#it's also not fintan (or anyone from kotlc actually)

[the-way-astray]

in a plot twist nobody expected, my favorite character of all time is actually a manipulative, gaslighting, disingenuous, toxic, two-faced, pitiable, blond-haired, blue-eyed, horrible friend of a liar.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Transcript of The Trade, the Marella KOTLC short story (Including the author introduction)

Note: OG pictures taken by Kenna!, provided by @fintan-pyren. Some words are obscured and the transcript may contain errors. Neverless, I hope this is useful to anyone who may need/want it :)

Hello, wonderful Keeper readers! Some of you might already know that I love to sneak a little something extra into the paperback versions of my books whenever I can (since I don't think hardcover readers should get to be the only ones who sometimes find fun bonuses). For those who didn't know that: surprise! :)

I knew I wanted to include a story from Marella's POV this time. Not only is she on the cover (looking fierce and fabulous!) and a fan-favorite character, but she also had some key scenes in Stellarlune that we only got to "hear" about. The Keeper books are limited to Sophie's POV, so I can only include moments where Sophie is present--and since Sophie didn't go with Marella to her meetings with Fintan, we only learn what Marella tells Sophie later. But what if there was something Marella didn't share?

Over the next few pages, you can watch one of Marella's conversations with Fintan play out in real time and hear all Marella's thoughts and reactions to what's happening. I've called this story "The Trade"--and I've worked in lots of fun little extra details (some of which might even turn out to be important later...*wink*).

For those wondering, this story is based a [sic] scene in chapter 31 of Stellarlune--and if you haven't read Stellarlune yet: SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! Reading this first will probably be confusing and will also give away a few tidbits too early. You'll be much happier if you start by reading Stellarlune and then come back here for all the Marella fun once you're done!

Happy reading! [shannon's signature]

~

"Ugh, I hate this place," Marella muttered, shaking the freshly fallen snowflakes out of her gilded blond hair much harder than necessary and yanking her thick velvet cape tighter around her narrow shoulders.

She said the same thing every time she had to trudge through the knee-high snowdrifts and found herself staring at the icicle-crusted entrance to the now familiar cave.

Didn't matter how many times she'd gone there--or how important her visits were. She was never not going to dread making the long, slippery trek down to Fintan's frozen cell.

The cave looked like some sort of open-mouthed snow beast waiting to devour everything in its path--which was probably intentional, since the prison was designed to be as miserable as possible.

Especially for someone like her.

The goblin guards even gave her pitying stares as they moved aside to reveal the endless icy path that wound down and down--and down a whole lot more--to a place where the tiniest glimmer of heat had long since been swallowed up by the suffocating cold.

No amount of clothing could keep Marella warm in the heart of the prison She'd actually tried wearing so many layers that she'd looked like an overstuffed gulon--and she still couldn't stop shivering. And the whole "body temperature regulation" thing wasn't exactly possible when she had to use so much concentration to make sense of Fintan's ranting.

it wasn't fair.

Everyone else got to train their special abilities in fancy rooms at Foxfire, with Mentors who weren't creepy, unstable murderers.

But they weren't Pyrokinetics.

Marella was lucky the Council was letting her use her ability at all.

They could just as easily label her Talentless, kick her out of their snobby academy, and ban her from ever sparking another flame.

Or they could decide she was too dangerous and lock her away.

in fact, Marella wouldn't have been surprised at all if the Council was already building an icy cage just for her--but the thought still made her shiver and wish she could've manifested as...

Nope.

She stopped herself from finishing that sentence.

If life had taught her anything, it was that there's no point wanting things that were never going to happen.

Instead, she focused on the thin beams of sunlight streaking through a gap in the gloomy gray clouds. The light was far from warm, but if she really concentrated, she could feel a hint of lingering heat tangled among the brightness.

She called the warmth closer and soaked it in--let it pool under her skin, pounding with her pulse, swelling with every heartbeat. Growing hotter and hotter and hotter until...

Snap!

A flick of her fingers sent a small tangle of flames sparking to life above her left palm.

"Feel better?" Linh asked as Marella let out a long, slow sigh.

Marella nodded--though she definitely could've done without the whispered that were now hissing around her head.

The flames had a soft, crackly voice. And they always made the same plea.

Feed me.

Feed me.

Feed me.

Fire craved fuel--constantly wanting more, more, more--and it would've been so easy for Marella to let the fire swell bigger and bigger and bigger.

But that was the kind of thing that would lead to a lifetime of shivering in an underground ice cube, so she forced her gaze to shift to Linh, who stood in a small, snowless circle surrounded by a halo of hovering snowflakes---none daring to touch her long silver-tipped hair or shimmery purple cape.

Marella knew how hard Linh had fought to achieve that level of control, and how tentative Linh's hold over her ability still was. But the fact Linh could stand in a sea of frozen water and do nothing except keep the falling snow from settling on her flushed pink cheeks was very...

Annoying.

Then again, everyone annoyed Marella a little.

Her dad used to call her "fiery" long before he realized how accurate that description truly was.

But it wasn't Marella's fault!

People tended to be annoying.

Especially a Hydrokinetic who was currently looking all peaceful and pretty and perfect while making snowflakes flutter and spin in intricate patterns.

That didn't mean Marella wasn't also grateful that Linh was willing to tag along to her Pyrokinetic lessons. it was nice to see a friendly face after hours of Fintan's rambling. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to have someone with water powers around while she practiced setting things on fire.

They were even finding some pretty cool ways to work together. Fire and water might be opposites--but that didn't mean they couldn't be combined. Marella had actually figured out a way to ignite Linh's rain, and she couldn't wait to use that little trick on the Neverseen--assuming those black-cloaked losers ever showed up again.

For a fearsome, unstoppable rebellion, they sure spend a lot of time hiding.

"Are you going to start by asking him about the cache or do the lesson first?" Linh asked, reminding Marella why they were there.

Marella shrugged. "Depends on Fintan's mood."

Sometimes he was already babbling about some fancy new fire trick when she arrived, as if he'd started the lesson without bothering to wait for her. Other times she couldn't get anywhere with him until she'd let him go on and on and on about how foolish the Council was, or how badly he'd been wronged, or how much he missed the feel of a flickering flame--and she didn't necessarily blame him for the last one.

Part of her wanted to hold on to her fireball forever.

Make it her smoky little pet.

Instead, she curled her fingers into a fist and snuffed it out--but she didn't let all the heat dissipate. She called a single tingling glint deeper, letting it sear through her veins and settle into her heart.

She knew it was a risky move, even with all the defenses she wrapped around it. But she couldn't bear the cold emptiness of Fintan's prison without a least a tiny fleck of warmth tucked away.

A secret spark whispering, I'm here. You're not alone.

"Okay," she said, weaving a few strands of her hair together to clam her twitchy fingers. She'd picked up the nervous habit years ago--after her mom's accident--and the tiny braids were kind of her trademark now. "i guess I should stop stalling and head down to deal with Sir Creepysparks, huh?"

Linh smiled. "Probably. Unless you want to rehearse what you're going to say."

"Nah. I'm just going to offer him an ugly flower--that doesn't exactly need a big speech. Oh, but that reminds me..."

She reached into her cape pocket and pulled out the spiky dark blue Noxflare--which looked more like a dying weed than a super-rare flower--and held it up to the guards. "Mr. Forkle already checked this before I brought it here, to make sure it's safe for me to offer to Fintan. but I figured you'd want to check it too."

