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thecandywrites · 3 years ago

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Blood For Gold Chapter 21

Oh but we aren’t done, let’s unravel this spiderweb completely shall we? All the aces that everyone thought they had are pulled out, and what they thought were aces, just might end up being jokers instead. Also this picture of this dagger? That’s Kushi, before and after it turned to platinum, before it disintergrated into black ash.

@punkhorse96 this is where we come right to the brink of losing everything and this story ALMOST becomes a tragedy only for LOVE TO CONQUER ALL. And save the day and bring it back from the brink of destruction and taking the highroad keeps you from being involved in the tragic “accidents” on the low roads from the head on collisions between the other players in the game. Enjoy Darling, one more chapter to tie all this up in a neat little bow.

Also I would like to make a note- because this mentions pregnancy and in a sense, abortion too- I want to make something clear. I am pro choice. I believe that children can be a blessing, but they above all else, are people and they deserve to be wanted, deserve to be cared for by loving and caring parents who want them and parents who are ready and willing to have them. And not be viewed as the bad consequence for having sex.

Blood For Gold

Chapter 21

“What’s going on now?” Demsey asked you.

“Something between Benny and Sierge that they need to work out.” You answered him.

“Demsey, do remember that favor I asked of you? How you would help me escape the Palace of Windsor?” You prompted, as your tears welled in your eyes because having Demsey so close but knowing that the best thing to do for him was going to be to get worlds apart from him was breaking your heart just thinking about.

“Yes, I have not forgotten.” Demsey reassured you.

“I need to call it in. The moment we return, I need you to bring that trunk down to the stables, I was given Charlico as a gift, and I’m leaving with Heavencrest and Charlico. Because the moment we get back and can get packed, everyone is leaving the Palace of Windsor and my family is going to be going to Mirador to help sort things out.” You informed him.

“Absolutely, I will ride back immediately and meet you in the stables.” Demsey reassured you.

“Thank you.” You thanked him before your parents came and pulled you back to them as they insisted on having a family meeting to discuss what they were going to do as once again, urged them all to go to Mirador and formulate a plan there and that you would have room in Mirador’s stables for everyone’s rides and plenty of rooms for them to stay in even though they weren’t as lavish as the rooms at the Palace of Windsor but your family insisted that even if they had to share beds and roll out bed rolls on the floor, they were going to stay together but in this moment, you just wanted to be free and have space from everyone.

Demsey rode the fastest horse he could rent and immediately went up to his room and hastily packed his own things into his own trunk and put them with yours and waited anxiously in the stables as your family came back as you hurriedly packed everything you could not live without and put them in a separate trunk and instructed the servants to take the first trunk to the stables and all the others to go back to Mirador with your parents since they would be taking carriages back to Mirador before you got dressed in a simple, comfortable shirt and pants along with your flying leathers and practically ran towards the stables once Yalin gave you Charlico’s papers of ownership and breeding lines and a note to the stable hands that Charlico’s saddle and whatever other tack you wanted would be leaving with him.

“So what happened in there?” Demsey asked as he tried to help you get Charlico and Heavencrest saddled up to be loaded up.

“My case against the Morrigans got dismissed from every court in England.” You told him.

“How in the world did the Morrigans get your case dismissed?!” Demsey demanded.

“Because it wasn’t them that did it, it was the Dowager Queen who was the one who dismissed both my case against the Morrigans and the Morrigan’s case against me in both the public and private courts and barred us from ever going to court to protect the Crown from any damage that this case would bring to it through Gregori, Yalin and Ramsey and she herself got to see and hear all of the evidence and acted as judge and jury and ruled in my favor. The original contract I had with Edward Senior was upheld. And the Dowager Queen awarded me everything that the Morrigans have as recompense for the hurt they caused me in their conspiracy and attempt to murder me and they were branded as mad and insane for trying to murder me via mourakatili and were sent to the asylum to be fed poison to make them honestly insane.” You answered.

“Oh, but that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Isn’t that more or less the outcome you wanted?” Demsey asked in confusion because you were still manically trying to saddle and load both animals up and you were still crying and clearly in distress.

“Factually, yes, but at the same time, no, not at all, because I finally found out why they tried to kill me to begin with and it’s so much worse than anything I could have imagined. The day I married Edward Senior, Ramsey, in a panic said only minutes after I married Edward, told his father that I was his perfect bride but because I was just then married, I was unavailable because his parents had threatened him that if he had not found a bride that season, he would be cut off in every conceivable way and sent into the army and have the rake beaten out of him one way or another. But he just thought I would marry Edward and live out the rest of his natural life with him and in five to ten years when Edward would die naturally of old age, then he would be ready by then. But what no one realized was Gregori’s desperation to see Ramsey married and father to a legitimate heir as soon as possible was so great, he conspired to murder Edward Senior so that I could be Ramsey’s wife that much quicker. Because it was Gregori who bribed Edward’s doctor- Dr. Rickets, to poison Edward Senior with Wolf’s Eye which when you take it, it makes you delirious within a couple months, and within a few more months, it will put into a further delirious rage to the point your heart beats so hard so fast, your heart beats itself apart, causing your heart to fail, and that led to Edward’s own madness and in his madness, he abused me. The entire Royal Family including Charlotte, Yalin, Ramsey and myself were completely unaware of Gregori’s involvement and plotting and all of them were mortified to learn of this news and as recompense, they gave me Charlico for free, although I still feel I paid for him with my own blood, but none of that seems to matter to anyone else so the real murderer is walking free because he’s the King’s brother and heaven forbid he face any punishment for his actions.” You hissed as you wiped your angry tears away as you did your best to get Heavencrest’s saddle cinched correctly as your tears blurred your vision.

“The Morrigan's thought I had poisoned Edward Senior, wanting to get out of the marriage which of course wasn’t true because before the poisoning- Edward Senior had been nothing but good to me and I was happy and content with him and I had no reason or motive or cause for such a thing but they thought I was a typical moura, who just wanted the highest payout as quickly as possible and in retaliation and wanting to avenge Edward Senior, hired the same doctor, Dr. Rickets, to obtain mourkatili and poison me with it so that I would be buried right next to Edward Senior. Dr. Rickets tried telling Gregori but Gregori was already on holiday with his family in Dorierra trying to find another “me” for Ramsey and didn’t get his letter in time for Gregori to step in and Dr. Rickets added Jade’s Crown to the mourkatili to make it less lethal but more addictive and told the Morrigans all they needed to do was put a thimble full of it into a pot of hibiscus tea to hide the color and once I would have a sip, I would become addicted and would request to drink it more and would choose to drink myself to death, which that plot very narrowly succeeded.” You revealed with a bitter laugh.

“But because it was Gregori who is guilty of the conspiracy, it’s being covered up, buried and dismissed and all evidence of Gregori’s guilt, once it was made aware by the Morrigans and myself and my family, it was then quickly destroyed and Dr. Rickets ended up going to the asylum with the Morrigans and has the same fate as them.” You revealed as Demsey was half tempted to try to burn the palace down himself as rage almost blinded him but your hurt kept his mind with you in the moment.

“However, the complication was that Richard’s mistress, Myra, her children by Richard were brought up in Broadcove as servants because Agnes insisted that only the children she bore to Richard should be his heirs and treated them as such because she was the one who had control of a good portion of the wealth since a lot of it was in her name, that term was agreed on so that Agnes would continue go along with everything like a good wife and Richard of course had to agree because Myra has no nobility at all herself, just her beauty and personality to recommend her and Agnes had the breeding, nobility, connections and dowry to boot. So, of course Richard married Agnes but kept Myra as his mistress and it is those connections and that dowry that enabled Edward Senior and Richard to invest it and multiply it and turn it into the massive wealth they did and with Agnes working her own contacts like a concierto does an orchestra, that’s why they have as much power and influence as they do. But Agnes was always resentful on account of Myra so she abused those poor innocent children because she hated how Richard loved them more than the children she bore to him and even though they were his bastards, they were made in more love than Jane and little Edward ever were and she demanded that if they remain in the house that they were to earn their place as servants or be put out into the street because she could not bear the humiliation of Edward’s infidelity made public and she would turn all of her connections on Richard if she didn’t get her way so he had no choice but to agree and Myra was lucky she got a room, much less a suite of rooms at Broadcove in the opposite end of the house from Agnes, Jane and little Edward.” You explained.

“And if that wasn’t bad enough Agnes even sent one of them to their early death, the eldest son Myra bore to Richard, the second time I was served mourkatili in tea form, she insisted that to “prove” it wasn’t dangerous, for the poor boy who served it to me, she insisted that he taste it to prove it wasn’t poisonous, I tried to stop it but he did as she commanded and dropped dead the moment that poison touched his lips and she tried to pin it on me to Myra saying that I insisted he drink it. So of course Myra came to me and demanded to know what the poor boy had done to me that I should be so cruel as to kill him and when Richard found out, of course he believed Agnes at first and came at me and had me tied down so he could beat me and I couldn’t fight back, I was too drunk on mourkatili to fight back anyway before Jane intervened and told them the truth and Jane had to show them the truth that had been caught via her own messengerari that was in the room and when Myra saw it, she apologized profusely and did everything she could to heal the hurt that Richard had inflicted but when Richard saw it, he never did apologize to me but instead turned on Agnes, her bruises and cuts were twice as bad as my own. But that didn’t stop Agnes because the third time Agnes did it, it was Myra’s youngest boy who was only six.” You broke down crying as Demsey came and tried to hold you but you resisted him, because you wanted to leave as soon as you got this all off your chest because you wanted and needed him to know the truth.

The whole truth.

“And I of course drank down every drop of it to keep him from having any to protect him and Jane, once again had to intervene, so she and her father decided that only she would serve me the mourkatili because I would not make her drink it and that all of Richard’s other children by Myra would be kept to her apartments in the north wing and would only be let out when they were in the company of Myra or Richard, so they became like caged animals, just like me and must like Myra.” You revealed as Demsey stared in horror.

“And Jane, sweet Jane, she got her ladies maid to go to the market for her to get me ipecac and she would try to dilute the mourkatili and try to add what she had heard would help lessen the impact of it or help to try to neutralize it. And she purposefully “tripped” and crashed onto the floor when she couldn’t dilute the tea and it of course stained the rugs and the floorboards underneath but she couldn’t do it too often for fear her parents would get suspicious but she did everything she could in those limited, forced circumstances to try to do what she could to save me, so even though the fact of the matter is she did serve me poison, she isn’t responsible for it. And I hold no grudge against her or blame. And of course, when I got to leave Broadcove, Myra pleaded with me to take her children as my own servants because she knew I would be good to them and treat them with kindness, much more than they were being given at home and I could not refuse her. But of course, they are their father’s children and they of course, kept reporting on everything I did to their father. So even when I left Broadcove, I couldn’t escape the Morrigans.” You divulged.

“But why not dismiss them entirely then?” Demsey asked.

“Because they have been good to me despite that and I couldn’t fault them for their loyalty, nor can I find fault in their service, they have always been respectful and obedient and they did everything they could to be courteous and cater to me and it was only three months into my widowhood when they saw for themselves what kind of person I was that they switched their loyalties to me and told their father to “fuck off” because if he really did love them like he claimed, then he would not have put up with their indentured servitude or mistreatment at Agnes’ hands and refused to spy on me after that and it’s because of those circumstances that in an effort to mend things with me, the King made Myra a Maquise, a station higher than a Count or Countess and basically told everyone the cover for this whole fucking fiasco was ‘that Agnes and Richard went on holiday, got sick with something to make them go mad while Jane and I have been at Windsor and that they bribed Dr. Rickets to poison me with mourkatili and thankfully my brother’s dragon was here to cure me and that they are all guilty of madness and attempted murder and have since been sent to the asylum. And that Marquise Myra Bellafont, moved with pity, has taken in Jane and little Edward and is now their loving caregiver’.” You informed him.

“So that’s why I am leaving Broadcove to Myra and all of her children as heirs of it because while Agnes has always treated them with animosity, they have never treated Jane or little Edward that way or even Myra, let alone me. So they will leave Mirador as my servants and enter Broadcove as masters and I have been awarded everything that the Morrigans had, all wealth and property and I am leaving a business or two to Myra and her children to run so that they can keep up Broadcove and care for their needs and anyone who says otherwise or attempts to reveal the truth will be promptly killed or sent to the asylum themselves.” You explained.

“But if that wasn’t enough, Richard did hire a mage to cast a spell over all of Mirador so that no messengerari would work and send any message out and bribed four of the post masters in the Royal Mail Service to destroy every piece of mail going in or out to me and Mage Bellfast had to conjure them all up because they had all been burned in an effort to be destroyed. That’s why that table was covered in mail from my friends and family. Not even your letter to me a few days before the ball to warn me about who was going to be there and who meant me harm could reach me.” You explained.

“And that was the other reason why the Royal Family couldn’t let this go to court because to prove that their Royal Mail Service had been corrupted, couldn’t be tolerated.” You answered.

“And what’s even worse is now I can’t go home to Dorierra either because I got the classification of tavnit, which means “no master”. And even if I were to go back to Dorierra, I can’t stand to go back into the bride system. But I also can’t stand to go home to Mirador where my whole family now has dollar signs in their eyes and now they are all clamoring for a piece of the giant money pie I’ve just been handed and the temptation to just let your sister inherit all that I have so that you can assist her in how to run it all so I can be free of even all of that is too tempting for me right now and so the only place that leaves that I can go and be truly free in every sense, is a colony because justice is a joke and loyalty is fickle at best in this country and the less people around me who can use me for their own benefit, spy on me to others who would use that information as blackmail against me and betray me, the better.” You insisted bitterly.

“Do you think I would ever do those things to you?” Demsey asked.

“No, never, because you’re actually a very good man, with upstanding character and morals but you deserve a highborn lady at your side to be the perfect wife to you and help you and stand by you. And as much as I want to do that, I can’t.” You cried as you put your bags onto the saddles and tied them down.

“Why not? I told you, I don’t need an heir and a spare, all I want is you to be happy. And if a colony is where you think you’ll find that then let me go with you. Where you go, I go. To hell with England.” Demsey insisted.

“No, England is still your home though, and Whydah I’m sure has no equal. You have everything here, you have your business which should be booming with the new soap recipes which Leumeni has offered to share if he could have the chance to court Kiera properly. You have your title as Duke, you have your family and friends, and I’m not worth giving all of that up for.” You argued.

“Yes you are! To me, you are worth more than anything this world has to offer me.” Demsey argued further as he once again tried to reach for you to pull you into the comfort of his embrace as you desperately put your hands on his chest and shoved him away with what was left of your strength in that moment.

“Demsey please! You can’t love me without knowing the truth about me! I am a murderer! I’m the one who gave Edward his fatal blow!” You cried out as Demsey was dumbstruck by such a revelation as he subconsciously took a step back as your heart broke to see such a reaction from him before you grabbed your last bag and tied it to Charlico’s saddle.

“A millenia ago, when mouras first touched down on the ground, the reason we knew we could turn things into gold was because at a banquet, a drunken man tried to rape a moura woman. The moment his touches grew desperate and violent, just touching her, her body, in an act of self defense, turned him into a statue of gold. That’s how we found out we had that power. Once she touched him again, he turned back to flesh and blood but the act of being a solid gold statue killed him and he dropped dead. Then we learned to master that defense mechanism and learned to control it. It was our blessing and our curse. From there, moura women were hunted like game, like trophies and when mouras grew cloaks, when you took a moura’s cloak you were considered bonded with them. And men of all kinds hunted us, and once we turned their enemies into statues of gold, to be melted down into bricks and bars of it and once that is done once it stays gold for a year, touching it again will never let it revert back to it’s original flesh, so the gold was kept in the ground for a year and a half just to be safe while the person was considered “gone missing”, or the women turned their own body weight of mud and rock and bricks into gold, then they were released. But that meant that no moura would ever have rape or any abuse attempted on them because the perpratrator would be turned to gold themselves. But when the gold plague came, that power died with it. And suddenly we didn’t have that protection, or that curse. Until only recently, and I mean recently as in only the last one hundred years. There have been only four mouras born in the whole world, who can now touch that moura gold and turn it into moura platinum. That’s what I am. I’m a platinum moura. The moment Edward’s flesh touched mine as he tried to rape me, he dropped dead as a platinum statue, he broke the bed and the crash was heard through the whole house and I had to have the bed burned and bribed Dr. Rickets to say he died of a heart attack, which having a heart that needs to be beating for you to stay alive, if it stops, you’re dead, still kind of happened. But because of the mourkatili, it means that that very platinum is poisonous and lethal if you touch it but when I touch it again, it turns to black ash, the same black ash from the Gold Plague that killed billions of heavenly moura, that’s why my hands were black when you came in and why there was so much ash on the floor because Mage Bellfast, as payment for conjuring up my mail asked me to turn a brick of moura gold into moura platinum. I tried and failed because Grevu cured me. And when Mage Altissia informed Mage Bellfast of that, he cast a spell on me and pulled the mourkatili that was in my hair back into my body and re-poisoned me so that I could have that power back. I tried stabbing him after he put that spell on me and I tried stabbing him with Kushi and Kushi turned from gold to platinum in my hands but the mourkatili made me weak again and I collapsed onto the floor and when I stood back up and picked up that gold bar and the moment I touched it, it turned from gold to platinum and I gave it to him and he at the time had the good sense of wearing gloves and when he got to hold it, he kissed it. And when he kissed it, his body instantly dissolved into a heap of ash with the bar of platinum falling onto a heap of his clothes and ash and it killed him and when I went to pick up Kushi, the moment I touched it, it turned back to gold but also into ash as well and it disintegrated into my hands and all the jewels that were imbedded into it, fell through my fingers like pebbled sand at the beach. I destroyed Kushi because it had been made with moura gold and when I touched that brick of moura platinum, it did the same thing. And now I can’t touch anything made out of moura gold or else the same thing will happen to it and for all I know the ash is just as poisonous now as it was when it first appeared in the Gold Plague. That’s why I have the tavnit status and that’s why I’m not welcome back in Dorierra because I have no use for the stable masters and once again, I am a lost cause.” You confessed.

“Do you still love me now? Knowing that I can kill you if you touch me? That I can turn everything that happens to be moura gold and turn it into poisonous platinum that will kill everything and anything it touches?” You asked rhetorically.

“That’s why as soon as I’m packed, I am going to go back down to Grevu so he can heal me yet again so that I am free of this curse too and then I’m leaving for the farthest colony I can find from here because the more space between me and this whole horrible situation and circumstances, the better.” You told him.

“But I know you would never do such things to me, at least on purpose. I promise to remove everything gold from Whydah so that you can’t possibly…” Demsey tried to offer.

“Demsey, that is not the only reason I can’t marry you and that you can not come with me. You deserve a wife who is faithful and honest with you in all things. Demsey I am pregnant. I am with child as we speak. I’m a month along already and even if we got married today, the baby will come too soon after the wedding and your reputation as well as my own would probably be ruined beyond repair and I can’t do that to you, I won’t do that to you, I refuse to do that to you. It’s not right and I refuse to do anything that can be in any way harmful to you. That’s why Grevu cured me the first time, he could tell I was falling pregnant and cured me to protect me and the baby, but because of the pregnancy and because of Grevu’s magic, protecting the baby from all harm, even now with the mourkatili in me, the baby is fine, it remains unharmed and the rest of my womb is being protected from reabsorbing it’s poison and this babe was made in love and passion and I refuse to harm it either. It’s an innocent in this situation too and it’s not only my responsibility and obligation to take on the consequences of my own actions and I have no one to blame for my state but myself and I am ready and willing to take it on and the only saving grace I have is that the baby is in no way the offspring of the Morrigans. And I love you too much to try to push onto you a baby that isn’t yours. It wouldn’t be honest or right. And I can’t ask you to take me and this baby on, knowing that.” You insisted as you finished then went over everything to make sure everything was attached and secure and wouldn’t come flying off when you would fly to the colonies in just a few moments.

