#let's also make legend technically a prince/royalty

[winterlinksandotherlinks]

I can't tell you why, but my first impression of LiWiAU Legend was that, if he lived in our world, he would be at least partly Scottish or brought up partly Scottish, and that just kind of stuck when I started writing his character

I think he's one of my most fleshed-out characters, purely because he's been through a lot and it's easy to see how he might react to his circumstances to try to deal with everything

In terms of the order of his adventures, I’ve placed them as follows (his age in brackets): ALttP (8 yrs); OoS and OoA (16–17 yrs)*; Link’s Awakening (18 yrs); ALBW (19 yrs)

*I've seen people attribute Tri Force Heroes to both the Hero of Legend and the Hero of the Four Sword, so I'm holding off on a definite placement until I'm more familiar with it — however, if I attribute it to Legend, it'll fall within this time period

WARNING: The list below mentions implied alcoholism (point 27) and attempted suicide (point 29). I've numbered the list specifically so that you can skip these points if you want to

he gets better, I promise, he just has a rough couple of years after Koholint

This got really long, so buckle up:

this man has a kilt for every occasion — single-coloured and patterned — and hasn't been seen wearing trousers in years (Ravio made him a ring for temperature regulation one winter, and Legend's delighted);

likes tea with milk and extra sugar, and generally sweeter food (toast with butter and honey? an absolute treat in his opinion);

holds nonsensical one-sided conversations with Sheerow whenever nobody's around (Sheerow absolutely tells Ravio about it later, and Ravio thinks it's hilarious and adores it);

speaks too many languages for his own good (and is really good at picking up new ones);

very good at sowing and embroidering (guess who made Mitchi's pink-and-purple bunny!);

plays so many instruments, and sings really well — can also dance fairly well if he has to, but is slightly cagey about it;

is working on turning his adventures into memoirs, fully fleshed out with maps, travel advice, speculations, linguistics, and entire sections on cultural differences — this man is a closeted scholar and an absolute nerd;

familiar with magical items, and will leap on an opportunity to examine them, but hasn't really developed any magic of his own (though he has a serious well of divine magic at his disposal that he prefers to ignore);

has a sharp tongue and an observant eye;

y'know the vibe some men give off when they're comfortably settled in their own lives, with a job they like, a family they love, and a general sense of satisfaction with their circumstances? that sense of "this person is grounded"? Legend has developed a healthy dose of that, and you can see it in everything from the way he stands to the way he talks;

very protective of his family and friends, and a very loving husband and parent;

grew up on a farm in the outskirts of Hyrule, together with Grandma and Grandpa — Grandma used to sing to him, and for thr general mood of it, I'd like you to think of 'A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal', popularised through Brave;

Grandma and Grandpa died when he was four, and he spent a month at the Royal House of Orphans before Uncle Tearlach gained the legal rights to adopt him (it was a Whole Thing, and Legend still hates bureaucracy and the Orphanage because of it);

this is also where his dislike of Hylia started, because he blamed her for taking Grandma and Grandpa away;

he befriended Zelda, because Uncle Tearlach often left him in the care of Zelda's nurse while doing his knightly duties — they got along like a house on fire, and were as sibling-like as two strangers could be;

loved helping Uncle Tearlach pick apples, bake, and cook, and they would sing together in the kitchen — learned to make apple pies from Uncle Tearlach;

Uncle Tearlach called him "m'eudail", which, as far as I've understood, is the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of "darling"/"dear", and is used by parents/grandparents towards their children/grandchildren;

turns out Legend grows up to look quite a bit like the Queen (and Zelda), which causes some rumours when he becomes a known figure, but he refuses all formal ties to the royal family, aside from a close friendship with Zelda (which causes another type of rumours);

Uncle Tearlach died when Legend was eight, and then Legend's first adventure started;

Zelda's half-brother (one year older, and the result of an assault on the Queen — the Royal family couldn't risk the scandal of having a child that didn't look like it belonged to the family, so for their own and the child's reputation they sent him off to grow up with the parents of the Queen's knight, Tearlach — the cover-up-story is that the child was kidnapped, and it becomes known as 'The Story of the Forgotten Prince');

in the years after his first adventure and Uncle Tearlach's death, he gets a room in the Castle and is looked after by Zelda's nurse;

he attempts to pick up a blacksmithing apprenticeship, but while he could do it, it doesn't capture his interest for very long (though he enjoys looking after Gulley when Gulley's born);

in general, his interests leap a lot during the next few years, and it's very much a case of getting decently good at one thing, then moving on to another, like he needs to keep himself busy with something At All Times (he just needs to cope somehow);

if he sits still for too long, his leg starts bouncing, or he taps his fingers or fiddles with his sleeves (later, he'll fiddle with his rings too);

when he's sixteen, he's had enough of rumours and sitting on his butt doing nothing, so he gets up and travels (OoS and OoA take place here, and possibly Tri Force Heroes);

he's a few months shy of eighteen when he lands on Koholint, and by the time he turns eighteen, he's head over heels for Marin and would like nothing more than to marry her;

he returns to Hyrule and busies himself with repairing Uncle Tearlach's cottage and tending to the orchard — he isn't coping well after Koholint, hides from social interactions, and drinks a little too much a little too often;

then Ravio shows up and ALBW happens;

by the end of it, Legend's nineteen and still not doing well — in the year that follows, he spirals deeper into depression and, at one point, attempts to end it, but Sheerow alerts Ravio and Ravio finds him and brings him to the Royal Infirmary;

the experience makes Legend realise that he does want to live, but isn't sure how to go about it — eventually he opens up to Ravio about Koholint and Marin, and then everything else, and makes the effort to improve his physical and mental health;

when he's twenty, Mitchi's dropped into Ravio's life, and Legend's terrified that Ravio might leave permanently to help Mamie bring Mitchie up — the experience makes Legend realise just how deeply he's fallen for Ravio;

at some point Ravio returns to the cottage, and Legend (almost single-handedly) builds a shop expansion that they name 'Link's Orchard and Ravio's Magic Items' — it's a successful business (a lot of people definitely come by just to gawk at the Hero), and although they never struggled financially, they now have a solid income;

at twenty-two, the whole Event that is Mitchi's adoption takes place, Legend and Ravio start dating, and they get married (this all happens more or less within the same 48 hours);

Legend sings Grandma and Uncle Tearlach's songs with Mitchi, and calls Mitchi "m'eudail";

he produces and sells apple sauce and cider, as well as honey and an occasional box of apples;

before they adopted Mitchi, he was convinced he couldn't be a good parent, because of the mess he had been post-Koholint, but a part of him was lonely and wanted a family and a home to return to (Ravio helped him see reason);

when he's twenty-four, Mitchi asks if he can have siblings one day, and Legend and Ravio take it into serious consideration;

at twenty-five, he's thrown into the adventure of the Links Winter AU

Final note on his design: I'd be lying if I said it wasn't inspired by LU Legend. Regardless of what's been going down in that camp (if you don't know, count yourself happy and please don't ask), LU Legend's design is a good one, from featheredPegasus Boots to red-and-green tunics and blue hat

In my design, I've kept the hat and the red tunic (with minor alterarions). I turned the white feathers into leather feathers (pinned to the sides of his boots), and split the green tunic into a green shirt and a green kilt. Does he wear shorts under the kilt? I don't know, that's for you to ponder and me to never mention again

[writingstarling]

Is it just me, or do y'all also want a story scenario that instead of Princess Zelda, we have Prince Link?

Like, their roles are still the same. Zelda incarnate of goddess Hylia and Link the Hero of Hyrule. But imagine instead of Zelda being exposed to royalty all these times, it's Link that gets that treatment since the day he was born and Zelda being the once nobody but suddenly has magical powers. And in every story we know how Link's task other than defeating Ganon or whatever evil is to rescue or protect Zelda right?

Now, hear me out. Imagine having this prince who's used to being waited on, whether he wishes so or not, suddenly being tasked to find this girl named "Zelda" from all those legends he's heard of and then rise up to being this big hero while as well protecting and working together with a girl he's never met that holds no social status in her name other than her legend.

Imagine the shock of it all when the royal family decided to name this son of theirs "Link" in honour of the Hero or smth and have their son become it without prior knowledge whatsoever. Since it has always been Zelda that's in royalty after all. Imagine looking at this prince that has no idea on what's happening suddenly having to face off an incarnate of a god of evil and protect someone when he himself is used to being protected all his life.

I honestly really want to see him struggle and rise to be the Hero his name is so famous for. I want to see him learn how to wield a sword like how SS Link first did. Someone who didn't need this knowledge and skill suddenly have to train himself to be the best at it??? Link learning basic life skills from Zelda, the angst of him doubting in himself like BOTW Zelda did, the feeling of discovery and just the joy of accomplishment he's going to feel everytime he manages to defeat a Bokoblin on his own or just managing to light a campfire without any advance tools or help.

I just want for once Link to be the clueless prince in all this without having a role swap between them. I want to see him being this Prince that has been protected all his life learn how to actually be independent and stand on his own. Even better, learn to protect others not just using his name, but physically sacrificing himself for his people.

Why am I specifically referring to only Link in all this? Because Zelda has actually been in a position where her name holds no privilege. SS Zelda wasn't someone worthy of much noting in her society before everyone discovered she was the incarnate of a goddess. (She was also a pirate, but technically being a captain's daughter is still some form of royalty to me)

But Link has always been this nameless child that rised up to be a hero. A nobody that swooped in and saved the day coming from all sorts of places. The only time Link was truly acknowledged from an early start was in BOTW, other than that, no one really blinked at Link with much acknowledgement to his name.

I wanna see Link struggle like BOTW Zelda. I wanna see him learn basic skills and feel this overwhelming accomplishment from managing to cook up this recipe that Zelda taught him. I wanna see him being scared of everything going on around him, but having the courage to face everything still. I wanna see Link, after having his heritage revealed to him by having that symbol on his hand like TP did or smth, spend casual time with Zelda other than just swooping in or knowing her just because he has to save her all of a sudden. I want a relationship between them like what SS and BOTW had.

I wanna see this prince strive to train himself and become worthy of the Master Sword. I wanna see this prince that has always had everything handed to him on a silver platter work his ass off to be worthy of his legacy. I wanna see him grow from a seemingly fragile prince into this strong, dependable young man that is on par to his ancestors before him.

And on the side, I wanna see his parents being supportive of him. Not just because of the calamity closing in and them having to rely on their son to have him save them all, but because they truly love and cherish their son and want him to fulfill his destiny. They might have not named him that on purpose, but they sure are gonna support him to the best of their abilities.

Link needs to learn how to wield a sword? The captain of the guards is gonna take some time off to train the prince.

He can't seem to figure out how to do what the trainer tells him to?? The king tries it out and when he succeeds he's gonna try to teach Link how to do it himself.

Link has been training exceptionally hard even in harsh winter??? The queen's gonna work hard too and knit him some gloves (or at least, try to).

Link is feeling unworthy and depressed because he's been unable to master the sword???? The king and queen take time off from their duties to comfort their son.

Just, let me see soft familial relationships. Don't always just omit their parents or make them a sort of ass (looking at you here, BOTW Rhoam). I want good parents that raised good kids. That are supportive of them and what they love.

For Zelda, I'm pretty content with one who's like SS Zelda. A normal girl merely enjoying life suddenly bombarded with a destiny to help seal away an evil incarnate with a boy who's supposed to be an incarnate of a legendary hero. A boy who wields a sword worse than her. A boy who doesn't know a lick about how to survive on his own. A boy who is still wandering through the dark in all of this, same as her. She herself still doesn't understand the extent or how to use her powers, and no one to teach her. The least they could do for each other was to be of solace for one another when things are getting tough and one needed comforting. To hold each other's hand through it all. To not be alone in the dark.

I want all the potential fluff and angst I can get from this AU. They're both scared for they don't know of their destiny until the time is short and the burden of it all is far much too large for their shoulders. But they can lean on each other. Better yet, they also have people supporting them.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I wish I can write this on my own, but my writing skills have been failing me these past few months so I really wish someone would take this up and write it.

PS: if someone really did write this out, please, please, please, ping me. I desperately wish to read it.

[more-pokeimagines]

Stone Cold Body [04] - Chapter 3

A/N: I’m terribly sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter, and I really hope your still interested in the series because I enjoy writing it so much. However, there’s not much going on in this chapter since I wanted to focus on the reader’s thoughts but I promise there will be a bit more action in the next one. Have fun reading! Feedback is always appreciated.

Warnings: none

Present

You still had no idea what was going on. Just one minute ago you were absolutely sure that there was nothing magical about the statue in the middle of a pretty park but the fact that the people around you stared at you like you had three heads made it almost impossible to deny that something of great importance had happened.

Well. In fact, you knew exactly what had happened. Even though you had always thought that it was just a stupid story to attract tourists, you couldn’t deny that the statue was no longer there. And the body in your arms definitely felt human.

You didn’t dare to look at his face, not even when he groaned quietly as he tried to sit up. It almost felt like you were rooted to the spot, as if you couldn’t move your arms and legs, even if you wanted to. His light grey, military style jacket was gold-embroidered and while it was dusty and ripped in some places, it still looked pristine and expensive.

You noticed that his hands were shaking and that his already pale skin looked almost translucent in the bright sunlight. His eyes, an unusual purple color you had never seen before, were full of confusion and panic.

And suddenly, the realization hit you like a brick. He was the statue. All the stories about the enchanted prince had been true, and now he was sitting here right next to you, trying to figure out what was going on and why everyone was staring at both him and you.

A murmur went through the crowd of tourists surrounding you when they finally realized what was going on: you had lifted the curse, the prince was back, and he was alive. In this moment, even you found it hard to believe that magic wasn’t real anymore.

Cameras started to click all around as the people tried to get a good photo of the scene right before them.

The boy stared at you, his mouth slightly agape. When your eyes met you held your breath for a moment, not quite sure if you really were ready to face the consequences of your actions. The next second, a wave of hatred washed over you. You didn’t understand why but you loathed him, even though you were dead sure that you had never met him before. And yet, here you were, staring at the allegedly dead prince of Galar and trying to resist the sudden urge to slap him across the face.

But before you could do something incredibly stupid, Gloria knelt down next to you and gently touched your arm, snapping you out of your weird thoughts. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Your fall looked a bit painful.”

“I’m fine,” you replied automatically, even though it was technically a lie. You felt weird and you still didn’t understand why you reacted so hostile towards the boy. There was absolutely no reason for your behavior but there was something about him that made you furious.

You watched Gloria bringing her attention to the boy. The prince, you corrected yourself. She let out a shaky breath as she examined him, her glance moving back and forth between him and the spot where the statue had been before you had touched it. Piles of crumbled stone surrounded him, a direct proof that he truly had been trapped in the statue – at least until you had put your hand on his shoulder and freed him.

“Holy moly,” Gloria mumbled to herself. “The stories are really true.”

You darted a cursory glance at the prince. He still seemed to be a bit disoriented but at least he wasn’t as pale as death anylonger. When he returned your look, you noticed that the panic in his eyes had subsided as well, replaced by something you couldn’t really put your finger on. Disfavor, maybe?

You turned your head to avoid his gaze and finally got up from the floor, shaking the dust off your clothes as soon as you were on firm ground again. Then, you offered your hand to the prince to help him up, even though you were really reluctant about touching him. Thankfully, he ignored your outstretched hand and struggled to his feet on his own. He adjusted his jacket, deliberately avoiding looking at you, despite the fact that he was standing right next to you.

After a few more moments of silence, you cleared your throat and finally asked, “Are you okay?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I wanted to know if you’re feeling fine,” you repeated, your tone already getting more impatient. In Galar, royalty wasn’t relevant anymore, so you didn’t really care about the fact that you were technically speaking to a prince. “Or if you need something. Water, maybe.”

He shook his head. “I’m alright,” he answered stiffly. And then, as if he suddenly remembered his good manners, he added, “Thank you.” His voice was a bit hoarse, maybe because he hadn’t used it in such a long time, and much to your horror, you realized that it actually sent a shiver down your spine. Damn it. You didn’t want to like his voice. You didn’t want to like anything about him.

“Your grace,” one of the girls in the crowd exclaimed, rushing forward to get a better look at him. “It’s an honor to meet you. Me and my friends always believed that the legends about you were true, so we came here every year to see if there was something we could do for you.”

Once again, he raised his eyebrow but you weren’t sure if it was because of the girl’s impertinent attempts to get his attention or because she mentioned the spell he had been under. Or maybe there was an entirely different reason, and you quickly reassured yourself that you really didn’t need to care about it.

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about,” he finally said. The girl beamed at him, obviously happy about the fact that he decided to start a conversation with her. “About the legends surrounding you. Some people always believed that your soulmate would be able to break the curse and bring you back to life.” She blushed, almost as if it embarrassed her that she hadn’t been the one to free him, especially since she clearly had tried it so often.

“I see.” It was evident that he didn’t believe her at all, and for the first time since you lifted the curse from him you asked yourself if he even realized that he had been trapped in stone for centuries. If he even understood how much the world had changed since then, or if he believed to be in some sort of weird dream in which people dressed strangely and didn’t know how to approach him properly.

Before you even knew what you were doing, you suddenly found yourself right next to him, placing your hand on his arm once again. “I guess there’s a lot we need to explain to you.”

*

It wasn’t much fun to walk around Wyndon with an enchanted prince by your side. The news that the statue had been destroyed by some stranger had already spread like a wildfire, and you felt like almost everyone was staring at you, a mixture of deep respect and utter confusion in their eyes.

You tried to convince yourself that they weren’t gaping at you but at the prince instead, especially since he was still wearing his light grey royal outfit. It suited him well, no doubt, but it was a bit too eye-catching for your liking, especially since it was pretty messed up. He really needed some more ordinary looking clothes if he didn’t want to stand out like a sore thumb, so it was probably best to head for the nearest clothing store to get him a shirt and a pair of jeans.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find a shop that wasn’t overly crowded and also not as expensive as some other stores in Wyndon, and only twenty minutes later, the prince had exchanged his noble attire for dark pants, a pair of black sneakers and a sweatshirt that had the exact same color as his eyes. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable in his new clothes but at least he understood that it was necessary to look as ordinary as possible and other than a few complaints about the scratchy material of the sweatshirt he remained silent.

