as she brought him back. Though Asher's biggest concern wasn't the taller woman grabbing him but the suddenly sickening feeling he was getting in his stomach. Dropping down to the floor Asher held onto Sage's shirt before she yanked herself away.

" See, Asher, King of nothing. You are going to listen and obey every thing I say to you. Understand?" She grabbed a handful of his hair in hers before forcing his had back to make him look at her. Sage grinned maliciously down at him as he gasped, his skin clearly growing a sickly pale color. Though it seemed to also be puffing up. Asher gagged making Sage push him away from her " Oh, looks like you're not doing so hot. Are you in pain? You look like you're putting on some weight." Sage had watched her father drop to the floor as his skin turned a puke green color " Ew. Look at you."

When Asher managed through the drool and whatever else that was dripping from his mouth and off his face, to ask what she had done to him " Oh-Oh oo gross what are you leaking onto my floor?" Sage asked, though clearly knew the answer as Asher crawled along the floor, a slime like goo covering his body and sickly oozing onto the floor. His body continued to leak the strange goo until it was too thick for him to move and started to build up all around his body, sealing Asher in some strange purple cocoon. Sage watched it all happen before giving a small nod " Well, now my father can become a beautiful butterfly." Sage commented before laughing out loud.

After about a week the cocoon finally cracked open. Sage looked down at what was on the inside, grinning as soft strands of blond hair fell out over an adorable woman's soft round face. She continued to sleep, absolutely naked on the broken remains the cocoon around her. Sage ordered one of the knights to go grab a dress off the shelf and bring it to her. After that Sage lift the younger woman up from the floor and carried her over to have one of the servants dress her up and comb her hair. Sage continued to stare at the girl as she sat quietly sleeping on the couch in the time machine room. Reaching out she brushed a hand through the girls hair.

" Hm. What should I name you? Who should you be?" She thought back to a time in her childhood when she had remembered something absolutely random. Sean, that Hare who lived with his own family in the Spade Kingdom, had been doing something with his fathers and started going on about 'Flowers' and walking on them. Then the idea to make her a new species in Wonderland finally popped into Sage's mind " That's it! You'll be of the Flowers, heh. A new species." Sage reached out to caress the side of the other woman's face then before saying " Now what should your name be. What's an anagram for Asher." After a moment of thinking she tapped the blonde woman's nose " Rheas is good enough."

Some time later Sage sat up in bed and let out a breath " I should kill her, or send her back before Darius can stop me." But the girl had needed a few days to recover and she had needed to find away to revert Rheas back to Asher before returning the other to their own timeline. Sage decided that instead of taking a nap she would instead be looking for a potion to change Asher back. Walking out of the room he sent a page to go find anyone who might know how to do that. Though it had been several days before the page had actually returned to her " You took too damn long." She commented, contemplating throwing the young boy into an incinerator for the wait. Though she gave a shrug absently " Rheas is still recovering though--"

Sage was cut off when Darius had come into the room, demanding that she return the diamond to him. Sage sighed " Who the hell let you out and were you really that stupid to come back here, old man?" Sage shook her head " The Diamond is where it belongs, with my mother Darius. I suggest you stop this madness and go away from me before I really get rid of you." Sage warned, though Darius was unaffected. He just spewed some sort of words at her before turing and leaving " Are you drunk!? Go home, sleep it off! We'll discuss things over tea tomorrow!"

Sage stood then and quickly moved to to wherever she had been keeping Rheas at the time " A few more days till she's able to walk? How big was that damn baby? I don't care. Patch her up and have her ready to leave by tomorrow morning." Sage ordered before turning and leaving the room. She went to the time machine room to order those working there on prepping the machine to return Asher to the proper timeline. Sage then left to go set up to meet with Darius for tea tomorrow morning. Writing a letter to him to be delivered that night. Sage finished up a few more things that evening to prepare for the next day before going to bed and sleeping soundly as she knew everything that would happen to Asher after that point, and in tern, Darius as well.

The next morning Sage was sat at a table outside with some tea and breakfast. Darius had been sat across from her, guardsmen all around them. Darius seemed to think it was all a little much " Yeah, maybe. But you are just full of surprises, Darius." Sage giggled, again, it had sounded just like Asher's had. Lifting up a cup of tea she took a sip " You remember that rebellion you told me about, that you were a part of long before it ended up killing my grandparents, Darius?" Sage laughs " You thought you had lost Asher then, you remember?" Sage glances away, shaking her head " What if I then told you that, when someone tried to shoot Asher when I wasn't born, and you stepped in the way? I had hired that man to try and kill Asher."

Sage narrowed her eyes " Though surprising enough you seemed to develop the ability to not only deflect bullets, but you did it without even knowing you could." Setting the tea cup down she continued on " Another time I tried to have him assassinated, was that time someone shot him and two people stabbed him with hunting knives that could pierces through Cheshire skin." She lift a spoonful of eggs up and took a bite. Chewing for a moment she let Darius mull over that information for a couple of minutes. Then she shook her head and swallowed "Also. I killed him, now, I didn't mean to. But he was being so annoying. You can understand. You often found him annoying as well."

Sage leaned back in her chair then " How he would poke you, or lick you. I just, did us a favor.  He was telling me I wouldn't be queen for many years and I just lost it." Sage said with a laugh " I couldn't wait that long. I just, i needed this, more than I needed him." With that Sage had only just enough time to put a shield around herself as Darius sent a force field out sending guardsmen flying away from him. That's when the other started shouting at her about what she had done to Asher " What?! What was I supposed to do?! Was I supposed to wait for him to die?! What if he never died!? All my life everyone told me I would make a good queen? And I have! A far better King than him! He wasn't anything special!" Sage shouted before suddenly a tree branch stabbed through her foot and wrapped around her body, puncturing her side and wrapping up around Sage's arms. Out of the bushes Seti then showed up walking toward them.

" Go save your husband, Darius." Beside Seti, Sean had appeared, there to help Seti with anything he might need. Seti walked over toward Sage then looking her over " You know, Julian always said Sage was a brat. And she has continued to prove that ever since then." Sage had glared at the pair before hissing at Seti " Ooo... I bet you wish you could bite." Seti looked to Sean laughing  at Sage's attempts to get free from the vines.