“And the father of the baby has completely disappeared, no one can find him. And what’s worse is he was a whore in a whorehouse, that’s who the father of this baby is. Two months ago, when you gave me that note back that Calla was able to sneak to me. I went to The Gold Finch, that is where I met Yalin, she told me about The Red Velvet Rope and she told me which days to go and which days to avoid the place because that was Ramsey’s favorite whorehouse and at the time she didn’t want us to meet because she knew Rasmey would use me, then ruin me. I met the manwhore there and I got to be with him three times, that first time, a second time right before the ball at Havenfield and the third at the Masquerade Ball at The Midnight Peacock. That’s who I was with right before you found me at the bar, he was why I didn’t feel like dancing because we had both told the other that we were going to be pursuing other people and that never again would The Red Velvet Rope be in our lives and then the bastard made an enormous bet on me on Kamoba and apparently won a small fortune and as always, he took the money and ran because since then, he has vanished into thin air and no one has even heard of him, let alone knows of him and of course The Red Velvet Rope absolutely insists that no one by his name or appearance has ever worked for them, ever. But the place wouldn’t be a good whorehouse if it didn’t serve it’s lady clientele pregnancy warding tea to counteract the consequences of it’s use which I made sure to drink both before and after each trip to The Red Velvet Rope. Except for the night of the Masquerade Ball, I was too heartbroken over losing him that I forgot to drink any and that one time was all it took, even with the mourkatili in my system which mourkatili is supposed to kill fetus’ but thanks to Grevu’s magic, the baby is perfectly fine and healthy and shows no signs of being disformed or anything. And I would never do you the dishonor of trying to pass off a baby that isn’t yours to your very face and I would hate myself for trying to live that lie and that guilt would eat me alive, more than mourkatili ever could. That’s what I meant by you deserve better. Do you still love me now? Don't these truths kill every ounce of love you thought you had for me? Don’t..don’t answer those questions. Hopefully all these truths will help you dismantle any affection you’ve built for me and hopefully you can find someone worthy of your love and affection who will do right by you, who isn’t a whoring murderer.” You offered as you finished with the last of it before you went back to Grevu and asked him to heal you again as Demsey sat on the now empty trunk as his own sack of clothes and personal items laid down at his feet and processed everything as he watched you get into Grevu’s tent with him as you hugged Grevu tight and tried to tell him goodbye as he wrapped his neck and wing around you protectively as you cried into his chest but thanked him for intervening and trying to protect you and save you and the baby before he seemed to glare at Demsey.

“It’s not his fault. He’s not the one to cause my hurt.” You tried to excuse to Grevu.

“Just, please, heal me, one last time, so I can carry the baby safely ok? Thank you, thank you for preserving this little miracle of life.” You pleaded with Grevu who put his nose into the neck of your flying leathers and snorted softly before you had to let him go and go to a corner and throw up again and just the sound of you being sick and in agony as once again, the mourkatili colored your hair, but just the ends of your hair this time instead of all of your hair as you readily grabbed it and cut the colored ends off and laid them on the ground for Grevu to burst into flames to destroy for good and it was enough to break Demsey out of his stupor and move him to action as he knelt next to you and once you were done, he handed you his handkerchief to wipe off your mouth.

“Audra, my love for you transcends everything you’ve told me and will transcend a million things more. I don’t care if you were working at The Red Velvet Rope as a whore yourself, and I don’t care if you couldn’t know who or what was the father of the child you’re carrying and I don’t care if you don’t even have a penny to your name. I love you. I will always love you. And I will happily love the child you’re carrying as if it were my own. You speak like you’re the only one to have ever sinned. I’m imperfect too and I don’t want the perfect wife. How boring would that be? I want you as my partner in life, no matter how or what kind of name you want to attach to it, I want you, any part of you or all of you if you’re willing to give it to me as perfectly imperfect as you are right now and forever.” Demsey professed.

“You want to hear my deepest darkest secret? Shortly after seeing you on the train, I used The Red Velvet Rope too because I could not get you off of my mind and I thought at the time that if I rutted with a moura, that would help me be less distracted and then I met another moura, with the same first name and the same looks as you. And my fantasy was that I was actually being intimate with you instead of her and I met with her three times as well, that first time shortly after returning the note to you from Calla, the second, right before the ball at Havenfield and then again at the Masquerade Ball. I went to that ball and I immediately rented a change of clothes so that no one would recognize me in my own clothes in an attempt that you would not recognize me but that she might and sure enough, like moth to a flame, she found me again and it both broke my heart but filled me with relief that she was going on the straight and narrow and she confessed that she was going after an orc in the gentry and I feared it was my brother because shortly after just giving Sierge the smallest, most miniscule of details about her, he has been looking for her ever since and he claimed he found her and agreed that her resemblance to you was uncanny and I tried to kiss her goodbye and cut things off clean with her at the ball, but it was like she was a drug that I was addicted to and I went one last round with her and I haven’t seen her since. She also bet on me for the Kamoba and apparently won a small fortune in turn but again, she, just took the money and ran and not even Sierge has been able to find her since, even with his almost super powerful sense of smell, and that was also why I was in no mood to dance at the Masquerade Ball and why after that, I found you at the bar and why it wasn’t fair to you at all that I was in your presence but yet it was her that was on my mind. So I’m just as much of a whore as her and I have been just as unfaithful and just as secretive and deceitful and I’m sorry that we live in a society where such things are like a death sentence to a woman and her honor but are expected from most men and it’s not fair and it isn’t right. But I swear- on my life, I would never, ever, hold such things against you and I would keep these revelations just between us and take them to my grave and I will do anything you ask of me, except for leaving your side. I want to help you, I want to love you and care for you if only you would let me. You are not the only one with sin or fault, I’m just as guilty as you, I’m just as imperfect and flawed. But she is nothing compared to you and is a sad counterfeit of the real you and I would much rather have you than a hundred of hers. You will always be infinitely more precious to me. Please, if you must insist on going to a colony, then let me go too. You don’t even have to marry me if you don’t want to, I don’t have to be a Duke, Sierge or even Tzane can take the title and the business for all I care. Just...let me love you and care for you the best way I can. I know how to make soap anywhere, with my own two hands, it doesn’t have to be England or Europa, I don’t care where we are or where we go, as long as we are together. That’s all that matters to me, we’ll find a way to keep each other. I swear.” Demsey offered before you took your small canteen on your hip and swished your mouth out real quick before you finally kissed him, climbing into his lap and wrapped yourself around him and held him tight as you both cried tears of happiness and relief as an overwhelming flood of emotion overtook you both.

Then as if you both seemed to realize it at the same time, that each other’s taste was...really familiar.Not in a way that it was familiar from the night before but much farther back than that. Almost too familiar in an uncanny way.

“Wait, this, other Audra, the first time you met her, did you try to call her Audrey and she corrected you by saying it’s Audra- Draft?” You questioned him as suddenly, something clicked in your head.

“And I replied, ‘call me Demsey’.” Demsey answered as he gave you the most bizarre look before you both started laughing.

“Oh my gods, we are so stupid! Ugh! The Abbess at the Red Velvet Rope, told me I was going to be seeing a guy named Draft. That’s why I said “Draft”, not as my last name, but that was to address you, who I thought was named Draft.” You confessed.

“And it was on the 12th. At like, 3 o’clock in the afternoon? I told my abbess on my side of the place that I just wanted a rut with a moura and she offered an Audrey and so that’s why I called you Audrey and I thought the Draft thing was you saying your name was Audra Draft, Miss Draft.” Demsey confessed with a sigh of relief as he held you as finally your own personal scent was so wonderful and comforting and familiar! How had he not made the connection before now?

“And then we both returned on the 23rd at about the same time and met again, you were wearing that gorgeous navy suit jacket with the cream pants and that vest with cream and navy paisley.” You realized.

“And you wore that sexy as sin black lace dress that had me nearly losing my load just from the looks of it. Which, you do still have that right?” Demsey asked.

“Yeah, it’s back at Mirador.” You confirmed with another laugh.

“And that was you? At the Masquerade Ball, and it was me that you were quitting Mr. Draft for?” Demsey asked as he just couldn’t stop laughing as all of a sudden everything clicked into place as to why he was so outrageously attracted to you as he tightened his hold on you.

“Yeah, and obviously it was me that you were quitting Miss Draft for?” You asked with a laugh of your own.

“Yeah.” Demsey confirmed.

“So this is actually my child you’re carrying, this is my babe that Grevu has used his magic in protecting this whole time?” Demsey asked in awed astonishment and wonder and gratuity that even when you thought it was the child of a manwhore, you would would bear it and cause no harm to it and you’d be juast as loving and doting and safeguarding it which pleased him greatly and really proved to him the exceptional character you had as you nodded yes before he happily grabbed your face and kissed you with so much passion and so much feeling it was almost overpowering.

“Ok, new change of plans, I am marrying you as soon as I possibly can, I have a ring for you actually here, in my pocket, when you had that attendant hand the journal that I had written in back to me and that one line that you loved me back was all I needed to know, I figured you would be a while and I immediately rode to the closest jewelry store and bought you a ring and raced back and I barely made it back before we came inside the throne room. I am taking you home to Whydah and only keep whatever servants you’re really attached to back at Mirador but otherwise, leave the rest to whoever you want and I will never leave your side again and I pledge my heart, mind, soul and absolute fidelity to you from this day on.” Demsey vowed as he got the ring from his pocket and slipped it onto your finger.

“Likewise. Although I would like to make one small suggestion.” You offered as you wiped the last of your tears away.

“Name it, it’s yours.” Demsey answered back.

“If we ever get to the point where we need a break from being Duke and Duchess Voyambi, we can take breaks and go out on the town and Mr and Mrs. Draft.” You proposed which got him to smile wide and laugh.

“That sounds perfect. And we can continue to make bets in Kamoba, as Mr. and Mrs. Draft.” Demsey suggested.

“Perfect. Now, get what you need, load it onto Charlico because right now, he is yours, because it is only right that a mated pair of griffins be owned by a mated pair of people and fly Charlico home to Whydah.” You ordered as you looked at the aquamarine teal stoned ring with a halo of diamonds around it with so much pride and happiness and now that you knew that it was actually Demsey to save you from everything and that you had no more reasons to try to escape anything, because what you wanted and what you needed was already yours and already in your embrace and being married to Demsey and carrying his children was all you wanted and it made the sting of all the revelations earlier today melt away and you felt strengthened and fortified and so supremely happy because you were happily and freely choosing Demsey just as much as he was happily and freely choosing you, as “complicated” as the circumstances were.

“Yes Ma’am.” Demsey giggled as he kissed you again.

“Good dragon, very good dragon. I owe you everything. Thank you so much.” Demsey happily cooed to Grevu who happily wrapped his head and neck around you both and happily soaked up your affectionate petting and scratching just as a servant came into the barn.

“Is Duke Demsey Voyambi in here?” He called out.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Demsey said as you untangled from him as Grevu lifted his head to reveal you both and together you walked hand in hand to the servant who looked relieved to see you.

“And Sultana Saharazat! Oh good, I’ve found you too. Your bets on the Kamoba battles, they have returned along with their payouts.” He said as he handed Demsey a thick letter full of bills and then handed you a large parcel of bills too as you noticed the letters on top as addressed to Mr. Draft and Miss Draft.

“So who did you bet on?” You asked him.

“You, you beat out Benny, I bet on you to win the battle and you did.” Demsey said as he took the letter and showed you before you took the letter and showed him.

“You bet on me too?” He cooed to you as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and kissed the crown of your head as he read it.

“And with the pay out being one in 20 that you would win your class, I now have at least 2000 pounds here.” You giggled as you opened it to reveal the stacks of pound notes before you put those into the saddle bag with Heavencrest but kept the note and put it into your pocket.

“Would you come to Mirador with me today though? I still wish to have your input and sensibilities on how to handle all of the wealth and businesses and how I should alot what I’ve just inherited and who it should go to, but I do have one thing clear in mind, all businesses need to have unions for the workers, everything has a union back in Dorierra and when Jane told me that you were pro union, it of course makes the best sense, earning money is of course the goal but not at the price of the lives of your workers.” You suggested sweetly as he simply pocketed his own winnings but put the actual letter in a bet into his pocket where your ring had once occupied.

“Of course, I would be delighted to, and I’m honestly happy and relieved we agree on this.” He reassured you before Benny came rushing in with Sierge carrying a whole bag full of money since his bets were structured in such a way that they compounded so he just won over a hundred thousand pounds for Benny beating The Saharan Viper and The Copper Cobra along with your heir father, his wife and his mother.

“Grevu! Lift this curse off of me right now!” Benny demanded of Grevu as you and Demsey watched her pass you curiously as you snickered a laugh.

“Shut up Audra! You just won the world! You have no right to laugh at me!” Benny spat angrily as Grevu growled at her before he got up and balled himself up, like a cat curling up on a rug before a fire and turned away from her as your family was coming into the barn to leave too.

“Aw, does “the happy heart beat” not make you so happy Benny?” You asked her in a teasing, almost taunting tone.

“Don’t you dare say those words to me, there is nothing happy about this situation at all!” Benny said.

“Happy heart beat?” Demsey repeated.

“In the far east- in the emperors harem, that’s how pregnancy is diagnosed and what is said when it’s discovered. It’s a way of diagnosing pregnancy. Dr. Chu told me, that’s why I told Sierge to follow Benny and stay with her.” You revealed.

“And thats...” Demsey began as he looked at you questioningly.

“Yup.” You eagerly nodded with a bright smile.

“Oh good you have not left yet.” Your mother blew out a breath of relief at seeing you as all of them were carrying small packets of money, won from them betting on you for winning the Kamoba tournament.

“No, Demsey is coming to Mirador with us, since he’s been running his businesses with great success in the English market, I want his input to help me decide what I should do with all of the Morrigan’s businesses and help me decide who should get what.” You explained as you happily stood with your arm around his waist as he stood with his arm around your shoulders and happily held the other to your side as Benny just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Axal! Get your ass down here and have Grevu take this curse off of me this instant! He cursed me last night before the night Kamoba games and I refuse to live another moment under it!” Benny screamed down the barn which got everyone to stare at her in confusion except for you and Demsey who were content to just stand back and see how this was going to play out.

“How did he curse you?” Axal asked with a barely contained grin.

“He just...did! I just need him to lift it!” Benny hotly demanded.

“Right. I don’t believe you. Unless you can give me solid proof and evidence that he did and show me how he cursed you, I’m not getting involved at all.” Axal dismissed as he waived her off and began to walk away.

“He got me pregnant!” Benny desperately confessed as everyone gasped and stared at Benny in shock as you couldn’t help it, you snorted and snickered a laugh which soon infected Demsey too and the others around you.

“Wow! You had sex with Grevu? By heaven above, Sierge’s dick isn’t enough for you that you had to fuck my dragon?! How did he even fit…?” Axal began to ask.

“No! I didn’t fuck your dragon, his cock would split me in half! No, I...he made the seed that was already in me take root and now his magic is protecting that root and I need him to lift his protection of that root so I can remove it!” Benny finally confessed.

“And whose “root” is it?” Axal asked.

“Who knows, it could be mine, it could be Viscount Whiteales or any of the other orc gentlemen you were schmoozing with at the Kamoba lunch and dinner feasts, it’s hard to tell with a whoring slut like her.” Sierge said as everyone ‘ooooh’ed’ with another snickering laugh as Anavia and Loreiris tsked and shook their heads.

“Your mother will be so disappointed in you. You knew penilie- vaginal sex was forbidden for this very reason, is this why you couldn’t get the dowager status?” Loreiris asked.

“Yes, it’s cost me everything! Now Grevu, take it back!” Benny demanded.

“But what about that leverage you were going to use against Audra when and if she could not get you that Dowager status? Surely you can’t fault her- for you- not getting it, because we were all there to hear how she wanted all of us to have that status and didn’t single you out to not have it.” Loreiris pointed out.

“You were going to betray Audra after everything she did for you?” Your mother scuffed in disgust.

“No, I wasn’t, I swear!” Benny said as real fear came back into her eyes.

“But you told me that you were going to.” Loreiris insisted.

“And me,” your heir father insisted.

“And me,” his wife Maradiem added.

“And me,” his mother Anavia added.

“It was just something to say for the Kamoba, I didn’t mean it!” Benny pleaded as your whole family began coming towards her and began to surround her as everyone was glaring at her before she was pushed back so that her back hit the wall.

“What is going on now?” Yalin and her children asked as they came into the stables to see your family off and saw Benny as she ducked and dodged through your family to get to her.

“Please Mama Yalin, you have to help me! Grevu cursed me so that seed took root in my womb and his magic is protecting the root and I need it removed before I could ever go back to Dorierra!” Benny pleaded.

“Well whose seed was it?” Yalin asked.

“Sierge’s.” Benny finally confessed.

“Are you sure? You were seen practically hanging all over all the other orc families yesterday, it could have been any of theirs, after all, you were offering all of them the leverage you had collected for Gregori against Audra and Demsey so Audra could be with Ramsey, but obviously, you see how that didn’t go so well.” Loreiris said as she gestured to you and Demsey as well as to Ramsey who was between Axal and Octavia.

“So you were going to try to sell that leverage to the highest bidder?” Yalin asked Benny as she pulled away from Benny and fixed her with a disapproving glare.

“No!” Benny shook her head no.

“That’s not what she told everyone else, I specifically overheard her tell Kate Whitesale and her brother that she would give that leverage to them so that Kate would be the next Duchess Voyambi and that Benny would be the next Viscountess Whitesale since Sierge was the second son and heir to nothing and had no power or wealth to his name because it all rested with Demsey and how getting that leverage came with ‘the unfortunate side effect of Sierge’s attentions and affections which you did not at all return’.” Loreiris paraphrased.

“I overheard those exact sentiments too, you offered the same thing to the other orc families that day too and swore up and down how you had Sierge’s unwanted and unreciprocated attentions and affections and how you needed “saving from him”.” Axal insisted.

“Oh dear, did you get caught in your own web?” Yalin asked Benny as she shook her head and looked so profoundly disappointed.

“Well, unfortunately, I’m afraid I can’t help you. Because the right thing to do was once you saw that whatever leverage you got by whatever means you used, was no longer wanted or needed, you should have been a good friend to Audra and forgotten all about it. Because I never asked you to get that leverage and I never wanted it used against Audra. Who has clearly already had enough horrible tactics used on her.” Yalin offered.

“And I never asked you to get leverage on her either. So your leverage was and is completely useless to me.” Ramsey insisted.

“Nor I.” Charlotte chimed in.

“No but your father did!” Benny insisted to Ramsey and Charlotte.

“Right, the same one who hired a doctor to poison an old man to death, how did that turn out by the way?” Ramsey sarcastically mocked her before turned to his mother.

“Horribly. I fear your father faces some intense discipline and will be forced to pay recompense with interest for years and years to come.” Yalin answered.

“And once it is known that you are with child, that classifies you as “fallen” and no man in nobility in any country either here or anywhere else in Europa wants a fallen lady, no one will want to claim you. I suppose if you have anyone at Dorierra will take you on- in such a condition, that would be what’s best but for fallen ladies, there are few choices. Maybe the father might be induced to take you, if he will have you but only if you had not betrayed him or tried to cast him off before hand. But with the fortune Sierge just won from the Kamoba, he could have any number of ladies.” Yalin said as she gestured to him.

“And with that fortune he could buy any number of the businesses I just inherited, so it’s not like he’s left with nothing, no fortune or income or power or influence, he could be a man of industry and wealth that might even exceed his brother and he could always claim his own title of nobility, it might not be as high as a Duke but it’s better than nothing, after all we are all Maquis now right?” You pointed out to everyone else who had agreed on staying in England.

“But he’s the one who gave me the leverage against you in the first place!” Benny said as she pointed at Sierge accusingly as everyone then looked at Sierge.