The prince didn’t talk much in general; he seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts while he followed you and your friends through the city, and he kept his head down, almost as if he didn’t want anyone to notice him. Occasionally, Gloria tried to talk to him but the answers he gave were so brief and succinctly that she gave up after a few minutes and started a conversation with Hop instead.

As made your way through the small alleys to get back to the old town to grab something for lunch, you listened with half an ear as your friends talked about the plans for the next few days. Originally, you had planned to spend way more time in Wyndon but since you had an enchanted prince by your side now, they weren’t sure if it really was a good idea to stay here. Surely tourists would recognize him sooner or later, especially when those who had been in the park with you earlier on started to post their pictures to social media, and you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without having a bunch of people surrounding you because they wanted to catch a glimpse of the prince.

You couldn’t deny that they were probably right. The people here in Wyndon had always been convinced that something magical would happen some day, and now that they had been proven right they were going to make a huge deal out of it. Heck, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to pester you with questions too since you had been the one who broke the curse,and just the mere thought was enough to annoy you. This was all Gloria’s fault. If she hadn’t insisted that you touched the statue while posing for a picture, none of this would’ve had happened and you would’ve been able to continue your road trip the way you had planned to. But no, of course things had to get out of hand.

You still thought about it when you arrived at a small restaurant twenty minutes later. It wasn’t a coincidence that Gloria had brought you here: only a few tourists knew about this restaurant, and the dining area was so small that only a few tables fitted in it, so it was actually a pretty private place which was absolutely perfect today.

While Gloria placed your orders at the counter, you found yourself examining the prince once again. There was a slightly arrogant line around his mouth you hadn’t noticed before but what really surprised you was the innocent expression in his eyes as he returned your look. “Do you like what you see?” he asked, his voice as smooth as silk as he raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that he was trying to mock you, so you quickly put on an awfully nice smile and shook your head. “No. I was just wondering if you realize how rude it is that you haven’t introduced yourself so far, Your Grace.”

You somehow managed to make the title sound like an insult but much to your surprise, he didn’t even seem to be bothered by it. Instead, his lips curled into a smile. “Correct would be Your Highness,” he said softly. “But you may call me by my given name”

“And that is-?”

“Bede.”

Your smile grew a bit wider. “There we go. I’m (Y/N), this charming guy right here,” you pointed at Hop who was sitting next to you, “is Hop and the lovely lady at the counter is Gloria. Very nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Bede replied automatically, a wee bit of sarcasm in his voice. You knew that he probably only tried to hide his insecurity about the whole situation underneath his cool exterior but you rolled your eyes nevertheless. Apparently, it was beneath his dignity to at least treat you with some respect.

Luckily, Gloria returned with your drinks and spared you from answering. You had no idea why you got so angry about trivialities when it came to Bede, especially since it wasn’t the first time that he managed to make you livid, but on the other hand, you really weren’t obligated to like him just because you saved him.

Well. At least that’s what you tried to tell yourself because you knew exactly what everyone else would think about the fact that you managed to undo the spell. Everyone who knew about the legend would believe that Bede and you were soulmates; some kind of star-crossed lovers who belonged together, even though you basically knew next to nothing about each other – and if it was up to you it could stay this way forever.

Masterlist / Next

[elliepassmore]

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Anthology Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: anthologies, fantasy, sci-fi, female-led stories, South-East Asian folklore, Indian folklore, Chinese folklore, Middle Eastern folklore, Japanese folklore, Korean folklore, Hmong folklore Forbidden Fruit: Roshani Chokshi 5/5 stars Filipino Chokshi's story is based on the Maria Makiling folktale based around the spirit of Mount Makiling. The style of writing feels like a traditional folktale, the ones that include morals at the end and cautionary warnings (which is perhaps a redundant statement), and is set in fantasy. I like how Chokshi included cautions about the tale "do not trust the fruits of Maria Makiling. If you find your pockets full of thorny fruit, throw it out the window" (5) as bookends to the tale. In this story, the spirit of the mountain is in the form of a girl, and since it's a love story, she of course falls in love with a human boy. The story is only 12 pages, but Chokshi develops the emotions of the mountain so she goes from curious and solitary to someone who would risk losing her heart, and though we don't really see the village or know what's going to happen, Chokshi also weaves suspense and the development of greed and jealousy within the pages as well. Olivia's Table: Alyssa Wong 5/5 stars Chinese Wong's story is based on the Hungry Ghost Festival, and is set in a mix between modern-day Arizona and the Old West. In this story, our MC Olivia has taken up her late mother's task of feeding the ghosts in an, pun intended, Arizona ghost town during the Hungry Ghost Festival. I really enjoyed Wong's interplay between loss and family and helping others. Olivia's mom died about one or two years before the story began, though she still keenly feels her loss and reveals that it's what led to her girlfriend breaking up with her. Going back to the Ghost Festival to cook the food is Olivia's way of getting closer to her mom--both a figurative and literal attempt, as Olivia hopes her mom will show up as a ghost. As Olivia helps the ghosts find peace and closure through her food, Olivia begins to heal by helping a forgotten ghost and a lady ghost she had a crush on as a kid. I'm not explaining it well here, but it's one of my favorite stories in the collection. Steel Skin: Lori M. Lee 5/5 stars Hmong This is one of the sci-fi stories in the collection, and it's the one that goes the deepest into the realm of sci-fi. Based on the tale The Woman and the Tiger wherein a tiger kills a hunter and sneaks into the home of his family, killing most of them, only to get killed by the remaining family in turn. Lee flips this on its head a little, and even after reading it twice I'm still not sure who's the tiger in the story. Yer is the main character of this story, and she lives with her father and memories of a mother who was killed in an android uprising. Yer's father starts acting strangely and seems to be working in a now-illegal field of technology. The story starts out kind of slow and slowly builds as Yer's dad starts acting stranger and stranger until Yer tells her neighbor/boyfriend she thinks her father's been replaced by an android and the two decide to finally find out what's going on with her dad. Still Star-Crossed: Sona Charaipotra 3/5 stars Punjabi Based on the Indian folktale of Mirza and Sahiba, two star-crossed lovers who end the way most of them do--with one of them dead. This story is a modern reimagining of the original tale, set in New Dehli, New Jersey. This one is mostly just creepy. At first, I thought it was going to be a reincarnating story, where the star-crossed lovers knew each other from a past life and they'd both remember and it wouldn't be quite as creepy. Not entirely the case, though Charaipotra hints throughout the story (and in the afterword) that it's kind of reincarnation for the both of them. However, it mostly seems like the guy remembers the girl and keeps 'finding' (read: stalking) her in hopes she'll agree to hang out or enter into a relationship with him. The twist toward the end makes it even creepier. The Counting of Vermillion Beads: Aliette De Bodard 4.5/5 stars Vietnamese Bodard's story is a reimagining of the Vietnamese tale Tam Cam, which is about two sisters engaged in a jealous rivalry. Bodard turned it on its head and made it so the two sisters are loyal to one another, but have different ideas of what they want and can do in life. Set in fantasy Vietnam, the two sisters are census takers for the emperor. The elder sister, Tam believes they can escape and be free and go back to their home, while the younger sister, Cam, believes that the only way to freedom is through the system. Tam and Cam both tug their own direction, leading to a rift between the two for a bit, until they realize they can reconcile their ideas of freedom into something new. Cam is the narrator and is more passive than Tam, unwilling to view the system they've been a part of and the walls that surround them as a cage for most of the story, which is why the half star was dropped. The Land of the Morning Calm: E.C. Myers 5/5 stars Korean This one is a meld of sci-fi and contemporary, as it is technically set in modern-times, but also deals with a computer game that may or may not have real elements...okay, so it's also technically fantasy as well, since the game centers largely around magical, ancient Korea. Based on the Chasa Bonpuli epic that follows the main players of death: the god of the underworld, a grim reaper, and a guide to the underworld. Sunny, the main character, lost her mom five years prior while playing a computer game beloved by the whole family. Since then, none of them have touched the game. As the story opens, the grandfather is convinced the mother is back as a gwisin, or a ghost/spirit, and is trying to tell them something. Both Sunny and her dad brush it off, though Sunny decides to play the game one last time before it's shut down forever, and is thus transported into the land of fantasy and sci-fi. During the story, Sunny struggles to reconcile the death of her mother and the difference between clinging to the past and honoring it. The Smile: Aisha Saeed 4/5 stars South Asian A retelling of the legend of Anarkali, a girl who danced for the king and purportedly fell in love with one of his sons. I liked the story at first, though there were creepy undertones in this one as well. It's in a more historical setting than a fantasy one, and I enjoyed the way Saeed built the world and the people in it. I also like how Saeed explored consent in a relationship where one is royalty and the other is a servant/dancer of the palace. I mostly docked a star because of the creepy factor and the anger of the prince. Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers: Preeti Chhibber 4/5 stars Gujarati A contemporary reimagining of Navratri, a Hinu holiday about community and dancing and being good to people. The story intertwines the actions of the main characters in the contemporary, magic-free world with the events happening that create the origin of Navratri. Three friends go to a Navratri celebration together and come into contact with the infamous (to them) Dinesh, who's sloppy dancing on Navratri years ago led to one of them having their skirt come unwrapped. In the spirit of the holiday, they decide to get revenge. It's a funny, lighthearted story and the star drop is mostly just me being unable to handle people being embarrassed, which both the girls and Dinesh end up being, to varying degrees. Nothing Into All: Renee Ahdieh 5/5 stars Korean This is another story about siblings and jealousy, this time based on the Korean story The Goblin Treasure, where goblins give two siblings the chance to gain treasure beyond what they know. Ahdieh is one of my favorite fantasy authors and I really enjoyed her contribution to this anthology. In this one, two siblings venture into the woods in search of the goblins they saw one year. The elder sibling, the sister, still feels guilty for something that occurred in childhood and thus attempts to hide her successes from her brother for fear they'll upset him. The brother has since grown up to be jealous and angry over his sister and what he views as his sister's selfish wishes. Naturally, one finds the goblins and the magic and the other does not and an argument ensues. The story is an interesting exploration through guilt, forgiveness, selfishness, and what one will do for family, even when said family has done wrong. Spear Carrier: Rahul Kanakia 3/5 stars South Asian This is a take on the Mahabharata, a famous Indian epic and, I believe, the longest epic that's ever been written. In the Mahabharata there's a huge battle toward the end of the story, and Kanakia has retold a portion of this battle from the perspective of one of the millions of people/creatures that have shown up to fight. It's another mix between contemporary, fantasy, and sci-fi. This is a story that I'm disappointed I didn't like better, especially since I generally like retellings of Mahabharata stories. I thought this was a really interesting take on the kinds of massive, all-out war we so often see in epics and high-fantasy books, even if I didn't necessarily like the story itself. The narrator of the story seems to be a high school- or college-aged guy who basically ends up accidentally agreeing to be a part of the battle and spends the time thinking of heroism and who we consider heroes and brings up the rather good question of why people were even fighting in the battle to begin with. I think this question, which is what the author says inspired the story, is really what saved this one for me. Let's face it, when we read stories of epic battles, we don't really ask where every soldier came from and why they decided to fight, we just role with it. Spear Carrier offers the answer that people came from all over, from all times, some for good and some for bad reasons, to fight in a war that needs corpses. If the narrator had been less....I don't even know, less preachy and less like the kind of person who thinks that just because they think deeply has few friends it means everyone else is shallow. Other than that, it's a great concept. Code of Honor: Melissa de la Cruz 3/5 stars Filipino This story is based on the aswangs, which de la Cruz describes as "banshee-like beings" (237) in Filipino folklore, and from what I've gathered from research for one of my books, can also be thought of like a cross between vampires and witches. Basically, they're awesome, oft-forgotten in the West, mythological creatures, which is why I'm so disappointed I didn't like this story better. The premise of the story is a good one: an aswang who's been orphaned and is searching for the rest of her bloodline. Unfortunately, this comes through by the aswang attending a prestigious high-school in contemporary New York and then being discovered by the bratty popular girl. With the undelivered promise of the story, the fight in the bathroom scene, and the not-quite-answered questions still left at the end of the story I had to drop two of the stars. Bullet, Butterfly: Elsie Chapman 5/5 stars Chinese Chapman's story is based on the Chinese folktale of Liang Zhu, translated as The Butterfly Lovers, where class and duty keep apart two lovers who, again, like most star-crossed lovers do, end up dying. In the original, these two lovers end up being resurrected (reincarnated?) as butterflies. This is the only dystopian/sci-fi story in here and it actually makes me wish there was more of them. Chapman flips the original on its head a little and instead of having the girl dress up as a guy to go to school, the guy dresses up as a girl to go to the factory. In this world, the girls are the only ones to work in factories until they're old enough to go to war while the guys are stuck at war or in training for longer (unsure how long, I don't think it's specified, but the guys go off first). Viruses keep ravaging the country, which is why the main character isn't off fighting in the war at the moment, he's in recovery. So, he dresses up as a girl and goes to the factory and befriends Zhu. I like the realness of the two of them as they work and get to know each other, the little details Chapman adds, such as the corner they eat lunch in where no one thinks to look. I also like the metaphors she weaves throughout the story, such as the butterfly bullet that's been invented and the gun smoke choking out parts of the country. It's a very metaphorical story based in tragedy, but the characters and their relationships make it worth any heartache. Daughter of the Sun: Shveta Thakrar 4/5 South Asian I believe this one is set in a urban fantasy (or rural fantasy??) setting, though I'm not entirely sure. It retells the story of Savitri and Satyavan from the larger Mahabharata epic as well as the story of the goddess Gangu and King Shantanu. In this story, Savitri is born with a sun heart, and because her parents worry for her, they remain mostly isolated on a large museum-estate. One day, Savitri finds a boy with a moon heart standing by the lake being coaxed into the water by a swan. She saves the boy from drowning and brings him back to shore, and the two become fast friends and lovers, only, Savitri is hiding from him what the swan said and why she was luring him to the water--an incident which he has no memory of. As the story goes on, Savitri realizes that the swan, and the goddess she meets, is correct and she cannot make decisions for Satyavan, even if it means letting him 'die,' and thus she gifts him back his choices. I like the story and I like the characters, but I'm a huge fan of choice, so Savitri's decision to take Satyavan's choices without thenletting him know is a hard no for me, hence the dropped star on an otherwise fantastic story. The Crimson Cloak: Cindy Pon 5/5 stars Chinese Set in a fantasy world with a golden ox, Pon's story is a retelling of the Chinese legend The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, which tells the tale of a cowherd whose talking ox tells him to steal the red cloak of a fairy girl because it will mean she must marry him. The two marry, have some kids, and then are separated by the fairy's mother who makes the Milky Way to keep them apart, only allowing them to visit on the seventh day of seventh moon. Pon makes the girl the narrator and a goddess in this one. In it, the girl, Hongyun, sees the cowherd and sets out to trick him into meeting her because she's curious. The two become friends and then lovers, and then realizing that she cannot give him what he wants, Hongyun tries to let him go. It's a story of loving and letting go and coming back together again and how we remember in parts even if we love whole. One of the things I particularly like about this story is how Hongyun directly addresses the reader "despite how the legend goes, the truth of the matter is, Dear Reader, I saw him first" (282). I think it adds a clever dimension to the story, and even in short stories I feel like it's not something that happens a lot. Eyes Like Candlelight: Julie Kagawa 3/5 stars Japanese Based on the Japanese myth of the kitsune, trickster fox creatures that have the ability to manipulate the mind and transform into humans. The premise of the story is good, it's set in feudal Japan and centers around a young man, Takeo, as he tries to find a way to meet the rice quote for the daimyo's tax. He comes into contact with a kitsune...which is sort of where I stop liking the story. I'm going to be 100% honest, I think this story has some rapey undertones to it. While the kitsune family helps Takeo and gives him the rice he needs to in turn help his family and town, the girl kitsune also heavily manipulates his mind and at the end there's hints that the two of them have had a kid even though they only meet as humans once and Takeo doesn't even seem to fully remembers what happened during that time, despite literally being the third person narrator.

[touchmycoat]

kinktober: day 21

day 21: washing

y’all know lucky’s cinderella AU, so thank you @midnightluck for letting me play in your sandbox; anon who requested cinderella!AU I don’t know if this is what you wanted at all but uh, have some uniform/class/service kink 

“This is,” Ace hissed, “the royal bath.”

Even though Sabo had been conscientious enough to leave his boots at the entrance, there was still a trail of dirty footprints following him from the door. He bared his teeth at the creamy marble underneath.

“Yeah, Ace, I've noticed.”

“What are we even meant to do in here?” Ace was externalizing all the unease and distrust Sabo was choosing to keep under wraps, glancing agitatedly about and pacing around. But not pacing too far—he stuck within the perimeter of two square flagstones lining the floor, and Sabo watched as the soot gradually darkened in the shape of a rectangle. “Can we—Fuck it, let's just steal some water and get out.”

“You don't have to steal anything yoi, just bathe here,” came a familiar voice from the side door, its amusement echoing through the bath chamber. Marco came into view, dressed already for his birthday ceremony. As crown prince, there were all sorts of appearances he was expected to make on this big day, and apparently it began with this: a stiff purple coat with double-breasted gold buttons, a black leather belt cinching the waistline, a thinner one running across the torso, military stars and the family crest pinned to the chest, shimmering braided chords draped over a tricep. Trousers pressed with neat sharp lines, unflinching leather boots.

At Sabo and Ace's wide-eyed staring, he immediately held up his palms in apologetic recognition.

“It's a lot, I know.”

“Yeah,” Sabo heard himself say, “we were definitely just about to complain about how you look.”

