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hollywood397 · 4 years ago

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Leads Back to You (John Marston x Abigail Roberts)

I was inspired by this piece of art @the-mill-kat at did!!! John and Abigail’s reunion after the events of the RDR2 mission “Red Dead Redemption”. Please enjoy! Title inspired by “Compass” by Jamie Lidell

Warnings: none! Word count: 1.1k

The moment John Marston slid off the “borrowed” horse his body threatened to crumple over top the muddy ground. His right hand went to his left shoulder, holding onto the throbbing appendage. He paused for a moment as his eyes scanned the are around him for any sign of leftover Pinkertons. The freshly risen sun burned his tired eyes, but he kept searching for any lingering threats. Copperhead Landing was an open, swampy area but that didn’t mean it was safe. After the hell he’d just endured, all John wanted was his family not another battle. He searched some more before settling his eyes on the dilapidated, broken down shed that sat at the equally shoddy pier. A false sense of energy shot through his aching bones when he recognized the two horses standing nearby.

“Abigail!” His throat burned as he shouted for her. His boots suddenly felt heavier than ever as he drudged them through the mud to get closer to the shack. “Jack?” He hollered for his son next. God, just the thought of holding the child again was all that got him off that mountain. John felt his energy begin to dwindle once more the longer his cries went unanswered. Arthur promised that they were here, where were they? “Abi?” He tried again, voice breaking. His shoulders bowed while his eyes locked onto the shack. The moment hopelessness started seeping into his mind, he saw movement.

“John?”

“Abigail!” The backs of his eyes stung with tears of relief. Just the sound of her voice brought him such comfort. He shuffled his way towards the direction of her voice. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop but he didn’t care. There was more movement from inside the broken-down shed. Desperate shuffles filled his ears, along with hushed whispers.

“Sadie, let go of me!” Came Abigail’s frustrated voice. He couldn’t help but laugh. Sadie Adler was a smart woman he didn’t blame her for trying to be cautious about his arrival. Before John could try to explain that he was alone, his woman came into view. His heart nearly stopped when he caught sight of her. Dark circles were nestled under her reddened eyes, her blouse messy and askew. Her hair fell loosely against her shoulders, the hair pins she used to keep it at bay hanging from the ends. In the course of the battle against the Pinkertons, Micah and his crew, John almost forgot how breathtakingly beautiful she was. Abigail opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. John tried his hand at words next, but he couldn’t muster up a single syllable. All of a sudden, she started to run towards him.

He let go of his shoulder and rooted his feet into place just mere moments before her body crashed into his. The impact hurt like a sonuvabitch. He welcomed it. Abigail’s arms linked around his neck as she stuffed her face into the crook of his shoulder. “My darling.” He cooed into her ear as he grabbed hold of her. She fit so perfectly in his arms, John couldn’t believe he’d ever pushed her away. He had been a fool to do so.

“Arthur said, he said—” Abigail stammered through her shaking sobs.

John knotted his fingers into her already tangled hair and held her tighter. “I know, darlin’. I know.”

She lifted her head to look up at him. Her cheeks were soaked with tears. “You really here? Am I dreamin’?”

The hand in her hair moved to wipe away her tears. “You know I’ll always come back to you, Abi.”

Abigail laughed. “You and your sweettalk ain’t gonna get you outta trouble for scarin’ me and the boy half to death.”

John’s lips twisted into a grin. “I love you, Abigail.” He didn’t give her time to respond before bringing his mouth to hers. She melted into his arms, hanging desperately onto his shoulders. He swallowed the wince from her grip. He wasn’t nearly ready to let her go.

“Pa!” A small voice screamed. It seemed that their son had other plans.

The couple parted and looked behind them to find the four-year-old doing his best to run through the sloppy mud. Behind Jack Marston stood Sadie Adler, arms crossed and a remorseful look on her face. John knew he would have to break the news about Arthur and what happened on the mountain. After he reunited with his family and figured out their next step, he would tell them. But it could wait until later. “Jack!” He returned his son’s holler. He let go of Abigail only to scoop Jack into his arms. Tiny arms flew around his neck.

“I told Mama you’d find us! She didn’t believe me!”

John laughed breathlessly. “I would go to the ends of the Earth to find you two.”

The little boy’s face lit up with a toothy grin. “Where were you, Pa?”

“Just had to finish up some business, son. Don’t you worry about it another second, you hear?”

“Okay, Pa.” Jack’s smile couldn’t get any bigger, John thought. He couldn’t believe he’d wasted years brushing the boy off. Never again, he swore. He’d done wrong to Jack and he would give his life to make up for it. John turned to face the woman that was in all ways except legally his wife. He felt the same way towards Abigail. He’d done her wrong more than he’d care to admit. Like with Jack, he would spend the rest of his days trying to make her loyalty worthwhile.

John reached out his left arm, grunting at the dull pain the motion caused, and pulled her into the embrace. His lips lingered on her hair as a sigh blew through his body. He was a lucky man, he decided. How many men could say they had a woman as good as Abigail Roberts? A woman so fiercely loyal, so determined and thoughtful. And then there was his son. The boy lit up any room he entered with his bubbly, curious ways. John was certain that the boy was already smarter than both his parents combined. He felt so blessed to be his father and felt even luckier to be able to watch him grow into an adult.

John Marston was a man who’d made his fair share of mistakes in life. He often never learned from those mistakes, either. But as he held his family in his arms, he vowed to never repeat the ones that put them in harm’s way. His hold on Jack and Abigail tightened.

He would do whatever it took to keep his family safe, even if it killed him.

#I love soft John Marston #John Marston #abigail roberts #abigail marston #jack marston #Red Dead Redemption #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption fanfic #fanfiction

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definitely-maybe-not-a-cryptid · 4 years ago

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Ok so I had a weird ass dream so have this odd story idea that came from it that I can't write because Im low key bad at writing. (Please someone who can write help me make this a book I can read? I think it would be so cool)

"filthy cat you leave my girl out of wonderlands mess!"

"Oh we would, but she is out best option available right now, we tried miss alice lidel first but it would seem being In wonderland broke the poor girls mind, she's locked away as they try to repair the damages. Though we do think we can convince her to help if we restore her memories of the night that she really lost her mind."

-idea is that wonderland had a list of people it sees as possible worthy canadets for their saviours from many a different universe's, [redacted] was once the chosen one. The top of the list until he escaped wonderland and grew up leaving it behind as no more than a nightmareish memory. Now they want to take one of his adopted daughters and he is having none of it. Forming a deal to save her sanity he aggres to return to wonderland to help them resolve their current issues. Along the way he meets others who wonderland has destroyed such as one miss alice lidel, who has returned to help wonderland in order to try restore her memory of the night her family was murdered. (Follow the plot of madness returns) and several other children who were unfortunate enough to fall into wonderlanda clutches. He helps them along the way to the best of his abilities and even helps a few newer 'recruits' escape before it is to late for them.

