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sinceileftyoublog · 3 years ago

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Riot Fest 2021: 9/16-9/19, Douglass Park

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Much like Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this month, this past weekend’s Riot Fest felt relatively normal. Arriving at Douglas Park every day, you were greeted by the usual deluge of attendees in Misfits t-shirts and dyed hair, the sound of faint screams and breakneck guitars and drums emanating from nearby stages. The abnormal aspects of the fest, at least as compared to previous incarnations, we’re already used to by now from 2021 shows: To get in, you had to show proof of vaccination and/or a negative test no older than 48 hours, which means that unvaxxed 4-day attendees had to get multiple tests. Props to the always awesome staff at Riot Fest for actually checking the cards against the names on government-issued IDs.

For a festival that dealt with a plethora of last-minute changes due to bands dropping out because of COVID-19 caution (Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) or other reasons (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle because of concerns around Mike Patton’s well-being), there were very few bumps in the road. Whether Riot Fest had bands like Slipknot, Anthrax, or Rise Against in their back pocket as replacements or not, it very much felt like who we saw Thursday-Sunday was always supposed to be the lineup, even when laying your eyes on countless “Death to the Pixies” shirts. Sure, one of the fest’s main gimmicks--peeling back the label on Goose Island’s Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale to reveal the schedule--was out of date with inaccurate set times and bands, and it still would have been so had Faith No More and Mr. Bungle stayed, since Fucked Up had to drop out last minute due to border issues. But the festival, as always, rolled with the punches.

The sets themselves offered the circle pit and crowdsurfing-inducing punk and metal you’re used to, with a few genre outliers. For so many bands of all styles, Riot Fest represented their first live show in years, and a few acts knew the exact number of days since their last show. For every single set, the catharsis in the crowd and on stage was palpable, not exactly anger, or elation, but pure release.

Here were our favorite sets of the festival, in chronological order.

WDRL

Last October, WDRL (which, amazingly, stands for We Don’t Ride Llamas) announced themselves with a Tweet: “y’all been looking for an alt black band,, well here you go”. A band of Gen Z siblings, Chase (lead guitar), Max (lead vocals), Blake (drums), and Kit Mitchell (bass guitar), WDRL is aware, much like Meet Me @ The Altar (who, despite my hyping, I couldn’t make it in time to see) that they’re one of too few bands of POCs in the Riot Fest-adjacent scene. Their set, one of the very first of the weekend during Thursday’s pre-party, showed them leading by example, the type of band to inspire potentially discouraged Black and brown folks to start punk bands. Max is a terrific vocalist, able to scream over post-punk, scat over funk, and coo over slow, soulful R&B swayers with the same ease. The rest of the band was equally versatile, able to pivot on a dime from scuzzy rock to hip hop to twinkling dream pop. Bonus points for covering Splendora’s “You’re Standing On My Neck”, aka the Daria theme song.

Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor’s self-titled debut is classic. The best part of it as an album play-through at a festival? It’s so short that you can hear it and you’ll still have half a set for other favorites. So while the bouncy “Orange Julius”", “Ashtray Petting Zoo”, and ultimate singalong “Constant Headache” were set highlights, the Torrance, CA band was able to burn through lots from Never Hungover Again, Cody, Million Dollars to Kill Me, and their rarities collection Songs From Northern Torrance. Apart from not playing anything from Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (seriously, am I the only one who loves that record?), Joyce Manor were stellar, from the undeniable hooks of “Heart Tattoo” to the churning power chords of “Catalina Fight Song”. After playing “Christmas Card”, Johnson and company gave one final nod to the original fest cancellation, My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline 2020, then 2021, and now 2022. If you ever wondered what it would sound like hearing a concise punk band like Joyce Manor take on the bombast of “Helena”, you found out. Hey, it was actually pretty good!

Patti Smith

Behold: a full Patti Smith set! After being shafted by the weather last time around, a sunglasses-laden Smith decided not to fuck around, leading with the inspiring “People Have The Power”, her voice as powerful as I’ve ever heard it. Maybe it was the influence of Riot Fest, but she dropped as many f-bombs as Corey Taylor did during Slipknot’s Sunday night headlining set. After reluctantly signing an adoring crowd member’s copy of Horses, she quipped, “I feel bad for you have to cart that fucking thing around.” It wasn’t just the filthy banter: This was Smith at her most enraptured and incendiary, belting during “Because The Night” and spitting during a “Land/Gloria” medley, reciting stream-of-consciousness hallucinogenic lyrics about the power of escape in the greatest display of stamina the festival had to offer.

Circa Survive

“It feels good to dance,” declared Circa Survive lead singer Anthony Green. The heart and soul of the Philadelphia rock band, who cover ground from prog rock to post-hardcore and emo, Green was in full form during the band’s early Friday set, his falsetto carrying the rolling “The Difference Between Medicine and Poising Is in the Dose” and the chugging “Rites of Investiture”. While the band, too, can throw down, they’re equally interesting when softer and more melodic, Brendan Ekstrom‘s twinkling guitars lifting “Child of the Desert” and “Suitcase”. Ending with the one-two punch of debut Juturna’s introspective “Act Appalled” and Blue Sky Noise’s skyward “Get Out”, Green announced the band would have a new record coming soon, one you hope will cover the sonic and thematic ground of even just those two tracks.

Thrice

Thrice played their first show since February 2020 the same day they’d release their 11th studio album, Horizons/East (Epitaph). To a crowd of fans that came to hear their favorite songs, though, the Irvine, California band knew better than to play a lot of the new record, instead favoring tracks like The Artist in the Ambulance’s spritely title cut and Vheissu standout “The Earth Will Shake”. Yeah, they led with a Horizons/East song making its live debut, the dreamy, almost Deftones-esque “Scavengers”, and later in the set they’d reveal the impassioned “Summer Set Fire to the Rain”. But the set more prominently served to emphasize lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s gruff delivery, on “All the World Is Mad” and “in Exile”, the rhythm section’s propulsive playing buoying his fervency. And how about Teppei Teranishi’s finger tapping on “Black Honey”?!? Thrice often favor the slow build-up, but they offered plenty of individually awesome moments.

Smashing Pumpkins

William Patrick Corgan entered the stage to dramatic strings, dressed in a robe, with white face paint except for red hearts under his eyes. He looked like a ghost. That’s pretty much where the semi-serious theatricality ended. The Smashing Pumpkins’ first Chicago festival headlining set in recent memory was the rawest they’ve sounded in a while, counting when they played an original lineup-only set at the United Center a few years back. It was also the most fun I’ve ever seen Corgan have on stage. Though they certainly selected and debuted from their latest electropop turn Cyr, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and company more notably dug deep into the vault, playing Gish’s “Crush” for the first time since 2008, Adore’s “Shame” for the first time since 2010, and Siamese Dream barnburner “Quiet” for the first time since 1994 (!). Best, every leftfield disco jam like set opener “The Colour Of Love”, “Cyr”, and “Ramona” was quickly followed by something heavy and/or recognizable, Chamberlin’s limber drum solos elevating even latter-day material like “Solara”. At one point, Corgan, a self-described “arty fuck,” admitted that years ago he would have opted for more experimental material, but he knew the crowd wanted to hear classics, the band then delving into a gorgeous acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”. And while Kate Bush coverer Meg Myers came out to sing Lost Highway soundtrack industrial ditty “Eye”, it was none other than legendary local shredder Michael Angelo Batio who stole the show, joining for the set closer, a pummeling version of Zeitgeist highlight “United States”. Leaning into the cheese looks good on you, Billy.

The Bronx

Credit to L.A. punk rock band The Bronx, playing early on a decidedly cooler Saturday early afternoon, for making me put in my earplugs outside of the photo pit. Dedicating “Shitty Future” to Fucked Up (who, as we mentioned, had to drop out), the entire band channeled Damian Abraham’s energy on piercing versions of “Heart Attack American” as well as “Superbloom” and “Curb Feelers” from their latest album Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl). Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne’s guitars stood out, providing choppy rhythms on “Knifeman” and swirling solos on “Six Days A Week”.

Big Freedia

The New Orleans bounce artist has Big Diva Energy, for the most part. After her DJ pumped up the crowd to contemporary Southern rap staple “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, Big Freedia walked out and showed that “BDE”, firing through singles like “Platinum” and “N.O. Bounce” as her on-stage dancers’ moves ranged from delicate to earth-shaking. At this point, Freedia can pretty much do whatever she wants, effortlessly segueing between a cover of Drake’s “Nice For What” to “Strut”, her single with electropop DJ Elohim, to a cover of Beyone’s “Formation”. Of course, the set highlight was when she had volunteers from the crowd come up and shake and twerk--two at a time to keep it COVID-safe--all while egging them on to go harder. Towards the end of the set, after performing the milquetoast “Goin’ Looney” from the even-worse-than-expected Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, she pulled out the beloved “Gin in my System”. “I got that gin in my system,” she sang, the crowd singing back, “Somebody gonna be my victim,” a refrain that compositionally not only leaves plenty of room for the thundering bass but is thematically a statement of total power--over sexism, racism, the patriarchy--even in the face of control-altering substances.

Les Savy Fav

During Les Savy Fav’s set, lead singer Tim Harrington at various points--*big breath*--went into the crowd, deepthroated an audience member’s mohawk spike, found a discarded manikin head with a wig on it, revealed the words “deep” and “dish” painted on his thighs and a drawing of a Red Hot on his back, rode a crowd member like a horse, made a headband out of pink tape, donned ski goggles, surfed on top of a door carried by the crowd, squeezed his belly while the camera was on it to make it look like his belly button was singing, and referred to himself as a “slippery eel.” Indeed, the legend of Les Savy Fav’s live show starts and ends with Harrington’s ridiculous antics, as he’s all but out of breath when actually singing dance-punk classics like “Hold On To Your Genre”, “The Sweat Descends”, and “Rome (Written Upside Down)”. We haven’t heard much in terms of new music from Les Savy Fav in over 10 years--their most recent album was 2010′s Root For Ruin--but I could see them and the extremely Aughts genre in general become staples of Riot Fest as albums like Inches, The Rapture’s Echoes, and !!!’s Louden Up Now reach the 20-year mark. Dynamic vocalists, tight bands, and killer grooves: What’s not to love?

State Champs

This set likely wins the award for “most immediate crowd surfers,” which I guess is to be expected when you begin your set with a classic track 1--album 1 combination. “Elevated” is the State Champs number that will cause passers-by to stop and watch a couple songs, the type of song that can pretty much only open or close a set. And because they opened with it, the crowd immediately ramped up the energy. It’s been three years since the last State Champs full-length, Living Proof, so they were in prime position to play some new songs. As such, they performed their bubblegummy “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” and faithfully covered Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” (releasing a studio version earlier this week). But the tracks from The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were, as usual, the highlights, like “All You Are Is History”, “Remedy”, “Slow Burn”, and set closer “Secrets”. At the end of the day, it didn’t entirely matter: The crowd knew every word of every song.

Bayside

Putting State Champs and Bayside back-to-back on the same stage made an easy decision for the many pop-punk bands at Riot Fest. Bayside’s been at it for twice as long, so the breadth of their setlist across their discography is more variable. Moreover, they’ve thrice revisited their discography with acoustic albums of old songs, so even their staples are subject to change. They provided solid versions of Killing Time standouts “Already Gone” and “Sick, Sick, Sick”, Cult’s “Pigsty”, and older songs like their self-titled’s “Montauk” and Sirens and Condolences’ “Masterpiece”. For “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, though, they brought out--*gasp*--an acoustic guitar! It was a rare moment not just for one of the most popular pop punk sets but the festival in general, a breather before Vacancy shout-along “Mary”.

Rancid

“Rancid has always been anti-fascist and anti-racist,” said Tim Armstrong before the band played “Hooligans”. It was nice to hear an explicit declaration of solidarity from the street punks, reminding the crowd what really matters and why we come together to scream and mosh. The band expectedly favored ...And Out Come The Wolves, playing almost half of it, and they perfectly balanced their harder edges with more celebratory ska songs like “Where I’m Going” from their most recent album Trouble Maker (Hellcat/Epitaph). My two favorite moments? The breezy, keyboard-laden “Fall Back Down” from their supremely underrated 2001 album Indestructable, and when they asked the crowd whether they wanted the set to end with “Time Bomb” or “Ruby Soho”. “We have 4 minutes left, and it’s disrespectful to play over your set time,” said Armstrong. It’s easy to see why Rancid continues to make an impression--instrumental and moral--on touring bands new and old.

Run the Jewels

The brilliant hip hop duo are masters of balancing social consciousness with the desire to fuck shit up for fun. Live, the former tends to come in between-song banter, the latter with their actual charismatic, tit-for-tat performances of the songs. However, Run the Jewels also are probably the clearest live performers in hip hop today, Killer Mike and El-P’s words, hypersexual and woke alike, ringing in the ears of audience members who don’t even know the songs. (Looking around, I could see people smiling and laughing at every dick joke, nodding at each righteous proclamation.) Some of the best songs on their most recent album RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG) are perfect for these multitudes. Hearing both RTJ MCs and the backing track of Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha chanting “Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar” on “JU$T” as the rowdy crowd bounced up and down was the ultimate festival moment. For those who had never seen RTJ, it was clear from the get-go, as Killer Mike and EL-P traded bars on “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” that they’re a unique hip hop act. For the rest of us, it was clear that Run the Jewels keep getting better.

The Gories

It felt a little weird that legendary Detroit trio The Gories were given the first set of the final day--I’d have thought they’d have more draw than that. No matter what, they provided one of the more satisfying and stylistically varied sets of the festival, showcasing their trademark balance of garage punk and blues. Mick Collins and Dan Kroha’s guitar and vocal harmonies were the perfect jangly balance to Peggy O’Neill’s meat and potatoes drumming on “Sister Ann” and “Charm Bag”, while folks less familiar with The Gories were treated to their fantastic covers of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Smells like time for the first Gories album in 20 years!

FACS

I thought it would be ill-fitting to watch a band like FACS in the hot sun, early in the day. Their monochrome brand of post-punk seems better suited for a dimly lit club. But the hypnotic nature of Brian Case’s swirling guitar and Alianna Kalaba’s slinky bass was oddly perfect in a sweltering, faint-inducing heat. Just when you thought you might fade, squalls of feedback and Noah Leger’s odd time signatures picked you back up. Songs from their new album Present Tense (Trouble In Mind) such as “Strawberry Cough” and “XOUT” were emblematic of this push-pull. And everything from the band’s red, white, and black color palate to their lack of stage banter suggested a cool minimalism that was rare at a festival that tends to book more outwardly emotional bands.

Alex G

On one hand, Alex G’s unique combination of twangy alt country and earnest indie rock makes him an outlier at Riot Fest, or at the very least a mostly Pitchfork/occasional Riot Fest type of booking. On the other hand, like a lot of bands at the festival, he has a rabid fanbase, one that knows his back catalog hits, like “Kute”, “Kicker”, and “Bug”, as much as if not more than hyped Rocket and House of Sugar singles, like “Bobby” and “Gretel”. Backed by a band that knows when to be loose and when to tighten up--and the instrumental chops to do so--Alex G was better than he was a Pitchfork three years ago. He still sings through his teeth, making it especially hard to hear him on louder tunes such as “Brick”. But when the honesty of his vocals combines with the dreamy guitars of “Southern Sky” and circular melodies of “Near”, it’s pure bliss.

HEALTH

The formula for the LA industrial noise band has pretty much always been Jake Duzsik’s soft vocals contrasting John Famiglietti’s screeching bass and pedals and BJ Miller’s mammoth drums. Both in 2018 and Sunday at Riot Fest, the heat affected Famiglietti’s pedals, which were nonetheless obscured by tarp. Or so HEALTH claimed: You wouldn’t know the difference given how much their sound envelops your whole body during one of their live sets. Since their previous appearance at the festival, the prolific band has released two new records on Loma Vista, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear and collaboration record Disco4: Part 1. Songs from those records occupied half of their excellent set, including battering opener “GOD BOTHERER”, “BODY/PRISON”, and “THE MESSAGE”. It was so wonderfully loud it drowned out K.Flay’s sound check drummer, thank the lord.

Thursday

Last time Thursday played Riot Fest, Geoff Rickly was battling heroin addiction, something he talked about during the band’s triumphant late afternoon set on Sunday. He mentioned the kindness of the late, great Riley Gale of Power Trip in extending a helping hand when he was down and extended his love to anybody in the crowd or even the world at large going through something similar. To say that this set was life-affirming would be an understatement; after 636 days of no shows, Rickly was at his most passionate. He introduced “Signals Over The Air” as a song the band “wrote about men beating up on women in the pit,” that a record exec at the time told them that it wouldn’t age well because he thought--no kidding--sexism would eventually end. Rickly’s voice, suffering from sound issues last time around, simply soared during Full Collapse’s “Cross Out The Eyes”, No Devolucion’s “Fast to the End”, and two inspired covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Texas Is The Reason’s “If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours”. The latter the band played because TITR guitarist Norman Brannon’s actually on tour with them, though Rickly emphasized the influence the NYC post-hardcore greats had on Thursday when they first started. Never forgetting where they’ve come from, with self-deprecating humor and radical empathy, Thursday are once again a force.

Devo

Much like the B-52′s in 2019, Devo was the set this year of a 70′s/80′s absurd punk band with some radio hits that everybody knows but with a swath of die-hard fans, too. It’s safe to say both groups were satisfied. You walked around the fest all day wondering whether the folks wearing Devo hats were actual fans or doing it for the novelty. By the time the band actually took the stage after a career-spanning video of their many phases, it didn’t really matter, because it was clear the band still had it, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale’s vocals booming throughout a massive crowd. They ripped through “Peek-a-Boo”, “Going Under”, “That’s Good”, “Girl U Want”, and “Whip It”, which caused the fans waiting for Slipknot (and presumably some Devo heads) to form a circle pit. And that was all before the first costume change. Mark passed out hats to the crowd, fully embracing converts who might have only known “Whip It”. The feverish chants of “Uncontrollable Urge” and synth freakouts of “Jocko Homo” whipped everyone into a frenzy. And the band performed the “Freedom Of Choice” theme song for the first time since the early 80′s! I had seen Devo before, opening for Arcade Fire and Dan Deacon at the United Center, but the atmosphere at Riot Fest was more appropriately ludicrous.

Flaming Lips

“The Flaming Lips are the most COVID-safe band in the world,” went the ongoing joke, as throughout the pandemic they’d give audience members bubbles for their bubbles to be able to play shows. The normally goofy and interactive band scaled back for Riot Fest. Before launching into their traditional opener “Race For The Prize”, Wayne Coyne explained that while the band is normally proud of where they come from--Oklahoma City--they’re saddened by the local government’s ignorant pandemic response and wouldn’t risk launching balloons or walking into the crowd because they might be virus spreaders coming from such an under-vaccinated area. To his and the band’s credit, they wore masks during the performance, even when singing; Coyne removed his only when outside of his bubble that had to be deflated and inflated many times and that sometimes muffled his singing voice even more than a mask. Ever the innovative band, they still put on a stellar show. Coyne autotuned his voice on “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″, making it another instrument filling the song’s glorious pop melodies. Less heavy on props, the band favored a glitchy, psychedelic setlist that alternated between beauty (”Flowers Of Neptune 6″, “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”, “All We Have Is Now”) and two-drummed cacophony (“Silver Trembling Hands”, “The W.A.N.D.”). They’ll give a proper Lips show soon enough, but in the meantime, it was nice to see them not run through the motions.