“Cheers,” Marco acknowledged with a snort. He was quick to unravel the belts and shed the coat (Sabo may or may not have heard a soft sound of protest from Ace), then sat down on a dry bench to shed his boots. Most of his glitz laid aside though, Marco still looked every bit of the regal prince, tie done up and the collar of his shirt in perfect geometry. His bare feet stepped familiarly onto the flagstones that marked the beginning of the bathing space. “Well, in an effort to make sure nobody complains about how any of us look tonight yoi, let's get you both cleaned up. Unless...?

“No, no we'll still be going,” Ace piped up, quick to assuage Marco's concerns. He glanced down though, picking self-consciously at his servant's tunic, one that he definitely nicked from Sabo. Neither owners had ever been too precious with it (which was absolutely the point, Sabo thought, why have a shirt you couldn't even work in), and it showed. “We want to support you, y'know? But we just, I guess we're kind of...”

“Misled?” Sabo filled in with a scowl. “Why did Thatch tell us to get in the royal baths?”

“Well, it was closer I guess,” Marco blinked. “And you two are technically royalty and all—”

“Yeah,” Ace said, “but we don't really know how to—”

“—bathe?”

“Bathe here,” Sabo snapped. “Jerk.”

Along with the steam from the ever-warm bathing pool, something rigid and uncomfortable suffused the air. Marco slowly, fully took in the distraught expressions on Ace and Sabo's faces, and his smile cleared into something a little more serious.

“Ah, I see.” A self-effacing little quirk of the head and Marco was making his way to the hot water. The casual way he strolled through the palatial space (like he owned it—because he did) and rolled up his crisp shirt sleeves that somebody else ironed and starched for him only served to piss Sabo off even more. Made Sabo feel that much more insecure. “My apologies, I should've been more considerate yoi. There is a sort of specific way to do things in here.”

“Is it called getting servants to do it for you?”

“Sabo...” Ace sounded reluctantly chiding—keyword, reluctantly. He knew exactly what was going through Sabo's mind and getting Sabo's hackles up. Marco though, didn't really react, just crouched down and pulled two little wooden stools out from under the lip of the bath. He slid them nearer to Sabo and Ace, then pulled out a relatively big basin as well, with a little ladle tumbling about inside. In calm, certain motions, Marco filled the basin with water from the bath and poured in some fragrant soapy solution, giving it a quick swirl with his free hand.

Then he turned on his heel, looked right at Ace, then Sabo.

“I could call in some servants for you,” Marco said, crossing the flagstones. As he passed the stools, he set the basin down in between them. “But I get the feeling neither of you really want that.”

“Look,” Sabo sighed in exasperation, “we can just go back to the servants baths and do this, okay? Like we've always done—”

“Sure you can yoi. Or—” Pausing squarely in front of Sabo, Marco, with a meaningful look, lifted his hands to the top button of Sabo's shirt. “Allow me. My prince.”

Sabo bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. There were so many things he could say, some angry, some scoffing, all of them rejections. He drew blood instead and swallowed it with saliva. Looked instead to Ace for guidance.

Ace's expression was... strange. On one hand there was the daring, beautiful rejection of protocol he's always worn so well, sitting right underneath the day's dirt and soot. There was the matching tension in his knuckles, the anger to demolish the extravagance and lavishness that surrounded them that Sabo found so resonant.

But at the same time there was the helpless softness in his eyes for Marco, the bone-deep certainty that whatever unpleasantness scorched at their nerves, Marco wasn't the enemy here. Furthermore, there was the speculative angle in the tilt of his chin, an allured curiosity for what Marco was offering here.

Drinking all that in, Sabo made his decision. He lifted his chin, and let the curl of his lips go haughty.

“Go on then,” he said, throat bared so vulnerably to Marco. Marco the Crown Prince, the legendary top warrior of his father's kingdom, whom Sabo has seen fight in Impel Down and knew lived up to the legend. Marco, who's left all the medals and epaulettes hanging by the side door and offered to serve. “Attend us.”

A smile bloomed on Marco's face, so gracious and genuine that Sabo had to look away, heart pounding condemningly loud. Even as children, it was this precise smile that changed Sabo's life. Even after crawling through rosebush thorns, pinpricks scoring through his expensive shirt and across his skin, Marco's only ever had that smile for him.

He said you were pretty.

Sabo gritted his teeth when his side with all the scars became exposed to the swirling bathhouse steam. Marco's hands didn't linger on them though—didn't linger anywhere. He drew off Sabo's shirt with professional ease then started unbuttoning Sabo's pants. He didn't let the trousers fall, instead guided them down like they weren't frayed and stained with age and grime. His own trousers—the expensive ones, thick and pressed—kneeled right onto the damp floor tiles.

“You—” But Sabo shut himself up, because why would he protest? They were just pants for crying out loud, and it's not like Marco harvested and weaved and sewed them himself. And it was just water; a bit of sun will get the dark stains now around the knees right out. There really was no need to protest.

Marco smiled at him again like he was kind, gathering Sabo's shirt, trousers, and undergarments over the crook of one arm (those dirty clothes smearing immediately across the neat white fold of his shirt cuff). Standing up with nary a blink at the state of his own pants (nor at what removing Sabo's pants had revealed, which Sabo was absolutely not disappointed by), Marco now turned to Ace, who had waited patiently for his turn with the pink-cheeked, almost-smile of someone who's figured out his role in the script.

“You'll wash us both by yourself?” Ace asked, with only a hint of tentativeness, as Marco undid his buttons. “That's not enough hands to go around, is it? I'll go cold from the waiting.”

“I'll do my best yoi,” Marco replied. Now that Sabo was watching from relative distance, he could see how thoroughly Marco was actually enjoying this; it was visible not only in his face, but also in every gliding gesture, every curved posture. It was like Marco luxuriated in his servitude. He went to his knees again, and Ace was fully and gloriously nude. “Please, sit down.”

Eyes fixed on each other in both solidarity and hazy arousal, Sabo and Ace drifted forward to the stools Marco had pulled out earlier, and sat. The lines of demarcation in the bathhouse, Sabo could see now, were subtle; the flagstones marked out the space where the actual washing could be done, and the thin grooves carved across the flooring drained the water out to a corner. Things brought out to the flagstones were meant to get wet, carved out of heavy dark woods, and fine with a bit of dirt (unlike say, the polished cream marble that lined the entrance).

Shelves of powders, soaps, and bottles lined one side of the room, and that was where Marco went to fetch an array of items. He also grabbed a long flat legged plank that seemed the perfect height for sitting on, before piling on it thick fluffy towels of several different sizes and coming back over.

“Who's first?” he asked.

“Sabo,” Ace said, at the same time Sabo demanded, “Ace.”

“Sabo goes first,” Ace insisted, cupping some water and absently splashing it onto his own legs. “You'll never guess it but his hair's actually blond underneath all that soot.”

“Yeah, but your face is actually—”

“Sounds good to me yoi,” Marco interrupted cheerily, setting everything in his arms down on the floor. Sabo quickly scrambled, turning so that he faced Ace and pulling Ace's whole stool closer.

“Fine then, I'll get Ace while you're at it,” he insisted, desperate for something to do with his hands so he wasn't just stuck like a useless doll while Marco rinsed him off. This was stupid, but it'd be fine. They'll get the dirt off, none of it will get on things it wasn't meant to get on, and they'll be done in minutes. Just like normal. “C'mon then, gimme a sponge and your back.”

“Ah,” Marco made an apologetic sound, suddenly in Sabo's ear, “I'm afraid that's not how things are done here.” His torso against Sabo's back was a different kind of heat than the impersonal steam of the bathwater. A hand smoothed up the front of his neck and bared his throat. “Here yoi. Close your eyes.”

Obedience came easier than Sabo would've liked, but what else was he supposed to do, with Marco's face right over his? He heard a soft clunk, a glug of water—then he felt the water, a guided stream being poured over his hair. The overflow stopped just short of his forehead and trickled down the backs of his ears. Marco's arm touched gently against the scar on Sabo's face as he began carding his fingers through Sabo's tresses, getting them thoroughly soaked. The rushing splashes filled Sabo's ears, and his lips fell helplessly parted, drinking in the steam.

Marco refilled the water scoop. Repeated.

An echoed, low murmuring vibrated in the air, against Sabo's skin, but he didn't even bother to parse the words, so utterly enraptured by this sensation. He liked the soft brush of Marco's clothes on his back. He liked the soothing drag of water, and Marco's nails softly scratching across his scalp. He liked the new fragrance that's just appeared, wafting to his nose.

“Keep your eyes closed yoi,” Marco rumbled, all sonorous tenor and an echoic chest, and it still took Sabo a few moments to understand there was meaning in the phonemes. It's not like he was planning on opening his eyes anyways. “I'm putting in the shampoo.”

“What's that scent?” Ace asked, knee knocking comfortingly into Sabo's.

“Night jasmine. Seemed fitting.” Marco's fingers methodically kneaded a gelatinous paste through Sabo's hair, until suds coated every strand. There was a pattern to his motions, and Sabo's eyes fluttered open when Marco's thumb started rubbing soothing circles across his hairline. The disobeisance was out of trepidation; Marco would reach his scar this rate.

And reach it he did, swiping excesses of water and soap off the uneven skin without a single stutter in his motions. Sabo didn't want to meet Marco's eyes, but couldn't allow his own eyes to close either, not when he felt so fucking vulnerable—he stared up at the ceiling instead, that smooth dome of stone slabs, and worked on not letting those threatening tears condense on his eyelashes.

(He failed, when Marco finished washing clean the back of his ears and leaned forward, brushing just the gentlest kiss over the point on Sabo's forehead where the scar tissue began. Twin tears fell from the corners of Sabo's eyes and all three of them pretended it was just bathwater.)

“May I wash your face?” Marco asked quietly, and he looked prepared for Sabo to say no. So Sabo said no. Sabo wasn't quite ready to be completely cracked open yet. “Let me get your back then, yoi.”

There were still scars there, but at least Sabo wouldn't be in danger of seeing Marco's face (and whatever enticingly reverent expression Marco'd wear) every time he opened his eyes. He would see Ace instead, but Ace was—Ace was safe. Ace had seen Sabo's jagged edges and then chipped himself apart to match. For Ace, Sabo could fall to any pieces that he needed.

He scrubbed at his own face with the flat pads of his fingers, eager to sud up, rub the grime off into balls of dead flesh, splash the whole mess away. Except Ace was playing into a role as well, moving Sabo's hands away to wash at Sabo's cheeks in much gentler little circles. When Sabo glared, he just grinned and used a soapy hand to swipe Sabo's eyelids down.

“You put all that powder on my face, I wash all the dirt off yours. Seems fair,” Ace laughed, scrubbing up to the temples.

Marco started on Sabo's back at the same time. First came the blanket of water to wet everything down. Then there was a soft but textured flannel drawing determined swipes over the planes of Sabo's muscles, leaving soapy streaks in their wake. Another scoop of water. Soapy hands this time, the controlled drag of thumbs over the backs of Sabo's shoulders, finding spongey muscle with corded, tense tendons underneath, aligning the lengths and the pressures and pushing—

“—ah—!”

At the same moment of the instinctive flinch forward, Sabo also jerked his entire torso back, desperate for more of that amazing pressure. If his eyes had been open, Sabo was sure they would've rolled back in his head. Marco's grip, having slipped from the initial jerk, doubled back down, twin bars of beautiful force getting stronger and stronger and stronger until Sabo truly felt squeezed dry—

—and then abruptly released. Breath tumbled out of Sabo in a long unsteady stream, and his spine curled forward like a rubber band released. A whine escaped his throat.

“Good, yoi?”

“I'm pretty sure he'd say yes if he could,” Ace replied with both amusement and awe. “I'm gonna rinse your face now Sabo.”

He accepted the wash of water down his face without any squirming. Ace patted a dry towel encouragingly over his face. It all felt so dangerously indulgent.

“Your back is still quite tense,” Marco commented, thumbs tracing down the twin strips of muscle lining Sabo's spine. “A soak will do you good, yoi.”

And perhaps it was all the tension released from that one good prolonged squeeze, perhaps Sabo just felt like it was high time he got some control back in the situation, but the words left his mouth before he could think too much of them:

“Is that anyway to speak to your prince?”

Marco's beat of pause felt, against all odds, delighted.

“My apologies for overstepping,” another hesitation, like he was testing some waters he couldn't wait to leap headfirst into, “your highness.”

And—what the hell was Sabo actually playing at? Wasn't he the first and most enthusiastic shirker of crowns and titles? The moniker that tasted so genuinely bad in his parent's joke of a court—why did it seem so tempting here? Like a thick-petaled flower set on a dinner plate, meant for décor but inviting teeth. Like the soap that smelled so sweet but should sting his tongue so bitterly. And yet—

“Turn around Sabo,” Ace said, voice so hot with intention. “Let Marco wash your feet.”

[fvtvrelegends]

( charlie rowe, trans male, he/him, fire emblem: awakening ) * &. i know it must be scary for you, owain, after surviving the takeover. to turn into someone like owen faulk, a twenty-three year-old clerk at the hq, right here in castle town. just remember that you are as imaginative as you are impulsive, and to be wary, be safe, be true to who you are : heroic through and through. ( (H)O(Y)-(LIA) THERE )

               HOY THERE. Sup guys so I’m here with . . . the closest Fire Emblem has ever written to an actual LARPer who is ALSO my baby boy , fucking love of my life , favorite weirdo 10/10. Click for more under the cut , but beware of spoilers for Fire Emblem: Awakening !!

BEFORE CASTLE TOWN. / O W A I N. ( tw: parental death )

SOOOO OKAY. let me get some stuff out of the way ,

- - - UNDERNEATH THIS BOY CONSISTS OF SPOILERS FOR FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING ( and kind of Fates ) . A MARKER WILL BE SET TO INDICATE SPOILERS ARE OVER. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Soooo’kay Owain !! Now Owain. Owain has the exact same circumstance as Lucina , who I recently dropped if you remember her. 

Not too familiar still ?? That’s fine !! He’s basically the future child of one of the heroes of the story , and like the rest of them , traveled through time as his future was a ruined land where chaos took over and zombies and evil dragons and . . . yeah. In his time , his parents are long dead. It’s not pretty.

Now who are his parents ?? Well his dad is determined by the player - I won’t clarify who his father is for plot reasons ( but my favorite candidates are Gaius & Lon’qu ) , but his mother is LISSA. Lissa , yes , your first cleric in the game , one of your starter heroes , and Chrom’s little sister. So this makes Owain Ylissean royalty of sorts ( his mother’s a princess ) , and also Chrom’s nephew , and Lucina’s cousin. 

Of course , you find out that all of the children got separated as they traveled through time - some like Laurent , who were displaced five years earlier than when you find him. Owain didn’t have a scenario like that , but this poor baby actually curled up into a ball and cried upon realizing he was alone. My POOR FUCKING SON -

An interesting fact is that he bears the brand of the Exalt - a thing of the Ylissean royal family that surfaces on the skin of each member - while his mother’s actually never surfaced. He has it on his arm ( isn’t clarified exactly where , but I like to think it’s on the back of his hand. ) 

SOOOO lemme just get this one out of the way because I feel like I need to address it - because the way Awakening works , Owain is one of the many characters who - thanks to the fact that every child unit save for Lucina inherits their dependent parent’s ( in this case , his father’s ) hair color , his hair color and be... literally anything. Now in Fates his hair’s blonde ( because Lissa’s is ) BUT ... I prefer Owain with dark hair so I simply said fuck it and went with that. Technically either Frederick , Kellam , Lon’qu , or even Stahl ( closely in a way ) could give him that sorta hair color but just because I made him have dark hair doesn’t mean his dad’s any of these dudes. Again , I won’t clarify. 

ALSO . . . I’m not. SURE on what I want to do for Fates because Owain actually does appear in Fates ( as a dark mage named Odin working under Prince Leo of Nohr ) but I’m not. Big on some parts of Fates but ALSO I . . . I REALLY LIKE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH LEO & NILES so I guess I’ll be including that but not Ophelia since. As much as I love her it’s so hard to picture Owain as a dad with this kind of plot. He’s still Baby in my eyes.

AKA bring me a fucking Leo.

- - END OF MAJOR FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING ( and kind of Fates? ) SPOILERS. 

SO YEAH THE MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT OWAIN is . . . well , remembering when I said he’s basically a LARPer ?? I wasn’t kidding.

A good chunk of his character is that most of the time he actually acts like a character from an old hero’s legend or something. He speaks in this overly theatrical Ye Olde kind of . . . dialect ?? I’m not sure if that’s the right way to put it but he basically puts on a show 90% of the time - but he also breaks character quite a few times in game.

( SPOILER WARNING )  Like when you recruit him with Chrom : “By the gods old and new! Another future traveler?! And yet, impossible, for I saw none like him in the light... Who are you, villain?! Speak now!” “Um, I'm Chrom. ...Of Ylisse? I have no quarrel with you, but if we must fight, then-” “UNCLE CHROM?!”

That is singlehandedly one of the best conversations in-game and it’s not even a support.

BUT YEAH he loves stories like these and always wanted to be that legendary hero so he goes around acting like it because he likes it and it’s so fucking pure.

One thing he has is his “sword hand” - it’s purely a theatrical thing , but he has this uncontrollable “sword hand” that thirsts for duel and battle and it’s why I almost made his url “svvordhvnd” but that was too obvious for Owain.

It’s changes to “aching blood” in Fates but that’s not as good as my opinion since in Awakening’s one of his voice lines is literally “My sword hand twitches.”

Lucina describes him as “colorful.” She’s not wrong. 

He also has a habit of naming his weapons and attacks and . . . shouting when he performs them ?? He also names these weapons & attacks after actual Fire Emblem characters & titles from previous games - it’s fucking funny.

And of COURSE all of these theatrics and imagination isn’t for naught since he’s actually a bit of a writer !! In his Hot Spring Scramble conversation with Laurent he actually has a manuscript all written down and apparently it’s well-written and damn good. 

