#i thought the cello holder had a hard on

[ilovebeingcalledawhore]

Content: fluff, angst, princess au, magic au

Summary: After being chosen as the ballot princess of 2021, Y/n finds herself in a throne ready to meet her future husband, the prince of the south.

Princesses have always been people I looked up to. I thought they were magical, beautiful and breathtaking not until I became one myself. Sitting in my ‘small’ throne compared to the king and queen’s, I sighed in dismay waiting for my prince to arrive.

Yes, it is the annual arranged marriage for ballot princessess.

You may be wondering why our kingdom doesn’t have actual heirs, or what a ballot princess even is, let me explain. The queen and king had a child eighteen years ago who then died because of a sickness, and because of a witches curse to our kingdom, the queen became infertile. To fill out the role of the heir, every five years a commoner turns into a princesses through a ballot. Picking a random name from a beautiful diamond box that changes one’s destiny.

That box changed mine.

My family was wealthy, ‘till we found out my father was in debt. The loan sharks came and killed him leaving me and my mother in poverty. We had no other option than to place my name in. Months later I was left breathless in black corsets and a small library in the palace as a way of freedom.

I haven’t seen my mom since.

“Please welcome Huang Renjun, the prince of the South.” The gigantic red doors open and comes in a charming prince. Well dressed, good-looking and evidently well mannered. Rumors were, he was the kindest prince out there and I was a lucky princess to be chosen as his partner. Yes, being friends with the maids helped me get through a lot, maybe even know things I wasn’t meant to know.

I stand with the queen and king, a feigned smile on my face.

“Your highnesses,” he speaks with his calm and soothing voice as he bends down with great gracefulness. “Welcome my dear,” the queen greets excitedly as she walks down to give him a hug. “This is your future wife,” she points towards me and the moment our eyes meet, I freeze.

He was breathtaking.

“Greetings my lady,” he smiles at me with kind eyes as he walks closer, bowing like a gentleman. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles, as a response I bowed back to him but I couldn’t help but see the frown appearing on his face as he notices the way I reacted.

He knew something was wrong.

He knew I didn’t want to be here.

But beyond the feigned look on my face that he noticed so easily, he smiled wider.

“I’ll see you at tonight’s ball princess,” he speaks calmly as he lets go of my hand, bowing once more before he walked off with his guards and butlers.

___

I was wearing the kingdom’s colours for tonight’s ball. Emerald green, matte black and gold. While the queen and king settled for the matte black gowns and robes - as the ballot princess of the year I was given a handmade satin dress.

Fully emerald green with thin straps made of golden chains. It was cold against my shoulders - colder when they placed a silk black cape attached to the chain, one that dragged against the floor as I walked. The maids then came in and place a crown on my head, made with diamonds - the rarest one of the season.

I looked powerful.

I was there to portay one thing and one thing only, I looked exactly like the witch that cursed our kingdom looked when she casted the spell on us. It is to prove that even dark magic cannot stop us.

“You look beautiful my dear,” the queen opens her arms to engulf me in a warm embrace before she placed her hands on my hip, a cold metal pushing the satin dress hard on my skin. “That’s a knife, I’m gonna hide it right here,” she whispers in my ear as she locks the weapon in place.

There was a secret holder on my dress. That’s why I had to put the cape on, to make it less obvious. “Kill him,” she whispers as she pulls away, a very warm smile on her face. “What?” I asked in a whisper, my brows furrowing.

“You heard me right princess, kill him,” she replies - a big smile still on her face.

Before I could even react, the black double doors in front of me opened and the crowd down below started clapping for my entrance. “May I present to you, Princess Y/n,” I slowly walk into the ball room - the people making a pathway for me to walk past.

“Bow for the new princess of the south,” the band starts playing music, the sound of the piano, trumpets and cello echoed throughout the ballroom. Everybody bows. As everybody’s heads goes down only one stays up.

My future husband, Huang Renjun.

He walks towards me gracefully, the same smile on his face.

It was then I realised that though it reaches his eyes, it doesn’t reach his soul.

He wasn’t happy.

He didn’t want to be here.

Just like me.

_

The music finally goes louder and everybody’s back to dancing and feasting.

“Renjun,” I whisper his name as we connect in the dance floor. “Yes my princess,” he replies, his hands now resting on my waist. “Let’s runaway,” I whisper and he freezes.

Now were in the middle of the dance floor just staring at each other with everybody else dancing around us. “I know you don’t want to be here,” I continue, “Just get me out of the palace and we’ll go on our separate ways.”

“The only way to escape the palace is with magic,” he replies and I smile at him, pulling his body closer to mine and continuing to dance. My hand goes up his neck, then to his face, caressing his cheek. “Who said I didn’t have that?”

“What?” His brows furrow and instead of explaining, I decided to show.

“Who do you not like here, someone you loathe?” I ask with a smirk and his eyes immediately drew to the man across the room. His name was Junhui I believe, Wen Jenhui the prince of the east.

“Got a little grudge for the east prince hmm?” I ask and he nods. “Took the last kill on the 24th war when it was meant to be mine.” He grits his teeth and I chuckle. Still caressing his cheeks, I stop and snap my fingers. Seconds later someone screame

All eyes turn towards the woman, she was on her knees shaking Junhui awake, trying to bring him back. People come to help but halt when they realise his heart has stopped beating. “What’d you do?” Renjun asked, his brows now more furrowed than ever.

“Nothing special, just stopped his heart.” I smiled.

Palace helpers came to carry his body but before they could raise him up the ground, I snapped my fingers again. Junhui’s eyes open and he sits up abruptly...eyes bloodshot and breathing heavily.

Junhui was alive again.

“How?” Renjun whispers in my ear, his lips brushing against it.

“What am I dressed up as?” I ask and he answers confidently. “The witch of the north,” making me nod my head in agreement. “How ‘bout now?” I ask, snapping my fingers and in a blink my emerald green dress was now ruby red.

“The witch...of hell.”

His eyes widen in fear, his hands dropping down to his sides ready to run away but before he could, I raise my hands and whisper my spell.

Cold.

Empty.

Silent.

Dead.

Time has stopped.

Everyone in the room was frozen, except for him.

Huang Renjun sold his soul to the devil which was exactly why he stayed alive in the 24th war. It had its consequences and rules and the stupid prince did nothing but disobey them so I had to take him.

More like claim his soul.

Interlocking my fingers together, I say his name with a smirk.

“Hell welcomes you,” I whisper and his eyes widen. His legs, arms and lips were stuck together but he felt and saw everything.