-ita like a mix of alice in wonderland and coraline, the cheshire cat can travel from world to world to entrap the children but ultima there is a main driving force which tries to hook them from wonderland, coraline was one of the kids who escaped, other mother was originally a recruiter for wonderland much like the white queen but turned to the queen of hearts side once wonderlanda plauge broke her mind and instead she turned to trapping the children and breaking their minds or stealing their souls and spiriting them away from their worlds.

-other victims include the lost boys of neverland, peter pan who similarly to other mother started off trying to help them and resorted to just spiriting them away from their world and saving them from abusive or horrible house holds that way and ignoring wonderlands issues, hook in this instance is actually just trying to free the children to return them home as they clearly can't help wonderland, wendy and the other darling children are some of the only to escape pan.

Izuku midoriya had been considered a candidate but the boy never was able to be convinced to step foot in wonderland and eventually grew to believe the 'imaginary friends' were nothing more than that, imaginary. Thought up by a quirkless boy as a way to deal with a friendless childhood and as a coping mechanism for the mental damage the bullying caused.

Chihero/sen from spirited away was technically one of the wonderland children who escaped but due to that part being so secluded from wonderlands main lands it is considered an entirely different dimension not connected to wonderland and thus she is not taken to wonderland to help them, they know the only reason she helped so much in the first place was she was motivated to save her parents

If wonderland can be saved, then they will return all the children home, thought they made no mention of the fact that some of them have been here so long there isn't much home to return to, while they try and return them to a time as close to when they left It is not always possible, many of them will be considered missing children cold case's in their worlds by now.

The queen of hearts has been defeated many times, but this time is different, if they don't destroy all traces of her, her following and all curruption in wonderland then there is no doubt it will return and they will be needed again, and so the children are bought in, stolen away as to save the day by ridding wonderland of it's curruption. First lidel and [redacted] are sent after the queen while the others go after the likes of other mother, peter pan and her other minions, then once the queen falls they must destroy the jabberwocky and all the rest of her currupted creatures. And finally there is a purge of the curruption. Once that is over they are free to return to their worlds, to their homes and the doors to wonderland are sealed shut and destroyed on both sides to prevent anything unwanted getting in or out of wonderland. (Eg door in coraline, white rabbits hole in alice in wonderland) and now the only ways in and out are through being lead and taken by a creature of wonderland who can naturally transport/teleport/travel from dimension to dimension. Such as cheshire cat or before he was defeated pan, now cheshire is the only one Left (they is known of)

Most of the children return and assume it was all a dream or something their minds made to deal with the trauma of what they went through (many believe they were kidnapped and forgot about it due to truma?) Most stay quiet about it those who speak end up in hospitals labeled and completely insane.

#alice madness returns #coraline #the cheshire cat #i just want this to be a real thing #like a real story #so i can read it #and so that other people can enjoy it #because then maybe someone will vibe with it #oh also i stand by the fact that peter pan was low key the bad good guy. like dude stole kida from their homes so they wouldn't ever grow up #i think sen from spirited away would have also been considered a canadet for wonderlands saviours but the part of wonderland she was from #was to secluded from the main parts of wonderland and thus considered its own dimension so there wasn't much to do there that affected them.

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evajellion · 4 years ago

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Knowing your like for Ringo and mild distaste for Maguro. I would like to see Risukuma for the character ask to see what you have to say about them.

Distaste is kind of a strong word I don’t agree with. It’s more like I think Maguro is kinda boring and a select minority of his fans creep me out.

Why I like them

It’s nice that with the Puyo cast being inflated with more humans/humanoids, we at least have one weird non-human bear character as a mainstay. That and he’s funny/quirky enough, even having a likable personality as opposed to being irritating.

Why I don’t

His introduction in 7 wasn’t exactly the smoothest, with people pretty much bundling him amongst the other “creeper” characters.

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

I don’t know why, but I really like that scene in Puyo 20th where he loses his patience with Lidelle and chews her out. You kinda can’t change who you are, and if you aren’t willing to change in front of someone who is trying to help, you might as well stay locked up.

I say this as someone with massive anxiety issues mind you.

Favorite season/movie

Either Puyo Puyo 20th or Puyo Tetris.

Favorite line

"I love you”. It’s amusing how he can say perfect english even with Japanese voices on.

Favorite outfit

Puyo Puyo Tetris.

OTP

None.

Brotp

With Ringo and Maguro. Or Ai.

Head Canon

Not a headcanon, but just how long ago did he transform himself? Because in his 7 Chibi form, he’s still a weird squirrel-bear creature. Was it recent, or a long time ago when he was a child?

Unpopular opinion

They really dropped the ball on his potential interactions in 20th, even if I love that depiction of him.

Rather than him going up to characters that have actual issues in which he would help sort them out, willing or otherwise (ie: Rulue, Sig, Satan), a bunch of randoms pop in to merely challenge him and have shallow motivations.

Schezo and Lidelle are the only ones who come up to him and feel serious. Raffina shows up, but he just stands there and listens to her boast rather than being like “you’re using the ego of your beauty to compensate for how incompetent you are with power”, or something.

They could have done a lot more.

A wish

As stated above, I would not mind Risukuma trying to reason to change the quirks of the other cast members, whether it be successful or not.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

Don’t go back to his 7 characterization, egh.

5 words to best describe them

Helpful, tender, loving, intelligent, explosive.

My nickname for them

Just Risu really.

#puyo puyo #risukuma #Anonymous

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aetherrp · 5 years ago

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Abaixo estão os nossos aceitos das últimas 24 horas. Sejam todos muito bem-vindos e bem-vindas! Agradecemos pela aplicação e esperamos que consigam desenvolver seus personagem conosco! Por favor, enviem o blog de personagem para a central em até 24 horas a contar desta aceitação. Divirtam-se!

Acaba de passar pelos portões HUGO UMBERTO ASABLANCA, o herdeiro de ODETTE E SIEGFRIED ( Lago dos Cisnes ). É verdade que ele é idêntico a TYLER POSEY, mas é melhor não mencionar. A ajudante Wayne irá cuidar das acomodações antes que a carruagem vire abóbora.

Acaba de passar pelos portões ANETTE LIDDELL, a herdeira de ALICE LIDELL ( Alice no País das Maravilhas ). É verdade que ela é idêntica a KIERNAN SHIPKA, mas é melhor não mencionar. A ajudante Wayne irá cuidar das acomodações antes que a carruagem vire abóbora.