But yeah in a nutshell - Owain is just a nerdy sweetheart who honestly never really grew out of playing pretend and it helps him cope with all the shit he’s faced so ?? Are we gonna blame him ?? Fuck no that’s my baby & he’s a creative baby who drinks respect women juice. That’s important. 

AFTER CASTLE TOWN. / O W E N. 

SO. Owain survived the takeover meaning he has all of his memories from Awakening ( and Fates w/ the exception of Ophelia I guess since I’m a sucker for Leo’s terrible trio ).

His one token is a staff from his mother ( in-game , he actually keeps a piece of one of his mother’s staves that he named after her but this time it’s The Actual Staff. )

He works at the HQ because honestly in this world too he was a fucking nerd and he embraces that shit constantly !!

Unfortunately he CAN’T be all theatrical because he realized Castle Town is a way different world than his and because people already thought he was strange back there , that’d only increased tenfold.

. . . BUT HE STILL GETS IT OUT SINCE HE REGULARLY PLAYS D&D and also acts sometimes at the theatre !! ( did u know in the future past dlc he actually becomes a performer w/ inigo and brady in the end it’s Fun )

. . . He. He Also. Performs at children’s parties for some extra cash because they looooove his whole “legendary hero” schtick and it makes him happy so yeah there’s that too. 

He likes a lot of things about Castle Town but again when he woke up and realized he was all alone AGAIN he really didn’t react well and basically . . . it was like the first time he got separated from his allies again. He’s gotten way more used to it now , but in the very beginning it was harsh.

His name’s now Owen bc I’m uncreative : )

He has parents he doesn’t really talk to - mainly because he knows they’re fake , and also they apparently weren’t the best fake parents either so he’s more dead set on finding his real parents again. 

AND.... yeah that it that’s !! Honestly it on my boy. I’d love to plot with u all bc I plan on being awake a bit longer to finish up tasks and things so YEAH come 4 me. 

Also bi as hell bc I do love projecting & also there’s no way Owain is straight thank u

[sanjuno]

It’s too late for a GoT/Code Geiss isn’t it? Not sure if Britanian Royalty as Targaryens is awesome or terrifying. Lelouch as Viserys and Nunnally as Daenerys would be, interesting. So would Lelouch as Aegon.

Technically, yes, but what the hell. One more for the Old Gods!

8/7 GoT Crossover Fix-its: A Code of Fire and Ice

So I know it’s kinda becoming a theme with these fix-its, but one of the best ways to fix GoT is to give Robert a legitimate heir that Tywin Lannister and the rest of the Baratheon Loyalists will support on the Iron Throne, so I’m going to sling Lelouch in here as a replacement for Cersei’s first canon pregnancy. (Also it’s hilarious to me how many of the Britannian names from CG sound like they belong in Westros.)

So Lelouch Baratheon is born within a year of Robert and Cerise’s marriage. The gods make it very obvious that they approve of the Baratheon rule in the form of the new Crown Prince. Lelouch is black of hair and violet of eye and the red shadow of a dragon spreads its wings over his heart. The Targaryen loyalists grumble, but the common folk chatter about the Crown Prince being chosen by the gods themselves to inherit the Dragon Throne.

Lelouch Lamperouge vi Britannia is kicked out of the World of C by the Dimensional Supervisor and told to go make miracles again in a new world. He’s born prince (again), then son of a warmonger (again), and the empire that he will someday rule was created through violent subjugation of indepentandt countries by refugees who just happened to have superior force multipliers (again). At least Dorne and the North manages to keep some of their cultural individualism. The world is primitive and the politics even mores, but it’s not until Lelouch look at his new baby brother and realizes that there’s no way Joffrey is Robert’s son that Lelouch realizes how hilariously outmatched the other players in the Game of Thrones are. Especially when compared the the Demon Emperor. The first thing Lelouch does is Geass Cersei into skipping her Moon Tea because Joffrey reminds him of Victor and that’s not on.

The twins are born with dark silver hair the colour of rainclouds, their eyes lightning bright Baratheon blue. Nunnery and Rolo Baratheon are doted on by Lelouch, and it’s agreed on by most of the servants that the twins learn to walk as fast as they do just so that they can follow their eldest brother more closely.

Lelouch is 100% involved in everything that happens in the Red Keep and realizes with some hilarity that his parents have switched roles. Cersei’s the one who reminds him of Charles, obsessed with eugenics and her brother and gaining power so she can rule. Robert is the one who reminds him of Marianne, having won a crown through War and rising above his birth station by killing off all his rivals.

Lelouch starts undermining his parents in every way he can as soon as he’s capable of coherent sentences. When Nunnally and Rolo are born Lelouch adjusts some Baratheon names to suit them and is delighted when they start helping him torment Robert and Cersei.

Arms training is hilarious to watch because Lelouch is still lazy as fuck but he’s also aware that people are going to try and kill him with pointy metal at some point. As the children grow it’s pretty obvious that Joffrey is Cersei’s favourite and the brat only gets more spoiled because Joffrey doesn’t even have to pretend to be a decent person because he’s the spare and not the Heir to the Iron Throne. So Joffrey’s still convinced that he’s hot shit with swords because of his “bloodlines” and Lelouch can smell the crazy from across the courtyard. So Lelouch takes his arms training seriously because Joffrey is all but rabid.

Lelouch is used to the idea of half-siblings, so the “stain” of bastard birth doesn’t really concern him, but Joffrey is the kind of cruel and delusional person that would try to kill off his litigate siblings to become the heir and causes bad reputations for all the other illegitimate children. One of Lelouch’s best jokes on his mother is that he’s collecting Robert’s bastards and setting them up to be the core of his household, because familial relations are a surefire way of ensuring loyalty when you leverage it the right way. Especially since there are already rumours about the Queen killing the Kings bastards if she gets her hands on them. Which means that Lelouch’s many half-siblings are well aware that he saved them from being killed or forced to live in exile. So Cersei is all but frothing at the mouth over the sight of so many Baratheon-coloured children. Plus the Baratheon Herd have all fallen prey to Lelouch’s cult of personality, and their loyalty to their Royal sibling makes Joffrey look bad in comparison.

Now once they get old enough Rolo and Nunnally are also going to train hard. Lelouch manages to arrange things so that Nunnally (and Robert’s other daughters) also get arms training. Nunnally is Whitecloak Legend level of good with a rapier. Lelouch and Rolo are shameless about letting their sister fight their battles for them. Rolo is primarily an assassin and Lelouch is a strategist, neither of which really lend to Robert’s “bash it with a hammer” approach to combat. Lelouch avoids tourneys by expressing admiration for Northern Values and Robert lets it go without argument.

Robert is painfully easy to manipulate even without Geass and Lelouch almost feels bad about it. Not bad enough to stop, but it’s still sad that Robert tore apart a Kingdom or Seven for love of a woman who died before he was ever crowned. Lelouch straight up delights int tormenting Cersei because she’s like the worst parts of Victor and Charles combined into one bitchy, petty, brother-fucking package. Irony is that Cersei does love her children while also hating that three of said children are obviously Robert’s while also loving the Targaryen features that they got from Robert while also loving Jaime’s children the most.

Lelouch corresponds with Tywin on the regular, and asks for Joffrey to be named Tyrion’s heir, as Tyrion is Jaime’s heir, as both lack offspring of their own. The logic progression of inheritance is enough to soothe Tywin’s long-stung pride and he agrees. Cersei is now kept busy fighting to keep Joffrey from being fostered with Tywin and is too distracted to scheme much. Lelouch is giving Joffrey until he’s fifteen to stop being a monster otherwise Joffrey will never see his sixteenth birthday. Lelouch has trimmed his family tree before, so become a “kinslayer” again doesn’t bother him.

Lelouch, Nunnally, and Rolo throw off the legitimacy questions, because of Valyrian and First Men blood magic nonsense, and so Jon Arryn is pretty obviously poisoned be another set of players in the Game. Instead of the Lannisters falling under suspicion, Cersei is being her usually overdramatic self about getting tasters for her children’s food. Super paranoid Queen is super paranoid. Lelouch has Lysa confined to the Tower of the Hand when she tries to run off with Robin. He calls is “giving her time to recover her spirits” and he makes sure that Robin is handed over to Stannis for proper fostering because Robin will be “safe” on Dragonstone and that way no one can accuse Tywin of anything underhanded.

Irony is that Lelouch is called the Black Prince because he’s the only one of his “trueborn” siblings with actually black hair. He thinks this is hilarious since he’s already collected something like five or six of Robert’s bastards for training in various fields by the time the epithet starts being used. Lelouch is heard to publicly say that “they are not any less my siblings for being my father’s natural children” when he hears the reasoning behind the nickname, and that pretty much means he’s got their loyalty for life.

Robert will want to go North when Jon Arryn dies, of course. Lysa is going to be dropped off at Riverrun on the way up. Lelouch is aware that Robert wants a Stark/Baratheon marriage and starts scheming. Tommen is betrothed to Shireen so the Baratheon name will stay on Dragonstone, and because Tommen isn’t forceful enough to displace Shireen’s authority as the Lady of Dragonstone. Rolo has been made Renly’s Heir “until Renly marries and has a son of his own”. Lelouch offhand mentions that the Targaryen’s denied the Starks a Royal Princess as a bride, and Robert stops looking at Lelouch as is now giving Nunally some consideration.

Lelouch wants Nunnally to be happy with her husband, and he knows that he can’t avoid her marrying forever, not in their current world, so the Starks sound like the best of a bad lot. For now Robert is torn between having Lelouch marry one of the Stark daughters, and having Nunnally marry the Stark Heir, so Lelouch can keep that indecision up until he’s satisfied with the choices for the matches that need to be made for the siblings that Lelouch likes. That’s why Tommen was matched with Shireen. Tommen is a bit like how Clovis was before he got into politics and he needs a smart wife who won’t be mean to him. That the match was politically expedient was just gravy.

Lelouch lays eyes on the eldest Stark daughter with her red hair and dreams in her eyes and nopes the seven hells out of that. Sansa is far too similar to Shirley for Lelouch’s comfort. Of course, then he gets ambused by Jon and Arya Stark and immediately recognizes Suzaku and Kaguya.

/…/

Jon Snow has eyes like glacier ice, sometimes Stark grey, sometimes dark as pine needles. Shifting and mercurial as the bastard’s moods, shadowed by the tangle of his dark brown hair. Catelyn Stark doesn’t know how to react to the boy who Ned has claimed is his blood, but she looks at Jon Snow and it’s not Ned she sees. (No, who she sees is Brandon with his wild energy and vibrant ferocity. There is some of Ned’s solemnness in the boy, but…) 

When the fever takes him Catelyn Stark prays for Jon Snow’s recovery, she prays and she begs and she offers the gods all she can. Catelyn makes a vow to do better by him, to be better, and when Jon Snow wakes up the first thing he does is apologize. Jon tells the Lady Stark that he’s sorry for hurting her by being alive and that he’ll try not to bother her any further. Catelyn, who has all those Southron prejudices against bastards softens towards the boy. This is her son’s brother, and that angle of thought is enough for her to start healing from the hurt she felt.

So there Starks are far more peaceful this time around, with less buried resentment lurking in their interactions. Suzaku has years of dealing with Nunnally and Cornelia and their anger at him over the slights done to their respective favourite siblings to help him get on Catelyn Stark’s good side. Of course, Suzaku also sulks a lot over being alone in the new world. At least until Arya is born and Suzaku realizes that she’s Kaguya and then he regrets ever voicing the complaint. Old gods please, he doesn’t need the chaos gremlin take it back.

Kaguya has a much easier time of it than canon!Arya because she knows the importance of appearances, and so she does the bare minimum of training in Westrosi “ladylike” pursuits so that she can fit in with the new world setting, but other than that she starts looking into training with the unfamiliar weapons. This time “Needle” is a set of hair sticks and Mikken is tasked with learning how to craft tessen. Arya is still the “wild” Stark daughter, but this time she’s canny enough to get what she wants without getting in trouble for it. Arya and Jon bond during hunting trips and long horseback rides.

Robb, Theon, and Jon are the terror of the keep and Suzaku is glad to have friends. Kaguya is delighted by the idea of her large family and refuses to let anyone push Jon aside. She saw where isolating Suzaku from his family led last time and she’s not going to let it happen again. So things are better for Jon, and he’s not planning on going to the Wall. Not much else changes with the Starks until the Royal Party shows up. At which point Suzaku and Kaguya nearly lose their shit because Lelouch is there.

/…/

Across the Narrow Sea, Viserys Targaryen sells his sister to a Dothraki Horse Lord and goes to bed dreaming of conquest.

Daenerys Targeryen rolls her eyes, steals everything she can carry including the three dragon eggs that she can feel the life stirring in, dyes her hair green, and takes off into the night. CC is done with this bbullshit, she’s going to go find her accomplice.

/…/

Then there are politics and plotting and ice zombies. Jon becomes Lelouch’s sworn sword, Lelouch is betrothed to Arya, the War of Five Kings never happens, and people are very confused by how well the Black Prince’s betrothed gets along with his mistress.

The dire wolves are still a thing, and at some point Lelouch, Suzaku, and CC all end up riding dragons. Then it’s all over but for the fire and the screaming.

[andromedaceline]

Ben Solo x Prince Zuko

**SPOILERS: AVATAR: THE LAST AIR BENDER & STAR WARS: XII & XIII**

My favorite animated series of all time is Avatar: The Last Airbender. For those who are not familiar (and you should get familiar, it’s great!). Here’s a quick synopsis:

The world is divided into four nations -- the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation and and the Air Nomads -- each represented by a natural element for which the nation is named. Benders have the ability to control and manipulate the element from their nation. Only the Avatar is the master of all four elements. The ruthless Fire Nation wants to conquer the world but the only bender who has enough power, the Avatar, has disappeared ... until now. Two kids from the Water Tribe, Katara and Sokka, soon discovers that Aang is the long-lost Avatar. Now they must safeguard Aang on his journey to master all four elements and save the world from the Fire Nation.

It was a kid’s show on Nickelodeon (2005-2008), but it’s amazingly written and full of many adult type themes (watered down for kids, of course). But I watched the show as an adult and was blown away by how deep it was. It’s heavily influenced by mediums like Star Wars, Asian mythologies,  etc. But while watching this new Star Wars trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens, I couldn’t help but notice a ton of similarities between Ben Solo and Prince Zuko. I felt compelled to research more and write some of those similarities down. 

One main reason I want to compare the two is because (IMO) Zuko is one of the best redemption story ever written. When you first see him in the first episode of Avatar, you instantly hate this guy and think the worst of him. But as the series continues, you learn about his painful childhood and psychotic father, you realize he’s just a product of his environment and doesn’t know any better, similar to Ben Solo. His redemption in the end and when he confronts his father are some of best scenes in the show. I especially love when he (awkwardly) goes to ask Aang and the gang if he can join their group to help defeat his father, Fire Lord Ozai. It’s hilarious, sweet, and pathetic all at the same time, lol. 

I hope that when ep IX comes out, Ben will have a similar redemption arc, because both him and Zuko are anti-heroes cut from the same cloth.

BEN SOLO  X  PRINCE ZUKO

Facial Scar:

Ben: Large scar on right side of face.

Zuko: Large burn on left side of face

Royalty:

Ben: Prince - Technically royalty being Princess Leia’s son, although he was never given the title.

Zuko: Fire Nation Prince - Princess Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai’s son

Powers:

B: Very powerful Force user

Z: Very powerful Fire Bender

Alter Ego (Dons a mask appear more intimidating and conceal identity):

B: Kylo Ren

Z: The Blue Spirit

Temperament: 

B x Z: Hot-tempered, impatient, resentful, bitter and in pain from past experiences. Was never taught a healthy way to deal with these emotions.

Absent Mother:

B: Leia was a busy senator and leader of the Resistance. She was not around during Ben’s formative years. This, along with Han’s absence, ultimately led to Ben's abandonment issues and his longing to "belong".

Z: Ursa disappeared from Zuko's life at a young age (To protect him).

Abusive Father Figure:

B: At a young age, Snoke, twisted, abused, and manipulated Ben emotionally (probably physically too) growing up.

Z:  Ozai was a psychopath who did not love Zuko at all, and even at one point plotted to kill him when he was just a child. He challenged his 14 year old son to an Agni Kai (fire-bending duel), where he permanently scared the left side of his face. Afterwards, he banish him from the Fire Nation. (Also, fun fact: Mark Hamill voiced Fire Lord Ozai in the animated series, so there's that slight connection too.)

Lack of Connection with Father:

B: I heard Han had a hard time connecting with Ben due to his powers, hence one reason why he wasn’t around as much (not sure if true, but makes sense to me considering Han). However, Leia was much closer to Ben due to their connection to the Force. 

Z: Zuko's fire bending abilities were slow to manifest, and for a while Ozai thought he was a weak and useless non-bender.

Uncle’s Care/Betrayal:

B: Sent away in the care of his Uncle Luke, who was his Jedi Master and tried to instill values and "help" him. Eventually, he betrayed his Uncle - resulting in Luke isolating himself to Ahch-To.

Z: After banishment, his Uncle Iroh came along, who was his Fire Bending Teacher, and tried to instill values and “help” him. Eventually, Zuko betrayed his Uncle at Ba Sing Se - hence why Iroh "isolated" himself and refused to speak to Zuko after he was arrested.

Rivalry: 

B: Rivalry with General Hux - Both fighting for attention/good graces of Supreme Leader Snoke. Hux is a military genius, who wants only power.

Z: Rivalry with Commander Zhao - Both fighting for attention/good graces of Lord Ozai. Zhao's a military genius, who wants only power.

Almost Redeemed: 

B: Had a chance to make it right (Turn to “light”), but blew it for his own selfish pursuit of power (his offer to Rey in TLJ to "join him"). Selfishly asking her to join him at the expense of innocent people (Resistance), including his own mother.

Z: Had a chance to make it right (Join Aang), but blew it for his own selfish pursuit of honor (Betrayal of Aang and Katara at Ba Sing Se). Selfishly joining Azula at the expense of innocent people, including his Uncle Iroh, who cared for him when no one else would.