Slipknot

Apart from maybe moments of Slayer, I’ve never witnessed a headliner at Riot Fest as heavy as Slipknot was. Even the minor ethereal elements present on their most recent and very good album We Are Not Your Kind, like the chorus of voices during “Unsainted”, were all but abandoned live in favor of straight up brutality. Sure, there were moments of theatricality--Corey Taylor’s menacing laugh on “Disasterpiece” and pyrotechnics in sequence with the instrumentation on “Before I Forget” and “All Out Life”--but for the most part, Slipknot was the ultimate exorcism. Taylor’s new mask, with unnaturally circular eyes, seemed like it came from a particularly uncomfortable skit from I Think You Should Leave. They bashed a baseball bat to a barrel during the pre-encore performance of “Duality”. And the songs played from tape, like the gasping-for-breath “(515)”, were designed to contrast Slipknot’s alien appearance with qualities that were uncannily human. For a band whose performances and instrumental dexterity are otherworldly--who else can pull off tempo changes over a hissing, Aphex Twin-like shuffling electronic beat on “Eyeless”--the pure seething emotion on songs like “Psychosocial” and “Wait and Bleed” shone through. Like Smashing Pumpkins, and like so many other successful Riot Fest headliners, Slipknot abandoned drama for pure, unadulterated dirt.

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chaoticneutralwriter · 5 years ago

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Deleted Scene; Off-Chance Meeting

What if Jimin met....Jimin?

guardian demon!Jimin x reader

genre: fluff, romance, angst, comedy, supernatural

word count: 4.2k

Related works: See masterlist under guardian demon!Jimin

A/n: So this was like....a half developed scene that I was going to put in for Interlude: Second Best buuuuut I didn’t want to make the chapter too long because the main focus was guardian demon!Jimin’s POV from the events in the previous chapter. However! It’s been mentioned as a ‘what-if’ so I completed it as a fun deleted scene. Hope you like it and hope yall are doing okay! take care, be safe and I’ll hopefully see you soon again for another update, this time with story progression LOL

BTW! Thanks for the 1,026 follows!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺💖💖💖💖💖💖

Tag List: @cherryjiminiee @kokobaekkie @breathebangtan @itsadoozie @thatshylatinagirl @chiminieboi @azulamakesmeblank @sectumsemptae @awkwardwookie @aduky @poisonseashell @shortannoyingginger @caramelmac-chiato @sana-b @jiminstinct

Jimin’s game plan to blend in is quite simple because it really only consists of one step; grab a staff member so that he can duplicate the lanyard ID they have. Even though he promised to not use his powers to you for the most part, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t found ways to work around it. He easily locks onto a target — a male staff exiting the artist room to step out into the hallway Jimin’s in, presumably on a short break as he strides down to stop by a vending machine. The male staff has his head down, eyes glued to his phone for a while until finally, he takes a quick glance up to view the selection of snacks before ducking his head again, clearly in no rush at all.

Jimin’s lips quirk and he makes quick work at slipping closer, steps light and so undetectable that he may as well be a ghost rather than a demon. At the last minute, Jimin cloaks himself, sneaking up on the unsuspecting male just as he reaches into his back pocket to grab some change. The demon’s touch feels nothing more than a draft, fingers barely caressing the back of the colourful lanyard hanging around his neck but it’s all he needs. The male staff carries on, punching in the numbers and watches as the bag of chips falls into the slot below. Taking it, he walks away, none the wiser.

Jimin pays no mind to him anymore, focused on slipping the thin silver chain necklace out from under his shirt and with a soft blow of his breath, the silver chain morphs into the lanyard, a perfect copy. Normally, he would do without a need for something tangible to cast the illusion but this way, he wouldn’t have to use too much magic to keep it up — a weight to the illusion is more believable than simply thin air.

Satisfied, he lets the cloaking spell disperse, rolling his neck a little at the relief that he can finally walk around more freely without the worry of hiding or arousing suspicions.

“Now… where to go?” He mumbles quietly to himself, eyes darting before deciding that he should scope out the way to the area under the stage. Just as he rounds the corner though—

“Woah!”

Jimin’s fast reflexes has him jerking back in time before he collides into the other body. With a step back, his eyes immediately catch sight of the sparkly jacket and they widen almost simultaneously in realization.

Face to face with him was none other than his own mirror, Park Jimin of BTS, only he has honey blond hair and a glowing complexion.

“Ah, I’m really sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” His eyes are a little wide, stormy grey contacts shining as he apologizes.

For a moment, he’s frozen, stuck rigid in place with shock and split second panic before realizing that he has the safety of his mouth mask and drawn up hood to protect his identity of being the idol’s face stealer. Also the fact that the idol has yet to pass out from shock at seeing his own clone or give any sort of huge reaction was a good indicator.

“A-Ah….” The demon’s voice catches in his throat, and he awkwardly coughs, embarrassed as he ducks his head and mutters gruffly in Korean, “No, it’s my mistake.”

The singer smiles amicably, teeth showing and gaze so warm and so friendly that the demon almost has trouble meeting it.

“Hey now, don’t worry! It’s nothing serious.” There’s a pause, a slight tilt of his honey blond head before those artificial stormy grey irises blink, brows furrowing. The demon starts to actually sweat, eyes refusing to meet as he unconsciously begins to lean back to put space in between. But there’s no escaping the curious gaze of the twenty-four year old singer. “Ah, I— I don’t mean to sound rude or offensive but…. I don’t believe I’ve seen you before?”

Oh shit, shit, shit, shit…

He swears his plan would’ve been completely foolproof if he hadn’t ran into the very person he’s going around parading as. The chances of the demon running into said idol was 1 in 200 and yet it’s as if fate had cursed him with the unwanted luck a fan could only dream of having. But there’s no time to curse heaven and fuck all because his mind begins to race with possibilities of escaping this situation. Maybe he could get away with enthralling the idol for a quick second, trick him into thinking this is all some sort of hallucination from being overworked and then when he’s all good and spaced out, the demon can make his escape. His fingers just about twitches when the singer’s eyes widen and his mouth opens, face alight with an epiphany.

“Are you perhaps new?”

….What?

A beat unknowingly passes between them, with the demon blinking owlishly at the young man, completely gripped in disbelief and the singer staring back expectantly.

 “Am I mistaken…?”

The hesitancy creeping into that question snaps the demon from his stupor and he finally blurts out, “No, I’m new.”

Relief washes over the idol’s handsome face (he’s never gonna get over how fucking trippy this is to watch), shoulders visibly losing some tension and the singer even places a hand over his chest.

“Ah, that would’ve been really bad — I usually am able to recognize everyone on the team.” His eyes creases again from the smile forming on his face. “Why haven’t we met yet, um….?”

“Ju—“ The demon stumbles on his words, thinking at the last second that your impromptu Korean name you had given him when he met Jaehee sounded too similar to the idol’s so his mind jumps to the next one he remembers off the top of his head. “— yeon….Kang Juyeon. This is my first day.”

Jimin the idol makes a noise of understanding, presumably taking his sloppy introduction as nerves in good strides. He inclines his head graciously in an almost small bow that catches the demon off-guard. “It’s nice to officially meet you Juyeon-ssi. I look forward to working with you.”

He bows robotically in return.

“Are you on break right now?” The young singer asks innocently.

“…Yes…” The answer comes out unsure, like he’s testing the waters and seeing where this could possibly lead — hopefully with the idol leaving him be and carrying on back to the artist room, surely much too busy to entertain a seemingly nervous new recruit. To his surprise though, the demon is proven wrong.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I must be taking up your time. Have you gotten anything to drink or eat yet?”

“Well, no but—“

The idol’s mouth gapes open almost immediately, “Would you like to head over to the catering room now? We can grab something.”

The demon is baffled, to say the least; so taken aback by Jimin’s friendly disposition to someone who he only just met that even though he really shouldn’t be overstaying his welcome like this, a part of him would actually feel guilty for turning down the offer. He’s so glad he’s wearing a mask right now because then the idol wouldn’t have to see the borderline crazed smile slowly stretching over the demon’s lips, the disbelief too strong.

But looking at the original owner of the face he wore, seeing it completely reflect a drastically different personality than his own invokes something in him; a morbid curiosity taking hold and stoking the fire to a long buried question —

Who is Park Jimin?

Beyond the worldwide renown Korean idol and a pretty face with killer vocals and dancing, the demon knows very little about who this person is, this person whom you adore so much. What is it that drew you to him specifically amongst the other members. He highly doubts its looks alone (you’re definitely not the shallow type), or maybe even the amount of talent because from what he gathered, all the members were pretty much on par with each other in all departments.

So what made Jimin special?

He really shouldn’t follow this rabbit down the hole, but he’s a demon by nature and impulsivity is practically his middle name. Without another second thought, he agrees with a nod of his head, “Okay.”

Curiosity really should be a sin.

He gets a blinding smile in response, eyes disappearing and pearly teeth on display (he spies the slight crooked front tooth that somehow only seems to add to the singer’s charm rather than a flaw). They walk off towards the room that acts as a communal dining area for the staff and artists themselves, the large selection of hot foods lined up like a buffet self-serve while there are tables available for anyone who wants to sit down for their meal. There’s only a few staff members gathered there, each preoccupied with their phones or simply grabbing a quick bite to eat before rushing back to where they’re needed.

The singer walks in and of the few people that are hanging around, he inclines his head in greeting to them. The demon has no choice but to follow in order to not draw suspicions (even though he gets a few raised eyebrows from wearing a full hood and mask but is ultimately brushed off).

“There’s a lot of choices here so please help yourself. Don’t be shy.” Jimin gestures, grabbing a plate and going for one of the rolls of kimbap. Though the demon has no intention of eating anything — for obvious reasons, he still makes the effort to thoughtlessly pick out random food items to place on his plate for the sake of keeping up the facade. He gets as far as two scoops of sweet and sour pork before the young idol turns to him and his eyes dart to his modest portion.

“Is that all you’re going to eat?”

“Uh…Yes?”

That immediately draws out a noise of disapproval, handsome face pinching along to match the tone. “Ah, Juyeon-ssi; you need to eat to keep up your strength. You can’t hold back on something as important as that.” Before any words of protest can be formed, a kimbap roll is placed on the empty space of the demon’s plate.

And then another.

And then a spring roll.

And then a hefty scoop of black bean noodles and some rice.

It goes on until his plate is adequately full, the idol satisfied as they migrate over to an empty table. The demon takes a seat and he feels his lips quirk as he observes the fact that Jimin’s own plate only consisted of two kimbap rolls and a few pieces of fruit he’s currently nibbling on. The stark contrast and adamancy is already so telling of his character, sans personal dietary considerations.

“Has the job been hard so far?” The singer asks casually.

“Not particularly….”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. Have people been nice to you?”

“Uh…Yeah, I guess.”

He gets a nod of approval, and the demon vaguely likens the feeling of a mother asking their child if their first day of school went well (or if he’s being generous, an older brother). It’s strange experiencing something so familial yet coming from the idol, it all seems so natural as if they’ve known each other for years and not just in the span of less than an hour.

It’s quite the culture shock — something he admittedly doesn’t have a good grasp on and it’s that curiosity to know that has him daringly (or perhaps, no doubt to his colleagues, foolishly) diving deeper. The wooden chopsticks in his hand push around the food on his plate meaninglessly, a gesture meant to disguise the hidden agenda he has; dissecting the idol and seeing what makes him tick.

His lips instinctively quirk under his mask but he makes sure that it doesn’t translate in his gaze as his eyes focus on the idol.

“I’m sure your job is much more tiring.” He says, taking on a tentative tone, implicating for an open ended discussion.

The singer takes a pause, eyes wandering in thought before he sucks in a breath after some serious considerations, “I don’t really think my job is any harder than some of the other staff here…” He stops, as if collecting his thoughts again and then continues, “I think it’s thanks to everyone’s efforts that the members and I are able to do these show successfully and safely. If I were to really break things down…. I really only do a small part.”

“But there’s no point to a show if there’s no performers.”

There’s a hum in reply to his statement but after the idol swallows the strawberry he’s popped into his mouth, he says, “I can see how you would say that, but I think more importantly, there’s no point to a show without the fans.”

The demon doesn’t miss the gentle affection that slips through — that quiet, soft whisper that carries the words near the end, giving way to something much deeper. It’s something he’s seen before, reflected in himself, and it’s whenever his thoughts wander to you.

Fondness.

His chest gives a twinge at the memory, jaw clenching a little as if to physically repress the feelings that begin to stir.

“You don’t even know the fans….” It comes out more as a low murmur to himself, but the contempt underlying his tone seeps through all the same. It’s just…. How could the idol possibly share the same sentiment he has with you, someone who he’s actually spent time with and come to know all the little quirks to — what makes you happy, sad, laugh, the way you laugh, the little noises you make when you eat something you love, see you at your highest and lowest points, with a group of people (not even a single person) who he’s had less than ten seconds worth of interactions?

It’s far too superficial, too scripted and said too many times with no real meaning. He wants to scoff at how impractical it is.

“Maybe so, but it goes beyond that.” The familiar sound of the idol’s lilt halts the demon’s thoughts quite suddenly, still in that soft spoken way but there’s something else with it. A sureness — steady and unwavering, and just the barest hints of….passive-aggressiveness?

That gets a quirk in the eyebrow; so this kitten does have claws after all.

“There are times where I wonder why there are so many people who like us and support us the way they do.” The singer continues seriously, already getting lost in deep thought. “Probably because we work hard, but who doesn’t work hard? Others make good music and do their best too so why us? We try our best to communicate to our fans but everyone does too…..These sorts of things are something I often think about.”

A pause, as if to find the right words, “But whenever I read the fan’s letters or things they post on SNS to us, saying how much we’ve helped them with our songs when they’re going through a hard time, it makes me realize that we’re not so different. We all have flaws and maybe it’s because we’re not perfect that they like us. Starting off with nothing and then little by little, seeing more people coming to support us…. They’re the ones who put us on the stage, so I— We cherish them a lot. They give us energy and comfort us, and we do the same back, like a deep connection, an understanding.”

The young singer stops in pushing around the remaining strawberry on his plate, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips, like he’s recalling a particularly pleasant memory. “So we want to give back by making good music and showing them our best. Ah, reminds of something really cool Namjoon-hyung said.” He takes the time to tilt his head, “He said how even if it’s just one person he could help, he’ll continue to keep trying. That really touched me, so even if we might not know them personally, they’re the ones who motivate us and makes all of this worth it.”

Once he finishes, the demon is left a little more than bewildered, overwhelmed in fact that all he could do was blink. Granted, it was a lot to take in, never having expected such an arduous confession but what’s even more baffling to him is the conviction the singer had saying all of it, so earnest in his words. Now, he’s no lie detector per se, but as a demon, he does have a more innate ability to pick up on cues and inflections that would give a person away, revealing their true nature. He’s used to it after all.

And then along comes Park Jimin.

This twenty-four some odd year old idol, thrusted into the cut-throat world that is the entertainment industry, young and bright-eyed, armed with nothing but potential, a good work ethic and a dream, yet comes out on the other side, a little bruised and scathed but otherwise, un-jaded; that young and bright-eyed innocence not diminished, instead it matured into something more resilient.

He can probably count on his finger how many people he can actually say that about. Hell, the only closest people that would qualify would be saints, and even that is debatable.

It’s....irritating because he’s faced with the fact that as much as he had wanted to dislike this person, he’s proven that he can’t.

A rush of air leaves his nose and he has to contain a rueful smile. “You’re a very admirable person Park Jimin-ssi. Not that many people keep to their beliefs so strongly like that.”

He gets a bashful giggle in return, light and melodic.

“Aish, what are you saying? I’m not all that impressive….I think I still have a lot to learn.” The singer almost whines from behind the back of his hand covering the open mouth smile he has. Once he calms, it softens. “All I really want is for the fans to remember BTS for our sincerity. I just hope that I’ve been able to help convey that so far.”

The demon lets out a breathy chuckle, finally getting up from his seat. He gazes down at this young man who’s face reflects his own yet wears it in such an entirely different way — glowing with a passion and radiance that is warm, sincere, kind, compassionate and loving.

Perhaps the way it’s meant to be worn.

And it’s with a bittersweet reluctance that the demon places a hand on the singer’s shoulder, giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze. “Keep doing what you’re doing and never lose sight of yourself. As long as you remember what you’re doing this for, the sincerity of your members and you will be conveyed.”

Stormy grey eyes widen a fraction, a little confused as they blink up at him, clearly not expecting such encouragements (honestly, he didn’t expect this either yet here he is).

“Wh— Um, I—…” The idol reaches a hand up to comb through his meticulously styled hair, tousling a few loose strands as slowly, the apples of his cheeks begin to dust in a pink hue and dark eyes can’t help but watch on in amusement. As if sensing the focus shifting to his quickly reddening face however, the young man lets out a sputter and lightly smacks the demon’s forearm, refusing to meet his gaze. “Ahh Juyeon-ssi! What’s with you saying that all of a sudden to me? You sound as if you’re way older than me when we’re probably friends in age!”

Friends…

“What makes you think that?”

“W-Well… I don’t know how to explain it but…. I feel a sense of familiarity with you when we met. Like, a vibe….” The sentence pewters out into a shy mumble, the tips of his ears matching his cheeks now before comically, grey orbs whip up, suddenly concerned. “Unless you’re not….?”

The snort that leaves the demon’s mouth is quickly covered by clearing his throat but he’s sure the restrained mirth still reaches his eyes as he assures, “No, we’re friends.”

He’s met with a brilliant grin, full of teeth and a twinkle in his gaze. “Oh thank goodness. I would’ve died on the spot out of embarrassment.”

He refrains from rolling his eyes if only to dismiss the overly-dramatic relief that overcame the poor young man. But regardless, it’s his cue to go — he's starting to feel a little too perturbed being near someone so good-natured. With a final pat to his shoulder, the demon begins to depart.

“It was nice talking to you Park Jimin-ssi but you’ll have to excuse me, I have to get going now.”

“O-Oh? Is it really that time? If that’s the case— Ya! Kang Juyeon-ssi! Did you even touch your food? You—!”

“Jimin-hyung!”

“Oh?” Jimin’s attention whips to the new voice that called him from the still full plate of food left on the table. His eyes immediately meet doe-eyed ones, usually dark as coal but are currently a more lighter coffee colour, bringing out more of the brown that’s hidden in its depths thanks to the contacts. The youngest member approaches him with long strides, the sequins on his own stage outfit glitter with each step.

“This is where you were? Should’ve told me you were hungry, we could’ve gone to snack together.”

“Ah, no I was just talking with Juyeon-ssi.”

“Juyeon? Who’s that?”

“Kang Juyeon; that person who was just leaving, you must’ve seen him on your way in.”

But that only gets a head tilt from Jungkook, who swivels his head back towards the entrance, “He doesn’t sound familiar and I didn’t see anyone leaving.”

“….Huh?” Equally confused, Jimin swerves around the tall form of Jungkook to get a look however, to his surprise, he doesn’t see anyone. Glancing around lets him know that at most, there was only three other people in the room, excluding him and Jungkook but they were all immersed on the couch in the far corner, away from the entryway. Does Juyeon walk that fast? “Aye, quit messing with me. He had on a face mask, around my height? With his hoodie pulled up; probably the only one here who does too.”

Jungkook shakes his head, genuinely clueless on who Jimin could possibly be referring to. “No, I swear I haven’t seen anyone around like that.”

The furrow in Jimin’s brows deepen, mouth falling open in disbelief. The scrunched up, troubled expression the older member makes was too good to pass up on teasing so Jungkook can’t help but to lean close, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

“What? Were you speaking to a ghost this entire time hyung?”

“Aish! Don’t say that! That actually gave me chills!” Jimin scowls, smacking the youngest repeatedly on the arm and causing Jungkook to cackle and skip away from the assault.

“Anyways, Namjoon-hyung wants to go over the script again so I went to go find you.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s go then.”

Brushing down his jacket, Jimin gets up, taking both plates with him, discarding his own empty one while Jungkook gleefully takes the one Juyeon hadn’t touched. The two head out and begin to make their way back to the artist dressing room, with Jungkook talking around mouthfuls of food about what Jimin had apparently missed while he was away but all Jimin could think about was his meeting with Juyeon.

There’s no way he could’ve imagined it all in his head — he’s too young to be going senile. Plus, it felt too real for it to be some overworked hallucination (besides, he doesn’t feel that jet lagged). So there’s a perfectly, logical explanation for it. Yeah, he just…walks really fast.