Acaba de passar pelos portões BARTOLOMEO GOLDEN-LOCKES, o herdeiro de CACHINHOS DOURADOS. É verdade que ele é idêntico a FINN WOLFHARD, mas é melhor não mencionar. A ajudante Wayne irá cuidar das acomodações antes que a carruagem vire abóbora.

Acaba de passar pelos portões FA QI LIANG, o herdeiro de FA MULAN E LI SHANG ( Mulan ). É verdade que ele é idêntico a YANG YANG, mas é melhor não mencionar. A ajudante Minnie irá cuidar das acomodações antes que a carruagem vire abóbora.

Acaba de passar pelos portões WILHEARD “WILL” HIGHTOPP, o herdeiro de CHAPELEIRO MALUCO ( Alice no País das Maravilhas ). É verdade que ele é idêntico a LORENZO ZURZOLO, mas é melhor não mencionar. A ajudante Sage irá cuidar das acomodações antes que a carruagem vire abóbora.

#follow.

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oblame · 5 years ago

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perhaps the universe has its ways to push and pull people, judith lidell thinks to herself every time she finds one of viktor’s puppies at her doorstep or when she finds one of her dogs at his doorstep. hearing the scratching noises while standing at a spot closer to the entrance of her apartment, she knows what’s waiting for her behind the door.

the second she opens the door and lets the two dogs go crazy, corners of her lips curl upwards, a smirk that stays at the sight of viktor’s canine friends. it doesn’t take too long for her own dogs to acknowledge they have visitors. two of her dogs, running full speed ahead against her the entrance. “ no, no, no -- we are not going outside. ” sweet voice commands, causing her dogs to come to a halt. that’s when she hears his steps, lifting her gaze from the dogs to look at him. after seeing him, a look of delightfulness instantly lights up her delicate features framed by masses of blonde locks. “ it’s like they are heralds of your arrival. ” a sultry smile stretches across her face as judith speaks. “ come in. ” one hand extended for him to grab so that she can pull him along with herself, she invites him. but his dogs step inside even before the two of them move.

CLOSED FOR @viktrkovalenko / VIKTOR.

#JUDE & VIKTOR : THREAD .#viktor kovalenko and judith lidell living the puppy appreciation life

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captainqster · 7 months ago

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Art History Aesthetics - Lidell Locke

Bold what applies to your character!

MEDIEVAL.

tired eyes / coffee stains on the table / listening to the bustle of the city / unmade beds / ponytails / sunlight seeping through the curtains / chapped lips / walking barefoot across floorboards / dusty dictionaries / black and white reruns / huge sweaters / ticking of the clock / hearing birds in the morning / fireplaces / falling asleep during class

RENAISSANCE.

freckles / the sun rising / watching the sea / taking shots of the city / historical museums / bright eyes / looking up at the clouds / walls covered in artwork / drawing in the middle of lessons / tracing your fingers on the sand / painting for hours / staying in uncrowded coffee shops / worn paperbacks / messy braids / going to bed with your knee socks on

BAROQUE.

dark hair / a little sophisticated / always observing the world around you / intricate designs / high ceilings / extravagant musical pieces / dim lights / colorless photographs / fancy furniture / pale skin / hearing soft footfalls coming from outside your room / mischievous looks / bitten nails / candlelight dinners / dark shades of lipstick

CLASSICAL.

chandeliers / the clinking of a teacup / laced clothing / modern architecture / light hair / watching the view from the terrace / hidden birthmarks / drinking tea in the morning / wandering about in an empty building / botanical gardens / old films / ancient marble sculptures / expensive perfume / breakfast in bed / reading stories about mythology

ROMANTIC.

compassion / short writings on scraps of paper / blushed cheeks / a bouquet of roses / reading collections of poetry late at night / loose hair / carpeted floors / attending operas / faint music playing in the background / staying under the covers until midday / the night sky / streetlights / picking flowers / dancing around in silk dresses / scented candles

Thank you @why-raven for the tag!

Did this for Lidell since he's so new and needs to be fleshed out. Tagging @avaritia-ffxiv @justalittleraven @disaster-husbun @mist-touched and @zylphiacrowley! If you've already done it feel free to ignore or do for a different OC

#ffxiv #lidell #character meme

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ecorin · 3 years ago

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radiant lights - chapter 3

summary: lidelle has a crisis regarding her place in society. amitie picks flowers and meets a strange bug-loving boy named sig, schezo notices a disturbance in the force, and ringo comes to an agreement with ecolo.

characters: lidelle, klug, schezo, rulue, amitie, sig, ringo, ecolo

mentioned characters: accord, lemres, feli, raffina, raina, nina, arle

word count: 5.7k

THE FLOWER AND HER KNIGHT IN BLUE

Lidelle shivered in the cold morning air, gold decals on the arches and walls peering back at her just as cold, as she knocked on one of the two grand, wooden doors leading into the castle library–the most likely place where the young lord of House Salwin would be found.

It was terrifying how this child her age–just barely having turned thirteen years old–could possibly have been set on track to inherit the title of Marquis of Salwin, which was something the horned maid-girl could never hope to even dream of. Though according to rumors from before she was in House Salwin's employ, recently there had been a strange decade-long gap where House Salwin remained leaderless after the reigning marquis' even stranger disappearance previous; with no heir, and the next qualified candidate–Lemres–having uncharacteristically sternly declined the offer, Archmage Accord had chosen Klug, Lemres' junior and friend.

And that was why the esteemed Lord Klug had almost zero honor nor status to his name because almost quite literally, nobody knew about him prior to a few weeks ago.

Lidelle didn't know much about him, or the history of this kingdom's nobility, either. Such knowledge was inaccessible to her before working as a servant for Klug. To be fair, however, nobody but Lemres and the girl named Feli who locked herself into the confines of the castle cellar day in and out knew of his existence prior to the announcement of his starting the bloodline of Salwin over again; apparently, he had some kind of relation to the previous marquis, but that wasn't made known to the public, including her.

Apparently, apparently, apparently.

The elfish girl did not like to pry into the business of others but walking along the castle's many halls, walls, and corridors had given her the unwilling opportunity of listening to the nobles' gossip of everything and anything as she passed by them with tea and snacks. "Apparently" and "I heard" were the most common phrases she'd hear. Recently, it was something about a party and an arranged marriage.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of a wooden door towering over her tiny figure echoed throughout the balcony and the rooms below, the girl trembling before the high-pitched voice of her master about to respond.

No answer—but fiendish giggling from behind the doors.