Evil Lineage: 

B: Idolizes Grandfather, Darth Vader - Who helped start The Galactic War (Empire vs Rebels) and the genocide of the Jedi. Severely insecure that he will never live up to the standards put on by Snoke or live up to the legend of his grandfather, Darth Vader.

Z: Idolizes Great Grandfather, Sozin - Who started The Great War (Fire Nation vs All the other nations) and the genocide of the Air Nomads. Severely insecure that he will never live up to the standards put on by Lord Ozai or live up to the legend of his great grandfather, Sozin.

Misguided Values: 

B x Z: Blinded by misguided teachings that their side (Dark Side/Fire Nation) is the “right” side, all other sides are wrong, and therefore must submit or be destroyed. No compromise.

Cruel and Menacing: 

B: Tortured, killed, terrorized Rebels and Allies

Z: Used terror and fear to instill control over Water/Earth Benders and Allies 

Path to Redemption:

B:  He has to find path of redemption on his own and "save" himself by letting go of his selfish desires/misguided beliefs. In order to truly redeem himself he must confront his past, join forces with Rey, and bring balance to the Force.

Z: Had to find path of redemption on his own and "save" himself by letting go of his selfish desires/misguided beliefs. In Book Three, he decided to give up all he ever wanted, defy his father, and join the Avatar to bring peace back to the world.

There’s probably more, but that’s all I could think of at the moment. 

It's very possible that Ben’s on a path to redemption similar to Zuko. One can only hope, as Zuko is such an amazing character, and a fine example of a redemption story done right.

I hopefully Ben's story will be too.

[distractionpie]

sledgefu for the ship meme?

Okay! I’ve never written for the pacific before but I havewatched it once and read a little fan content so I’m gonna take a stab at this,but fair warning my grasp on these characters is not great.

·        who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter

Snafu is there werewolfand Sledge is the guy hunting down myths and legends and cryptids to find outthe true stories behind them who finds himself rapidly in out of his depth whenit turns out that this particular story is hunting him right back.

·        who’s the mermaid and who’s the fisherman

Sledge is thefisherman who is just out for a relaxing day on the water and Snafu is thecreepy sort of merperson, all teeth and gills and webbed fingers who usuallyswims deep down among the reeds, but Sledge’s boat catches his eye so he swimsafter him. Snafu would swear he didn’t mean to almost drown Sledge when hecapsized his boat, he was just curious and how was he supposed to know thathumans were so soft they couldn’t breathe underwater even a little bit.

·        who’s the witch and who’s the familiar

Snafu is the witchand Sledge is his familiar who spends a lot of time talking him down andkeeping him out of trouble. Strangers whisper that Snafu keeps his conscienceand his sense on his shoulder and not in his head, but they both get by okayand neither of them care about the opinions of people rude enough to gossip.

·        who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict

Sledge is thebarista although technically the shop hired him to be their tea expert and Snafuis the coffee addict who he always ends up serving because all of the otherstaff seem to get mysteriously busy elsewhere whenever they see Snafu comingthrough the door. Sledge knows that they’re all scared of Snafu but doesn’tquite understand why since they’re the ones with the coffee and therefore thepower.

·        who’s the professor and who’s the TA

Sledge is theprofessor of ornithology and Snafu is the TA to a senior professor and expertwhom Sledge wants to discuss his recent research with, except instead ofhelping him set up meetings Snafu seems determined to be as obstructive aspossible – stalling him on the phone, constantly ‘forgetting’ to let the otherprofessor know Sledge has arrived therefore keeping him in the waiting areawith Snafu.

·        who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)

Sledge is thepretty pretty prince and Snafu is a commoner who fights in rusty old armour untilhe saves Sledge’s life and is knighted as a reward. He’s not actually keen onbeing a knight but he is keen on Sledge and there ain’t no other way he’s likedto get more opportunities to chase after royalty so he just goes with it.

·        who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent

Snafu is real proudwhen his kid gets a full ride to the fancy private school and he does want hiskid to have all the best chances in life but also he’s pretty freaked outbecause he’s worked for the sort of people who got their education in placeslike that he knows what they think of people like him and he could deal withfancy rich people looking down their noses at him, he’s learned not to lethimself care, but his son is sensitive and if anybody so much as looks at himfunny there’s gonna be trouble. Sledge is the teacher who is all about learningthrough nature and acts like Snafu’s son is the star of the class because ofall his knowledge about wildlife that’s just common sense for anybody growingup on the bayou, and Sledge is doing wonderings for the kid’s confidence andSnafu hasn’t got the first clue what to make of all this but every single meritcertificate is carefully stuck up on their refrigerator.

·        who’s the writer and who’s the editor

Sledge is the writer and Snafu is the editor who goesthrough his stuff dramatically cutting it down and putting in into smallerwords so that it’s actually readable to more than like five experts. “Youunderstood it, so it can’t be that impenetrable,” Sledge complains, but Snafujust points out that’s because he’s used to Sledge’s manner and has alreadyheard him talk it all to death before putting words to paper.

[findingniamho]

The Legend of Princess Katarina: Chapter 2

Read it here or below!

The key’s gone, Sam’s dad is wrong and where did all this hay come from?Please like and reblog if you enjoy, and I hope that you have a magical week! 🐟

👑⚔

If someone asked Katarina what the number one worst part about being a princess was (not that anyone ever asked), she wouldn't say the dresses were number one, but they definitely made the list. They were just so impractical, and they didn't even look that nice, in Katarina's opinion. She would rather wear the stable worker uniform than the red monstrosity she was being forced into this evening for dinner. At least she could run in that if she needed to. For all her mother's lectures about safety, it would be almost impossible to get away if someone made an attempt on her life. She looked into the mirror and was met with what looked like a tomato. Crossing her fingers of her left hand behind her back, she reminded herself that she may look stupid, but looks can be deceiving.

After a delightfully awkward dinner where she listened to her mother rant on about everything from snakes to shoes, Katarina snuck into a torch-lit alcove. There, she detached her skirt from the breeches she was wearing underneath (if she was going to wear a dress, it was going to be at least a tiny bit useful) and fished out a cloak from where she had stashed it in the corner earlier. All she had to do now was to wait for Quinn's signal. Gazing out of the window, she saw the great lawn below her with the yellow specks of sibius flowers dotting the surface like drops of sunlight. From her studies, Katarina knew that if you combined the petal of a sibius with a drop of blood it could make a particularly powerful bout of healing potion (although it also acted as a truth serum, so it was rarely used). These small pockets of knowledge brought beauty to Katarina's grey world, the way that sunlight does to just about anything. Knowing that all this would one day be hers did not give her the same comfort. She would be more trapped than ever, and would probably have to marry some stuck-up prince who would say dumb things like "wow, you're so pretty," and "I didn't know that you could do that." Like the only thing that she was capable of was looking pretty. Well, she was capable. And one day she was going to prove it.

👑⚔️

Sam strode across the castle grounds, black boots (well, mostly brown now) thumping on the grass. Her breathing came quick and sharp, much like the conversation she'd had with her father minutes before. The rhythm of her feet accompanied the pounding mantra in her head.

"Girls. Can't. Use. Swords. Girls. Can't. Use. Swords." The sneer on her father's face as he glared down at her returned to her vision. He looked at her like she was nothing. In this world, it felt like that was all she would ever be. Out of habit, she glanced up at the tower above her, where the high-ups lived. Surprised to actually see someone in the little window for once, Sam waved up at the shadowy figure, squinting to see through the sunlight that bored into her eyeballs. It was only after she'd nearly reached the edge of the lawn that she could see who she was waving at: the princess.

Oh, coopickles.

She was sweaty, raging and covered in muck. At least the princess had been too far away to smell her, thank Bisjak. Running a hand through her short hair, Sam turned back just in time to see her sigh and turn away from the window. She realised that she'd probably just worsened the situation on the mud front and the princess probably had much better things to look at inside the castle. She could have whatever she wanted in there. Like in the rhyme. From the sun in the sky to the river below, anything she wants let it be so. But the princess always seemed different from the rest of the royal family, not that Sam had ever spoken to her. First of all, it was forbidden for stable workers to interact with royalty and Sam also found that whenever she tried to talk to people, she got flustered and started blabbing on about dragons. The princess had waved back to Sam, though. That was something.

As she entered the armoury, Sam glanced around to check that no one was looking. Technically, she had signed up to clean the weapons, but seeing as they were spares, they lay on the wall, already gleaming in the last light of the day. The palace guards had to clean their own swords, which they kept on them at all times, so Sam was left with little to do as she let her fingers linger on the hilt of the longsword closest to her. The gold on the handle made up an intricate design of waves and curls, with ancient inscriptions weaving through in some forgotten language. The blade itself was so smooth that she could see her reflection. A ragged girl upon her eighteenth year, she was in the standard uniform of a palace stable worker: red and black flannel shirt over a grey t-shirt (both with the royal crest: a crown with two crossed swords), black trousers and black boots. Although now her uniform was more brown than black; it had been a day that was for sure. Her dark hair was short and curly and her brown eyes had flecks of gold in them if she looked close enough. She had her father's eyes. Thinking of her father made her remember that awful conversation that they'd had. He'd been screaming at her, outraged at the prospect of her becoming what she really wanted to be.

For as long as she could remember, they'd both wanted the same thing for her: to get married, have a family and live a blissfully domestic life. But then her brother went off to train to become a knight, boasting about his honour and how he was going to do his part for the queendom. Where was her honour? Where was her big part to play? Suddenly, she didn't know if the picture-perfect life that laid before her was something that she knew what to do with. And it wasn't like marrying a man was ever really an option for her...

So, she marched into the office of the head of the palace staff and demanded that he give her a job. Granted, it wasn't what she was expecting but it was better than the nothing that she was apparently destined for. Unlike the princess, who seemed destined for everything. She always seemed so kind, and smart, yet so sad. What did she have to be sad about? She had everything: beauty, grace, the entire queendom and all that it encompassed. Nothing could get to her in that tower. Especially the short stable girl with muck in her hair who looked back at Sam in the reflection on the blade. Sam grasped the hilt more tightly and lifted the weapon off the wall. It made a satisfying swish sound as it cut through the air. Sam grinned, eyeing the straw training dummy on the other side of the room, shafts of light creeping in through the wooden slats in the roof. Now, this she knew what to do with.

👑⚔️

Katarina had nearly fallen asleep by the time she heard a soft knocking sounding along the pipe inside the wall that she was leaning against. Drawing her cloak around her, she snuck quietly down the hallway, her torch creating flickering shadows, like fingers that snapped and snatched at her. She turned one corner, then another, making sure that no one could possibly tail her. After she'd collected the key that Quinn had pinched from her mother, she had to try and find the crypt. If the crypt was ever broken into or attacked, it would move itself to a different place in the palace or its grounds. One time, Katarina found it in the cellars. Another time, in a broom cupboard. That was another reason that Katarina was suspicious about its contents: if it was "just some old bits and bobs," like her mother said, then why did the crypt have so many protections in place? Why did the key to it never leave her mother's person? If it was important, surely Katarina had a right to know what was in there?

She heard the sound of guards marching towards her and ducked into the shadows, snuffing out the torch. Katarina held her breath as they clanged past her, the metal joints of their uniforms making them seem more mechanical beings than human. Once they had rounded the corner, she reached one hand up to feel for the loose brick. There it was, Quinn had turned it around which meant that... aha! Her fingers curled around something sharp and frigid. The weight of the object surprised her and it clattered to the ground, accompanied to the screeching of metal against stone. Katarina gasped, then covered her mouth with her hand as the clanging of the guards stopped.

"Did you hear something?" said one.

"Probably just some snids," replied the other. Snids were pretty harmless, just a bit of a nuisance. Their voices faded as they continued their march and Katarina looked down at what she had dropped. She relit her torch and held it up to the light. She had never seen it up this close before and gazed for a second at the inscription that surrounded the pattern of the royal crest upon it. The looping writing was almost illegible and not in any language that she had studied anyway. Katarina could have looked at it for hours, but keys were not made for looking at. Now she had to find something to unlock.

👑⚔️

Slash.

Useless.

Slash.

Nothing.

Slash.

Pathetic.

The sun had set over an hour ago now, and Sam was still hacking away at the training dummy, reduced to a flaking pile of straw now. She'd given up on proper technique long ago and the mud on her uniform had since turned to dust.

Slash.

Girls.

Can't.

Use.

Swords.

Her boots drew patterns on the sandy floor of the armoury as she danced across it, her blade catching flashes of moonlight as her mind caught flashes of memory. The thread on her shirt that she picked at as she refused to meet her father's stare. The clanging of pots in the kitchen as her mother prepared dinner. How the fireplace was reflected in her father's eyes as she told him that he rejected the road that was laid out for her and wanted to forge her own path.

"Your place is at home, with a husband and children. That is your legacy! It runs in the family!"

"Well, it runs out here!"

And then, well, then she ran.

Shaking, Sam sank to her knees and wiped the sweat off her brow. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes but she pushed them down. She had never cared for tears; what had they ever done for her? She looked down at her trembling hands, at the dirt that sat in the lines of her palms. The blood that flowed beneath her skin had no legacy. A tradition was merely a flimsy way of pretending that anything she did really mattered.

A sudden orange glow and the scraping of feet upon the ground startled her and she grabbed her longsword, pointing it at the neck of her intruder.

The neck of Princess Katarina the Second.

[gatesofember]

Wheat fields, Bluebonnets, and Hedges: Chapter 2

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 6

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: Now that he’s fully aware of his feelings for Will, Prince Nico spends his visit to Diana trying to lure his fiancé into kissing him, only to be continuously thwarted by either his guard or his fiancé’s obliviousness. Will, however, is more concerned with other matters — namely, his family’s ceaseless endeavor to embarrass him in front of the Prince.

Nico’s first day in Diana had not been a complete failure, but it hadn’t gone the way he had hoped.  To his surprise, he might have even done well when meeting Will’s family.  He had been quite determined to be polite and it appeared he had succeeded.  Yes, Will’s family was rather odd and lacked some refinement, but they were friendly.  They quite obviously adored Will—which was to be expected, as Nico believed it was rather difficult to not adore him.  Nico had enjoyed hearing about Will’s long-lasting admiration of him.  He’d also enjoyed the portrait.

However, Nico had been hoping for a bit...more.

When Will stayed in Divitia in the fall, Nico had attempted to get Will alone several times but Hedge had always been in the way.  All of Nico’s attempts to get Will to kiss him had been thwarted.  His disappointment had led to determination and Nico had resolutely decided he would succeed in kissing Will the next time they met.  Nico would never admit to it, but he had entertained fantasies about Will sweeping him into his arms and kissing him the moment he stepped foot on Dianan soil.  It was a ridiculous idea, so Nico wasn’t terribly disappointed that it didn’t happen.  He had been disappointed when Will didn’t kiss him at all that day.  Nico had given Will plenty of opportunities to do it.  He had complimented Will.  He had stood close to Will.  He’d touched Will.  He’d even managed to escape from Hedge!  And yet, Will had done nothing about it.

Despite that, Nico remained determined.  He vowed that he would get Will to kiss him on his second day.  Surely they would find an appropriate time for it; they would be in Delphi.

Delphi, the most important Sororal city in Jupiter, was located just outside of Phoebus.  Although they were both Sororal cities, Delphi and Venadica were said to be very different.  Venadica was the City of Enlightenment, a place where some of the most brilliant sorors and consors studied.  On the other hand, Delphi was known as a place for the entire Populus Romanus to gather and celebrate the gods.  Of course Delphi was dedicated to ’the hunt,’ as well—Will studied there in the winter—but that wasn’t the city’s purpose.

The city was most famous for its pleasure gardens.  The Gardens of Delphi were open to the public and contained not only stunningly artistic landscaping, but also an opera house and menagerie.  It was partially the Gardens of Delphi that made public pleasure gardens so popular throughout the Romanus Terris.  Its influence was no coincidence; the city had been a gathering place since ancient times.  According to legend, the city was the center of the world, located at Gaea’s navel.  Nico could remember Bianca telling him that late one evening when they had sneaked out of their rooms to play.  They had giggled about it all night long.

The important thing was that Will was taking them to a famously beautiful place and Nico would not let the day end before he got Will to kiss him.  It had occurred to Nico that he could simply tell Will that he wanted a kiss, but he had never seriously considered doing so.  That would be far too embarrassing and improper.  And, of course, Nico could theoretically be the one to kiss Will, but Nico would not allow himself to commit such a scandalous act.  The only viable solution was to somehow get Will to kiss him, preferably without revealing too much of his enthusiasm about the idea.  Unfortunately, Will was unlikely to do it on his own; as the Prince, Nico would be the one to initiate all novel steps in their relationship.  Nico had been the one to propose, their wedding would be in Nico’s home, and Nico would be the one to decide where and when they kissed.  So Nico had to somehow dictate the appropriateness of the setting to Will without actually giving the kiss itself.

“The room I stayed in was massive,” Nico said as they were traveling to Delphi.  “You didn’t tell me that your home was so beautiful!”

Will was watching him with a smile that was sweet, kind, and so very Will in a way that made Nico want to kiss it.  “Well, it is our best guest room,” Will said.

“But it was huge!  You could have fit a stable in there!”

Will chuckled.  “Rooms in southern Jupiter tend to be larger than those in Pluto.  The weather is warmer here.  Pluto’s harsh winters are what makes smaller rooms more common there; small rooms are easier to heat.  But, although your rooms are smaller, you have many more of them.”

“That is true,” Nico said thoughtfully.  Regardless, the Sun Palace had provided Nico with a clearer picture of exactly how wealthy his fiancé was.  Of course the Palatium de Divitae was just as opulent, but it lacked the liveliness of the Sun Palace.  The Divitae was kept clean and in good condition, but something about the atmosphere had seemed cold and dead since the Scarlet Delirium.  Will’s home was just the opposite; it was filled with people and activity.  Every room was kept lit, as they were constantly in use; the Sun Palace was home to not only Apollo’s family, but the staff and farm workers and their families, as well.  The wealth of the Dianan family allowed it to not only inhabit a beautiful palace, but to truly fill it with their presence and provide for everyone who called it home.