“Jimin-hyung is here!” Jungkook calls out to the rest of the members. He gets a myriad of boisterous responses and greetings. The sound makes him inadvertently grin.

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming. I didn’t think you would miss me that badly; I was gone for ten minutes.”

Thoughts of his mysterious friend are pushed away for some other time but the wise words he’s been given remain at the forefront of Jimin’s mind. Perhaps the next time he runs into Juyeon, he’ll treat him to a drink or two during the celebratory dinners — get to know him better.

He’s not sure what it is about Juyeon that makes him want to befriend him so intently, like there’s something about him….

Something that’s a little melancholy….and maybe, he dare say, a little lonely.

But to the singer’s dismay, he never really did see him again.

#jimin x reader #jimin fanfic #park jimin fanfic #jimin insert reader #jimin insert fic #bts fanfic #jimin fluff #jimin imagines #park jimin fanfics #park jimin insert reader #jimin x insert reader #bts supernatural au #guardian demon!jimin #jimin scenario #park jimin scenarios #park jimin fluff #park jimin fics #jimin fic

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remys-lucky-franc · 4 years ago

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Comfort - Remy POV Fic (Queen of Thieves)

“Hey, I wanna ask for a Remy angst. Are you allowed to write angst?”

I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to write this for you, life’s just been a bit crazy between work and studying lately, and it’s so annoying because I’ve had some really nice requests that I’m excited to write for people, but I just haven’t had any time to work on them! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this @ilovewritingfics 💕

Notes: although it’s written from Remy’s POV (I’ve never written a POV before for anything!), the fic is set in Nikolai’s route, which sounds weird, but you’ll see what I mean. No specific TWs for the fic, it covers Nikolai’s trauma surrounding his family, so if you aren’t up to date and don’t want a spoiler on that, or if it’s upsetting to you, consider giving this one a miss.

Word Count 2100

I want to credit my lovely friend @stopforamoment for her suggestion on the topic for this short fic - thank you lovely.

—-

[MORE] [[MORE]]

Dinner Club. One of my favourite things we do together. Every member of The Gilded Poppy is different and everyone has their own interests, of course. But this is something we can all enjoy, and I love this family time so much: everyone laughing, sharing food, telling stories, teasing each other... It’s always such fun to be part of this, and after a successful heist, it’s even better!

After all, tonight we have a beautiful vintage fencing sword in our possession! I know, it’s part of a much larger plan, but for tonight at least, stealing it has made Niko really happy, and that makes me happy. He’s sitting at the end of the table with a glint in his eye, listening to Daisy and Leon chatter joyfully about the (I must say, very predictable) ‘twist’ at the end of some romance novel. It’s a glint that I’ve seen a lot since Daisy joined our (very attractive) crime family. I smile to myself as I watch how her cheeks colour so prettily when she notices his eyes fixed on her, like she’s the only person in the room. It’s been a long time since I’ve saw Niko’s interest pique the way it does when she’s close by, if ever, actually. The energy between them, it’s something quite unique: special. She’s a match for him in ways I’ve never seen before, and the challenge is good for him. It’s like she set off a spark in him and all of the wonderful things that make him Niko, are just ‘more’ with her around. I watch them play their game - anticipation, flirtation, power and control - I’m well-versed in ‘love’ and seduction (some would say ‘a master’) but this something else: it’s not part of a con, not something ‘to get out of your system’... I only hope Daisy doesn’t tire of it, because I’ve never seen someone get the better of Nikolai Stirling the way she can.

I lean forward skewering something delicious from the sharing platter in front of me, popping it into my mouth, laughing along to the friendly debate Zoe, Jett and Vivienne are having. Vivienne’s losing her argument and is trying to convince me to fight her corner, but I’m too preoccupied with how I could use my conman charms to ‘gently persuade’ my best friend and Daisy to forget who is winning their mindgames and push them closer together. Niko will hate me meddling, but it’s for his own good! Maybe tomorrow I can-

My plotting is abruptly ended as the waiter heading to a table behind us is jostled by a man who tries to squeeze past him in a space that’s too narrow. It’s like the world slows down... I can see what’s unfolding, but I’m powerless: I have no time, no way of stopping it. The waiter loses his footing, one arm flailing. I’m holding my breath! He recovers (barely) without falling over, but not before the glass of Amarone perched on his tray swirls and sloshes to one side, a crescendo of blood-red bursting free down the front of Nikolai’s crisp white shirt. The bold bouquet of fruit and spice hits my nose as deep red splatters bleed and seep across the fabric. Nikolai is frozen, complete horror etched across his face. Suddenly, all I can see is the scared fifteen year-old I befriended on the streets of Paris carrying a sick kitten.

The waiter has discarded his tray; he’s panicked and apologising to Nikolai, fumbling for a napkin to try to blot away the mess. Our friends have noticed, but before anyone else can react, I’m halfway across the table with the salt cellar slipped inside my pocket. I wrap one comforting arm around Niko, my other hand on the waiters arm, reassuring him (in flawless Italian, of course) that everything is under control and I’ll take it from here. Within seconds, I have Nikolai on his feet, gripping him close to me as I guide him towards the restroom: always moving forward. I keep my free arm across his chest, deliberately, to shield the stains from his sight; leaning in close, chattering to distract him. Anything I can do, anything to keep him walking until I can get him inside. He’s hyperventilating by the time we enter the plush restroom, and fortunately it’s empty.

“Niko? Breathe. Slowly. Come on.”

He’s still not responding, I gently put pressure on his shoulder, manoeuvring him onto an Art Deco-style chaise beside a large mirror. I crouch in front of him, cupping his face in my hands, offering comfort, speaking softly,

“It’s ok. I’m here. Your Remy’s got you. It’s going to be ok. You’re safe.”

It’s a mantra I repeat several times over while he trembles. Minutes feel much longer, but now his breathing is slowing and for the first time since the spillage, he makes eye contact with me. I’m so relieved! I nod and smile before I press a heartfelt kiss to his cheek. The worst has passed. He’s going to be ok.

I pause, taking just a few seconds to catch my own breath: getting him away from the table to a safe space, keeping him moving, it was all automatic, all done on instincts. But now, my mind races. I’m so glad this happened when I was at the table; would anyone else have been able to get him out the way I did? Would he have let anyone else lead him off like this? He looked so vulnerable just now, it breaks my heart to think of it...

‘Focus, Remy. Come on. You’re not done yet.’

I lean back, fingers shifting to his collar, offering him my most suggestive grin,

“Lose the shirt.”

Nikolai manages a weak laugh (I knew that would get him!) as his fingers move toward his buttons, I realise a second too late that his hands are shaking too much to undo them. He mutters a strangled apology and rakes a hand through his dark hair as I make short work of them, startled by just how hard his heart hammers inside his chest, even now, minutes after the incident. He shrugs his way out of the shirt and I take it to the counter, grabbing some paper towels to blot out the liquid before dumpling half of the stolen salt cellar onto the stain. Selecting an expensive-looking cologne from the selection provided, I head back to Niko, spritzing it around him as I go, trying to erase the lingering scent of the alcohol from his nostrils.

As I join him on the chaise, he clears his throat awkwardly, his usually crisp clear voice barely audible at all,

“Thank you.”

I bump my shoulder against his, still trying to lighten the mood,

“Pas de problème.”

He still looks like he’s met a ghost, and I can feel the seat vibrate under me from his agitated tapping foot. But at least he’s speaking to me: when things have happened before, things that have triggered horrible memories for him, sometimes it’s taken hours to get him to even look at me. The first time it happened, long before The Gilded Poppy existed, we were only street kids, sleeping rough and begging. I’ll never forget it as long as I’m alive. A group of men left a bar near where we were hoping to earn a few francs, one of them was worse for wear and fell to the ground, vomiting. It wasn’t until I turned to Niko, ready to make some sassy comment about how the drunk couldn’t hold his liquor or his wallet, that I realised something was very, very wrong. It took hours for him to come back around, and days to feel better afterwards... I didn’t have a very happy childhood, and I was forced to grow up quickly, but not in the same way as Niko. The things he suffered... I can’t help but put myself into his shoes, picturing my family around our small dinner table, my lovely old meme, my mother bringing food to the table, my father chatting to my young brother about school... How unreal it must have felt to Niko, how terrifying. I cannot begin to imagine: to watch your whole family die... And such a painful death... It’s little wonder it haunts him. I scrub my hand across my eyes trying to shake the sickening scene.

I clap my hand on Niko’s knee as I stand, heading back to check how the salt is working on his shirt: it may seem ridiculous, but a conman has to think fast, and you never know when a cleaning tip like this will be useful! Of course, the shirt is looking much better - now I just need to rinse it and dry it off. Almost done. I bustle around the washbasin, running the breast of Niko’s shirt under the piping water, rinsing away the salt, pink dye flowing down the drain, erasing tonight’s events. I hold it up to the lights, smiling as I do.

“I think the shirt will survive, Niko.”

I start the hand drier, just as I hear Niko murmur something, far too low for me to hear over the roar,

“What was that?”

I stop, making my way back across to the chaise, gesturing for Niko to repeat himself. He looks up at me with the saddest blue eyes,

“I never wanted her to see me, like, this. How can she...” His posture visibly stiffens, “She won’t respect me after this?”

I frown. Of course, he’s talking about Daisy. And something in his voice tells me that Daisy’s ‘respect’ isn’t the feeling he’s truly worried about, but while he’s shirtless in a restaurant bathroom really isn’t the best time for me to play Cupid... I try to tell Nikolai that Daisy is the last person who would think any less of him because of this, she is so lovely: surely he knows her well enough, to know that? Daisy is sensitive and kind: she would understand. But he’s still shaken and so agitated about what happened at the table, my honest words make no difference; his barricades are going up and he mutters that he doesn’t want her pity. I make a show of raising one eyebrow at him, and shaking my head before I march back to the hand drier. I love Niko dearly, but he can be so stubborn, it makes me crazy!

Ten minutes later, Niko is looking much more collected, and is back in his gleaming white shirt: I am a man of many talents, it’s true! He straightens himself up in front of the mirror as I watch on: it’s almost as though nothing ever happened. We exit the restroom and rejoin our friends. Everyone is wonderfully discrete: they pretend we never left the table. Niko doesn’t utter a single word for the rest of the evening. His expression is strained and he doesn’t touch a bite of his food - he’s going through the motions but I know he can’t wait for the evening to end. I chip in some delightful anecdotes to help keep the conversation flowing, but what happened tonight weighs heavily on me: what if this happened and I wasn’t here? What if something like this happened on a heist? What if I couldn’t get to him? What would we do? How could I keep my best friend safe? What if something went wrong and I wasn’t around anymore? Who else understands like me?

I meet Daisy’s big brown eyes over the table, concern is written across her face. She really cares for Niko, it’s so obvious. I wish he would let her in... Having someone else who loves you, an extra person in this world looking out for you, to rely on... She could be the best thing that ever happened to him. She could make him happy, I can see it all.

I make a silent promise to myself: they say that love will find a way? Well, it certainly will when Remy Chevalier helps it along.

#queen of thieves #lovestruck fic #remy chevalier

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willow-salix · 5 years ago

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Anyone want to see Selene try (and fail) to play video games with Alan?

Day 54 of Isolation on Tracy Island and I almost killed Alan today. Mostly because he was laughing so hard he kept choking, wheezing and forgetting to breathe.

What, you might ask, was so funny? Well, he tried to teach me to play a computer game with him. And let's just say… I'm not a natural.

"I'm bored," I whined, stretching out a foot and poking Alan with my toe. "Entertain me."

He looked at me. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, suggest something."

"You won't like anything that I want to do."

"I promise I will, I'll give anything a go at the moment, I'm that bored."

"Fine," he handed me a VR headset and a set of hand controllers. "Let's play."

"Oh, oh no! No, this is not for me. Boy, you know I'm a technophobe, I don't play games, I just can't get my head around them."

"You promised you'd try," he reminded me, an evil glint in his eyes and an even eviller smirk on his face.

"Crap." I sighed and slid the heavy goggles onto my face. "You had better pick something easy."

There are, as it turns out, two versions of easy, Alan easy, and me easy. He picked Alan easy, which should be considered very hard for me.

"What are we playing?" I asked.

"Cavern Quest," he replied. "You'll love it, I even set you up with a witch character to go with my Knight. You'll do great."

At least someone had faith in me. Though unfortunately that faith was about to be short lived.

"How do I walk?" I called after him as he sped off like a streak of lightning. Boy was rapid. "Come back!"

"Just use the thumb controls of the left controller to move, push forward or backwards to go forward or backwards and side to side to move left or right."

I pushed forward and was instantly face to face with the floor.

"What happened?"

"You fell over. You ran into a stump."

"Poop. How do I get up?"

"Push up! Just push the direction you want to go."

I pushed up and ended up looking at the stars. .

"Erm…help?"

"Hang on, I'm coming."

A hand grabbed mine and hauled me to my feet.

"Thank you."

"Want me to guide you to the first level?"

"Yes, yes I do."

He towed me along by the hand until we zoomed through a curved doorway into what looked like a castle hall.

A king sat upon a pretty nifty throne, so I guessed that my assumption had been correct.

"Welcome, brave warriors," he boomed. "I am grateful for your assistance. I shall give you five quests, each one more challenging than the last. Complete them all and you will win your place within the ranks of nobility and become a Knight of the Realm."

"Fancy," I commented.

"Prove your valour and recite the Cavern Quest oath."

Alan nudged my character, and I think me in real life as I felt it in my ribs.

"Just keep up if you can," he whispered then launched into what I assumed was the oath.

"With mystic blades and fire ore, we pledge our honoured best. Many shall fall for only a noble few will pass the test! So come more worthy heroes and bring forth the cavern quest!" Alan finished triumphantly.

"Mystic ore…nobel us…test…Cavern Quest…" I mumbled, the only words I could catch. Alan didn't look impressed.

"You have pledged your fealty, you may now enter."

A set of doors opened before us and Alan dragged me through.

"You have to be on your guard now. You're a witch, so you fight with spells. Use the buttons on your right controller to cast. You simply swoosh and point and hit the right buttons."

I lifted my right hand and swooshed, hitting a random button with my thumb. A shot of red light flew out of my hand and blew up a rock. "Dang."

Alan cracked up laughing but soon sobered as out of the trees lumbered a gigantic troll. He dived at the troll, hammering it with his sword.

"Cast a spell!" he yelled as I shrieked and dived out of the way, trying to karate kick it.

"Oh, yeah, I'm magic," I remembered, fumbling with the controller. I bashed buttons madly, swinging my arm like I was batting away a fly. Coloured sparks shot this way and that, but the only thing I succeeded in hitting was Alan.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" I yelled back. I risked moving a little closer and fell over again.

Alan defeated the troll and picked me back up again, moving us through the rest of the level. It didn't come naturally or easily for me.

"How do I jump?" I demanded.

"Left trigger!"

"Why am I stuck?"

"Because you're in a bush!"

"Why did I just die?"

"Because you fell in lava!"

"HIIIIYAAAAAHHHH take that you beast!"

"That's a dog not a werewolf! Stop hitting him with that stick!"

"Oops."

"No! Don't go through…there."

"I can't see! I'm blind!"

"You walked into a wall and you're still walking."

"Why can't I move?"

"You just got yourself stuck in a corner, turn around!"

"Why did I die this time?"

"That tree just fell on you."

I screamed like a banshee when something swooped down out of nowhere and attacked me. I flailed and somehow my thumb hit a button and my hand moved the right way and suddenly the gargoyle was in flames on the floor.

"You did it!"

"I did?"

"Yeah!"

"Cool. See? I got this."

Turned out I didn't got it at all.

We fought our way through the dark forest, taking out elves, fae and the odd goblin. Alan did the majority of the work while I set to work on a few puzzles, all of which provided me with new spells to add to my arsenal.

"For this bit you need to change your form, you cast a spell and become something smaller, like a rat or a toad."

"I can do that?"

"Duh, you're a witch. Use that new spell, it's easy, left, right, right, left, up."

"I wanna be a cat!"

"Then select the cat!"

I toggled along the options until I found a cat and hit the button. A flash of light, a puff of smoke and boom, I was a cat.

"This is so cool! I'm a cat! I have ears! Look at my tail! I can swish." I wiggled my butt back and forth. "Swish, swish, swish,"

"We don't have time for you to play with your tail. You need to go through that pipe and push the button."

I did as I was told and actually managed to complete the mission, opening up a gate for us to go through.

"Now return to yourself."

"I'm stuck! I'm stuck! Alan, help me!"

"You were supposed to get out of the pipe first!"

"You could have told me that!"

"It's common sense!" he yanked at my arms. My avatar didn't budge.

"You're too stuck and you're crushing your own lungs. I'm gonna have to kill you. Sorry about that."

"Just make it quick," I begged. I closed my eyes as he raised his sword.

We moved on once I blinked back into existence after my slaughter at the hand of my team mate. Alan handled all the quest points like the pro that he was, instructing me to go around each area, smash up as much stuff as I could and collect all the objects that fell out.

"Just get all the coins, potion ingredients and magical objects, I'll protect you and do the rest," he promised.

I nodded and proceeded with my one woman rampage of the scenery. I was a button basher, that's all I seemed to be able to do. I found it impossible to coordinate more than one button or movement at a time. I was just about managing to walk, maybe jump and land at a push, everything else was pure dumb luck.

"Yes! Take that you ugly box! Boof! Ha! Give it up, give it all up, I know you've got some gold in there. Quit holding out on me." I smacked the box with an axe that Alan had taken from a suit of armour one level back. The box refused to allow itself to be looted. "Gimme it!!! Gimme the gold! Make me rich, baby!"

I bashed a series of buttons as quickly as I could.

"Why am I a goat? Alan, I'm a goat! Why am I a goat?"

"You cast a spell, change back!"

I tried. "I'm a cow! This is worse!"

He had to stop beating up a wild boar to run over and fix me, laughing the entire time.

"Don't laugh at me! You're body shaming me!"

He actually had to hold his breath for a few seconds to calm down before he could talk me through getting back to my former self.

"Thanks."

I returned to the chest and tossed a spell at it and to my deep joy it splintered apart." Yes!" I scooped up the gold and tucked it away into my bag. I was kinda getting the hang of this.

"Come on, we gotta move!"

Alan leapt up onto the battlements and raced along the wall. I jumped up after him… and promptly fell off the other side and hit the ground.

"Crap!" I yelled as I blinked out of existence and appeared on the other side of the wall again.

It took me six goes to manage the jump, move, run routine, by which time Alan had given up waiting and was half way down the stairs that led to the great hall where the sounds of an epic battle could be heard raging.

"Alan! Don't leave me!" I raced after him and immediately ran into a door that I forgot to open first. I finally made it to the hall after getting wrapped in a spiders web, stuck in a cupboard, setting myself on fire and accidentally drinking a potion that turned me into a ghost for twenty minutes. But at least that gave me a breather to wander around and wail at nothing, kinda like I felt like doing in real life at that moment.

"What took you so long?" Alan called as he slashed at a dark elf that had just thrown a spear at his head.

"I got caught up, but I'm here now. What can I do to help?"

"Anything!" he yelled desperately.

I took him at his word, throwing spells randomly, hitting maybe one intended target out of twenty.

I swung my axe, whacking at anything that came close enough for me to hit.

"Ha! Take that you twat! Come closer so I can kill you easier!"

"I don't think life works that way," I heard John comment.

"How the…?" I looked all around and almost got hit by a flying shield. "Gahhhh," I screamed, ducking out of the way.

"Try hitting it again?" Scott suggested.

"Shut up! I'm trying to stay alive here!" I yelled back.

"Try harder," Gordon encouraged.

"Duck!" Alan yelled and it took me a second to realise he was actually being helpful. I dropped to my knees and just about avoided death by turkey leg.

I'd like to say that I held my own, but I'd be lying. I failed miserably and had to be rescued by Alan another five times just to make it to the end of the level. Though I did manage to trip over my own foot, but then a vengeful knight tripped over me where I was sprawled out on the floor, so I suppose that was a good thing.

