#lyrics from: lethal woman - dove cameron

[secret-smut-sideblog]

Gold Satin Dreamer

Gale × F! Tav (named)

18+ rivalry, rough semi-public sex, dirty talk, possessiveness, aurum hot girl antics

Inviting his radiant wife to give a presentation at Blackstaff, Gale notices the longing gaze of his less than friendly colleague...

Masterlist

-

"Nervous, Dekarios?"

He leveled his gaze at his colleague. Organizing the papers on his desk for a countless time.

"If your 'betrothed' is as brilliant you've been rattling on about, I'd be nervous too." The cutting jest in his voice never tired.

The professor of Evocation had been something close to a rival at Blackstaff. The rest of the faculty waned from distracted to lovely. The head of Divination had actually come to know him as a friend, a calm presence that he sought on hectic days.

She popped her head in now. Eyes alight with excitement.

"She's just arrived, Gale."

Shit. He had planned to meet her at the gates.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to meet my wife." His voice clipped and pointed, straightening his robes.

"Oh, I'm not going to miss this. I've been greatly looking forward to meeting your accomplished spouse." He took up pace behind Gale, steps preening in their jaunt.

Gale hid his smile. Oh, he'd see soon enough.

They swept down the tower, Gale electing the long route over teleportation for his own satisfaction.

"Do you think she'd give a demonstration for my class as well?" Laurna whispered, taking up pace on his other side.

"Possibly." Hesitation bit at his words. "I don't want to push her."

"A wilting flower? I expected more from a hero of Baldurs gate."

"Ignore him. I'm sure she'd love to visit at the least."

He rounded the last stairwell, seeing her shape take form in the lobby.

Already, a small crowd had formed. She was still in her winter robes, head covered in a thick hood. But her radiance was hard smothered, and any new guest at the elusive Blackstaff Academy was regarded with great curiosity.

"Welcome, my love." He greeted her breathless, coming up to instinctually twine his hands around her hips, but remembered his setting at the last moment. Opting to take her hands instead.

"Hello, Professor." She smiled up at him, taking the remainder of his breath. "I'm tracking snow onto your pristine floors."

"Oh, pish posh." He scoffed. "Anything you track in is gracing our presence."

Fenrun snorted behind him, and Aurum's eyes flicked to his. The insufferable man fell quiet.

Immediate, he could see understanding glide across her eyes. Putting together faces to the context of his daily regailing when he would return home to her. Regarding the man with indifference.

"Oh, this must be Laurna." She turned to his ally, her hypnotic voice welcoming. Dropping her hood.

Aurum shed her cloak easily, in a lavender robe that swept behind her. Chest wrapped in a thick black band underneath.

Her golden hair unfolded behind her in a burning curtain. Just cresting above the base of her spine. Her slanted eyes lifted to stare pale otherworldly beauty into them.

He heard Fenrun take in a slow breath behind him, and felt a swelling of malicious pride in his chest.

Uncovered, she had cast the most powerful spell. And she knew it.

"Is there somewhere I could put this?" She offered sweetly, folding her cloak over her arm.

An attendant rushed forward.

"Of course, I'll keep this safe."

She smiled softly at him, handing it off graciously.

"Thank you, you're too kind." Her eyes poured serenity into the boy. He froze, the cloak nearly forgotten in his hands.

Gale smiled at him. Recognizing the same starstruck glitter in his eyes he had on that beach so long ago.

"Shall we?" She sighed, finding his eyes again. Smile twitching up in that mischievous tick that he adored.

"Oh, lets." He laughed.

She took his hand and swept forward.

Laurna chatted with her brightly as they walked. Heads turning and bodies pausing in a wave as she glided along. Her focus on her conversation and the pull of his hand.

Her power of awe never stopped thrilling his heart, but here it felt three times more potent. Swelling his chest. Peacock in his stride.

Fenrun followed behind, tail between his legs. His wounded pride not enough to disengage him from her presence.

He pointed out interesting landmarks as they passed. Speaking low in her ear. She would pause at these sights, tilting her head in interest.

At a statue of a drider, she drew forward. Softly touching along the marble.

He waited, smiling at her. There was something about touch. She always sought to feel that which caught her interest.

"My love, I'm not sure you're allowed to touch that." He teased.