“Say hi to them for me,” I chuckle as I watch as his soul leaves his body, the rest of him crumbling into pieces.

“Jeno!” I shout and comes in Lee Jeno in his crow form. “Change,” I command and he turns into human with a black suit on. After a twirl of my finger and a snap of my wrist he transformed in Renjun. The same face, clothes and body - just a different smirk on his face. “You’re gonna love it here,” I grin interlocking our arms together.

“Do the honors,” I say to him and he smiles, kissing me.

“Gladly,” Jeno snaps his fingers and the party continues.

The music plays as if nothing happened and there goes Junhui walking out the room with a look of confusion in his face.

We smirk.

“Well done.”

[vanchlo]

The Assistant / Chapter Twenty-Three, “Bleeding Heart”

hello hello. i’m so sorry that i’m an awful person and i haven’t written in a bahillion years. life has been wack and i fell out of writing for awhile. instead of doing homework like a good human being - yay! - i found this chapter i had started and i finished it. it’s not as long as usual, i know, but i did that on purpose and you’ll see why ;) ;) ;) ;) i hope i can write some more soon and stick with this. i’m unreliable i know and i’m terribly sorry. college and work are crazy and my mom was just diagnosed with 2 kinds of cancers soooo oooo life truly is crazy and overwhelming rn. i hope to maybe set aside some time each night to write, but it’s hard to stop when it’s getting fun haha. i enjoyed writing this chapter and delving more into this story, like idek where it’s gonna go haha.

anyways lemme know what you think of this chapter. i wanna hear your predictions and thoughts!!!!!!!!! reblog, like, share with friends, say hi to me :) 

one last thing. we should decide a ship name for harry and becks, i mean it’s been coming. here are my ideas and feel free to send me others :D 

a) hecks (my personal fav) 

b) barry (i just think of rachel’s barry from FRIENDS but it’s ok) 

c) hebecca????

d) ??????

e) hecky?

“No. No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO.

I try to breathe in, but I can’t.

And suddenly the switch inside of me changes. Instead of pushing him away for the last few weeks, I want him. I want him to come and save me. 

The laugh that falls from my lips surprises the both of us. “You can’t hurt me anymore.” 

The swarm of voices that crowded my ears from before is now gone. A soft chatter of voices occupies the conference room now, around an hour after the festivities had begun. Now the fun is over and the last few of us clean up the forgotten plates, take down the streamers donning the walls, push in the chairs, vacuum up the crumbs, and everything else required to return the room to its former glory. 

“Hey, you stop that,” somebody says from behind me. “This was yer party, yer not s’posed to be cleaning it up,” they finish as I turn around to find Harry pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes as he grasps a wet rag in the other hand. 

“No, I want to help. Please,” I reply, turning back to the table and picking up the spray bottle. I spritz the plastic top and run the wet rag over the spot, repeating in sections until I finish the table. 

“Fine, I guess you can help,” Harry huffs and I smile to myself in triumph as I return to my cleaning. “So, what did ya think?” 

“It was a lot of fun and very nice of all of you, thank you so much again,” I tell him trying to circumvent having a conversation. I move to the other end of the table as he begins on the next one over. 

A few male coworkers fold up the table to my left and carry it out the door, probably to place back in storage. My eyes life to find Harry leaning over the table he scrubs and he must notice my pause because he meets my eyes. But I can’t look at him, not today. 

“I’m glad ya had such a good time, ‘m sure everybody else did too . . Everybody’s going t’ miss ya, ya know,” he comments, and I nod with a small smile. I don’t know how much more of this awkward small talk I can put up with, especially as the domino that caused all of this is gnawing at my insides. Particularly the part where he could have stopped it coming to this. 

But he didn’t.  

The rest of the clean up consists of few words between Harry and I, or anybody else for that matter. We cleaned tables, folded them and carried them away, stacked chairs, vacuumed, packed things away, and carried more things away. The room was now bleak with its new emptiness and quiet, all of the people previously filling it returning to their lives. Luckily I found my escape shortly after the room was all squared away. 

“All done?” a voice asks me. I look over my shoulder and find Asher tying up a bloated garbage bag. My stomach drops all of a sudden with disappointment at who it is, and who it’s not. 

“Yep.” I nod. Then I feel bad for being disappointed. Oh it’s just a never-ending rollercoaster, isn’t it?

“I can’t believe you helped clean up. The whole point was having other people do stuff for you, and then you helped them?!” Asher laughs with a disbelieving shake of his head. He happens to pull a giggle from my unsure lips. I sheepishly nod at his words, and I give him another laugh when he almost trips over the garbage bag. 

“Are you on your way out now?”

“Yeah, I think so. I just have to drop off some last-minute things - keys and keycards, that sorta thing. But now I can’t find the person to give them to . . ,” I confess, losing my words as I scan the room for those green eyes and that mustard top. 

“Hmmmph, well it’s getting late. Maybe he left or had something. You could leave them with Myles or Jennings, I’m sure if you wanna get outta here. I know you’re just dying to get those drinks with me tomorrow,” Asher quips, turning my lips up with his words. 

I leave him with a few words, telling him I’ll see him later. I say goodbyes to a few people as I leave the conference room and begin my hunt to find Harry. One I’m not sure how I want to end. 

I find my desk empty and many others as well. Glancing at my watch, I find that the hours have flown by. Many people jetted out of here as it’s five o'clock on a Friday afternoon. The cushion welcomes me as I sit down in my chair for the last time, but I don’t miss its welcoming squeak. The squeaking continues as I spin my last spin in the chair, feeling hot tears at the back of my eyes at the finality of my actions. My mug of pencils- no, it’s not my mug anymore. It never was mine. 

A polar bear post-it note holder invades my -not my desk - along with framed pictures of strangers, a bright pink day planner, candy apple lotion, and other foreign objects belonging to the new owner of this desk. Who isn’t me. A long sigh leaves my lips as I release my hands I didn’t know I was clenching. 

“It’s now or never,” I say aloud, willing myself to stand. 

Okay, Becky, we can do this. This isn’t even the hard part. 

But it is, I think to myself as my eyes glance up and memories that took place at this desk spin through my head. Making Harry laugh for the first time. Silly arguments with him about which was the better movie. How easily he made me smile by bringing me coffee out of nowhere and- Stop, Becky, you can’t do this now, I tell myself as I swipe a hot tear away from under my eye. I exhale as I get to my feet and feel for the ring of keys in my pocket. Good, they’re still there. 