“Look, you and your hands and mouth were very persuasive but I only told you what you wanted to hear. It’s not like anything that I told you was necessarily completely true or at all accurate or even current. Because what’s that saying? Something only ten percent true is still 100% misleading? You’re not the only one who knows how to work other people and you weren’t subtle about the fact that you were working me, but thanks for the inside info to bet on you against the Saharan Viper, even as dirty as you played her, I now have enough money to buy any bride I wanted from Dorierra if I ever wanted one, or I could just as easily court and marry any eligible lady here in England. So, all in all, thanks Benny for doing me the backhanded favor.” Sierge winked at Demsey with a smug smile himself a shrug from his shoulders.

“But the fact that you’re not just willing, but desperately wanting to kill my unborn child because it just happens to inconvenience you and puts your treachery on display and exposes you for who and what you really are. I don’t know if I want you as a wife. I can’t trust that you wouldn’t hurt any other children I could ever give to you if I were to take you as my wife, for any number of reasons. So go ahead, let Grevu lift his protection from you and “uproot” the little sapling and destroy it before it can sprout any further as you so chose to phrase it. You’re free of my attentions and affections as of this moment and every moment to come, exactly how you wanted to be, right?” Sierge questioned rhetorically as even you could see the beginning of tears start to make his eyes glassy as he tried to remain composed as even you could feel how profoundly hurt he was by this betrayal too.

“Yes, you know why? Because you never once respected me! Or women in general. You treated me like a pet, a toy, you feel a woman’s place is in the home, birthing heirs and too stupid for anything else, helpless and weak and completely dependant. I am so much more than you could ever comprehend, let alone appreciate. And being forced to be bonded, much less married to a stupid, honorless, pig headed, stubborn, egotistical, selfish, much less completely incompetent, lackluster lover, who is as reckless with honor as he is money. You are ruination itself! And you will lose all of that wealth as quickly as you got it!” Benny roared angrily as everyone blinked in surprise.

“Wow, been holding that in for a while now huh?” Calla asked Benny.

“Yes, and I’m done, Leumeni, Coravien, come on, we’re leaving. we are going home to Dorierra, we can still catch the train.” Benny barked at her brothers.

“I’m not leaving with you. I’m free, remember? Unlike you, I got dowager status, so I don’t answer to you. Besides, everything I could ever want and need is right here with me in England. Not in Dorierra.” Leumeni answered back calmly as he looked to Kiera who happily took his hand and held it tight.

“And you’re more than welcome to stay at Mirador while you find a fine house of your own.” You offered to him.

“Thanks, I’ll take you up on that.” Leumeni smiled happily.

“Me too, if Demsey will take me on as a partner in his soap business, I’ll give him every soap recipe I know and we can have the same soaps and things here that we do at home. Besides, I’m a Marquis here in England and the King offered me a living of ten thousand pounds a year, which I understand is a lot and the other orc ladies here are actually really pretty. So I’m staying too.” Coravien answered his sister back too.

“Yeah can I get in on that soap thing too?” Leumeni asked.

“Absolutely. I’d be happy to have you on board.” Demsey readily agreed as you smiled happily at him as you squeezed him into your side and being so proud to have such a wonderful man as your fiance.

“And London needs a proper moura restaurant,” Storren pointed out.

“Yeah, I ain't going back either, I’d love to open a good moura restaurant. Give that Savoy I keep hearing about a good run for its money.” Brima grinned.

“And my place is with Tzane, I ain’t going back either, not until I marry Tzane and we go back together to gather all of my things from Dorrierra so I can fully move here, Whydah is from what I hear a large home, big enough for more than one couple.” Calla shrugged.

“Mama Yalin?” You called out.

“Yes Audra Dear?” Yalin asked, happy and elated that you were still speaking to her in such an affectionate way, having feared that Gregori had completely destroyed your relationships with their entire family.

“Would it be possible to get a marriage license for Demsey and I to get married sooner than later, he has asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted, and I would like to get married within the week at least so that all the members of my family who wish to return to Dorierra can see me get married in the moura tradition before they leave to go home to Dorierra?” You asked her hopefully as you raised your left hand and turned it so she could see it as everyone gasped excitedly and cheered to see it before offering their congratulations to both of you.

“Surely you can postpone your departure from England for a day or two can’t you Benny? You could still go back with my family when they want to go back.” You offered rather sweetly, if not just a tad smugly because what you had told her in the Kamoba battle was coming true, just the way the gods and goddesses had told you it would.

“Only if Grevu will lift this curse off of me first.” Benny decided.

“Grevu, go ahead, do as she asks. Lift the protection.” Axal decided before Benny marched down and kneeled in front of Grevu who blew a red smoke over her and then inhaled it all back in a moment later.

“Thank you, you overgrown rat with wings.” Benny snipped as she turned away from him before Grevu spitefully growled and knocked her down onto the floor on her way out with his snout as Benny cursed in pain before she felt the pain seep and radiate from her lower belly as she clutched it as everyone else just shook their heads and carried on with business of getting ready to leave as Siege simply walked out of the barn and towards the carriage with his other siblings and their partners since his parents had left Buckingham palace to their London home right after the “court” was ajourned.

“You ready Demsey Darling?” You asked Demsey as you both got into Heavencrest’s and Charlico’s saddles respectfully.

“Absolutely Audra Dearest.” Demsey grinned before he put the helmet on before Heavencrest and Charlico raced to reach to the skies as Demsey and yourself flew to Mirador to discuss business with your family and friends, including Marquise Bellafont because you wanted her to tell her children herself of their own freedom and rise to nobility since the King and Queen had quickly signed off on her nobility so she could show it to her children herself.

Once you arrived home, Rose, Myra’s eldest daughter, was the first to greet you.

“My Lady, you would not believe what the papers have been saying about you.” Rose began.

“Rose, I love you dearly, but I need you to go back inside and get dressed in your Sunday best, your mother is coming with really fantastic, exciting news, and get all of your siblings and tell them to do the same.” You excitedly told her.

“Really?” Rose asked you.

“Yes really, and after today, you and your siblings are servants to no one, not even me.” You hinted as she gasped as she looked from you to Duke Demsey who was nodding in confirmation with you, wearing a similar smile.

“Excuse me then,” Rose happily excused herself as she rushed back into the house and called all of her siblings together and repeated what you told them as they all quickly left and got dressed in their Sunday best and packed everything they owned before their mother arrived and eagerly embraced her children and revealed the truth and then repeated what the King and Queen had told her what the story should be as they all agreed to the story before they came back to you as all of them hugged you tight before you presented them with your winnings.

“Now, this is all I was able to win in the Kamoba battle, take this money, go to a really good dress shop or even a few of them, put this down as a down payment on your new wardrobes. I want every member of your family to dress and appear as lofty as your station permits. I have some jewelry I wish to bestow upon all of you. Although I will insist that all of Agnes’ jewelry be given to Jane along with anything else Jane has any sentimental attachments to and I understand if Jane would like to inherit her mother’s connections and will use them how she sees fit.” You insisted.

“Oh of course, of course.” Myra readily agreed.

“Now it will take time to save up some money for decent dowries for the ladies. But once everyone else gets here, and we all discuss together how we are going to divide everything. I’m sure by the end of tonight, all of us will be satisfied with the outcomes.” You reassured them.

“Thank you Audra, you’ve been so good to us, is there anything we can do to repay you?” Rose asked as she hugged you again.

“Just stick to the story that the King proclaimed, be kind and good to Jane and especially little Edward. He will miss his parents, but hopefully when he grows up, he will learn to accept things. And I want all of you to have the same freedom I’m going to enjoy, and that is to choose for yourselves what your lives will be, who you marry and marry for love if you can at all possible, if you even want to get married that is. But choose happiness, whatever that may be and I will do my best to find some kind of tutor, so that all of you get the same education and same learning and gain understanding of business so that you handle your new acquisitions well and not squander it or let anyone take advantage of you either. You are neither servant or slave to anyone’s will but your own from this moment on.” You urged them before everyone seemed to arrive as you introduced your family to Myra’s children.

You all crammed in around your table as several ladies had to take on the laps of their partners as your steward from Broadcove, Mr. Chattingham, who was so happy to hear of your own victory and in a way, Myra’s victory over his own former masters was key in knowing all the businesses that Edward Senior, Richard and Agnes had, and doubted much had changed in the year since his service to them ended and had incredible insights on what businesses would be best for each of your brothers as well as Myra’s sons as you and Demsey insisted that each business would have a union to protect it’s workers as Mr. Chattingham named who Richard had hired to specifically root out union organizers within his businesses as you knew already who you were going to be immediately firing before you hand them over since your parents had gotten word before they left that a messenger from the King along with Scotland Yard had been dispatched to all of the banks and other businesses and was in the process of having it all turned over to you and put into your name as it was immediately a prerequisite that the unions would be brought in and stay in place or you would not hand any of them over because even in Dorierra, every Dorrieran man was in his own union with the stables so such a thing was not new to you or anyone from your family as even Sierge offered to buy a business himself so that he had something other than his family’s soap business and his soon to be brother in law’s restaurant, but something to call all his own before there was a knock on the door.

“Hi, I’m Mage Amaryllis, Mage Altissia informed me that there was a spell on this house to disable the messengeraries? And she asked me to come and lift it.” She offered.

“Yes, thank you so much for coming, please, do whatever you can.” You invited her.

“Thank you.” She said before she found the absolute center point of the house and closed her eyes before moving and gesturing around herself as you saw what looked like magic shackles begin to break around the messengeraris in each room before she did a pulling down motion from the ceiling and all of a sudden it felt like a fresh breeze flowed through the house as the very air felt lighter and less stuffy or still or smothering.

“There, much better, things should be working much better and much smoother from now on.” Mage Amaryllis smiled.

“Thank you so much, how much do I owe you?” You asked.

“Nothing, the King and Queen have already paid me and I just came from Broadcove and have already lifted this same spell from there. But if you ever do need anything else, either magically or otherwise, here’s my messengerari address as well as my own home address here in London, write or call any time.” She said as she handed you a card with her name and contact information written on it as she had another one for Myra before everyone else also took a card from her before she saw herself out before Myra and all of her children did the same as you assured them that they were all definately invited to your wedding whenever you got a chance to plan it and execute it.

“Ok, I need to try something.” You told your family as you left the dining room and went to the living room took the keypad on the messengerari in the livingroom and punched in the address to your other friends back in Dorierra and smiled excitedly as your friends faces then began to fill the surface as they were equally surprised and happy and excited to see you.

“Demsey!” You called as he came in before you took his hand and introduced him to your friends.

“This is Duke Demsey Voyambi, I’m marrying him as soon as our marriage license comes through and it will be a love match this time.” You informed them proudly as they all gasped and gushed and squealed and offered you their congratulations.

“So like, how soon is soon?” Jenniverre asked.

“Probably a few days,” Demsey answered.

“Oh that’s more than enough time, who wants to fly to London with me?” Jenniverre asked everyone who was on the group call.

“Oh give me an hour to get packed, do you have a room where we could stay?” Jenniverre asked.

“Yes. Is there any way you guys can bring some figs? Like bushel baskets full or even saplings?” You asked hopefully.

“Yeah, why?” They asked.

“Pregnancy cravings.” You answered in Marinai with a bashful blush and smile.

“And? Was it at least good?” They eagerly asked.

“Oh, how divine is the god’s blessing!” You said as you waived your hand above your head which was a marinai euphemism for meaning ‘sex so good it’s as if you were having actual sex with the gods’ which got them all to giggle and laugh salaciously.

“Oooh, of course of course, yeah, you got it, we’ll stop by the greenhouses.” Adrilody confirmed.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can get packed and saddled up, we’re flying in, see you soon! I can’t wait!” Jenniverre squealed as she and the others quickly got off the call.

“As if this house wasn’t full enough.” You chuckled to Demsey.

“Well Whydah is huge, they are just as welcome there too, any friend of yours is a friend of mine, just as any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine too.” Demsey offered.

“Thank you.” You thanked him appreciatively as you stood on tip toe as he ducked down to kiss you easier as he couldn’t help but palm your lower belly reverently.

“What does ‘savacia’ mean?” Demsey asked.

“Pregnancy cravings.” You answered.

“Wow, this early?” Demsey asked.

“Oh yeah, moura’s can tell almost instantaneously when we get pregnant, morning sickness hits early but really only lasts a week at the most, usually only a few days, Grevu hid my morning sickness by making you and Axal start throwing up and I was so distracted with the mourkatili poisoning and Dr. Chu did say that I would have cravings but what’s usually the go to thing that those who have been cured from mourkatili is actually- vegetables, like celery, usually rhubarb. So for me, the figs were a surprise and I didn’t think anything of it.” You murmured.

“Who said “savacia”?” Your mother asked as she came into the living room from having walked down the hallway from the bathroom that was in the hallway.

“I didn’t. Calla?” Benny asked her as she came down from claiming a room of her own upstairs.

“Nope, I did.” You volunteered.

“The figs! Figs are your savacia?!” Your mother exclaimed excitedly.

“Yeah, that’s kind of why I really wanted to get married, rather quickly, to the father.” You answered as you nodded over to Demsey as everyone came rushing in and congratulating you again.

“So I was right?! You are pregnant!” Benny gasped as a smug smile threatened to overtake her face.

“Yes I am, about three and a half weeks along.” You confirmed.

“So I was right about you getting pregnant at the Masquerade Ball.” Benny beamed, feeling vindicated that she her hunch was right.

“Yup, but not by any manwhore as you so claimed, but by him, he just changed his clothes and went under our assumed names we gave each other so as not to cause any suspicion and we’ve been secretly courting for say, the last two months would you say? Keeping it so secret and hidden away was especially hard on both of us, especially when I was being pursued by the Raymonds, wasn’t it?” You readily supplied your family as Demsey didn’t dare disagree with you because that sounded like the perfect explanation for everything as he found himself smiling brightly because that should have been the truth because he had every intention of telling you he wanted to court you at the ball at Havenfield but he got interrupted by Ramsey in the art gallery.

“So hi, I’m Audra Draft, pleasure to meet you.” You said to Benny as you offered your hand to shake hers as she looked both disgusted and disappointed by the fact that her “leverage” wasn’t even real leverage at all as she crossed her arms under her bountiful bosom and scowled at you before you let your hand drop.

“You! You lied to me!” Benny accused Sierge who was just grinning smugly himself, proud of his brother for finally connecting the dots so to speak but he wasn’t about to disagree with those sentiments.

“Yup, it’s true, I did lie to you, because what kind of brother would I be if I actually gave my brother up for something as meaningless as what you talked up our exchange to be? Demsey only gave me Audra’s assumed name, to protect her and her honor and I respected him enough to respect his wishes in protecting her and her honor. Something which you’ve been hell bent on destroying since the beginning. And I wasn’t going to let you actually have anything capable of destroying me and my family.” Sierge tossed back as Benny narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

“But since she’s pregnant, she’s not “fallen” too?” Benny demanded.

“No, absolutely not, I’m the one that got her that way and I have every intention of making her an honorable and upstanding lady and no one would dare question me or my word about the matter and it’s still early enough that when we take our honeymoon to anywhere she wants to go, it’s not uncommon for new brides to come home pregnant from their honeymoon.” Demsey reasoned.

“Just think, the same could have been for you, if you hadn’t insisted on “uprooting my seed” as you so “delicately” put it.” Sierge murmured from his corner across the room.

“So? How was it? Was it good at least?” Axal murmured in your ear.

“Oh how divine is the gods blessing!” You repeated with the same way you did before which got your whole family to cheer and laugh as Benny scuffed in disgust.

“You know, maybe you should go back to Dorierra, you’ve beaten The Saharan Viper in Kamoba of all things, surely any man would think twice before harassing you on the train.” Your mother suggested with a forced polite smile.

“You will have to hurry, the last train leaves in an hour and a half.” Tzane suggested as he looked at the time from the clock in the room.

“Fine, I will.” Benny said as she went back upstairs and got repacked as you called your carriage around and got Benny’s things loaded up as she used her remaining fee she had been paid just for coming as Leumeni and Coravien saw her off.

“Well now, shall we go out to dinner? To the Savoy perhaps?” You suggested to everyone else once Benny rode away in the carriage.

“But I’ll need you to help me get dressed,” you urged Demsey before taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs to your bedroom to finally strip out of your pant suit since you had long since peeled yourself out of your riding leathers and the moment the door was shut Demsey’s hands were already all over you, practically ripping these clothes off of you.

“So what does “ah-shamala-show-in” mean?” Demsey asked as you helped him get undressed to a degree too as you walked him towards a chair for a quick sex session before dinner.

“It means ‘oh how divine is the gods blessing’ in the literal translation. But it’s a euphemism in marinai that means ‘sex so good it’s like having sex with a god’.” You giggled as you got him into the chair and readily seated yourself on your now familiar friend and began to ride him with gusto.

“Ah, that makes everyone’s reactions much more understandable. And may I just say- the feeling is very much mutual.” Demsey happily replied as he drove up into you with equal passion as he held you so close and looked up at you like you were a goddess he would be devoutly worshiping for the rest of his life as you welcomed his affections with open arms, literally, as your moura marks were lighting up the room brighter than any candle or fire could.

“Gods I just should have told you sooner, I should have been able to tell you at the ball at Havenfield that I wanted to court you.” Demsey confessed as nipped at your ear after kissing up the column of your graceful neck.

“I have a feeling you were about to before Ramsey cut you off.” You smiled as your fingers carded through his hair and scratched deliciously at his scalp while his own fingernails raked down your back as his cock was exactly what your body had been craving this whole time as you were almost beside yourself in happiness that you actually sexually craved your soon to be husband and were almost helplessly attracted to him on every level.

“I should have been rude and insisted on saying it anyway.” Demsey confided.

“Well in my mind and heart, you did and obviously, you have my answer.” You giggled before you kissed him soundly.

“You can say that you wanted to keep it quiet out of respect for Ramsey and of course Gregori and Yalin and you wanted to make sure that I had my choice of any bachelor of my choosing but seeing me being openly courted by another just cemented our feelings for each other and simply as a ruse you pretended to be interested in your other options.” You reassured him just before you found your release and, for the sake of the others in the house, you kept your keening cry of bliss down by biting down on the juncture of his neck and shoulder and whimpering while your body shuddered in delight which only spurned Demsey to finally release his precious seed into the only “field” it belonged in as he held you so tight.

“I am never, ever- letting you go.” Demsey professed as he nuzzled the crux of your neck and shoulder and breathed in deeply, cementing this wonderful smell of you in his mind and was so relieved that the woman who he had fallen in love with and the woman he had fallen into lust with- were the same woman and supremely relieved that any stigma or jealousy you may have felt when you found out about the “other Audra” was now done and over with and any he had felt had melted into nothingness. This was so much better than he could have ever hoped, or imagined or even feared and once you both recovered he, very patiently and lovingly helped you get dressed in a gown that you insisted matched what he was wearing so that you looked like a proper couple before simply putting your hair up in a simple bun to hide it’s rather shortened nature.

You returned downstairs to where your family had gathered and had to take a few carriages to the restaurant before they happily got one big table put together as Demsey invited his parents back for the meal to see for themselves and they were so happy and overjoyed to have you in the family even if they were disappointed that Benny had chosen not to stay with Sierge but they were relieved and pleasantly surprised to hear the news of your “secret” courting of their son and realized that was why you were polite with Ramsey but were not returning his efforts and realized that Demsey had actually played that circumstance cleverly and were thrilled to have Leumeni and Coravien added to the family soap business as well as Leumeni, Calla and Storren added to their family and eagerly talked to Brima and Coravien about the other orc ladies that were in the gentry before as they of course had their own ideas about the wedding as Demsey made sure to insist that it should be as soon as your friends could arrive and that it should be rather small, with only family and close friends because your wedding to Edward had been so big and such a huge ordeal that you didn’t need or want that big of a wedding which you readily agreed with which his parents could not argue with as it was readily agreed that the London home would be better equipped to handle such an affair then since the majority of the guests would be at your own home as Amara and Storren also announced their courting, along with Kiera and Leumeni and Calla and Tzane as their weddings would be much more planned and prepared because Calla, Kiera and Amara wanted the bigger, grander weddings which you and Demsey did confirm you would be back from your honeymoon in time to attend and you were all relieved when Demesy’s parents gladly accepted the cover that the King had insisted on, especially with you and Jane especially providing off the cuff “details” that added more “authenticity” to it and made it sound closer to the gospel truth as it was accepted as such as Jane was given the most sincerest sympathies for the sudden loss of her parents and their sanity but the fact that she was protected because of her being at the Palace of Windsor as you continued to eat dinner with Demsey on one side of you and Jane on the other, just as it should be.