"I'm being gentle." She stepped back and slid her eyes to him. "It's exquisite, and I like to touch exquisite things."

His heart jumped, knees threatening buckle.

Maybe she was too powerful.

"Where to next?" Her voice casual, sweeping back to his side.

"Ahem, if you're looking for exquisite, might I offer my classroom." Fenrun stepped forward, finally jumbling his bravado back into place.

She tilted her head at him.

"And you are...?"

Gale nearly barked out a laugh, having to smother it in a bite of tongue.

"Fenrun Deomat, Professor of Abjucation. A most esteemed welcome to you, our brilliant guest." He gave a suave bow.

She stepped forward, peering up at him. His breath held, bravado washing away again.

"Charmed. Aurum Dekarios, of Orndeir bloodline."

He stepped back, a spike of awed fear in his eyes.

She knew what that name meant. And she didn't reveal it lightly.

"Of course. A Sunlord... If you'll excuse me." His words came out rushed and breathless. Retreating back towards his classroom.

She watched him go, folding her hands behind her back. Glacial eyes cold in their follow, jaw tilted back.

"He reminds me of Lorroakan." She glanced at Gale. Her eyes returning to soft interest.

"Spot on." He tapped his nose.

She crinkled that genuine crooked smile at him, setting his heart fluttering.

"Your class?" She offered, glancing at the great clock on the wall.

"Ah! Yes!" He started, leading her by the lower back in a brisk walk.

"It was lovely meeting you, Laurna. Thank you for being a kind presence for my husband."

Laurna blushed, doing a little dance on her feet.

"It was heavenly, meeting you. You're... just as he described." Her voice soft in reverence.

Aurum waved as they departed, picking up pace with his fast clip. Long legs giving little effort.

He entered first, the usual rabble of noise picking up.

"Alright, I know you all have been very eager." He started, capturing their attention.

"Our guest speaker is here, now-" He held a stern hand in pause to the several hands that had shot in the air. "She has a very special demonstration for you all. I will remind you of your manners and the decorum befitting students of your caliber. Understood?"

A few heads nodded, eyes darting to the doorway in anticipation.

He sighed in rueful exhaustion, giving his students a loving glare. Eyes catching hers just beyond the doorway, beckoning her in a nod.

She stepped in, moving with all of the grace of a lily floating on a pond. Coming up to softly caress his hand in hers.

"Relax." She hushed, seeing the tension under his shoulders. "I agreed to do this. It's okay."

He released a tense breath through his nose, nodding. Wanting to kiss her, but settling for a squeeze of her hand.

She surveyed the gathered students with the same bright interest they studied her in.

"It's so nice to put faces to names, he speaks about you often." She began, stepping down from the podium.

Gale's breath held as she moved down to stand amongst them. Some rising from their seats, staring up at her with unabashed awe.

"Have you told them what I have planned?" Her eyes cast up to his.

"Oh, they insisted it stay a surprise."

She smiled, turning back to her flock.

"Well, this will seem lewd then." She laughed, bright wind chimes. "So bear with me."

She reached behind her, unclasping the band around her chest. Pulling it through the front of her robe. Taking a deep, satisfied breath. The false sun had been significantly cooled but still left a noticeable glow in her chest.

Several gasps rang out, those who weren't already standing rising to feet. Bodies moving forward, hands unconsciously raised to chests.

"This," She began, beckoning them to draw closer. "Is a fragment of an epic spell. How many spellcasters would you guess that takes?"

His favorite student piped up, a bright young man who reminded of a younger him. On tiptoes trying to see over shoulders.

"Hundreds!"

Her eyes caught his, smiling radiantly. She drew forward, the crowd parting for her. Taking his hand and encouraging him to the front.

"Very good. This spell took 194 spellcasters, all speaking at once."

"Now, I'd like to activate it for you."

Gale stepped forward, concern tight in his gut.

She held her palm up to him, tilting her head down in a bid of trust.

"I recovered this morning in preparation, I'll be okay." Her voice soft in assurance.

He relented, jaw still clenched. Nodding for her to continue.

"This is very dangerous magic, condensed in this way. A spell this large was never meant to be seated in a body, especially long-term." She explained, his students' eyes picking up their own concern.

"Miss?" The bright voice picked up in front of her.

"Yes?" She smiled at him. "What's your question?"