"Nope, I'm done, I'll never get the hang of this," I tugged off the headset to find everyone sitting around, watching me.

"How long were you there?" I asked.

"Long enough," Virgil grinned.

"Swish, swish, swish," Scott wiggled his eyebrows at me. I glared in return.

"Lady Witch," John bowed, offering me an apple from the fruit bowl. "I wish to engage your services."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm a mercenary now, I only accept precious jewels or things of high value. You got any potions about your person?"

"How about a dirty old bar of gold? Will that suffice?"

I pretended to think about it. "Deal." I held out my hand. "You good sir, just hired yourself a witch."

I've got no idea what I just agreed to but I'd just survived an epic quest and now I know I can handle anything. He won't be too mean to me, will he?

#alan tracy #Isolation Island #Cavern Quest #Thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds oc #thunderbirds 2015

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kitty979 · 5 years ago

Text

My Dream game

Chapter 1:Life is a precious gift. Most of us don't understand the value of life and our loved ones. I am also that kind of a person. I have been married to John since 40 years. I have 2 children and 5 grandchildren. We live with my eldest son. He has two sons. Me and my husband always fight and have so many misunderstandings. Nobody is happy at home. My grandsons keep on fighting whole day. Our day starts and ends with a fight. I feel that there is no strong bond among us. Here comes my grandson Peter..... Peter: Granny!!!! look at George. Do you know what he did??Me: What happened?Peter: He broke my mobile. That's why I don't give my mobile to him. Why did you give my mobile to him??? I am very angry. You don't like me. You like my brother more than me. I want a new mobile right now!! And I will not leave him. I will see the end.Me: Be cool. Maybe he did by mistake. Try to understand him. Sometimes it happens.Peter: You always support him. Nobody likes me in this house ( Crying....)George: I will also see the end!!Me: Please don't fight. You both are brothers. You must understand each other.George and Peter: Nobody will understand our problems!!!Peter: I am going out. I don't want to live in this house.George: Me too. Goodbye!!John: You don't know how to manage small kids. You changed a lotMe: Are you crazy?? What are you speaking?John: Now a days you are not showing interest in our family. I don't know why? I feel that you are changed.Me: I didn't change. Why do you think like that? John: What I said is true. I need peace of mind. I am going for a walk. Bye This is the situation everyday. Now that we have vacation, these people are fighting more. My son and daughter in law will come home in the evening. My husband and grandsons will come home for dinner fight for sometime and sleep. Next day the same schedule repeats. I am fed up with this life. I must do something to change my family. I must create a strong bond among us. I will plan something within 2 days. I hope that the situation becomes better.

Chapter 2:

Today I must do something. I am thinking to play a game with my family. So that we all can be together for sometime. I will ask them what to play. Me: Peter!! please come here. I want to ask you something.Peter: Coming GrannyMe: Shall we play a game?Peter: OkMe: Call your grandpa and little brotherPeter: What? I don't want to play with them. We both will play some game.Me: Please... Only for today. We all will play together.Peter: No granny. It's difficult to play with them. They will stop playing and fight with us.Me: Let us try. If they fight, we will stop the game.Peter: OkGeorge: Granny!! What are you discussing about? Is Peter complaining about me?Me: No no. We are planning to play any game.George: That's great. What will we play? I want to play with you. But, I don't want to play with Peter.Shall we both play granny?Me: George! Just for today we all will play together. Please....George: No granny. Please...Me: Please only for today. Please agree for me.George: Ok granny. I will agree for you.Me: Thank you. I am happy. Call your grandpa.Peter and George: Ok grannyPeter: Grandpa! Shall we all play a game?John: We all? What do you mean?Peter: You, me, brother and granny.John: No. I don't want to play. Your granny don't like me.George: Please grandpa. We will play.John: You three people play. I want to go for a walk.Me: Please John. Atleast for the kids.John: No wayPeter and George: Please Grandpa...John: Ok. What do you want to play?Me: We didn't decide yet. You tell.John: Great!! You didn't decide yet. Tell me after you people decide something. Then I will come and play.Me: OkMe: Peter and George select any game. We will play.Peter: I will search in my room. There are so many games.George: Those are boring. We played so many times. We will play something new.Peter: Something new!! From where will you get something new?? We should play with what we have.George: I saw few old games in our store room. Maybe we will try them. What do you think?Peter: Those games are too old. It may be boring.George: Let us try. If it's boring we will discontinue playing and play other game.Peter: You are just wasting time.George: No. Let us try. Please...Peter: First time you said please. Ok. Let us go to the store room.Me: Where are you going?Peter: Store roomMe: Why?? It's not safe. So many people said that it's not good. It's too dark there.Peter: I am not afraid. It's ok granny. We will come back soon. We will bring any game.Me: I will also come with you.George: Ok granny. Peter: Let's go and find some game. I heard that our ancestors used to play games. Maybe we can find a game there.Me: Yes. They used to play. But, my elders never allowed me to enter that room. Since my childhood I never went to that room. If we find something different or feel uneasy we will come back.Peter: Ok grannyJohn: What are you people doing? Are we gonna play today?Me: We need sometime. We will tell you after deciding which game to play.John: I am going for a walk. We will play in the evening.Me: Please wait for sometime.John: NoMe: Ok. We will play in the evening.John: Ok. ByeGeorge: Granny! Let's goPeter: Yes granny. Come let's goMe: Ok. Carry a torch with you.Peter: Ok granny.George: I am excited.I am little excited and afraid. Let us see what will happen.

Chapter 3:

We are going to store room. Peter: Granny! I am so excited. Will there be any ghosts??George: Or any supernatural things.Me: No. Don't believe in such things. Don't think too much. Nothing will happen. Don't worry.Peter: I am not worried. I want to see a ghost.George: Me too. I never saw a ghost.Me: You both are crazy. Let's go and come back fast.Peter: Ok granny.George: It's very dark.Peter: Yes. I have torch. No problem I will on it.George: Finally we came. Hurrah!!Me: Let's go inside. We have to come back soon. Don't waste time inside. Grandpa will come back home. We must be ready to play the game. Peter: Ok granny.Me: Where is George?Peter: He already went inside.Me: Let's go inside.George: Granny! There are so many photos here. I can't see them properly. Please bring torch.Me: Ok. Wait there. Don't go anywhere. We are coming.George: Ok. Come fast. I am so excited.Peter: Ok.George: Who is she? This photo is very nice. She is so beautiful.Me: She is my Grandma.Peter: Wow. George: I think they are very rich.Me: Yes. Her great grandparents were emperors.Peter: That's cool. Me: Now let's search for games. We will take one and go back soon.George: Ok granny.Peter: We will go straight and search.Me: OkPeter: Granny! Here few games are there.George: I can see chess here. But, we played so many times. Let us see for something new.Peter: Hey! Look at this. The game of Kings.George: Haha. It's like game of thrones. Peter: Haha. Shall we try this?Me: Maybe it's interesting. George: Yes granny. We will play this game " The Game of Kings".Peter: Ok.Me: Bring it. We will go upstairs. George: Ok granny.Peter: Finally we found an interesting game. I am very happy.George: Yes. I am also very happy.Me: Me too.Me: Shall we go back?Peter: Ok granny. Me: Your grandpa didn't come yet. We will wait for him and play in the night. Today your parents will not come home. They are going to another city for some business work.George: Really! Then we can play whole night.Peter: Yes we will play whole night. But, you shouldn't irritate me.George: You don't irritate me.Me: Again you started fighting. Please don't fight. At least for today.Peter: Ok.George: Let's wait for grandpa.Peter: Yes.I hope that this will be memorable and helpful in creating a bond among us. Chapter 4:

We are waiting for my husband. Peter: When will grandpa come?Me: Don't know. Let us wait.George: I am excited. I hope that grandpa will come home fast.Peter: Let us read the instructions meanwhile. What do you think George?George: Ok. That's a good idea. Let's open the box and read the instructions.Peter: OkayGeorge: I will read it aloud.Peter: Ok.George: Maximum number of players for this game are 6 and minimum are 4. We must divide into two groups and play. Peter: Wow. We are 4George: Who will be in my group?Peter: I will not be in your group. George: I don't need you. Me and granny will be in one group.Peter: Ok. Then, Me and grandpa will be in one group.George: Ok done.Peter: What else is written?George: The one who will start the game must press the begin button.Peter: Where is that button?George: Don't know. You check once.Peter: Ok. It's at the bottom. George: Ok. After pressing begin button, the player must rotate the number box. Each player will have a horse. This horse will move after rotating the number box. In the number box there are numbers from 1 to 9.Peter: Wow! It's awesome!George: Yes.Peter: What else is written?George: The next paper is torn. What to do? How will we know who is the winner?Peter: It's ok. We will start playing. We will come to know as we go on. What do you think?George: Ok. This will be more interesting. Peter: Yes. It's like watching a suspense thriller movie.George: Very bad comparison.Peter: I didn't ask your opinion. It's my wish.George: Ok. Leave it. We promised granny that we will not fight.Peter: Yes. Leave it.Me: Somebody is knocking the door. Peter please go and open.Peter: Ok granny. May be grandpa came.Me: Yes.John: I came back home. Did you decide what to play?Me: Yes. We found a game.John: Really! You invented a new game or what?Me: John! We found one game in our store room. John: It might be some outdated game.Me: Let us try John: Ok.Me: And promise me that you will not fight with me while playing.John: Ok. You alsoMe: OkJohn: Then let's start the game.Peter: We must divide into two groups and play. I want grandpa in my team.John: Ok.George: I want grandma in my team.Me: Ok.Peter: The one who starts the game must press begin button.Me: Ok.John: Ok.Peter: Each player will have a horse. We must select one colour. We have to rotate the number box. It will have numbers 1 to 9. The horse will move according to the number we got.Me: Ok. After that? What about winning the game?John: How to win the game?George: The next paper is torn. We don't know about it. We will start playing. By the end we will come to know.John: Ok. It's a bit interesting. Me: Yes.Peter: Who will begin?George: As granny gave us the idea of playing a game, let her start. It will be good.Peter: Yes. Granny will start.John: Ok. As you wish.George: Next will be my turn. Because we are in same team.Peter: Yes ofcourse. After you, me and grandpa will play.George: OkJohn: Stop discussions and start the game.Me: Ok. Be cool. Why do you get frustrated for small things?John: Ok. Leave it. I don't want to fight with you. Now start the game.Me: Ok.George: Start granny. I am excited.Peter: Yes granny. Start the game. Press "Begin" button.Me: Ok.I am very excited to start the game. I am very happy to play with them. For the first time we all are together. Chapter 5:

Peter: Granny! Press the "Begin" button.Me: Ok. I pressed it. 20 minutes later.....Me: Where am I ? Where are my grand children? Why am I lying on bed? Where is my husband? We all were playing a game. Stranger: Princess! What are you speaking? Husband and grandchildren!! Are you ok?Me: Who are you? And where am I?Stranger: Maybe you had a nightmare. Take rest for sometime princess.Me: Princess?? I have grandchildren. I am 65 years old.Stranger: This is so funny. How is it possible?You are just 20 years old. You are going to get married next month.Me: What? I am an old woman.Stranger: Ok. Look at yourself in the mirror.Me: Ok. To my surprise I am looking young. How is this possible? Maybe it's a dream.Stranger: Princess Hannah! You need to take rest.Me: Hannah??Stranger: Yes princess. It's your name. Shall I call a Doctor? Something is wrong with you.Me: No. What's your name? Who are you?Stranger: I am Mary. Your servant.Me: Ok. I will sleep for sometime. Stranger: Yes Princess. You need rest.I am afraid. What is happening to me? Where is my family? Maybe it's a dream. If I sleep for sometime, it will be fine.

Chapter 6:

I am afraid to open my eyes. I am still here! What's happening?Mary: Princess! Are you feeling better?Me: I am ok.Mary: Do you want something to eat?Me: No. Thank you. I want to be alone for sometime.Mary: Are you ok princess?Me: Yes.Mary: I know why you are upsetMe: Why?Mary: You are worried about your lover Albert. Your father didn't agree for your wedding. I know that it's very difficult to you. But, you have to accept your father's decision.Me: What??? Albert? Who is he?Mary: What happened Princess? He is your lover. He is the Prince of our enemy kingdom. You can't marry our enemy. That's why your father didn't agree for your wedding. Shall we go to a Doctor? You are so disturbedMe: No. I am ok. I am a bit worried. That's allWho is Albert? I have my husband, children and grandchildren. What will happen to me? Mary is telling that I am going to get married next month. What about my family? Where are they? Maybe it's a dream. I will sleep for some more time and see what will happen.

Chapter 7:

Now I hope that I will be at home. I am so afraid to open my eyes. Oh my God!!! I am still here. How to get out of this place? Even if I go out, where to go? How did I become young? Where is my family?Me: Crying....Stranger in the corridor: Hannah! Hannah! Once come out. I want to speak to you. Come silently. Don't make noise.Me: Who is this guy? I am afraid. He is asking me to come to the corridor. Stranger: Hannah! Come fastMe: Ok. Coming.Stranger: Thank God! You came. How are you? Don't worry.Me: This guy looks same like John. Yes. He is John. John looked the same when he was 20. John!! I am happy to see you. Crying.....Stranger: Hannah! Don't cry. Everything will be fine. But, who is this John? I am your love, Albert.Me: What? John we were playing with our grandchildren. When I opened my eyes, I was here.Albert: It's so funny. We didn't get married yet. You are talking about grandchildren. Look at yourself. You are a young woman. You are disturbed. May be you had a bad dream. We must do something. Otherwise you will get married to someone. I will plan something. I will try to convince my parents. I will meet you after 2 days in the same place. Take care my love. I love you.Me: What?Albert: You take rest. You are disturbed. I love youMe: I am afraid. What is happening?Albert: You don't love me? Do you want to marry the boy whom your father selected? Tell me. Me. No. I love you too.Albert: Haha! Ok you don't worry. Nothing will happen to me.Me: Ok. Bye. Take care John.Albert: John!!! Who is this John? Tell me. Me: No. I am sorry Albert. I had a bad dream. You take care.Albert: Ok. Take care of yourself. Bye. See you in two days.Albert is John. But he doesn't remember that we were playing a game. I should marry Albert. If I get married to someone else, it would become a disaster. I don't want to lose John. I can't do anything. I just have to wait for him to come.Mary: Princess! Is everything ok? Me: Yes. Mary: Princess! Governor general wants to meet you. He asked me to take your appointment. He wants to meet you tomorrow. Me: Ok. Tell him that I gave appointment. Mary: Ok princess. Now who is this Governor general? I don't know what is going to happen. But, I have to marry Albert. I have to manage for 2 days. After 2 days Albert will meet me. I shouldn't have any problem for these 2 days. I should be careful while speaking to Governor General.

Chapter 8:

Announcement: The Governor general is arriving.Mary: Princess! The Governor general has come. Shall I let him in?Me: Yes.Governor: Good morning Princess!Me: Oh my goodness. He is Peter. After he grows up, he may look same like this guy.Governor: Princess! Good morning Me: Good morning Peter!Governor: Princess! I am Governor Stephen.Me: I am sorry Stephen. Good morning. Stephen: It's ok. I want to speak to you personally. Me: Ok. Everyone! Please vacate the room.Mary: Can I stay Princess?Me: No. If I have any problem, I will call you.Mary: OkMe: Maybe he remembers what happened before. Maybe he knows that I am his Granny.Stephen: Princess! I want to tell you something important. Me: I am your granny. You want to tell this. Am I right?Stephen: What? I know that we are best friends. But, this is not the time to joke.Me: Uff!! He also doesn't remember. Stephen: What?Me: Nothing. What do you want to tell me?Stephen: Prince Albert wants to marry you secretly. My cousin is the Governor general in his kingdom. We both will help in your secret marriage.Me: What? Secret marriage?Stephen: Yes. Prince Albert's parents also didn't agree for your wedding.Me: Ok. But, how can your cousin work in our enemy kingdom?Stephen: My aunt and uncle got separated. My aunt belongs to that kingdom. She took my cousin with her.Me: Ok. I am sorry. But, it's very dangerous.Stephen: Yes. But, we have few soldiers. We all will protect you. Prince Albert will tell you everything about this. Me: Ok.Stephen: I just came to inform you about this. If you agree for the secret marriage, we will plan further. Me: Yes. I agree.Stephen: Ok. Goodbye Princess. I am always at your service.Me: Goodbye.I always heard of secret marriages. But, for the first time I am going to experience it. I am nervous. But, I can't do anything. I have to marry Albert. This is so strange. Me and my husband became young. But, Peter grew up. Till now I didn't see my youngest grandson. Maybe I will see him soon.

Chapter 9:

Mary: Princess! Your parents will arrive today night. Your father asked you to get ready for dinner. Me: What?Mary: Yes Princess. They are coming back from war. They want to celebrate the victory with you.Me: That's really great. I will get ready.Mary: If you need something, please inform.Me: Ok.I am excited. How do they look like? Are they strangers? Or I know them before. Whispers.... Hannah! Hannah! Me: Who's there?Albert: Hannah! Don't shout. Come to the corridor. Me: Ok. ComingAlbert: I can't stay here for a longtime. It's not yet dark. Your soldiers may find me.Me: Yes. Go back. They may find you. You will be in a big trouble.Albert: Ok. Just listen to me carefully. After 7 days we have to go to the mountains. There we will marry. If our parents accept our marriage, it's ok. But, if they don't accept, we will go somewhere and live.Me: Ok. But you will leave your kingdom for me?Albert: Yes. You are my world.Me: But, be careful. Albert: Ok. Don't worry. I will be fine. Did Stephen speak to you?Me: Yes. He said that he will help us.Albert: His cousin is my Governor general. His name is Jack. He will also help us. No need to worry.Me: Ok. Take care.Albert: You too. Don't panic. Everything will be fine. Bye. Love you...Me: Bye. Love you too..Mary: Princess!! Where are you? What are you doing in the corridor? Is everything ok?Me: Yes. Everything is fine. I am just admiring nature.Mary: I also like nature.Me: Yes. It's beautiful. Wait, I am coming inside.Mary: Select one dress from these dresses.Me: I will wear that red one for dinner.Mary: Ok Princess.Me: Thank you.Mary: Always at your service.Me: I will get ready. When will my parents come? I mean at what time?Mary: They will come in one hour.Me: Ok. Then I will get ready soon. Mary: Ok. I will send your jewellery and other things with servants.Me: Ok. After sometime....Servants: Princess! Please select your jewellery. Me: Ok. I would like to wear that diamond necklace. Servants: Ok Princess. Shall we leave.Me: Ok. Thank you. I am so excited. I am waiting for the king to arrive. Finally I got ready.Mary: Princess!! Your parents arrived. They are asking you to come to the dining hall for dinner.Me: Ok. I will come in 5 minutes.Mary: Ok. We will be waiting for you.Me: Ok.I am so excited to see them. I will go now. The palace is so beautiful. The walls are filled with beautiful paintings. It's very pleasant. But, I don't know how to go to the dining hall. Now what to do? I will ask someone to show me the way.