#Blood For Gold #Blood For Gold Chapter 21 #regency era orc period drama #regency orcs #orcs #orc love story #orc romance #Mouras

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writinginstardust · 5 years ago

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Never Knew

Pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz x Henry Fox-Montchristen-Windsor

Warnings: some suggestive language

A/N: Fictober day 13, prompt “I never knew it could be this way.” I’m still beyond soft for these boys so have another fic for them. They’re cute and in love and now they’re getting married! I love them, I love them, I love them.

Word Count: 1322

A light breeze ruffled Alex's hair as he walked through Hyde Park, hand in hand with his boyfriend. His boyfriend who just so happened to be a Prince of England. Even after dating for well over a year, he still couldn't quite believe it. He couldn't believe he had this, he had Henry, his very own Prince Charming who loved Alex as much as Alex loved him.

Dappled sunlight peeked through the trees and shone warm on his skin. It was one of those rare English summer days when it wasn't raining and Alex and Henry were taking full advantage of it. They stopped at a bench overlooking a lake and Henry sat, pulling Alex down beside him and wrapping his arm around his menace of a boyfriend. Alex leaned into the embrace instinctively and turned his head to plant a soft kiss on Henry's jaw, sighing out in contentment as he rested his head on Henry's shoulder.

He looked up, admiring the strong lines of the prince's face, the rosy glow the sun painted on his cheeks, the way it highlighted his hair with flecks of pure gold. He was so beautiful. And he was all Alex's. Well if the ring on his finger had anything to say about it anyway.

The ring. The one Henry had presented him with in bed this morning. The one that now glimmered against his and Henry's skin where their fingers linked. The one that was going to have the world going insane when the photos from this outing inevitably went viral later.

He didn't even care. Some of the papers would use it as another opportunity to take a dig at their relationship while others would be raving. And Alex, for the first time in years, did not care at all. He was happy. He was in love. Nothing the papers said could ruin this for him.

“I never knew it could be this way,” Henry sighed, a soft smile on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“Us. Together. Happy. Engaged. Not having to hide anything. It’s more than I imagined I’d get. You're more than I imagined I deserved.” He looked down at his fiancé, adoration in his gaze that Alex would only see when it was printed in the tabloids tomorrow.

“You deserve the world Henry, but this is a start.” Alex said softly, turning his face into Henry's neck and pressing a kiss there. Henry’s heart soared. Alex had a tendency to say things like that a lot but Henry would never be used to it. He didn’t want to be. He never wanted to stop feeling the way he did when Alex revealed the depth of his love. With a gentle finger under Alex’s chin, Henry turned his face to meet his eyes.

“You are my world." The hitch in Alex's breath was delightful and when his eyes flicked down to Henry's lips, the prince smiled and kissed him tenderly. Normally they weren't quite this affectionate in public - despite everyone being all too aware of what they got up to in private - but today they couldn't help themselves. Still riding high on the joy from Henry's proposal this morning, they weren't so bothered about proprietary.

“You have got to stop saying things like that,” Alex whispered when he pulled away.

“Why’s that?” Henry grinned.

“Because it makes me melt and I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Then I will not.” He kissed him quickly again. “Besides, the whole world has seen our emails, they know you’re a sap.” At Alex's indignant squawk, Henry threw his head back and laughed.

"Stop it," Alex complained through a laugh. "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is, love."

"You are the worst." Henry just continued chuckling at his over dramatic boyfr- fiancé, he was going to have to get used to that one. "I mean it. Stop laughing at me or I'm leaving you."

"Too late. You already said yes."

"I can still change my mind, you know."

"Yes, but we both know you won't." Alex groaned and buried his face in Henry's neck.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't sass back."

"You've only got yourself to blame for that one. You've rubbed off on me too much."

"Or maybe not enough." Alex raised his head and winked. The flush on Henry's cheeks had him giggling again.

"You are a menace."

“You knew that and yet you still asked me to marry you.”

“I may live to regret that.”

“Hey!” Alex started to protest but was quickly shut up by Henry’s lips against his.

“You know I’d never regret you. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

“Me neither.” Alex’s smile was so gorgeous Henry’s heart stopped for a minute. “Even when you’re old and grey and can’t do all those sinful things with your mouth-” Henry was not going to have this kind of conversation in a public park, even if no one else was close enough to hear, so yet again he covered Alex’s mouth with his own. Alex wasn’t complaining.

“Come on.” Henry stood.

“Where are we going?” Alex asked with a sly smile.

“Home.” He pulled Alex up and into his arms. “We have some celebrating to do.”

Alex grinned and looped his arms around Henry’s neck, standing on his toes to reach his lips. His kiss ended up far sweeter than the seductive one he’d planned to give, but Henry was looking at him so softly, light haloed around him, and Alex was so in love he couldn’t help it. A smile spread across his face and he had to pull away.

“Alright, Prince Charming, let’s ‘celebrate’.” Taking Henry’s hand, he just barely resisted the urge to run all the way back to the car to get home sooner. Unfortunately they had to maintain an air of respectability in public. As soon as they were hidden from view by the very handy tinted windows however, Alex wouldn’t wait any longer to be ‘improper’. He climbed into Henry’s lap and kissed him. And kissed him...and kissed him...and kissed him. He didn’t stop until they pulled up in front of the palace and his phone pinged.

“Damn, they were quick,” he laughed. It was a news alert.

BREAKING!

ANOTHER ROYAL WEDDING ON THE HORIZON?

Alex Claremont-diaz Spotted Sporting Engagement Ring In Hyde Park With Prince Henry.

Do we hear wedding bells again already? Photos have emerged of the FSOTUS and our very own Prince Henry on a romantic stroll through Hyde Park this afternoon and they reveal something very important about how things are going. It looks like his royal highness finally popped the question and we’re over-the-moon for them…

Alex shut his phone off with a smile.

“Good one?” Henry asked.

“Does it matter?”

“I don’t suppose it does.” His lips quirked. “Weren’t we meant to be celebrating?”

“Yep.” Alex grinned and lept from the car, dragging Henry behind him. They were kissing again the moment the palace doors shut behind them and stumbled halfway up the stairs lips locked before Henry stopped them. With ease he picked Alex up and carried him the rest of the way to his bedroom. Alex tried not to swoon but failed liked he did every time he was reminded of how strong Henry really was.

They spent the rest of the afternoon wrapped in each other’s arms, trading soft kisses and ones filled with desire. Phones went off intermittently with messages from friends and family and news alerts but they ignored them all. They’d have to deal with the public announcements sooner or later but for now they would enjoy their engagement in private a little longer. This love and this moment was theirs and no one else’s. When they’d started all this neither of them had realised it could ever be like this, but now it was and they were going to savour every second.

Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)

Everything: @wonderfilledness @writingbychelle @ad-astraaaa

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #firstprince #alex x henry #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz x henry fox montchristen windsor #rwrb fanfic #red white and royal blue fanfic #firstprince fanfic #fictober #fictober day 13

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bohemian-war · 6 years ago

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DAY TRIP | BEN HARDY X READER

Hellooooo :D!!!

This is my second Ben Hardy’s imagine following @lion-wasczyk ‘s request. I went to Windsor for the first time on a day trip yesterday and I absolutely fell in love with the city so I thought I could do this based on that trip. Something fluffy with Ben :’).

Enjoy!

Like/reblog/feedback’s always welcome and truly appreciated. P.S. This might turn out to be longer than expected. ------------ “Are you sure you want to do this? You must be exhausted after your trip.”

Ben finishes preparing his backpack by putting the water bottle in one of the compartments. He turns around with a smile and approaches you. He wraps you in his arms and you rest your head in his chest closing your eyes and feeling his heart beating calmly. Ben sighs and gives you tender kisses on your forehead. ”Y/N, love, I am fine, honestly. I promised you we’d do this. In fact, a day outside London is exactly what I need.” It had been a couple of days since his trip to the US to attend the Golden Globes. Rami and Bohemian Rhapsody had won two awards for best actor and best film and you could not be happier and prouder of the whole crew. You had agreed with Ben that you two would go on a day trip to Windsor & Eton together after he returned but now that you thought about it more closely, the jet lag might not be doing him any good and you could not imagine how a whole day's excursion could benefit Ben. “Are you sure that this is all about me? Because if you are the one craving for a movie, dinner, and perhaps other things... we could call it all off and stay in.” Ben pulled away from you a bit to see your expression. You were blushing so badly that went back to hide your face in his chest. “No, no. I am fine. I swear.”

“Let’s go then.” You smile at Ben and grab your stuff. You were really excited about visiting Windsor. You had never been there but since you had seen the Royal wedding on television, you were looking forward to exploring the city on your own with the love of your life by your side. Once on the train, Ben helps you to leave the backpacks on the floor next to the seats and you both sit down and admire the landscape. The whole trip lasts barely an hour from central London. “I haven’t been to Windsor since I was in primary school.” Ben laughs and his smile awakens your curiosity. “How’s that so?” “We used to do lots of day trips back then. You know that England stands out for playing an important part in History so when it came to studying certain topics, they’d take us to the place in question and we could understand the whole thing better.” It fascinated you the way he usually talked about his early days and how his eyes would shine by the mere mention of it. It could also be that you were too in love with him to see any difference. “That’s incredible. The most I used to do was going to see a shabby play or to the circus. Poor animals. I couldn’t stand it.” Ben sighs and brings you closer while kissing your temple. “I am sure you’ll love Windsor. It feels cozy and close to home.”

“I cannot wait to see it. I might find my Prince Harry and marry him there after all, as Meghan did.”

He snorts and denies with a funny head.

“I will never understand why you girls are all obsessed with Prince Harry. He is no one special. He just happens to have money.”

You open your mouth to complain.

“He happens to be a dashing Prince. You are just jealous, Ben!”

“Jealous of what? Of him having to deal with lots of responsibilities on a daily basis and not enjoying life as someone should? I am not jealous. I am grateful for not having to go through that the rest of my life. Thank you very much.”

You sigh and look at him with sad eyes

“You are a famous actor now. It does not make any difference.”

“It does. It is not the same thing at all.”

“Whatever...“

You rest your back in your seat and cross your arms in front of you with a frown and pouting like a child.

“In my defense though...” Ben starts and leans over to whisper in your ear. “I can say that I can make you feel better than Prince Harry. I can make you wet your pants in less than five minutes. I literally can have you panting my name just with my look and attractive accent, darling.

A deep heat wave takes over you and suddenly you find yourself putting your arms between your legs to stop the feeling of pleasure that you have begun to feel there. A tiny squeal comes out of your mouth and an old lady with shopping bags looks angry at you. You just want to disappear. All you do is feeling how you shrink in your seat. Ben sees you and laughs. You start punching him gently.

“You are evil!”

“Oh, love, you cannot even imagine.”

Once you both arrive in Windsor you are surprised to see that the place is quiet and pretty much empty. Everyone has returned to London to work after Christmas and you can walk with all kinds of tranquility without anyone interrupting you. When leaving the small station you realize that there is a small path that goes to the city center and allows you to appreciate the castle even more.

“Unfortunately, the castle is closed today as they are doing some works inside. But we can always come to see it again in the future.” Ben explains to you while looking up to admire the view and holding your hand at the same time.

“I’d love that.”

“Maybe for our wedding day.”

You immediately snap and look at him with your mouth open.

“Is that a proposal?”

Ben smiles looking at you and rubbing the back of his neck shyly. He ends up avoiding your gaze and takes your hand back in his. You can tell he is quite overwhelmed by the previous question. You got excited there for a second and really wanted to apologize but it’d make everything extra awkward so you decide to let go and not continue putting so much pressure on him.

“Where are you taking me now?”

“It’s probably one of my favorite places in England.” Ben excitedly smiles.

“It must be good then.”

After going pass the museum, the Royal station and the shopping area you both end up going to The Long Walk (check it here. I did yesterday and the experience is gonna stay with me forever. It was beautiful!). When your eyes stop on the path that starts at your feet and the great amount of nature that surrounds it, your eyes become watery and the first tears begin to emerge streaming down your face. You did not know for a second if it was your excitement and natural reaction to it or everything was caused by the cold wind.

“Ben, this is... beautiful.”

”The Long Walk runs south from Windsor Castle to the Copper Horse statue of King George III atop Snow Hill where there are impressive views of the castle. It is a total of 2.65 miles.”

Ben smiles proudly of his historic speech as he passes his view of you to the landscape in front of you. When you see that you do not react, he approaches you and surrounds you with his arms.

“Shall we?”

You smile and nod.

It takes you an hour to cross all the way but it's worth it. You both end up under the statue and watch Windsor from the hill while the deer run freely through the forest.

“I have no words to describe this right now.” You were astonished and overwhelmed by the situation. “I cannot believe that we all live locked away in our own world and get to miss places like this one every single day.”

Bed nods at your words.

“That’s why sometimes we all need a break to remind us of things like this exist for a reason.”

You sigh and look at him. Ben passes you back the water bottle and you drink while he observes you. The cold water runs down your sore through after the tiring walk and it really hurts, however, it makes you feel so alive that you wouldn’t change it for anything else. You both stay there for a while without saying a word when Ben stands up and approaches you. He kneels in front of you.

“I’d like to apologize.”

“What for?” You frown.

“For not answering your question earlier regarding the proposal.”

“Please, Ben, forget about it. It was stupid. You don’t need to beat yourself up.”

You sigh. You had completely forgotten about it and now that he was bringing it back again you started to feel sick. Ben looks at you with his shiny eyes.

“The truth is that I have something for you...” He reaches for his bag and spends a few seconds looking for something. He takes out a small black box covered with a velvet bow. You put a hand in your mouth not believing that he would have been able to do it.

“Y/N forgive me, honestly. That conversation came out wrong and I was looking for the right moment.”

Tears are now streaming down your face. You wipe them away because they are starting to blind your vision of Ben and you also need to keep everything professional.

“Y/N, listen, I might not be Prince Harry...” You laugh and shake your head while wiping your tears again.”I don’t own a castle. I am just an actor who happens to make films; sometimes even good ones, you know?”

You immediately reach out for him. You absolutely hate when he doesn’t give him some credit for his career. Ben lets you guide him towards you but proceeds with his speech. You can tell he is nervous but he is also under control as it’s the two of you in the hill.

“But I am willing to sacrifice everything I’ve got to make you happy and if that involves talking about the Royal family and bringing you here, away from civilization, then I will.”

You feel dumb now. Your soul has abandoned your body, which is anchored to the ground, and your eyes are full of tears that never fall. You watch Ben open the box and you come across with the most beautiful engagement ring covered in diamonds and sapphires.

“Y/N, you’d make me the happiest man in the world if you decided to give me a chance as your future husband. Will you marry me?”

They always say that it takes at least three seconds until you answer even when you have been rehearsing the entire situation for a while. You knew your answer but you couldn’t speak. You also had to think of what your life might be like now; married to a famous star. Lots of doubts start haunting you, however, you shake them away. You knew you had to fight against your anxiety. You had been very unhappy before meeting Ben. You never knew if you could make it as well as you did not know if this decision was being selfish but what you did know is that you deserved to be happy for at least five minutes of your life. So you start nodding.

“Yes!”

Ben smiles in relieved and helps you stand up. He puts the ring in your finger and that is when you cannot stop staring at it.

“Ben, I have no words...”

“Y/N, don’t even mention it. Are you happy?”

You nod and start pouting at the same time. You were probably a massive mess at that very moment but you couldn’t care less.

“Then that’s the most important thing in the world to me.” Ben stares at you and gives you a gentle pat on the chest. You surround his neck with your arms while he pulls you closer by the waist.

“Joe’s gonna be jealous...” You laugh.

“Well, he’s got cardboard Ben to please him instead.”

You cringe and frown at the same time.

“I keep thinking that’s a weird thing to do.”

Ben laughs and takes his phone out.

“Should we immortalize the moment and send it to him?”

You both decide to take a selfie on top of the hill with the statue behind you both covered in sweat but happy at last. You open your hand in front of you to show your ring to the camera. Ben ends up uploading the photo to Instagram with the caption, "she said yes." #happiestmanintheworld.

It did not take Joe more than five minutes to answer with a "... I did it first" and a picture of him in a suit with cardboard Ben in a white dress. The rest of the cast complimented you sometime later. You indeed had to highlight Gwylim’s joy and the number of champagne emoticons and exclamations used by Lucy.

Before returning to London, you both stop at The Madame Posh for an afternoon tea and to start discussing the design of the menus for the ceremony. Because everything that promised to be a simple day trip ended up being the happiest day of your life.

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kingedwardl · 5 years ago

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⋆ ° ⟡ ( max irons, thirty-five, cismale, he/him ) has EDWARD LANCASTER, the KING from THE UNITED KINGDOM arrived yet? i heard they can be quite BLUNT, but also CHARISMATIC. there’s rumours they’ve come to genovia TO CEMENT THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN HIS COUNTRY AND GENOVIA, but you never know. ADORATION FROM YOUR COUNTRIES PEOPLE, LIPSTICK STAIN FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE, A PILE OF BOOKS AT THE SIDE OF THE BED always remind me of them.

TITLES OVER THE YEARS

1984-1994: His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Buckingham 1994-2009: His Royal Highness The Duke of Bath 1994-2009 (in scotland): His Royal Highness The Duke of Inverness 1998-2009: His Royal Highness The Prince of Oxford 2009-present: His Majesty The King Full style as king: Edward III, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith additionally Duke of Lancaster

Perception: From a young age Edward was adored not only by his parents but by the united kingdom. He has always been highly favored in the press and public. He very swiftly went from the jovial little prince with bright eyes and an even brighter smile to the charismatic king who was full of candor and love for his country. Known to be a ladies man since he was a teenager, often referred to by the press as “the world’s most eligible bachelor”.

Early Life: Born in London as the first son of the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham later known as King James IV and Queen Grace. At his birth he was the second-in-line to the throne but by the age of twelve with his father’s succession to the throne he became the heir apparent. By five years old Edward was accompanying his parents on official visits, catching more attention than usual due to his young age.

Education: He was educated privately at home until he reached thirteen and was admitted to Eton College an independent all boys boarding school in windsor, england where he received an “A” in History of Art, “B” in Biology, and “A” in English Literature. He was always noted to be rather intelligent and at one point there were false rumors spread that he was receiving help beyond ethical practice to receive the grades he did, these rumors were shut down rather quickly by the prince (at the time) himself noted to have said in response “i am not any brainless boy. i believe in getting what you earn, if i put forth the work that earns me a failing grade i would accept that, that is what i’d deserve. thankfully, i put alot of work into my a-levels...and it shows." He was accepted into the University of Cambridge where he inevitably earned a Masters of Arts Degree with a main focus on Philosophy and received first-class honors. When it came out that he was attending Cambridge the female applicant population spiked, throughout the four years he attended the female population on campus saw a clear increase. He lived on campus throughout university and was apart of the schools tennis and polo teams. While on campus he was known as “Bradley” to avoid any potential journalist discovering his identity.

Military: It was like a right of passage for his family to go into the Royal Military and so Edward had always known he wanted to serve. During his second year at University he was admitted to and completed his course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Blues and Royals. In 2006 it was announced that he and is regiment were scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan. With him being the heir apparent to the throne many were not sold on the idea of putting him into such a dangerous situation like front line combat; the talks of pulling his deployment were quickly put to rest when Edward publicly stated, “although the concerns are heard, i didn’t undergo sandhurst for the experience, i don’t have a military title for the glamour of it. i will not sit home on my ass while my boys fight for their country.” later adding “i don’t know if that’s [someone who is okay with not being deployed because of status] the sort of heir apparent this country deserves.” In 2007 he was secretly deployed out to Afghanistan for a little over teen weeks for his first and last time in active combat. He went on to attend Defense Helicopter Flying School where he went on to learn to fly military helicopters. In early 2009 his uncle presented him with his flying brevet (wings) during the Army Air Corps Base ceremony. Soon after Edwrad let it be known he intended on going back into active duty for the Royal Air Force, unfortunately it all came to a screeching halt when his father passed and the prince was now the king, ending his military career right then and there.