The hallway is dim, but the light from the London evening comes in through the many windows around the office. His hallway. A hallway I will never walk again. Fuck, am I really sure I want to do this? How can I not see him again? You can and you will. You have to, Becky. It was too hard sitting there day after day wanting him. And him not wanting you back. I nod to myself, trying to affirm those words to myself. They don’t do that good of a job, because of the person I see around the corner. 

“Oh hey, bug. A-are ya leavin’?” Harry stutters, his furrowed emerald eyes falling on me. He comes to a stop in front of me, running a hand through his mop of curls. 

“U-uh yeah. I was just going to drop off the keys with you and go over a few things.” 

“Yeah yeah, sounds good. I jus’ really gotta take a leak, so ‘ll be back in a minute, ‘kay?” He asks with a pat on my arm. I nod with a soft ‘okay,’ as I turn to watch him walk away. Nodding with a thumbs up, he gives me a small sad smile before turning around and walking down the hallway. I watch until he’s gone. 

Almost done. But now for the hard part. Leaving him for the last time, I contemplate with a pout. I shuffle my feet to his door and twist the knob. Immediately, his familiar woodsy scent hits me. Suddenly, all of my senses are inundated with him. His messy desk. His blazer draped over his chair. Bookmarked biographies dotting his desk. Empty mugs of tea taking up empty spots. The essential oil diffuser in the corner humming as it mists Sandalwood. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 trickling from a Bluetooth speaker in the corner. Harry. It’s all him. And my reserves begin to fall. Can I really do this? No, there’s no way I can. Even if I have to sit at that desk day after day trying to love him, it’s better than leaving him. 

Yeah, and then what about when he marries Amber or somebody else that’s not you? 

I gulp, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat and at the same time pressing my fingers against my eyes, willing them to dry. 

“Wow, are we getting a little teary-eyed on our last day?” a voice snarks from behind me. 

No. No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO. 

I try to breathe in, but I can’t. 

And suddenly the switch inside of me changes. Instead of pushing him away for the last few weeks, I want him. I want him to come and save me. To save me from her. And to see her for the monster that she is. 

The laugh that falls from my lips surprises the both of us. “You can’t hurt me anymore, Amber,” I snap, turning around to face her with a wry smile coating my lips. 

“Oh I don’t know about that, I still can. But hey, I won, and don’t you forget that,” she retorts. Amber’s blonde curls shake as she stomps her foot and points a tanned manicured finger at me. How can he even comfortably hold hands with those daggers?

Her blow hits me, and she knows it. I can’t hide it, because I’ve lost it. The last few weeks or even months have taken everything from me. My grandpa dying, my mom’s abusive treatment towards me, Harry’s bipolarness, and Amber’s physical and mental attacks. I lost.

“I don’t care,” I croak, throwing up my hands in defeat. The keys on the ring twinkle with movement in my hand. 

“But you do! I know you do!” she cackles, excitement twisting her plastic face into a Cheshire grin. “You wanted him, but you couldn’t have him and so you gave up! I won!” Amber continues, stepping towards me in her flowy scarlet blouse and skin-tight black jeans. 

I instinctively step back and away from her, but I stop when I think I hear a noise. It’s a loud squeak on the floor that makes me stop, but it doesn’t stop right away. 

“I don’t care, Amber, you can have him! I told him what you did to me and he didn’t believe me because of whatever spell you put on him. So you can keep him and live a wonderful, happy life together. I don’t care anymore, and I hate that I ever did,” I announce with weight to my words, willing my feet to lift from the carpet, but they won’t. 

Amber chuckles, crossing her arms with a pleased smile of satisfaction painting her face. “I can’t believe you had the nerve to tell him what I did to you,” she mutters in disbelief, shaking her head. “As if Harry would believe that I’d do such a thing. He probably thinks you made it up. Hell, for all I know I never laid a finger on you and you just imagined the whole thing.” 

“You left marks on me, Amber,” I spit out through gritted teeth. 

“Yeah, and apparently that wasn’t even enough to convince Harry. God, I really do have him wrapped around my finger,” Amber sighs happily. “I can’t do anything wrong in his eyes. He hasn’t even noticed how much I’ve been gone lately, or how often I’ve been texting this new bloke I’m fucking on the side.” 

“You slut!” I exclaim, not being able to hold it in. “Harry loves you and would do anything for you! He built this firm from the ground up! He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s giving, he’s funny- he’s amazing and that’s how you treat him?!” 

“Excuse me?! Who here was throwing themselves at my boyfriend right in front of me?!” Amber argues, taking another frightening step toward me. She’s no longer laughing, but instead, her drawn-on eyebrows have fallen into a point above her glassy stare. 

“How dense are you?!” I laugh, feeling the anger rise warmly in my chest. I really don’t care anymore. “You have such a huge problem with that - which never happened, thank you - but you think it’s okay to cheat on your boyfriend?! My god, you really are fucking dumb!” 

“You just had your last laugh, bitch, because I’m going to slap that smug smile right off your face,” she snarls, taking several steps before I can almost see the flames rising in her eyes. 

“No, you won’t!” a voice announces. 

I take my eyes off of Amber to see who said that, but it’s a second too long that lets her clawed hand accost my face. 

[itskateak]

It's like 11PM but I'm thinking about it so here's this. It's really long. Here's everything I remember about the 7.0 Earthquake on November 30th, 2018 at 8:29 AM. (TW: Panic attack mention, death mention, natural disaster)

I remember when it started. I had just put my rental piccolo away and closed the case and was about to take apart my flute when the prerequisite 6.6 hit. I remember being pressed against the wooden cello holder with my left ankle twisted and vaguely aching. The flute and piccolo case were pressed to my chest with my right hand, and my left hand covered the back of my neck. I remember no one screamed. We were all silent. I remember how loud the industrial sound proof ceiling tiles rattled. They shook so violently you couldn't hear anything above them. I remember the lights turning off, afraid they might short. I remember it going pitch black, and as the rolling continued, it got worse. The 7.0 hit. And I pressed closer to the wall. I remember wondering if it was the end of the world. Asking myself if the apocalypse had just started. If that was it. I remember feeling terrified of dying there. I didn't want to die. I wasn't ready. I prayed, I begged, I waited. And it stopped.

I remember shaking so hard I could barely type and respond to my mom. I remember calling my best friend, Keirsten, and watching her look up from another flute's shoulder, pale and crying. I remember that's the first time I've ever seen her cry since I accidentally hit her in the face with a plastic baseball bat when we were three. I remember holding her hand and feeling all of my emotions shutting down. I remember our other best friend, Ian, finding us and giving us a hug. I remember Kim having a panic attack and our band teacher consoling her and asking if everyone was okay. I remember gathering up my items and offering to take the flute with the broken foot's stuff to her locker. She had made it safely to the wall without hurting her foot in the chaos. I had been concerned about her.