"Can I...?" He held his palm out in question.

Her smile widened, cupping her hand over the back of his.

"Of course. Tactile information is very important to me, too."

His palm settled onto her chest, letting out a little gasp.

"It's really warm!"

"It's a shard of sun." She offered, seeing the other students starting to form a line.

"Ohhh... that must hurt..." He hushed.

"It does. But not terribly."

"I'm sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry for." She rubbed the back of his hand.

She allowed each student to take a turn, Gale's chest full to bursting with pride watching her. She was a natural with them, spellbinding effortlessly.

"Are we all prepared?" Her eyes moved over them, then up to him.

"Can you get the lights, Professor?" She winked at him.

He blushed, despite himself, and dimmed the room. Curtains magically drawn, lights snuffed out. Her bright chest the only reflection in eyes.

"Now, this spell had a very special component in its casting. You will hear more than just my voice, and it will get a little overwhelming, but do not be alarmed."

She paused, seeking understanding in the nods of heads.

"Okay, here we go."

She started in a hum, closing her eyes slowly.

Gale's eyes caught a figure who had slipped in the back, along side heads peeking in from the hall. A spike of shock when he recognized the shape in the dark.

The shard thrummed out of its stasis, pulsing out through her ribs. Her humming picking up into bright song, soaring up through the air. Light spread out through her shoulders, lifting wisps of her hair. Her voice picked up into a high sustained call, smothered light pushing out into the sunburst. A star of light hovering over her body again.

The voices came in, harmonizing into her sustained note. Following her back down through holy song. Dipping and weaving along her notes. The room filled with angelic reprieve. Climbing higher and higher.

When the church bells rang, she started to wind down. Pressing a palm to the burning light. Letting her voice drift down into a soft wail. A question, a request.

Her accompanying choir hushed with her, relenting to her call. Falling lower and lower, the sunburst retreating back under bone in response.

She closed her eyes again, ducking her head down. Moving through one more soft phrase before falling silent. Taking a steadying breath out through pursed lips as the room slowly went quiet.

He let her another moment of dark, knowing it took much more out of her than she let on. Wanting to go to her, to gather her in his arms. Decorum be damned. Then, finally, rose the lights again slowly.

"When an epic spell of this magnitude is cast," She began again, gently wiping her eyes with the edge of her thumb. "It calls on a terribly great power. It is done with intentions to gain, to control. To become something no sane person seeks."

Her eyes narrowed to deadly serious slits.

"It is a terrible thing to wield that power. It will pull the layers of your mind away. If there was any goodness in you to begin with, it will unravel it. It will unravel you to a singular goal. No matter the cost."

She palmed over her chest, speaking in a hush.

"It will feel worth it. The collateral."

The collective breath in the room was still held. Many heads now gathered, spilling in from the hallway.

"Keep mind of yourself, of your ambition. There are many great minds in this room, and that is a terrible thing to squander to the madness of that pursuit. Power like this is an insatiable, hungry thing. I promise you, it can never be fed enough. And the effort to keep it fed will destroy everything you could ever love."

"And if you still decide it's worth it?" Her voice dropped to a low warning.

"The collateral will find you."

She took one final breath out, then rose her eyes. An apologetic smile creased her face.

"Light is a heavy thing to bear. Forgive my dour presentation."

The air refilled the room, small nervous laughs picking up.

"No, the weight is warranted." The Blackstaff chimed in, drawing forward from her place in the back. "A fine lesson you've given today."

"Dismissed." She commanded easily.

The students filed out around them, tittering and waving goodbye to Aurum.

Only when the room emptied did she pick up again.

"I knew your father. I'm very sorry, Aurum."

"He was... he could have been a great man." Aurum hushed, pulling her wrapping around her chest. Gale took up behind her to attend to the hooks.

"You were a well-kept secret, I'm sorry there wasn't help for you in time. Things could have been quite different if we had gotten to you."

"I think about that often. But I'm not sure if I'd be here, as I am, with him..." Her eyes lifted to Gale's, brimming with love. "If it had gone any other way."

His heart ached, cupping her cheek softly. She leaned into his hand for a moment.

"But thank you, regardless."

Aurum smiled gently as the Blackstaff's hand rose to her chest. Pressing a soft palm.