Relationship(s): A true ladies man, he went on frequent play dates as a toddler and then went on to bring girls to school events and even royal events at times. His first serious relationship was with the princess heir presumptive of germany although it would have been a good arrangement his mother was never the biggest fan of the relationship and somehow the press had picked up on that along the way. The relationship ended after four years, while he was in his second year at Cambridge. He managed to not get photographed with any of the girls he rebounded with throughout the year after the break up. It was a rough time for him and you’ll find that Edward has a tendency of supplementing things with women or making attempts to ignore his issues with women. During his third year at Cambridge he met Elena Manchester a girl a year younger than him who he adored for the simple fact that she truly could not care less about who he was, he subsequently fell in love with her and after years of an relationship she became almost as beloved as Edward (but not quite lol), she was considered to be the “future queen consort” by the public. They secretly got engaged in 2008 and had plans to marry a year later but the passing of his father took precedence; Edward was swept away in the mourning and the whole succession to the throne were he surely wasn’t the best fiance around. They broke off the engagement in 2010 but stayed together until they amicably broke things off in 2012. Since the break up Edward has reverted back to his old ways of sleeping/dating around without a hint of commit to be found.

The Throne: His father’s passing was hard for Edward, although they did not always see eye to eye, he looked up to him and loved him. He was lucky to receive as much love as he did in the wake of his father’s passing from his country, it really helped him heal from it. (note: his father passed of cancer). Edward took the throne when he was 25 as Edward III. He spent much of his teen years debating whether he’d prefer to take on a more original reign name such as Arthur I, he liked the idea of starting a “trend” but inevitably decided to keep the name of those he was named after. His grandfather was Edward II and he was able to see first hand how gracefully he ruled the Kingdoms and how beloved he was and not to mention Edward I also known as Edward the Great or The Father of Great Britain, it became an easy choice to use his given name as his reign name as Edward prayed to be even half the king the two men before him were. Now ten years in and that prayer has surely been answered, his honesty at time blunt honesty is well received by the vast majority of his country people, it is known that he cares about nothing more than he does the welfare of his people and their country. Although he does put himself on a bit of a pedestal it is not in the way you’d assume, Edward was quoted during his coronation speech as saying “i am inspired by the loyalty and affection i have been shown, i am uplifted and sustained by this realization...[] as this day draws to a close, i leave us all with this, by God’s Grace and Mercy the years that i reign and serve as your King we stand together. Although you will all stand with me, there is no one beside me, as i will hold you above me with everything i do...[]”

LIST OF UK MONARCHS:

Queen Victoria II born 1811, ruled from 1831 to 1872. Edward III’s GGGG Grandmother

King George III born 1835, ruled from 1872 to 1875. Edward III’s GGGG Uncle

King Charles II born 1837, ruled from 1875 to 1884. Edward III’s GGG Grandfather

King James IV born 1863, ruled from 1884 to 1937. Edward III’s GG Grandfather

King Harry II born 1898, ruled from 1937 to 1969. Edward III’s G Grandfather

King Andrew I born 1923, ruled from 1969 to 1980. Edward III’s G Uncle

King Edward II born 1925, ruled from 1980 to 1996. Edward III’s Grandfather

King George IV born 1958, ruled from 1996 to 2009. Edward III’s Father

King Edward III born 1984, ruling from 2009 to present.

I’ll update this as time goes on!!

#genoviaintro #um idk what this intro is but hi <3

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blutammounpho1985-blog · 6 years ago

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Over the next 100 seconds, the plane descended below the glide slope and eventually flew so slowly that it stalled. The pilots reacted to the stall warning and tried to save the plane, but at that point it was too close to the ground, and it belly flopped straight into a field. All things considered, the issue with the radio altimeter shouldn have been serious, but it ended up killing 9 people (including the whole flight crew) mostly because the pilots weren paying attention.. Miss Jenny, as the cheetah was known, was taken back to England by an Indian trader who took the name John Morgan. George III wasn't overly enamoured with the gift and didn want to keep the animal, and passed her onto his cousin the Duke of Cumberland, who had a menagerie in Windsor Great Park. It was later moved to the king menagerie at the Tower of London.. Ok, i really don't know how i found this account but i am equal parts annoyed, cringed out, and honestly confused. I think i saw it in one of those "glow up" compilations all over the explore pages. I haven't seen them mentioned here before, so i apologize for the lengthy context:i don't know what he does for a living or how he became popular, but he's a stereotypically "hot instagram guy" in his very early 20s who is married to a girl he met when he was 18. Just two days earlier, Dana had been at Tara house with some other 동두천출장안마 girls to get ready for a big local event in this small town, the Georgia Sweet Potato pageant. Was in a great mood. Which of course, whenever she did hair and makeup for any pageant girls she was in a great mood, Dana remembers.. Use those for that month. If you find yourself consistently missing an item in the box, it's okay to let it come back into your collection. But, if out of sight really does lead to out of mind, that's a sign you should let it go. If you are her brother, husband, father and such, I will not have giving you this kind of comment. I understand that you feel like it better to stay into a comfortable that you got used to and trust. But give yourself a chance. But naivety is inbuilt into being young. There is simply no way you can account for the infinite complexity of life. You have a grasp on reasonable scenarios you have conceived, but the issue 동두천출장안마 is you don know what you don know. "It's been the hardest struggle I've ever faced," she wrote on Facebook. "There's been lots of sleepless nights and days spent sleeping. There's been vomiting, tremendous pain. You can wear whatever you want in college (which actually better prepares people than HS) you know what they (in America) wear? Dudes wear t shirts knee length shorts or pants. Women wear t shirts with leggings or shorts. I see that more often that I see anyone in a dress, booty shorts, or muscle tees TBH. We got on the Matterhorn and the fireworks started. Oh god it felt good. What a night. Yeah, I looked into this a couple times, and getting a work visa in the UK and Europe is very, very difficult. A normal person pretty much has to work in one of few highly skilled and in demand careers. Then they have to find a company willing and qualified to sponsor them for a visa (not all companies can). Exclusive tax is more commonly seen because it saves the stores money. Exclusive is the one everyone is talking about, but basically any store can do inclusive or exclusive for any item they want to sell. I would bet the only reason we don see inclusive taxes everywhere is because it not illegal to do it.

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jerseydeanne · 6 years ago

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DM best Comments

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Jack Roth, London, United Kingdom, 8 hours ago Time to end this £300 million a year taxpayer funded ‘royal’ farce - Republic now. (Replies) New7883258 robzil45, cheshire, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago Why don’t you shut up yourself AmazingGrace77 People are entitled to their opinions,we are not all royal lovers and why should we be? New26153 Tiny CO2, Warrington, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago Most of the money goes towards upkeep of OUR buildings. Security. Entertaining guests of the UK and protecting our figure head and her family. Almost all of those costs would happen with or without the RF. New10166

sam my, Westworld, Togo, 6 hours ago This looks bad on the RF, why do you think she is concerned??? Let a charilty fund the so called RF, why not. Tax payers are tired the burden, so many other worthwhile projects could be funded for that money. New21164 Elle, Out there, Canada, 6 hours ago More made up trash by the DM. New7942 SmartTop, SnowdoniaSurf, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago What I find repulsive about Meghan Markle and Harry is that they use the Royal muscle with legal and the like to BULLY or “STRONG ARM” others. It is repulsive because they are not even using their own money. Funny Meghan Markle immediately started pushing “her weight around” but she is nothing more than a “TAKER” from the royal legal powers that be. New31291 Mythoughtsonthings, East Coast, United States, 6 hours ago Tourists never actually see much of the RF. I can’t imagine how much more money England would make if you got rid of the RF, opened up much more of Buckingham Palace and Windsor and other palaces. Keep the guard and the pomp and circumstance, but why taxpayers are funding these celebrity “royals” is beyond me. New22276 Janet, UK, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago She and Harry will regret not seeing him they had two years to meet him. The size he is with whatever health conditions he has mean he won’t live for long. Meghan will never be forgiven by the public for ignoring her dad. She was on talking terms with him before the wedding. She will go downn in history S the one than ruined the royal family. I hope they all go after the Queen. They have no standards look at Charles/Diana/Camilla wjat a mess that was a national disgrace why would or should we have that representing our nation. It’s time they all go away. New28252 BrandyCohen, New York City, United States, 5 hours ago Maybe this is the American in me, but thank god 1776 happened. How do you hard-working Brits do it? You pay money out of your own pocket for these people who live the posh life while you go without and subsidize it. The Royals seem like nice people, but so does my neighbor down the street. I’m sorry, but I don’t get the fascination. Americans shouldn’t become royalty. We abhor to class system. Always have and always will! New28204 sweetsexything, vancouver, Canada, 5 hours ago You guys are right! The Queen cannot decide Harry’s bride. However, the British can decide which Royal Family needs to be supported. Harry and Meghan (who shows up at least £2k for an event) need to fund themselves. But this is only a dream. Queen Elizabeth has been supporting non significant royal family members such as the KENTS. And it is ridiculous to hear that someone suggested, support Doria and Mr. Markle living and house expenses. I hope the British is not supporting Doria. But…. but… maybe RF is already supporting her since she is not working anymore. Ridiculous!!! Sleeping Britain. New9208 Pgtips2018, Ashford, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Rubbish! It will be the ruin of the country if that ever happens. Our beloved Royal Family is what makes this country great! New12750 JR, San Francisco, 5 hours ago Great point, @Mythoughtonthings - whenever I’ve spent time in England it hasn’t been to “hopefully see the Royals”. Castles, museums, parks, cities, restaurants, etc will continue to exist with or without the RF, and I would definitely continue to visit. Over time, I’ve come to agree with folks who think that the Queen’s reign would be a good point at which to bring down the curtain on the RF, a fitting finale. She’s done a great job, but pondering the next monarchs doesn’t fill me with confidence that they’ll lead as well. At ALL. New16153 redder, Vienna, Austria, 5 hours ago It creats billions New10734 ShireView, Cheltenham, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Jack Roth is going to be mortified. He is a red tick addict. How can you green tick him? New2434 bingofan, West, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Lol @Jack - Check out Republic`s own poll taken in May. Only 16% of the British people would like to see the monarchy come to an end on the death of HM the Queen. Even Meghan and the US Markles will not be able to bring it down. Charles will be King. New8335 D63, Greenville, United States, 4 hours ago LoveThisLife, do tell more! New342 Aunt Ann, Forsyte Change Bayswater Rd, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago I¿m confused! Eberyone said Meghan was the narcissist. Now she tells us that, it Is her Dad who is the narcissist (one finger pointing at him, and three fingers pointing back at herself?!). What on earth does all those mean? New1682 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 3 hours ago Bingofan, people support the Queen, that is who they support. She embodies the monarchy and that is who they are supporting in those polls. Charles on the other hand is without question despised widely and deeply. Go to YouGov . co . uk and look up Charles aggregated rating for public approval per many, many YouGOvv polls. It is -7. That’s right MINUS Seven! And Camilla’s is -20. MINUS Seven and MINUS 20 is ABYSMAL. Big Ears may go for broke and force through his coronation after HM passes but he won’t be on the Throne long. Either he will step down for William or the monarchy will end. The BRF will never survive a King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. New1258 mforever, London, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Aunt Ann - A true narcissist has a complete lack of insight and will often portray themselves as the victim when they are in fact the villa in. Mr Markle has consistently been portrayed as a shy, humble man in stories from several years back and until today. New354 mforever, London, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Aunt Ann - A true narcissist has a complete lack of insight and the narcissistic perpetrators typically portray themselves as the victims. Mr Markle has consistently been portrayed as a shy, humble man in every story written about him describing him from years back until today. New337 SenseMaker, Seattle, United States, 3 hours ago That means Like Father, Like Daughter. And an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. When I read it, it’s such an irony that she calls her father narcissist when she’s also one. LOL New862 LightDweller, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Harry, you and your grotesque wife need to go. Neither of you are fit to represent this country. New895 Xbox-vs-playstation, Virtual world, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago So when Cornyn said the same thing DM readers hated him. Now the royal family has someone brown they dislike the royal now New416 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 2 hours ago Brown. … What a joke! Meghan has lighter skin than many Anglo people. And SHE’s the 0reo who narrowed her nose, straightened her kin ky hair and hides it with wigs, dates only Whyte rich men, and has one sole B la ck friend (Serena W., who is really more of an acquaintance than a friend). She has never affiliated herself with any B l ack community-focused work, centrist or otherwise, despite claiming to be an “progressive activist”. She is the biggest r@ce passer ever. She only turned her “Royal” wedding into Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater because it fit her R card agenda against the Royals and the U.K. Press to do so. It was just another exploitative brick in her PR wall. New468 Kittenwhisperer, Hove, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago Jack dear heart I’ve missed you! New523 Lappidoth, UK, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago She tried entering while flipping the r card by releasing a statement on it before she got in there. Problem is, we can’t stand the sight of her, regardless to skin, although we are a bit gingerist now if that counts for anything? I put my comment in, some snowflake had it removed, feel free to consult my profile. My comment stands.

New560 Be Aware, Los Angeles, United States, 8 hours ago Of course she’s past all that - why, she’s a successful gold miner!! (Replies) New4542799 LittleMissChester, Chester, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago She’s embarrassed of him. She’s very materialistic and is very self absorbed. She doesn’t want an embarrassment like him hanging around. New25373 Nomdeplume, melbourne, 7 hours ago No fan. But I never believe a story that says 'close friends’ or 'source’. New36183 Audreyshepburn, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 7 hours ago She doesn’t need to be reminded of her trashy family background anymore. New51169 JS, Somerset, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago The sick, elderly daddy she has publicly stated she adored, who brought her up alone and spent all his money on, has been unceremoniously dumped as the self styled humanitarian has no further use for him. New19320 LittleMissChester, Chester, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago I’m not saying he is but I believe she thinks he is New1484 Whitewinger, Ktown, United States, 7 hours ago Obviously she does Audrey…they ARE her family..whether she chooses to associate with them or not..personally just from the fact she has not even seen her father since she got married speaks volumes about HER. New15195 Babe, In Belgium, 7 hours ago Team Meghan. You like her dad so much, you are welcome to him. New19028 Louisa, London, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago @ Nomdeplume - “close friend” has always been recognised in the industry if not actually from the horse’s mouth, then from someone instructed to speak on the person’s behalf. The DM has run many, many stories with a close friend or source cited, and they’re always pretty close to the truth which inevitably with this woman, shakes out sooner or later. New9209 AmazingGrace77, London, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago Do you know her or are you talking from experience…. New21045 Ingie_1999, Nowhere, United States, 7 hours ago Watch when she gets pregnant … Oh, brother! New23239 Mbb, Chicago, United States, 5 hours ago She’s worth her own millions do some research! New14927 Tuneful, Silver Spring MD, United States, 5 hours ago So HE’s the narcissist?! Talk about “pot, meet kettle.” New7103 Eve, London, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago @Mbb, they know, just the sort of people who hang on to being negative at all costs. New234 HRH 2, London, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Mbb: then why didn’t she dress like this before Harry, eh? She didn’t even own a home or car. She spent all her money on PR to get into the circles of someone rich and famous in the UK. New7120 lokoti, norwich, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago The same applys for her marriage- she’s been down that road many times! New566 LeeG., Branson, United States, 4 hours ago So many catty remarks. Meow. New5316 FunnyToo, Atlantic, Western Sahara, 4 hours ago Spot on! Move onto the next mine after one is depleted! If anyone thinks this helps improve her image in any way :) :) :) :) :) :) New635 miaumiau66, Nowhere, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Golldd digggg@ New674 Taurus777, Botosani, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Once he dies she’ll be crying for ages..no matter what lies she tells herself now. New1444 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 3 hours ago “Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.” That’s the textbook definition of narcissism. That fits Meghan Markle the user to a T, not dumped Papa Markle who sacrificed so much for her – he could have lived very well off his multiple jobs income and his lottery winnings but instead he sank it all into Meghan and lived in a modest, low-rent flat. Who has Meghan EVER sacrificed anything for? She uses and dumps people and pets and hasn’t a giving bone in her body. New11140 CelesteT, Devon, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago Gameover, you are spot on! Narcs come out on top because they will trample over anyone to get there! That is Meghan to a T not her poor old lonely father.

#DM #best comments #heaven #thank you #submission

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ofwindsor · 6 years ago

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- ̗̀✰ •【 MAGGIE LINDEMANN / CISFEMALE / 21 】announcing the arrival of his/her/their royal highness, ( ALICE WINDSOR ), the ( PRINCESS ) of ( ENGLAND ). I’ve heard that she is ( QUIXOTIC ) & ( SENSUAL ) but can also be ( ALTRUISTIC ) & ( CHARISMATIC ). ( ALICE ) is arranged to marry ( TYLER POSEY ). Rumor has it ( SHE’S A POPULAR CAMGIRL BUT SHE NEVER SHOWS HER FACE ). We hope you enjoy your stay at London!

hi back at it again w/ another one. here’s her pinterest board bc Trash!! also fair warning this intro/her pinterest board obv has nsfw themes bc her secret.... so just be mindful of that ig????

♔ — alice margaret windsor, the second child of the king and queen of england, and albie’s twin sister. although she’s technically next in the line of succession ( until diana has children of course ), she never really felt like it. everyone always says the spare to the heir gets to have more fun, and while yes it was true, the english monarchs still placed little alice in plenty of classes and courses dealing with how to act and all sorts of proper education. nothing but the best.

♔ — though alice definitely found ways to skip a lesson or two, hiding out within more closed off rooms of the palace until it was time to leave. or she’d drag her brother somewhere, just the two of them, and be kids for like, 5 minutes without any guards or teachers breathing down their necks.

♔ — she’s thankful she’s albie’s twin and not diana’s because wow if she was already placed in diana’s shadow lowkey as children?? imagine how much worse it’d been. like don’t get her wrong, she loves/adores all her siblings but... it’s a lot.

♔ — very charismatic and altruistic, spends a lot of time doing charities and fundraisers, etc stuff like that. not only is it good publicity, which makes everyone happy, but she genuinely does enjoy making somewhat of a difference. like her nice isn’t fake nice, she’s rly out here trying to spread good vibes and all that. a people pleasure to the core tbh? the kid in classes who would’ve given everyone a party invite or valentine bc it was the nice thing to do, and she wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out!! jvncxjk.

♔ — she might be sweet and nice but damn does she have the classic windsor stubbornness.

♔ — also falls in love a lot more than she wants to but she likes the idea of love bc #hopelessromantic. never actually acts on crushes or anything though really because most of them literally go away within like 2 weeks anyway kdfjbgfhjdfnh.

♔ — as a child, she always preferred darker colors ( it was an ironic contrast to her personality, tbh ) and when she was old enough to start choosing her own styles etc, she just went for it and became a gothic beauty queen xoxo we stan happy/perky goths in this house!

♔ — the epitome of “i don’t care” actually really cares a lot.

♔ — a vegetarian!! ovo-lacto vegetarian to be exact ( consumes some animal products, such as eggs and dairy. unlike pescatarians, they do not consume fish or other seafood ).

♔ — because i’m uncreative ,,, we gonna say she has some of maggie’s tattoos: dagger on her knuckle, anti-bullying quote on her bicep, “fear” on her wrist, bat on her ankle, vampire fangs on her forearm, oogie boogie man on her upper arm.