A knight had been walking with Rheas in their arms. She had been completely unconscious as the knight had approached the machine. In most other timelines, Darius had never managed to get to this moment in time. He had always either asked Sean to go bring Asher to him from a different timeline. Or went through the time machine and took a version of Asher himself. This time, however, he had paused, to think. A one out of one hundred chance of him doing this across all the time lines that he and Sean had fractured. This Darius, in this current time line  threw out his arm at the knight that had been carrying Rheas and sent them both slamming into a wall. The knight taking the brunt of the impact. Rheas fell from the knights arms as they fell unconscious. Darius ran over toward the two of them before grabbing Rheas up in his arms and pulling away from the knight, looking around before turning and running out of the room with Rheas secure in his arms. Darius continued to run until he was out of the castle and meeting up with Sean once more. They both gave a nod toward one another, before Sean opened up a portal and took the too of them away somewhere where Sage couldn't reach the two of them.  

Darius had moved over to lay Rheas on a bed, running a hand over her head as he just looked at her. Then he said something about how he had wished he had known it was Asher a lot sooner than just the last few hours. Rheas started to stir, moaning as she shift away, pain spreading from her hips. Darius pulled away then before moving to grab a potion off a table and telling Rheas that he was going to help take the pain she was in away. Darius moved back to the girl then before holding the potion up to Rheas' lips and helping her drink the contents of the bottle. After some time passed Rheas went quiet as another cocoon of purple formed around her body. Darius was pacing then, demanding that the potion he got work.  Then threatening the potion maker if it didn't. After hours of this the cocoon finally broke, pieces of it falling to the floor. Asher had been laying on the couch then, his body completely back to normal. Scars and all,  just as they had been, except for the ones that had come after he had originally been returned to the timeline. Asher had remained asleep for about a day following that.

The next day Asher spring to life gasping for air and screaming at the top of his lungs for a moment. Then he turned and threw himself off the couch, scrambling around " Where is she! Where is that...who ever!?" At this Darius came rushing to the room and dropped down to grab Asher " She's- She gave me something...I-I..." He looked shaking uncontrollably " This isn't that room...Where...what is happening..." Asher didn't get any replies from Darius as the other had only just brought Asher in closer and hugged him tightly " She was...she made me run. I had a fucking heart attack. Darius! Get off me! I-" He was cut off when Darius told him that the girl had been Sage, their daughter " Our daughters not even born- Wait! You're not a woman?" He blinked pulling away to look at Darius " I'm too confused for this shit." Though Darius had went on to explain what was going on and why they needed to stay in that house for the time being " Spades?! SPAAADES?! But I don't WANT to call Shay QUEEN!" Asher protested " I'm still the king, damn it- I- What do you fucking mean I am dead! I'm not dead, Darius! GET OFF OF ME! You're getting your eye water all over my chest!" Though Asher had paused then before giving Darius a hug back, because he did miss the other, even if he didn't remember anything of the time he had been missing till that point.

[dfroza]

“the golden rule”

Love.

everything will be consummated by it at some point.

Today’s reading from the Scriptures begins with chapter 7 in the book of Matthew:

“Refuse to be a critic full of bias toward others, and you will not be judged. For you’ll be judged by the same standard that you’ve used to judge others. The measurement you use on them will be used on you. Why would you focus on the flaw in someone else’s life and fail to notice the glaring flaws of your own? How could you say to your friend, ‘Let me show you where you’re wrong,’ when you’re guilty of even more? You’re being hypercritical and a hypocrite! First acknowledge and deal with your own ‘blind spots,’ and then you’ll be capable of dealing with the ‘blind spot’ of your friend.

“Who would hang earrings on a dog’s ear or throw pearls in front of wild pigs? They’ll only trample them under their feet and then turn around and tear you to pieces!

“Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door.

“Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead? If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him?”

“In everything you do, be careful to treat others in the same way you’d want them to treat you, for that is the essence of all the teachings of the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate because the wide gate and broad path is the way that leads to destruction—nearly everyone chooses that crowded road! The narrow gate and the difficult way leads to eternal life—so few even find it!”

“Constantly be on your guard against phony prophets. They come disguised as lambs, appearing to be genuine, but on the inside they are like wild, ravenous wolves! You can spot them by their actions, for the fruits of their character will be obvious. You won’t find sweet grapes hanging on a thorn bush, and you’ll never pick good fruit from a tumbleweed. So if the tree is good, it will produce good fruit; but if the tree is bad, it will bear only rotten fruit and deserves to be cut down and burned. You’ll know them by the obvious fruit of their lives and ministries.”

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into heaven’s kingdom. It is only those who persist in doing the will of my heavenly Father. On the day of judgment many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, don’t you remember us? Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we cast out demons and do many miracles in your name?’ But I will have to say to them, ‘Go away from me, you lawless rebels! I’ve never been joined to you!’

“Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.

“But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”

By the time Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were awestruck by his teaching, because his words carried such great authority, quite unlike the religious scholars.

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 7 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 4th chapter of Ezra where a group of people became indignant at the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, even to send letters of accusation to the king of Persia in an attempt at getting him to put a stop to it:

[The Building Stopped]

Old enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building The Temple of the God of Israel. They came to Zerubbabel and the family heads and said, “We’ll help you build. We worship your God the same as you. We’ve been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon king of Assyria brought us here.”

Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel said to them, “Nothing doing. Building The Temple of our God is not the same thing to you as to us. We alone will build for the God of Israel. We’re the ones King Cyrus of Persia commanded to do it.”

So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

In fact, in the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against those living in Judah and Jerusalem.

Again later, in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote regarding the Jerusalem business to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. (What follows is written in Aramaic.)

Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

From: Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, backed by the rest of their associates, the judges and officials over the people from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, Elamites of Susa, and all the others whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and other places in the land across the Euphrates.

(This is the copy of the letter they sent to him.)

To: King Artaxerxes from your servants from the land across the Euphrates.

We are here to inform the king that the Jews who came from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and have set about rebuilding that rebellious and evil city. They are busy at work finishing the walls and rebuilding the foundations. The king needs to know that once that city is rebuilt and the wall completed they will no longer pay a penny of tribute, tax, or duty. The royal treasury will feel the loss. We’re loyal to the king and cannot sit idly by while our king is being insulted—that’s why we are passing this information on. We suggest that you look into the court records of your ancestors; you’ll learn from those books that that city is a rebellious city, a thorn in the side to kings and provinces, a historic center of unrest and revolt. That’s why the city was wiped out. We are letting the king know that if that city gets rebuilt and its walls restored, you’ll end up with nothing in your province beyond the Euphrates.

The king sent his reply to Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates who lived in Samaria and other places beyond the Euphrates.

Peace be with you. The letter that you sent has been translated and read to me. I gave orders to search the records, and sure enough it turns out that this city has revolted against kings time and again—rebellion is an old story there. I find that they’ve had their share of strong kings who have taken over beyond the Euphrates and exacted taxes, tribute, and duty. So do this: Order these men to stop work immediately—not a lick of rebuilding in that city unless I order it. Act quickly and firmly; they’ve done enough damage to kings!

The letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates. They lost no time. They went to the Jews in Jerusalem and made them quit work.

That put a stop to the work on The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Nothing more was done until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The Book of Ezra, Chapter 4 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, march 9 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about becoming “alive”

As our Teacher, Yeshua reveals the heart of God to us, teaching us about the meaning of life and death and why we suffer... Most radically, however, he offers us the cure for the sickness of “spiritual death” (i.e., separation from God) by offering the gift of his life for us. Yeshua heals us from alienation and separation from the Eternal by means of spiritual regeneration (Eph. 2:1,5; John 3:3-7). Your relationship with Messiah constitutes eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם), for it is He who “makes you alive together with him” (i.e., συζωοποιέω, the Greek word here means you are brought into a new realm of existence by participating in the life in Messiah). He offers us daily deliverance from the power of sin by means of the Spirit of Truth (רוּחַ הָאֱמֶת), though we must remain receptive to the message of hope and be transformed by the renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10).

We must be careful not to “drift away” from the truth, since that forfeits the integrity of our lives and leads us into darkness and despair: “For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36). Faith is the means or agency of connection with what is real, though we can lose that connection by hardening our hearts and returning to our former illusions (Heb. 3:13). Exile from God is therefore self-imposed; the gates of repentance are always open to those who seek God’s compassion; everyone is welcome to find life in the blessing of Messiah (Luke 14:16-23; Luke 15:11-32). Therefore, draw near to God and God will draw near to you. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). [Hebrew for Christians]

3.8.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

March 9, 2021

Thy Precious Blood

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:...And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:14, 20)

John introduced Jesus to the world at His baptism by saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was known prophetically as a lamb even before then. “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). He fulfilled the lamb role in His sacrificial death for the sins of mankind: “With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). The third verse of “There Is a Fountain” continues that picture.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

The precious Christology passage of Colossians 1:13-20 identifies Christ as Creator, Redeemer, and King. As Creator, His redemptive work included the ransom of His creation, lost and shackled in sin. There will come the time when all of redeemed mankind will gather around His throne “saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).

They will be joined by all in creation to sing His praises. “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3). JDM

[imdifferentshadesofpurple]

Midnight Hunt.

The @kpoptrashnetwork welcome project #GetToKnowTheTrash For @rudeboywonho​ - enjoy your Yongguk babe ♡

It’s the screams that wake you. 

Jolting up from your bed, your eyes widen at the sound, hands scrambling to toss aside your duvet. Your door opens suddenly and you’re face to face with your mother, expression frantic as she pushes her way inside before shutting the door.

“Mother? What’s going on?”

She grabs you, arms engulfing your small frame, crying into your hair.

“It’s not safe anymore my love. You must...you must get away, you must escape!”

You pull back, fear coursing through you, “Leave? Why would I...what’s going on? What’s happening outside?”

Your mother starts to frantically move about, tossing as much as she can into nearby luggage. “Don’t question me, my child. All you must know is this: we are under attack and you cannot stay. I have someone to take you out of here, someone to keep you out of harm’s way.”

You’re not understanding, frozen in your spot as you try and process the words she’s saying.

Under attack. Escape.

You’re jolted into action when she pulls at your wrist, tugging you forward so she can slip your arms into a coat. Winter is fierce outside, the winds blowing the already fast falling snow in every direction. You don’t get one last look at the room you’ve lived in your whole life, getting dragged quickly through the halls as more screams echo around you.

You want to ask about your father, ask if he’s alright, but darkness engulfs you as you enter the hidden tunnels of your home. You had explored these as a child, each brick as familiar as the feel of your mother’s hand in yours. You know where you’re headed, even without being told, but you have so many questions. You know that when you reach the exit, reach the person waiting, you’ll lose the chance. 

“Mother please. What’s going on?”

You can hear her sigh, as if she’s debating whether or not she should tell you. Growing up, you heard that sound quite often.

“It’s something you’ll come to understand in time. I promise. But for now, for now you must trust me and do whatever is told of you. It’s for your protection.”

“But Mother!”

She spins you around, “Please! Please, just this once, do not argue.”

You shut your mouth, following her until the tunnel ends and opens up to the beginnings of the forest. 

There, among the trees, is a wolf.

Larger than any beast you’ve seen before, it steps forward, lowering its head in a bow. Your mother bows back and tugs you forward, “Be safe my daughter. Be safe and follow orders. And then one day, you can return.”

Turning to the wolf, her gaze is stern, “Protect her. She’ll save us, save you, so keep her hidden well.”

And with a final smile, she’s gone. 

It’s been ten years.

Ten years where questions burned within your heart as you lived high up in the mountains. 

The wolf, your mysterious savior, was one of many. They lived in peace above the kingdom, keeping the borders safe for the king and queen in exchange for solitude. It’s when you had first arrived that you had learned they were not ordinary wolves, you discovered they were shapeshifters. Werewolves that could take on human forms whenever they so desired. It wasn’t often, you rarely saw anyone walking on two feet aside from yourself, but it was somehow a comfort.

A comfort knowing you weren’t alone.

Their leader, the alpha Kane, and his twin brother Darius took care of you. They acted as your guardians ever since the night Kane had brought you to their home. Where Darius was loud and friendly, his brother was serious and kept to himself. It was intimidating at first but they, along with the others in the pack, warmed up to you.

You became one of them, someone they’d give their life to protect.

Among the younger wolves was a boy, Yongguk, that introduced himself the morning after your escape. He was shy but demanding, shaking your head and exclaiming you were friends from that point on. You had spent all night crying, wishing to go home, so his toothy grin and wild hair made you smile and in that moment, it was enough.

In that moment, your burning questions seemed to have subsided. 

“You weren’t always this good at sparring,” Darius says, ducking before your fist comes in contact with his face.

You grin, lifting your leg and gaining momentum before your foot lands squarely in his gut, sending him backwards, “Yeah well, I was a weak little princess when Kane brought me here.”

Shaking his head, he smiles from his spot on the ground, “You were never weak Y/N. You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

You help him up, grip tight in your hand, “Only because you taught me how to be strong. I owe alot to you. To Kane. To the pack.”

One eyebrow rises, “To Yongguk?”

Blushing fiercely, you shove him, “Yeah, him too I guess.”

Catching you in a teasing headlock, his laugh echoes throughout the training ground, “You’re so in love I can’t even look at you little sister! You may never have been weak in my opinion, but you’ve definitely always been sappy.”

You yell at him to release you, threats meaningless as he continues to dodge your flailing arms. When Kane’s stern voice rings out, Darius lets go and your gazes turn to face the alpha.