She shuddered, her eyes squeezing for a moment before pulling away. Heavy with knowledge, giving her a sad smile.

"I must depart, but if you need to take another recovery, feel free to do so in my office. You can reach the Astral Plane there easily."

"Be well, Rosa'sune."

"Thank you. Bwaelan dro, uluvathae."

"Uluvathae, xiloscient."

He caught Fenrun's hungry eyes in the doorway, firmly fixated on her back. Giving Gale a spiteful glare, about to enter the room when the Blackstaff drew forward. Her body caging him out into the hall.

She cast Private Sanctum on the room as she left it, nodding at Gale with a knowing smile.

His ears flushed pink, but gave her a grateful smile regardless.

Aurum approached his desk, hopping up onto it. Tossing her leg over her knee.

"That wasn't too much, right? I didn't want to scare your students." Her voice falling vulnerable.

"That was... the best lesson my class has had in this room. I promise you that."

He came up to her folded legs, hand rising up her knee.

"Well, good then. Your colleagues seem lovely... for the most part."

A heat that had been simmering in his pelvis since that man's envious eyes had settled on her reared into a boil. His hand pushed up to her thigh.

"The way you denounced him. So casually..."

"What was there to appraise?" She smiled, her legs parting. Pulling him between with a loop of finger on the tie of his robes.

"A thoroughly unimpressive man. I've seen many of his ilk, and they have very little to offer."

At the word very, she cupped over his teaching robes. His half hard cock greeting her with a throb.

His hand slammed down on the wood next to her, breathing hard into her exhales.

"Keep talking." He urged. Pulling her robe down over her back. Unhooking the band once again.

"Oh, I'd love to." She purred, lifting her legs to curl around his hips.

"You know, I bet he's thinking about us in this room right now. About your hands on me."

He pulled her robe up over her hips desperately, groaning out when he saw she hadn't worn underclothes.

"Wanting to touch me like this, to see me strewn across your desk. Just outside that spell. Furious with envy."

She draped back, her breasts bouncing with the movement.

Precum pooled dangerously soon in his trousers, biting back in choppy breaths. Not even out of his clothes yet.

"Do you think he's imagining what I taste like? How wet my cunt is?"

She led him by the wrist to the heat between her legs.

He drew his fingers through her slick, leaning forward in a slump of shoulders at its power. Slowly pushing two fingers inside her.

She shuddered, arching back on his desk. Ribs rising into a curl as he pumped into her. Her voice coming out in needy moans.

"He could never be this good. No one could fuck me as good as you."

His eyes squeezed shut, focusing through the overwhelming drive in his pelvis. Nearly cumming in his pants. Realizing with haste that he couldn't bear much longer. Pulling quickly out of his trousers.

He slipped his fingers out and filled her with his cock in a fast thrust. Rocking her back on the desk.

She moaned out, legs curling.

"Please, harder. I want it to hurt. I want him to see me limp out of this room."

He nearly crumpled, his voice coming out in a desperate sound of affirmation. Flipping her onto her belly. Her full ass curling up high into his hands.

He slammed into her, bracing a flat hand on her lower back. Holding her down. The desk rattling hard under her. His body delirious with feral pleasure. The drive of his hips uncontrolled.

She gripped onto the lip of the desk above her, hips still pushing ever harder back into him. A sweet chorus of whimpers leaving her with every drive forward. Cunt starting to clench around him, a tight velvet fist constricting in a blinding suck of his cock.

"Please, please, it's so good." She moaned. "Fill me full of your cum, Professor."

He braced desperately down on her back. Needing her to cum immediately, he pulled her long hair up in a tight fist. Slapping her ass in a crack of his palm. Snapping down again and again until she came, her skin blooming red.

She arched back into him, rising on forearms. Shuddering out a cry of his name, cumming in hard tremors. Pleading cries of pleasure rushing through her throat. Cunt fluttering in rapid fire demands on his cock. Her cum pushing out in waves onto her backside with every thrust. Coating his cock as it drove into her.

She went limp under him as he lost himself. Driving into her in vicious pulses, gripping her hips in white knuckles.

"You're mine. You can only cum on my cock." He growled. Her hips squirming from the overstimulation, nodding under him.

"Yes!" She gasped out.

He fell forward onto forearms, driving as deep as he could go. Possesive wrath taking over his body, his mind.