♔ — now her secret oooo boy okay! started as a camgirl when she was 18 as a way to claim something for herself? it’s an outlet, so to speak. at first it took awhile because c’mon she’s not the only one obv and she was just starting. but, the more she persisted and continued it, the better and easier it got. part of her feels bad that she’s taking tips ( sometimes very, very generous ones too no less ) when she’s literally a fucking princess of england, but it also makes her?? feel normal, too?? like they don’t know she’s a princess, they just think she’s another girl trying to make some cash and is pretty to look at, lbr. alice actually really loves the attention lol fuck.

♔ — since she doesn’t show her face and changes the pitch/tone of her voice if she talks ( because speaking to viewers tends to go a long way with establishing a liable connection ), she does wear a long red wig ( like... the super expensive kind that looks Real bc it probably is real jfhbndjsk you know the type ) and goes by the moniker cherry??? because she was 18 and lame and she still is p lame ngl..... but she’s Good at this now and is very meticulous when it comes to keeping cherry / alice separate lives ( or so she thinks bc ahhaa fuckin redqueen ).

♔ — like, i’m talking girl has her own private studio apartment out in london somewhere under her fake name and pays directly in cash for rent, etc so no paper trails. turns off the locations on her electronics too, all that jazz. has a separate bank account and phone for ‘cherry’ as well ( as predicted, cherry’s phone case is red while her normal phone’s case is black ). all hidden securely. also covers up her visible tattoos with makeup before streaming.

♔ — there’s literally like, rule no.1 of becoming a camgirl ..... make sure you’re fine/okay if the secret is outed and ofc she’s like.... pssshhh even if i’m a princess idc i’m an adult, it’s my body!!!! but like again.... she really cares a lot. :)) so we also stan a mess.

♔ — being a camgirl is too fun tho for her bc she’s already naturally??? sensual??? and it’s like, ya girl hasn’t been an actual virgin since she was 16??? getting off in front of strangers was really weird at first and having them control the orgasm was even MORE odd but once she got used to it/comfortable bitch was,,,, unstoppable.

♔ — SWEET IN THE STREETS, FREAK IN THE SHEETS....,,, hmm that’s all i have to say.

♔ — okay in all honesty she doesn’t mind the summit and whatever but the aspect of being married is v daunting, especially with her secret, and with the redqueen outing royals and she’s just lowkey having a Panic Attack nbd conceal, don’t feel!!!!

♔ — she’s also a dog person and has a cutie pie husky puppy named storm and she loves him sm like he’s her baby t b h

♔ — uhhhh some possible connections??? exes ( bf/gf, fwb, fling whatever ) or current fwb / fings etc, best friends, childhood friends, maybe another royal who goes under a fake name too and watches cherry but has no idea it’s rly alice???? idk fam....... people she does charity events with too!!?? maybe some unrequited pining??? either way???

#buckingham:intro

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stone-man-warrior · 4 years ago

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February 26, 2021: 7:18 am:

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I was awakened this morning by the odor of a wet camp fire.

It was about 6:00 am, just before dawn.

now my leg is all swollen again, foot is feeling frozen, rash is oozing from tiny blistering on my shin, and it is numb again like it’s not there when I try to walk.

The symptoms had reduced until then. There is no reason that I should have been awakened by such an odor as a wet camp fire in my house.

=================================================

7:47 am:

I read the stalking order those fake sheriff’s brought.

There is concern from the new people at 445 about a head and a fence that was posted online.

needle in a hay stack.

I just looked through this account going back a week or two and cannot find anything about a head or a fence concerned specifically with the person mentioned in the fake stalking order, one composed of real legal ramifications, at 445 Jackpine as is stated in the order to appear.

The good news is bad news.

The good news is that there are/were some federal agents who advised I take a photo of a particular something, and I did not get that information, someone else got the information about taking a photo of a particular thing.

The courts intercepted that instruction that I should take a photo.

The courts arranged that the only photo op there would be is one taken of deputy sheriff’s through a screen out my window when the fake stalking order shows up. The order is fake, the demand to go to the courtroom is real. The judge and all of the court staff are fake, are all terror operatives, but the law is real and so is the jail. The sheriff is fake, but the law and the jail is real. The damage around my front door and my broken computer is real, so was June 15, 2020, when this same stalking order murder hit scenario resulted in eight fake deputies crashing through my front door, tackling me in the living room, and taking me to a real police interceptor, to a real jail.

Fake people, real USA.

I know who that person is across the street now. He has robbed me before. He has a compute that was mine, and he might be the person that stole all of my old vinyl records. He, his father and his mother all robbed me about twelve years ago.

I think the young man, and his mother and father are part of that house on Monument drive terror cell that is owned by one of the county judges, it’s close to the freeway onramp at mile 66 across from some orange cones and a big Tee-Pee (wig-wam) in the yard, is on the north side of Monument, a place where a blue colored log truck parks, and there are two houses on the same tax lot, and a lot of junk in the front yard.

Things to consider are:

Todd Law: Is said to be the name of the leading person at the Hillcrest & Washington Ave US Postal facility.

A Macintosh computer w/special case.

Some vinyl records, old original pressing, rock & roll.

Possibly a bag filled with raw diamonds, five carrot and larger.

Mostly, consider that there are people who can find information about a head on a fence on this account, or, perhaps someone took that little part and posted it out of context somewhere else. The information I have does not say exactly where online the head or fence was seen posted.

no one can see that there are 873 posts on this account that are all about serious mass murder partly done by the people at the courthouse where I am told I need to appear at a hearing about a head and a fence.

no one says anything about Mark T. Esper, the US Secretary of Defense who was killed in defense at the Pain Specialists of Southern Oregon along with the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVose last year, but, a new guy on the road I live on can get a court day.

Here comes that odor of wet camp fire again. 8:18 am.

When that guy robbed me so long ago, he was sent over here by Harold & Joan Phillips at 507 Jackpine. I learned that much and more back then. That house at 445 is said to be owned by a man by the name of Farrar, but I saw someone who was said to have been Mr. Farrar being taken captive, put into a 18 foot box truck moving van, one that had brought some new kitchen cabinets to 445 Jackpine. The person that was there attacking Mr. Farrar, was Micheal Brassil of 3701 Russell Road, and he was wearing a wig made of long blonde hair in a pony-tail that day when Farrar was attacked and put into the furniture/cabinet makers truck. That was so long ago that I cannot recall how long. There has been many different terror cells at 445 Jackpine over the course of time I have lived here, all of them are there to protect Harold & Joan Phillips from surprises of unwanted investigative persons who may have learned that the Phillips are related somehow to the British Royal Windsor family, and to the Wilson/Phillips of Mama’s & The Papa’s, and Beach Boys fame, and others of that same musical terror circle of treasonous bastards.

Much of the terrorism in Josephine County Oregon can be traced to Harold & Joan Phillips of 507 Jackpine Dr. Grants Pass Oregon, 97526.

The Phillips are Global Terrorists. They are commanders of world wide terrorism large scale. Harold has been dead for quite awhile. I have not seen Joan in a year or more, she is about 75 years old, walks with a limp, I think she has a prosthetic leg below the knee, right side, and has had that since 1999 or so. Joan drives an old nissan Quest mini van, as not to draw attention, is very innocent looking mini van.

This one:

Dangerous person drives that van.

That van gets an aerial escort with small aircraft everywhere it goes.

The owner of that van, Joan Phillips, controls all of the activities of Josephine County Courts and more, and she gets her marching orders direct from Britain.

That is the source of the problem at 445 where the stalking order came from yesterday.

Christopher Mecca, attorney who resides at Grants Pass Community Church on Russell Road, is the person who crafts up the stalking orders and the details within them. That one yesterday is the fourth one in twenty years or so. I only know one of the so called plaintiffs personally among them, and she married FBI agent Rabner after the stalking order was crafted up by Mecca, and became Betty Rabner, is dead now. Betty’s former husband, Jerry Keeling, was the Three Rivers School District Student Counselor at the time when all of the students were brutally killed at the local schools. Jerry Keeling married another school counselor, Sue Keeling. Jerry & Sue Keeling orchestrated much of the murders at the schools back then. Last known address was on Harbeck Road near South Middle School area, a District 7 School District school.

Send some help so we talk about this without the poison gas and murderous terror army surrounding me.

=====================

10:59 am:

Trending on Twitter:

The Joe Biden White House is waiting on baited breath to see what I know about this Khashoggi fake news terror hit command update bullshit story:

https://twitter.com/i/events/1364937835044696068

Thread says: “There must be some kind of hold up”

https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/1365013092707545098

Biden ordered a “5150″ psychiatric lock-up at my house, to cart me away into the Asante Hospital Abyss to be tortured, and to disapear so that the new guy at 445 can take this account with help from his wife, “Mrs George Castanza” (a young [fat] one)

What I know about Khashoggi’s murder will prompt the appropriate WH Salmon/Khashoggi official report when I post this.

The new report from WH on Twitter will contain the details of a “Yes/no” sort of answer to the question: “is StoneMan dead yet?”

It will contain the next phase of the ongoing White House attempts to kill me, since I am not quite dead yet. They are getting close though, just so you understand that.

This account will vanish when the kill me, or someone will say it’s just a novel, that I am writing a book online on Tumblr.

The WH Khashoggi report could only contain the key to finding the next phase of the planning of my murder that is happening at the Joe Biden White House, some info about when and where the new hit orders will be presented on Twitter, or perhaps in promotional music industry emailers.

Khashoggi’s are Euro Dollars. When the news was about “Killing Khashoggi, a news reporter, the real story is that “there are revealing secrets about the origin of the Euro Dollar, and that it’s existence was a planned means to allow free travel across Europe put in place by Britain operatives so that their Vatican terror army could kill & replace all of the Europeans with other people from Australia and new Zealand, Whales, England, Scotland, and parts of Ireland, and that included that Damascus was destroyed, as a decoy, distraction, road block, detour, confusion service when all of those migrants showed up all over Europe.

It’s complicated, I already explained it here elsewhere on this account, is one of the reasons Biden needs me dead, If the Biden WH does not kill me, the Brits will kill everyone at the Biden WH. Biden is not at the WH, he is a placeholder for other people, so, I call it “The Biden WH” for ease of discussion about an invisible entity that is running the WH from Kauaii at Kauaii Ranch in Hawaii, “Amp Guru” is the same thing, so is “The Jim Dunlop” almost.

So, Khashoggi’s are Euro’s. Basically “Monopoly Toy Money that is easy to carry across a border in Europe” ... Meanwhile, the Brits don‘t accept or use Euro’s. You have to exchange your Euro’s for Pound Sterling at an exchange house, where you will be identified, ID checked and noted, where in the EU, people travel from nation to nation anonymously and that is the purpose of the British Euro in the EU, toward Global Domination Under the Cross.

=============================================

1:26 pm:

I read more of that fake stalking order those fake deputies brought to me yesterday.

The paperwork includes an excerpt from the “February 15, 2021: 10:51 am:” entry I made that day.

The excerpt included has at least two different parts of explanations of things glued together as if it’s all one thing. There is a part in the excerpt where I say I saw a female, then, they used the expletive description of what a “Partner” is when a kidnapped US Citizen is surgically changed with experimental procedures, to specifications of the SAG member who special orders a “Partner”.

That means it’s all out of context.

That also means that since they used a actual printed page of excerpts from this account, that all of the entire 873 entries to date, are all on the table, and became part of the stalking order at the moment this account was quoted.

In law, if you bring a subject into the court, that entire subject matter is all on the table, not just the bits and pieces some asshole cherry picks and glues together to suit them.

Looks to me as if Kate Brown’s head is going to mounted on my driveway gate alongside Joe Biden, Nancy Sinatra, Ron Howard and Ann Wilson if the entire account of information is to be considered as stalking.

There is room for a few Josephine County Court fake judges in between the others too.

There might not be room for Judge Thomas Hull though, he is a very big fish with a lot of extra baggage that goes with him. Hull & Hull Mortuary Services, Hull Real Estate, Hull Construction, Hull Attorney’s at Law ... etc. and so on.

=====

1:58 pm:

There is a set of rules that are spoken about in Josephine county for as long as I have lived in the county, since 1996.

“If you want to cross the River Styx, you have to pay the Boatman”

Judge Thomas Hull is “The Boatman“.

There is a boat ramp on the Rogue River off of Lower River Road nearby a place called “Wildlife Images”, on Ferry Hole Ave, is called Ferry Hole Boat Ramp.

Legend has it, that there was once a ferry that you had to take to cross the Rogue River right there at Ferry Hole Boat Ramp, from a time before there was Robertson Bridge. That is where you pay the Boatman, Three Boys Towing is always nearby there to help you part with your money, wife, ice chest, fishing gear, truck, boat, motor, 2.5 Children, and trailer.

Tommy Two Toes and Three Fingers Louie with a flat bed wrecker and super duty Warn Winch are always there ... Guido rides on the bed of the truck, tucked away, out of sight between the cab & bed.

Has anyone looked into those boat backwards boat ramps I mentioned yesterday? Ferry Hole Boat Ramp is among the worst of them. Graves Creek is bad too, that one gets you with the rusted metal brackets that are poking out of the cement work at the boat ramp.

Indian Mary Park Boat Ramp is not so bad, it launches the boat into some white water, at 90 degrees to the current ... it’s that piece of rebar that is sticking out of the sand just to the left of the ramp that gets the victims mostly at Indian Mary.

Galice Resort Boat Ramp has almost the exact same rebar in the exact same place as does Indian Mary. There is something special about rusty metal in the river around here. They will tell you it’s: “historic mining remnants”, as an excuse for rusty metal poking out at where you need to step to put the boat in the water.

===================

2:37 pm:

More about Khashoggi’s (Cash Hoagie’s Bogart; Pelosi’s Subway COVID Stimulus Package)

The Euro was sold as a bill of goods, snake oil, magic potion, “Genie in a Bottle” is a real good analogy for Euro’s. British finance expert insiders in the EU sold the Euro like a shoe salesmen selling Moccasins to an Eskimo.

“Imagine the convenience, unity, the influx of more equal trade and strength in the EU community in the future”.

Then, Brexit.

Britain sells the goods, waits around for awhile to help teach their Eskimo to walk in moccasins in the snow without getting frost bite, then, they want to leave the EU, and, it’s like American Express & Visa after that, you need a Visa, but these Khashoggies will work anywhere to make sure the terror army has free travel arrangements available all over Europe with the same cash they were given by the Brits to start with. Like USA and Dollars between states.

Later, Damascus was completely destroyed. The oldest city on earth, been continuously inhabited for about 4000 years, and then all gone within two-weeks.

There was hardly a mention of Damascus being destroyed at the time. Then, all of the survivors were coaxed into going to Europe for assistance, by concerned people who said they would help the ones displaced from Damascus. Information I have is that there were aerial drops of printed information that provided a map of where food, clothing, water, shoes and very basic supplies were available on a route that led to France. Sort of a pop-up Walmart in remote places where the survivors were told they could find what they needed along a route that they walked the whole way to France, is what I know about that, but I was not there, I just happened to be at a place where I could here the planning, and then later, what I heard really happened when all of those people began walking to France from Damascus,

That’s all I know about it, except that the people who arrived in France and other parts of Europe were never said to have come from Damascus, they were said to have come from somewhere else, for some other reason than Damascus having been destroyed.

They turned Damascus into “Historical Mining Remnants” like we have on the Rogue River.

So who was it really that showed up in France, and were said to have caused so many problems there?

I see at least two possible different groups of people. One is that the people from Damascus made it to France with help from some maps dropped from airplanes that explained where food, clothing and shoes could be had along a route to France.

The other possibility is that the survivors were killed along the route to France at the Pop-Up Walmart’s.

I fully believe the information about the flyers with the maps telling the survivors where to find help, but I don‘t know if they were killed or actually helped.

My inclination is that the survivors were set-up, lured into a bottleneck with a promise of assistance, and killed at the pop-up Walmart.

Maybe the ones who went to France were from India, a British ruled nation. If so, and they were armed with Euros to spend, they could just do the same as the Canadians are doing in USA, just going city to city murdering millions of people, to take over for Britain, while Britain makes distraction bullshit and says they don‘t want to be part of EU anymore.

no matter which way I look at the details, it all comes out where Britain is the offensive party, and are sneaky bastards too, who like to play dress up. “The Royals” when they wear those colorful military commander outfits, are communication about where, when, how to do an attack somewhere. Those assholes are never going to get anywhere near a conventional war, so, you know those outfits have some other purpose just with the fact that they wear them sometimes, but never leave the balcony at the castle when they do.

Rambling about Khashoggi’s and Damascus is not going to help me though, so, that’s all I have on that.

no help has come, there is no where US Citizens can get medical services in Oregon, there are only fake services, and, the terror soldiers are able to get the very best medical service.

There are no signs of helpful people and it’s to dangerous to walk outside even if my leg was not so painful.

The poison gas continues.

I heard three small explosions in the distance over the past few hours.

The train that travels along Russell Road has changed over the past week or more. The change I can notice is the sound the locomotive makes is a sound of a very light weight rail vehicle, not the usual locomotive engine. The new vehicle sounds a lot like a very quiet jet turbine motor, it whines. The usual locomotive makes the ground vibrate when it passes by, this new one is almost undetectable, has no weight. The sound of the train whistle is different, and last night the train went by and did not sound the horn at all ... very unusual for that, the train always sounds the horn at the crossings, but not every time this week. Yesterday, that train went south at about 8:00 am, and I don‘t think I have ever heard the train at that hour before.

So clearly the machinery is different, and the train operator is different this week. That is notable with so many poison gas symptoms I am experiencing lately.

Please send help, Bring your own hospital.

=================================

3:42 pm:

There is no Russia.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Household-Wooden-4-Wheels-Stress-Relief-Body-Neck-Muscle-Massage-Roller-Beige/870137218?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222105785182&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=74835578301540&wl4=pla-4578435148129588:aud-807615483&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&%20wl10=Walmart&wl12=870137218_10000000599&wl14=massage%20wooden%20roller&veh=sem&msclkid=93a3e07744f01a7e2d8c804ec34a74f0

this thing above is a “Hand Car” in terror speak.

It means “Roll”, as in “Beat the living daylight out of the son of a bitch”

Trust me, it’s old Hollywood terror talk to beat some one up.

I’ll pay for one with an Opie Monogram delivered to Ron Howard.

There is no where to go Opie. The helicopter, fake airplane, and key-mask-filter are mainstream news now.

“Roll a drunk?” Otis Campell at the Mayberry RFD Jail.

=========================================

3:59 pm:

Internet terror consortium at Centurylink/Google/Tumblr/Microsoft are hacking me with use of Vaiocare software today, happens often, today I am able to see part of what they can do to foul me up when I am writing important Global Security information, as follows:

The assholes at Centurlink have a mobile command center installed at three places, maybe four places, maybe more.

Monroe at 434

The new guy at 445

Chartrand at 376

The torture house at 520

Those are all places where I know my phone line has been spit, and is accessed, attached to those phone lines.

The Vaiocare shows a small pop-up almost everyday for ten years or more at random times. It says: “Vaiocare. Make Recovery Media”

Then, that happens as I am doing a search for something I need to share or learn about online, so, when the search results are shown, they tend to vanish, searches for photos just brings a lot of blank placeholders where the photos should be showing to choose from in the search results.

The same as the way my suspended Twitter account looks, Twitter took the photos out of my suspended account, and they put a colorful placeholder in place of the photos. So the Vaicare software is supposed to be a proprietary software for maintaining the Sony computers it comes with, but it has an access to it the same as does the norton Symantec security software does.

The bastards are preventing me from doing internet search as a result of the Vaiocare pop-up that says: “Make Recovery Media”

The asshole also was able to start and run my Google Chrome automatically without any of my doing, all by itself the Chrome Browser just started to run.

I don‘t use Google Chrome anymore since I found out about the thing called “Pep-Flash-Player” which can make anyone’s computer look as if porn is running on Google Chrome when no porn is actually running on the computer.

0 notes

sussex-nature-lover · 4 years ago

Text

Wednesday 21st October 2020

Scotney Castle Part 2 History and Architecture

Completely random fact - today has been National Apple Day. It’s a day to celebrate apples and orchards, which seeing as I live neighbouring The Garden of England with its very many orchards, is appropriate. Apple Day is always on 21st October. I Thank you.