“Quit fooling around. If you’re done with your games, get to the council room. We have things to discuss.”

His tone is serious, it always is, but when his eyes meet yours, you’re shocked to see the same coldness from that night. He may have bowed to your mother but the leader’s eyes were like ice when they had settled on you. It had taken quite some time to thaw the seemingly thick walls of his heart but you had done it, with some difficulty.

“Of course brother. We’ll be right there.”

Kane is gone in a matter of seconds, leaving Darius to head towards the council room. He turns when he notices you aren’t following and he sees you still staring at the spot Kane had vacated only moments ago.

“Are you alright?”

You’re unsure. There’s an odd feeling in the pit of your stomach, like something is about to go horribly wrong. You were used to Kane’s personality but this was different. 

This was more.

Facing Darius, you simply nod, “Yes. Let’s get going.”

The council room is a mess of loud voices and angry glares when you enter. It doesn’t quiet down and you worm your way to the front and take your place on Kane’s left side. He’s there, face in hand, as the rest of the wolves battle for dominance. When a hand closes over yours, you smile and glance at Yongguk, his own grin settling your rapidly beating heart.

“Would everyone shut up?!”

The room stills, the alpha’s voice ringing loudly. You grip Yongguk’s hand and he moves closer, arm brushing yours as you grow slightly frightened. Kane stands and demands attention with his posture, jaw clenched with his hands behind his back.

“Ten years ago, I was asked by the king and queen to keep the princess safe. And against most of the Elders’ wishes, I did what was asked of me. I risked my life on the night of that ambush and brought her here. With the help of my brother, we raised her. She lives among us, not a wolf but not an outsider. She’s been reassurance. She’s acted as guidance. She is a valued member here in the mountains. But now things are shifting below us. The Nymerian Order does not take kindly to shapeshifters. We were hunted once. Slaughtered. Our people are safe here thanks to the promises made by the royal family generation after generation. I’ve been told by loyal contacts that the king and queen are dead. Taken in the night by illness. Now, the Order has control. Without the princess, they seek to take over and rule. And their first decree is the decimation of all those with magic. All those with power. All those, like us, that can take on another form.”

“What does this mean,” someone asks, a flurry of whispers starting to accumulate.

Darius stands to join his brother, “This means we can no longer hide. Or hope we are not disturbed. We must protect what is ours. And...and we must return the princess to her throne.”

Voices erupt as you stay rooted in your seat, face white as you process the words that you just heard.

The king and queen are dead. The king and queen are dead.  Father and Mother have died.

Your throat closes up, eyes starting to blur as you jolt up from your seat and exit as quickly as you can. You know Yongguk is following you but you don’t stop, not until you reach the edge of the forest that overlooks what once was your home.

“I don’t know what to say to make this better.”

You laugh at how hesitant he sounds, “I don’t think there are words my love. My parents are dead. My kingdom is in the hands of people that wish nothing more than its destruction. You are in danger, the others are in danger. And I...it seems as I must return home.”

Arms wrap around your middle, his noise in your hair, “I won’t let you go back.”

“I don’t think you have a say.” “If you love me, I have a say. It isn’t always up to Kane and Darius.”

Sighing, you let your head fall back against his firm chest, “But it is, isn’t it? They are the alphas. Kane is the leader. And they are my guardians. Yongguk, it’s my duty. A duty I’ve always known I must go back to. My mother, the night I escaped, said I could return one day. It seems like that day has come.”

He grips you tighter, eyes shut, “You never said you loved me.”

His voice is slightly teasing but you turn suddenly and press his lips against his, tongue hot against yours when his lips open to you. You grip at his shirt, hands in his hair, nails scraping his clothed back as you push him against the closest tree to you. He attacks your mouth with the ferocity of a wolf, low growls and moans erupting from the back of his throat. His fingers are like fire on the bare skin of your back, shirt riding up with every kiss between you both. 

This is when you feel the most alive, joined together with Yongguk. You had become fast friends as children, his honesty and penchant for making you laugh helping you cope with the sudden loss of your version of normality. Friendship then became more, became this, and you don’t remember a moment where you didn’t love this boy in your arms.

You don’t pull away to say it, to reassure him, because his trail of kisses down your neck leaves you breathless. Your reaction, his name on your tongue, is enough. He knows how you feel, he knows you, and he doesn’t ask for more.

You’re set to go home the next night.

There are things you still don’t understand so you leave Yongguk’s bed the next morning in search of answers. 

You find him hidden in the trees, four feet on the ground as he checks perimeters. You come to his side, hand running over soft fur as you stare ahead. Kane doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even move when he catches you out of the corner of your eye. When you were a child, one that couldn’t sleep, you’d run your hand over the wolf in the early morning as you tried to chase away the nightmares. 

It was those moments you had grown closer.

“You need to tell me what’s going on,” you whisper, “I can’t go home tonight with all these questions.”

You wait and let the breeze brush past you. You want to be back in bed, your husband’s warmth was a better alternative, but you stay rooted. 

“You were born into a tumultuous time Y/N. Your mother kept having miscarriages so you were a miracle. A small, beautiful miracle. The kingdom was overjoyed at the birth of their new princess. Your parents regained their will to keep ruling. And the Nymerian Order did not like that. They’re a hidden group of outcasts ruling through others from the shadows, people who wanted power but never had it for themselves, were never strong enough to possess it. Their leader, Rowan, is a jealous and spiteful man. Seeing your parents lose hope in ever having a child fueled him and he found a way to manipulate them. When you were born, it all changed. And Rowan sought revenge. There are wolves unlike us, those that kill to simply kill. Enlisting their help, Rowan attacked the kingdom but your father’s army fought them off as your mother took you to me. From there, you know the rest. It’s history you’ve lived after all.”

“So going home. I take my throne and then what?”

“That, dear sister, is up to you. You can keep the agreement, let us live in solitude, or you can dispose of us. As queen, you have the power to do anything you want.”

“Rowan will have made himself comfortable in the few short hours my parents have been dead.”

“You will have us by your side. We will help you take back what is yours.”

You grow silent, the weight of Kane’s story settling over you. There’s still so much to learn, so much to understand, but time is short and your family was on the line. Your kingdom. Your people. 

“Then take me home Kane.”

Yongguk holds you close, lips pressed against your neck as your arms hang loosely around his shoulders. You spent most, if not all of the day, with him. Whispers shared between you both in bed, bodies fitted together so perfectly it’s hard to pull away when night falls. He lets his fingers trace over your skin, as if it’s the last time he’ll see you. His wedding ring sits at home while yours is nestled against your chest, gleaming under the moon. 

“Be careful,” he says, once again kissing you fully. 