"We do," they agreed in unison as one of the biggest, deadliest-looking guards took the Noxflare from Marella and brought it over to the other goblins.

A lot of mumbling about potential kindling and fire hazards followed.

Eventually, the guards decided to quick-freeze the Noxflare into a block of ice in case there was any heat stored inside.

"Whoa," Marella said when the scary guard returned with the flower-filled ice cube--which had turned out as big as her head. "How heavy is that thing?"

The guard studied Marella's skinny arms. "I can carry it for you if you'd like."

"That's probably be smart." Marella was pretty sure she'd drop it, or her fingers would freeze off during the long walk--and using telekinesis would drain her mental energy. "But can you stay out of sight? I was planning to tell Fintan he can only see his weird flower thing if he gives me access to his memories, and that's kinda ruined if there's a giant goblin holding it right next to me.

Not that it made the plan any less pointless.

Fintan was obviously going to turn her down.

He's already made it super clear that the only trade he was interested in was for his freedom--which was never going to happen.

Marella doubted a dying flower frozen in ice was suddenly going to make him be like, You know what? Who needs out of this horrible prison when I can have that!

But she was out of other ideas.

And Sophie wanted her to try the Noxflare thing, so...

Whatever.

Marella didn't care about Sophie's current power trip the way Stina did.

As long as she didn't have to be the one coming up with all the plans--or almost dying all the time--Marella was fine following orders. Especially if she got to say I told you so when they turned out to be a huge waste of time.

"Sure you don't want me to come with you?" Linh asked as Marella pulled thick gloves onto her hands. "Fintan likes me."

Marella wasn't sure if "like" was the right word, since Fintan didn't seem to like anybody. But he'd definitely been impressed with Linh.

He'd demanded to speak with "the Hydrokinetic" after Marella mentioned she practiced her pyrokinesis with Linh, so Marella had convinced the goblin guards to let Linh down into the prison. And when Fintan asked for a demonstration of Linh's ability to ensure she wouldn't "hinder his training," Linh had stirred up all the ice shards on his floor and made them rain around him like he was trapped inside a snow globe--which actually made him applaud.

Apparently, most Hydrokinetics struggled to manipulate water in its solid form, and were limited to liquid water or water vapor.

But not Linh.

Of course.

Marella was pretty sure that Linh was more powerful than any of her other friends.

"Well, if you need me, you know where to find me," Linh said as Marella forced her feet to carry her into the cave. "I'll just be here, making another snow menagerie." She flicker her wrist and wove the hovering snowflakes into a soaring alenon.

"Ugh, at least make some ugly creatures this time," Marella called over her shoulder. "I want to see a row of snow ghouls when I get back here. Or a giant Princess Purryfins!"

Linh gasped. "Princess Purryfins is not ugly! I'm going to tell her you said that!"

Marella laughed. "I'm sure you will."

She would've teased Linh more about her ridiculous obsession with her pet murcat, but the frigid air from the prison hit Marella hard, and she had to lock her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

As least she didn't have to make the journey by herself this time.

Marella could hear the scary goblin guard keeping pace several steps behind her as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim blue light cast by a series of glowing spheres dangling from the ceiling. The downward slope grew steeper with each winding curve, and Marella was always tempted to try sliding down the icy floor instead of walking--but she'd probably end up crashing into one of the weird ice thrones outside Fintan's cell. And she knew better than anyone that injuries couldn't always be healed.

Plus, the trudge gave her a chance to add extra defenses to the heat she'd tucked away in her chest.

She often wondered if Fintan had hidden a few sparks of his own when he was arrested. After all, he had to know the Council would put him on ice for the rest of eternity. Wouldn't he try to preserve what little heat he could?

But Marella had stretched out her senses a zillion different ways and never felt the slightest tingle of warmth when she was around him. So either there was nothing to find or Fintan was that good.

She had a horrible feeling it was the latter, and he was waiting for just the right moment to reveal his grand plan--but that wasn't the kind of thing she should be thinking about before having to face him.

Still, she spent the next few turn trying to figure out what she'd do if she were right.

Her feet turned numb while she plotted, and her bones were officially aching by the time the path widened-- the only warning that they were getting close to Fintan's cell.

A few curves later, his cage came into view: a stark, icy bubble in the center of a circular cavern.

The round wall was reflective on the inside, so even though Marella could see Fintan pacing along the edge of his frozen barricade, he wouldn't be able to see her until she triggered the sensor by sitting in one of the freezing thrones positioned at the only point Fintan could peer through.

He looked extra tired that day--his sky blue eyes sunken by more shadows than usual, and he kept muttering under his breath about incompetence as he tucked his messy blond hair behind his pointy ears with a bit more force than necessary.

Marella glanced back at the scary guard, making sure he'd ducked into the shadows near the back of the cell before she made her big appearance. Then she took a deep breath and pressed her hand against her heart, reaching for her secret spark of warmth one last time before plopping into the closest ice throne.

"Awwwww, looks like you missed me," she said, tossing back her hair and flashing her brightest smile.

She liked to start her visits by showing Fintan she wasn't afraid of him--even if she totally was.

But Fintan didn't glance her way.

"I'm not in the mood for games," he warned as he continued his slow march around his cell.

"Neither am I" Marella assured him, deciding that was her cue to start with the cache. She sat up taller, trying to look extra confident as she added, "But I do have an awesome trade to offer you!"

Fintan sighed. "If this is about my cache, I already told you what I'm willing to accept. Unless you're here to grant me a day of freedom--"

"I'm definitely not. But! I found something you should like even better." She paused, hoping the extra bit of anticipation would somehow make her offer should more exiting when she told him. "Noxflares!"

Fintan scrunched his slender nose. "What are Noxflares, and why would I care about them?"

Marella tilted her head, trying to tell if he was faking.

She hadn't expected him to jump around or applaud or anything--but she had expected him to at least know what Noxflares were.

Then again, his mind had been shattered and pieced back together so many times, his memories had to be in shambles--and Ancient minds tended to be a total mess anyway, since they were crammed with thousands of years of information and the past and present blurred together.

"Would it help if I told you I stopped by your old estate on my way here?" she asked, "Your garden could use some gnomish help, by the way. All the plants have turned into a giant dying tangle. But I dug around and managed to find this scraggly vine with dark pointy flowers--and I hear that plant is special to you, so I picked a few and--"

"You picked my Noxflares?" Fintan snapped, rushing to the wall of his cell and pressing his palms against the ice. "You must let me see them!"

Marella's lips curled into a huge smirk. "I thought you didn't know what they were."

Fintan gritted his teeth so hard, it sounded like cracking ice.

"Hey, I'm not saying I won't share. Buuuuuuuuuuut it'll cost you--and I'm pretty sure you can already guess what I want." She paused for another beat before she added, "Just so we're clear: I'll show you one of your Noxflares if you open your cache and show me what's inside."

Fintan's jaw tightened even more and his hands curled into fists.

But he didn't say no.

He didn't say anything--which was definitely new.

Marella had already offered him a long list of trade suggestions that she, Linh, Maruca, and Stina had all come up with--some really cool ones! And Fintan had shot down each one down before she could even finish the offer.

She couldn't believe he looked so tempted by an ugly flower.

but as the silence dragged on, Marella started to wonder if she'd misread the situation.

maybe she'd pushed him too hard--taunted him too much--and now Fintan was letting her sit there in the cold, knowing the icy throne was turning her butt and legs numb.