Even the carriage was luxurious.  They were taking one of Apollo’s, an updated model with a spring system that made the ride smoother.  There was enough room to comfortably seat Nico and Will as well as Reyna and Hedge, and there was still room for Asterion to lie on the floor between them.  The outside of the carriage was gilded like the Hall of Gold in the Palatium de Divitae and the inside was lined with leather.  Nico was in awe of how beautiful it was, but he was also insecure about what Will might think of the Pluton royal carriage he traveled in.  The seats were not cushioned as well, the ride was bumpy, and the design was rather plain by comparison.  Will knew about Pluto’s economic troubles, but how did that play into his opinion of Nico?

“Have you seen Rheae Fidelium?” Will suddenly asked, pulling Nico from his ruminating.

“I have not,” Nico replied, wondering if that made him seem uncultured.  It was a popular opera, but the royal family’s budgeting left the arts somewhat neglected.

“The current act in Delphi is performing it.  I thought we might attend, if you enjoy opera?”

“Do you enjoy opera?” Nico asked.

Still smiling, Will tilted his head to the side and said, “I asked Your Highness first.”

Without warning, Hedge suddenly exploded, “That is no way to speak to the Prince!”

Will looked shocked, then sheepish, but Reyna intervened before anything else could happen.  “Hedge,” she said sternly.  “Remember what we discussed this morning.”

Hedge grumbled to himself, but didn’t fight back.  It was pointless to resist Reyna; Nico knew from experience.  Earlier that day, when Hedge and Nico had gotten into an argument over what constituted as proper behavior of a suitor, Reyna had grown tired of their bickering and reminded Hedge that she was Nico’s chaperone, while Hedge’s main concern should be Nico’s safety.  Hedge feebly argued that he was trying to keep Nico’s chastity safe, but Reyna once again reminded Hedge that Nico’s chastity was her responsibility, not his.  “I find it difficult to believe that Lord William poses a threat to the Prince’s virtue,” she had added.  Nico hadn’t said it outloud, but he was fairly certain that he threatened Will’s virtue more than Will threatened his.

Nico cleared his throat to cut through the sudden tension in the carriage and said, “Yes, I enjoy opera.  And you?”

“I love the opera,” Will said.  Nico refused to admit that his breath caught just a bit at the word ’love.’ “ Rheae Fidelium is my favorite.  I admit I’ve already gone to Delphi to watch it a few times this season.  I never tire of it.”

“Then of course I would like to see it,” Nico said.  He wondered if they would have a box to themselves.  Last time they’d gone to the opera together, the box had been crowded.  Perhaps this time, they would be alone, sitting side by side in the dark.  Perhaps then Nico would get Will to kiss him.  They would kiss while listening to the music of Will’s favorite opera and it would make Will so happy that he would think of Nico every time he heard it in the future.

When they arrived in Delphi, Will showed him the city through the carriage window.  Nico’s heart raced when Will leaned closer to look over Nico’s shoulder at the passing scenery.  Hedge had looked like he wanted to interject, but Reyna’s scolding hadn’t worn off quite yet and he remained silent.  Nico was glad.  He liked the tingling feeling on his back as he imagined Will leaning closer, close enough to touch him.  To his surprise, he even liked the height Will had on him when his soft voice came from above his shoulder.  Will had grown taller since the last time they’d met in person.  Nico had grown taller, as well, and he’d hoped that he would have caught back up to Will’s height, but those hopes turned out to be in vain.  It was annoying, but also notably attractive.  Nico could admit that it was a nice angle to look at Will from.  Nico had also noticed that Will looked rather like his father and his oldest brother, Lee.  Both Apollo and Lee were quite handsome, which led Nico to believe that Will could only grow more attractive as he aged.  It was an appealing idea.

Will paid the entrance fee for the Gardens of Delphi—technically a voluntary donation, Will explained, but it was frowned upon not to pay—and Nico’s hopes about being alone in the dark were confirmed when Will sent notice to the staff that he would make use of the Duke’s box later that afternoon.  “Would you like to watch the nightly fireworks ceremony?” Will asked as they were exiting the carriage.  “I must warn you that it begins after sundown, so it will be late by the time we return to Phoebus.”

“Of course I want to watch,” Nico said.  “When will I have the chance to view the Gardens of Delphi’s famous fireworks ceremony?”

Will chuckled.  “Then we’ll be sure to make the most of your visit.  We have a few hours before the start of the opera if you would like to see the menagerie.”

When Nico agreed, Will offered his arm and started down the path that led to the menagerie.  Asterion trotted beside them while Reyna and Hedge followed farther back.  Will talked about the menagerie’s history as they walked, explaining that it had began as a collection of animals bought by an old Dianan duke who loved to flaunt his wealth.  “The menagerie is much better than it used to be,” Will said as he paid a second donation to enter.  “Long ago, they used to stage fights between the animals for amusement—bears and elephants, tigers and leopards.  Their care improved after the animals were moved to Delphi, but the menagerie was still rather ill-equipped to house them.  It puts quite the stain on Delphi’s history, to say the least.  Thankfully, the Sorority has learned quite a bit about animals since then.  Once, menageries were for spectators to gawk at exotic animals in cages.  Now they are becoming more educational in nature.”

Nico slowed their pace as they walked in front of the tiger exhibit.  “It seems to me that we are spectators gawking at exotic animals,” he commented as he admired the tiger’s coat.

“Well...yes.  But we made a donation when we entered and that will fund research and improvements for the facilities.  The animals aren’t in cages, as you can see.  The enclosures are much better equipped than they once were.  The foliage mimics the natural environment of the tiger and offers coverage, should she wish to escape from the view of visitors.  The menagerie receives complaints about the animals not always being visible, but zoologists believe that it gives the animals a sense of safety and a degree of control over their environment.  There are still many problems to be addressed, but this is progress.”

“I suspect the Sorority has had a hand in these improvements?” Nico asked.

“Of course.  Menageries are improving all across the Romanus Terris.  Delphi’s menagerie is by no means the largest, but it is one of the best.  The animals are quite active.” Will gestured to the lion exhibit, where a cub was playfully nudging and pushing his sleeping brother.  Ultimately, he gave up and lay down next to him to nap.  “Delphi’s lioness had cubs not long ago.  It attracted a nice crowd of visitors who donated to finance the cubs’ care.  They are doing very well.  Of course, the lions tend to sleep until dusk—many of the animals are most active at dawn and dusk, so we don’t always get to see it.”

“You seem to know a lot about the menagerie,” Nico said.

“I spent the last two winters studying the animals’ health,” Will explained.  “I was here when the lioness had her cubs.”

“You delivered the cubs?”

“No, no, the lioness did the work,” he said.  “I was only there to ensure it went well.  Most animals don’t need help delivering.  But anyway, would you like to see the apes?  Delphi is particularly proud of its ape exhibit.”

They passed by the elephants and camels on their way and Nico listened as Will talked about them.  He was quite impressed by how much Will knew, but mostly he liked listening to Will.  He was serious but passionate and excited, and he didn’t seem to be anywhere close to exhausting the topic.  Nico suspected he could spend days talking about it.  Nico also suspected he could spend days listening to Will talk; he enjoyed the sound of Will’s voice.  His Dianan accent was stronger than usual, which Nico found endearing.  Asterion seemed very interested in the apes and Will babbled about the exhibit for such a long time that he only stopped when he realized that they had to hurry through the remainder of the menagerie to get to the opera house on time.

“Many sorors and consors favor the term ’zoological gardens’ over menagerie,” Will commented as they were walking.  “They say it more accurately reflects the educational purpose.”

“Then why do you call them ’menageries’?” Nico asked.  It seemed like a movement he would support.

Will looked sheepish.  “I like the way it sounds,” he admitted.

Nico laughed, but he liked the way Will said the word, too.  “Your accent is different here.  It sounds much more southern Juvian.”

“Does it?” Will asked with a curious expression.

“You usually have a much more Venadican way of speaking,” Nico explained.  “At least, on the occasions I’ve seen you.”

“I suppose my accent changes depending on who I have been around,” Will said thoughtfully.  “I had not noticed that.  It’s a pity that neither Venadican nor southern Juvian are particularly attractive accents.”

“I don’t think so,” Nico protested.  “I think your accent is charming.”

Will’s face turned pink.  Nico liked it.  Nico wanted to reach out and touch Will’s flushed cheeks.  Were they hot?  Were they soft?  They were probably soft.  Nico wanted to touch them.  Then pull Will’s face closer.  Then kiss him.  A lot.

Nico forced himself to stop his thoughts there.

“But like I was saying,” Will continued, still blushing.  “Learning about the animals has helped us find out how to improve their lives.  Tigers prefer to be alone, but elephants like to be in groups, for example.  We do the same with our livestock.”

“Then we will need to make a proper ranch in Divitia,” Nico said thoughtfully.

“Yes,” Will agreed.  “Divitia must be prepared for the cattle before our wedding.  There are few options of suitable breeds that we are considering.”

“They won’t be the same breed as your herd?” Nico asked in surprise.

“No, they would not do well in Pluto’s climate.”

“I had not thought of that,” Nico said.  “Your family has considered everything.”

“My family has quite the passion for ranching,” Will said.  “My aunt cares deeply for animals, as well; zoology is one of her concentrations, along with gynecology and ecology.  She has sped up the Sorority’s progress on zoological studies.  She told me that her mother’s ranch inspired her love for animals.”

Nico sighed, remembering how sad Will had looked the day before when he told Nico he would miss being in Phoebus for calving season.  “I wish that you didn’t have to be so far from it,” he mumbled.  “When we marry, I mean.”

Will only smiled.  “I will be happy in Divitia,” he said, just as he had the day before.

“Have you ever even been through a Pluton winter?” Nico asked.

“Once, about nine years ago.  I’ll admit it wasn’t pleasant, but I will learn to survive it.”

A few absurd thoughts about methods of keeping Will warm crossed through Nico’s mind.  He flushed.  “What animal is that?” Nico asked to distract himself, pointing to a sandy enclosure with a pond and a large reptile.

“A crocodile, Your Highness.  They are native to Aegyptia—wouldn’t do well in Pluto’s climate either, I’m afraid.  Austin loves crocodiles; they are his favorite animal.”

“Austin didn’t talk much yesterday,” Nico commented.  “You did say that he tends to be shy.”

“Only at first,” Will answered with a chuckle.  He stopped and said a few words to a soror at the exit of the menagerie as they left, but continued when they passed through the gates.  “Once Austin feels comfortable, he is just as loud as the rest of them.  Loud er, sometimes.  Austin is....” Will paused like he was searching for words.  “He feels very strong emotions.”

“Strong emotions?” Nico asked curiously.

“He’s very passionate,” Will said.  “It’s a good thing most of the time.  It’s why he is such a talented musician; he gets lost in the music.  When he’s happy, he’s a joy to be around.  He has a wonderful sense of humor—and a cleaner sense of humor than my older siblings.  Being a part of his family is...I don’t know how to explain it.  When Austin loves, he loves with his entire being.  Everything Austin does is loud and filled with emotion.  Unfortunately, that extends to his negative emotions, as well.”

“Such as...anger?” Nico asked.

Will shook his head.  “Oh, no,” he said quickly.  “Austin rarely gets angry.  No, I mean sadness.  Anxiety.  Stress.  He takes everything that happens to him to heart and he feels things so deeply that sometimes it overwhelms him.  He knows that he can sometimes experience things a bit differently than others do and he’s sensitive about it.  Last night Lee made a comment about Austin crying around the rabbit, if you recall.  That’s the sort of thing that might upset Austin, which is why Lee quickly assured him that he wasn’t teasing.  Austin tries to control it, but he can’t help the way he reacts to things.  I think he’s so quiet around strangers because afraid that his emotions burden people.  It’s not a burden, of course; I only wish he didn’t feel so much hurt.” Will sighed as they ascended the stairs to the opera house.  “Anyway, I’m sure you noticed that my family members tend to tease quite often.  It’s always for fun, never malicious, but we know it hurts Austin if we take it too far; we’ve all seen Austin break down at some point.  We take care of him—not so much that he feels singled out, but enough to let him know that we think the world of him.  Oh, the box is this way, Your Highness.  We ought to wait for Lady Reyna and Hedge so they can follow.”

Nico had nearly forgotten that Reyna and Hedge were with them; Reyna seemed to have been effective in reigning Hedge’s behavior.  She constantly reminded Hedge that chaperones and guards should be present, but not intrusive, and it appeared the lecture she had given him the day before had been effective—at least for the time being.

“Now Kayla, on the other hand,” Will said when Reyna and Hedge got close enough for them to continue walking.  “Kayla is a bit of trouble.”

Nico laughed.  Early that morning, Kayla had found Nico to excitedly flaunt her destroyed Paris doll.  She’d informed him that Menelaus had grown tired of Paris and murdered him in exchange for an apple.  The wooden doll had barely been recognizable, as she had smashed it to splinters using a hammer.  Nico had complimented Kayla on her thoroughness.

“A bit?” Nico teased, then mentally scolded himself.  He shouldn’t tease Will’s family, especially not so soon after meeting them.  He’d meant it as a joke, but if Will didn’t take it that way—

But Will chuckled.  “Alright, she’s a lot of trouble.  But so charming.”

“Yes, she is.  Rather like a certain charming young boy I’ve been hearing about recently.”

Will went scarlet.  “That...that wasn’t...it was all very exaggerated.”

“Was it really?  The portrait implied differently.”

“I...that...uh...Kayla,” Will stuttered as they reached their box.  “I was talking about Kayla.”

“Yes, tell me about Kayla,” Nico agreed.  The lights in the theater hadn’t been dimmed yet, to Nico’s disappointment.  He hadn’t forgotten his plan to get Will to kiss him in the dark.  However, he was pleased to see that Reyna and Hedge remained at the entrance of the box rather than coming in closer, and he didn’t mind when Asterion decided to lie next to him.

“Kayla is a bit of a terror,” Will said, letting Nico take a seat before joining him.  “It’s probably our fault for spoiling her so much, but we can’t help but favor her.  She never seems to run out of energy—thank the gods that Chiron is so patient.  When she’s not playing with her dolls or her blocks, she’s running around some place, usually causing trouble.  She loves to be outside and making a mess of her clothes—which, by the way, she loves.  She has quite the obsession with pretty dresses.  Unfortunately, she also has a tendency to ruin them after only a few wears, so she goes through dresses fairly quickly.  It doesn’t help that she keeps getting taller.”

“Hazel loves her dresses, as well,” Nico said with a chuckle.  “Not to the point of an obsession, but she is revolted by the idea of ever wearing breeches.  I have been trying to convince her that they are much more practical for fencing, but she will not listen.”

“That’s right, you were helping her learn to fence,” Will said, lowering his voice as the lights dimmed.  “Lee and Michael both enjoy archery and they have been pleading for Chiron to let them teach Kayla, but he hasn’t allowed it.  Kayla has shown a great deal of interest in the sport, but...well.  We are hesitant to give her sharp objects.”

“Understandable,” Nico replied in a whisper.  The crowd was growing quieter, but the orchestra was still playing the overture.  “Sometimes I worry Hazel is a little bit too happy to strike the training dummy—or me, when we spar.  I keep telling her she isn’t meant to stab, but she hasn’t listened.”

“I admit I know little about the sport, but I thought you were supposed to stab?” Will said, cocking his head to the side in a rather adorable display of confusion.  Nico wanted to kiss the subtle pout off his face.

“Well, yes, in the Juvian school of fencing,” Nico said, ignoring the voices in his head screaming for him to just grab Will and kiss him.  “The Plutonian school is different.  Hazel would probably prefer the Juvian school.”

“And which would you prefer, Your Highness?”

Nico thought for a moment.  Ordinarily, he would have immediately declared that the Juvian school was barbaric, but when Will asked, he was forced to admit that he had a great deal of respect for the style.  “I cannot say,” Nico eventually replied.  “I am comfortable with the Pluton school, but I don’t deny that the Juvian school intrigues me, as well.  But I think the show is about to start; we will talk more at intermission.”

Will agreed and turned to the stage, which offered Nico an opportunity to admire Will’s profile.  He stopped as soon as he realized he was doing it and turned to watch the performance. Rheae Fidelium—which was old Pluton for “Rhea the Faithful”—was a well-known opera about Rhea’s role in the war between the Titans and the Protogenoi.  It was not an uncommon topic; the war was a frequent subject in art and music, particularly Rhea’s role in it.  When the Protogenoi’s mutinous children rose up against them, Rhea was the only Titan who remained loyal.  The first act of the opera followed Rhea’s struggle with her conflicting allegiances to her parents and her husband.  It ended with the downfall of Ouranos solidifying her resolution to return to Gaea’s side.

Nico felt disappointed when the entr’acte began at intermission.  He had been too focused on the opera to get Will to kiss him.  The lights were raised between the acts, which made the atmosphere much less suitable for kissing.

Will, however, seemed delighted.  He asked Nico what he thought of the opera, then babbled about how much he loved it before leaning back in his seat, smiling, and saying something that shocked Nico.  “This opera house is where my father met my mother.”

Nico tried not to show his surprise.  “Your mother?”

“My birth mother,” Will clarified.  “Not my stepmother.  Daphne met my father at an arranged meeting, of course.”

“I see,” Nico said as he tried to organize his thoughts.  He was not sure how to respond; he did not mind that Will was natural-born, but usually such things were not mentioned in polite conversation.

“How did they meet?” Nico asked, pushing aside his astonishment.  Will was sharing a private story with him and Nico was honored to hear it.

“She was a singer,” Will said.  “My father always told me that he fell for her the instant he heard her voice.  After the performance, he asked to see her and they spent the rest of the day together around the park.  He went back to listen to her sing every day.”

“Was Daphne there?” Nico asked before he could restrain himself.

