#captain saker

[fablesexymanshowdown]

ROUND TWO!

[lilicohirukoma]

TWILIGHT FOREST INSTITUTE

(fanmade sister school to Night Raven College from Twisted Wonderland)

The Twilight Forest Institute is a prestigious, all-girls school for students with the potential for becoming powerful witches. The application process is simple, every application has pixie dust sprinkled over it. If the paper stays the same the student has been rejected, if the paper changes color corresponding with one of the dorms the student has been both selected and sorted.

THE DORMS

Neninglam. Dorm colors Light Blue and Lilac. Based on The Pseudo King (Prince John), this dorm stands for choosing for what you want and keeping your best interests in mind even it if were to hurt others. Students in the dorm tend to value their independence and their intuition above all else. Members have a tendency to favoring gold jewelry over any other metals.

Caouldain. Dorm colors Green and Red. Based on The Ruler of the Ressurected (The Horned King), this dorm is all about creativity and craftmanship and students in this dorm tend to excel and things like art and sciene. Members commonly don’t have a sense of humor and take everything seriously.

Hayubashan. Dorm colors Brown and Grey. Based on The Snowfall Conqueror (Shan Yu), this dorm works together as a team and places importance on strength and loyalty. Also known for being fierce protectors of gender equality. Most members prefer being around their pets (and animals in general) over humans.

Troldronning. Dorm colors Dark Blue and Purple. Based on The Thirteenth Prince (Prince Hans), the students in the dorm tend to be isolated amongst their own considering they will do anything to get ahead of others, loyalty is not something known to them and they will gladly change sides to ensure their own prosperity. Members of this dorm commonly enjoy lemons and lemon flavored things

Seonittor. Dorm colors Orange and Black. Based on The Maharaja of the Jungle (Shere Khan), the students tend to have a scary reputation but carry themselves with grace and confidence. They are very cautious and prefer to keep things the way they are. Members typically are scared of fire.

Jolieroger. Dorm colors Pink and Red. Based on The Captain (Captain Hook), these students can only be described as lawful evil. They will listen to the rules but exploit every word in it to fit in with what they actually want to do. This dorm has a higher than usual amount of members who are left-handed.

Chronospire. Dorm colors Black and Purple. Based on The Boss (Ratigan), if you get sorted into this dorm you have an organized mind and are extremely intelligent. You are charming, egostistical and scheming. Members are noted for their dark sense of humor.

New Lands introduced along with the new school...

The Anglians, a military kingdom that’s constantly on the move. Their official queen Rhiannon Goldendefense is currently occupied on war with The Anglian Republic. The current acting head of the country is her younger sister Princess Josephine, who’s currently attending The Twilight Forest Institute.

Kadeir Teyrnon, an ancient country that is isolated from most civilization. The country houses a rare species of people who are descended from the Ruler of the Ressurected’s army, they are skeletal and often ill but as long as the Black Cauldron is active they will live forever.

Saker Tundra, a cold country with a small population. The people are strong and know how to fight, they live in small collected tribes and act as a community. All people have a pet and are closely connected with them.

Port Peninsula, a country with a polar climate. Mythology states that after the 13th prince betrayed the Snow Queen she froze over his kingdom and disappeared. A rare disease known as ‘Frozen Heart Syndrome’ has only had cases reported here.

The Wildfire Jungle, a wild tropical kingdom under rule of the strongest of all. A ruler has had to defeat the former ruler and they will reign as long as they can defeat and challengers. The current Maharani is Shakti Agni, she’s enrolled in The Twilight Forest Institute and her mother is ruling in her absence.

Nowayland, a country thought by most to be fictional when they are children (excluding the inhabitants.) They have one of the biggest mermaid communes and pirate fleets in the world. The country has a rainbow that is always present and visible, no official explanation for this has been given.

Barremount, a small country that mainly consists of a huge 30ft mountain which has multiple inhabitants on the inside, there is also a small village closeby for those with a fear of heights. It’s mainly surrounded in darkness, only around 5 hours of sunlight a day. They have magical bells that toll when the sunlight arrives.

Joyride Haven, an island that’s mainly seen as a tourist attraction. With the relaxed laws and little government interference it’s a hotspot for criminal activity. It’s a popular vacation spot for many but visitors are told to keep a very sharp eye out on basically everything.