She was trying to decide if she could make standing up look like a power move when Fintan told her, "Fine. You have a deal--but since you're only offering one Noxflare, I'll only show you one memory."

Marella barely stopped herself from blurting out, SERIOUSLY?

"Orrrrrrrrrrrrrr," she said instead, wanting to kick herself for not bringing more Noxflares with her. The whole thing had just seemed so silly--and the first few she'd picked had crumbled to dust. But the vine had lots more flowers, so she could fix the mistake super easily. "How about I go back, grab eight more Noxflares, and then you show me all nine memories?"

Fintan grinned. "Tempting. But one Noxflare is really all I need."

Need?

Marella wasn't a fan of that wording.

But before she could ask him what he needed it for, he added, "My offer expires in ten seconds," and started counting down.

By "six" she decided that one memory was better than nothing.

"Fine," she said, pulling the cache from her pocket and holding the marble-size orb up to the light. "But you go first. How do I open this thing?"

No way was she going to risk letting him back out--especially since he probably wasn't going to be happy when he saw his precious flower was stuck in the middle of a giant ice cube.

Fintan held out his hand. "Give me the cache, and I'll open it."

Marella laughed. "Hard pass."

"Ah, but you don't have a choice. I'm the only one who can access the memories. And I need to make physical contact with the cache in order to do so."

Marella squinted at the tiny gadget.

She didn't know much about caches--aside from the fact that only Councillors used them and that each colorful inner crystal held a single Forgotten Secret. But she did know that Dex had already tried everything he could think of to open the cache and failed--and he was one of the best Technopaths ever.

"Do I need to start counting down again?" Fintan asked. "I believe we'd gotten to five..."

Marella chewed her lip. "Uh, how do I know you're not going to destroy the cache or try to hold it for ransom or something?"

Fintan's smile was colder than his cell. "You'll just have to trust me."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening."

Fintan shrugged. "Then our deal is off."

Marella rolled her eyes. "Come on. Even if I wanted to, it's not like I can open your cell door and hand the cache to you."

She wasn't even sure if his cell had a door. The wall looked like one big solid piece of ice.

"You've proven to be very resourceful during our lessons," Fintan reminded her.

"Yeah, but--"

"It's your call," he interrupted. "If you want a memory, you'll have to trust me."

She snort-laughed--but before she could get another word out, he repeated, "You'll just have to trust me." And she could tell that was the only response he was going to give.

She turned to the scary guard, who had started pacing in the shadows. "Is there a way to pass Fintan a small item?"

"Ah, you have a hidden goblin escort--I knew you were resourceful!" Fintan clapped his hands. "And yes, there is a way to pass me my cache, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it. Any guard can open the disgraceful tube they pass my horrid, frozen bits of food through. The cache should fit nicely."

The guard gripped his sword. "I cannot allow any unauthorized item to enter his cell."

Fintan clicked his tongue. "Clearly you're not considering the fact that I've already had plenty of chances to make this trade--and turned them all down. Do you think I would do that if the cache was even remotely useful to me?"

The goblin couldn't argue with that logic.

Neither could Marella.

And when Fintan went back to counting down, she told the guard, "The Black Swan knows I've been trying to make this trade--and they're working with the Council now. No one would let me do this if they thought the cache was dangerous."

Then again, they'd never discussed the possibility of handing the cache over to Fintan--but surely someone must've considered that during all their endless talking and obsessive overplanning...right?

Besides, if anything went wrong, she could always remind them that this was Sophie's idea.

"I don't like this," the scary guard growled. But Marella gave him her I-totally-know-what-I'm-doing glare until he set the frozen Noxflare down with a particularly dramatic thud, snatched the cache, and spent an eternity squinting at the tiny crystal, spinning it all different ways. "If anything happens, my priority will be subduing the prisoner--not protecting you. Are you certain you want to take that risk?"

Marella absolutely wasn't.

But...this might be their only shot at seeing one of Fintan's Forgotten Secrets.

Plus, she had her tiny little spark buddy she could call on if she needed. Surely she could use that to...

To what?

Take down a superpowerful, much more experienced Pyrokinetic with a history of murdering poeple?

But...did she really want to wimp out?

Sophie wouldn't.

And yeah, Sophie had, like, a permanent bed in the Healing Center. But Marella was pretty sure their whole group would vote "DO IT!"

There were also a dozen other armed goblins who would rush down as backup.

And Linh could attack Fintan with her cutesy snow animals.

It'd almost be worth it to watch Fintan get swallowed up by an ice wave shaped like Princess Purryfins.

"I can handle myself," she decided, using a tone that hopefully sounded intimidating.

Fintan's gleeful laughter echoed of the ice.

The scary guard muttered something about the arrogance of elves as he reached toward the top of Fintan's frozen cell and felt around for a specific spot. A faint clicking sound followed, and a tiny round door slid open--far out of Fintan's reach.

"I can neutralize you within seconds," the guard reminded him as he held the cache up to the opening. "By numerous means. Some far more painful than others."

"Yes, I'm well aware of the absurd lengths the Council has taken to keep me contained," Fintan assured him. "But I don't plan on giving you a reason to use any of them. Not today, at least."

The guard bared his supersharp pointy teeth, and Marella wanted to shout NEVER MIND, JUST KIDDING! But she let the guard shove the cache through the tiny opening--and then it was too late to change her mind.

All she could do was watch the glass orb make its slow descent, rolling around and around and around--down some sort of invisible path etched into the wall of the cell.

Her stomach backflipped with each rotation, and she felt more than a little vomit-y when the cache dropped low enough for Fintan to catch it. But he simply held it up and studied it.

Then he coughed on it.

And sneezed on it.

"Ewwwwwww," Marella groaned when he followed that up by drooling on it. "You know, there are better ways to give it your DNA."

"Yes, I'm aware." Fintan cleared his throat and launched a slimy blob of spit at the cache. "I also know your little Technopath friend is going to ask you how I accessed the memories, so feel free to give him a detailed list." He wiped the cache dry with his fingers and then ran it through his greasy hair before sneezing and coughing on it again. "Some of these methods are vital. Some are distractions. None can be re-created without me--but it'll be fun if he tries, don't you think?"

He laughed so hard, it brought tears to his eyes, and he smeared them across the cache before sneezing and spitting on it again--making Marella very glad she had gloves to keep her hands clean once he returned the cache.

Assuming she actually got it back...

She tried to make out what he was saying when he started mumbling a bunch of stuff into the crystal, but the words were all mushed together. He also tapped the cache in so many different places that she doubted even Sophie and Keefe with their fancy photographic memories would be able to re-create the patterns. And he looked so smug as he did it all that Marella decided to look as bored as possible--which was why she was barely paying attention when the cache flared to life, projecting a small hologram of Fintan standing alone in a wide, empty field.

"Huh," Marella mumbled. "Gotta admit, I was expecting something a little more exciting than a tiny glowing Fintan in the middle of nowhere doing...nothing."

"Then you should learn to be more observant." Fintan pointed to the swaying grass around the hologram's feet, and after a few seconds, Marella realized there was a vine of blooming Noxflares. "I figured I'd show you what Noxflares can do, since you're so generously bringing one back into my life."

Marella squinted at the tiny flowers, waiting for something to happen.

And waiting.

And waiting.