Chapter 10:

Mary: Princess! What are you doing here? We are waiting for you.Me: Yes. I am coming. I like this painting. So, I am just seeing it. Shall we go to the dining hall?Mary: Yes Princess. Come we will go.Me: Ok.Thank God!! She came. There are so many photos. Those are my childhood photos. It's amazing. It's like a magic. How is this possible? There are more than 1000 photos of mine on these walls.Mary: We came to the dining hall princess. First you go inside. I will follow you.Me: Ok.I opened the door. I am excited to look inside. The king and queen are sitting inside. But, I can't see their faces. I am behind them. I have to go and stand in front of them. I will go. Oh God!! They are really my parents. My father died 10 years ago and my mom lives with my brother. I didn't see her since 1 year. I am very happy to see my parents. They are looking young.Mom: Oh! My dear. How are you? I missed you a lot. (Hugs)Me: Mom! I am fine. How are you? I am seeing you after a longtime. I didn't see you since 1 year.Mom: What? Not 1 year dear. One week. We went to war one week ago.Me: Yes mom. I said by mistake. (Crying...)Mom: Don't cry my dear. Now we came back home. Go and speak to your father.Me: Ok Mom. My father died 10 years ago. I am very happy to see him again. I am a bit nervous. I got goosebumps. I don't know why. 10 years is a very longtime. Maybe I can't control myself.Me: Father!! How are you?Father: Oh! My sweetie. I am fine. You look worried. What happened? Are you ok?Me: Yes father. I want to hug you.Father: Yes. Ofcourse come here.Me: Coming ( Hugs and cries aloud..)Father: What happened sweetie? Why are you crying so badly. Did anyone hurt you? Tell me. Whoever it is, I will kill that person.Me: No Father. Nothing happened. I just missed you very badly. I don't want to lose you.Father: I will be with you only. Me: Ok. ( Crying aloud....)Father: Don't cry. Shall I tell you a story?Me: Yes father.Mom: First we will have dinner. Then me and your father will tell you stories while sleeping. Is it ok dear?Me: Ok mom. First we will eat.Father: Ok. After DinnerMe: Father! Can I sleep in your lap?Father: Ok. You need not ask. You are my little princess.Me: Ok father.Father: Mom will tell stories. We will listen.Me: Ok.Mom: I will start the story now.After sometime.. Everyone fell asleep.Me: Whole night I want to see my parents. I am very happy. I couldn't control my tears. This moment is very precious to me. I just want to look at them whole night. Chapter 11:

Now it's morning. I felt that time passed very soon yesterday night. I want to spend more and more time with my parents. I want to cook for them and take care of them.Mary: Princess!! Shall I come in?Me: I am coming. Don't shout. My parents are sleeping. Mary: I am sorry.Me: It's ok. Mary:Please give us the list of items to cook for lunch.Me: I want to cook for today.Mary: No. You can't cook. It's against your kingdom rules. If your father comes to know, he will kill all the servants.Me: I will tell my father.Mary: No princess. I am sorry.Me: Ok. I can understand you. Can I make cake?Mary: No princess. Me: It's just a cake. What will happen?Mary: You can't enter the kitchen.Mom: What happened Hannah?Me: Mom! I want to make cake. But, Mary is telling that I can't enter the kitchen. Mom: Yes. Queens and princesses should not cook.Me: Mom! Only for one time. I will not go to kitchen again.Mom: No dear. You tell them what kind of cake you want. They will make for you.Me: Not for me mom. I want to make cake for father.Mom: Ok. Tell them what kind of cake. They will make. Me: Please mom. I want to make it for father. I don't want anyone to cook.Father: What happened Mary?Mary: Good morning majesty. Princess wants to make cake for you. But, I said that princess can't enter the kitchen. Father: Hannah! Do you want to cook? But why? You will get tired.Me: Father! I just want to make cake for you. Please give me permission. Only once.Father: Ok dear.Father: Mary! Tell all servants and cooks to vacate the kitchen. Ask them to come back to kitchen after princess makes cake. Is it clear?Mary: Ok Majesty.Father: Are you happy sweetie?Me: Yes father. Thank you. Father: Mom will also come with you.Me: Ok father. Ten years ago when my dad was ill, he asked me to bake a cake for him. But, I was not at home. I thought to make cake after coming home. But, by the time I came home, my father passed away. Now, I want to make cake for him. This was his last wish. I couldn't do it then. But, I can do it now. I am very happy.

Chapter 12:

My father liked the cake. I am very happy. I want to play with my parents. Me: Mom! I want to play with you and father. What do you think?Mom: Ok. We didn't play for a longtime. Father: Ok. We will play chess. Two days passed by... Me: I don't know how time passed by these two days. We played, danced and sang hundreds of songs. I was the happiest person. I remembered my past. How I used to spend time with my parents. Those days were awesome. I don't know what will happen next. Now I am happy. But, this is not permanent. There is some magic in that game. Only I remember the past. I don't know why? Maybe only the one who started the game will remember the past. But, I don't know how this will end. I want to stay here with my parents forever. What is going to happen in future? I am excited as well as afraid. Mom: Hannah! Go to sleep. It's 12'o' clock.Me: Ok mom. Good night.Mom: Good night. Father: Good night. Me: Good night father. Whispers from window... Hannah!! Hannah!!Me: Is it a ghost? I will not wake up. It's too late. I am afraid. I will act as if I am sleeping. Whispers continued....Me: I will not wake up. Albert: Hannah! Wake upMe: Ahh! Who is this? Are you a thief? Or Ghost?Albert: It's me. Albert.Me: Uff! I was afraid. It's too late. What happened Albert?Albert: We have to go to the mountains in 3 days. I will meet you after 2 days. Prepare yourself. Be brave. Don't panic. If you have any memorable things, carry with you. Pack your things from now. Me: In 3 days!!! I don't want to leave my parents. Albert: What?? What's wrong with you? Me: I don't want to leave my parents Albert: I can understand. It's difficult. But, they didn't agree for our wedding. We can't do anything. We will try to convince them after our wedding .Me: I need time to think.Albert: We planned everything. And now you are asking for time. Are you losing your mind?Me: No. But, I need time.Albert: Now I feel that you are in love with somebody else. Maybe you like the boy whom your father selected for you. That's why you are hesitating.Me: Are you suspecting my loyalty?Albert: No. I am sorry. I believe in you. But, in this situation we don't have time. Me: Yes.Albert: I am sorry for hurting you. I am worried that's why I am getting angry for small things.Me: It's ok my love.Albert: Ok. Pack your things. Clothes and everything you need.Me: Ok. Albert: I will leave. Bye. Take care.Me: Bye. You too. I don't want to leave my parents. I want to spend more time with my father. I can't marry some other person. I can't run away with Albert and damage my father's reputation. I don't know what to do. I will try to convince my father. I hope that he will agree with me. I will tell him that Albert is a good guy. If I request, he will definitely agree for my marriage with Albert. But, if he doesn't agree? What should I do? I can't cheat my parents. I can't leave Albert. This is a very bad situation. Tomorrow morning I will speak to my father about Albert. I hope that everything will be fine.

Chapter 13:

Me: I am not able to sleep. I am worried. Maybe I will cry after sometime. Whispers... Hannah!! Hannah!! Me: Oh my God!! This time it's definitely a ghost. Albert already went. This time I will not wake up. Whispers continued.... Hannah! Wake up. I want to speak to you for sometime. Me: Who are you? Now it's 3.am. Go from here. Otherwise I will shout.Albert: I am Albert.Me: Don't lie. He already met me. He will not come again.Albert: I swear. I am Albert. Me: Really! It's very dark. Go and stand in the corridor. I can see your face in the lights. If you are not Albert, I will shout. Albert: Ok. I am going to corridor. Come and see.Me: I can see from here. No problem. Albert: Ok. Can you see?Me: Albert! Come inside. What happened? Any problem? Are you ok? Why is your face red? Did anyone hit you? Did you fight with anyone?Albert: No. Nothing happened. I cried.Me: You cried!! Why? Did I hurt you? Did I do any mistake?Albert: No. You didn't do anything. Me: Then what happened?Albert: I was going back to my kingdom. I suddenly remembered something. I couldn't control my tears. Me: What did you remember?Albert: I said that you are in love with somebody else. You felt so bad. I can't tell like that. I love you since two years. I know everything about you. I can't tell like that. I promised you last year that I will never hurt you or trouble you. But, today I did.Me: You didn't hurt me. Mistake is mine. I didn't understand you. You are struggling hard for our wedding and I didn't respond properly. Albert: Whatever the situation is, I shouldn't say like that. I came to tell sorry. I am extremely sorry my love.Me: It's ok. You said like that because you are angry. I can understand. Albert: This will never happen again. I am sorry.Me: Ok. Leave it. You became so weak. Why do you think too much.Albert: Because I love you.Me: I am so lucky to have you. I love you. Did you eat?Albert: No. I am not feeling hungry. Today I felt so sad.Me: Oh! My love. Now you have to eat something. WaitAlbert: No. It's ok. I am happy because I said sorry. I am not hungry.Me: No. You have to eat. There is food on my table. I will bring. Just a moment.Albert: Ok.Me: Please have it.Albert: Ok. After sometime...Albert: I can't forget this memorable dinner. Thank you. Me: No mention ( Crying...)Albert: Why are you crying? I can't see you crying? Me: No. I am happy. You came from so far just to tell me sorry. I am blessed to have you in my life. I promise that I will never leave you. Albert: Stop crying. Promise me that you will never cry. Me: Ok.Albert: I will never leave you.Me: I know. That's why you are with me for 40 years.Albert: What?Me: Nothing. I know that you will never leave me.Albert: My parents want me to become the king after 2 years. Me: That's great.Albert: But, I will leave my kingdom for you. Me: We will convince them.Albert: No. They will not agree. They want to expand the kingdom. That's why they want me to marry my father's friend's daughter. They have a very big kingdom. They promised to handover their kingdom to us if I marry their daughter. Their kingdom will be included in ours. So that our kingdom will grow. I don't like war. I want peace. Me: Why you didn't agree? It's good for you.Albert: What are you speaking? I love you and I need you. I don't need a big kingdom. I just need a girl who truly loves me and not my wealth. You are that girl.Me: Your love towards me is unconditional. Thank you so much my love. Albert: I must thank you. I can't find a girl like you anywhere in this world. Me: It's too late. It's 5'o'clock. I think you must go back. After sometime everyone will wake up.Albert: Ok. I will leave. Bye bye. Me: Bye. Take care. Have a safe journey. Albert: Ok my love. Take care. I remembered my past. How I met john and how I fell in love with him. He always wanted my love, attention and care. He was always by my side in good and bad times. Tomorrow I should convince my father to agree for our wedding. I will sleep for sometime. Chapter 14:

Today I should speak to my father about Albert. Will he get angry? Will he get hurt? Shall I ask now or ask later? I don't have time. I will ask after breakfast. Mom: Good morning dear. Get ready soon. Our relatives will come in the afternoon. Me: Ok mom.Mom: Your fiance will also come.Me: Fiance??Mom: Yes. They will stay here for 2 days. Do you remember? You are going to get engaged in 2 days.Me: What?Mom: Yes Dear.Me: Mom! Marriage is after one month right?Mom: Yes. Now you will get engaged.Me: You said that relatives are coming. Who is my fiance?Mom: Why are you behaving strange? Your fiance is your aunt's son.Me: Aunt? She is whose sister?Mom: Your Dad's sister. What happened to you?Me: Nothing mom. I am surprised and excited.Mom: Ok. Get ready. I will go and make all arrangements.Me: Ok mom. One more problem. Now, how should I speak to my father. All are busy in making arrangements. I will speak to my father right now. It's better to speak before they arrive. Me: Father!! father!! I want to speak to you. Please open the door.Father: Good morning my dear!Me: Good morning father!Father: What happened? Do you want something?Me: I want to speak to you.Father: I am going out. We can speak in the afternoon. Now I am very busy. I must make arrangements. Is it ok? If you have any problem tell me?Mom: Hannah!! You are still here? Go and fresh up. We have less time.Me: Ok mom. I want to speak to father.Mom: Oh! Sweetie. He will come back soon. First you get ready. After that we all can speak. Ok?Me: Ok mom.Father: Bye dear. I will meet you after coming back. Is it ok?Me: Ok father. Bye. I must wait for my dad to come back. I am so afraid. What is going to happen? I shouldn't get engaged to him. I have 2 days time. I will speak to my dad about Albert today itself.

Chapter 15:

Mary: Princess! Your father has arrived. He asked you to meet him.Me: Ok. I will go.Mary: Ok Princess. I can speak to my father. Now it's 1'o'clock. I have time to speak to him. I am happy. Me: Father!!Father: Yes my dear. Come in.Me: I want to speak to you for sometime. Father: Ok sweetie. Shall I tell you a story?Me: No father. I want to speak with you. I want to tell you something. Father: Ok dear. Tell me.Aunt: Good afternoon brother!! How are you? I am glad to see you. Hannah!! How are you? Father: Good afternoon sister! I am fine. How was your journey?Aunt: It was good. We reached early.Father: That's good. Take rest for a while. We will have lunch after sometime. Me: I don't know these people. My dad don't have siblings. Aunt: How are you dear? You look a little upsetMe: I am fine. I am surprised. How are you?Aunt: I am fine. Jim will come in few minutes. Me: Who is Jim?Aunt: It's a good joke. He is my son and your fiance.Me: Yes. I was joking.Aunt: Haha! Brother! I want to speak to you. I must tell you something regarding engagement.Father: Ok Sis. Why did they come so early? How should I speak to my father in front of her? I must wait. I will speak to him when he is alone. Mom: Jim has arrived. He wants to speak to you. Me: Ok mom.Jim: How are you my sweetheart?Me: He is James. We were in same university. He is not a good guy. He used to trouble all the girls in our university. He troubled me for about one year. John used to fight with him. Jim: What happened? You are speaking to yourself?Me: Nothing. Good afternoon! I am fine. How about you?Jim: I am good. In two days we will get engaged. I am so excited.Me: Yes.Jim: I will stay here for two days.Me: I know. My mom said.Jim: Ok. I am very ambitious. I want to conquer the whole world.Me: That's good. Jim: I want to kiss you. Can I?Me: Ofcourse no!! We are not yet married.Jim: But we will in future. It's ok.Me: I don't love you.Jim: What?? What do you mean?Me: I don't want to marry you.Jim: I expected this. I know your love story with Albert.Me: Please help me. Tell your mom that I am in love with someone else.Jim: My mom knew it .Me: Then, why don't you stop this engagement. Even if I marry you, I can't love you.Jim: I know that.Me: Please stop the wedding. Tell my father about this.Jim: Do you think that I love you? I just want to expand my kingdom by marrying you. I have so many women in my life.Me: You are so bad. My father will not give our kingdom to you. Jim: I know that. I will grab it from him. He will give away his kingdom for you. I will blackmail your parents after our marriage. They love you. They can do anything for you. Me: I will tell my father about you and your plan.Jim: Ok. All the best. Me: What?

Jim: He will not believe anyone. He loves his sister so much. Before also so many people tried to tell him about me. But, he never believed. Forget all this. You will be my wife in future and you must follow my orders. Nobody can change this.Me: Let us see.Jim: Good luck!Mom: Hannah!! Jim!! Let's have lunch. Please come to the dining hall. Me: Ok mom.Jim: We are coming aunt. What should I do? I must speak to my father when he is alone. I have very less time. Jim is a very cruel guy. I should tell my father about Jim's plan. If he doesn't believe me what should I do?

Chapter 16:

I tried to speak to my father. But, I couldn't. At least I must speak to him in the night. Mom: Hannah! What are you doing?Me: Nothing mom. What happened?Mom: Shall we go for a walk? Me: Ok mom.Mom: We will go to the lawn.Me: Ok mom.Mom: I want to speak to you personally. Me: Ok mom. In the lawn:Mom: I know that you are not happy. But, we can't do anything. I am afraid.Me: What happened mom?Mom: I know that you love Albert. I feel that Jim is not a good boy. I told your father. But, he didn't agree with me. I am afraid that Jim will harm you after your wedding. Me: Mom!! (Crying....). He was so rude to me.Mom: We will do something my dear. Don't worry. Me: Why don't we try to convince father?Mom: I tried a lot. But, he believes his sister. Tell me about Albert. Is he a good boy?Me: Yes mom. He is very good and kind. Mom: But, he is our enemy's son.Me: Yes mom. But, he loves me.Mom: Maybe he is also like Jim. He wants to trap you for our kingdom.Me: No mom. He tried to convince his parents for our wedding. But, they didn't agree. He is ready to leave his kingdom for me.Mom: Really!!!Me: Yes mom. Mom: I saw him once. He came to speak to your father regarding your wedding. He looks like a soft hearted person. Your father insulted him. But, he didn't disrespect your father.Me: He is a kind hearted person mom.Mom: I know that. But, does he really love you?Me: Yes mom.Mom: How can you say that?Me: He never misbehaved with me. He gives importance to my feelings. He risked his life and came to our palace to meet me.Mom: What? He came to our palace!Me: Yes mom. He came so many times. Mom: Ok. He is sincere. In two days you are going to get engaged.Me: What should I do mom?Mom: I will help you in getting out of the palace. Me: Mom!!!Mom: Yes. You can marry Albert.Me: But, it damages your reputation. Mom: You are very precious to me. Reputation is not important. I want you to be safe and happy.Me: I can't cheat father.Mom: You are not cheating. You can't marry a wrong person. You will have problem in future. If you marry Albert, we will come to know the true colours of your aunt and Jim. Your father will be happy that you didn't marry Jim.Me: Yes Mom. But, I want to speak to father about this.Mom: What?? If you tell that Jim is not a good boy, your father will not believe you. He will think that you are telling a lie because you don't love Jim. He don't like Albert.Me: Yes mom. Father may think that it's a lie.Mom: Tomorrow night me and governor general will help you. Me: Mom do you know about our plan of getting secretly married?Mom: Yes Dear. I just wanted to know what kind of a person is Albert. That's why I asked you to come for a walk.Me: Ok mom. After wedding we will convince father.Mom: Yes. By that time he will know about Jim. He is a very cruel guy. Once you get married to Albert, Jim will become violent and show his true colours. Your father will defeat him and accept your wedding with Albert.Me: Yes mom. Thank you mom.Mom: Be careful sweetie.Me: Ok mom.Mom: We will go back. Don't speak about this with anyone. You may have problem. Me: Ok mom. I am happy that my mom is supporting me. I am feeling a bit relaxed.

Chapter 17:

I am not happy. I feel that I am cheating my father. What will he think if I run away with Albert? I can't marry Jim. I don't want to cheat my father. But, I don't have any other option. Mary: Princess!! Your parents asked you to come for dinner.Me: Ok. I will come in 5 min. Whispers... Princess Hannah!!! Me: Who's there?Jack: I am Jack. Prince Albert' s governor general.Me: I am coming. Wait there. Jack: Ok.Me: He is George. My younger grandson. George!!!Jack: Princess Hannah!! I am Jack. Prince Albert asked me to give you this letter.Me: Ok.Jack: Goodbye! Princess. Me: Goodbye! Finally I saw George. I am happy to see him.Me: Maybe there's some important message in this letter.Mary: Princess!!!Me: I am coming. I will read it after dinner. After Dinner:I will read the letter. My Love,

Come to the clock tower of your palace tomorrow night at 8'o'clock. I will be waiting for you. Stephen and Jack will come with you. Don't get afraid. Stay safe. I will make arrangements for our travel to the mountains.

Yours,Albert. I have only one day. I am not afraid. But, I am sad. I am worried about my father. Will he understand me in future? Will he get angry? Will Jim harm him? How can I leave him? What should I do?