He intoxicates you and suddenly you don’t want to go back, he won’t be there. He was your home. The mountains. The pack. But your duty was important and there were things that needed to be done. Smiling against his skin, you bury your face into his neck, “I’m always careful. You’re the one that should watch your back, understand?’

He smiles, chuckling softly, “Yes ma’am.”

When Kane calls out to the others, they start to shift one by one, wolves appearing where humans once were. Darius is one of the last to change, grinning at you before he’s howling up to the sky. Yongguk pulls your face towards him one last time, the kiss quick but filled with every ounce of passion he could give.

“I love you. And I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

Nodding, you step away, “I know. I love you too.”

Under the moonlight he shifts into the black wolf you’ve grown to love, eyes large and soft as he stares at you. Turning towards the kingdom below, your pack gathers by your side as you finally return, just like your mother said you would.

Tonight, the midnight hunt begins.

A/N: I don’t even know, it got away from me lol. I do hope you enjoyed Nicole! xoxo

[hogwartselementumrp]

DARIUS PUCEY is twenty-one  years old, he is CO-OWNER OF ZONKO’S JOKE SHOP, and was formerly in the house RAVENCLAW BEFORE EXPULSION.

                                            ❝Some people are just born better than others. I’m one of the lucky ones.

↳ Magic

Darius has a natural affinity passed down from his parents, and studies hard, especially the dark arts. He has a particular interest in magical theory, and gifting at creating his own spells, though to his own harsh standards he’s continually falling short if the magic doesn’t immediately follow his will and the words and gestures produce mediocre or unexpected results and he has to keep innovating. When in school, he was an adept and well-rounded student that could have amassed NEWTs in every class he chose to pursue from potions to charms and written his own ticket to a promising career in whatever field he chose but unused skills atrophy over time, which is why he continually revisits his books and continues to hone all fields of magic not just his element and prefered spells never taught at Hogwarts.

↳ BACKSTORY

Darius is the only Pucey sibling in his father’s good graces, and yet he is not the heir, even to this day. His auror brother is still going to inherit, and the injustice of it rankles deep under Darius’s skin and is what may one day tip the scales and set Darius against the father whose abuse Darius has always excused and forgiven despite resenting.

He does not particularly care for his older brother, but his sister is a completely different matter. He is obsessed with making sure she is safe. He doesn’t condone her rebellious and coarse behaviour, and is always trying to chase boys away from his sister as none deserve her anyways. He does not get along with Christian, mostly because he always wished he was the eldest, and could take the lion’s share of the inheritance to make a different life for himself and Melinda far away. He continues to hate Christian, more for what he’s chosen to do with his life as time goes on, even now that Melinda is away from Adrian, and Darius and his dear sister have been paid enough dirty money by their father under agreement to “stop shaming his name” that they’ve been able to buy the almost defunct Zonko’s joke shop for a song and build it into a thriving business.

Adrian Pucey made sure his children knew their place in society:  they were purebloods, they were better than anyone else. They were without peer and wholly untouchable, except by him of course.  His wife, a meek little pureblood his parents choose to marry him, never disobeyed her husband, following his orders and never interfering with her husband’s horrid teachings and even beatings when it came to his male sons. She believed it was the duty of a pureblood wife, to do what her husband wishes, even when she heard her children’s cries every night. It got too much for her after a while, she killed herself when Melinda was just five, Darius almost seven, and Christian the eldest nearly eight.

Darius believes in blood purity still. He believes some people are born better than others, and he is one of them. Cocky and confident, he knows that he wants and always tries to get it. Not being put in Slytherin came as a shock to him, but quickly learned it came as a blessing. In a few short years, he did everything his brother couldn’t. He was made Quidditch Captain and then Head Boy before it all came crashing down around him.

For months he harassed student Roxanne Weasley, attacking her, using her as a testing ground for his first dark spells,  and sending her intimidating letters that threatened that he would not just finish what he started with her but make her family suffer  to blackmail her silence.  Roxanne kept quiet until the death of her cousin, after which she confessed everything that happened believing Darius killed her though he had nothing to do with the crime. The Headmistress expelled him, and he was sent to the Aurors to go to trial. Due to his father’s influence and the fact that at the time he was a minor, his family’s lawyer succeeded in keeping Darius out of jail, but he had  to serve community service and go to group therapy where he was forced to talk about his problems, and his reputation never recovered. He was a pariah and fingers were quick to point at him for every crime in Hogsmeade and beyond, or even for anything odd that happened in town.

Tired of the aurors making what she saw as no progress through official channels gathering enough evidence against those responsible for the murders as Hogwarts the past few years, the attack on Mia Selwyn’s wedding, and the senseless decimation of the wizarding population of Leicester, Roxanne Weasley broke into Zonko’s Joke Shop one late summer  night as Darius was closing, catching him by surprise and putting him in a body bind. She questioned him about every crime and the whereabouts of the fugitive Jonathan Marks, sure he had information he did not possess, and tortured Darius in the same way he’d once tortured her, using some of his own dark spells back on him. When he continued to claim no knowledge even under pain, she erased his memory of the encounter and left him to be found by his sister when she opened the store the next morning or his roommate when she came downstairs from the flat they shared above the shop. She mangled his memories a little too well though, and Darius has spent the past few months in St. Mungo’s regaining memories, trying to remember who he is and rebuild his life.

The memories are back now, except for the night he was attacked, but those blank would be easy enough to form suspicions enough to fill and continue the years old circle of revenge. Darius now has the chance to have a fresh start though in all areas of his life and become a new man if he chooses to take advantage of the opportunity instead of returning to old friends, ambitions, and habits.

↳ PERSONALITY TRAITS

» {+ positives} intelligent, hard working, protective

» {- negatives} cruel, manipulative, brash

↳ BASICS

» BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

» ELEMENTAL POWER: air

» AFFINITY LEVEL:  high affinity + studious

» DATE OF BIRTH: 5th November

» WAND: 12 inches, Oak, Dragon, Hard

» FACECLAIM: Ryan Guzman

DARIUS PUCEY IS PLAYED BY BRIE

[barkphomet]

tryin harder to write every day

first part of a free write set in a shared universe, heartwarming religious tale of a heretic discovering faith uwu

i.

Three weeks after her disappearance into the margh, without a soul sent to search for her, the heretic village Sardis declared Marina Swope to be dead. A local girl training under the art of herbalism, she often ventured into the saltwater wetlands to gather plants for her practice. Vital plants bloomed in rot-fall and it would take the entire season to collect enough.

Usually, someone went with her. Margh flora had its ways of eating you if you weren’t careful. Poisonous flowers on the edge of the village’s safe territory, that’s what they said she had left alone for, but no trace of her could be found within or outside their boundaries when others had left for unrelated duties since then.