"So...they...blow in the wind?" she asked.

Fintan sighed. "No, they do this."

The hologram of Fintan waved his arms, and all the Noxflares erupted with searing white flames.

"Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah, still not seeing why this needed to be a super-hush-hush Forgotten Secret," Marella grumbled as the Fintan hologram flicked his wrist and added purple fire to the white.

Sure, the flames were pretty--but all flames were beautiful.

"Try thinking like a Pyrokinetic!" Fintan snapped. "Tell me, are there any other flowers that could remain intact under such an inferno?"

Marella couldn't think of any.

And the Noxflares still didn't burn when the Fintan hologram added yellow flames to the fiery mix.

but other than clearly being fire-resistant, Marella didn't see the Noxflares actually doing anything--and the hologram of Fintan must've been equally unimpressed.

He frowned at the flaming petals and dragged a hand down his face, mumbling "something's missing."

"Still not seeing the point of this," Marella noted. "I mean..."

Her voice trailed off as the tiny Fintan waved his arms again and blasted the Noxflares with pink flames--which made the flowers spray sparks in every direction.

The effect was breathtaking.

Kind of like the sky during the Celestial Festival.

But that still didn't necessarily scream, THIS MEMORY IS IMPORTANT.

"How come the grass isn't catching fire?" she asked, grasping for anything that might be significant. "Do the Noxflares protect it or something?"

"No, I was protecting it. A pyrokinetic should always be in control of their flames."

He sounded so smug Marella was tempted to remind him that he let five Pyrokinetics die when he tried to teach them how to call down Everblaze and they all lost control--but that would probably make him throw one of his tantrums and send her away.

She needed the cache back first--and to hopefully find something useful in this boring memory. But sadly, all Fintan's hologram did was stare blankly at the stars and mumble "something's missing" again before the image flashed away.

"That's it?" the scary guard demanded, beating Marella to the complaint.

"Yeah, so...you put on a little fire show all by yourself with some spark-shooting flowers," she added, trying to sum up what she'd seen. "You were clearly disappointed by that little show. And then you must've remembered you needed to..."

She waved her hands, cuing Fintan to fill in the blank with whatever was "missing."

But he just stood there, staring at the cache with the same glazed look he always got whenever he started rambling about the beauty of fire--and Marella wished Linh had come with her after all.

Linh could pelt him with snowballs or something to snap him out of it.

But then she realized...

"You never figured out what was missing--did you?"

Fintan blinked and met her gaze. "Noxflares are full of possibility. But they need to burn."

"That doesn't answer my question," Marella noted.

Fintan shrugged. "Context was not part of our bargain."

"yeah, because I figured when I saw the memory, it would be obvious why it's this big Forgotten Secret. How does you setting some flowers on fire and then realizing you did it wrong matter to anyone?"

"I did nothing wrong," Fintan assured her, with a particularly haughty smile--butt Marella wasn't buying it.

There was a tightness around his eyes that was way too familiar.

Her dad had that same tightness every time her mom was having one of her "bad days," and she knew exactly what it meant.

Disappointment.

Frustration.

A hint of helplessness.

So she marched over to the guard and grabbed the frozen Noxflare from the floor--too irritated to even notice how heavy the ice must've been as she hauled it back.

She plopped it in front of Fintan's cell. "Ta-da! One ugly flower, as promised--and I'm sure you're not surprised that I had to freeze it before i brought it down here."

"I'm not." Fintan dropped to his knees and gazed at the Noxflare like he was seeing a long-lost friend.

He pressed his hand against his cell, trying to get as close as he could. "Such power. Such...promise."

"Uh-huh," Marella agreed, letting his stare and stare, hoping it would help him let his guard down.

When his eyes turned a little teary, she went in for the kill.

"But there is something still missing, isn't there? That's why you saved this memory--to remind yourself to keep looking."

A whole lot of painful silence passed before Fintan slowly nodded.

Marella wanted to feel triumphant.

But all she'd done was prove the entire trade had been pointless.

There was no game-changing clue.

No dirty little secret about the past.

Certainly nothing to help them stop their enemies.

And she had a pretty strong hunch the other eight memories in the cache would be just as ridiculous.

"The answer is out there," Fintan murmured. "I can feel it. I just can't grasp it. Perhaps..."

"Perhaps?" Marella prompted when his eyes locked with hers.

Fintan stepped closer to the ice, keeping his voice low, like he didn't want the guard to hear him. "Perhaps a different Pyrokinetic is meant to find the truth. One who's already convinced the Council to trust her."

Marella laughed. "The Council doesn't trust me."

"The fact that you're here for a pyrokinesis lesson says otherwise--particularly since the lesson is with me." He started circling his cell again, mumbling under his breath and nodding. The only words Marella caught were "possible," "improvising," and "best option."

After three more times around the cell, he stopped in front of Marella again, leaning even closer to the icy wall as he whispered, "I believe it's time for me to offer a trade of my own."

"A trade," Marella repeated, not missing the way the scary guard gripped his sword.

Fintan glared at him. "This conversation is between me and my prodigy. She stands here of her own free will, shielded by who knows how many different kinds of protections--and she can leave anytime she pleases. Your presence is no longer needed."

"You still have her gadget," the guard argued.

"I suppose I do. but that can be easily remedied." Fintan set the cache on whatever invisible ledge it had slid down in the first place and gave it a good shove, sending it spinning up the path toward the top of the cell.

The guard had to scramble to catch it when it launched out of the ice bubble.

"See?" Fintan said, shifting his gaze back to Marella. "I can be trusted."

"Pretty sure the only thing I can trust is that you'll do what's best for you," Marella countered.

"As long as you get what you want, why would you care? After all, no matter what, I'm still stuck in here, aren't I?" He waved his arms around his little ice bubble, which suddenly looked way less secure than it had during her other visits. "Oh, relax--all I'm asking for is a little information."

Marella crossed her arms. "Right--and information has never gotten anyone hurt or killed."

"It's not that kind of secret. It's..." He frowned. "Honestly, I don't know what it is--and for someone my age, with my connections, that says something, doesn't it? I doubt any of the Vackers even know the full truth."

"Then how am I supposed to find it?" Marella demanded.

"As I said, you've proven to be quite resourceful. Particularly when you team up with your little friends." He scowled at the guard again before motioning her to step closer--until her ear was practically pressed up against the ice.

A voice in the back of her head kept screaming, WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO HIM?

But...she was curious.

And there was nothing wrong with hearing his offer, was there?

Fintan's breath fogged the ice, obscuring his face as he whispered, "All I ask is that if you ever find out what's missing from the Noxflares, you share it with me."

"Why?" Marella glanced at the frozen flower, wishing she could see something more than just ugly shriveled petals.

"Because I want to know," Fintan said simply. "And because I can give you what you want in return."

"The rest of the memories in your cache," Marella clarified.

Fintan nodded. Then his lips curled into a smile. "And one other--something you've long wondered about, even though you probably don't admit it to yourself."

Marella raised one eyebrow, refusing to show any more interest than that.

Fintan cupped his hands around his mouth and pressed them to the ice before he whispered, "I know what happened to your mother."

Marella sucked in a breath.

"Yes," Fintan added. "I'm talking about her 'accident'--if we can really call it that. I know why she fell. And why her injuries were so incurable."

Marella stumbled back, collapsing into the nearest throne and hugging herself to stop her body from shaking with tremors that had nothing to do with the cold.