I remember hearing the 5.7 coming. We rushed back to the walls, and Kim ended up behind me. I remember telling her that it was going to be okay. That we'd keep her safe and things were going to be fine. I remember rubbing her shoulder until the shaking stopped. I remember telling people and friends and family about what had happened and assuring them I was okay. I remember the mild panic I felt when I couldn't get through to a friend at another school. I remember sitting against the walls and waiting for Keirsten's mom to come pick us up. I remember when Ian left to drive home. He hugged us both, just in case. Just in case something happened and he didn't make it home. The thought terrified me, and I told him to text me when he got home. Call me if you get into trouble. I remember being called to the office to be released. I remember getting our stuff. The large group of parents and students and families hugging in the front office. I remember Keirsten hugging her younger sister, Marissa, and I hugged them both. That was the first and only time I broke down and cried that day. I remember waking out into the parking lot, seeing the sun just above the mountains. It was only 9:40, but it felt like we had been there for much longer. We drove back to Keirsten's home, the sunrise over the mountains our view as the tsunami warning was recalled.

I remember doing damage assessment in the house, beginning to pick up ceramics and sweep up glass before anyone stepped on it. I remember talking and suddenly hearing a rumbling, and stopping everything I was doing to just listen. It rocked the house for a few seconds, and we continue working. I remember sitting on the couch and Keirsten's dad would stomp on the floor to make it shake and scare us. He made fun of us whenever a fairly long quake came and we got up to move to a safer place than the couch. I never quite like him anyways because of those types of things.

I remember my dresser was broken. I remember packing all my valuable breakable things away. My ceramic Phantom of the Opera mask my mom gave to me, the tragedy and comedy ceramic masks, my music boxes, statues, and the porcelain dolls that fell six feet and didn't have a scratch on them. When I'm writing this (April 9th, 2019), I still haven't brought them back out. I remember holding shaking dogs. I remember not being able to sleep. I remember getting up off the couch and scooping up a dog to hold during a fairly bad aftershock. I remember shaking so bad I couldn't tell if it was a quake or me. I remember keeping a glass of water next to me to be able to tell. My mom and I played magnitude guessing games in the weeks to come.

I remember a lot about the earthquake. And I will remember these things for the rest of my life.

[donkeywrotewhat]

The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving: Part II- The Healing

“Hello? Yeah, yeah I know, I know and I’m sorry. I was just out and I was with friends and-“

“He knows. Yeah I made sure because the last time I didn’t he was really mad and yeah-“

“I’ll call you when I get home. Yeah you don’t need to worry, alright sleep tight, love you too Mani.”

 Lauren ended the call and tapped her fingers against the marble counter while she looked around her favorite coffee shop in Los Angeles. She looked at her phone’s watch and clearly the day was just about to start while she was about to head home after having a blast night with her friends whom she haven’t met a very long time.

 Alright folks I know I am probably late but this is the moment you have all been waiting for. Camila Cabello finally releases her latest single, Crying in the club video which has already 300,000 views! How rad is that?! I just recently listened to the audio and I am so excited for the video so pl-

 “Here you go ma’am one-“ The cashier held her breath. “You’re Lauren Jauregui.”

She smiled and didn’t confirm it. “Thanks for the drink.” She then turns around to leave but-

“Wait! I don’t know anything but you should listen to her music. It’s really nice you know.”

 She turns around and gave her a small nod and smile before heading towards her car. She places her drink in the cup holder. She sighs out in frustration and in annoyance and ran her hand through her hair. And just as she thought that she could just forget about what happened weeks ago but now she’s having an internal battle if she should listen to it or not. She closed her eyes to calm down for a second but her mind was playing against her.

“I have a song about us and I hope you can listen to it one day.”

“And when you do, I hope it hits you like a fucking train just so you can understand the half of the pain that I was going through.”

 “You know what, fuck this shit. I’m just going to get this over with.” She types in the words and pressed the very first video that appeared.

 Lauren taps her steering wheel but unlike the tapping she did against the marble counter, this one was more of an anxiety because she was getting impatient with all the waiting she had to suffer because the video was still buffering. She has never felt so impatient in her life. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the sound of the cello echoed through her car and she saw Camila walking in a very beautiful dress and her heart broke when she saw a tear fall on the younger Latina’s face when she started singing.

 Why did you leave me here to burn?

I'm way too young to be this hurt

I feel doomed in hotel rooms

Staring straight up at the wall

Counting wounds and I am trying to numb them all

Do you care, do you care?

Why don't you care?

I gave you all of me

My blood, my sweat, my heart, and my tears

Why don't you care, why don't you care?

I was there, I was there, when no one was

Now you're gone and I'm here

 I have questions for you

Number one, tell me who you think you are

You got some nerve trying to tear my faith apart (I have questions for you)

Number two, why would you try to play me for a fool?

I should have never ever ever trusted you (I have questions)

Number three, why weren't you, who you swore that you would be?

I have questions, I got questions haunting me

 I have questions for you, I have questions for you

I have questions, I have questions for you

 Lauren didn’t care about the other music as she immediately brings the small circle back from the beginning and listened to the entire things again. She looked at the girl in the screen and she felt her pain. She felt her regret, her anger, her sadness and every bit of negativity. She leans back on the chair and closed her eyes because she knew very well how this song was formed. It was her fault after all.

 “Lauren I am asking you a question.”

“And I am politely requesting you not to annoy the shit out of me.” She says coldly. “Can you please get change? Everyone’s waiting for us at the roof top.”

“Not until you tell me why the hell Lucy was here inside the hotel room, looking like you fucked her so well!”

“Because I did okay!?” She snaps. “She came here and apologized, Camz she went out of her way to say sorry to me where in fact she needs to be somewhere else right now. I couldn’t say no to her effort.”

“Lo, she cheated on you with your friend Keana-“

“They were both drunk and regretted what happened okay and I forgive them both for that.”

“C’mon Lo, you know she’s just messing with you. Open your eyes Laur! She doesn’t love you!”