Her brother, Darius, was the first to bring it up with the village’s young priest. Saul Vanier spared him a curt negative before throwing him out. The second attempt came soon after.

“She’s been missing for weeks now, and we haven’t found her. Can’t you send someone to find her? I’ll go if that’s what it takes, I don’t do much here anyway, just let me-”

“No,” Saul drawled, rolling a stick of tobacco between his lips. “Didn’t I tell you that the first fucking time? What are you, stupid? Are you stupid, munga?” “Please…”

Saul huffed, spitting before saying, “She’s dead. Get the fuck over it. Now leave.”

His heart beating faster than a rabbit against a hunting hound, Darius stood his ground. “No! Saul, please. Sh-”

“What. The fuck.” Darius reacted a moment too late before a heavy fist smashed into his face and he fell, the priest’s boot crushing down onto his stomach and threatening to push down further. “What the fuck did you just say to me. Do you think you’re strong? Think you can say that to me?”

When Saul spat in his face, it tasted of tobacco and old meat. “I’m a beast of mercy. You wanna act like some faithful munga, chasing after your sister? I’ll gut you like one and eat your heart.”

The boot lifted from his chest and Darius choked on the sudden intake of breath.

“Now. Get the fuck out of my sight.”

At first chance, he slipped away into the margh. The black waters welcomed him like an old friend, despite his relative lack of familiarity with the gaping pathways of trees compared to the others of his village. Day or night, the margh remained entrenched in the same darkness; the cycle of time held no meaning here. He himself had never seen the sun, had never particularly cared to see the sun, perhaps feared the sun in some deep part of him.

Mud clung to him like tar. His sweat dripped freely in the sticky heat, sometimes falling into his eyes and stinging until being washed away by hurriedly blinked tears. The heat, the stinging insects, the endless water - he wasn’t sure how long he could take this.

The fear of failure bothered him more than anything. It meant Saul’s wrath, something he would rather perish to wild beasts than face. And it meant the unknown fate of his sister.

He’d rather retrieve her bones than not know. Death wasn’t such a bad fate out here.

With no idea of where to search, only following a lantern-lit path used by hunters to reach the munga-infested waters richest with prey, he didn’t know how far he’d traveled or where he might end up. Someone, anyone, else would have a better chance of finding her. Chances were that he’d end up in the belly of a hungry salt-boar, or flesh-eating fireflies would leave his bones scattered at the bottom of a pool.

Fuck. Bad train of thought. He concentrated instead on Marina, on the scent of herbs in their shared shack and the feeling of comfort that came from knowing someone else always had his back, even against Saul.

There wasn’t so much as a ripple in the water to announce the looming danger. The air grew ripe with the stink of rot and nothing dared touch the waters near him, not even the shallow path he followed. The still water exploded so suddenly as to convince him that his heart had stopped, and a gaping maw erupted in the chaos.

Shock kept him frozen in place. The munga fell onto him, the tip of the margh gator’s jaw easily gripping his entire torso and piercing through to his internal organs. Sightless, misshapen white eyes lolled about in their sockets. It hissed as it tore through his flesh, sounding something between the emerging hiss of steam and the sharp whistle of wind in a broken body, and he couldn’t find the air to scream in return.

His vision failed and he became death in those final moments; softly at ease and unknowing of the mechanisms of life and existence.

“Awaken.”

The first breath manifested as knives being hurled through his lungs. He coughed, something hot and sticky bubbling from his throat and dribbling down his face. This felt wrong.

“See.”

He opened his eyes, not voluntarily, even the soft flickers of bioluminescent insects straining his eyes. His vision blurred. Sprawled out onto his back on solid ground, a heavy yellow weight kept him pinned to the ground.

A span of time stretching into years passed before he vision cleared. A mangy yellow dog sat on his chest, its mass crushing whatever bones were left unbroken. However horrible the pain must have been, he couldn’t feel it through his numbed flesh. It stared unblinkingly back at him and quivered with anticipation.

“You meant to find you sister.” Its jaws clicked together in sharp movements he supposed were meant to imitate speech. The words were phrased as a statement, not a question. He couldn’t find the air to speak regardless.

“Instead I have found you. A heretic in the country of Camargh, the sleeping kingdom of the Pus Which Swallows. For what purpose do you draw breath, you who have not yet tasted the flesh of false gods? Where is your ectasy?

“Do not presume to answer me. You have nothing worth saying; not yet. I have come to command upon you a holy pilgrimage. Go now to Arlesburgh and seek the Vitreous Humor. There you will find answers, one of which concerns your sister.”

The beast stepped off him. No pain spiked at its movement, and he did not find traces of wounds when he held his arms tight against his newly naked body.

And it left him wide-eyed and lost in the depths of Camargh.

[tragedybunny]

The Blade’s Edge - A League of Legends Fanfiction - Chapter 16

Hello Lovelies - I'm trying to stick with this despite everything. I'm considered essential industry so I'm still expected to report for work. It's a little scary at times. I would greatly appreciate any comments you have to let me know people are still enjoying this story.

Playlist Song:

John Mayer - Half of My Heart  

They had a simple arrangement. She was the weapon to be used on his enemies. Things get more complicated when emotions bleed into what should simple. Now the two of them find themselves on the precipice of something that was entirely unexpected.

“Jericho!” She turns and flings herself at me, arms constricting around my neck, face buried in my shoulder. Her obvious joy at my appearance throws me off guard and I don’t respond to her. “Oh, you’re mad at me aren’t you?” That joy dissipates into sullen sadness.

I wrap one arm around her and run my hand through her hair, willing her to remain calm. Most of the patrons have wisely elected to ignore me coming to collect my drunk bride to be. Still, it’s not unwelcome to have Darius looming about discouraging them. “Of course not. I just didn’t know where you’d been tonight.” I had, in fact, been furious when Darius’s messenger reached me and I’d had to traverse all the way down to the slums to get her. Saying that to her now would accomplish nothing but upsetting her further.

So I lead her outside to the waiting carriage, Darius accompanying us. As if on some celestial cue, rain starts to shower down, threatening to soak us on top of everything else. I turn to Darius. “Thank you for sending for me. And for taking care of her until I got here.” Kat pulls out of my grasp and starts slowly meandering toward the carriage.

“She’s…” He considers his words for a moment. “She’s a real mess right now.” He doesn’t need to give voice to his concern, it’s plainly evident.

“I’ll take care of her.” For once it’s a promise I mean in all sincerity. He nods and turns back toward the tavern, presumably on his way to handle Draven. He’s a better man than I, keeping watch over those important to him. Kat’s come to a stop outside the carriage and I go to her, putting my hands on her shoulders, intent on getting her inside out of the rain.