Lidelle stood frozen in fear, knowing exactly what Klug was doing at a time like this to elicit such laughter at an early time and she did not want to be right upon seeing for herself. Slowly, she knocked on the door another five times, this time more quietly, and his voice came out from behind.

"Come in! You'll be glad you did at such a time!"

Lidelle pulled open the door from its golden handle slightly taller than she with one hand, stabilizing fine clothes in her other, and approached the snickering Lord Klug, his glasses reflecting the bright white sunlight peeking out from grey clouds and his royal purple hat as polished and clean as always. She walked quicker towards him, holding clean, dry clothes, and looked over his shoulder to see... a piece of fiction?

"...and then, the evil witch Ilef curses poor Koolug by turning him into a frog! Oh, horrors! How will the great and mighty Koolug defeat her!? ...What a great climax! We're finally getting somewhere," Klug mumbled to himself, eerily cackling between phrases, and turned to Lidelle with his head raised high. "Ah, Lidelle. You're just in time. I'm writing a most magnificent novel, and you're here to listen. From the beginning—"

Lidelle shivered and shook her head quickly. "U-Umm, actually, my lord, I'm j-just delivering your clothes for that party this evening... You will be attending, yes? It will be a great opportunity for you to um, s-socialize," she stuttered, her heart rate quickening with every second that passed by. "I-I mean, not that you don't have to!! But it would be great if you could for uh, this noble house and your honor- That didn't come out right! I'm really, really sorry!!"

Klug scoffed and flashed a smug smile. "Please, don't try to convince me. I'm already going," he replied, taking the clothes and peering as the tightness felt in the fabric. "That inelegant Raffina will be there, of course she will be. She's never missed a party of the princess'. It's an opportunity for me to win the favor of the princess and prove that I, Lord Klug, am much more talented than that awkward and magic-less 'mage' Raffina! Uhyahyahyahyahya!" His cackling boomed through the library and the rest of the castle outside its open door, and Lidelle's heart sank the moment she heard that statement.

"What a shame, though," he muttered, staring at Lidelle with his head rested against his hand. "You might be able to attend too, had you not been a measly commoner in a noble setting."

The demi-human girl was tempted to point out he was the exact same—a "commoner" in a noble setting— but tears were already welling up in her eyes, preventing her from speaking.

She had a mixed reputation among the "commoners" as Klug put it—frankly, Lidelle was unaware there was even such a thing as class or commoners prior to hearing this statement—but she also had a mixed reputation among the nobility; to be fair, it was a miracle in of itself that she was an invisible, ordinary servant here. Not many knew her or paid attention to her except Miss Amitie, and even then they never saw each other.

The only other who gave her the time of day was...

"I- I'm very sorry, my lord," Lidelle whimpered and inched backwards. "I don't control how I was raised, or where I'm born. I-I'm truly sorry if I offended you, sir." She trembled in her small brown shoes as the boy straightened his purple hat and averted his gaze.

"Please, I don't care at all," he remarked, twirling a spare, dry golden fountain pen without so much as batting an eyelash at her. "You go to that party, I don't care. You get caught though, and you'll be in massive trouble. Plus, you'll bring shame to House Salwin; you do that and I will hold a grudge against you forever and ever!"

Only by that final word did his sharp glare meet her droopy blue eyes, and Lidelle wanted to cry—correction, she WAS crying. Without thinking to respond properly, she dashed out of the library with tears streaming down her face and she swung back the door with little force, letting it close slowly and hide the young master who got up to reach his hand towards her.

She was just a servant, a florist's girl hired to sweep floors and serve tea by nobles; nothing special about her. No matter what the truth was, Klug would be the Marquis of Salwin in a few years' time, give or take. She should be paying her utmost respects to someone as esteemed as him; was she not doing enough for him to act that way?

Was she just not doing enough?

Lidelle ran into the nearest room—a guest room usually saved for Raina, Raffina, and Amitie when they arrived for diplomatic purposes—to curl up in a fetal position at the foot of a bed and sob quietly, echoes of Klug's voice resounding through the halls and seared into her mind.

All she wanted was to attend that party to see Raffina. Kind, elegant, and confident Raffina, everything Lidelle was not. She did not like to think of it as jealousy like Klug or Accord thought it was, but rather admiration. She loved every part of Raffina that mirrored when she didn't have; maybe someday, if there was anything Lidelle had that Raffina didn't, she could protect her in some way, too.

Maybe someday, it wouldn't all be a dream.

~~🌺~~

"It's Sig again, isn't it, Lord Schezo Wegey?"

Schezo Wegey scoffed at his equally annoyed Princess–whom, frankly, he probably could not care less about–and sighed. "You mock me, Rulue, calling me a lord when I've yet to completely perfect my swordsmanship," he shot back and crossed his arms. "But yes, it's Sig again. Troublesome child always goes out into the Ohn Asara Wilds with a jar of honey from the pantry to look for bugs. Dishonorable for a page in all respects!" The silver-haired, tall man came close to unsheathing his "Dark Sword" until the princess stood up and adjusted the feather hat she got from gods know where.

"Sit down, Sir Schezo Wegey," she hissed–noting the change in title, despite his formal title actually being "Lord Schezo Wegey" but his insistence on being called something lesser–and her sea-green eyes stared up at his blue, as he was not sitting down anytime soon. "You've got gall to not call me by my formal title, or at least 'Your Highness'. Moving on, you're the captain, so it's your business to manage your knights; I've not a single idea as to why you're complaining to me."

She walked around in a circle and then turned to walk out to a grand balcony littered with golds, blues, and purples, and she breathed out a sigh to the grey clouds above. Her eyes glanced towards the leftmost castle in sight.

"Then again, who can blame him?" she commented, trying to conjure up the most recent memories of Sig, that talented but arrogant peasant of a marquis-to-be, and the diviner whom she heard never left her castle's cellar. "He's in a rough spot currently. Be patient with that fool, and in time he will become a more grand knight than you will ever have imagined."

Schezo held back a snicker and looked out the window as well. In the corner of his eye, he could see at the harbor an unconscious young man dressed in fine clothes, with a girl shaking him and two children staring down at them...

He faintly recognized them.

Something really, really bad was going to happen.

~~🌺~~

Amitie hummed the tune of the waltz she'd heard the other day.

Raffina was twirling around in her room, the faded blue ends of her long, white dress turning upwards as did her smile, reciting the steps to a dance few are acquainted with. For that special day tomorrow, she did everything to prepare for it, including getting Amitie to wander outside the city for flowers. The blonde-haired, dainty maid girl skipped through the meadows, making sure not to hit her head or get her hat caught on any low branches from the trees towering above her, looking for particular colors that could help her distinguish the flowers needed by her lady.