A tiny, terrified part of her had always thought the story she'd been told about her mom's fall hadn't totally made sense.

But everyone--everyone--was convinced it had been an accident.

Even her father.

And if it wasn't...

She leaned toward Fintan. "I don't need your games."

"Oh, this definitely isn't a game. But it's the only way you'll ever know the truth, and before you start overthinking everything, consider this: You have all the power here. Make the trade, don't make the trade--it's totally your call. You also don't have to make a decision right away. I'm trapped in this prison. I'll never find the answer on my own--and I'll never know if you find the answer unless you decide to tell me. So there's zero pressure. No one even knows we've had this conversation--and don't worry about the guard. See how frustrated he looks? That's because I made sure he only heard what I wanted him to hear. The rest is our little secret."

Our little secret.

Fintan was probably the last person she should have a secret with.

And yet...he had a point.

No one knew he'd made her this offer--and it wasn't like she'd come to any decision.

She didn't even have the information Fintan wanted anyway!

And with the way their investigations always seemed to go, she'd probably only find a whole lot more questions.

So there was really no point in telling anyone about this.

She could tell them whens he needed to.

If she needed to.

That wouldn't be wrong...would it?

It didn't feel wrong--or it wouldn't have if Fintan's smile wasn't so creepy.

"I'm not agreeing to anything," she said, wanting to make that very clear.

"You're not," Fintan assured her. "So how about we put this out of our minds and get started with our lesson? I'm sure your Hydrokinetic friend is wondering why you haven't come up to practice yet."

Linh was probably starting to worry.

She'd probably also built enough snow animals to make a frozen Sanctuary.

"Fine," Marella said, standing up and dusting ice off her cape. "What do you want me to work on today?"

"How about I teach you how to make those colored flames you saw in the memory," Fintan suggested. "You know, in case that ever comes in handy."

He winked, and the guard groaned and held out the cache to Marella. "Sound like I'm no longer needed."

"You aren't" Fintan agreed.

The guard growled--looking scarier than ever--and turned to march away. But he spun back after a few steps. "He's right that I don't know what he offered you. But I can tell you're tempted. And I hope you're smart enough to reject it. Never make a deal with someone who has nothing to lose."

"I'm not," Marella promised.

And she wasn't.

She hadn't made any decisions--except to keep this to herself. But that didn't mean anything.

She was just trying to avoid a ton of drama and arguing and having people give her advice she didn't need.

Plus, everyone has secrets.

Shoot--the great Sophie Foster had more secrets than anyone.

So it was fine.

Everything was fine.

Nothing had changed.

Time to focus on controlling her fire.

And yet, for the rest of the lesson, the tiny spark in her heart burned hotter and hotter and hotter. Whispering a new plea.

Trust me.

Trust me.

Trust me.

[crescentpaws]

you know the drill: kotlc sims updates

- made bronte switch his career to a detective since i have the get to work pack now and i wanted a detective i could play as other than alden LMAO

- added elwin & livvy! they’re doctors 🤞 which is also fun to play as

- added amy’s dog watson so she has two pets now

- gonna make her move in with livvy also just because it’s so sad having her live alone LOL (adding quinlin too)

looooookk i added a little animal area in her room it’s so cute :>

- i made quinlin and livvy get divorced LMAO

- will probably give keefe a pet fox later 🤞

- when bronte was investigating one of his assigned crime scenes i was confused because i saw fintan there as a witness but noooo guess what. it was nelson pyren his evil clone

- so obviously he’s still around so i had to go on a mission to get rid of him after that

- had fintan summon him to an uninhabited lot, use a spell to make him fall asleep, and then set fire to the bench he was sleeping on (i almost felt bad doing that LMAO)

LOOK AT HIS FACE HELP

- it took him so long to die for some reason though i felt like he was just standing there freaking out forever…. but it finally happened 😔🙏

- why does the grim reaper have an ipad???????

- fintan gained the fear of death from witnessing that which is funny because buddy you’re the one that killed him in the first place 💀

- also he accidentally got caught on fire when i made him put it out so now he has. a fear of fire????? fintan?? fintan pyren??? that guy has a fear of fire??????? ok??????????

- went to check on the solreef household next (which now includes maruca & marella) & added rayni

- wylie’s new job is a sports mascot apparently….

- the flower bunny just waltzed in and gave tiergan a rose?? ok…. it’s not even easter…… (the other pic i posted was actually from a couple days ago)

it’s such a cute little costume though

apparently almost everyone in the household is good friends with him now

- also here he is meeting princess purryfins!! literally the cutest sims moment ever

- also have been periodically adding my sims to the gallery if anyone wants to download them/just check them out :> username is the same as it is here (a lot of them use ccs for hair & outfits tho so if you want the specific links i can try to find them for you)

ok bye

[gay-otlc]

Keeper (1) Recap

Everything I say is 100% true, if you were wondering.

Sophie's trich is so bad I'm so sorry honey

The driver from the beginning deserves a spinoff series. He also apparently has a tumblr account that he posted about this on, and that's how the Neverseen found Sophie in the human world.

Fintan lent Alvar his boyfriend's books (LOTR) and Fitz read them too.

There's a tribunal taking place at the beginning of book one. It's never mentioned again. Whose is it? Good question. Maybe Linh's?

All elves are canonically nonbinary. Elf is a gender in itself.

Sophie isn't a girl, she's an elf. Elwin isn't a man, he's an elf. Those two in particular are extra non of binary.

Sophie's place in her human family is totally a metaphor for being queer I don't make the rules. Could also be a neurodivergent metaphor- or both!

Sophie's favorite kind of cookie is E L fudges, her mom gives her some at the beginning.

The lost cities has so many gender roles, which is bad for Sophie who, as mentioned previously, is nonbinary.

Sophie is not a lady.

Alden IS a lady.

Alden is *winks* friends with Quinlin.

Seriously, he refers to Quinlin as his "friend" a LOT, who is he trying to convince? That's kinda gay ngl.

It's honestly so iconic of Tiergan to yell at Alden for two pages and then decide he doesn't want to interact with anyone ever. What a mood.

Sophie is really, really gay for Biana.

Sophie saying goodbye to her human family is so fucking sad no one talk to me

Biana is really, really gay for Sophie but denying it vehemently

Dex and Sophie friendship supremacy

Marella has a pretty homoerotic crush on Biana

The Deck scene -> Dex calling Fitz "his royal highness" -> rwrb au

As she should be, Marella is a Tiertice shipper.

The dadwin dynamic has been going on since pre-keeper and I love this so much.

Biana is avoiding Sophie because she’s terrified of catching feelings for a girl, in this essay I will-

Keefe and Fitz are dating.

Like, they are very much dating.

Biana gets so nervous asking Sophie to be friends, she's a gay mess and it's so cute.

Marella "giggles and stares" when the Vackers eat lunch with her, but Shannon never actually specifies which Vacker.

Clearly it's Biana.

It's so homophobic that Tiergan has to talk to Alden, honestly.

He enjoys spilling the Alden/Alina tea a little too much. We stan.

Shannon just decided to through in a little Marella/pyrokinesis irony.

Tiergan has to talk to Alden three whole times this book, and is therefore entitled to financial compensation. Or punching him. Either works.

Very cool of him to "forget" to return his leaping crystal to the forbidden cities.

Either Tiergan is terrible at keeping secrets or just Does Not Care if Sophie knows he's with the Black Swan. Or both.