That’s all folks! I will get to the dorms and their respective members asap but please feel free to let me know what you think so far :)

Update: Neninglam is posted and linked above

[menagerie-of-monsters]

Find the Word Tag

Thank you @ceph-the-ghost-writer for the tag! I was looking for an excuse to post some WIP snips in the New Year.

@awordchemist @space-cadead @dogmomwrites @leave-her-a-tome some words for you are:

new, bright, promise, ugly, please

Impulse

The Sorceress and the Incubus, Echoes of the Void Book 1 (look for this book by the end of the month!)

"Yes, I'm here," I told him, trying to be gentle. "I live here, and you're my familiar." I reached over and stroked his cheek with the backs of my fingers. "This is our home, Saker," I said. "Where else would I be?" "Our…" he started. His jaw tensed for a moment before he blew out a breath through his nose. He turned his face and kissed my fingers, then shifted so he could rest his head on his forearm. "You got me flowers," the demon said instead. "Seemed apropos, given this morning," I said with a shrug, embarrassed about the impulse now that it had been pointed out, and falling back onto the sort of distance that existed between two people when they'd had a one-night stand and woken up in the same bed. "You gave me one hell of an orgasm."

Main

In the Claws of the Raven Prince, Monsters of Faery Book 2 (Eyyy a prequel to Captured by the Fae Beast. Look for it in April maybe???)

“But… why?” I asked. The words sounded lost, like a child, wavering in the night. “Because Crown Prince Sundamar is more dangerous even than the Chimera,” Captain Ulahana said in her lilting voice. “Woods, you may return to the main camp. Brouwer, you’re with me.” “Yes, ma’am,” Woods said, giving Ulahana a bow. She turned to me, looking me over once, then said, “It’s gonna be fine, Lilly. Keep your chin up.” She waited until I nodded, then gave me a sharp nod in return, turned on one heel, and strode back towards camp. I turned towards Ulahana slowly, feeling as if I was about to walk to my own execution. The faery woman waited for me with what seemed like ageless patience, her indigo eyes black in the moonlight.

Enhance

I... have apparently never used this word. I looked through everything, crossing my fingers for an "enhanced her pleasure" and was unsuccessful TT_TT

Table

The Serpent's Bride, The Blue Kingdom Duology Book 1

"And will I be your enemy?" he persisted. "Are you going to wake up one day and decide a viper is too dangerous a creature to have in your palace, let alone your bed?" That made me look up at him again. For a moment I thought I could see fear in the tension around his eyes, before his brows drew closer together and his lip lifted in a sneer. I only sighed. "Unless you're intending on spitting venom at emissaries or otherwise making yourself a lethal nuisance, you're no enemy of mine," I answered. I flicked the side of one claw where he had it lodged in the table. "Rulers have dealt with far worse than a spouse who's hard on the furniture for the sake of dynastic stability. I'd rather do this without bloodshed, so as long as I'll spill less by having you alive than dead, you can trust I'm no danger to you." Talazen made a thoughtful sound, then wrenched his claws out of the table. "You're very mercenary, aren't you?"

Temperature

The Changeling and the Dragon, Echoes of the Void Book 2

I squeezed my eyes closed and shuddered, clenching my hands into fists. But the spells wouldn't go away by pretending that they weren't there. Breathing slowly through my nose, I tried to change the sensitivity of my clarity, narrowing the range between a hedgewitch's spell and a sorcerer's. I was used to wanting to discern between the weakest kinds of magic-users, those not strong enough to be considered mages, but that sensitivity was useless in this situation. When I tentatively squinted out into the room again, though, I'd managed to shift the scale of my clarity so that at least the monstrous spells on the curving wall of the room didn't blind me. I wouldn't be able to tell the strength of spells so easily now, but at least I could see. I scanned the room for danger, breathing hard. Nobody else sat in the room, and I didn't see any baneful magic, but there were spells everywhere. Spells for cleaning, for temperature control, for preventing wear, for keeping out pests, for keeping hinges smooth and for protecting the reddish sandstone walls. I shuddered again. This had to be a… a palace. Something owned by someone of awesome wealth, who could command the service of the strongest mages in the world. Someone for whom this room was nothing, just a place where one could tuck a strange, injured woman for the night.