What were the flowers on the list? Sunflowers, roses, crow.... croweee-something-or-other, and another flower whose name she couldn't remember or pronounce. What was it, again? Hydr-?

She felt the wind swiftly zoom by her, and she turned around to see a red, spotted bug fly around her and land on her shoulder.

They were called ladybugs, right? Lady Nina had mentioned it once after taking a stroll through the woods–though, really, she learned that by "stealing a book from the House Salwin library" was what Raffina had told her–that they were cute, nimble, and docile creatures that sometimes got a bit irritating when crawling on your skin, but once you got used to it, it was a relaxing feeling to have. Amitie looked at the critter sitting neatly on the side of her white blouse and giggled, giving its wings a teeny, gentle poke. She imagined it gave a thumbs-up to her with its tiny limbs.

"Ah- Mr Ladybug. There you are."

The deadpan, monotone voice of a child came from behind her, as the ladybug flew away and Amitie turned to see a young boy with unusually striking blue hair letting the bug as red as his left hand sit nicely on his finger-

That was not a hand. That was more akin to... a claw?

An abnormally large, sharp red claw...

Amitie tensed up in fear, her fight-or-flight mode about to activate from the sight of one claw, but staring at the boy closer–who, more or less, looked around her age–gave her the impression that the person the claw belonged to was pretty basic, if not a little plain in appearance and demeanor. Aside from the knightly-ish attire and sleepy personality, the more she stared, the weirder things got: first it was his red claw, then the...antenna? at the back of his head, and THEN his deadpan eyes--which never moved in spite of his smile--were a bright red and blue...???

"What is it?"

The girl let out a loud "meep" at the boy's high-pitched voice, directed to her again. He tilted his head in confusion, and then looked up in surprise as the ladybug on his finger flew away and around him, landing snugly on his head. A faint smile formed at the ends of his lips–a rather half-hearted smile, at that–which instantly reverted back to indifference as he walked over to the recovering-from-shock Amitie.

"Oh. I scared you. My bad," he said, which sounded like an insincere apology. "You looked at me for a long time. Or Mr Ladybug. Are you friends?" He sat down on the grass, looking expectantly at the girl, and then darting his eyes left and right looking for... something.

"No, nononono not at all! You didn't scare me! It just happened so suddenly!" Amitie flailed her hands around in defense.

"So I scared you."

"You didn't, get real! There's no really real reason to feel bad about it!"

"If you scream when I talk, that's being scared."

"Get really, really real!! There's no way I, uh... um, well... okay, I was scared."

Amitie hung her head down in defeat, her tiny body shaking as pink and white flowers fell out of the woven wooden basket in her hand and she sat down next to the boy in the meadow, underneath a tall tree giving them both shade from the sun. "Yeah, I was a little scared," she admitted, adjusting her red hat nervously. "But it's okay!! I think you're a little cool now? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything! Honest!"

The boy in blue nodded wordlessly, fixing the tightness on his brown belt and steel boots. "Cool," he mumbled, much to the chagrin of the girl beside him. It was a challenge to strike up a conversation with this lad.

"So why're you here? Wanted to make bug friends?"

The words suddenly hit Amitie once more, as if she hadn't learned from yelping not even mere minutes ago, and she tried to summon her brain for the reason she came to these wilds. The knight cocked his head to the side, mismatched eyes staring into Amitie's, and then following the bugs that flew around him.

"Because I have to pick flowers for someone," she finally mustered up the courage to say, a feat that should not have taken her as long as it did. "My mistr... no, my friend! We're friends! Her other friend is hosting a party and she wanted a couple of flowers from the Ohn Asara Wilds, so here I am! I've got most of 'em ready, except uh... croweee something and hydra-also-something."

"Party? Never heard of something like that. Stuff like that spreads fast, so we're probably from different cities," he mumbled and groaned. "So you... didn't come here for bugs?"

Amitie shook her head in apology, noticing the disappointment in his eyes. "No... I'm really sorry!! I wish I could find bugs with you, or for you, but this is kind of urgent...ish," she replied, scrambling to find the words to describe her situation. "Well, it's not THAT urgent, but Raffina will get suuuuper mad if I uh, don't get her party flowers by today.

"Awh. Rough," he replied, letting a beetle crawl onto the side of his single burnt umber brown glove on his right hand. "Thought you wanted to see bugs. I can help name flowers for you though if you're stuck. Bugs like flowers." He leaned in as Amitie nodded and pulled out a short, ripped-up list with hastily scribbled words and drawings in it, with a lack of actual labels for each flower. He pointed to a whitish flower.

"Crowea. It's common here, but more grow in every other place on the continent."

"Really? Crow-wee-a... what a funny name! Know any other flowers? I only know uh, the uh, sunflowers and roses."

"That one is uh... fox-something. Master said it once, but don't pick those. They're poison." He pointed to a drawing of a fuschia, bell-shaped flower on her list, and drew an X with his finger across it.

"Oh, Raffina is going to be so mad," Amitie muttered under her breath, imagining the rage of a noble after not being able to get a flower–a pink flower, at that!–and pointed to the last flower on her list. "What about these? I didn't write down any of the names, but this one's a hy-something." Olive eyes stared back at the boy, and then she looked down to see in a satchel attached to his belt, was the flower in question.

"Hydrangea," he replied, taking some of the blue flowers out. "They have lots of small petals like this. I'll give you some if you need." He offered the flowers to the girl, the latter of whom blushed profusely. For what reason was unknown.

"Really?" Amitie shouted happily, taking the flowers in her hands and placing them gently in her half-full basket of flowers. "You don't have to, but thankies!" The smile of an angel graced the ends of her lips, and she giggled softly before stopping to see the boy pull out another bundle of hydrangeas and place it in her hair, as the side of her red hat.

"Calm down," he said sleepily to the shaking, red-faced girl. "I want the hydrangeas to stay still." After a bit of fiddling around with her blonde hair, and being face-to-face with a stranger and his blue bangs, the knight-boy moved away from her, leaving a small, messily-tied-up bouquet of blue flowers neatly at the side of her hat.

Amitie sat speechless, the once-faint salmon pink on her cheeks breaking out into a cherry red.

"W-Why?" she stuttered, putting her palms to her warm cheeks. Was he perhaps... interested in her? There was no way, right? "That- That's so cliche but I- I... Thank you!? I'm sorry! It all happened so suddenly, and I-"

"Bugs," the boy simply responded, and he grinned. "Bugs will follow you if you have flowers in your hair. It's good to be friends with bugs, hehe." His laugh sounded... pretty dead, but sorta happy? It did not sound like a sincere laugh, and yet it was so kind...