TIERTICE ANGST

Biana is a lesbian.

Sophie tells Grady and Edaline she loves them and it's the sweetest fucking thing.

Fitz says "no reason to worry" and then has an internal crisis about turning into his father. Mood lmao

The scene where Sophie and Grady/Edaline talk about the cancelled adoption is so good, it has so much raw emotion and it completely shattered my heart. 10/10 I hate it.

Sophie's trich is so bad I'm so sorry honey, part two, electric boogaloo

Fintan has stayed close friends with most of the councillors, in conclusion, Fintante.

The scene where Stina tells Sophie why Biana initially became friends with her… just… oh shit

KOTLC is really not a kids book, just... why.

Because I'm not done screaming about Sophie & Grady & Edaline, the scene where Sophie unfades? And they talk to each other? Very sweet I love it.

Sophie broke so many laws... I'm a little gay for her ngl

(Biana is too)

SOPHIE & GRADY & EDALINE FAMILY (violent sobbing)

[maerambles]

Chapter 4, 5, 6 and 7

Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger (October 2, 2012)

I decided to mush these chapters together since it has been a while since my last update.

“It’s not magic. It’s just how it is.” [Fitz] (Ch.4, p. 25) 

What is “it”, Fitzy-boy?

“Lumenaria is where all the other worlds come together. Gnomes, dwarves, ogres, goblins, trolls.” [Fitz] (Ch.4, p. 26) 

Interesting how these are the magical beings that Shannon decided to incorporate. Imagine if KOTLC had vampires, werewolves, mermaids, fairies, nymphs, etc...

“Then they decided they wanted to rule the world - like it even works that way - and started planning a war. The Ancients didn’t want violence, so they disappeared, forbid any contact with humans and left them to their own devices. You can see how well that’s working out for them.” [Fitz] (Ch.4, p. 26) 

Hey, your society isn’t peaches and roses either, buddy.

War, crime, famine – humans had a lot of problems. (Ch.4, p. 26) 

Hmmmmm don’t the elves deal with this stuff too to an extent?

Sophie looked around, surprised she recognized the plain square houses on the narrow, tree-lined street. (Ch.4, p. 28) 

Quick question, but does anyone know how “wealthy” Sophie’s family is? They come off to me as middle class, and from the way the houses are being described it looks like I may be right.

Fitz coughed and glared at the sky. “You’d think humans could handle putting out a few fires before the smoke pollutes the whole planet.” (Ch.4, p. 28)

Didn’t Fintan, an elf, start these fires? Because the elves banned his ability (even though an argument can be made on how dangerous other abilities are, like inflictors, that aren’t banned).

Usually, wildfires in the city smell like barbecue. This time it was more like melting cotton candy - which is actually kind of nice, if it didn’t burn her eyes and rain ash. (Ch.4, p. 28) 

Do wildfires actually smell like barbecue? I googled it but I couldn’t find any descriptions of the smell of wildfires. Shannon is actually from Southern California, so I’ll trust her word on it.

“No. It’s a special ability. One of the rarer ones. And you’re only twelve, right?” (Ch.4, p. 28)

I remember there being a decent amount of Telepaths in the book: Sophie, Fitz, Alden, Tiergan, Quinlin, and Kenric are all telepaths. It doesn’t feel like one of the rare ones, but maybe it’s temporal precedence taking affect since we are looking at the series through Sophie’s eyes.

She frowned. “But... I’ve been hearing thoughts since I was five.” (Ch.4, p. 30) 

Prodigy? Check for Sophie Foster.

“Are you blocking me?” he asked, ignoring her question. (Ch.4, p. 30) 

So Sophie can naturally have her mind never read? Add blocking to the list of abilities that Sophie can do without trying.

“Ugh... stop doing that,” her mom complained, closing her eyes and shaking her head. (Ch.5, p. 34) 

This defiantly has happened to Shannon, lol, considering that one of the traits that Sophie inherited from Shannon was tugging her eyelashes.

She’d been teased and tormented  and bullied her whole life. (Ch.5, p. 35)

For being smart? And young? I wish we got more information on why she was bullied.

You could be normal, like your sister. [Sophie’s mom] (Ch.5, p. 35)

This would have ruined 12 year old me, so I can’t imagine what Sophie must be feeling like. And how is Amy normal? She’s literally eight or nine years old. This book treats her smarts and her medical condition (I presume her family thinks she has chronic migraines?) like it’s the worst thing in the world and that Sophie is less for that.

Amy was Sophie’s opposite in every way, from her curly brown hair and green eyes to her lower than average grades and incredibly popularity. (Ch.5, p. 36)

How does a nine year old have “incredible popularity”? Also, why is Shannon treating the fact that she has lower than average grades as a good thing??? Just ranted about that above so I’m just going to move on now.

Finally, her dad set his fork down - the official end of dinner in the Foster house  - and Sophie jumped to her feet. (Ch.5, p. 37) 

Very traditional/nuclear family I see.

It explained why she always felt so out of place around them—the slender blonde among her chubby brunette family. (Ch.5, p. 38)

One of my close friends from high school was the only redhead in her family so I don’t see how this can be that big on an issue. IDK, this book tries really hard to make us feel bad for Sophie and as a reader I already feel for her, no need to point stuff like this out for sympathy points.

“I brought you some E.L. Fudges.” (Ch.5, p. 38) 

This got a chuckle out of me.

Her parents always tucked her in - another Foster family tradition. (Ch.5, p. 39)

This is sooooooooo sweet.

But the color brought out the gold flecks in her eyes, and today she would see Fitz again. (Ch.6, p. 40)

Random, but I’ve never actually seen someone with brown eyes that had gold flecks in their eyes. I think you need to be directly in the sun for that.

He winked one of his piercing blue eyes. (Ch. 6, p. 42)

Creeeeeeeeppppyyy. Glad Mr. Forkle put him in his place.

Mr. Forkle might be on the old side, but he was a large man, and when he straightened up to his full height, he made quite an intimidating figure. (Ch.6, p. 43)

Woah, forgot Mr. Forkle is supposed to be tall.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows between buildings. (Ch.6, p. 44) 

Her school has multiple buildings? Fancy. Would have loved to see a chapter or two of what regular life is like for Sophie, as we so far have seen so little of it. How bad is Sophie’s time at school?

Reading minds always caused way more problems than it solved. (Ch.6, p. 48)

It sounds fun to a normie like me!

After her stressful morning it was nice to know she would be safe, but she couldn’t help wondering what they were trying to keep out. (Ch.7, p. 49)

Good question, Sophie. Also, has Everglen ever been (successfully) attacked? The gates must be insanely strong.

“Kidnapping is a human crime. I’ve never heard of an elf considering such a thing - much less trying it.” [Alden] (Ch.7, p. 51)

How would Alden even know that elves don’t think about kidnapping? Just because you don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

“Couldn’t hear her either, could you?” Fitz asked him, sounding triumphant. (Ch.7, p. 52)

I don’t know, Sophie already has so many powers so if in the future someone can read mind would make it interesting. Not that I want Sophie to be more vulnerable, but I just want her to less unnecessarily over powered.