“I’m sorry to be so much trouble.” I freeze. I’ve never known her to sound like this, like a small child on the verge of tears.

Am I the cause of this? I coax her to turn and face me and pull her close. “No worries Kitten, let’s just get home.”

“But if I’m too much trouble you won’t want me around anymore.” Have I somehow given her this notion?

She sniffles and I fear she’ll burst into tears. For once I’m at a loss for a course of action, I want to stop it, but I know not how to soothe her feelings. “Why ever would you think that?”

She shrugs, her head now laying against my chest. She feels like ice against me and I wrap my coat around her as the rain continues to beat down on us. “It happens.”

Damn it, Soreana. I shouldn’t have sent her to deal with her mother. I thought perhaps it would have gone smoother without my involvement. I should have just forced her compliance and left Kat out of it. I stroke my hand along her back. “It is raining, it is late, and you are very drunk. You need to go home and get some sleep.” I kiss the top of her head, unsure if I’m doing the situation any good. “All else can wait until the morning.”

She doesn’t respond but she’s pliant as I lead her to the carriage and help her in. She immediately gets as far from me as possible, leaning against the far wall. As we lurch forward, she curls in on herself, still looking terribly despondent. “Is there something I can do?”

She pulls her hand through her hair, more violently than usual, and shakes her head. “No.”

“Let me try.” There has to be some way to reach her.

“Why? It’s not like you care!” Her head snaps toward me, eyes flashing, as she flings the words in my direction.

In that sudden transformation from sadness to fury, I’m taken unawares and react by instinct, her words cutting me as deep as one of her daggers. “Of course I do!” There it is, the forbidden thought, given voice and brought to life. It feels like something living, permeating the space between us. She at least yields and moves closer, leaning on me as I hold her. “I mean that, Kat.”

I told myself at the very beginning of all this that I would not become attached to Katarina. We would have a mutually beneficial arrangement and nothing more. That illusion was shattered that fateful night when I believed I had driven her away. I don’t even like to contemplate what it would have been like to go to her room and find she had actually gone. Somehow though, that was not the case, she had chosen to stay. Ever since then I’ve had to confront the truth, that I had failed to remain detached as I had so carefully planned.

That is really what brought on this whole marriage idea. She doesn’t need me, she never did, I deceived her into believing that. Once I leave to handle this rebellion, it is only a matter of time before she figures that out. If we are married though, she may be more inclined to stay. So I will do what I must. I can’t let go of her, and I know of no other way to keep her.

She makes a little contented noise and tightens her arms around me. If nothing else, the storm seems to have calmed and my little Kitten is happy for the moment. It doesn’t take long for her to find that place somewhere between sleeping and wakefulness. I fully expect there to be fall out from tonight, but at least we have this moment. Once we’re home, I tuck her into bed, letting her wrap herself around me once we’re both under the covers.

It’s barely past dawn when I have to leave her and I find myself regretting it. I had told myself that even though it was our wedding day, the Empire continued to need governance. In truth, I could have made arrangements that would have given us more time together. Deep down, I hadn’t wanted it to seem a thing of great import, particularly when I had downplayed it so heavily to her.

It’s frustrating to feel that I’ve botched this whole situation from the start. And so that evening, I find myself in the study, perched over the table for once clear of maps and battle plans, awaiting the Magistrate’s arrival with no small amount of dread. Kat is still upstairs, doing gods know what, so I’m left alone with my thoughts and more emotions than I particularly care for.

Feeling restless, I lift the cover of the little wooden box before me. Inside, on a velvet bed are two gold rings, each cast with my adopted house sigil of a raven in flight. They had been a last minute idea when she’d said yes, but it brought all of this into a concrete sense of reality. All things considered, they had turned out decent enough and I did hope she was pleased with the gesture. Where was she anyway? There are times I’m amazed she ever manages to assassinate any of her targets since she can seemingly never be on time.

There’s a light tapping at the door, which is of course not Kat. “Enter.” Face austere, eyes never locking with mine, Moira enters. “Yes.”

“Is there anything you require before the Magistrate’s arrival?” She maintains that neutral expression, even though her feelings on the matter at hand are known to be less than positive.

I’ve known Moira the majority of my life. She’s not much older than I am and she began her service here when she was just a girl. She’s been fiercely loyal to me and of all the household staff, she’s the one I trust. “Yes, could you please see what’s keeping Madame Katarina.” This has been the only issue between us in all these years. It is time for resolution.

Her expression darkens. “I will inquire but…” And it begins.

“But what?” I challenge her.

She stands fast instead of retreating. It would be admirable if it were not above her station to do so. “With all due respect Sir, you are familiar with her temperament. She will do what pleases her.”

I inhale a sharp breath, I had hoped it wouldn’t get this far. “It is not your place to have opinions on her behavior, Moira.” My tone’s harsh, it is time for her to accept Kat’s place here.

Instead of letting go, she goes even further beyond her place, pushing the boundaries of my patience. “She is a petulant child. She’s a scandal. She…”

“Moira!” I bark, cutting her off, that is more than enough. “She will be my wife before the sun sets. It is time she was given the respect due to her. I will tolerate nothing else. Is that understood?”

The choice is her’s to make. She gains control of herself, casting her gaze downward, returning to the dutiful servant. “Very well, Sir. I will go see to her.” She turns and leaves without another word. I am relieved she chose her position over her opinions. She’s been thorny about Kat from the start, but she does keep the household running smoothly, and it would be a tough task to replace her.

Kat burst through the door not long after she leaves, eyes telling me my message was relayed in a less than pleasant manner. She looks remarkably well given the events of last night. Does she remember what was said between us? “Satisfied? The Magistrate hasn’t arrived yet and you felt the need to send her to fetch me.” She doesn’t have her hair up and it’s become a messy scarlet halo around her, very fetching.

Ah, but now she’s mad at me. “I didn’t want us getting delayed. And please, learn to get along with Moira, you’ll need her when I’m gone.” I catch her hands just as she starts to make an angry gesture. “I know, I’ll speak with her before I leave.” I make note that she’s wearing an entirely new dress, emerald green trimmed in ebony. It exudes a sense of softness that’s out of the ordinary for her, an almost ethereal quality. Its meaning doesn’t escape me, it’s her wedding dress, she chose it specifically for today. Before now I could likely count on my one hand the number of times I have felt guilt for my actions, and now it threatens to devour me. None of this is properly done. “You look exquisite, it brings out your eyes.” I kiss her cheek, still holding her hands in mine.