What a strange boy.

Amitie, still reeling from the event, uncharacteristically grabbed the boy's hands with a sparkle in her eyes. "What's your name?" she shouted, a Cheshire smile from end to end of her face. "I need to know! I mean, I'm Amitie! And I'm going to be a great magician one day! I won't forget what you've done, and also I have to write this down in my diary...?"

The boy had gotten up to follow a butterfly fluttering about a tree, and he observed with a blank stare. It felt like he had totally ignored whatever Amitie had just said.

"Um, excuse me! Your name?"

Without so much as even a jump, or any form of surprise from his trance, he turned his head around, then his body to face her. "Sig," he mumbled. "I'm Sig. Nice to meet you, Amitie. You should pick flowers now. You said your friend would be mad."

It was now Amitie's turn to jump, and she scrambled to have a hold on the weaved basket next to her without letting any flowers fall out. "Ah- You're right! I totally forgot about that, she's gonna get so mad at me!" she cried, and hastily stood up to bow to Sig a little taller than her. "Thanks for reminding me! And thanks for the flowers, too! I should get back to work, hehe. See you later!" The blonde maidservant skipped off before stopping to turn back at the boy waving good-bye to her.

"And, maybe... Maybe we could spend time like this again? Catch bugs, pick flowers, have a good day?"

The corners of Sig's mouth turned upwards, but not enough for anyone to visibly notice.

"Maybe."

~~🌺~~

Ringo approached the sand-colored building, a deep green storefront curtain above the front and a neat little wooden sign at the side stating the name of the cafe.

Cafe Circe, where the so-called "comet warlock" Lemres has stopped using his magic for battle and turned to sweets-making, his favorite pastime.

One more time, she looked around the area to make sure Ecolo hadn't already left. She did not know when they got off work, but it was likely they had already, or they wouldn't have scheduled for sixteen o'clock. The streets weren't busy at this time of day–not many stopped working as early as sixteen–so it should've been easy to pick out turquoise hair tied by a red ribbon, but-

"Miss Ringo? You came! You remembered me!"

Ringo turned around to face the storefront again, where her stare met the young steward of Cafe Circe's. "Again, you don't have to call me 'Miss'. Just Ringo is fine!" she asserted as they walked down the cafe stairs to the main street. "You didn't specify a place of meeting, so I figured you may have just finished working, or already have."

A wide grin spread across Ecolo's face, and they gave her a pat on the head. "Right on target! You're sharp, Ringo," they commented, taking her by the hand. "You have clever eyes, I can just tell that in someone. Shall we, then? Idle banter, we'll go wherever you want to go!"

Ringo nodded with an affirmative "mhm!" and looked through the window of Cafe Circe, where nobles were staring at Ecolo and whispering amongst themselves. A strange sight to behold had not the townsfolk around not averse to doing the same. Was Ecolo well-known, or...?

"Sooooooooo... did you throw stones at any of the birds today?"

What.

Ringo raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes, disgusted and befuddled that this stranger she agreed to spend some time with had said something so questionable with a straight face and a shiny smile.

"I don't recall intentionally wanting to scare the lifeblood out of birds," she replied rather coldly, admittedly more than she intended on. "Why, do you throw stones at birds?"

Ecolo shook their head and grinned. "Figured. The street kids always throw stones at birds, and I've played with them a few times," they noted with a cheery voice and a wide smile. "You hit a bird, even if it doesn't fall down, you win a gold piece. That's a lot of money; the stakes are so high because nobody's managed to hit the birds on the rooftops, ever." They chuckled lightheartedly at the dismay yet intrigue of the girl walking at their side.

"I've never heard of such a thing," Ringo commented. "I've never remotely heard of birds being in this town."

"No way! Birds make trouble every sunup to sundown, and the kids gather in town square to throw rocks at them. They're noisy, but it's lots of fun! Where do you live to not be able to hear of this stuff?"

"Not in the street like Arle, that's for sure. But I'm not exactly royalty like Amitie, either... I guess I'm a bit in the middle. I live in Trerid District."

The server fell silent, an uncharacteristically pained expression making its way across their face, and they forced a smile. "Trerid District... Oh, I know where that is!" they exclaimed, the color returning to their cheeks once more as they put their fist to their palm. "No wonder you've never heard! That's like, on the west end, nowhere near the town square. Ahh, I get it now!"

Ringo nodded quickly in response. "Yeah, that's right! Right next to the harbor, and also right next to both House Hallieu and Islen District, so I'm conveniently right between Arle and Amitie's living areas."

Ecolo's face morphed into confusion, and they went silent. "I... I what now?" they asked, repeated the name under their breath. "Like... Pronounced 'island'? Not Is-len? Hard S?" They gripped their messy bangs and dug into them with their fingernails, seemingly unable to process the information presented.

Ringo shook her head. "Um, yes. It's pronounced like 'island'," she reiterated and sighed. "Did someone teach you to pronounce it another way?"

"No, because no one's mentioned it before. I've only seen it on maps of the kingdom. I've only heard of the two houses, the royal court, Trerid, and Mallis."

"Don't you play with the kids in the streets? Surely you must know where you are."

"I don't! I really don't! Everyone but me knows where we are, and it doesn't pop in my brain to ask. I'm always around rich people and their problems, after all."

Ringo furrowed her brow and a bright light reflected in her emerald-green eyes. "Rich people...? You mean nobility!?" she shouted, grabbing the servant by their shoulders and giving them a single, solid shake. "What is it like to live a life of aristocracy? I've always wanted to know because my friend Amitie doesn't quite have the privilege to explain."

"Ow- owowowow- Ringo, I'm getting dizzy," Ecolo pleaded, releasing themself from her grasp and slowly twirling in place for stability. "What's-her-face is probably a servant of some kind. Well, same here. I sure can't tell you about their lives aside the fact they eat cake; some more or less. I can tell you about their gossip though, hehehe." They giggled half menacingly, half proudly as the redheaded girl looked up in awe.

"That's basically the same thing!! Can I hear some of this?" The shine in Ringo's eyes gleamed brighter. "Oh, my apologies. I just simply have to know everything about, well, everything!"

"For starters, there's that party. The one everyone's talking about but ordinary folks like me never hear of unless I was eavesdropping. Which I do."

"I've heard, but only from Amitie... Is that it? That party must be super popular then."

"Well, kinda. Apparently, there's also an investigation into the Marquis of Salwin's disappearance, and some arranged marriage thing going on with House Hallieu and the eldest of their two daughters."

"Two? Weren't there three?"