Back to Scotney. It’s not really a castle you know.

From 2007 the house has been open to visitors. It was left to the National Trust in the 1970s sometime, but not opened to the public until after Betty Hussey died (2006) In normal times you can tour the property which is presented mostly as a 1950s time capsule and you can go inside the ruins of the ‘Old’ moated Castle. You can roam the grounds and the wider estate and enjoy the walled kitchen garden. At the moment much of it is sleeping, you can only walk the gardens and estate, but that doesn’t stop us looking at how the castles came to be.

The first records of an Estate in this attractive part of the Weald landscape go as far back as 1137 but we’ll fast forward some 240 years to the building of a fortified manor house by Roger de Ashburnham (remember that last name for a later blog)

The Old Castle itself had various extensions and modifications, which are a story all of its own belonging to new owners of the Estate, but moving on again I bring you to the end of the Darrel family ownership where years of arguments, upsets and legal wrangles resulted in selling off various parts of the Estate to settle their accounts and the eventual disposal of the property in 1778 to one Edward Hussey, which is where the modern day history begins.

Above the entrance you see the family motto – “Vix ea nostra voco” – which is Latin for “We scarcely call these things our own”

1837 the new build began

It’s hard doing blogs about National Trust visits, I find so much to say, far too much really, but then again the story of Scotney really does reflect the motto as it’s a prime example of ‘guardians’ not ‘owners’ and every generation usually leaves its mark.

Edward Hussey, who was one of ten siblings born in nearby Burwash, must have been a wealthier man than you’d think because he firstly began reacquiring the old Estate lands over a five year period up to 1792. Trained as a barrister, my guide book says he was much more interested in cricket than he was in the law and that he frequently played for the MCC from when it was founded in 1787. I’m still digging to see where the money came from. Not much is said about him in the guide book. He married Elizabeth Sarah Bridge three years before buying Scotney and their son, Edward Hussey II was born three years after purchasing the property. All very measured. I believe they had another son and two daughters and I imagine they had a rather nice life...for a time.

Tragedy hit the family when Edward, a Magistrate, committed suicide, reportedly ‘blowing out his brains with a blunderbuss’ Fortunately the Coroner recorded a verdict of ‘melancholy’ which avoided the social disgrace and having the deceased’s estate forfeited to the Crown, but further distress and sadness hit when his heir, also Edward of course, died just a year later leaving behind his widow, Anne and their eight year old son, the third Edward plus two siblings.

I’ve spent some time falling down a rabbit hole on the internet looking into the family and of course, as these things do, it all got very complicated, but in a nutshell, there was money, occupations in the law and in royal service and interests in the arts, painting, travelling, architecture and gardens.

Anne apparently took her family and decamped to live in nearby(ish) St Leonard’s. How they got on is a mystery, but suffice to say they didn’t have to dispose of the Estate, so they must’ve been well heeled and it was this Edward (the third one: 1809-1894) who, later (much later, it was 18 years after he’d moved back to Scotney) married the Honourable Henrietta Windsor Clive, the great granddaughter of Clive of India. I love it when an interesting fact just drops in there.

Edward Hussey III continued his family tradition of expanding the Estate, paying £20,000 to purchase nearby Finchcocks - and this was in 1863! See what I mean about monied?

All the above is background to get to the nature part of the Blog, but it’s important to know background I think. We’re at the point where Edward Hussey III, at a young age was again extending the Estate and critiquing the damp and inhospitable Old Castle. He started to interview architects and after 33 meetings with a young Anthony Salvin, appointed him to design a new house on the site. Edward, as you can gather, was very involved in the process.

I’m quite astounded that they actually quarried the stone for the new house from the grounds and today that site is the Quarry Garden. like the Standen quarry garden, access is closed at the moment due to the ground conditions and falling rock. When you think about it quarrying the ground and then planting around is bound to cause its own problems, but, the Quarry site itself has a fascinating history and despite many visits I had no idea until I did my research this week...

‘Please Keep Away From The Edge’ the Quarry Garden below is currently closed

Scotney Castle Quarry

Somewhere I read about this part of Kent being connected by sea to Belgium and that the exposed floor of the quarry is effectively the preserved ripples in the sand as the tide ebbed and flowed. How romantic a thought. Obviously that’s a throwaway phrase really which describes millions of years of activity, but you get the gist.

For anyone who, like me, is unfamiliar with types of dinosaurs, this one’s the source of the preserved footprint

Iguanodon

It’s incredible that I started writing about the 12th century and then it quickly morphs into thinking back millions of years. I also have to say, the stone is very attractive. A few years back the new house was scaffolded and lots of maintenance, cleaning and restoration work was taking place. It’s a Grade I listed building and in the Autumn sunshine looked absolutely glorious this week. The stone is mellow sand and golden tones and you can really see the link with the sea bed colours and ripples and the harmony with its surroundings. How incredible that is.

The ‘new’ castle, rear view and below, the vista beyond

The day out was very pleasant and it’s stood me in good stead today to go over some photos and spill out some thoughts, it’s done nothing but rain and be dark as night here and so it was a welcome relief. TBC.

♦ not checked yet for proof reading or even to see it makes sense, be prepared for edits tomorrow

♦ outside links in bold are not affililated to this blog

#nature love where you live National Trust Scotney Castle nature photography

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phff-forevermeanttobe-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter twenty nine

Harry and Rebecca had been traveling a lot lately. Rebecca had went to fashion week in New York. Then they both went to the Invictus Games. After the games they went to D.C. and spent some time. Then came back to London for awhile. Rebecca and Harry then went to New York to attend a Halloween party. Over the weekend they went to Windsor for Harry's grandparents wedding anniversary. But this morning they had to leave because they were flying into D.C. For thanksgiving. They had decided last years schedule worked good so they would be doing the same thing this year and wouldn't be back in London until Christmas.

"Harry are you ready?" Rebecca yelled.

She was standing in a large central room in Windsor palace. Standing next to her was the queen, Philip, and Charles and Camilla.

"I swear he doesn't get in any sort of rush." Charles said with a chuckle.

"No he doesn't." Rebecca said shifting her handbag onto her arm to put on her gloves.

"So any special plans for while you are in the states?" Camilla asked Rebecca.

"Well we will have thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. If Harry can hurry up!" She said adding the last part loud enough for him to hear it. "Then I think we will go up to New York for a bit; maybe try to get out to Connecticut if we can."

"You are still planning on coming to Sandringham with Harry, aren't you?" The queen asked inquisitively.

"Of course. I am going to do some shopping while in New York." She said giving the queen a smile.

"Oh no." Philip said laughing.

Finally they saw Harry coming down the hallway towards the room. "Have you been waiting on me?" He said smiling. He was followed by a few guys carrying tons of Luggage.

"Dear lord Harry we will be lucky to get to my parents before tomorrow." Rebecca said as he got closer.

"Harry you can not keep this lady waiting that long. You have a very tight schedule." Camilla said giving Harry a smile.

"I know she keeps me on my toes." Harry said giving Camilla a hug. Then turning to his father and hugging him.

"Have William and Kate already left?" Harry asked looking for George and Charlotte.

"Yes they left earlier. They had to get to her sisters house. I'm sure we won't see them until around Christmas." Elizabeth said to Harry.

"Well I love you, and I'm sorry we have to leave." Harry said giving his grandparents a hug.

"I will make sure he FaceTime's you every weekend." Rebecca said to Elizabeth and Philip.

"Oh yes we do love that." Philip said with a smile.

"And make sure he calls me every night." Charles said to Rebecca.

"I will, and if he doesn't I will." Rebecca said smiling as she saw the driver come into the room signaling that the car was ready.

"Well we better get going. We will see all of you at Christmas." Rebecca said giving Camilla a hug as she was the closest one to her.

"Yes we love you two. Be safe." Charles said to Harry and Rebecca.

The plane ride was long and very annoying for Rebecca who couldn't manage to get anything done, and was so ready to see her family. They finally landed and it was dark outside but wasn't too late. She told her driver to get them to her parents quickly and he did just that. It was no time before the black suburban was pulling into her parents driveway.

As Rebecca stepped out of the car she saw the front door open and her mother came out. Jacqueline ran to Rebecca and gave her a big hug.

"Oh finally all my babies are home." Jacqueline said as she finished hugging Rebecca she moved to Harry.

"Have you been baking?" Harry asked her already knowing the answer.

"Yes me and mom have been baking pies all day." She said as she grabbed one of the bags and started walking them towards the house.

"Rebecca you will not believe who is here." Jacqueline said and just as she did Harry saw an older lady walk out of the front door.

"Hello Rebecca." The lady said. Rebecca looked up to see her dads mom standing there.

"Oh my god. What are you doing?" Rebecca said going up and giving her a hug.

"Well palm beach was getting a little bit boring so I though I'd come see my only child and his family for the holidays." The woman said Harry thought she looked stern. But she had a smile on her face so he wasn't sure. He had never heard anyone ever talk about her.

They all got inside before he was introduced to the woman. "I'm Rebecca's other grandmother, Eleanor Rutherford." She said offering her hand for him to shake.

"I'm Harry Wales. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said he didn't know why he said Wales he also didn't know why this old woman made him feel so nervous.

"It's very nice to meet you too finally." The lady said as they made their way into the living room. She talked with such a unique accent. One that Harry had heard Rebecca use a few times at events when she was talking to some of her old friends.

"Oh my goodness." Rebecca said as she walked into the living room and saw her nephew awake and playing with Amelia's finger.

"Maxwell look who's here." Jackson said to his son, as he pointed to his sister. "It's your aunt Becca."

Rebecca went and set down on the couch with her brother and his wife and baby leaving Harry to set in a chair by himself. Harry said hello to Bettye before setting down.

"So has he started going by max?" Harry asked with a smile at the baby.

"No and he isn't going to." Jackson said knowing that Harry was joking.

"I did not name him max." Amelia said as she handed the baby to Rebecca.

"Well my mother didn't name me Harry but here I am." Harry said smiling.

Rebecca looked around the room. She was setting on the couch with Amelia and Jackson and the baby. Her mom was sitting on the other couch with her two grandmothers. Harry was sitting in one of the arm chairs.

"Where is dad and Gunter?" She asked noticing they weren't there.

"Your brother is upstairs playing his new game and your father is around here somewhere." Jackie said. "I should probably serve our finger foods. Shouldn't I mom?" She said looking over at her mother.

"Yes before it gets too late." Bettye said to her daughter.

Jackie got up and walked out of the room; no doubt on her way to the kitchen to get the food.

"So granny how are you?" Rebecca asked Bettye.

"I'm good. I have been so busy lately. And I have a new place we need to eat at when you come to New York." Bettye said to Rebecca.

"Where?" Rebecca asked her.

"Well me and a few of the girls went to Tiffany's new restaurant and it was so good." Bettye said to Rebecca.

"Oh yes I saw that they opened that." Amelia said joining the conversation.

"Carter! Gunter! Come eat!" Jacqueline yelled before walking back into the living room with a tray of finger foods. She set them down on the coffee table, and the butler came behind her carrying a tray of sodas.

"Harry how are you?" Carter said as he came in the room and set down in the other armchair.

"I am well. How has work been?" Harry asked Carter as he noticed Gunter come in and set in the floor next to the fire place.

"It's been going good. Very busy though. Have you been doing much work lately?" Carter asked Harry as he got a plate of food and looked over to see his wife and daughter in the middle of a conversation.

"Well, when I can find time for it. Rebecca and I have been traveling so much lately, but when I get a chance I'm working." Harry said as everyone was in there own side conversations.

"Yes, well maybe one day while you are in you can come to work with me." Carter said to Harry who he thought was a very nice man for Rebecca to marry.

"Where are we going to spend Christmas?" Jackson said speaking up so everyone could hear him.

"Well I wanted to check with everyone first. I know Rebecca and Harry will be using the same schedule they did last year, and I know that you and Amelia were think you might have to cut the festivities short to go to Switzerland with her family. So I know Eleanor and mom have both been wanting to schedule a trip to Paris and I think Christmas will be the perfect time. We will still have decorations and our regular Christmas traditions, but It will be easier on both of you since we will be close to England and the ski resort in Switzerland that Amelia's family will be at." Jackie said proposing the idea to everyone in the room.

Everyone agreed that it sounded like a great idea. They all agreed that they would still be in New York for New Years.

They soon were all going off to their bedrooms. Rebecca and Harry included who were both very tired.

The next morning Rebecca woke up very early to go to a thanksgiving 5k. When she got back everyone was still just waking up, except for Jackie who had instructed everyone to come down as soon as they got up to get a light breakfast of mostly pastry options that they were allowed to take to their rooms so they wouldn't be in the kitchen while Jacqueline was busy preparing the holiday dinner.

Rebecca got her breakfast and headed upstairs to start getting ready. "Good morning, Rebecca." Amelia said as they passed in the hallway. Rebecca said good morning and quickly asked how the baby slept.

After she got into her room she shook Harry's leg to try and wake him. She then walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on, and then walked back out of the bathroom and set down on the bed to eat her breakfast.

"Harry I turned the shower on. If you want to take a quick one you can, but you need to hurry because you have to get your breakfast and I need a shower." Rebecca said in a loud voice to the waking Harry.

"I'll go get breakfast first then I'll take a shower after you." Harry said stretching.

Rebecca continued to eat her breakfast as she watched Harry get out of bed in just his boxers. He put shorts and a shirt on and stretched some more before walking out of the room.

They had both ate and Rebecca had taken her shower. She was now standing at the bathroom sink getting ready, And Harry was about to get in the shower. They had the television on in the bedroom and you could hear the Macy's thanksgiving day parade playing in the background.

"Is anyone else coming today?" Harry asked as he took his shirt off.

"Yeah my moms family will be here. They will start arriving within the next hour or so. After you get ready you can go downstairs and set in the family room dad will be in there watching football. Then after all the guys get here they will go outside and play football. Then they will come back in and watch more football probably." Rebecca said to Harry as she watched him in the mirror get undressed.

"What are you looking at?" He asked noticing her watching him. He moved up behind her and kissed her cheek. He then opened the shower door and got in.

Rebecca did light makeup while Harry was in the shower. It didn't take long though for Harry to be drying off. "Hey I laid your outfit out in there on the bed." Rebecca said seeing that he was getting out of the shower as she put mascara on.

Harry went out into the bedroom and started getting his clothes on as Rebecca loosely curled her hair. He then went into the bathroom to fix his hair and brush his teeth, which Rebecca had already done. As he did that Rebecca finished up her hair and then got her clothes on.

"You smell good." She said as she walked back into the bathroom with her clothes on and touched up her hair in the mirror. Harry couldn't help but notice her lip stick that was the same color as her jacket.

"Thanks, so do you." Harry said smelling her perfume.

"I better go on down." Rebecca said since she would have to greet everyone since her mom would probably be in the kitchen.

"Okay babe. I'm ready too." Harry said as he put his tooth brush down and wiped his mouth with a hand towel.

They both went down stairs and Harry went into the family room where Jackson and Gunter were setting.

Rebecca went and checked on her dad who was in his study preparing to film his thanksgiving message.

She then heard the doorbell and went to answer it. It was the first of her aunts, uncles, and cousins that would be arriving.

Rebecca’s Outfit

#prince harry fanfiction #royalfanficcentral #FOREVER MEANT TO BE #royalfanficcollection #Prince Harry #thanksgiving #chapter twenty nine

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qqueenofhades · 7 years ago

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Hilaryyyyy, the world is on fire and everything is terrible. Can I ask for hacktivist Sam/Miranda? Pretty please?

feel better, darling; i love you. tagging @prairiepirate as well, for reasons.

Miranda Hamilton lives in a birdcage.

It is a lovely birdcage, it always has been. Dressagelessons, private school at St. George’s Ascot and university at Oxford, handed£500 every weekend by her father (or rather, left in an envelope, as he wasn’tusually there) and told to buy herself a little treat. Etiquette and finishingat Debrett’s, summers in Saint-Tropez, winters in Saint Moretz. She was alreadyfantastically privileged when she (she was Miranda Barlow then) met, fell inlove with, and married Thomas Hamilton, an idealistic young politician – froman old titled family himself, father sat in the House of Lords, mingled withthe same serried jetset crowd, but who, like her, has managed to avoidletting it completely turn his head. No, Thomas cares. For someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’s taken it out, passed it around, asked why he had it and everyone else didn’t. She can’t think of anyone else who would.

After an impressive career – MP for Windsor, Shadow and thenactual Home Secretary, an ambassadorship here, an embassy position there –Thomas is now Foreign Secretary, and they live in London. He has been tipped tobe PM one day, but he, for reasons of his own, has chosen not to pursue party leadership. He travels a great deal. Miranda’s job, in their partnership, is tohold down the home front. Talk to the always-a-jolly-good-time British press.Pay a visit, shake a hand, pose for a photo. Write an op-ed in the Times. Be subject to endless scrutiny ofwhat she wore at the gala and how much it cost, and of course, all the heat shetakes when Thomas proposes anything too fundamentally decent for the British Empire (they may have changed the name, butdon’t let that fool you) to swallow at face value. Why, they all wonder, havethey appointed a foreign secretary who actually seems to like foreigners?

Miranda cannot complain. She knows that she has a lifematerially more comfortable than 99.9% of the world, has never wanted foranything. And she and Thomas do good in the world, a great deal of it,especially through their new philanthropic organization, the Thomas and MirandaHamilton Foundation. There is a certain amount of affection for them among themasses, to be sure. They have appeared on Buzzfeed as “couple goals.” Mirandahas fronted Vogue, Elle, and others,and been a guest critic for the New YorkTimes Book Review. Thomas loves her, she loves him, and if that’s not quitehow she originally thought, well… it’s still them. It’s going to be.

Especially after James.

Miranda tries not to think of how he moved to the Bahamas afew years ago, about how he loved them but couldn’t stand their world anymore,how she and Thomas were too beholden to leave, and cannot help but feel thatthis birdcage takes as much as it gives.

—————–

“My dear,” Thomas says, stirring his tea. “I have someone Iwant you to meet.”

“Oh?” Miranda stirs her own tea, blows on it, and takes asmall sip. It’s early morning, and they’re sitting in the glassed-over sunroom(in England, always more of a hopeful ideal than an actual reality) overlookingtheir back garden, and the Kensington traffic rumbles distantly. He just got inlast night from New Delhi, bags not yet unpacked, still smelling of curry andsunshine and smog when she hugged him, and she supposes this is someone he wasintroduced to on the trip and wants her to vet. He rarely partners withsomeone, or hires them, or does anything else, without running them past herfirst. He trusts her judgment, follows her lead, and Miranda smiles at herhusband with deep affection. “Who? One of the Indian Young Achiever scholarshipcandidates?”

“What? No, there’s still one more round of selection to goon that, but I hope we can arrange a lunch for the finalists. No, this issomeone else. I’m thinking of commissioning him to do some advising and policyproposals for the foundation. I imagine you’ve heard of him. Sam Bellamy.”

“Sam Bellamy?” Miranda’svoice rises in startlement. This is assuredly not going to help Thomas’ 24%approval rating among Brexit voters, not that they were terribly fond of himbefore. “That’s the one – Black Sam, isn’t he? Darling, are you sure – ”

“James knows him,” Thomas says quietly. “He thinks we’ll getalong.”

Miranda feels her throat close briefly. “So,” she says, tryingto sound normal. “You – you’ve spoken to James recently, then?”

“He emailed about a week ago.” Thomas looked into thegarden, as if neither of them can admit how much they miss James Flint (as he’sknown to the rest of the world, but James McGraw to them) without wondering ifthey made the greatest mistake of their lives in letting him go. “I was askingif he could think of potential consultants, and he suggested – ” He waves ahand. “Anyway, you know Bellamy’s work. He is the sort of man I want to speakto, if I want to claim that I care about the state of the world at all.”