"Mine." He growled, pushing her shoulders down into the desk. Fully holding her down, his weight and vicious drives of hips commanding her body in place.

"All for you." She gasped, going limp to his force. "To do with as you please."

"That's right." He growled, biting into her shoulders. Marking her so there was no mistake. The print of his teeth bruising into her fruit.

"You are not going to clean up when I finish. You are going to leave this building my cum running down your thighs."

"Yes! Please finish inside me!" She begged.

He gave two more long, indulgent thrusts, then lost himself. Hips driving in bursts as his cum filled her. The wrenching ecstacy driving out of him in waves. The total abandonment of control, his body gone. Her cunt clenching pulling in vicious sucking pulses.

He collapsed against her back, after shocks of shudders pushing through him. Cock throbbing inside her emptied.

"Please tell me you can come home soon." She gasped, boneless against his desk.

He laughed, kissing the bruises forming on her shoulders. "Soon. I have to run through some papers, but I'll be home to you as quickly as my magic can take me."

She let out a little dissatisfied whine, twisting under him to pout up at him.

"Don't you give me that look." He huffed. His resolve suddenly hanging on by a thread. Weak to her wide eyes and plush pursed lips.

"But I missed you all day." She sighed.

His heart spilled out of his chest. Falling over her in a soft puddle.

"No. No!" He held up his finger in a point. "Bad!"

She curled a mischievous smile inside of her pout. Eyes twinkling with salacious glee.

"You're too good at pulling my strings, you menace." He laughed and kissed her tenderly, cupping her face.

"Now go on, before I lose my nerve."

"Hmm, okay!" She chirped, hopping off of his desk. Pulling her robe back over her shoulders.

"Oh, wait!" She turned as if remembering something.

Reaching between her legs under the drape of her robe, she gathered a trail of his cum from above her knee. Popping it into her mouth jovially.

"See you at home!" She lilted, giving a little wave as she turned into the hallway.

He shuddered, leaning on his desk for support. By the Weave, she will be the death of him.

~

[inafieldofdaisies]

(WIP) Music Monday / The rules: Post a song that is relevant to your WIP or inspires it. I’m also including the lyrics.

I got lies, a million Broke promises that I swore Dilate my eyes, no whites Low light under the door And I know I walk this road alone I don't know me anymore Thought I was safe Got a lock and key From that evil chasing me, but Look in the mirror in this motel room And God, I don't know who I see I don't need redemption No, don't save me Just wash me in your sea C'mon baby, drown me like you do Drown me like you do Hate me like you do Dunk me in your water Make me lose my breath And baptize me again I get up Get my boots on Put one foot down in the mud And this town got nothing left But the fight that's in my blood

Head to toe, usually I keep it casual I'm practical Dare to go Would you turn the room diagonal? Unnatural 'Cause she walks like a saint, floats like an angel Sharp like a knife, under the table Can't feel my face, I should have stayed home I know what she's doing, she's a lethal woman I came all this way just to feel this (pain) Hallelujah baby, light it up, take your (aim) Know that I'm coming to get you 'cause game recognizes game By the way, what's her name?

You lay out your hand I'm seeing a flush You try to hide it I'm catching you blush Yeah, poison Want some danger Looking handsome

Tagging, @adelaidedrubman @thesingularityseries @cassietrn @direwombat @simplegenius042 @madparadoxum @poisonedtruth @jillvalentinesday @shegetsburned @purplehairsecretlair @nightbloodbix @aceghosts @josephslittledeputy @theelderhazelnut @josephseedismyfather @trench-rot @g0dspeeed @voidika @socially-awkward-skeleton @florbelles @dumbassdep @strangefable @corvosattano and anyone that would like to do the tag ❤️

[tiredflowercrown]

So I might have mentioned before that the titles of my stories are usually lyrics of songs that fit the vibe or message or characters within.

So here's the titles and the respective songs from my past six fics

return to the fires of (our) youth

i'll fly away (oh glory)

smoke fills the lungs (like a disease)

be witness of loneliness

say goodbye to those who knew me

sharp like a knife (under the table)

[worryinglyinnocent]

The Real Housewives of Storybrooke

A ficlet series based on this premise here, following the lives of Storybrooke’s elite wives, with all the scandal, bitching and backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes of high society…

This verse is open for prompts!