And that's all! Thanks for reading, and see you in the New Year!

[albionreign]

a character directory, i guess? these are characters central to the plot and will be brought up as npcs. some of them i will write in the background, but they're not up for individual interactions.

ben finn . a former ally of the revolution, and a former captain of the military (old guard), after the second war with the crawler, he left on a self-discovery adventure.

page . leader of the bowerstone resistance and former ally of the revolution. after the second war with the crawler, page went back to the sewers to continue the fight against reaver.

elliot . former fiancé, and was sentence to death by logan.

logan . brother and former king, after the second life, he was sent to aurora to do community service work.

major swift . publicly executed by logan, a former major in the military and ally.

hobson . a current aide to winnie, is about to be fired because that man is getting on her last nerves.

sir walter beck . ally, teacher, and father figure. died during the second war.

jasper . butler and second father figure. lives in the sanctuary.

sabine . leaders of the dwellers and ally of the reolution. winnie made a promise to reforest their lands and bring supplies to his people, winnie kept this promise and also brings him in when discussing kingdom affairs to get his input.

kalin . leader of the aurorans and ally of the revolution. kalin wanted aurora to be a part of the albion kingdom and to have aide and resources to help with the crawler, as it originally haunted auroran lands. winnie kept her promises, and invites kalin over when discussing kingdom affairs.

saker . a leader of a mercenary camp, winnie had spared his life in turn of leaving the dweller camp alone, he has so far kept his promise and he and his men haven't really caused any trouble since then. he had fought in the revolution helping winnie get into power, a 'so we're both even' kind of thing.

[kumarseo]

David Saker, former England bowling coach, returns to Test set-up for 2023 Ashes

David Saker, England’s bowling coach during their ascent to the No. 1 Test ranking a decade ago, has agreed to return to the role for this summer’s Ashes, after being sounded out by the Test captain, Ben Stokes. Saker, 56, is currently in Bangladesh working with England’s white-ball squad, but has agreed to link up with the red-ball team during the English summer, and reprise a role he last…

[digitalminhajalam]

The Ashes: England re-appoint David Saker as fast bowling coach ahead of Australia series | Cricket News

David Saker has been re-appointed England’s fast bowling coach ahead of the side’s bid to regain The Ashes from his native Australia this summer. Saker was in the role in 2010/11 when England won the Ashes away from home – but then in the other dressing room in 2017/18 as Australia cruised to a 4-0 victory down under. Saker was approached by England Test captain Ben Stokes late last year while…

[heroine-of-albion]

I’m going to make a niche question! 😄 for Saker, please!

Ooooh, I love Saker!

As for what makes him smile…I think honestly he likes a good fight. Not necessarily to the death or anything, but like sparring or play fighting or training, stuff like that.

Saker respects strength, and he’s a physical person, so yeah, I think a good fight would make him smile.

[cake-warlock]

I know I’ve said this before but I can’t find it on my blog anywhere so—

During the revolution, Saker being uneasy with Princess Lisbeth going to Aurora so she gives him her favorite hair ribbon to wear in his coat and she take his bandana to wear in her hair. “There! See, now I have to come back so I can get my ribbon back!”

[nightingaletrash]

I'm gonna make a post for my Saker headcanons :p

Left the military because he didn't like being bossed around or being expected to die for unspecified reasons because some man in a castle told him to, but also didn't like being expected to believe he was above his men.

Like this man cares for his crew, he's on Major Swift levels when it comes to giving a shit. They'll follow him to hell and back, that's how much loyalty he inspires.

He was relieved when he learned that Jimmy hadn't been killed, just gotten drunk in the pub. He was then pissed as hell at Jimmy for getting drunk in the pub.

After being spared by Lorna, Saker and his crew started helping out the Dwellers by screwing with Logan's operations in the valley and giving the dwellers a cut of stolen supplies. Its led to a surprisingly fruitful relationship between the two groups.

He and Sabine still butt heads though because they're both stubborn old fucks.

Once the Bowerstone Resistance joins up with the Revolution, Saker comes to admire Page and reckons she'd make a great bandit leader. She cuffed him around the ear for the suggestion.