“Indeed,” Miranda murmurs. She can’t help but wonder if evenher bleeding-heart liberal husband has gone one bridge too far. Sam Bellamy, orBlack Sam as he’s indeed more generally known (@BlackSamBellamy to his 1.2million followers on Twitter), is a blogger, political activist, skilledtechnological saboteur, and notoriously and fearlessly outspoken Pain in theArse to the establishment’s – well, the establishment’s everything. He’soriginally from a small village in Devonshire, grew up dirt poor in ruralEngland, has lived in both the UK and the US, and made himself distinctlyinconvenient to both governments (they tend to pass him like a hot potato,shipping him off to the other when he’s poked too many bears) with exploitsthat skirt the very bounds and greyest areas of legality. He’s been arrested atleast a dozen times (he’s a hero to the Anonymous-type underground vigilantecrowd, and the darling of the left-wing internet) but they can’t quite get anycharges to stick, especially since Miranda gets the sense that they’re a littleafraid of him. Sam Bellamy is never violent, never cruel, never openlyvindictive. He’s handsome and charming and empathetic and eloquent, has a devotedfollowing that retweets all his devastatingly on-point political one-liners,has published books and done TV appearances, and otherwise is not yourno-account Manning or Snowden that can be bundled into some undisclosed federalhellhole, driven to Russia, or otherwise made to disappear. He’s a cultcelebrity and he is very good at his job, and Miranda has to admit, he’s likelyto have good advice on where to direct the foundation’s outreach efforts.Still. The Sun and the Daily Mail are absolutely going to shitthemselves.

“Well,” Miranda says wryly. “Do we meet him here, or at thesafe house?”

“I invited him for coffee this afternoon. I thought it wasbest to start off informally.” Thomas butters his crumpet. “I do realize it’srather short notice for you, but – ”

If Miranda was a different sort of woman, she might beangered by this presumption, by Thomas’ belief that she’ll just smilegraciously and play the cultured hostess to whatever scabrous renegade he wantsto drag into their house. But she has lived with him too long, and known himtoo well, to do that. She will, if nothing else, give Sam Bellamy a fairhearing-out – and after all, if she does not like him, Thomas is unlikely toproceed with the arrangement. She shares her husband so much with the world, inall his selflessness, and it’s one of the things she loves about him. And yet,sometimes in the darkness, she cannot help but wish there was part of him thatbelonged, only and intimately, to her.

“Coffee,” Miranda says briskly. “Three this afternoon?”

Thomas raises his teacup in toast. “My dear, as ever, youare impeccable.”

—————–

Miranda is not sure what she expected, exactly. Someunwashed beatnik reeking of patchouli and pot, or a too-polished salesman whoembraces the comforts of the system he rails against, or just another of thoseyoung, well-meaning people who want to change the world but clearly have noidea how it actually works. To say the least, she’s met all these sorts andthen some, and while she trusts James’ judgment, there’s also the fact thatJames himself is not far right of Che Guevara on the political scale, either inviews or in methods. Part of the reason for his expatriation to the Bahamas wasto dodge the fact that he’d probably bring down Thomas’ career and all the workof the TMHF if he stayed. He didn’t want to do that to them, and so he left.What message he might be sending with Sam, Miranda doesn’t know.

At three that afternoon, however, she finds out. There’s aknock on the door, Miranda’s assistant Abigail (the daughter of Peter Ashe, theCommons chief whip) gets it, and Sam Bellamy strides in, still tucking hisOyster card into his jeans pocket; he clearly came on the Underground and thebus. The first thing Miranda notices is that he’s tall: six feet and then some.He has a long black ponytail, artful stubble, small silver hoops in both ears,a dash of eyeliner, a leather jacket, and a shirt not quite buttoned up all theway. He looks like a glamorously grungy rock star, or as if he got lost on hisway to a GQ photoshoot, and she’s moving “pretentious douche” further up thelist of possibilities, even as she smiles politely and offers her hand. “Mr.Bellamy. So good to meet you.”

“Lady Hamilton.” He smiles at her, warmly and delightedlyand with no pretention at all, and kisses her hand instead of shaking it.Miranda is completely taken aback – yes, Thomas got a knighthood in the Queen’sBirthday Honours a few years ago, for all his political and philanthropic work,technically speaking she is LadyHamilton – but nobody except the stuffiest and most hidebound of placesactually use it. It’s what would be printed on her place card for a statedinner at Buckingham Palace, but certainly not in casual conversation, and shealmost thinks that Sam, who makes his living fighting the entire world shelives in, is mocking her. But his smile is too sincere for that, his eyesgently teasing, and he even manages the hand kiss without it being instantlycreepy, which is a further feat. Miranda is a beautiful mid-forties brunettewho has taken good care of herself and her appearance (and knows she’ll becrucified in the press if she doesn’t); she’s been shamelessly hit on before.This, though. It’s different.

Off guard, but trying not to showit, she invites him out to the porch. A little sun is peering through the glassnow, and Sam shucks his jacket and sits down at her gesture. Abigail goes toassemble the coffee tray, and Miranda expects Sam to fiddle with hissmartphone, fire off a few more witty tweets before the meeting starts, but hedoesn’t. His attention and regard is completely on her, genuinely curious andopen. He hasn’t yelled, “Capitalist pig!” or started flinging poo yet, not atall. What does she look like to him, in her silk blouse, her matching pearlset, her Chanel No. 5, her flawless makeup? A person, or a lovely porcelaindoll?

They make light conversation asthey wait. Sam knows that Miranda graduated with a 1:1 in English literaturefrom Christ Church, Oxford, and has apparently read her book reviews for the NYT. He has intelligent things to sayabout all of them, and Miranda doesn’t even notice for several minutes thatAbigail has brought out the coffee and biscuits. Flustered, she pours two cups,hands one to Sam (he takes his black, makes a joke about it), brushes his handmomentarily, and doesn’t know why it makes something constrict in her chest.Yes, well, he’s as charming and engaging as advertised. As of yet, that couldstill only be the surface.

They talk for almost three hoursstraight. The coffee gets cold, the biscuits only half eaten. Miranda has neverknown anyone as easy to talk to. Thomas, of course, but it’s not quite likethis even with him. James, bless his heart, is entirely a man of action – hetalks when he has to, but it’s secondary. Sam, on the other hand, is finishingher sentences forty-five minutes into their first acquaintance. He knows shelives in a posh, privileged bubble – though she knows more about what is outside it than some –but he never once belittles or mocks her for it. He’s like Thomas. He cares. Injustice is a deeply personal,driving affront to him. He just cannot stand the way the world is now, if hecan do something about it, and he spends every day doing just that. He hasn’tbeen to university; he left state school at sixteen with his GCSEs. He is justtwenty-eight years old.

The patio has gotten dark, the sunset, by the time they finally wake from their reverie. Miranda stands upreluctantly; it’s past six, the Underground will be commuter crush if Samleaves now, and Thomas will be at Downing Street until at least nine, as he hassome subcommittee or other to chair. “Do you want to stay – stay for dinner?”

“I couldn’t possibly impose,” Samsays.

“Oh, no. It’s no trouble at all.”

Thus assured, he graciouslyagreed, and they head into the expansive kitchen. Abigail has gone home, sheonly stays until five, and it’s just them as Miranda tries to think what shecan whip up – she does like to cook, doesn’t want to be that rich woman whocan’t boil an egg for herself. Sam leans on the island as she makes casserole,and it feels so completely, impossibly familiar that Miranda almost wants topinch herself. A Caesar salad and two glasses of red wine later, supper isready, they sit at the smaller dinette instead of the formal dining room, andshe cannot help but be too aware of Sam sitting across from her. She glances –unobtrusively, she hopes – at his left hand. There’s no wedding ring there,though he has others. “So,” she says, as lightly as she can. “How do you knowJames?”

“Ah, well.” Sam takes a sip of hiswine, slightly sheepish but completely unabashed. “To be honest, we slepttogether.”

Miranda has been wondering if thatplayed into it somewhere. “Oh?”

“And we work on similar causes, sothere’s that.” Sam eyes her curiously. “He talks about you a lot, you know. Youand Thomas.”

“Does he?” Miranda’s voice is notquite so steady this time.

Sam’s dark gaze is a little toounderstanding. Quietly he says, “He misses you a great deal.”

The casserole sticks in Miranda’sthroat, and she has to swallow it down hard. Not looking up, she says, “I misshim too.”

Sam reaches unexpectedly acrossthe table and puts his hand on hers. Startled, she meets his eyes, and in thatmoment, the question she was trying to find a remotely tactful and subtle wayto ask – if it’s only gentlemen that are his preference, or there is room forappreciation of the ladies as well – has an answer. She was fairly sure fromearlier, but now it’s definite. Sam Bellamy talked about women endlesslyearlier, about his four sisters, about his female colleagues, about theiraccomplishments, their interests, the respect he has for them, his sheerdelight in their existence in a way that goes far, far beyond what men usually,superficially, value in them. Just then, Miranda is seized by the unshakeableconviction that if she leaned over and kissed him right now, it would taste andfeel more like home than anything shehas ever known.

She is unsettled, to say theleast. She doesn’t kiss him.

The thought does not go away.

——————-

“So,” Thomas says, the nextmorning. “What do you think?”

Miranda, of course, does not needto ask what. Her hand trembles slightly as she lifts her cup. Thomas broughtback a particularly good Darjeeling, and she savors it for a few moments, asmuch to give herself time to think as in appreciation of the flavor. “He’s…very easy,” she says. “To like, to talk to, to be around. And very intelligent.We could do worse.”

Thomas gives her a gentle smile,as if reminding her that at this time yesterday, she had quite a differentopinion. “Achieved all that in one meeting, did you?”

“It was productive.” Mirandaraises an eyebrow. “I assume you’ve met him?”

“Yes. We had lunch together theother day. My impression was the same as yours, but I wanted to be sure.”Thomas is clearly off in transports of how much he can do and think of anddream with someone who can get the sorts of results Sam can. “So the next stepis – my dear, what?”

Miranda isn’t sure how to voicewhat’s on her mind. Doesn’t want to ask Thomas if he thinks James sent them Samas a sort of consolation prize, a parting gift, a pretty new toy. If they aredoing something wrong in letting him in so quickly, or if there’s some sort ofcatch. There generally is, after all. She doesn’t think James wouldintentionally set up a sting, or anything else ill-spirited, but just now,Miranda Barlow Hamilton is forced to face the secrets that lie at the center ofher world. The reason Thomas wants to be Prime Minister, has thought longinglyof all the more good he could do with such a position, but has chosen not tostand for party leadership. Because at some point, the details of their privatelife would be spilled, and his entire administration would be brought down bythe scandal, and they would never be free of the hounding. Because it would befoolish to try to create such a thing, knowing it would be destroyed. Nearly asintentional and malicious as murder, and far longer-lasting.

Miranda looks away, over thegarden. Thinks of afternoons with James in their bed, when it was sometimesjust him and her, sometimes just him and Thomas, sometimes the three of themalike. James was not the first man that she and Thomas have shared, but he wasthe first that both of them fell in love with, and whose absence stillresonates like an open wound. She knows as well that Thomas felt James was histruest love, his deepest soulmate, the person who gave him the parts ofthemselves that Miranda, through no fault of hers or Thomas’, cannot. She andThomas love each other dearly, and they have a physical relationship in otherways, but she has been married to a gay man for two decades, and as often asshe thinks she understands it now, she can entirely accept it, it turns, itchanges. That was what James was for. A man who could love both of them equallywell, bridge them, fit into that third piece of their shared souls. She doesnot want Sam to be only his pale shadow, his second-rate replacement. Does notwant Sam to think he comes second to anything.

(And what does it say, that she isalready thinking this, after only one day?)

Thomas is watching her worriedly.“My dear?”

“I’m fine.” Miranda looks up,smiles, shakes her head. “We should absolutely proceed.”

——————–

Sam continues to come by theirhouse, sometimes for meetings with both of them, sometimes just for Miranda. Healways has stacks of suggestions, of papers, sketches, ideas, as they sit inthe sunroom and sift them through. However long he stays, it never seems to beenough, and when he’s gone for a fortnight, Miranda tries not to pine. Shekeeps waiting for the moment when the mask slips, the curtain falls, when hebecomes as ugly and grubby and flawed a petty mortal as the rest of them, butit doesn’t. This is, apparently, who he actually is, and their connection onlydeepens. Miranda has spent so long making sacrifices, stepping aside, sharingThomas, sharing James, being the politician’s wife, giving more, giving up. Sheloves the people she’s given the most for, and knows they love her too, but Samis the first person who pours so generously into her soul with absolutely nopain or struggle in doing it. He loves because he breathes, does not give asingle shit what anyone thinks of him, cares for her, worships her in glancesand fleet touches and passing moments, makes her feel as if she’s standing inbrilliant sunlight, and he never asks for anything or expects it. Simplybecause she is, in herself, that much of a strange and tender miracle to him.It is unfathomable.

“You know,” Thomas says softly,about five months in. “Of course I would not mind if you and Mr. Bellamy wereto… see each other more often.”

Given that they already see eachother at least three times a week, Miranda knows that he is not referring toincreasing Sam’s workload for the TMHF. Her heart skips a beat, as if she’sboth wanted and feared that Thomas would say this. “O – oh?”

Thomas looks at her withconsummate tenderness. “You don’t need to ask my permission, Miranda.”

Her heart twists again. Of coursehe wouldn’t, of course he’d feel it foolish that the notion should cross hermind, that her husband might have an opinion on whether or not she slept withsomeone else. After all, it is easier to have an open marriage when you andyour spouse are sleeping with the same other person, and you all know abouteach other and are set up comfortably in a ménage a trois. She and Thomas havealways shared. They’ve never had a lover exclusive to only one of them, and itoccurs to Miranda that this is perhaps what Thomas is suggesting – that the twoof them become three again, and take up together with Sam. She isn’t sure howshe feels about that (and, quite obviously, how Sam feels about that). “Is this… Thomas, do you mean to suggestthat we – ”

Thomas holds up a hand. “I am certainlycapable of appreciating Mr. Bellamy’s charms,” he says dryly, “and flattermyself that he is not averse, at least in theory, to the idea of mine. But bothof us know it’s not like that, this time. That he could be – he should be – yours.”

Yours. Miranda turns away. The idea of having something forherself, someone – it is almostunspeakably odd, and yet something she wants so dearly she cannot breathe.Wishes, as much as she appreciates Thomas’ open and easy willingness to let herpursue the idea of something withSam, that he did want her to ask permission. That there could be that piecebetween them as well – true, they would never have had James in their lives, orat least not in the way they did, if they could complete each other on theirown accord. She and Thomas have built so much together, done so much, and theydon’t want to leave each other. They never have; on the contrary, theiraffairs, communal as they are, only bring them closer. But to propose that Sambe hers, just hers, and not theirs… that’sdifferent. That’s new, and strange, and challenging.

But God. How she wants to find outwhat that might look like.

Hesitantly, Miranda says, “Are yousure?”

Thomas reaches out and takes herhand, as their fingers lock. “I know what you’ve given up,” he says, almost ina whisper. “I don’t want it to be him too.”

——————–

Miranda is quite sure this is aterrible idea.

She’s changed out of all herdesigner clothes, let down her hair from its elegant updo, dressed in a simplejumper and jeans and trainers, looks like any other ordinary middle-aged womanon the District Line from Kensington out to Ealing. She clutches her bagtightly; it’s been years since she rode the Underground, she can’t help butfeeling like a creature pried out of its shell. Sam might not be home, or hemight have someone else over (she can’t help the twist of jealousy that writhesin her innards at the thought, to which she has no right) or she might havecatastrophically misread the entire situation, and he will be only pitying andbemused when his work colleague appears to NottingHill herself on his front step. Miranda isn’t sure what would be worse. Shealmost doesn’t get off the Tube at Ealing.

Shaky-legged, she taps out of theticket barrier and follows the directions on her phone. Sam lives a few minutesaway from the station, in one of the plain brick rowhouses. Miranda has neverbeen out here before, or at least not when viewing it from behind the window ofa car as she rolls on through. This is a neighborhood of ethnic grocers andcheap electronic repair shops, Nando’s and chain pubs and off-license conveniencestores, as far away from the glittering world of Kensington as can be imagined.She might have taken a wrong turn. No, this should be it.

She heads up the walk, has tobrace herself, closes her eyes, raises her hand, lowers it, raises it again. Thinksone more time that this might be a terrible mistake, then knocks.

There’s no answer at first, andshe considers just turning and leaving. But then she hears footsteps, thedeadbolt rattles, and Sam opens the door.

He’s shirtless and barefoot, onlywearing jeans, black hair loose on his shoulders and a towel draped around hisneck; it looks as if he just got out of the shower. To say the least, he issurprised to see her, and concerned. “Miranda? Is something wrong, are you allright?”

“I’m fine.” Her lips feel halfnumb. “I can come back later.”

“No, it’s fine.” He steps back,making an inviting gesture. “If you don’t mind – I mean, it’s not what you’reused to, it’s not very – ”

Miranda steps in against herbetter judgment, as if her legs have decided to carry her forward without hervolition, and he shuts the door. He doesn’t appear to have other company over,at any rate. It’s a small flat, crammed to every corner with books and papersand half-assembled bits of gadgets, his laptop and his other laptop and abattered stack of notebooks and all their files from the TMHF. There are a fewpotted plants, and a few empty food cartons, which he hastens to chuck away. “I’mnot the world’s greatest housekeeper, it – ”

“It’s wonderful,” Miranda says. “It’s.. . it’s you.”

Their eyes lock, and she feels itdown to her toes, to the back of her spine. She thought she was going to haveto say something, she thought this would be an utter ordeal, she thought, she thought – but in half a moment more,they cross the floor toward each other, they almost collide, her arms lockaround his neck as she strains on her tiptoes, and he’s kissing the breath andthe daylights and all remotely remaining sense out of her. He shoves her upagainst the door, her hands full of his damp hair and his face and the strengthand solidness and scent of him, as he lifts her effortlessly off her feet and shewraps her legs around his waist. They keep kissing as if they cannot getenough, they cannot stop, they’ve waited so long to begin and there is so muchtime to make up. She presses her nose against his, to his forehead, as theyshare breath and space and soul. “Miranda,” he murmurs. “God, love, God, I’vebeen… love, are you sure you…”

“Please,” Miranda whispers, andshe has never laid herself so raw and open to anyone as she does just then, asthe sheer need shivers gooseflesh down both of their spines. “Sam, please.”

He answers her with another kiss,carrying her down the hall to his room, kicking the door open and backing in. Heclearly wants to clean up a bit here as well, not expecting to have companytonight, but Miranda doesn’t want to let go of him long enough, and she doesn’tcare anyway. They sink onto his bed, his hands tugging at her jumper anddrawing it over her head, as she unbuttons her shirt and he unclasps her braand then they are clawing into each other’s arms again. Her hair falls in athick brown curtain around her face and his, his hand on the back of her head,mouths open, turning and gulping and devouring. He tastes of more than home. Hetastes of flesh and soul and sinew, and stars.

He feels like the world insideher. He feels like everything, as Miranda gasps and lifts her knees and ridesjust as hard back against him, the muscles of his back straining, the onlysound their gasping and muffled swearing. As they roll over and over, and shetakes him deeper, and deeper still, and his mouth is a burning brand on herbreast, moves up her throat, kissing and licking and biting. It’s too much, it’stoo much, she is only a mortal creature and she will wither to ash in suchblinding sunlight. Such prayers are too secret to be spoken aloud.

Afterward, they lie still, herhead on his chest, her hand resting low on his stomach, as the headlights ofpassing cars cartwheel on the ceiling. It’s started to rain; she can hear thedistant sigh and hiss on the roof. Sam’s arm rests around her shoulder, pullingher close, until tears prickle in her throat for no reason she can name. Hold onto me, never let me go.

Miranda Hamilton lives in abirdcage, yes. That does not change now. She still does.

And yet she thinks – she hopes –she might have turned the key.

#sam x miranda #thomas x miranda #black sails au #black sails #ish #extasiswings #ask

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