“Only those with the strongest ability qualify for Foxfire, and if you don’t get in, you might as well kiss your future goodbye.” [Fitz] (Ch.7, p. 54)

Are Foxfire and Exillium the only two schools in the elven universe? That means that elves probably don’t have a large population. I’m not sure how many students attend these schools, but if they have one-on-one classes with teachers tells me that not many students must go to Foxfire. I come from a city of about 80,000 and we had four high schools (with a decent amount of students going to all of them) so does that mean that the eleven population must be around ~50,000, taking into account that elves probably don’t have a lot of kids and don’t typically die. Humans can easily take down that amount of elves if we’re 7 BILLION strong.

Dozens of squat, brown-skinned creatures with huge grey eyes tended to a garden that belong in a fairytale. (Ch.7, p. 55)

“So … you have gnomes as servants?” [Sophie] (Ch.7, p. 56)

“We would never have servants. The gnomes choose to live with us because it’s safer in our world.” [Alden] (Ch.7, p. 56)

I have a lot to say about this section.

Firstly, they’re brown skinned? This feels so problematic considering almost every character we have met so far has presumably been white. Just look at all the “official” art for the series. As much as I dislike Laura, this can’t all be her doing since other official artists that Shannon Messenger has contracted have drawn almost all the major characters white/white-passing. It doesn’t feel right, as much as I personally headcanon the Vackers as POC.

Here’s an actual complaint from a Black Author.

Secondly, why is it never mentioned that where gnomes live isn’t as safe as where the elves live, essentially forcing them to live with the elves? Would the gnomes still be there if their homeland was safe? The elves are lazy and are taking advantage of these creature’s kindness, and elves have all the time in the world. They’re literally immortal.

Though everything she’d seen in the elven world spoke of wealth. (Ch.7, p. 57)

Why don’t we share some of that, comrade Alden?

“But our bodies stop ageing  when we reach adulthood. We don’t get wrinkles or gray hair. Only our ears age.” [Alden]  (Ch.7, p. 59)

So many fantasy books are obsessed with youth/staying young. Kids, ageing is good! There’s nothing wrong with it! It also disturbs me that I’m 22 and Alden probably looks only a few years older than me.

“I take it elves are vegetarians.” (Ch.7, p. 59)

VEGETARIAN REPRESENTATION!

“Let’s see how good you are, then.” [Bronte] (Ch.7, p. 60)

I know I’m not supposed to be cheering him on, but gosh I love it when the overpowered “chosen one” characters get questioned about their powers and they’re capability of using. Sadly, Sophie isn’t the only chosen one characters that has a lot of abilities they’ve never worked for/last earned.

That’s all folks!

[elementalguardianofdreams]

Okay so... Kotlc. It is my favourite series in the whole wide world. I LOVE the Neverseen, and I'm so sad S.M never bothered to write from their point of view. So, this is what I think they would be like:

Gisela: Cold-hearted sarcastic asshole who deep down loves her family.

Vespera: Just doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything and will gladly murder everyone. (But I ship her and Fintan so she cares about him to me) Also pretty badass.

Fintan: Is actually really sorry for everything he's done, has severe anxiety, can't sleep, is really sweet and cares a lot about the Neverseen, but don't you dare threaten them or he will burn things.

Ruy: Basically the Dex of the Neverseen, but shy. But when he does something impressive he knows it and everyone around him better know it too.

Gethen: Just stupid. Like, REALLY stupid. But we all love him still because he's funny.

Alvar: Has a hair obsession and always wants to look good, is jealous of Fitz and tries to style everyone's hair.

Trix: Punk sort of prankster dude who is just so chill. (I ship him and Umber, so...)

Umber: FORGET VESPERA I AM YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE BEWARE.

But also likes to do girly things....

[meelsonwheelsies]

KOTLC: A Robin Hood AU ~Chapter 2

A/N: I started this like a year ago, and my writing has progressed greatly since then. The first couple of chapters are rather poor, but since I am too busy to rewrite them at the moment I will just have to post them as is!

So, without further ado, here is chapter two!

Previously:

"A contest. Apparently, Prince Fintan is coming to Nottingham. Rumor has it that the Prince," Will said his name with disgust, "is concerned about the Sheriff. He's worried that the Sheriff isn't doing his job, so he's going to hold a contest to elect a new Sheriff."

"Who can participate in the contest?" Keefe asked.

"Any man of noble birth or rank," Will replied.

"Fitz, you could become Sheriff!" Linh exclaimed.

"No, I can't," Fitz said. "The Sheriff will recognize me. My status is broken. I can't exactly sign up as Robin Hood, either."

"I could do it," Keefe quietly said. "My parents were-"

"I'm not sure," I said in my deep fake voice. I've become quite good at mimicking.

"Why not?" asked Tam.

"The contest is extremely difficult. There will be a series of challenges, including brutal fight, swordplay, and finally, an archery competition," I listed. "If you won, you would be thrust under the spotlight of the Prince, who is working to eliminate Fitz."

"What if Fitz was disguised as a noble?" Linh thought aloud.

I shook my head. "It won't-"

"What if Fitz was disguised as a noble, but the noble would be someone we trust? If Fitz won the competition, then the noble could do the rest," Tam said.

We stared at him. "That's brilliant," said Keefe.

"I try," said Tam, smirking.

"But who would the noble be?" I asked, still skeptical. Though the plan had merit, I wasn't sure if we could actually pull it off.

Linh thought for a moment. "What about Lord Tiergan?"

"Yes," said Fitz. "I also knew him when I was younger. He wasn't fond of my father, but I could make it work."

"I can pass along the message," I offered.

"All right," said Fitz. "Just make sure that he's on our side. But we should have a backup, just in case. Who else?"

"There's always the esteemed Lord Erroll Forkle," Linh said. Tam snorted.

"That might actually work," I said. "He's known to be good friends with...a colleague of mine."

I mentally smacked myself. How did I almost blow my cover? Fitz was just so easy to talk to...snap out of it! He doesn't even know I'm a girl! I wish that-

"Lord Forkle it is, then," Fitz decided. Man, his eyes...

"Anything else we should know?" asked Keefe.

I hesitated and racked my brain. There was one thing they should probably know. I wasn't happy with the fact, either.

"Did I forget to mention that the winner also obtains Lady Sophie Foster's hand in marriage?" I said, unable to believe that I had just admitted the embarrassing fact.

Linh frowned. "Won't that mean that Lord Tiergan would have to marry her, then?"

I nearly gagged. What? How did I seal my fate with Lord Tiergan? Or worse, Lord Erroll? It was times like these when I was thankful that they couldn't see my burning face.

"No!" exclaimed Fitz, making me jump. "I mean, are you sure? Maybe they meant Lady Stina, or-"

"I'm positive," I sighed in despair.

"Why Fitz?" pressed Keefe. "I mean, I wouldn't want to force the marriage with Lord Tiergan on anyone, but what's it to you? Secret feelings for our lovely Lady? You know-"

"No, Keefe, I'm just worried that this would drive him away from agreeing," Fitz said softly while my heart sank. "We need this plan to work so badly."

Keefe took his hand and smirked. "Say what you want, lover boy, but emotions speak the truth every time."

"As much as I'd like to listen to your squabbles, I really do need to go," I said, cheeks aflame. "Do we have a verdict?"

"Yes," said Tam. "We can always steal the lovely Lady Sophie before she has to marry. Or, a marriage annulment could be instated. And besides, this is our best chance to restore peace to Nottingham."

"If I find anything else, I can't come here again," I said. People would get suspicious. Three times in one week was too risky.

"Can you transmit?" asked Linh.