He's lent her some of his people for sabotage missions and stealing supplies - he trusts her more than anyone to utilise them without getting them killed.

He and Ben butt heads at first because of the whole 'abandoning the military to become a bandit' thing. They settle on their differences when Saker points out that Ben abandoned the military to become a rebel, and that when it came down to it, they’d both left because the military failed them. They're friends now.

He drinks and smokes everywhere, even when he really shouldn't. Keeps offering people cigars if they seem stressed. No one knows where the hell he keeps getting them from or how he hasn't run out yet.

His hands and arms are covered in burn scars thanks to his whole ‘setting things on fire’ and ‘throwing fire around’ and ‘setting his own hands on fire’ like seriously this man is a walking fire hazard - it’s why he wears bandages instead of gloves. Much less expensive to replace when they inevitably burst into flames.

Is it Will or does he just douse his fists in booze and light them up with his cigar during a fight? Who knows. Fire Hazard Man!

He's actually pretty bad at cards and he always ends up betting his clothes and doing a walk of shame back to his quarters because he's too stubborn to just give up.

Ben does give him his clothes back afterwards, but has come to realise that a walk of shame will not get Saker to stop betting his pants after running out of money.

Appoints himself to be the Royal Bodyguard without anyone's permission. He loves intimidating the nobility by being menacing.

He did manage to inspire a whole literary genre of 'ex-soldier turned bandit but secretly has a heart of gold and is super romanticised' because the nobles found him scary but also sexy.

His crew tried to make fun of him for it, but he just turned around and started demanding royalties for every novel inspired by him. It’s proving quite profitable.

Arm-wrestling contests with Boulder! Arm-wrestling contests with Walter! Arm-wrestling contests with Kalin! What can I say, Saker likes to bond over arm-wrestling contests.

He comes to respect Kalin a great deal too. It takes a hell of a leader to face an enemy like the Darkness and not crumple under the pressure.

Me, deciding that Saker chugs his respecting women juice? It’s more likely than you think.

His favourite fact about the old Queen was that she shot at Reaver from the battlements when he showed up to try and mooch off of the Crown.

He taunts Logan a lot. It’s usually tolerated or straight up ignored, but there was one incident where Saker made the mistake of saying how disappointed the old Queen had to be with him, and it led to a fight that resulted in Saker losing a couple of teeth and earning a black eye. Out of respect, he’s kept his taunting strictly to the likes of ‘haha you’re not the King anymore’ and ‘haha you’re shorter than me’ ever since.

His blind eye? Probably happened when he was messing with fire. Maybe the result of glass shards from a molotov cocktail. He is the Fire Hazard Man after all.

[heroine-of-albion]

I agree with this far too much...and I do not like it.

Gowncokwc my dream is to marry Ben Finn or *cough* Reaver ~gendercraft

NO I AGREE!!! LISTEN!

REAVER IS -wheeeeeeze- SEXY PORCELAIN MAN!

BEN FINN IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM 10/10 HUSBAND MATERIAL!

BUT I WOULD BE /OBLIGATED/ TO MARRY SAKER BECAUSE!!!

JUST LOOK AT HIM! JUST UHNF!!!!

Big Giant man

can crush me like grape 

would 100000% be a soft kisser

tough man, big soft love bug! 

NOW IF YOU WILL EXCUSE ME I WILL GO CRY ABOUT HIM!

[fablesexymanshowdown]

ROUND ONE!

[lordriddler]

Saker Moodboard

[lilicohirukoma]

TWILIGHT FOREST INSTITUTE

(fanmade sister school to Night Raven College from Twisted Wonderland)

The Twilight Forest Institute is a prestigious, all-girls school for students with the potential for becoming powerful witches. The application process is simple, every application has pixie dust sprinkled over it. If the paper stays the same the student has been rejected, if the paper changes color corresponding with one of the dorms the student has been both selected and sorted.

THE DORMS

Neninglam. Dorm colors Light Blue and Lilac. Based on The Pseudo King (Prince John), this dorm stands for choosing for what you want and keeping your best interests in mind even it if were to hurt others. Students in the dorm tend to value their independence and their intuition above all else. Members have a tendency to favoring gold jewelry over any other metals.