Chapter 18:

I am nervous and feeling so uncomfortable. I want to tell my father about Albert and our plan. But, I can't tell him. I want to speak to him. If I speak to him, I may feel better. Me: Father!!! Father!!Father: What happened my dear? Come inside.Me: I want to spend sometime with you. Father: Ok.Mom: Why you didn't sleep till now? Hannah!! It's too late. Go and sleep.Me: Mom! I want to spend sometime with you. Mom: Whispers... Don't tell anything about our plan. You will have problem. Me: Ok mom.Father: You look a little upset. Any problem sweetie?Me: I don't want to leave you father.Father: Why will you leave me? Don't think all that. Even after you get married, we will meet.You can come and go whenever you want. Don't worry my dear.Me: Father!! If I ever cheat you or do something which you don't like, will you get angry?Father: Haha!! No my dear. I will never get angry. But, I will get hurt. What happened to you? Why are you speaking like this?Me: Crying......Father: What happened?Mom: She don't want to leave us after her wedding. She needs rest. Come sweetie you need rest. I will come with you and speak with you till you fall asleep.Me: Ok mom.Father: Shall I come?Mom: No. If you are there, she will feel more sad. She is so attached to you. She can't leave you. That's why she is sad.Father: Ok. Take care of her. Good night sweetie!Me: Good night father!Mom: We will go to your room. After sometime:Mom: You are not doing any mistake my dear. Please donot cry.Me: I will miss you and father.Mom: No. You will come back. Your father will accept your wedding. Now go to sleep. Sleep in my lap. Come dear.Me: Ok mom. Chapter 19:

After 3 hours:Will I come back again? I saw my father after 10 years. I thought that I can spend sometime with him. What will happen in future? Father: Hannah!! You didn't sleep yet?Me: I slept for sometime father. Now I am not able to sleep. Father: You are looking restless. What happened dear? You are hiding something.Me: Nothing father. Father: Do you like this marriage?Me: No Father. Crying.....Father: What? Are you serious?Me: Yes father.Father: But, you and Jim were so close since childhood. I thought that you love him.Me: I like him as my cousin. But, I don't love him.Father: Then why didn't you tell me before?Me: I was afraid. Father: Now also we have time. But, remember you will never get married to Albert.Me: I love him father.Father: You are a young girl. He wants to conquer our kingdom. He doesn't love you my dear. Forget him.Me: Father!! He really loves me.Father: You are young. You believe people very easily. Me: We are in love since two years. He never harmed me or misbehaved with me.Father: Maybe he is acting like a good person. I think that he is not correct for you. Moreover he is our enemy's son.Me: He will leave his kingdom after our marriage.Father: Marriage!!! Nobody is getting married. Me: Please father. This would be the biggest gift to me.Father: I can't keep you in trouble. Me: I am your daughter. I will never select a wrong person. Please believe me father.Father: I believe you. But...Me: Please....Father: Ok.Me: Thank you father. We planned to marry secretly somewhere in the mountains. Father: What? Secret marriage!!Me: Yes father. But, I don't want to cheat you. I am happy that you agreed. I am sorry Father.Father: I am proud to have you as my daughter. But, remember if Albert harms you, I will kill him. When did you plan for a secret wedding?Me: We planned to go to the mountains tomorrow night at 8'o'clock. Father: Tomorrow go and meet him as per your plan. Me: Father!! What are you speaking?Father: I will follow you. If he wants our kingdom, he may harm you and blackmail us. If something bad happens during your journey to the mountains, I will kill him and you must marry the boy whom I selected. Is it ok?Me: Yes Father.Father: Are you confident that he will not harm you?Me: Yes father. He will never harm me.Father: I am confident that he will harm you. Promise me that you will listen to me if I win.Me: I promise you.Mom: I will also come with you.Father: Why?Mom: I also love my daughter. Father: Ok. Mom: Don't tell Albert that we are following you. Promise me.Me: Ok mom. I promise.Mom: Don't tell your sister and Jim about this.Father: Ok. I will not.Me: Yes father. They may harm us.Father: She is my sister. She will never harm me.Me: Jim may harm.Father: No dear. Anyway I will not tell anyone. I promise you.Me: Thank you so much father. (Hugs and cries)Father: Good night dear!!Mom: Now sleep peacefully.Me: Good night mother and father!!! I didn't expect that my father will support me. Tomorrow he will come to know about Albert. He will be very happy to have him as his son in law.

Chapter 20:

Mom: Good morning my dear!!!Me: Good morning mom!Mom: Be careful!! Don't let anyone know our plan. I am worried about you.Me: Ok mom. I hope that everything will be fine. Mom: Yes. Me too. Let's have breakfast.Me: Ok mom. In the dining hall: Jim: Good morning sweetheart!! We are going to get engaged. I am excited.Aunt: What about you Hannah!! How do you feel?Me: I am excited too.Aunt: That's good. You are lucky to have Jim as your husband.Me: Yes. Mom: Have your breakfast Hannah.Me: Ok mom.Aunt: Jim is a very good boy. You are the only girl in his life.Me: Ok aunt.Mom: Whispers... Speak with them as if you are excited. Otherwise they may get doubt. They know about you and Albert.Me: Ok mom.Aunt: What are you both speaking? I can't hear you. Mom: I am telling her that Jim is a very good boy and she is lucky to have him in your life.Aunt: Ok. I am happy to hear that.Me: Yes aunt. I am blessed to have him.Mom: We have to select clothes for the engagement. We have to leave. The servants might have arrived.Me: Yes mom. Shall we go?Mom: Yes.Aunt: Shall I come with you?Me: No aunt. We will select clothes to gift you. I want to give you a surprise. Aunt: Ok. Thank you. Me: No mention aunt.Mom: Let's go Hannah.Me: Ok mom.Mom: Be brave. I want you to take rest for sometime. You have to travel in the night. Me: Yes mom. But I am nervous. Mom: Nothing will happen. Take rest for sometime. At 7:30 you must start from here. I will speak to Stephen.Me: Ok mom.Mom: Since two days you didn't sleep properly. You are restless. You need a peace of mind. Take rest for sometime. Me: Ok mom. At 2:pm:Me: Mary!! Please can you ask my Mom to meet me once.Mary: Ok Princess. Mom: Good afternoon my dear. Now you look little better. I spoke to Stephen. He said to be ready by 7pm. There is a secret route to go to the clock tower from our palace. He will take you there. Father: After sometime, Me and your mom will follow you. Even Stephen doesn't know that we are going to follow you.Me: Father!!! Good afternoon!! Ok father.Father: You will be fine. Don't worry. I will always protect you my dear.Me: Ok father. At 5pm:I have only two hours left. I am happy that my father is supporting me. But, he don't trust Albert. I hope that he will understand Albert and come to know that he is a good person. Mom: What are you doing my dear?Me: Nothing mom. Mom! I want to see all my photos in this palace.Mom: There are thousands of photos. It takes a lot of time.Me: I will see a few of them. Please mom.Mom: Ok. We will see few photos. We must come back in 30 minutes.Me: Ok Mom. Thank you so much. ( Hugs...) I am excited to see my photos. I want to speak to my mom for sometime.

Chapter 21:

At 6:30pm:Mom: Oh my God!! It's 6:30. We have to go back. We have less time.Me: Yes mom. We have only 30 minutes. Mary: What happened Princess? Do you have any problem? May I help you?Me: Nothing happened. If I need something, I will ask you.Mary: Ok princess. Me: Mom I am a little tensed.Mom: Don't worry my dear.Me: Jim is not a good guy. We must be careful. Mom: Yes. We will take care of everything. Me: Ok mom. You and father be careful. Mom: Ok dear. We don't have time. Stephen may come at any moment.Me: Yes mom. Where is father? Mom: I will ask him to come. You go to your room and get ready.Me: Ok mom. After sometime:Father: Are you ready Hannah??Me: Yes father. Thank you so much father. ( Hugs...)Father: You didn't win yet.Me: But, thank you for supporting me.Father: It's my responsibility. Mom: Stephen is waiting for you. Take care my dear.Me: Ok mom. Bye mom.( Hugs...)Father: Take care sweetie. Me: Ok Dad. Bye Father: Bye. We are always with you. Never panic. Me: Ok father. I am going to meet Stephen. It may take 5 minutes to reach there. I can see him waiting. Stephen: Good evening princess!! Is everything ok?Me: Good evening Stephen! Yes. Everything is fine.Stephen: There is a secret way behind that portrait. We have to go from there.Me: Ok.Stephen: Princess! First I will go and move it aside. Then we can go inside.Me: Ok. Good luck!!Stephen: Ok princess.Me: Are you ok Stephen? Is it done? I can't see you. It's too dark.Stephen: I am ok princess. It's ready. Please come here. We can go inside.Me: I am coming. This palace is very beautiful. It's a very good experience. I am attached to this place. It's maybe because of my parents. Without them this palace is nothing. Chapter 22:

Stephen: Be careful princess! It's very dark. After sometime we will use a lamp.Me: Ok Stephen. It's an adventure. Stephen: Yes.Me: How much time will it take to reach the clock tower?Stephen: Around 15 minutes. Me: Ok.Stephen: We used to play so many games when we were kids. Do you remember?Me: Maybe.Stephen: Yes. We were best friends. Me: Now also we are best friends Peter.Stephen: Not Peter! I am Stephen. Me: Yes Stephen. I was joking.Stephen: Haha!! Ok. I will always support you. I will be your best friend forever.Me: Thank you!! We will be best friends forever.Stephen: I hope so. I am happy to hear that from you.Me: Haha!!Stephen: Now we can use a lamp. Nobody can see us.Me: Ok.Stephen: Look at the walls. There are so many portraits. Me: They are very beautiful. Why did they keep them here? It's a secret passage.Stephen: Your father uses this passage very often. He likes paintings. That's why there are so many paintings here.Me: Wow!! That's great.Stephen: Please cover your face. We will reach the clock tower in few minutes.Me: Ok Stephen. After few minutes:Stephen: We reached the clock tower. Be careful princess. If you see anyone following us, please inform me.Me: Ok.Jack: Stephen!! I am here.Stephen: Where? I can hear you. But, I can't see you. Jack: I am behind the clock tower. Come here.Stephen: Ok.Jack: Princess!! How are you?Me: I am fine. Where is Albert? Are you ok?Jack: I am ok. He will be here in few minutes. Me: Ok.Jack: There he is. Can you see a white horse coming?Me: Yes. There are 3 more horses. Jack: Yes Princess. They are for me, Stephen and one soldier.Me: Soldier?Jack: Yes. One of our soldiers will come with us.Me: Ok. Where is he?Jack: He will come soon. He is a very good warrior. That's why we asked him to come.Me: Ok.Stephen: Robert came.Me: Who is Robert?Jack: The soldier.Me: Ok.Robert: Princess Hannah!! I am Robert.Me: He is my eldest son. I didn't expect this.Robert: Princess!! Me: Nice to meet you.Robert: Me too princess. I am here to protect you.Jack: He is a very good friend of mine.Me: He is your father.Jack: Haha!!!Stephen: Now a days princess is cracking so many jokes.Me: Haha!! Yes.Jack: Haha!!Albert: My love!! How are you? Is everything ok?Me: I am fine Albert. You look restless.Albert: Yes. I was making all arrangements. Me: Ok.Albert: Finally we are going to get married. I am very happy. Let's start.Me: Me too. Let's start.Albert: We both will go on white horse.Me: Ok.Stephen: Me and Jack will go in front of you. Robert will follow you. We can check for enemies from front and he can check from behind. We can detect enemy's presence easily.Albert: Ok. Come on my love. Let's go.Me: Ok.Albert: Your dress colour and our horse colour are the same.Me: Haha!!!Albert: You are looking so beautiful. Me: Thank you!!!Albert: Let's start. 1...2....3... We started going to the mountains. I can't see my parents anywhere. Maybe they are following us secretly. They are intelligent. I feel so excited and happy. Chapter 23:

After 4 hours:Albert: We will take a break. We have been travelling for 4 hours. Hannah might be tired.Stephen: Ok. Jack: Actually we must stop here. Our soldiers will come and provide food for us. I asked them to come to this place. We will wait for them.Stephen: Ok.Robert: Ok. We need some rest.Albert: Yes. We will stay here for sometime. Stephen: Why is Hannah silent? She is not speaking anything. Albert: She is sleeping. Look at her. She is sleeping like a small kid in my arms.Stephen: Yes. She loves you so much.Jack: Yes.Me: Where are we? Did we reach the mountains?Albert: No. We will take rest for sometime. We have to eat something. Me: Who will cook for us?Jack: Our soldiers will bring food for us.Me: Ok. Behind the bushes:Mom: Why did they stop here? Maybe they planned for an attack.Father: Maybe. Let us see. If they harm our daughter, we will attack. Mom: Yes. Jack: Our soldiers are coming.Stephen: Yes.Soldiers: Prince Albert!!! Here is your food.Albert: Thank you!! You may leave.Soldier: Ok Prince. Goodbye!!Albert: Goodbye!!! Behind the bushes:Mom: They came to give food. So, no problem. Father: Yes. Albert: Let's have food.Me: Ok.Robert: I will eat later. I will look for enemies.Jack: Ok. Take care. If you find someone, inform us.Robert: Ok.Stephen: I will call you after I finish eating. I will take your duty and you can eat.Robert: Ok. Behind the bushes: Father: This young man seems to be very intelligent. He may find us. We will go to some other place before he comes.Mom: Yes. We will go. After sometime:Stephen: Robert!!! I finished eating. You may come.Robert: I am coming. After one hour:Albert: Shall we start?Me: Ok. When will we reach ?Albert: It takes a longtime. We may reach by tomorrow evening. Me: Ok.Stephen: I have food with me. We can eat it later.Albert: Ok. We will take a break after 6 hours.Jack: Ok.Stephen: Ok.Robert: Ok.Albert: Let's start.Me: Ok. I am worried about my parents. Did they eat? Are they tired? We must travel for a long time. Will they be alright? I hope that they will be fine. Chapter 24:

After 6 hours:Albert: Hannah!! Good morning!Me: Good morning!!Robert, Jack and Stephen: Good morning Albert and Hannah!!Albert and Me: Good morning!!Albert: Let us take a break. Robert: Yes.Stephen: We will eat some food.Albert: Yes. Hannah might be hungry.Jack: Ok.Stephen: There's a tree. Maybe we will eat there.Me: It will be good. Robert: There's a river here.Albert: Wait we are coming.Me: It's so beautiful. I love mother nature.Albert: Me too. It's so pleasant. This place is really awesome.Stephen: We will come here after eating. Jack: Nobody knows this place. I think that it's very safe.Robert: But, we must be careful. Albert: Yes. Robert is right.Me: Yes. Stephen: Let's have some food.Albert: Yes. After sometime:Me: Let's go to the river. Albert: Ok.Jack: Me and Robert will look for enemies. Stephen will come with you.Albert: Ok.Me: Albert!! Can I ask you something?Albert: Yes.Me: Do you like my father?Albert: Ofcourse. He gave me a beautiful girl.Me: You are not angry with him?Albert: No. He is a good father.Me: After our wedding will you treat him as your own father?Albert: Ofcourse my love. Don't worry. If he accepts me as his son in law, I will do by best to prove myself. I will take care of your parents.Me: Thank you!!Albert: I will never harm your family.Me: I know.Albert: Don't think all these things. Enjoy the nature. Look at the river. It's so beautiful. Me: Yes. From a distance:Father: I think Albert is a good boy.Mom: Yes. He is taking care of our daughter very well.Father: I think Hannah will win.Mom: Yes. Albert: We will start in 10 minutes. Me: Ok.Jack: Ok. We may reach by 6'o'clock in the evening. Stephen: Yes. Maybe 6 or 7Robert: Yes.Albert: Let's start.

Chapter 25:

Albert:We finally reached the mountains. Jack: Yes.Me: Really!!! Albert: Yes.Me: I am happy that we reached safely. Albert: There is a cave. We will go there. Nobody knows that place. Me: Ok.Stephen: We will make arrangements for the wedding. Jack: Yes. By tomorrow morning. Albert: Ok.Robert: Someone is coming. Maybe enemy. Let's go Jack!!Stephen: I will also come.Robert: Ok.Me: Maybe my parents are coming. I should go with them. They may harm them.Albert: What?Me: Yes.Albert: Then let's go.Father: Hannah!!! You won.Me: How are you father?Father: I am ok my dear.Robert: Attack!!! Albert: No!! They are her parents. Robert: Ok prince. Maybe they came to harm you.Albert: Let us see. But, we shouldn't harm them.Mom: Hannah!! Are you ok?Me: Yes mom. Father: I agree for your wedding. Albert is a good boy. I was wrong. Me: Thank you so much father!! (Hugs)Albert: Thank you!!Father: God bless you!! You need not marry secretly. We will go back to the kingdom.Albert: But, if my parents come to know...Father: I will speak to them.Albert: They may attack us.Father: No my son. Don't worry. I will manage. Albert: Can I call you "father"?Father: Yes.Albert: Thank you Father!!Father: I am happy to have you as my son in law.Me: Did you eat ?Mom: No we didn't. Me: We have food mom. You and father can have it.Albert: Yes. We will take rest for sometime and go. It's very far. You both need rest.Mom: Ok my son.Me: First you and father eat.Mom: Ok my dear.Albert: We will go to the cave.Me: Ok.Jack: Is this a dream? I didn't expect this. I am happy.Stephen: Me too. Princess Hannah is the happiest person. I am very happy for her.Robert: This is a very precious moment.Jack: Congratulations!!! Albert and Hannah!Robert: Congratulations!!!Stephen: Congratulations!!Me and Albert: Thank you!!!Albert: We reached the cave. Hannah!! Take care of your parents and give them food.Me: Ok.Albert: I will bring water.Me: Father!! Please have food.Father: Ok my dear.Me: Mom!! You too.Mom: Ok sweetie.

Me and my parents are very happy. I hope that we will go back to the kingdom safely. Chapter 26:

After sometime:Me: Albert didn't come yet. I am worried.Albert: Finally I found water. Give it to your parents. Me: I was worried about you.Albert: I didn't find water nearby. I had to go very far.Me: Ok. Take rest for sometime my love.Albert: Ok.Father: Thank you my son!! Albert: It's my pleasure father.Jack: Albert!!!! Enemies are coming. We must go to some other place. Robert and Stephen will fight with them.Albert: What??? Jack: Yes. Jim came to know about your secret wedding. He sent his army to attack us.Albert: Ok. We must search for a safe place. We will keep Hannah and her parents there and go for war.Jack: Ok Albert.Father: Jim sent his army?? I didn't expect this. So many people told me about him. But, I never believed. Albert: Father!! Let's find a safe place. Father: We have a secret fort nearby. We usually rest there while travelling long distances. Nobody knows that place. Jack: But, it's easy to find the fort.Father: It is a special fort. It is covered by trees. It's very difficult to find.Albert: Ok father. We will go there.Me: Yes.Mom: Yes. We will go there.Father: We reached. Let's go inside. Follow me.Albert: Nobody can detect it. It's good.Me: Yes father. It's good. Albert: Me and Jack will go to fight. Stephen and Robert can't manage.Me: Ok. But, be careful. Albert: Ok my dear. I love you. Me: Me too.Father: I will also come with you. Albert: Father!! You protect Hannah and mom. Please be with them.Father: Yes. Take care my son.Albert: Ok father.Me: Take care Jack.Jack: Ok princess. Bye.Me: Bye.Albert: Bye my love. Me: Bye. I hope that they will return back safely. This is highly unexpected. What is going to happen? I don't want to lose any of my loved ones. If the situation worsens, I will also go to fight. Chapter 27:

After 2 hours:Me: I am worried about them father. They didn't come back yet. Are they ok?Father: I hope that they are fine. Let us wait for sometime. Me: It became too dark.Mom: Yes. Let us hope that they are fine.Me: Shall we go and help them?Father: No my dear. You can't come. Jim may harm you.Me: Yes father.Father: We will wait for sometime. If they will not come back, I will go to help them.Me: Ok father.Mom: Yes. Let's wait for sometime. After sometime:Robert: Jim's army is very powerful. It's difficult to defeat them.Me: Your right hand is injured. It's bleeding. Robert: Yes princess. It's very painful. Father: There's a medicines box in this fort. We can use it for wounds.Mom: Yes. I will treat him. I learnt first aid.Me: Ok mom. I also learnt. I will help you.Robert: Thank you!!!!Father: I will go to help them. They need my help.Mom: Ok. Be careful. Me: Yes father. Take care. Father: Bye bye. Take care of Robert.Me and Mom: Bye bye. After 1 hour:Me: Robert!! Are you feeling better?Robert: Yes princess. Mom: Take rest for sometime Robert.Robert: Ok. After sometime I will go to fight. I will help them.Mom: You are not in a good condition. It's better not to go.Robert: It's my responsibility to protect the Prince. I have to go after sometime. Mom: Ok. You are so responsible and good person. I can't stop you. I can't see my son in this position. I am worried about my family.