I’ve stolen her momentum and I can watch as she gives up on her annoyance. “Thanks.” She smiles that slight, almost shy smile that tells me a compliment has truly pleased her. “Fine, I’ll try.” She concedes and returns my kiss.

“There’s something I wanted to show you before the Magistrate arrives.” She lets me lead her to the table where I pause for a moment, suddenly doubtful this idea will appeal to her. After a moment’s hesitation, I hand her the box, still unsure. “I thought they would make it a little more official.”

She lifts the lid and I await her judgment. “Really? You didn’t have to go through the trouble.” She sounds pleased and I can finally breathe. Excitedly she plucks hers out from the box and slips it onto her left finger. She stares at it for a moment before pulling it off to move to her right. “So we match.” My throat goes dry.

At last, the tapping at the door as the Magistrate announces himself relieves the situation. A slight little man, drowning in his robes of office, he shuffles in with no pomp about him. He’s almost a comical sight, but he’s known for his discretion. I am not strictly trying to keep this secret, but also I do not want my personal life to be a public spectacle. Not that we’ve ever managed to avoid that before now. He inclines his head toward me. “Good evening Grand General.” He turns to Kat, offering her the same respect. “Madame. I understand you wish for brevity, I will review your documents quickly and then we will begin.”

“You’ll find everything in order.” I gesture to the small pile that awaits him on the table; Soreana’s hard bought permission, a family lineage guaranteeing we are not too closely related, and our personal financial arrangement. He’s only been at it a minute or so before Kat is looking restless. I take my place next to her and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “You will never learn patience, will you?” I lean down and whisper in her ear.

“It took you this long to realize that? So much for all that vision.” She nips my earlobe temptingly as she whispers back at me.

“Hmm, my vision is showing me having to teach my wife a little discipline later.” She bites her lip and shivers a bite. Let that thought sit with her.

“All seems to be adequately in order.” He lifts his gaze from the papers before him. “Shall we begin?”

“With all haste.” Kat and I turn to face one another and without thinking I reach to take her hands. Looking into her eyes, I’m unsettled all over again about this, but there’s no stopping what I’ve started.

“Absolutely. Do you, Jericho Swain, pledge your troth to Katarina and wherefore you shall bring her into your home as your true and only wife?”

“I so swear it.” I give her hands in mine a small squeeze. She does deserve more than this hurried, barely thought out, covert sham. How did it come to this? Again that guilt I cannot seem to shrug off, it could have been different.

“Do you, Katarina Du Couteau, pledge your troth to Jericho and wherefore you join yourself with him as your true and only husband?”

My breath holds still in the silence that follows. “I so swear it.”

He gestures at the box still open before us. “You may exchange rings if you wish.”

I gingerly take Kat’s from the box and place it on her proffered finger. The sleeve of her dress slides down her wrist and I’m confronted with that faded handprint that still mars her pale skin, a reminder of my other sins. I relive that night so often; that fear she tried to hide, but her eyes exposed. “You’re hurting me!” I shamefully lost control of the demon and worse could have happened. Have I kept my promise to do better?

Wordlessly she takes her turn, slipping my ring on and giving me a small smile. I should make this up to her, this whole stupid debacle. Mayhaps I should even let her go, at last, to give her the freedom I promised her. Once I’ve put down this rebellion and come home.

“I now declare you…” He’s cut off as Kat ambushes me with an eager kiss, teasing me with her tongue slipping into my mouth. He clears his throat. “Your signatures if you please.”

With ink applied to parchment, we’re officially wed, and it still does not sit right with me. The Magistrate briskly packs and with a final inclination of his head takes his leave. The door’s hardly shut behind him and Kat wraps herself around me. “We should go upstairs and celebrate, husband.”

I fear I will be undone by that word on her lips. I crush her against me and bury my face in her neck, digging my teeth into her skin to urge on those sweet little noises she makes. “If that is what my wife desires.”

I don’t give her time to answer but catch her up in my arms and sweep her off her feet, kissing her again. The sound of yet another tap at the door irritatingly interrupts us. “Yes.” I grind out, reluctantly setting Kat back down.

Moira at least has the decency to look apologetic. “I beg your pardon for the interruption, Sir, Madame, but there has been a delivery.” I gesture impatiently for her to be out with it. She hesitantly holds forth a note. “Madame Du Couteau has sent a wedding gift. You had best come and see.”

“What did she do?” Kat snaps, charging out of the room followed closely by Moira who valiantly tries to calm the storm. Dread filling me for whatever stunt Soreana has conjured up, I trail them.

Up ahead in the great hall, Kat lets out a yelp of surprise and that speeds me along. Coming out of the hallway I find her kneeling on the stone floor, Moira and another servant around her. “Aren’t you a sweet baby?” She coos to something in her arms that is hidden from me. I reach her side and, gods help me, it’s a drake hound pup. I despise drake hounds, they are noisy, ill-tempered, stubborn beasts.

The leathery skinned pup wriggles about even more at her words, black tongue lapping at her face. “You are precious.” Finally, she turns her gaze up to me as if just noticing my presence. “Look, Jericho, mother sent me one of her pups. It seems strangely kind of her.” Hardly, I’ve made no secret of disdain for them, Soreana likely knows of it. She stares down at the little fiend in her arms, enchanted.

“Kat, you know the amount of work that goes into the keeping a drake hound.” She needs to see sense on this matter.

“Obviously, I grew up with them.” She continues to blithely snuggle it.

“I don’t think…” How am I to put this to her?

The elation visibly drains from her. I am going to utterly ruin our wedding day all thanks to her miserable bitch of a mother. “I know, I can’t keep her. She’s too much work and she’ll make a mess of the house.” She pouts, not the dramatic playful pout I know so well, but with real dejection. “I just want your promise that she will be properly trained. If it would mean that much to you, you should keep her.” It very near causes me physical pain to say that.

Her mood brightens back up instantly. “You mean it?” I nod, fearing I won’t be able to make the words leave my mouth. She leaps to her feet, still cradling it. “Thank you.” I’m rewarded with a quick kiss and then the beast is abruptly thrust into my arms. “You two should get acquainted, scent is how they bond with their pack.”

Despite my instincts, I hold fast to prevent the squirming mass from dropping to the floor. “Just don’t let her chase Bea. She’ll have to adjust as is.” It continues to scrabble around, whimpering until Kat thankfully relieves me of it.

“Let’s get you settled in upstairs where I can keep an eye on you.” If I believed in gods I would tell you they had truly abandoned me. She heads for the stairs and turns back when she realizes I haven’t followed. “Are you coming? I still intend to have that celebration with you.”

“Right behind you.” I hurry behind her. I suppose if nothing else, I’ve done at least one thing today that made her happy.