Caouldain. Dorm colors Green and Red. Based on The Ruler of the Ressurected (The Horned King), this dorm is all about creativity and craftmanship and students in this dorm tend to excel and things like art and sciene. Members commonly don’t have a sense of humor and take everything seriously.

Hayubashan. Dorm colors Brown and Grey. Based on The Snowfall Conqueror (Shan Yu), this dorm works together as a team and places importance on strength and loyalty. Also known for being fierce protectors of gender equality. Most members prefer being around their pets (and animals in general) over humans.

Troldronning. Dorm colors Dark Blue and Purple. Based on The Thirteenth Prince (Prince Hans), the students in the dorm tend to be isolated amongst their own considering they will do anything to get ahead of others, loyalty is not something known to them and they will gladly change sides to ensure their own prosperity. Members of this dorm commonly enjoy lemons and lemon flavored things

Seonittor. Dorm colors Orange and Black. Based on The Maharaja of the Jungle (Shere Khan), the students tend to have a scary reputation but carry themselves with grace and confidence. They are very cautious and prefer to keep things the way they are. Members typically are scared of fire.

Jolieroger. Dorm colors Pink and Red. Based on The Captain (Captain Hook), these students can only be described as lawful evil. They will listen to the rules but exploit every word in it to fit in with what they actually want to do. This dorm has a higher than usual amount of members who are left-handed.

Chronospire. Dorm colors Black and Purple. Based on The Boss (Ratigan), if you get sorted into this dorm you have an organized mind and are extremely intelligent. You are charming, egostistical and scheming. Members are noted for their dark sense of humor.

New Lands introduced along with the new school...

The Anglians, a military kingdom that’s constantly on the move. Their official queen Rhiannon Goldendefense is currently occupied on war with The Anglian Republic. The current acting head of the country is her younger sister Princess Josephine, who’s currently attending The Twilight Forest Institute.

Kadeir Teyrnon, an ancient country that is isolated from most civilization. The country houses a rare species of people who are descended from the Ruler of the Ressurected’s army, they are skeletal and often ill but as long as the Black Cauldron is active they will live forever.

Saker Tundra, a cold country with a small population. The people are strong and know how to fight, they live in small collected tribes and act as a community. All people have a pet and are closely connected with them.

Port Peninsula, a country with a polar climate. Mythology states that after the 13th prince betrayed the Snow Queen she froze over his kingdom and disappeared. A rare disease known as ‘Frozen Heart Syndrome’ has only had cases reported here.

The Wildfire Jungle, a wild tropical kingdom under rule of the strongest of all. A ruler has had to defeat the former ruler and they will reign as long as they can defeat and challengers. The current Maharani is Shakti Agni, she’s enrolled in The Twilight Forest Institute and her mother is ruling in her absence.

Nowayland, a country thought by most to be fictional when they are children (excluding the inhabitants.) They have one of the biggest mermaid communes and pirate fleets in the world. The country has a rainbow that is always present and visible, no official explanation for this has been given.

Barremount, a small country that mainly consists of a huge 30ft mountain which has multiple inhabitants on the inside, there is also a small village closeby for those with a fear of heights. It’s mainly surrounded in darkness, only around 5 hours of sunlight a day. They have magical bells that toll when the sunlight arrives.

Joyride Haven, an island that’s mainly seen as a tourist attraction. With the relaxed laws and little government interference it’s a hotspot for criminal activity. It’s a popular vacation spot for many but visitors are told to keep a very sharp eye out on basically everything.

That’s all folks! I will get to the dorms and their respective members asap but please feel free to let me know what you think so far :)

And no you are not crazy, I have posted this before but since I changed my url Tumblr is being difficult with letting me edit my own damn post so I’m reposting it.

[heroofshield]

Scars, Sparrow, Mentor, Family, Silver

Scars - did they gain any scars when building up the Revolution against Logan? Maybe when preparing from the Crawler? How, and where?

Carolina didn’t get any scars while fighting in Albion, she got really good at learning how to evade during fights and it helped that her Will would heal most wounds almost right away. There were a few close calls while fighting Saker and his men, a number of scrapes and knife wounds plus an explosion that almost knocked her out, but she managed to avoid any serious injury.