Chapter 28:

After sometime:Me: Mom!! Shall I go and help them?Mom: No my dear. It's not safe. We will wait for them.Albert: My love!!! Are you ok?Me: Yes Albert. You are injured. You need treatment. Albert: We defeated Jim's army. Me: Thank God!! We don't have any problem. Albert: No!! My parents also sent army to attack us. The situation is worsening. I came to see whether you are safe or not. I have to go back to fight.Father: No!! Jim sent few more soldiers to attack us. Your parent's army is also very powerful. There are more than 2000 soldiers. We can't fight with them. We must hide here. Jack and Stephen will also escape and come here after sometime. Me: Father!! But, if they will find us.Father: They can't find us. I hope so.Me: Your leg is injured father. Me and mom will treat you. Father: Let Jack,Robert and Stephen come. If they don't come, I will go and bring them.Jack: Albert!!! Are you ok? Albert: Yes. What about you? Where are Robert and Stephen??Jack: I am ok. They will come. Albert: Ok.Stephen: Finally we came.Robert: Yes.Mom: All are badly injured. Hannah!! First we must give them treatment. Me: Yes mom.Robert: I am sorry Prince. We tried our best.Albert: No need to tell sorry. You are a great warrior. Mom: Shall we begin the treatment?Me: Yes mom. After sometime:Strangers: They came this way. They might be somewhere here only. We must find them.Me: Mom!! Did you hear that?Mom: Yes. We must off all the lamps.Me: Yes mom. I will off.Albert: We all will be together. Don't make any noise. They may find us.Father: Yes. It's very hard for me to see my loved ones getting injured. What will this lead to? What will happen if they will find us? We are helpless.

Chapter 29:

After sometime:Jim: Albert!!! Hannah!!! Where are you? I will find you for sure. Nobody will be alive. I will kill everyone. Albert: I will kill him.Me: You will not go out. There are so many soldiers. Promise me.Albert: Ok. I promise you.Jack: Me and Stephen will wait near the entrance. If anyone tries to come inside, we will kill them.Father: No. We can't fight with them. There are more than 2000 soldiers.Me: Yes. We all will be together. Mom: They will find us by tomorrow morning.Albert: We are surrounded by enemies.Mom: Yes. We can't save ourselves. We will make this night memorable. Let us have some fun. We all will die tomorrow. Father: Yes. It's very sad to hear that. But, we must accept the truth.Albert: Yes. Let's celebrate. We have very less time.Me: Yes. But, it's very hard to accept. Albert: Yes.Me: I don't want to lose you and my family. Albert: Me too. I will never leave you. I will be by your side even in death.Me: Me too Albert. (Hugs and cries).Albert: Don't cry my love. I promise you that I will never leave you. I will be with you forever.Me: Ok my love.Father: We all will speak for sometime. Let us speak about our sweet memories. Let us be happy before we die.Me: Father!! I am sorry. It's because of me.Father: No sweetie. It's not your mistake. Forget everything. Let's have some fun. We have very less time.Albert: Yes.Mom: Yes. Let's have a nice time.Jack: It must be the best time in our lives.Robert: Yes.Stephen: Yes. Let's start with Albert.Albert: The most precious moment in my life is the day I met Hannah. I can't forget that day. Jack: That's great.Stephen: Tell us your story.Albert: Ok. After 2 hours:Father: We all shared our sweet memories. Now let's play any game.Mom: Are you serious?Father: Yes.Me: But, what can we play here?Father: We have few games in this fort. Whenever we come, we play for sometime. I will go and bring one.Me: Ok father.Albert: I am excited to play with you Hannah. We never played any game.Me: Yes. Are you ok Albert? Are your wounds hurting?Albert: No. I am ok. As long as you are with me,I can't feel any pain.Me: Oh my love!! (Hugs)Albert: Your father is coming. I am excited. What will he bring?Me: I am also excited.Mom: I hope that it will be interesting. Jack: Yes.Stephen: Yes.Robert: I am so excited. Father: Here's the game. It's "Game of the Kings".Me: What?? The same game. I can't believe.Father: You know this game before?Me: No father. I heard of it.Albert: I don't know about it.Father: Ok. Shall we start.Stephen: Yes. We have less time. In few hours, there will be sunrise.Jack: Yes.Robert: We must play atleast for one hour.Mom: Yes.Albert: Yes.Father: Divide into two groups.Jack: But, we are seven people.Father: Yes. In each group 3 people. I am the king. I will wait in the palace. Who will reach me the first, will be the winner.Albert: Wow!! Ok father. It's interesting. Father: Each one will have a horse. Mom: Ok.Albert: Me,Hannah and Robert will be in one group.Mom: Ok. Me, Jack and Stephen will be in one group. Father: Ok. Who will start the game?Albert: We will start.Father: You must push the "Begin" button.Albert: Ok father. Hannah will start. Oh my God!! I am afraid to push the "Begin" button. Where will this take me now? It's the same game. I am afraid to touch it. What is going to happen? Chapter 30:

Albert: Push the button Hannah!! Me: Ok.Father: Yes sweetie.Me: Finally I pushed the button. After 20 minutes:Me: I am afraid to open my eyes.Peter: Granny!!! Wake up. Me: Thank God!! I came home. I can open my eyes.George: Granny!! Wake up. Me: Peter!! Are you ok? I am glad to see you.Peter: It's like a dream. Me and George grew up. You and Grandpa became young. You were so beautiful. Me: Do you remember everything?Peter: Yes granny.George: I also remember. We all were badly injured. Me: Yes. I was afraid. Peter: Where is grandpa?George: He is sleeping.Peter: We will wake him up.Me: Yes. Let's go.Peter: Grandpa!!! Please wake up.John: How are you? Is everyone ok? Is it a dream?Peter: We are fine grandpa. It's because of the game.John: Where is granny? Is she ok?George: Yes grandpa. She is fine.Me: John!! Are you ok? I am afraid. John: Yes. I promised you that I will never leave you.Me: Yes.George: Granny!! Can we go there again?Me: I don't know. But, I don't want to go. I don't want to lose anyone of you.John: Yes it's dangerous. Me: I saw my father after a longtime. John: Yes. I am happy. Peter: This game is amazing. George: Yes.John: Yes. I remembered my past. It's really a good experience. But, a little dangerous. George: Yes grandpa.Peter: Where is the game?George: It's here.Me: Let us keep it back in the store room.Peter: Ok granny. After sometime: George: I thought that Peter never likes me. But, I was wrong grandpa.John: Yes. I am happy that you realised. George: Yes.Peter: Yes. We have a strong bond between us.Me: Yes. I am happy that we all are safe and together. John: Yes. I was wrong. I thought that we all don't have a strong bond among us. If we always fight, it doesn't mean that we donot love each other. Inspite of many fights and misunderstandings we are together means that there is some strong bond holding us together and we call it as love. I always used to think that John doesn't love me as before. But, I was wrong. He is still that John who wants my love, attention and care. I didn't understand him. My attitude towards love changed after having children and grandchildren. I became more responsible and spent less time with John. My priorities changed. But, John was always the same. I am his priority. His attitude towards love never changed. He expected my love, care and attention. But, I didn't reach up to his expectations. That's why he was sad. I will spend more time with him like before. Responsibilities shouldn't change our attitude towards love. I hardly go out with him. I will change by behaviour. I must give same love to all my loved ones. I learnt so much because of this game. It's my dream game. Me: John!! Shall we go to my mom? I want to see her.John: Ofcourse!! When will we go?Me: Today or tomorrow. What do you think? If you are tired, we will go tomorrow. John: We will go today. I will never get tired. I can travel the whole world with you without getting tired.Me: I am sorry John. I didn't understand you all these years.John: We have so much time. We are just 65.Me: Haha!! Yes. You are not angry with me?John: No. I love you.Me: I love you too.John: Let's go to your mom's house.Peter: Me and George will also come.John: Ok.Me: Ok. My mom will be very happy to see us.John: Yes. Can you give me a promise?Me: Yes. What promise?John: Every Saturday we must visit any place.Me: Ok. Thank you John!!. Thank you for being in my life.John: You are my life. Family is everything. Don't lose your loved ones for small misunderstandings. Only the ones who love you, will expect something from you. Try to reach up to their expectations. I don't tell that we shouldn't fight. Fight but, never fall apart. I forgot to tell my name. My name is Susan.

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darcyfirth · 6 years ago

Note

For the horror prompt A. But man do I also like T and W.

read it on ao3

A - Hunting for cryptids/paranormal investigator AU, T - Coming into contact with a curse AU, W - Learning how to use dark magic AU(but in this case more like actually using it). This works well with an AU I came up with a long time ago so I guess this is both a prompt fill and a start of that AU.

Harry adjusted his night vision goggles as he crouched even lower behind a moss-covered rock. He tried to calm his heartbeat by breathing slower and inhaling deeper, the images of his last escape still fresh in his mind. In his ears, Hamish had let out at least ten different expletives, at least two of them were French.

Harry spun the communication wheel attached to his glove, selecting the yellow triangle which often meant Silent or I don’t know or in this case, for god’s sake, shut the fuck up, Hammy.

“Fine, I will,” said Hamish, or Merlin, as he always insisted when they went on this kind of trip. “But you have to admit that that was the closest you’ve got to being burnt and frozen!”

Harry nodded in agreement, but realised quite quickly that his friend and co-founder of the London Boys Seeking for Ghosts and All Kinds of Horrible Things couldn’t see it, so he settled for a green circle instead. If possible, Harry would choose to use every curse words he had accumulated for the last two decades or so, but considering there were an unknown fire-breathing creature and an ice imp hot on his trail right about now, the curses would have to wait.

“Get a move on Harry, the tracker you’ve managed to get on them are showing signs that you’re very close to being found out,” Merlin warned, the sound of him slurping a mango smoothie followed noisily.

Easy for you to say, Harry thought, biting his bottom lip. Merlin was in their truck tucked way outside the entrance of the forest, whereas Harry just narrowly escaped the doom cave by throwing smoke bombs and hitting a possible cryptid in the head with a tree branch.

Harry was listening for any sound that might alert him of an imminent attack when suddenly a pained howl rang out.

“What was that?” Merlin asked.

Yellow triangle, Harry turned the gear to his left again, I don’t know.

“Hey, a tracker just stopped moving, it’s beeping still, though much slower than it was before,” Merlin reported. “Hey, do you think it’s resting? Giving up on the chase?”

No, Harry thought, remembering how familiar the howling sound was to the furred creature’s in the cave.

“Oh, the beeping, it’s stopped. It, did it shake your tracker off? How the hell-”

Harry leaned forward to check the surrounding area, there was nothing else around him but trees and the light of fireflies.

“Merlin, start the engine,” Harry whispered.

“What? Why? Do you think it’s coming for you?”

“No, no I don’t think so. The howl we heard, I think that was it. The beeping didn’t stop because my tracker fell off. I think,” Harry tied his shoelaces as tight as possible before continuing, “I think it stopped because he just died.”

“Do you think it was the ice bat? I mean, ice imp.”

Harry laughed, standing up at his full height now, and fixed his hair.

“I’d be dead if it was him,” Harry said and took off running.

“How so?”

“Because, Hammy,” he pulled out another smoke bomb labelled as ‘Garlic - Ugh’ while saying, “The fire one in the cave is at least a level 3, and I had already used a boiling spell on the imp.” He added before Merlin could cut in, “A strong one, Hammy.”

“That means. That means whoever or whatever took down the cave being is at least a level 2. Oh, shit.”

“Or 1.”

“I’m starting the engine now, and,” Merlin paused, probably to check his tablet, “You’re less than 500m away from our vehicle. Fucking hurry up, Harry!”

But Harry didn’t have the time to reply, he traced back his old trail marked by tiny pebbles that were dipped in pixie dust, now illuminated by the moonlight, and found the path he had taken to explore the forest.

The wet earth stuck to his boots and made the ground slippery, twice now he almost slid off and fell before slowing down a little.

The trees, seemingly lifeless and silent hours ago, now all started to whispered to his ears: “He’s coming. He’s coming at last.”

“He’s coming for you, young one.”

“Oh, he was woken from his slumber and he has discovered you.”

“Run, boy, because he’ll find you in no time. He’s taken down the hell dog. And he’ll bring the same end to you if you don’t run now.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Shut up!” Harry cried.

“But I didn’t say anything.”

“Not you, Hammy. The tree spirits.”

“You mean those leafy ghosts? What do they say now?”

Taking out his sealed knife, Harry said in a rush, “That I’m gonna be dead if I don’t get back to you in time.”

“Huh, so exactly what I said. Thought that they’d say something more helpful,” Merlin laughed, spinning in his chair a little while staring at the screen, Harry was a few hundred metres away from the entrance now. He could see the frantic beeping transmitted from his friend’s tracker when the sound suddenly slowed down and settled into a steady rhythm.

One-two, one-two. It was as if Harry had already-

“Harry? Are you taking a breather?”

But there was no reply coming from the other end. So Merlin asked again and this time, he received a yellow triangle.

“Telling me to shut up again?” Merlin sighed, and watched as the glowing green dot minutely backed away from the entrance.

“Hello there,” came Harry’s voice, strangely calm this time despite being slightly out of breath.

“Hello? Harry, I’m right here, what are you-”

“They told me about you,” Harry carried on, completely ignoring Merlin’s question.

So Merlin tapped his screen to turn on the camera on Harry’s goggles, he rarely remembered to use this, since Harry needed another set of eyes for navigating the general area more than seeing what was right in front of him.

On the screen, though dark and grainy due to the lack of light source, Merlin could make out a human-like form taking shape and glowing gently from head to toes.

Not three feet away from Harry, the ‘thing’ appeared to be a young male in his twenties. He had no clothes on, no shoes, yet his feet weren’t dirtied by the earth. His face was blessed with attractive features and he had a head of soft, silky hair.

‘He’ smiled at Harry and his eyes curved into the loveliest lines of half-moons. He beckoned Harry to come, blood of the fire creature still dripping from his fingers to the ground.

Shaking his head no, Harry asked him, “Did I wake you up?”

At the sight of what seemed to be a nod, Harry said, “I’m sorry, truly. I didn’t mean to disturb your sleep.”

He was treated to another beautiful smile this time, and the grip Harry had on his knife tightened.

The male being took one step forward and Harry immediately stepped back. The distance between them remained the same. Around them, the trees wouldn’t stop their cries, some almost sobbing.

“He’s here, he’s here,” they chanted.

They screamed, “Run, boy, run!”

Some shouted, “Beg for his mercy, beg him for your life!”

But Harry swallowed drily and did neither. Instead, he quietly sent back a signal to Merlin who was waiting for him in the truck: a red cross.

It had always bear one meaning for them. Danger, do not proceed.

Harry listened for a confirmation on Merlin’s side and received nothing but static silence.

In front of him, the creature’s head was tilting, as if assessing his prey. Then, a steam of liquid-like light curled around his hands and the blood disappeared. He inspected his clean fingers and once pleased with them, spread his arms wide and approached Harry with no sign of stopping.

Startled, Harry took several instinctual steps back while brandishing his knife, the sharp blade of it pointing straight toward the creature’s direction.

“Don’t-” Harry warned, about to aim for his slender neck though how pretty it was.

But in his haste, Harry’s leg hit a tree and he almost lost his balance. In a blink of an eye, his wrist was caught in the creature’s steady hold, its other hand came down to Harry’s waist and rested at the small of his back.

Upon the rough contact of his back and the tree bark, it dawned on Harry that he was without a doubt at the end of his rope this time. And yet, despite his picked up heart rate which was deafening to his ears, Harry stared calmly into the vari-coloured eyes of the one whose chest was on his.

Not using all his concentration on noticing how its almost translucent hair was reflecting the moonlight, Harry asked:

“Who are you? What are you?”

Opening his mouth to answer Harry, ‘he’ growled hoarsely.

“Slept for a long time, didn’t you?” Harry smirked. “Sorry, again, for causing all this ruckus. You’ll get to go back to sleep soon enough, once you’ve finished me.”

‘He’ furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

“No? To the sleeping or the killing? Because the tree spirits have been doing a damn good job of assuring me of the latter.”

Another ‘no’.

Could Harry prolong his life by playing this ask and answer game? He could find a way to weasel himself out of the situation by confusing the creature with all types of answer. Maybe stabbing him in the abs and make a run for it, then calling for Merlin to come back and pick him up before this guy could eventually unleash his fury.

Harry was busy with his limited options when a hand came up to grab his neck and pulled him forward.

Oh, Harry thought, oh, turns out I’ll be dead by a broken neck huh?

And released his knife.

Merlin was already out of the door before he could see Harry’s signal on the screen telling him to go. He grabbed a few of his gadgets and a book of spells just in case Harry forgot which one to use again.

His tablet showed that he was only a few metres away from Harry when Harry’s inconsistent heart rate kept picking up then slowing down for a few seconds then sped up again. Going beep-beep-beep-beep frantically in the night.

‘At least he was alive’ was the only positive thought inside Merlin’s mind. And it was also the one thing that pushed him to run as though his lungs would explode and his legs would give out.

When he got there, close enough to see the both of them, Merlin almost dropped everything on his hands and gaped.

There Harry was, one hand stuck between their chests and the other pinned by the creature’s, back resting uncomfortably against the tree, and mouth softly pressed to a pair of warm lips.

His eyes were wide open from the sheer shock of it, just like Merlin’s were at the moment.

Licking Harry’s bottom lip, his ex-slayer or unknown male being who just stole his first kiss, said something to his ear in an unused voice. It was a scratchy sound that Harry could not comprehend. Although it could be from the fact that he had only two functioning brain cells left.

“What?” Harry asked, breathlessly.

“You,” ‘he’ repeated, slower and firmer this time, “You’re here.”

“Obviously,” Harry said, then regretted his idiotic remark.

But it did nothing besides making ‘he’ laugh, an airy sound coming from the back of his throat, like that of a wheezing man or a gust of wind.

“Yes. You’re here.” His fingers traced the line of Harry’s jaw and neck while his eyes followed the movement, like he was watching the most fascinating wonder in the world.

His eyes slid up after having looked their fill, his lips still wet and open, and Harry felt a phantom pain in his chest, one so deep and vicious it was akin to having his heart carved out by someone who then slowly and meticulously sliced the softest part of it.

“And here I thought you’d never come back.” He said and gave Harry’s throat a soft bite, his teeth lingered on the heat of the skin and the closeness of Harry’s warmth.

“My betrothed,” he uttered, pressing his lips to Harry’s at last.

And with that, the trees ceased their crying.

Around them, all sounds had receded, sucked into a dark abyss born from the appearance of the one who once ruled over the forest.

Trapped between a tree and an unknown creature who could end his life with his bare hands, Harry sighed.

Well, if kissing would buy me more time to come up with better ideas, he thought before pulling the unclothed waist to himself and finally started to kiss back.

horror/sci-fi aus

#hartwin #kingsman #harry hart #eggsy unwin #hartwin au #greaser!harry #paranormal investigation club au #supernatural au #hartwin fic #*myhartwinfics #*promptfills #Anonymous #asks #kissing :')#hope you like it nonnie #for clarification: as a prompt fill this is finished. but i will write more chapters following this one on ao3 #horror prompts #*tara writes

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zawazawanightmares · 2 years ago

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Ryuji Yamazaki & Trick Or Treat

You, Ryuji Yamazaki, are connected to Trick or Treat! Your partner selected the 18+ server. Your partner has a starter. Type /starter or tap here to see it.

Ryuji Yamazaki: /starter

Trick or Treat!: It is October 31st, All Hallows' Eve, a.k.a. Hallowe'en. The day where spooks, spectres and monsters of all kinds roam the night, although these days it's usually children in plastic masks than anything truly sinister. They've been going around all night, knocking on doors and asking that same familiar question: Trick or Treat? As the hours pass and the night sets in, the number of children starts to drop. Whether or not you've been at the door handing out delicious candy or hiding inside and pretending you're not home, in the end it's time for the night's festivities to end. As the clock ticks onwards, it seems like everyone as already gone away. Until, at the stroke of 11pm, there's a knock at the door and a low voice calls out to you, "Trick or Treat?"