“No Camila if there’s someone who needs to wake the fuck up, it’s you!” She was so angry at Camila right now. “You’re just saying shit because you can never accept the fact that I can’t love you and me never will love you the way I love Lucy and it’s fucking eating you.” She argues. “Wake up Camila,  if the management didn’t request for us to act like as a couple, I wouldn’t notice you. You’re crazy as fuck if you think Lucy who is an amazing person for someone like you because you’re not worth it, you’-“

Lauren was silent when Camila finally slapped her. “Fuck you.” She was also stunned at the amount of venom in those words.

“Thanks but no thanks Camila, I’ve got Lucy for that.” She knew it was so wrong to rub at her the reality but she was just offended. “You should just stay here, I can’t have any fun whenever you’re around.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be in my fucking hotel room so that I couldn’t burst your bubble.”

“Hey honeypie, where’s Camzie? I thought you were coming to get her.” Mike asked her daughter.

“I tried but she wanted to have marathon of FRIENDS. Plus, she easily gets cold.”

“Ugh, seriously that girl needs some social classes.” Dinah groaned.

“Let her be guys, I am pretty sure that she just wants to be alone.” Ally looked at Lauren and the green-eyed beauty looked away as if she knew what was going on. “C’mon let’s just enjoy alright?”

“Happy 4th of July bitches!”

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Lauren said as she slams her fist against the wheel. “Stupid Lauren! How could you say something like that!?”

 She felt her tears on her cheeks and she immediately wipes them off before leaving the place. She was really driving in a faster speed, gripping on the wheel as hard as she wants to reach the place who can give her solace right now. She bit her nails as Camila’s lyrics struck her so hard and she couldn’t seem to get the memory out of her mind even if she wanted to.

She parked her car just outside before climbing onto the fence. Jumping on the other side, she messed up her hair again and started pacing back and forth like a lunatic before screaming her heart out. She needed something to calm her down and then she remembers her coffee but now she remembers that her coffee was inside of the car which was probably not so hot now and cold coffee can’t help to calm her down. She groaned in frustration and threw the very first thing that was on her hand which unfortunately was, her phone.

 “FUCK!” She screams in realization. “ Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh what the hell it doesn’t matter anymore! Damnit!” She reaches something in her back pocket which was her pack of cigarettes and her lighter. “Fuck this shit.”

Just as she was about to light it up, someone spoke. “I guess old habits die hard huh.”

She was surprised to see Camila on the other side of the fence. “What are you doing here?”

The latter shrugs and started to climb on the fence which Lauren helped her with. “Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

“See, I told you old habits die hard.” Lauren was confused but then Camila looked at their intertwined hands so she removes them. “I was talking about your nails but it’s not like I was using it as an excuse to hold your hand because-“ Camila stopped when she heard Lauren chuckling.

“I get your point.”

“Biting your nails is a bad habit.” Lauren blushed out of embarrassment. “And by old habits, it’s about us going to this place whenever we feel like we can’t breathe.”

“That’s right.”

“But out of all the old habits you’re doing, this has gotta be the one I hate the most.” She pulls out the stick from Lauren’s mouth and threw it away along with the pack. “I would’ve included the lighter but I know it was a gift from your abuelito.”

“T-thanks for remembering.”

“You don’t need a raspier voice Lauren, it’s already amazing as it is.” That made Lauren blushed. “Although I really feel sorry for your phone.”

“How long have you’ve been there?”

“Enough to hear cursing for the rest of the year.” She chuckles. “No I wasn’t spying on you, you were just distracted because if you weren’t you would probably hear my engine. It’s not that hard.”

“Wow, so now you can drive now?”

“I needed to, I have no one to be on my side when I wanted to escape, I mean there’s Juno but you know she has some other things to do.”

“Look at you doing all the adults do.” Lauren decides to tease which Camila just rolled her eyes. “But it’s nice to know you can do things on your own.”

“It’s kind of weird seeing me be all mature and stuff, I may be 20 but I still feel like my 15-year old self.”

“And that’s good because if there’s one thing I love about you it’s your pure soul. I hope you won’t let them take that away from you.”

“You forgot that I am the biggest goof as well.”

Lauren chuckled. “That too.”

Camila smiled looking at her chuckling. “I remember the first time you took me here, I was scared to death and I remembered peeing in that spot.” Lauren was now laughing her ass off. “That wasn’t funny! You know it wasn’t every day for me to break the rules!”

“I’m sorry I just-“ Lauren wipes the tears in her eyes. “Laur, please let’s get back to the hotel what if someone sees us up here?” She says imitating Camila’s rant. “LAUREN MICHELLE JAUREGUI MORGADO THIS SHIT HAS GOTTA STOP! I WILL NOT CLIMB THIS STUPID FENCE JUST SO I COULD SIT ON THE CLIFF ABOVE THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN!”

“I am a Hispanic and the president might be considerate but if Obama sees us I’m doomed!” Camila adds to the memory.

“Well now Trump’s here, consider us deported.” Both of them laughed. “But you still went in for me, even though you’re about to pee in your pants.”

“I was scared as fuck but I still went for you because I know you needed someone. I was scared of what you might do, but mostly because I’m a sucker for cliché movies and I wanted to be your personal solemn place to be our solemn place, and that we get to call this place ours.” Camila says with a smile on her face. “Besides, I take every opportunity to be with you. And being the only person who knows this place will always probably be my only advantage when it comes to her or to him.”

“You shouldn’t compare yourself to them because neither of them could do the half of the things you did for me. So being the only person who knows about my solemn place isn’t the only advantage you have but for everything that you’ve done for me, for every pain and hurt you concealed just to hear me cry about someone else or how happy I am after every date I went.” She says. “I could mention a lot of things but we’ll probably going to be here for days-“ She chuckles “but out of all the things you did to me, one thing stood out and that was you, loving me so selflessly without expecting the same amount from me in return.”

“I just wanted to see the one I love happy. It was all I ever wanted for you to be because you deserve it.”

“And I should’ve known, I should’ve known that you were hurting that night and you were continuously hurting until you couldn’t take it anymore and then you left. You left them because I was hurting you and I wish I noticed it earlier so that I could make you stay, so that I could make you be- I just want you to be happy too.” Lauren was having another panic attack. “You had anxiety, depression and all the negativity and I was too blind to see that your were drowning-“

“Shhhhh, Lauren you need to calm down.” Immediately, Camila grabbed both of Lauren’s hand and kiss the back of it.”You were never the main reason why I left, I left because I wasn’t happy anymore, I was done being the management’s puppet and even though I need to hurt your feelings as well as the girls, I needed to because if I didn’t, I would lose myself and you didn’t want that, I didn’t want that to happen so I left. And for the words you said that night, I forgive you for it because I know you were only saying those things because you were hurt.”