But when in Shadelight, she ended up losing a fight to the Darkness and ended up with a scar that runs from the base of her jaw to her left ear. It’s somewhat noticeable and at first she’s a bit self-conscious about it but over time wears it with pride.

Sparrow - what was their relationship like with their parent? How old were they when Sparrow died? Do they remember much about them? What’s their opinion of them, and has that opinion changed since starting their journey? If they could talk to Sparrow one more time after being coronated, what would they say to or ask them?

Sparrow died when Carolina was 7 and Logan was 14. Since Sparrow was busy ruling and focused on Logan’s education as Crown Prince, she didn’t have a lot of time to spare for Carolina. But she made sure to block out enough time in the evenings for dinner and to tuck Carolina into bed. A big staple of bedtime were Sparrow’s Adventures (heavily edited for a little kid ofc) and that’s the think that Carolina remembers the most about her mother.

As she got older, she thought the tales of magic and her mother taking down the Tower single-handedly were made up stories or heavily embellished for the nighttime stories. So imagine her surprise when she realized that magic was real and so were the stories about her mother.

After everything, especially during the hard choices leading up to the Crawler attacking, she realized that her mother had so much responsibility placed on her shoulders and wondered more than once how she managed to do it almost all by herself. If she could talk to Sparrow one more time, she’d ask if her choices were worth it; would she still bring everyone back who worked on the Tower instead of Rose? would she still marry her first family, knowing that they’d still be killed?

Mentor - what’s their relationship with Walter like? Is he a friend, a father figure? Does he approve of the choices they make? Did they abandon him after Shadelight, or did they try to carry him with them? How did his death affect them?

Walter is Carolina’s bio-father, but he never confirmed it. She suspected because they have the same nose and eyes, and her adeptness while fighting reminded Walter of when he was younger. But she never asked him and he never told her. So to everyone (minus Jasper because that man knows everything) Walter is just a father figure to Carolina and Logan.

During Shadelight, Carolina will not abandon Walter no matter what. She was so afraid when the Darkness first captures him that she’s lost him for good that she lost a fight and was wounded. When they’re in the desert and he keeps insisting to leave him behind, she tells him an a no-nonsense manner that she’d rather die than abandon him again. And they almost do die because Carolina was immensely weakened during her fight with the Darkness and he couldn’t see. Plus they were in a desert with no supplies.

So his death after everything almost destroys her.

Family - did they marry anyone in their adventures? Did they have any children? Do they have any siblings beside Logan? Anyone else they consider to be family?

Carolina only had eyes for Eliot so it took awhile for her to move past him. But when she did, she found herself falling for a smart-ass Captain in the Royal Army. But her and Ben Finn were friends first and she didn’t want to ruin that, other than Page he was the only one who she considered a close friend (plus there’s the whole thing about Ben not being a member of the Nobility that stands in their way).

She knows that in order for her policies to continue, as well as the Hero line, she needs to have a family. So she looks for someone that she could maybe eventually love and it takes awhile, but she manages to find someone and they marry- eventually having three children.

Logan is her only other sibling, and even though she spared him because she needed his men, she doesn’t consider him family. That rift is just too big to ever heal.

Silver - did they help the civilians of Silverpines fight off the Balverines or did they help Connor get revenge for his exile?

Carolina helped the residents of Silverpines against the Balverines and almost single-handedly took them out. Ben was with her for the fight and that was the first time he got a glimpse of her wings. It stunned him and he nearly got side-tackled as a result, lol.

[aces-to-apples]

Replaying Fable III and damn I forgot how much I desperately wish we could bang Captain Saker

[heroine-of-albion]

The Hero of Brightwall approaches the one person she can trust to tell her the truth, the man she put on his knees less than two days ago...Captain Saker.

You can find this, and all my other drabbles (and I’ve everything else I write), on my Ao3 account, where I’ve put them all in the same work: Heroine’s Tumblr Drabbles.

“Well, I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to see you again.” a rough voice broke through the darkness, followed by the sound of a match striking and a flash of orange light, and then a dull red glow: “Especially not with those bruises I gave you still showing.”

Ailynn shrugged: “They’re calling me the Hero of Brightwall now. It’s hardly far from here, so surely it makes sense for me to be around.”