Will gave Nico a bashful smile.  “I was too nervous to ask,” he admitted.  “I’m not sure that either of them are willing to offer that information.”

“I did not mean to intrude—” Nico started.

“Not at all,” Will replied.  “I have no secrets from you, Your Highness.  Anything you wish to know, ask.”

Nico chewed the inside of his lip in thought for a brief moment, and then, before he could change his mind, he asked, “How did your stepmother react to your birth?”

“I don’t know what my father and stepmother’s relationship was like at the time,” Will admitted.  “I was my father’s first illegitimate child; I don’t know if she reacted differently to my birth than she did to Austin’s, but she accepted Austin into the family without question.”

“And what is her relationship with your father like now?” Nico asked, because he had been a bit confused the day before when Apollo was seated next to both his wife and his lover at dinner.  “I mean—you don’t have to answer that.”

“I don’t mind,” Will said.  “I am what I am, Your Highness, and there’s no point in being ashamed of that.”

“Of course, I didn’t mean to imply...I...I don’t mind.  That you’re natural-born.  It doesn’t matter to me—if you were worried, that is.”

Will’s smile was calm even though Nico’s hands were shaking.  “I didn’t think you would mind, but thank you for saying that.  As for my parents—my father and stepmother, that is—they don’t hate each other, but they don’t particularly get along, either.  My father married her because he fell in love, my stepmother accepted because of his wealth and influence.  I think....” Will stopped and cleared his throat.  “I’ve never told anyone this, but I think my father is still a bit in love with my stepmother.  I’ve always thought that he seems a bit sad after they fight.  I think my stepmother cares for him, too, in a way.  If you pay attention, you’ll start to see that she always seems to be looking out for him.  They are good parents.  Even if things between them aren’t quite right, they will work together for the family.”

“And what about Hyacinthus?” Nico asked.

“My father has a history of lovers,” Will said with a chuckle.  “He falls in love easily, but he has been quite monogamous to Hyacinth lately—apart from a few brief affairs, but he and Hyacinth don’t mind that.  Although, Hyacinth’s relationship with the Earl of Favonius has been going on for a few years now.  My father is a bit insecure about it; I think he’s afraid of losing Hyacinth.  Hyacinth is special to him.”

“Hyacinthus has another lover?”

“It’s confusing, I know,” Will said.  “Such is my father’s life.”

“But what about your birth mother?  What happened to her?”

Will sighed and folded his hands over his lap, looking less at ease and more artificially composed.  “She left,” Will answered.  “After she gave birth to me, she stayed as my wet nurse for a short time, and then she left.”

Nico nodded solemnly.  His own birth mother had also been his wet nurse, then she was a governess for both Nico and Bianca.  He remembered her fondly, despite being ignorant of their relationship as kin.  Will had not been given even that much.

“My father always told me that he was absolutely in love with her, but she had dreams that were too big for her to stay in one place for long,” Will continued.  “He said that she saw I would be cared for and left to continue singing.”

“And do you know where she is now?” Nico asked.

“No,” Will answered.  “I am not even sure that she is alive.  My father said that she was in a traveling act for a time, then he lost track of her.  She has never contacted since.”

“Have you tried to find her?”

Will shook his head.  “No.  I’ve never felt a need to.  She gave birth to me, she fed me, and those were the only roles we were meant to play in each other’s lives.  Daphne is my mother.  There are plenty of other women in my life who play that role, as well.  Perhaps it is cold or ungrateful of me to say this, but I don’t think I need her.  I am quite happy with the family I have.”

Nico wished he felt so at peace.  He considered Persephone to be his mother as much as Lady Maria, of course, but he felt dirtied whenever he thought about his illegitimacy.

I will tell him after we are married, Nico thought.  The King and Queen Consort had asked him to swear not to tell anyone, even Hazel, at least until she was older.  “It is a family secret,” they’d told him.  Nico had broken that promise twice: with Hestia and with Reyna, and only after asking for permission.  Truthfully, Nico hadn’t needed to be sworn to secrecy; he was too terrified of rejection to tell anyone.  He’d only told Hestia and Reyna because he trusted them to not judge him or leave him.

Nico knew he could trust Will with that secret, yet he still felt afraid.  Will was natural-born; it wouldn’t matter to him, would it?  Nico decided that he would wait until after the wedding.  When Nico married, Will would become part of the Pluton royal family.  Then Nico could tell him.

And if it did disgust Will, by then it would be too late for him to leave Nico.

“My brother Austin receives letters from his mother,” Will suddenly said.  “It was almost the same story: our father heard her compositions and went to meet her, then instantly fell in love.  Like my birth mother, she had dreams that were too big to be contained by one city, so she left after ensuring Austin would be cared for.  But for some reason, she stayed in contact even though my mother did not.”

When Nico turned to look at him, Will’s head was tilted to the side and he was frowning like he was trying to solve a difficult problem.  Impulsively, Nico reached out and put his hand on top of Will’s.  Will glanced at their hands in surprise, but he didn’t make any move to pull away.

“I don’t mean to complain,” Will said, offering Nico a smile.  “But I do admit, as a child, it was...confusing when Austin received letters but I did not.  But perhaps my mother was unable to.  Perhaps she is not even alive.  Perhaps we were simply not meant to have a relationship.  Whatever the case, I’m happy with my family.  I feel very blessed to have them.”

“I imagine that you must have questions,” Nico said slowly, struggling to find the right words.  “You were not left with many answers.”

“One thing that I have learned as a student in Venadica is that some questions will not be answered in my lifetime, others will never be answered, and still more should remain unanswered, at least until we are ready for the consequences that come along with that knowledge.  This is something I must simply accept.”

Nico looked down and saw that his hand was still on top of Will’s.  He had no desire to move it.

“Well, I...I think that she’s certainly made a poor choice, if she is alive.  She should know what a fine young man you’ve grown into.  I’d imagine everyone’s life could be a bit better with you in it.”

Will didn’t say anything, but when Nico looked up, Will was staring at him with a gaze so intense that it held him captive.  He looked handsome.  With the freckles splashed across his cheeks, his untamable curls of blond, and the soft, subtle part of his lips, just glancing at him made Nico nervous and excited.  Then there was the tender look in Will’s eyes: a soft but passionate depth that made Nico feel like his heart was going to burst.

Will had no idea what effect he had on Nico; that much was obvious.  Nico had once assumed that Will knew exactly how charming he was, but as he had gotten to know Will by watching his behavior and carefully reading over his letters, he had begun to realize that Will was not only sincere, but also was tragically unaware of how hard he’d made Nico fall for him.  It was so frustrating to know that even when Will looked at him like that, it meant absolutely nothing.  Will wasn’t trying to send Nico a secret message and he wasn’t trying to entice Nico.  Will really was just looking at him.  And yet, the things that simple look did to Nico....

He wanted to kiss Will.  Will was so close, just inches away.  Nico wanted to lift their joined hands and kiss Will’s fingers.  He could easily lean over and press his lips against Will’s cheek.  No one would be looking at their box.  It would be so easy, and it would feel so nice.

Nico suddenly recalled a thought he’d had when he’d first been introduced to Will in Divitia, before their betrothal had even been decided.  He’d thought that Will’s appearance was adequate, but nothing special, and had decided that was good; a terribly attractive suitor would have made him feel nervous and caused him to make a fool of himself.

How had he thought Will’s appearance was merely adequate at the time?  Had Nico not looked hard enough?  Had Will changed as he’d grown over the last year?  Perhaps Nico had simply been blind to it until Will had woven into his heart and opened his eyes.

And yes: as Nico had predicted, having a terribly attractive suitor did indeed cause him to make a complete fool of himself.  He thought about Will every day, sometimes sitting alone and making up fantasies in his head for hours on end.  He’d embarrassed himself on more than one occasion by revealing his enthusiasm for one of Will’s newly arrived letters in front of an audience.  He blushed and stuttered when he was supposed to be calm and poised.  His mind was muddled by rosy clouds whenever he spoke to Will.  And then there was Nico’s obscene desire to touch—no, his need to touch.  There was a persistent voice in Nico’s mind demanding constant physical contact, and even when there was physical contact, it demanded more.   Now touch him with both hands, it would say.   Hold him more tightly.  Step closer. Touch his face. Touch his neck.  Kiss him.

Nico tried not to listen to that voice, but it was too compelling to resist at times.  He couldn’t take his hand away from where it rested upon Will’s.  Even when the next act of the opera began, Nico hadn’t bothered to move it.  His hands felt like they were sweating and shaking and he wanted to adjust his hold, but he was afraid that even the smallest movement would mean the end of that static touch.

He found himself unable to follow the opera over the commands in his head for more Will.  He could move a bit closer.  He could entangle his fingers with Will’s.  He could lean over and use Will’s shoulder as a pillow.  He could kiss Will.  Gods, he wanted to kiss Will—but Nico couldn’t do that, no.  That would be far too brazen for a prince.

Nico gave in to one of the least scandalous impulses and shifted his hand to link his fingers with Will’s.  It felt better that way.  Nico liked how their hands fit together.

He caught Will glancing at him and immediately looked away, not wanting Will to know exactly how much he’d been staring.  He embarrassed himself enough around Will as it was.  It would be nice to preserve at least some of his dignity.  If he suddenly kissed Will, he would seem horribly unrefined; he had to somehow manage to get Will to do it instead.  Will always behaved perfectly; why couldn’t Nico be more like that?

But there had been a few times that Will had breached the rules of etiquette.  The first had been at the beginning of their initial arranged marriage meeting, when Will had nudged Nico’s foot with his own.  Why hadn’t Will done anything like that again?  Why was it that the only touch Will ever initiated was when he offered his arm to escort Nico?  Had Will tired of him?

Nico squeezed Will’s hand without meaning to.  Will’s eyes, which had drifted to the performance again, snapped back to look at him.  Nico smiled before quickly looking away, too nervous to use it as an opportunity to get Will to kiss him.

Nico knew that his fears were groundless.  Will wouldn’t initiate touch because Nico was a prince, simple as that.  Any rare moments when Will had breached that social norm had been exceptions to Will’s usual gentlemanly behavior.  However, knowing that Will occasionally acted on impulse gave Nico hope.  Perhaps if Nico managed to catch Will off guard, Will would be so overcome with his desire to kiss Nico that he would just do it.

That was what Nico had been counting on the day before.  He’d said such nice things to Will, he’d complimented Will’s appearance, he’d even touched Will’s hand and arm far more than etiquette required.  He had even touched Will’s ankle at dinner, futilely hoping that it would remind Will of the way he’d touched Nico’s at their first marriage consultation and then ignite such a passion in Will that he had to kiss Nico.

All Nico’s hard work had been in vain; Will had not seemed to understand Nico’s intentions at all.  Perhaps if Nico pushed him a bit more, he would finally figure out what Nico wanted.  Of course, Nico would have to find a way to keep Reyna and Hedge distracted.

However, this was all based on the assumption that Will wanted to kiss him.  It was entirely possible that Will simply had no desire to do so, but Nico thought that was unlikely.  After all, Will’s family had quite clearly alluded to Will’s long-lasting admiration of Nico the evening before.  Nico simply hadn’t pushed Will hard enough yet.  If Nico kept trying, Will was bound to understand at some point, wasn’t he?

The opera ended before Nico managed to find the courage to do anything more than hold Will’s hand.  Perhaps it was a good thing; if Will liked the opera so much, Nico didn’t want to distract him from it.  Unfortunately, Nico had been quite distracted as a result of Will’s mere presence and had missed much of the second act.

“Would you like to rent a supper box?” Will asked once they managed to get back outside.  He’d enthused about the opera until they’d managed to get through the crowd and leave the opera house.

Nico hadn’t realized how hungry he was until Will asked, so he agreed.  There was a dining area a short distance away with a row of individual supper boxes available to rent as well as tables across the green.  Will made their orders and they were directed to a box where they sat to wait for their food.  The supper box wasn’t much different from a box in an opera house, except it was outside; it was large enough to serve a group and opened to look out at the gardens, but still private.  Nico spotted Reyna and Hedge standing an acceptable distance away, and noted with satisfaction that Reyna was still keeping Hedge under control.

“Tell me more about your two eldest siblings,” Nico said.  “You haven’t spoken about them yet.”

“Three eldest, if you’ll pardon me saying so,” Will corrected.  “I consider Lou Ellen my sibling as much as the rest of them.”

“Three eldest, then.  Tell me about them.”

“They are practically inseparable,” Will began.  “Lee and Lou Ellen first got to know each other through letters while the arrangements were discussed.  Closer to the wedding, Lou Ellen traveled here for a visit so they could meet in person for the first time.  They had become friends through their letters and quickly connected in person, as well.  Michael, though—he was less than welcoming to Lou Ellen.”

“Is that so?  But I thought they got along well?”

“They do now, but I think Michael was afraid of losing Lee.  They have always been so close.  Michael, I think, was a bit jealous that someone else was stealing our brother away from him.”

“How did they ever become friends?”

“Oh, it didn’t take long.  Lou Ellen has quite the sense of humor; Michael wasn’t able to hold out against her.  Now they’re quite the trio.  Lee and Lou Ellen are deliriously in love, Lee and Michael are as close as brothers can be, and Michael and Lou Ellen are practically a pair of criminals, given the trouble they cause together.” Will paused as a waiter arrived with their food.  Nico was surprised at how fast it had been, but Will explained that they only served foods that were made in advance and quickly prepared, such as bread and cold cuts.

Will continued to talk about his family while they ate and Nico listened, occasionally tossing a cold cut in Asterion’s direction and ignoring Reyna’s disappointed glares.  Will looked happy when Nico asked questions and took interest in what he was saying.  “You must love your family very much,” Nico commented.

Smiling broadly, Will said, “Yes, Your Highness.  I’m very fortunate to have them.”

Nico took a deep breath before saying, “I hope that you’ll find something like that in my family, as well.” Really, he hoped that alluding to their marriage would spur Will into declaring his boundless affections before sweeping Nico into a kiss.

“As do I.  I’m quite excited to be a part of your family, Your Highness.”

Caught completely off guard by the warm hearted answer, Nico blushed and stuttered a vague reply instead of thinking of a way to steer Will towards kissing him.  At the rate he was going, it might be less detrimental to Nico’s pride to actually kiss Will rather than continue his blatant attempts to lure Will into doing it instead.  But Nico had committed himself to this particular course of action, and once he set his mind on something, he didn’t let go.  No, Will had to be the one to do the kissing.  Nico just had to figure out the right places to push to get Will to do it.

By the time they finished eating, the day was approaching dusk.  They were chatting and looking out at the gardens from their box when Nico noticed a hedge maze and started plotting again.

“The maze appears to be popular with couples,” Nico noted casually, having seen several pairs enter and exit.  He looked at Will out of the corner of his eye to gauge Will’s reaction.

Will flushed.  “It...um...yes.  It is.”

Nico waited a second longer, but when Will said nothing more, he tried to push harder.   “We are a couple,” he said.  “Shall we go there?”

Will looked embarrassed.  “I...um...” he began hesitantly.  “Well, I...I don’t think that Hedge and Lady Reyna would approve of Your Highness going there alone with me.”

Nico hummed and looked at the maze in thought.  It seemed likely that they wouldn’t be the first pair to hide from chaperones in the maze.  If he and Will could manage to to escape from Reyna and Hedge, they could go in there, all alone, in the dark, where no one would see them.  And then, Nico would finally get Will to kiss him.

His decision made, Nico said, “I don’t see why they should be notified.  Let’s go there a bit later, after we find a moment to slip away.”

Will looked alarmed.  “Slip away?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to go in the maze with me?” Nico asked, knowing fully well that the answer was yes.  Of course Will wanted to spend time with him; Will told him that often enough, didn’t he?

When Will nodded, Nico bent his head closer and lowered his voice.  “Good.  Then we’ll make an escape and run for the maze.”

“Now I only wonder who will have my head first,” Will sighed.  “Hedge or Lady Reyna?”

Nico clucked his tongue.  “There will be no decapitation,” he said with finality.  Strict as they were, Hedge and Reyna still obeyed Nico’s orders, and Nico would allow no maiming to Will’s body.  Nico preferred for Will’s rather attractive neck to be intact.  “You mentioned that there would be fireworks.  That will be a good time to lose them.  We’ll slip into the crowd and they won’t be able to find us in the dark.”

“I get the sense that this is a very bad idea,” Will said.

“Nonsense, it’s a brilliant idea.  I want to go to the maze with you.  It’ll be exciting, won’t it?”

“Well...exciting is one word for it.”

“Please, Will?  It would make me so happy.”

Will sighed and rubbed his temple.  “Alright, yes.  When everyone starts to gather for the fireworks.”

Nico was shocked when his plan worked.  He had been expecting for it to go wrong—most of his attempts to get close to Will ended in failure—but when the sun set, they managed to escape.  A crowd shuffled around as visitors tried to find a spot with a good view, but Nico grabbed Will’s arm and hurried to the maze.  Thankfully, Reyna’s maintenance of an acceptable distance away had allowed them to get separated in the crowd.  They didn’t lose Asterion, of course.  It was probably good that Asterion hadn’t ended up with Reyna and Hedge; they could have used Asterion to track Nico.  Although he hadn’t been trained to hunt, Nico had trained him to do some basic tracking.  Unfortunately, Reyna had used that against him a few times in the past when Nico made the mistake of not bringing Asterion with him when he was hiding from his communication lessons.  Besides, Nico liked having Asterion around.

Although Nico was delighted, Will still seemed nervous when they entered the maze.  Nico even began to wonder if it had been a good idea after all; if Will was uncomfortable, he would never kiss Nico.  “Have you gone through this maze before?” Nico asked, hoping to lighten Will’s mood.

“A few times, Your Highness.  Austin and I got lost in here once when we were younger.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience, but I’ve gone through since then.”

Nico thought that it wouldn’t be so bad to get lost in the maze with Will.  He almost said that out loud, but he lost the courage.  “You will enjoy it this time,” he said instead.