Ryuji Yamazaki: Ryuji, who was eating a TV dinner for whatever reason, grumbled as he stuffed his right hand into his pocket, ready to pummel bloody whoever was bothering him at this time of night (not he would be more understanding during the day...). He swung his door open to face his unwitting opponent. "What the hell do you want?" He snarled.

Trick or Treat!: Behind the door, Ryuji can see a tall figure clad head to toe in what can only be a ragged, jet black burial shroud. Despite its poor upkeep, the cloth covers the person wearing it completely. There is nothing to be seen about their identity, and their voice is too muffled to make out who they are by sound. There's no way of telling skin colour, age, or even male or female. The only thing anyone could say with confidence is that they are definitely not a child. They aren't even holding a bag. The figure is unfazed by the confrontation. Not so much as a flinch. They just stand in place and repeat the same question; "Trick or Treat?"

Ryuji Yamazaki: Despite the imposing figure, Ryuji could only grin manically at the sight. "Hey...is this some kind of gag? Did you just tonight at this time to keep from attracting the fuzz' attention?" His right hand began to shake with pure excitement in his pocket. "If you wanted to brawl, you should have just contacted my people."

Trick or Treat!: Like before, the figure didn't flinch. In fact it might have been mistaken for a statue of some kind, at least until it slowly raised its arms and pulled something out from its sleeve. It was a cardboard egg box, just the same as you might get at the grocery store. It was opened up to reveal six painted eggs, each with a different design. There was a cartoony vampire, and equally cartoony werewolf, a ghost, a bunch of tentacles surrounding an eye, a demon, and for some reason a blonde princess. For the third time, the figure repeated. "Trick? Or Treat?"

Ryuji Yamazaki: "Oh...is that your game?" Ryuji inspected the eggs before reaching out, picking the one with the tentacles surrounding an egg. "You know what I did to the last kid who egged my house?" He suddenly forced the egg into the shroud. "You don't want more of the same, you better drop the eggs and take this fight seriously!"

Trick or Treat!: The egg shattered, but nothing came out. No yolk, no albumen, and definitely no chicken. The shrouded figure slowly disappeared back into the shadows, taking the box of eggs with it, but the egg shells from the one Ryuji broke remained in place. Whatever that interaction was all about, answers weren't about to come any time soon.

Ryuji Yamazaki: "...Now that was weird." As hypocritical as he was being, Ryuji was legitimately confounded by his experience, wondering if he just spooked off a ghost. Either way, if he won't fight and can't be hit, he wasn't interested. He just grumbled again as he closed his door, walking back inside.

Trick or Treat!: Even more time passed, with nothing unusual happening. The meeting with the shrouded figure hadn't lasted very long, so the man had a whole hour until the clocks hit midnight. It wasn't quite at the very second but it was close enough; not long after the next day began there was another noise. This was more like a metal bang than a knock at the door, like a clanging sound in the pipes. The source wasn't sure, but it was coming from the bathroom.

Ryuji Yamazaki: Ryuji stopped drinking his beer as he looked up. Probably the pipes settling...but fuck it, he's getting bored anyway. Might as well see if he caught a rat or something. He got up, sat down his beer and headed over to the bathroom, clicking the light on to see what the fuss was about.

Trick or Treat!: There was nothing to see, but definitely lots to hear. The light seemed to have aggravated something, and the sound of pipes rattling picked up a hundredfold. It was coming from all over; the toilet, the shower, the sink... and, actually, the toilet again. From out of the water came a long, thick tendril, rising right up from the bowl. It was slimy and green, like something dredged up from the depths of the deepest oceans. And very similar to the design painted on the eggshells smashed on Ryuji's doorstep.

Ryuji Yamazaki: "...You're shitting me." Ryuji spoke fittingly in disbelief as he reached down to open the cabinet under his sink, taking out one of his signature foot-long knives. He advanced on his toilet, taking a swipe at the tentacle erupting from his private throne.

Trick or Treat!: The knife went through the tentacle like butter. While it was flailing around a little in the air, the tentacle barely putting up any resistance to getting sliced. It did make the knife sticky though, so it wouldn't be as sharp on a second cut until it was cleaned. Nevertheless, the removed limb dropped to the floor tiles... and continued to wriggle. That must have been why it didn't resist, it didn't need to. Getting arms cut off was barely a problem for the creature, but doubly a problem for Ryuji. The stump left in the toilet was already growing back to full size.

Ryuji Yamazaki: "Great...I got the worst type of clog." He casually stomped on the tentacle on the floor before grabbing a towel to wipe off his knife. It didn't matter if the knife was sharp or not: he was going to solve this problem by cutting. So he had to use a more unconventional method...he grabbed the regenerating tentacle and began to yank on it as hard as he could with his barely-human strength. Worse comes to worse, he could always afford a new toilet...

Trick or Treat!: It didn't need much pulling, the creature was already trying to work the rest of its body around the U-bend. Grabbing it probably wasn't a smart move in the long run though, since the mucus the creature secreted was very sticky. It left his towel a mess as he tried to rub it off, and his hands felt practically glued to the monster as soon as he touched it. More and more tentacles were rising up from the bowl as he tugged, and slowly they began to grab him back. Finally, the giant eye of the tentacle monster appeared. It took up most of the body by itself, and its gaze was firmly on Ryuji as soon as it appeared on the other side of the water.

Ryuji Yamazaki: "Oh, this must be the trick..." Despite his clear disadvantage, Ryuji was remarkably calm about the situation. Analyzing the situation in a rare moment of rationality, he takes his other hand out of his pocket and grabbed his knife from the sink, plunging it into the tentacle monster's eye. "Regrow THAT!"

Trick or Treat!: The tip of the knife penetrated deep into the tentacle monster's eye. The blade sank deep into the soft, vulnerable eyeball, causing the creature to wince in what might easily have been pain. Its grip on the man loosened just a little, and the sticky mucus was still holding him in place, as the tentacle monster reached one of its smaller limbs up to its eye and grappled Ryuji's arm. It did seem like a struggle, but Ryuki was forced back and the knife removed from the monster's body. It barely took an extra second for his instructions to be followed; the monster did indeed regrow that.

Ryuji Yamazaki: "Well, I guess that's it. I give up." Ryuji seemingly accepted his fate...before he began to crackle with purple energy, his power increasing as he gave his most demented grin of the night. "I don't care whether I live or die...all I KNOW IS THAT I'M TAKING YOU TO HELL WITH ME!" He tore from the sticky mucus as he reached out towards the being's eye again.

Trick or Treat!: The monster accepted his terms. He sank back into the water of the toilet, dragging the human's body with it and returned from the depths of hell from whence it came. Whatever happened after that, it was somewhere no mortal eye could see and keep their mind intact. Probably involved tentacles though.

Ryuji Yamazaki: One can hope that wherever Ryuji was dragged, he was having the time of his life.

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#ryuji yamazaki #king of fighters

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supergirlimaginesfic-blog · 7 years ago

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Lena Luthor x reader (No more masks, I won’t hold back)

Request: "The candy is for the trick or treaters not you, quit eating it all " with lena

a/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN you wonderful ghouls and pals of mine! Whether you celebrate it or not, have a kickass day, stay safe, and do all the things you want to do, no matter what it is that makes you happy - today and all the days!!! :D

Anyway... how was THAT for an episode that we just watched?? I am STILL reeling about all the Supergirl Ladies content we are having and I have never felt so ALIVE!!!

Here’s a short cute one for y’all though! I freaking LOVE domestic Lena alright!! I swear it is the greatest concept and not only does she deserve this, but we too also Deserve This. Now also imagine Lena having to deal with someone who has approximately zero impulse control?? That’s you this time LMAO. Happy Halloween and happy Tuesday!!

- - - - -

There were only two occasions you ever looked forward to in your life, and since your birthday wasn’t considered a national holiday by the nation yet (how rude of them honestly) you had to settle for the next best thing.

Autumn was your favourite season - you romanticized every single aspect of it that could possibly be cherished to the high heavens and back again. The crunch of leaves on sidewalks under your boots, and leather jacket and sweater weather made you come alive when the rest of nature around you was settling down and shedding.

The colours around you and the anticipation of keeping away indoors to stay warm - it was what kept you going, to say the least.

Even the pumpkin flavoured everything you didn’t bat an eyelash at, and so often some of your friends have expressed their ire of your tendency to go overboard with the festivities.

How could you have helped yourself if it was just simply more fun to act like a suburban housewife and decorate your entire house in Halloween decorations and buy an army’s worth of candy rather than to deny yourself the simple happiness of doing so?

Naysayers be damned, you’ll eat your themed cookies and ensure everything from your house to your car to nearly every single orifice of your body smelled of pumpkin, you’ll eat all your Halloween candy and only regret it for the next few days, and you’ll damn well call anything and everything ‘spoopy’ until the retail industry pries it from your cold, dead hands and forces aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations down your throat.

It was also Lena’s first official Halloween, and much to your friends’ amusement and great exasperation, this very fact seemed to make your excitement reach unprecedented heights.

She’s only been your girlfriend for something just over half of a year, but already you could very well say you knew each other well enough to not be so surprised by each other’s funny quirks.

After you finished work you barrelled right through your front door and darted into the shower the instant that you could, throwing on your favourite obnoxiously bright coloured knit sweater and sneaking six packets of candy into your pocket, for later, obviously.

You promised Lena to bring out all the stops for her first Halloween experience, and you were beyond ecstatic that you got to be the one who did this for her.

You were pondering just how lucky you were to have Lena in your life as you laid out the ready to bake Pillsbury pumpkin and ghost cookies before putting them in the oven.

You’d tried convincing Lena that she didn’t need to leave work too early; Halloween is a late affair anyway.

For her part, she seemed just as excited as you about celebrating, perhaps it was your zealous eagerness that was infectious, but more and more Lena was becoming as taken with the day as you were, and you thought it was absolutely adorable.

Still, her text message to you made it evident she was insistent about coming home early to be with you.

Lena: “I let Jess go home early again... I’ll see you soon :)”

you: “was she just as perplexed as she was the last time you told her to go home early?”

Lena: “It seems as though she’s stopped asking questions and just accepted it.”

you: “seems wise, especially considering what you get up to when you do leave early, I imagine she wouldn’t want to know anyway ;)”

Lena: “And you seem to be wanting to push your buttons tonight, what makes you think you’ll get so lucky?”

you: “you are the light of my life and I am more than lucky to take anything you are so gracious to give me, Ms Luthor”

Lena: “Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need to kiss ass, I’ll see you soon babe ;)”

you: “Love you! Can’t wait <3″

You grinned to yourself as you put the cookies in the oven, marvelling at just how easily it is to smile when it comes to your girlfriend.

With nothing much else left to do, you sit down on your couch and peruse through Netflix’s Halloween selection, wondering if you could convince Lena to watch a horror movie with you.

It’s probably about fifteen minutes later and you’re in the middle of the third episode of Mindhunter when you hear the door open and you turn around to catch the figure of your girlfriend by the threshold.

“Hey babe,” you smile broadly as you take notice of her casual clothes.

“Hi yourself, (Y/N),” she says, walking over to your place on the couch as you lean your head back for her to give you a kiss.

She glances at the TV and squints her eyes suspiciously at you, “you started another episode?”

Your eyes widen and you try to hide your sheepish smirk, “no.”

Lena raises a stern eyebrow and you’re becoming less and less successful at hiding your guilty grin.

“I don’t like it when you lie to me, (Y/N).”

She leans down closer to your lips and you can feel her breath. You move up to kiss her but she dodges the move.

“Uh-uh, tell me the truth,” she says slowly.

You stare up at her again, your head leaning back as you gaze at her chastising look upside down. You smile softly to yourself at the sight of her, the teasing and fondness masked behind a veil of reprimand, and you think you zone out for a little bit in a dopey trance when you hear her click her tongue at you in frustration.

“Don’t do that.”

“What? What did I do?”

“How am I supposed to be angry with you if you keep looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” you ask half curiously.

Lena takes a deep breath and a smile forms on her lips, she shakes her head as she grabs your cheeks and kisses you.

“I can never say no to that face of yours, even if you do try to sneak some TV behind my back.”

“I did not,” you grumble petulantly, watching as her eyebrow arches again when she makes her way to sit beside you. “Entirely.”

“Mhm, right,” she remarks with a fond smirk. “How was your day, darling?” She presses up against you and leans her head on your shoulder.

“It was awesome, everyone dressed up which isn’t really something I’d expected. How about you?”

“It was a day... It’s rather difficult to talk Kara out of an idea once she has one, isn’t it?”

“What did she do now?”

“I believe she and Winn had some bet which she lost, so she walked around the office today in one of those inflatable dinosaur costumes that are always circulating the internet?”

You burst into laughter at the thought and wondered how Winn convinced Kara to walk around in an obnoxious costume for a day when her crime-fighting extracurriculurs were to be considered.

“I don’t really think she considered that she could actually lose,” Lena answers your wordless question.

“Those are always the best bets.”

“So what’s on the agenda today? Are you going to make me watch some ridiculous horror movie so I can snuggle up next to you?” Lena asks conspiratorially.

Despite yourself, you blush at the remark and try to hide your grin.

“I was, actually.”

“You’re so transparent,” Lena says, laughing as she moves in to kiss you.

“Not my fault you’re so irresistible,” you retort with a little pout.

Lena levels her look to you and mumbles against your lips, “you don’t need an excuse to hold me, (Y/N).”

“It’s Halloween anyway, what else could get us into the mood-”

Lena interrupts you as she kisses you, moving so she’s straddling you and pushes you into the couch.

“I know plenty that could get us in the mood,” she comments in a low voice.

She grinds softly into you and you groan, your hands moving to her hips as you chase her lips.

The rustling of something Lena’s disrupted distracts her and she looks down at your leg. She eyes your pocket suspiciously before she snaps her eyes up at you.

“Do you seriously have candy in your pocket?”

“No,” your eyes widen and you make a valiant effort to hide the humour in your lie.

“You’re in a dishonest mood today, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it this is my favourite!”

“Darling, I love you, but your sweet tooth is entirely ruining the meaning of ‘assorted candy’. You get to keep whatever is in your pocket for the rest of the night,” she says with a half-serious warning.

“Yes ma’am,” you mutter as you try to tug Lena back towards you.

“Nope,” she says, refusing to let herself be pulled in.

You look at her with your best puppy eyes and make a grand pout, blinking your eyes in utter sadness and deprivation.

“You’re going to burn the cookies. Don’t think you can use me as your excuse for gross negligence,” she remarks with a mischievous smile.

Lena moves back to her seat on the couch and you make a great show of slowly getting up and dragging your feet toward the kitchen, muttering just loud enough so she can hear.

“I guess! I guess I’ll go, I guess! I didn’t want kisses anyway, it’s fine!” you continue until your voice is nothing but a muted lament from the kitchen.

You take the cookies out of the oven, exceedingly impressed by Lena’s timing, no doubt, and you eye the bowl of candy that’s on the kitchen counter next to the tray of cookies.

You move to stick your hand out and you make just the slightest ruffling sound when you hear Lena’s voice calling out to you from the living room.

“The candy is for the trick-or-treaters, not you. Quit eating it all!”

You drop your jaw slightly in surprise and wonder if Lena’s got eyes on the back of her head.

“Hurry up and get back here before we’re interrupted for the remainder of the night and you regret all of your choices.”

You nearly slip in your socks rushing back to Lena, catching that look of amusement that you’ve noticed is becoming a common expression of hers, her eyes crinkled and lips twisted into a subtle smirk as she watches you dive onto the couch beside her.

True to her observation, you’re about half an hour into Friday the 13th Part VI when the beginnings of the never-ending doorbell mark the start of the evening.

You, being the child at heart, are exceedingly impressed by the sheer number of Supergirls you see; pirate Supergirl, zombie Supergirl, you think you see a velociraptor Supergirl to which you were witness to a brief argument of, ‘it’s Halloween I can be whoever I want to be’, and you whispered to the kid your shared affinity for dinosaurs, to which you received a beaming smile.

You can’t help it but you laugh when you see a child dressed in a laughing-crying emoji costume, and it wasn’t long at all before Lena’s become envious of you that she’s joining you at the door.

In between Halloween-goers, you find yourself sat on the stairs and you’re making out with Lena like two teenagers with the house to yourselves before the next doorbell interrupts you, and you always half-heartedly groan at the distraction and Lena dutifully shoves you toward the door.

Once, a solitary scientist shows up at your door, her mother standing a few feet away from her and the small girls looks up at your tall figures.

“Hi, I’m a scientist,” she says, completely opting out of the traditional greeting.

“That’s awesome, you probably need all the energy you can get to save the world, right?” you say as you drop some candy into her bag.

“Yeah, my mom says too much candy isn’t good though.”

“She’s right, my girlfriend is a scientist too, she only eats healthy food.”

The girl looks up at Lena and her eyes widen in wonder.

“You’re a real scientist?”

“I am, aren’t you?”

The girl tilts her head and her eyes widen again in realization. “Yeah.”

Lena grins as the girl happily waves goodbye, skipping to her mother who’s shaking her head in amusement at her daughter.

When it’s later in the evening and the number of trick-or-treaters has dwindled and you’re almost finished your third movie, you interrupt the B-horror movie you and Lena had opted for in favour of light conversation.

“You gonna dress up next season?” you ask as someone on the screen trips over their own feet.

Lena’s head is leaning against your shoulder and she snuggles closer to you under the blanket draped over you two.

“I suppose so, I definitely will when we have kids of our own though.”

You think you feel your heart skip a beat and you hear the low trumpeting of your heart in your ears. You think you’re projecting, totally having misheard Lena and you don’t dare comment on it at all, lest you make everything awkward and more troubled than it ought to be.

Your silence goes entirely noticed, however, and you don’t have to see Lena to know her eyes have shot to the size of golf balls and you can feel her entire body tense beside you.

You keep your eyes stubbornly trained on the TV, trying to steady your breaths but you learn that the mindful attempt of regulating a natural phenomenon is far too much work.

Lena’s uncharacteristically stuttering when she speaks up, “I just- I meant, that if... in the circumstance that could ever be a possibility-”

You move your arm and put a hand on her knee, your other arm bringing her in close and you squeeze reassuringly.

“Kid talk already, eh?”

You feel her indignant blush and you laugh, feeling her sink her head deeper into you if it were even possible.

“I’m sorry, I’m just bugging you,” you amend gently. “You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper as it’s muffled by your clothing.

“So we’ll get there when we get there. And I know I can take on everything with you, and I in fact want to.”

You squeeze her again and feel her wrap her arms around your midsection, you adjust yourself accordingly to let her.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think I could have a better Halloween partner than you.”

“How charming and thoughtful of you to say,” she says in a teasing lilt, taking her head out of somewhere from under your arm and resting her chin on your shoulder.

You turn your head slightly to look at her, adding an afterthought.

“Or a better partner in general.”

She looks up at you through her lashes, studying the soft look your face has taken when you look at her, and after a long moment she purses her lips for a kiss.

You turn your body to her and smile into her kiss, grinning at the soft exhalation of air she lets out when she melts into your touch.

You tug on her waist to bring her on top of you, Lena falling into your lap easily as you run your hands up and down her back in a soothing motion. Lena moans lowly in your mouth as your hands slip under her shirt, finally touching skin.

She rocks into you softly and your jaw drops a little, Lena’s touch tracing your lip gently before nipping at it.

You think you feel so viscerally shaken when Lena abruptly pulls away, leaving you feeling particularly cold and at a loss of contact.

By the time you figure out what’s going on, she’s already just made it to the bottom of the stairs.

“Hurry up, babe, or you won’t get to see the other costume I have in store for you.”

For the life of you, you think you black out momentarily when you process Lena’s words, and you think in that split second of seeming eternity, you caught a glimpse of your whole life flashing before you.

If there was any indication of eager excitement on your face, Lena most certainly caught it if the wink and sultry eyes she gives you is anything to go by.

You were proud to say you tripped only once bolting up the stairs; that and a handful of other bruises you garnered that night surely ended up being worth your troubles.

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