“Sure it does. Around there. Not around here.” 

Ailynn had to give Saker that. On paper, the warm welcome of Brightwall and its inhabitants should have been far more preferable than the mercenary camp she’d stormed through only yesterday…

…but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

Brightwall suddenly seemed claustrophobic. There were too many eyes on her there, too many people with expectations. The Drifter Camp was the same; everyone seemed to be waiting for her to do something.

Less than a week ago, Ailynn had been a sheltered princess living in a castle. She’d hardly been beyond Bowerstone’s city walls! No-one had truly cared about her or expected anything from her; she had been the second child of the Great Hero Queen - people had expectations of her mother, of her brother, but never Ailynn.

Now all of that had changed.

The only people who had no expectations of her were the mercenaries she’d beaten half-way into the ground. They didn’t give a damn about her being a Hero, or a Princess, or her attempting to start a rebellion; all they cared about was about the fact she could beat them in a fight, and so they were happy enough to ignore her completely and let her come and go as she pleased.

At least, that was what she had thought. Apparently someone had thought to inform Saker of her appearance, and it seemed Saker cared enough to come and challenge her presence.

Enough to not accept her silence as an answer.

“So, Princess, why are you here?”

Ailynn sighed, opting to tell Saker the truth and just get it over with: “No-one here wants to ask me for anything.”

To his credit, Saker accepted her response without questioning it: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that.”

“God only knows how I’ll feel if I’m ever actually queen…” Ailynn snorted.

“So don’t be.” Saker shrugged: “Give up the revolution, don’t go after your brother’s crown, and don’t be queen.”

Ailynn paused.

She hadn’t been expecting Saker to say anything along those lines; he seemed like the sort of man to chase power at all costs, stress and all other emotions be damned…but then again, maybe that had been presumptive on her part. After all, Saker had abandoned his position as a captain in Albion’s army, and he must have had his reasons for that, even if Ailynn wasn’t privy to them.

Power and influence clearly wasn’t everything. He could’ve lost everything after deserting the army, even his life…but he’d done it anyway.

And he was here to tell the tale.

“Do you think that’s what I should do?” she asked him.

Saker grunted: “How the hell should I know what you should do? You’re a Hero, by all accounts.”

“Well, it’s not as if I have any other Heroes to ask.” Ailynn reasoned: “And you’re the person who’s least likely to spare my feelings.”

“I suppose there is that.” Saker sighed.

He didn’t sound pleased by the admission…but he didn’t tell her to leave, either, or deny her an answer. Instead, he seemed to be gathering his thoughts, so instead of pushing for a response, Ailynn waited patiently.

It wasn’t easy; Ailynn wasn’t naturally patient - it was something Walter had been trying to train out of her for years now - but no matter how much it was in her nature to push for a response, Saker’s insight was too valuable to rush him.

What she had said to him was true: he was the only person she could think of who would give her the unvarnished truth. In a whole new world where everyone seemed to want or need her, she wasn’t sure she’d get the truth from anywhere else, not from a source she could trust.

“I think you should do whatever you can live with. Sometimes it’s not about what we want, or even what we need.” Saker finally said: “It’s about what lets us sleep at night. Could you live with yourself if you took the crown? Could you live with yourself if you didn’t?”

Ailynn paused: “...I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to, at least not yet.” Saker shrugged: “You’re not going to be storming the castle gates tomorrow. You have time to think about things…but you will need to know at some point, and that point is probably not too far away.”

It really wasn’t what Ailynn wanted to hear.

She wanted to hear she had time. That she didn’t have to make a difficult decision. That things would just work themselves out.

But she hadn’t come to Saker to hear what she wanted.

“Thank you.” she replied softly, accepting his advice with a nod: “I appreciate you telling me what I needed to hear.”

“Yeah, well, if it’s shit advice, I didn’t offer it freely, so you can’t blame me.” the man shrugged.

Ailynn shook her head: “Your advice will be good. I know it.”

Saker looked uncomfortable…but it didn’t stop him from offering: “If you every need anything else, your highness…”

“Yes?”

“You’ll probably need to get me very drunk first.”

Ailynn grinned.

She could live with that.