"Well...yes," I said. "Who should I transmit to? It doesn't have to be a telepath."

"You could transmit to Fitz," said Linh with a sly grin on her face.

"That's fine with me," he said.

I nodded, trying not to look ecstatic. "If one of you ever needs something, transmit. Then meet me at the top of Lady Sophie's tower."

"Lady Sophie's tower?" Keefe asked, confused.

"Yes," I said. "We are close friends. She is trustworthy and knows everything. Lady Sophie can also be of service if you need access or lodging."

"Thank you, Will Scarlet," Fitz said. Was that jealousy in his eyes? It flashed for a second but went away quickly. I started to walk away. "One of these days we will find out your true identity!"

I turned around, smirking. "You can try, Fitz, you can try!" I took off running to my horse, Silveny.

I wonder if they ever will find out. Half of me hopes they will while the other doesn't. As Silveny and I ride, the wind rips through my hair. Ever since I was little, I've loved the sensation of riding. Tonight, however, there were other matters on my mind.

As they teased Fitz, I kept thinking about my silly crush on him. It was pretty stupid of me, considering my situation. Being married to Lord Tiergan...I shuddered. How did this happen to me? Everything was perfectly fine before King Grady left. Then his awful nephew took over as regent and...yeah.

A swirling storm of emotions overcame me as I neared my tower. I quietly secured Silveny in the stables, then climbed up my tower. There were guards posted at the bottom of the stairs, so I had no choice but to climb. The castle's entrance was no good either.

I entered my bedroom and walked over to my door. Because I greased the hinges, the door swung open soundlessly. A strawberry blond guard was sleeping outside. I tapped his shoulder.

"Dex, I'm back!" I whisper shouted.

His head snapped up. "Did you have fun?"

Thank you for reading!!

⤭ Meels

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Taglist: @nervousnightcollector87 @sophiexmallowmelt @bananafosters-and-books @silveny-dreams 

note: @silveny-dreams I can’t remember if you said you wanted to be tagged, so I did so anyway lol

[bookwyrminspiration]

So I saw a post from Fintan Pyren about wallpapers, so if the characters in kotlc had phones, what do you think their wallpapers would be?

oh yeah I saw that post too!! also I love this question. I won't look for actual photos because that will take me a while and not all of them exist but!! here's my thoughts!

Sophie: I'm thinking one of her photos from the baby book she took with her to the Lost Cities. She can't have her human family in her life anymore but she can always remember them, and seeing them on her phone is a nice way to keep them close. Maybe the photo is of multiple photographs laid out, whatever it is it's a tie to her human life

Fitz: Whatever his favorite human place he visited was, or maybe a collage of different human places. He can't take all the trinkets he took around with him, but he can have photographs of all the places he looked right in his back pocket. San Diego might be in the center for reasons

Keefe: he's got an innocuous lock screen of something very Keefe like a gulon or a photo of himself with a focus on The Hair, but his homescreen (which no one else is allowed to see) is a photo of Sophie. Some sweet moment of her just reading or doing homework that he took a photo of without her knowing

Biana: She's either got something bold like a photo of herself she particularly likes, or some photo she secretly took of her friends/family. Like everyone at a sleepover and she took a photo of everyone in their element to really capture them without them feeling the pressure of the camera, portraying a piece of them she gets to see where they're not pretending to be anyone but themselves, you know!

Dex: his is function over fashion, he's changing his wallpaper all the time to reflect things he needs to remember, to-do lists and materials he needs and things to remember, maybe it's animated. moving on it's own in this super confusing way to everyone but him. he can always reference it to see what he needs

Marella: She's got this super detailed collage of a bunch of things that she made herself. Photos she's taken of sunsets and photos with friends and quotes and all manner of things. I'm thinking a light blue color scheme, but I bet she changes it depending on her mood

Linh: Princess Purryfins 100%. Of course she's going to make her pet murcat her wallpaper, what else would she do? Maybe Princess Purryfins is sprawled out looking cute or staring off into the distance ofr has a bow on her head, whatever it is, LInh treasures the photo. Maybe she's even got one with Iggy in it as well

Tam: his lock screen is pure black because he's "too mature" for something as frivolous as a personalized lockscreen. secretly he's got a floral homescreen, some small flower growing alone amongst the rocks or something. may or may not be in black and white with a sentimental quote in handwritten font, he'll never tell

Stina: She's got a picture of one of the baby unicorns from Sterling Gables as her wallpaper. Maybe it's with it's mother, but it's one of the adorable little unicorns she works with, and she'll get defensive about them if she thinks someone is being judgy because how dare you say that about her unicorns

Maruca: A photo of her with her friends all grouped together and hanging out. Perhaps they're at the beach or there's a sunset behind them, but they're all smiling and having a great time together, and those are the memories she wants to make sure she never forgets so she sets them as her wallpaper

Wylie: I'm thinking either a photo of his parents from when he was a kid, a way to remember them and hold onto that image of them without falling victim to losing them to his memory, or a photo of his current family. Tiergan and Linh and Tam, as a reminder that things can get better and that he's got people who he cares about that care about him.

[bookwyrminspiration]

I love your writing so much, you do such a good job explaining things and making it concise, but also interesting.

Also, you could totally make me believe something is canon, because if in a post you wrote “when fintan was in his emo band with bronte in neverseen, he also tried to take out one direction.” I would just add that to my idea of canon

ahh, thank you!! (I'm assuming this is referring to all my analyses and tumblr posts, since we're talking about explaining things! could be wrong though). I'm very interested in everything I talk about, so I guess I try to convey that and carry it over into the way I share things. The world is so interesting and I love talking about it, so I'm absolutely delighted you like listening to me!

I never thought concise would be a word ever used to describe me, but I like it! Talking about things is so much fun and there are so many words at my disposal to share ideas with so getting to use as many as possible is incredible--and you all indulge me to no end, which I appreciate immensely! I have a habit of talking at people rather than with them when it's something I'm invested in (like kotlc), so I'm glad it's not too bad or annoying!

and wow! giving me the power to alter your perception of canon...that's a high honor! I do sometimes include little disclaimers on my posts to remind everyone that the things I'm talking about are just personal interpretations of the events of keeper and the characters and the things they could mean. Which is actually pretty wild because you all keep asking for my personal thoughts despite me not being an authority over the series in any way!

But I take this as an absolute compliment that you trust my judgements and thoughts enough to refer to them when thinking about the series. People have referred to me as a writing resource/information source (not vagueposting about anyone, this isn't an isolated thing) for the series, and I always go !!! Like okay thank you!! I hope your fic/whatever else it is goes well!! I'll be screaming over here /pos !!

“when fintan was in his emo band with bronte in neverseen, he also tried to take out one direction.” I can't believe you forgot that Fintan himself was actually one direction. The entire band. He was the entire band all alone (/j). I wonder what kind of emo music Fintan and Bronte would make...I think Fintan deserves one of those villain songs that's undeniably the best of the movie, and I think Bronte wants to complain about things. Mesh those together to get their emo band! Concept: Bronte and metal screaming (whatever it's called). That feels very cursed....

This is a long way of saying thank you! I really appreciate the compliments and that you enjoy the things I do! I enjoy doing them and interacting with everyone, so I am giving you a big internet hug from where I am to wherever you are! Or a high five. Or I am offering you a flower from afar. Or a cat. Whichever you're comfortable with, if any <33