"Yeah, there's three. Raina, Nina, and Raffina. Heard they're all equally loud and haughty. But Raina disappeared long ago, probably before we were born, so nobody really remembers her."

"Wow, that's... a little sad. I can't believe that the life of nobles is so much more dramatic than mine could ever be!" Ringo swooned in place, imagining the wild adventures and hefty amounts of drama surrounding the life she could never live. "Wouldn't it be nice to live in a castle and have shenanigans happen all around you! How exciting! E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G!~"

"Doesn't matter much to me," Ecolo murmured, and looked back at the girl who seemed to have heard them. "I mean, I sure ain't rich. I'm just an average guy who works for them and literally lives in a reworked cafe storage room. People know who I am, cool! I'd love to make more friends! People don't, also cool! I don't even know who I am myself! I mean, I-"

Wow, they really liked to talk.

Ringo wanted the chance to ask questions, but they were drowned out by the overload of energy radiating from this one person alone. Arle would've definitely told them to shut up, but this was her day, and it was on her to guide the conversation if need be. Though, one bit of information really stood out to her.

"I don't even know who I am myself!"

This was a familiar situation, wasn't it?

She tugged on their short white sleeve, and they stopped talking to smile and look down at the shorter girl, drool still running from their mouth. "Yeeeeees, Ringo?"

Ringo swallowed air and breathed deeply. "I was wondering... what did you mean by not knowing yourself?" she inquired. Their blue eyes seemed to light up a little, and she took it as a sign they understood. "What I'm getting from this is you don't know or understand your background enough to care about the follies of class and status and make friends despite all that...?"

Ecolo fell silent, staring down at the ground and breathed out a sigh, the air much heavier than mere moments ago. Ringo trembled a little; could she have possibly angered the valet and friend-to-be? Both stood motionless amongst the sun, still rather high in the sky.

"As I said, you're sharp. This is almost scaring me," they replied, chuckling lightly, though their anxious smile told a different story. "I really don't know anything about myself. One day I woke up in the cafe storage room, and Lemres found me there. And uh, stuff happened, and I got to working there. I don't remember anything that happened before that. Like, nothing. It would be nice if I knew. But y'know, I don't particularly care. I'm making friends, I'm having fun! Isn't that what life's for?"

Ringo tensed up, fiddling with her fingers nervously, attempting to come up with a response. They made a good point, but the fact they didn't care about themselves so...normally was alarming.

"I'll help you find out who you were," she finally said, staring them dead in the eyes. "Of course I will! Besides, it'll be good for me too. Who knows what kind of adventures we'll go through in the process? I'll get to learn so many other things ab-"

"You have ulterior motives."

Ringo stopped talking the moment a reply came in, only this time, Ecolo's voice and demeanor were much more serious. "You're using my personal problems for your own benefit. Am I right?" they asked, blue eyes taking a darker shade as if they had a will of their own. Ringo froze; they weren't entirely wrong, but she still wanted to help them anyw-

Bright laughter and a brighter smile suddenly sprung from their once-sullen face.

"Just kidding! Jokes on youuuuuu!"

...

By the Six Gods, damn it! They're as cheeky as they come!

"Ecoloooo! You can't just tease me like that!" Ringo exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of people nearby. She nearly broke out into a cold sweat as she covered her mouth instinctively. "I- My apologies. I really thought you were annoyed by my personality! I'm kinda just like that. Though, if you wish to tease me like that, I'll make sure to reciprocate!" She snickered quietly under her breath, still embarrassed from her little outburst.

"Teehee! You sure are feisty, Ringo," they replied, poking her soft cheeks. "I wasn't lying, though. You do have ulterior motives, but not as bad as I made it sound.

"You're searching for 'that' too, aren't you?"

Ringo gulped, processed the information, and nearly stopped in her tracks.

"H- How'd you know?" she stammered, a wave of fear washing over her. They seemed to drop information about herself very nonchalantly, and switched between dispositions at the drop of a hat... Terrifying, that. "How did you- Did I tell you? We only met a few days ago. Who told you, and w-"

"I can just tell," Ecolo replied cryptically and emotionlessly, before returning to their sunshiny, normal expression as if nothing had ever happened. "You just generally seemed confused by the world. I mean, I get learned about everything and anything, but you don't seem familiar with living... Might just be a hunch. but hey, guess I got it right!" They drew a heart over her chest with a thin, gloved finger. "I'm a little closer to reaching your heart, hehe."

Ringo pushed him away playfully, giggling to herself. "I won't forget this declaration of battle," she replied and dusted herself off. "But you're absolutely correct. I don't remember anything from my life aside from my early years, it's really weird. So maybe, if I tag along with you, chances are I'll learn something about myself. It can't be a coincidence."

Ecolo chuckled, and nodded happily. They reached out to hold her bare hands in theirs, and after some staring, gave a little peck to the back of her right. "Of course, milady," they whispered and placed their hand on their chest. "I'll have to help you, too! It's the only way I could possibly return the favor."

Ringo's face, colored as red as the apples sold by her family, was unable to pick an expression. Surprise? Happiness? All things of this matter were just as confusing as her inability to come up with a response.

"Wow, this conversation turned serious quickly," she forced herself to say, though in her defense it was getting pretty dark for a light stroll. "How about we stop by that tea shop on Queens? It'll still be in the shopping district, so we won't be going too far! Wherever we want to go, we'll make it up. I have some time before I meet up with some other friends."

"Other friends?" they asked, tilting their head to the side and the sparkle of interest taking precedence in their eyes. "After this, can I meet them!? I'd love to make more friends!"

Ringo shook her head nervously, to the valet's disappointment. "I wish," she muttered. "Maybe another day. Just that today Arle isn't having the day and she probably won't have you, either."

Ecolo made a peace sign in response–a rather unique response, indeed–and charged a few steps forward. "Oh, whatever! You'll have me, Ringo! That's enough for me," they chirped, grabbing her hand and spinning her forward to walk by their side. "Alrighty! So, about that tea shop? Lead the way!"

Ringo stood speechless and smiled confidently. "Right, then. Follow me. I know all the best places on Queens." The two of them walked together down the sidewalk of the street, idly chattering about mundane topics as the sun's white light started to fade into warmer hues-

From the corner of her eye, she felt someone's shadow move past them.

...?

It was probably her imagination.