=====

Previously on the Real Housewives of Storybrooke: It was Regina’s garden party, and Mary Margaret offered to have Bae to stay with their family so that Belle and Cameron could have an adult weekend away.

[Part One][Part Two] [Part Three] [AO3]

=====

Part Four

BELLE

“So, how was it?”

Belle raised an eyebrow as Ursula leaned in over the dining table, her face full of morbid interest.

“You were at the party too, Ursula. Surely you don’t need me to tell you how it was.”

“Yes, but I didn’t get to speak to you as much as I wanted to because I was busy trying to prevent Carrie from making a spectacle of herself after a few too many glasses of bubbly.”

“I did not make a spectacle of myself!” Carrie protested. “Pass the bacon.”

“The only reason you did not make a spectacle of yourself is because I was there to stop you from initiating a karaoke tournament,” Ursula pointed out. “Sometimes I wonder why I bring you to these things.”

“Well, someone’s got to liven them up.” Carrie sniffed emphatically as she took the bacon. “I’m sure that David Nolan would have been up for karaoke. I needed to entertain myself somehow. You were talking shop with Ariel and Eric Prince all evening and I was bored!”

Sometimes Belle found it hard to believe that Carrie was a top lawyer in the family court known for her ball-breaking, take no prisoners attitude, able to make even the most hardened of judges quake in their boots at the mere mention of her name. She and Cameron had met years ago when they had interned at the same partnership and had remained in touch long after Cameron had left the legal profession. Carrie and Ursula’s arrival in Storybrooke had certainly caused more than a few raised eyebrows among the gossips, Carrie’s outrageous appearance being the main cause of the whispers, but Carrie had never cared what anyone thought of her, and her presence in Belle’s life was a breath of fresh air in the stuffy society that she had found herself in.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to ask is how was the party for you?” Ursula brought them deftly back to the point. “There were no raised voices or flying foodstuffs so I’m counting that one as a success.”

“Well, I managed to avoid Zelena West all evening by hiding whenever it looked like she was coming near.” Belle shuddered at the thought of having to talk to the woman who had styled herself as her rival without any input from Belle herself.

“She’s a piece of work that one,” Ursula muttered, glaring at the toast rack as if it had done something to offend her. “Airing everyone’s dirty laundry, as if she hasn’t got any of her own. You know I’m not entirely sure that Robyn’s father is the man she’s always claimed him to be. She just wants an excuse to stick around here and meddle. I know she’s Regina’s stepsister, but I don’t think that there’s a lot of love lost there either.”

“At this point I wouldn’t put anything past her,” Cameron said from the other end of the table. “Put her and Cora together and you have an absolutely lethal combination. It’s a great relief that Zelena didn’t take up the family business. Can you imagine her in local government?”

“You know, I keep expecting her to get a seat on the council just so that she can spend meetings ogling you, Cameron,” Carrie said. “She’s hardly been subtle in her admiration.”

“Yes, and don’t I know it.” Cameron shook his head. “Nothing about that woman is subtle. Short of a restraining order, I’m not quite sure how to get her away from me.”

“It makes no sense in my book,” Ursula mused. “If, in some weird parallel universe, she succeeded in her mission and got Cameron to have an affair with her or leave Belle for her entirely, then she’s only making herself into the villain of the piece. No amount of poison that she could spread would change that or garner any sympathy for her, and it wouldn’t paint her precious Cameron in the best of lights either.”

“Well, no-one ever claimed that common sense was one of Zelena’s strong points,” Belle said. “I don’t think that she ever thinks about anything more than what she wants in the present, and what she wants in the present is Cam.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t already have a nice hunk of man candy on her arm,” Carrie said. “What? I’m bi, I’m not blind. What do you think her latest catch thinks of all this?”

“I doubt he’s realised yet.” Ursula snorted. “She does seem to change them as often as she changes her underwear. I think she has them on rotation, a different one for every day of the week.”

Belle burst out laughing and tried to cover it with a discreet cough into her napkin. Carrie just gave her an amused look.

“It’s all right, dear, we’re all as bad as each other,” she said.

“I know, I know. I just don’t want to be as bad as Zelena.” Belle sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy our little brunch bitching sessions like this, but I can’t help thinking that the one we’re bitching about is doing exactly the same thing this morning and I don’t want to sink to her level.”