“I didn’t say those things because I was hurt; I said those things because you were right. We were just using one another but still I didn’t let Lucy go, I said those things because I was scared, I felt like I was cheating on her whenever I am with you because she never pops out in my mind when you’re here with me, it felt so wrong but goddamnit Camila being with you feels so right, like I was meant to be with you and you were meant to be with me. I said those words to push you away because honestly, deep inside I was feeling things that I should never feel for you, but mostly because you deserve someone else.”

“Everybody kept on insisting that I didn’t deserve you but Lauren Michelle Jauregui, the heart wants what it wants and I want you, I’ve always wanted you.”

 Both of them looked at one another, thick tension filled the air within the surrounding until Lauren was the only finally surrendering. She brings the other one closer, gripping on her waist as she closes the distance between them. Feeling those plump lips against her own felt so familiar. Camila’s lips tasted happiness, sadness, pain, love, want, the yearning but most of all, her lips felt like home.

Camila’s hands were rested on Lauren’s neck as they kissed at a slow phase like slowly remembering the feeling of each others’ movement for they haven’t done this in a very long time. The older Latina felt the younger one licking her lower lip which slowly she opened to as they continue to explore each others’ mouth. When air was needed, both of them pulled away but kept their foreheads pressed together.

It was Lauren’s eyes who opened first and saw the tears streaming down on Camila’s face so she used her thumbs to wipe them off as she traces the lips that were on her own just a while ago. When Camila opened her eyes and met Lauren’s green ones, she finally got the courage to say the only thing she wanted to say.

 “I love you Camila, I love you and I probably always will.” Camila instantly hugs her tightly as she begins to sob. “Did you hear that? I finally said I love you.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to say it.”

“Again.”

Lauren makes Camila face her and they looked at one another. “I love you Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao-Jauregui.” Camila jumped and wrapped her legs around Lauren’s waist which made her laugh. “I love you, I’ve always had.”

Camils drops herself and she trails Lauren’s facial features. “I like the sound of that.”

“I like the sound of that too.”

“I love the fact that you finally admitted it… However, I fucking hate your timing for saying it.” Her jaws clenched. “We both the idea of me taking your surname but I know it’s not the time for that yet. We can’t make it now because there are other people involved now.”

“But there were other people involved too in the past but that never stopped us right?”

“Because in the past that was the 16-year old me and the 17 year old you who never cared about anything but our own happiness.” She says. “Now we have to be the better version of ourselves.”

“I don’t want to do it, I want to be with you.” Lauren’s tears were threatening to fall. “I love you so much to lose you again. Camz please…”

Camila’s heart broke Lauren’s sad voice. “Those people involved now Lauren doesn’t deserve to be in pain because of us. Even though you won’t accept the fact, I know that you love him and you care for him because he was there for the times that I wasn’t. He’s a good guy and I care about her happiness too because I love her. I’m starting to trust in love again so I need to give myself a shot at finding happiness in someone else’s hands. She’s an amazing person Laur, they both deserve the love that we can offer to them. It may not be as equal as to how we love another, but that’s how we learn to love again.”

Lauren pressed their foreheads together as tears fell from her face. “Why do I feel like you’re slipping away from me again? Like you’re going to be out of my life for the second time around?”

“Because I am… I need to be out of yours and you need to be out of mine for the time being because the right type of love is never forced. If we’re meant to be together just like how we believe, then we’ll find our way back. We can’t continue to be together because we’ll be each others’ worst nightmares.” She tries to explain. “You wanna know why I named my album the hurting, the healing and the loving? It’s because it’s my stages of moving on. And this stage that we’re currently in Laur, is the healing stage. I need to temporarily close my chapter with you but at least I end it with me knowing that you love me… We’ve healed each other by saying how we really feel.”

“You said you had questions right? I know you have a lot of questions but I have the answers now. I can answer anything you want. I-“

“I think you answered all of them when you told me you love me.” She smiled. “Please stop being stubborn you’re being a pain in the ass now.” Lauren knew that Camila was only being playful to lighten up the mood. “Seriously though, I’ve got all the answers that I’ve been wanting to hear from you.”

Eventually Lauren nods her head in agreement. “If this is the price I have to pay for not being brave, then I’ll accept it. But I’ll wait for us, I’ll wait for our time, I’ll wait for us to re-open our story again.” She looks at the love of her life. “I hope it’s you and me in the Loving stage.”

Camila smiled warmly. “I don’t know but I am hoping it’s you that I’ll be seeing in my finish line of the healing stage. I want you to know that if we never find ourselves back to one another, it’s still okay. We’re allowed to fall for someone else, we’re allowed to end up with someone else.”

“That goes the same for you too. You deserve to end up with someone who appreciates you endlessly.”

“We both do…” They smiled.

“Good luck with the promotions, I know your album with be so dope because you’re a lyric genius. I can’t wait to hear the entire song on Sunday.”

“Promise me you’ll give your thoughts about it when we meet again?” Lauren nods, even though she’s unsure of the next time that they’ll meet again. “We should head back now, unless you plan on staying here?”

She thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. “I’m gonna stay for a little while but you should go, today’s a very busy schedule for you.”

Lauren helped Camila onto the fence as the younger one successfully made it on the other side. “You girls go rock on your next album. I’ll probably like some of the tweets about you girls and Roger will probably unlike them.” She rolls her eyes. “Typical, I should’ve known.”

“It’s okay, I know you’ll support us in your own ways.” She says. “Just be yourself alright?”

“I’ll probably kill all thinking that this album is going to be about boys because damn, I don’t remembering swinging that way.” Lauren laughs. “I mean it! Seriously, I feel like they’re shoving dicks on my throat-“

“Stop…” She laughed like there’s no tomorrow. “You go and do your thing butterfly queen 1.”

“Oh, the entire Camren world has probably recognized that song was for you, and I’ll probably acknowledge that Camren is real at one point-“

“And even though I’ll fucking deny it in the public, I want you to know that Camren is always real for me.” She smiled.

She smiled. “I’ll see you around.” And then she started walking towards her car.

“I love you Camz.”

Without looking back, Camila responds. “I love you Lo.”

 Lauren watched as she enters her car and drove away from the place. She looked back at the view and saw the sun started shining at the entire state and she smiled. Sure, it probably felt like hell because she just lost the one person that her heart beats for but there’s this one thing that she’s hopeful to happen.

That after the healing stage, no matter how long the two of them might take, they’ll both see each other at their own finish lines. And when they do, Lauren promises that she’ll love Camila right this time.