“Of course I will; I always enjoy being with you.”

Nico almost tripped over a root in his surprise.  How did Will find the courage to talk like that?  Were Nico’s nerves just strange?

“Yes, also, for me, as well,” Nico said in an attempt to give some affectionate reply.  The sky was quickly getting dark, which only added to Nico’s excitement and put him more on edge.  “In fact, I think it wouldn’t be so bad to get lost,” he added, and then he suddenly didn’t know how to stop talking and kept rambling.  “In the maze.  With you.  And Asterion, of course, because Asterion is here and...but I mean, I would like to be with you here even if Asterion were not here.  That’s not to say that that I’m hoping to get lost, of course.  Just that it wouldn’t be such a bad stroke of luck, as a result of...uh...being with you.”

Nico finally managed to bite his tongue and stop himself from going further.  It was difficult to judge Will’s expression in the dark.  There was a beat of silence, and then Will said, “I...I agree.  It wouldn’t be so bad.”

They were saved from the awkward pause that followed by the sudden bang of fireworks, and then Asterion panicked and took off running.  “Asterion!” Nico called in surprise, cursing himself for forgetting that his dog didn’t like fireworks.  He ran in the direction Asterion had disappeared with Will following close behind.  They reached a divide in the path and Nico said, “I’ll go left.” Will voiced his agreement and they separated.

It didn’t take long for Nico to realize his mistake.  Getting lost in a maze with his fiancé?  Good.  Getting lost in a maze alone?  Bad.

He called out for Asterion loudly, feeling much better when he heard Will call for him, as well.  But it had been foolish of him to forget about Asterion’s sensitivity.  No dogs enjoyed fireworks and Asterion startled particularly easily.  Nico had been too focused on finding ways to get Will to kiss him to think about Asterion.

Nico tried to calm himself with assurances that Asterion would be alright.  He was smart enough to find his way back to Nico; Nico had trained him.  But the anxiety of being alone in the dark maze with no idea how to get out added to the stress of losing his dog was overwhelming.  He nearly crumpled helplessly on the ground, but his panic outweighed his hopelessness and kept him moving.  He had lost Asterion before.  He couldn’t lose Asterion again.

It wasn’t long before he heard Will’s voice again, this time calling for him instead of Asterion.  “Will?” Nico shouted back, and he had to repeat himself when his voice was drowned out by the fireworks.

Will’s voice replied, and Nico was able to pick out the words “I have him” over the noise.  He sighed in relief, reminding himself that his panic was pointless and that Asterion was safe.  He still sometimes had to reassure himself of that.

“I’m coming,” Nico called as he started walking in the direction of Will’s voice.  He struggled to remember exactly where he had turned in his hurry, but Will’s voice, always so gentle and calming, kept calling to him to remind him what direction to go.  He reached the divide they had parted at quickly and it appeared that Will hadn’t had to run far to catch Asterion.  Nico found Will sitting in the light of the fireworks with Asterion half on his lap, holding Asterion’s head against his chest and covering his ears.

“Praise the gods,” Nico said, deflating on the ground next to Will.  He reached out to pet Asterion, smiling when the dog’s droopy eyes turned to look at him.  “I forgot how much he hates fireworks.”

“We’ve got him now,” Will said comfortingly.  “He’ll be alright once he calms down.”

Sighing, Nico leaned back on his hands to watch the fireworks in the night sky.  Asterion would be safe in Will’s arms.  He could trust Will with Asterion.  He could probably trust Will with anything.

When Nico glanced over, he caught Will looking at him and offered a smile.  When Will smiled back, the fireworks illuminated the pretty lines of his face.  Nico found himself more interested in the way the light looked on Will than in the fireworks themselves and was so mesmerized that he just watched Will during the finale.  Will watched him, too.

“Will?” Nico whispered when the finale was over and the sky became dark and silent again.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“I think we’re lost.”

Will’s laugh made Nico feel warm.  He couldn’t stop himself from laughing with him.

“Lady Reyna and Hedge are going to string me up by my ears and drag me behind the carriage on the way back,” Will sighed, but he sounded amused rather than panicked.

“No, Hedge will string you up by your ears,” Nico corrected.  “Reyna will be too busy stringing me up by mine.”

“She’s really that strict?”

“Oh, undoubtedly,” Nico replied.  “But she likes me.  Sometimes I manage to win her over after I’ve been particularly troublesome.  This time, though...she is not going to be pleased.”

Will laughed.  “Well, at least we are lost together.”

Nico saw Will’s silhouette releasing Asterion in the dark.  “Thank you for finding him,” Nico said.

“I simply happened to run in the right direction,” Will said.  He got to his feet and offered Nico his hand to help him up.  Nico considered kissing Will in thanks, but his pride demanded that the first kiss must be from Will.  “Shall we try to find our way out?”

Nico sighed, but agreed and took Will’s arm.  “Asterion likes you,” he said.  “You care for him very well.”

“I do my best, Your Highness.”

“You are going to be a very good husband,” Nico said automatically.  He could barely see Will in the dark, but Will was definitely looking at him and he appeared not to know what to say.  It occurred to Nico that although he said that quite often, he didn’t say it in front of Will.  “I think that I’m very fortunate,” he continued.

Will was quiet for a few seconds, long enough for Nico to worry he’d said something wrong.  But then he said, “I admire you, Your Highness.  I always have.  I suspect I always will.”

Nico could have melted on the spot.  He wanted to tell Will that he admired him, too, but he couldn’t form the right words to express it.  The feelings he had for Will overwhelmed him and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them or how to convey them.  A part of Nico just wanted to hold Will tightly and never let go.

“I’m flattered,” Nico stammered.  He wanted to stop talking, but he couldn’t keep himself from rambling on.  “I...um...I like when you say things like that.  I’m glad you feel that way.  I mean, uh, I also think highly of you, and I’m very flattered and...uh...I feel glad that you’re...um...with me.  Engaged.”

Nico wanted to sink into the hedges and hide until his mortification passed.  He hated the way he couldn’t shut himself up when he got too excited or angry or nervous.  He always ended up embarrassing himself.

“I’m also glad,” Will said.  Nothing in his voice suggested that he thought Nico had said anything strange at all.  “When my aunt first approached me with the idea of courting you, I...well, I hadn’t bothered to hope for even a friendship with someone like you.” Will faltered for a second before saying, “I never forgot you.  When we were introduced as children, it was a special moment for me—of course, my brothers already told you that much.  So when I learned that I would meet you again...well, I was terrified when I met you again in Divitia last year.”

His embarrassment receding, Nico mentally celebrated.  He hadn’t gotten Will to kiss him yet, but he had gotten Will to ramble about how much he liked him.

“I didn’t know,” Nico said once he was confident that he wouldn’t trip over his own tongue.  “You seemed so composed that I almost didn’t know what to think of you.  You were all politeness and kindness and proper etiquette.”

“I wanted to impress you,” Will replied.

“You did.”

“And do I still impress, Your Highness?”

Nico was surprised by how easily he smiled at Will and said, “Yes.  You do.”

Nico reaffirmed his grip on Will’s arm, fighting his desire to stand closer.  It was brazen enough that they were alone in the dark, far away and hidden from sight.  He should not behave so shamelessly.

Yet Nico’s hand slipped down Will’s arm and he laced his fingers with Will’s.  It was more intimate that way; not quite scandalous, but deviant enough that Reyna would have raised her eyebrow and given him a warning glance.

In the dark, Nico was just barely able to see Will looking at their joined hands in surprise.  The reaction made Nico second guess himself, so he asked, “Would you like to walk like this for a while?”

“I...yes, I would,” Will said.  Nico suspected he was blushing; it was regrettable that he wasn’t able to see it.  The maze was dark.  Only the moon and stars and the far away glow of gas lamps lit the path before them.  Nico and Will were alone, without a chaperone, late at night, and Nico had just initiated a rather intimate gesture.

So maybe it was a bit scandalous.

Nico wet his lips.  He did not find anything wrong with what he was doing; deviant, yes, and perhaps inappropriate, but not wrong.   In fact, he liked it.  He enjoyed being so alone with Will, touching Will’s hand, and being hidden by the tall hedges and the cover of darkness.  It was scandalous, true, but that only gave Nico a small rush of excitement.  Reyna and Hedge would lecture him for running off without them, but it was well worth the chance to be alone with Will, away from prying eyes, the way married couples were allowed to be.  Nico could act however he wanted with Will, so long as Will did not mind.  He could kiss Will, if he wanted.

He did want.

It was a good time to do it; after all, no one would be there to witness it.  The kiss would be a secret between Will and Nico.  And it had to be soon; Asterion would be able to lead them out of the maze with his sense of smell and then Nico would lose the opportunity.  But how?  Even though Nico had been so obvious in his attempts to get Will to kiss him so far, he had been unsuccessful.  Will had just professed his long-lived admiration for Nico, and he still hadn’t done it.

Perhaps Will required a more direct approach.  Nico could just tell Will to kiss him.  It was embarrassing, but it could work as a desperate last resort.  That way, he could transfer the authority of the kissing to his fiancé without subjecting himself to committing such a scandalous act.

“You may kiss me,” Nico said before he could become too nervous to do so.  He tried very hard to keep his hands from shaking and to exude a sense of confidence.

There was a beat of silence, and then: “Your Highness?”

Nico’s confidence started to crumble immediately, but he attempted to maintain his composure.  He stopped walking and turned to look at Will.  He couldn’t see much more than the outline of his face.  “Uh—I mean, if you would like to.  Kiss me, that is.  You may do so.”

“Oh,” Will said.  “I.  Um, yes.  I would like to.  If you would like it, as well.”

Nico almost sighed in relief, but he did his best to keep his demeanor suitably indifferent.  “Well, you are permitted.”

He heard Will clear his throat.  “But...would you like me to...?”

Nico did his best to keep his frustration under control, but said, “I—Lord William, I would not have given you permission if I found the idea less than appealing.”

“So...you want me to?”

“Oh, for the love of Rhea!  I order you to kiss me.”

“Right, of course.  Then, if you don’t mind, um....”

Will’s face came closer.  Nico tilted his chin up expectantly, then closed his eyes when he felt Will’s breath against his lips.   Finally!   screamed a voice in his head.  He had been waiting for months with absolutely no progress, and now—at last—he was about to succeed.  But for a moment, Will merely stood there and Nico began to wonder if something had gone wrong.  Then the moment passed and Will closed the gap between them.

The kiss was quick.  Will pecked Nico’s lips and then drew back immediately, fixing his gaze on his shoes.  It felt nice, though.  Annoying, as well, because although Nico’s knowledge about kissing was lacking, he felt sure that Will hadn’t done it properly.  Even still, it was nice.  Will had kissed him shyly and bashfully and Nico thought that it was very like Will to kiss like that.  Even if it had been mildly annoying, Nico wouldn’t have liked it any other way.

“Was that alright?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Nico answered quickly, his voice coming out more squeaky than he expected.  “It was very nice.”

“I, um, also enjoyed it.”

Nico cleared his throat.  “Would you like to do it again?”

“Oh, uh, now?”

“If you would like.”

“And...would you like...?”

“Yes.”

“Right.  Then I’ll....” Will pressed his lips against Nico’s a second time.  It was still brief, lasting less than a second, but it made Nico happy, anyway.

“Another?” Nico asked impulsively.

“Now?”

“Now.  If you’d like.”

“Yes.”

And Will kissed him again.  That time, Nico stopped him from drawing back.

“Keep going,” Nico said, pulling Will closer.  “Don’t stop until you want to.”

Will cleared his throat.  “But...what if I want to never stop?”

“Well...perhaps I want you to never stop.”

“We have to stop at some point.”

“Yes.  At some point.”

And Will kissed him a fourth time, and then a fifth time, and then Nico kissed Will, and then he stopped counting.  To his relief, kissing wasn’t very difficult.  They were learning quickly.  It felt nice; not as dramatic as he had been hoping for, but not disappointing by any means.  The kisses were soft and gentle, just like Will, and Nico concluded that kisses were good that way, too.

Nico would have gladly spent the next several hours practicing with Will, but he knew that Reyna would find particularly brutal ways of punishing him if he made her wait that long.  He could have survived it, but he would not survive the mortification Hedge would put him through if he started lecturing Will again.  Reyna might not be forgiving enough to stop him.

“Perhaps another time when we are alone this way, we can do this again,” Nico suggested, leaning his forehead against Will’s.

“I would like that.”

Nico grinned when he heard the smile in Will’s voice.  “As would I.”

Reyna and Hedge were not pleased.  Nico didn’t particularly care.

It had taken them a while after that to find their way out, even with Asterion’s nose helping them.  Reyna and Hedge had apparently figured out where they had gone at some point, because they were waiting furiously at the exit.  Reyna, who would have usually saved Nico’s lecture for when they were without company, wasted no time scolding him in front of Will.  Nico ignored her.  Hedge tried to scold Will, but Reyna, apparently too angry to tolerate it, shut him up with the reminder that she was the chaperone.  Hedge apparently found her very convincing.

Reyna didn’t stop lecturing him in the carriage, but Nico occupied himself with gazing at Will’s profile instead of listening to her, then he pretended to fall asleep on Will’s shoulder when she started to annoy him.  Eventually, he really did fall asleep on Will’s shoulder.  By the time they got back to Phoebus and Will gently woke him up, Reyna had finally stopped.

The Sun Palace was wide awake despite the late hour.  When the door was opened for them, they were greeted by complete chaos.  The floor of the entrance hall was coated with mud.  An entire herd of pigs—one of them ridden by Kayla—stampeded across the hall and down the corridor.  Apollo and Hyacinthus were arguing about something in a room close by and horrible screeches of a violin came from down the corridor.  Nico heard Chiron yelling at someone not to run indoors, and he found out whom when Michael and Lou Ellen raced through the hall after Kayla and the pigs.  “Don’t tell Lee!” they shouted in unison when they saw Will and Nico at the door.  Meanwhile, Daphne was leaning against the bannister of the staircase, sipping a glass of wine and watching the scene in amusement.  She offered them a wave, which Nico weakly returned.

“Don’t worry; this is normal,” Will sighed in resignation, then he navigated around the mud to escort Nico to his room.

The scene distracted Reyna’s rage for a little while, but as soon as they reached Nico’s room and were left alone inside, she and Hedge wasted no time resuming their lecture.

“Do you expect me to let this pass, Your Highness?” Reyna demanded when Nico suggested they leave to let him sleep.  “I have been lenient as of late, but this was too far.”

“Your Highness, you can’t sneak off like that,” Hedge said.  “I say this for your safety.”

Nico sighed.  “We were in Delphi, Hedge.  What harm could possibly be done in Delphi?”

“Anything could go wrong anywhere, with anyone,” Hedge growled.

“Will wouldn’t hurt me—”

“I’m not talking about Lord Solace hurting you.  I’m saying that you were far away from us in some dark maze where anyone could have been hiding.”

“We didn’t even know where you were,” Reyna added.

“Don’t forget the reason I was assigned to you in the first place, Your Highness,” Hedge said.

Nico looked at his feet.  No, he hadn’t forgotten the attempt on his life that had caused Hades to give Nico his own personal guard unit.  He still had the occasional nightmare about it.

“I...I had Asterion with me,” Nico tried to reason.

“Asterion isn’t a fighter,” Reyna said.  “I don’t doubt that he’d do his best to protect you, but I fear that there’s not much more he’d be able to do than alert us.  The same goes for Lord William.”

“And we would’ve been too far away to help,” Hedge said.  “Pluto can’t lose you, Your Highness.  Please don’t be so reckless.”

Nico sighed.  “I understand,” he relented.  “I’ll do better in the future.”

“And you can’t sneak off alone with that boy!” Hedge added aggressively.

“That was extremely inappropriate behavior,” Reyna said.  “I agree with Hedge this time.”

“Now you’re just being overbearing,” Nico sniffed.  “And anyway, Will and I had a wonderful time together.”

“That is precisely what we are afraid of, Your Highness,” Reyna said.

Nico lifted his chin smugly and grinned.  Reyna’s eyes narrowed.  “What did you do?” she asked.

“I kissed him,” Nico said proudly.

Reyna stared at him.  “You what?”

“I kissed Lord William,” Nico repeated.  “Or, more accurately, he kissed me—”

“He what?” Hedge demanded.

“Because I gave him permission, of course—”

“You what?” they both said in unison.

“Oh, calm yourselves.  You were engaged once, Lady Reyna; didn’t you ever sneak off with your fiancé?  Actually, I’m better off not knowing.”

Reyna didn’t even react to Nico’s goading.  “Your Highness, be sensible.  You, an unwed young man of considerable standing, snuck away from us late at night, in an unfamiliar location, to spend time alone with another unwed man, and now you tell me that he kissed you during this time?”

Hedge punched his palm aggressively, like he was imagining beating Will to a pulp.  “I must speak with Lord Solace about this; that was grossly inappropriate behavior and—”

“I asked him to kiss me,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes.  “He was the perfect gentleman.”

“You asked him to kiss you?” Reyna demanded.

“I really don’t see the problem, Lady Reyna,” Nico said with a frown.

“The problem, Your Highness, is that I have utterly failed as your chaperone!  There’s no telling what depths of trouble I’ll be in when we return to the Palatium de Divitae!”

“Well, why should anyone have to know?” Nico asked.

“Do you suggest we lie, Your Highness?” asked Hedge.

“I’m only suggesting you omit certain elements of the account.  No one saw.” Nico paused and fiddled nervously with the trim on his coat.  “And I’m happy, very happy,” he admitted.  “Please don’t tell.”

Reyna and Hedge exchanged a glance.  After a moment, they both sighed, apparently having come to an agreement.  “If it makes you so happy, then we will allow it to pass this time,” Reyna said.  “Do not expect me to continue to be so generous.  Please use more discretion in the future and take care not to let your courting schemes get in the way of your safety.”

“Of course,” Nico said, but he had no intention of doing so.  In fact, he was already plotting the next time he’d sneak Will away for a kiss or two.

Next