“When it comes to people like Zelena, there’s no point in taking the moral high ground because it’s completely meaningless to them,” Ursula said sagely. “Don’t feel bad about it. Besides, you know that we only talk about these things within the confines of this lovely conservatory. We don’t go spreading our thoughts all around the town.”

“And come on, after all the poison that she puts out about everyone else, it’s nice to get our own back,” Carrie said. She swirled the straw of her Bloody Mary around in her glass. “It’s Robyn that I feel sorry for. She’s getting to that age when the things that her mother says and does are going to affect her. But speaking of, when’s Tilly next coming?”

Belle smiled. Cameron’s goddaughter had certainly hit it off with Robyn the last time that she had visited, and Belle couldn’t wait to see that relationship blossom.

“She hasn’t said, but she’s overdue a visit. She’ll probably come before summer’s over.”

“It’ll be good to see her again.”

They fell into silence as they continued to eat, hunger outweighing the need to gossip.

“Speaking of young love, though, I did notice that Emma and Bae were spending a lot of time together yesterday,” Carrie said presently. “I think that you might want to keep an eye on those two. They’re getting to that age now.”

Belle cast her mind back to what Mary Margaret had said about having Bae to stay for a few days so that she and Cameron could have some alone time for uninterrupted baby-making. Maybe they ought to stipulate that the two teens be chaperoned all the time.

“Yes, well,” she said quickly, deciding that it would probably be a good idea to change the subject. “What’s the next big event? I know that Regina’s organising Roland’s birthday party, but I don’t think we’ll be invited to that.”

“No, I think that would be smalls and the parents of smalls only,” Carrie said. “Not that the parents won’t be in dire need of a drink by the end of it. A dozen kids under the age of ten running around hyped on sugar and food colouring is not my idea of fun.”

Belle gave a somewhat wistful sigh. Although it was still a way off, she was already thinking about brightly coloured frosting and balloons. Cameron reached under the table and squeezed her hand.

“I think that the next event in our social calendar would be Ariel’s birthday in two weeks,” Belle said, dragging her thoughts away from what could have been. “I think she’s just planning something small with a few friends; she’s never been great at organising big parties and she and Eric have been so caught up in doing up the boat and opening up their New York office recently that she doesn’t have the energy for party planning.”

“Yes, it’s always much easier when you can just turn up and get drunk instead of having to be a nice responsible host,” Carrie mused. “Maybe that’s why I always enjoy other people’s parties far more than my own.”

“You turn up and get drunk at your own parties,” Ursula pointed out. “I ended up hosting your fortieth because you were too busy dancing on the punch table.”

“And an excellent night was had by all,” Carrie said with a grin of nostalgia. “We ended the evening sitting on lilos in the swimming pool with Cameron teaching us some incredibly rude songs about kilts.”

Belle looked sideways at her husband. “I take it that this is from before we were an item.”

Gold nodded. “You’d only just moved to town and I’d only just got divorced. Things were a bit lively then.”

“A Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair,” Carrie began to sing, breaking off when Ursula stamped on her foot under the table.

“Carrie, we have polite company and it’s not even twelve o’clock yet, have some decorum!”

“I really don’t mind,” Belle protested, but the rest of the song remained unsung. She’d have to get Cameron to tell her the rest of the lyrics later.

Brunch continued to be a riotous affair, and by the end of it, any lingering stresses that Belle might have had from the previous evening had been thoroughly squashed. It always lightened her heart to know that whatever happened, Carrie and Ursula would always stand by her and Cameron’s side.

As they were walking back along the road towards the pink house, Belle slipped her arm through Cameron’s, enjoying their closeness.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” he began presently. “About Mary Margaret’s offer.”

“Yes?”

“I think we’re a little overdue a break, and I’m sure that Bae wouldn’t mind being able to spend more time with Emma. I’ll call Dove and get him to make sure that the cabin’s ready for next weekend.”

Belle smiled.

“Thank you, Cam.”

Even if nothing did come of it, it would certainly be nice to spend a romantic weekend away. As Cameron had said, they were overdue, with other stresses of life and business and work eating into their time with each other. It would be nice to take a day or two to reconnect as husband and wife.