Alright! That’s a wrap everybody, I hope you guys like this one shot though, I’ve been meaning to write about Camren but my hands are tied to other commitments but I just wanted to share this short story with you guys, thank you for the support and let me know if you want the part 3 for this one and we’ll make it happen. :) See you around soon! Ciao!

[paereviews-blog]

Change can be a funny thing, when it happens drastically it can be hard to adjust to. Change can also be used to measure how we grow and process things. For the last few weeks, my mom and I have been redecorating my bedroom. I woke up one day, and I realized that my room no longer reflected who I was. And it slowly started to drive me crazy. So for today’s mE Project, I’ll be discussing the whole process and showing the results.

From a House to an Apartment

I think I wrote it somewhere previously, that about four months ago we downsized from a house to an apartment. We lived in that house for 25 years. My parents moved in a month before I was born. A lot of memories were made there, it’s just there were more sad than happy. But it was a three-bedroom house and it’s just my mom and me now. So with my health issues and hers, it made so much sense to move into a two-bedroom apartment.

The Issues With My Bedroom

When we moved in, I think my bedroom was one of the first rooms to get done. I think it was done so quickly because it was basically a copy and paste of my bedroom from the house, and that’s where I messed up. My mom and I made the decision that this apartment would be our fresh start. Whatever design and decor that we hadn’t got a chance to do at the house we could now. And by copying my old room, I was bringing old memories with me.

What to Keep vs. What to Get Rid of

This may sound weird coming from me, but I had too many flowers in my room. I had a floral quilt on my bed, the lampshade on my nightstand lamp was floral, and at the time, I had a chair in my room that featured a floral print. The problem with these three items was none of them matched each other. Other than flowers, I had quite a bit of panda stuff lying around in random places. I slightly wish that I had pictures to show this catastrophe, but I’m also slightly embarrassed.  While it was a very colorful room, it looked like it was made for a teenager.

Results of the Change

I made a Pinterest board and we sort of used that as a guide for what we wanted to do. It’s kind of funny to think, we really didn’t change much, but the whole atmosphere of my room is different. The rug under my bed used to be in our living room, but we realized it would be a nice contrast to my mirror and some of the wood in my room. I got rid of the flower quilt and replaced it with a white bedspread and burgundy throw. The pillows came from our Sam’s Club.

The first picture is my jewelry stand near my bedroom door. I’m a bit jewelry fan, I used to make it but now I just have a big collection. So I have a bunch of jewelry in there. My mom recently added the mirrors. I played the cello, 6th to 10th grade (it’s also a jewelry holder) and the picture is a recreation of Pablo Picasso that I had to do for a class. You may notice that the flower paintings in the second picture look a little wonky, they are. My mom says she likes it like that and she won’t let me fix it.

Here’s both the left and right side of my bed. As you can see, I got rid of the floral lampshade and I went with a cream one. Everything else pretty much stayed the same. This chair was actually in my mom’s room, we just switched. She took the floral on and I got this one. I actually work really well that way.

And here’s the last of it, this is the far left corner of my room. I really like typography and these are two of my favorite quotes and one of my favorite scriptures. The little table is just below them. My plan is to find a plant to put there, the beanie baby is just temporary decoration lol.

My Final Thoughts

I absolutely love my room now, it’s much cozier now than it was before. When I’m at home, you can find me in my chair. It’s actually a recliner, so I will get in it and watch tv when I have time. We didn’t make a lot of big changes, but the ones we did make had a huge impact on the overall feel of the room.

As always, I want to know what you think. What changes have you thought about making lately?

mE Project 01| When It's Time For a Change @FemBloggers #blogsforher #bloggerstribe Change can be a funny thing, when it happens drastically it can be hard to adjust to.

[tekkaroll]