#puyo puyo #radiant lights #ecorin fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction

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theprocast · 7 years ago

Quote

I thought failure made me anxious But I'm standing still when I should be flailing Failure makes me nervous But it's success that has me horrified The idea of grasping something I've never seen Makes me not even attempt to reach All I've ever known is dying over living Falling deeper into hell When I can see the ladder towards heaven Searching for the key to these handcuffs When they aren't even locked They're telling me the answer But a tiny voice within convinces me the answers wrong Stuck in my tracks, can't even budge Wanting to move but I'm not that strong Subconscious took over my conscious The devil on my shoulder tricked me he was right So the angel gave up and left

Sandra Lidell

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arnoldjaime13 · 4 years ago

Text

Blog Tour- ENEMY ZONE by @AlexLidell With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @RockstarBkTours

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the ENEMY ZONE by Alex Lidell Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book:

Title: ENEMY ZONE (Trident Rescue Book 1)

Author: Alex Lidell

Pub. Date: January 8, 2021

Publisher: Danger Bearing Press

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 296

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org

I know all about guys like Cullen Hunt.

Gorgeous. Wealthy. Powerful.

I just fled New York to escape one.

But when I reach Colorado, it’s either take a job at Cullen’s Trident Rescue or become homeless.

And Cullen? He’s worse than I thought.

Controlling. Demanding. Jerk.

A grenade always teetering on the edge.

He’s also hot as sin and makes my toes curl.

I hate that I dream about him.

Kissing me, holding me.

He has dreams as well.

Nightmares that only I can tame.

I know all about guys like Cullen Hunt.

I’m smart enough to stay away.

Aren’t I?

Amazon top-hundred author Alex Lidell delivers a page-turning enemy-to-lovers stand-alone romance, with a spunky heroine, a powerful Navy SEAL, and heart-wrenching PTSD that only love can heal.

Enemy Zone is the first book of the Trident Rescue Series, which follows a group of Navy SEALs who return home to Denton Valley, Colorado, and start a search and rescue team called Trident Rescue. The books can be read in any order.

Pre-order ENEMY CONTACT, book 2 in the Trident Rescue Companion Series now!

Excerpt:

Cullen lowers his phone, his attention shifting fully back to me as he weighs me with his gaze. Instead of being offended, I get a strange sensation that the man is pleased with my reply. Or rather, that he’s pleased to have gotten under my skin. As if he’s trying to make up for that hint of a smile he gave me earlier, to make it really, really clear we aren’t friends and never will be.

I shake my head. “You’re a horrible human being, you know that?” I say, getting to my feet in hopes of finding a better place to read. “You’re rude, quick to make faulty assumptions, and you enjoy treating people like shit.”

Cullen leans back in his chair, the sneer spreading over his face somehow managing to make his chiseled jaw only more unjustly beautiful. He’s like one of those carnivorous flowers that look nice outside just so it can digest you more efficiently.

“Well, princess, the thing about glass houses is that you have to be careful about stone casting. From where I sit, anyone working for Denton Uncovered lacks either integrity or brains.” Cullen stands, taking a single step toward me as his voice drops. “Which is it?”

Seriously? My heart pounds, my jaw clenching so hard, my teeth hurt as Cullen takes up all the air and space in the room. We’re standing there inches apart, the world at the edge of my vision flickering with red anger. The most terrible part of his ridiculous accusation is how true the last half of his statement is. Or was. Because back in New York, I was a stupid, naïve girl, thinking I knew the man I thought I loved. Thinking the US Navy gave one lick about the truth.

Cullen snorts, shaking his head as he looms over me, his mossy-green gaze cold. Degrading. “As I recall, I made your probationary period a month. You won’t last that long, Reynolds. Christ, I don’t think you’ll last the week.”

“You shouldn’t think so much, Cullen. You’ll sprain something.” I clamp my jaw shut, my lungs filling with Cullen’s scent with every inhalation. Standing so close to him, I can make out each detail of his too-perfect face, from his closely shaved skin, to the small scar that cuts the underside of his square jaw, to the full lips that are near enough to me that my head spins.

“Don’t bait what you can’t handle.” Heat radiates off Cullen’s body in waves, each rushing down my skin.

My thighs clench together, my treacherous body waking to his presence.

“Tell you what, little girl.” Cullen takes a step toward me, a predator claiming his territory, demanding I get the hell out of his way. When he speaks again, his baritone drips with command and challenge. “Prove me wrong. Get through a month here, and I’ll give you the equivalent of a month’s salary as a bonus.”

I straighten my spine and hold my ground, even as my chest brushes against his, my breasts too large and achy for my bra. “Fine.” The word spills from my lips, my gaze locked on the green eyes that stare down at me as if nothing else in the world exists. It’s probably the kind of stare a bug gets before being squashed, but it rivets me to the floor.

Without thinking, I lift my index finger to trace along his scar, longing to feel its irregular texture.

Cullen freezes, his heart beating so hard, I can see his pulse in the soft hollow of his neck. His pupils dilate, the shifting material along his groin bulging against the zipper. My fingertip is a hair’s breadth away when he moves too hastily for me to see, grabbing my wrist in midair.

“Don’t,” he says.

I gasp, taking a step back so quickly that I lose balance when Cullen lets go and crash into the table. Radios fall from their charging cradles to the floor, a stack of papers following suit.

Holy hell. What the hell are we doing? What the hell am I doing?

Shaking my head to clear it, I crouch to pick up the mess on the floor and feel rather than see Cullen marching away. By the time I look up, the man’s gone.

About Alex:

Alex Lidell is the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of THE CADET OF TILDOR (Penguin, 2013) and Amazon top 100 author and KDP-all star winner for POWER OF FIVE and LERA OF LUNOS (Danger Bearing Press, 2018). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA started Alex’s life long love for fantasy books with strong heroines. Alex lives in Washington, DC. Join Alex's newsletter for news, bonus content and sneak peeks: www.subscribepage.com/TIDES

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/4/2021

BookHounds

Excerpt

1/4/2021

BookHounds

Instagram Post

1/5/2021

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt

1/5/2021

JaimeRockstarBookTours

Instagram Post

1/6/2021

Bookbriefs

Review

1/6/2021

Bookbriefs

Instagram Post

1/7/2021

In The Harem

Excerpt

1/7/2021

Three gals and plenty of books

Excerpt

1/8/2021

Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Review

1/8/2021

Why I Cant Stop Reading

Review

Week Two:

1/11/2021

Books A-Brewin'

Excerpt

1/11/2021

Books A-Brewin'

Instagram Post

1/12/2021

Adrienne Woods Books and Reviews

Excerpt

1/12/2021

Jaime's World

Excerpt

1/13/2021

Pine Enshrined Reviews

Review

1/13/2021

Pine Enshrine

Instagram Post

1/14/2021

The Bibliophilic World

Review

1/14/2021

The Bibliophilic World

Instagram Post

1/15/2021

I'm Shelf-ish

Excerpt

1/15/2021

The Obsessed Reader

Excerpt

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