He could feel it resonating halfway through their journey; before the scraggly hills forced them off horseback, before they'd stayed in the warm but comely inn the first long day of travel. In fact, as soon as he left the city he realized he could feel it, if faintly, as if a mosquito were whining near his earlobe. But not quite, he amended mentally to himself as he rounded a particularly large tree, it wasn't quite that irritating, or high pitched. It was as if before he'd left the academy, it was but the vibration in your ears after a player had picked his bow from his violin, or the dying sound of a church bell. Now, and he could feel it even now, behind a layer of will, it was a low vibration. As though he'd stuck his head in a cello and the lowest note had been playing for the past several days. "Ye keep brushin' yer earring, highness." His companion, Guy, noted with an inflection that suggested he'd like to know why, but a look that said he'd be able to live without such knowledge. He's a simple man, after all; not stupid, mind you, just comfortable as himself. Magic and the like wasn't in his blood, and, as his late father would say, his veins sing against it. And so it was that when young Guy entered the palace, and eventually the academy, at the tender age of ten and found that his new master was a rival for wizards twice his age, his magical bias was all but smothered. A candle made irrelevant by the bright morning light streaming through newly opened shutters. Serion, realizing that he'd lingered on the question a little longer than considered adequate and was once more fidgeting with the angelite drop on his left earlobe, turned to Guy and made himself to look stern. "Companion Guy, I could have sworn that I'd taught you of the properties of anhydrite whilst we were riding through Gaulhearst?" As he spoke, Serion rose his eyebrows, looking no less stern. Guy rolled his eyes, and grunted something that probably meant "sorry fer askin'" and immediately put hinself in the lead, towards the direction Serion had been walking before he'd stopped. Serion, quite sure that the path they'd been following was slightly off track, trekked off slightly away from his friend. "Anhydrite is an amplifier, in this case, I am using it as a sort of dowsing rod. And it says this way, if you'd care to follow." Guy stood in place for a second as he realized he was going the wrong way, and that he was never the lead to begin with, turned and corrected himself without a word. Serion let out a ringing laugh and clapped Guy on the back, holding his hand there as Guy's ears turned bright red. "Worry not dear Guy, one day one of my burrs of knowledge will stick in your mind!" He let out another laugh which carried a little too far for both of their liking, and Guy nudged Serion's arm away and they trudged in silence for the next several hours. Just as Guy suggested making camp, they heard the barks of hunting dogs. Guy put his hand on Serion's shoulder, telling him not to move, and walked a ways towards the sound and cupped his hands to his bristly mouth. "Hullo!" he hollered, for he knew the dogs knew he was there already. The party converged upon him in seconds, bows and swords drawn. "Who are ye?" Said a man in the middle of five others, and two dogs. His sword was not drawn, and one of his eyes was gouged open, though it seemed to have happened long ago. "I come from Ashwall." Guy replied, standing a little taller in his red jerkin. His academy badge mustve caught the dying sun, for the man glanced down at his chest with his single eye, looked back into Guy's two pale blue eyes, and nodded. "We are friends, then." He turned, motioning for Guy to follow. When he turned to retrieve Serion, the man was already by his side. His silence made Guy's hair prickle, despite fifteen years of experience with the man's inherent stealth. Serion had pulled on his royal velvet cloak as well, though even with the black fabric eating his visage, Guy could see that Serion was clutching his ear. He could only assume that their target was very close. As soon as they reached the gate, Serion realized that they were at the base of the Crags, a mountainous maze made entirely of dark stone. Forest stretched all around, and ended abruptly at his boot, only three or four strides before the gate to the town. It was eerie, Serion decided, even after spotting several stumps in the gray soil that said the townspeople probably felled them for a clean shot should anyone attack. "Let me in, you damn fools. Colder n' a feckin' ghost out here." The one-eyed man grumbled at the gate, which opened barely after he'd begun speaking. The doorman's gaze was sharp on Serion, who probably looked extremely suspicious in his black cloak. Guy and Serion walked through first, and as the man with the crippled eye walked through, he spit at the doorman's boot. "Rude ter stare, Benji. Yer gawkin' at a prince." Benji, as Serion could see him better, was young, with a smattering of red scabs on his face and a mop of dark blonde hair on his head. He had the grace to dip into what was probably supposed to be a bow, before getting conked on the head by his gruff elder. "Speaking of rude", Serion said as he removed his hood, "My name is Serion, of Ashwall." Guy couldn't help but let out a light grunt of laughter; his prince's unruly black hair was waving straight up in the air, his right ear bright red from being fiddled with for several hours. Still, his posture was perfectly rigid as he bowed politely to his host. "Edmund, of the Crag." The older man bowed in return. "Come, Highness. Stay and sup with me and my own." Serion nodded. "It is suprising to see a Lord out on the hunt." Serion commented. "Especially with that eye of yours." Guy shot an angry glance towards him, then to Edmund, who had turned to appraise Serion beside him. He let out a bellowing laugh, and clapped Serion on the shoulder. "I might could have forgotten it was even gone, Highness. Tis a bit refreshing to have a man look me in the eye without lookin' away." He squeezed Serion's shoulder, a bit harder than he was comfortable with. "Ye might wanna keep yer tongue in yer noggin' about it when we enter my wife's domain, however. She is... not as fond of it as I am." Serion sent a small amount of his magic into the metal decoration on his cloak, which became extremely hot, if briefly, under the clenched hand of his host. Edmund recoiled, confused for a second, then smiled. "Fergive me, highness. Didn't realize I was in the presence of the youngest son of Ashwall." His upper lip quivered a bit as he spoke, and he licked a few beads of sweat that gathered there. It seemed magic wasn't in Edmund of the Crag's blood either. Guy said nothing, for he knew Serion well. It was rumored that the youngest son of the king was a bastard, born of the queen's sister. Of course, the queen's sister was barren, which was only known to her immediate family. She would take no husband, and so was her sister's handmaiden. Serion's aunt and her proximity to the king may have started the rumors, but the prince's eyes produced the most unrest. Even now, as they entered the halls of the Crag, his eyes burned liquid gold in the dim torchlight. Like a palace cat, Guy thought, not for the first time. Had they seen his grandfather, there would not have been a question. In fact, Serion's father was the only son in several generations of Ashwall royalty that had green eyes, as did his two eldest sons. Seeing Guy eyeing him, Serion winked. Guy scowled. Five years his junior, Serion was always hard to pin down. He wasn't necessarily a troublemaker, nor did rebellion suit him. He did as he pleased, though whether it was because his power as a royal mage enabled him to or because it suited him at that specific moment in time, Guy could never figure out. It was with these thoughts that Guy entered the main hall, slightly confused. There were no windows, and was devoid of outside noise. Only the sound of humming magelight could be heard, and technically the sound of their group shuffling through the solid rock hallways. Serion was chatting with Edmund about the dim white magelight that began to light the place Guy didn't remember how far back in the hallways. " These are at least five years old! They can't even be adjusted!" He took an orb from the wall and was carrying it with him, muttering to it between his actual conversation with Edmund. The old man had figured out that grunting was all the communication Serion needed to keep him busy, and was staring straight forward, at a woman sitting on the arm of a very cozy looking dining chair. She held something in her hand, though what it was Guy could not tell. Serion stopped talking as he saw the woman, though he was not looking at her directly at first. His eyes were not quite focused. He handed the magelight to one of Edmunds men and strode forward. "Your wife, I presume?" He turned to meet Edmund's eye halfway through his stride. But it was not his host that answered. "I am Tabitha, of the Crag." Serion turned once more, as if his foot was on a coin. He took the hand held out to him and brushed his lips on her knuckles. He then turned to the girl beside her. "Your daughter?" He asked, though he knew she was not. Her skin was lily white, and, he laughed a little as he thought this, her hair was a crown not unlike black tourmaline, whereas the lord and lady of the Crag were dark of skin with blindingly white strands of hair. Guy was giving him a warning look, probably for laughing. He shot back a look that successfully said, " This is our target." His magicless friend probably didn't understand his humor, as black tourmaline was supposed to shield its holder mentally. This girl was a torch in a field at night, a belle in a byre, a diamond ring on the finger of a scullery maid. Serion's mind reeled at the implications, a mage with this power, untrained. From her looks, she was no more than fifteen. "Ah, but excuse me for my rudeness. I am Serion, of Ashwall." Tabitha's thin mouth quivered a bit before she smiled. Forced. She bowed. "She is but a servant, Highness. Pay her no mind." Guy stepped up immediately, for his friend and master was not keen on being told what to do. However, Serion put his hand up, and Guy stood silently at his side. "She will come with me." His demeanor had changed completely. Tabitha made to argue, and Serion cut her off. "By order of the King, my father, Corwynn of Ashwall." The girl said nothing, but evenly met Serion's eyes. Tabitha gave her husband a meaningful look, and Edmund stepped up to break the silence that had stretched out a little bit longer than was socially comfortable. An effect Serion's forwardness seemed to have on the general public. "Why don't we speak over supper, Serion?" Their host said amiably, putting his hand lightly on his lady's back. She glared at him, jaw clenching. He didn't look at her. Edmund dismissed his men to the mess hall in the kitchens and sent Serion and Guy to their guest quarters to clean the road from themselves before supper.