#pov you had to kill your husband in order to get what you were looking for

[lmadsadness]

[ CW: DEATH ]

ily doomed wavewave 🫶❤️❤️❤️❤️

[leeknowsintrusivethots]

A Stray Concubine

| Part 1 | Pairings: Prince!Lee Know/You, Prince!Bangchan/You, RivalNoble!Hyunjin/You? We are all about possibility here. Summary: Entering into a harem choosing was something you have been groomed for since you were young. Your aim is to make Crown Prince Christopher fall at your heels in order to restore your ruined family name and fortune, but games of love are much harder than games of lies and deceit. Content: Angst (is it me if it's not?), slow burn, smut(warnings below the cut), fictional historical universe, dark themes, second person perspective, historical-typical gender roles, imperial harem-inspired concubine system, multi-pov WC: 5119 Minors do not interact. Do not repost my content to other websites. Notes: I'm back to writing again, keyboard slappin' again. Also, I am having trouble figuring out a way to format POV shifts on tumblr that is clean but not intrusive. I am open to suggestions.

Smut Warnings: very brief/very vanilla smut, sex with a stranger, no strings, mentions/illusions of oral, smut is not between leads of the story?(idk, I think some of you might be peeved by that. We do it for the plot.)

You

Powerful was a word that most would not place on a woman. 

Women were meant to be demure and delicate. They were meant to rear children and attend to household affairs as their husbands brought in income and fought in wars where there would be no true victors. It was not a woman's place to meddle in affairs of politics and governance outside of securing marriage alliances for unwanted daughters to bring extra wealth and prestige to the family name. That is simply how the world worked. 

You never questioned it in your childhood. You wore the pretty, colorful silks. You learned to speak eloquently but never out of turn. You played instruments and studied embroidery and other womanly arts. You were exactly what society dictated you be: a pretty face being prepared to be sold off for the honor of your family name. 

It was a single, fateful trip to the capital with your mother and father that had changed not only your perspective but the entire course of your life. Your family name was tarnished and your father was executed by the ruling Bang family for murder and treason. The only thing that had saved you and your mother was the grace of the sex you had been born with and her tears and pleas for mercy. Even as she cried and begged in front of His Majesty, the truths you had known crumbled to dust. 

Your father had been a puzzle piece in a generations long game of chess where the kings and queens played with the lives of others to gain power of their own. He had been a disposable pawn, easily lost to the ages as a traitor whom there would be no songs written about. Everyone knew it, and it didn't take long for you to realize it for yourself. You, even at a young age, looked beyond your mother's pretty tears and prettier words. 

You knew Princess Mai was set to wed the young lord Hwang.

The Hwangs were a powerful family - rivaling your own in terms of wealth and influence. Hwang Hyunjin was the sole heir to his family's fortunes. A marriage alliance with Princess Mai would tip the precarious balance of power to favor the Hwangs more greatly. It would have been a match that would have been detrimental to your own family's power. 

You knew all of this. You also knew the vial of dark purple liquid your mother had hidden under the flowing sleeve of her gown was not nail polish as she had told you. You had watched keenly as she had slipped the liquid into Princess Mai’s goblet as you all supped with the Queen without anyone else the wiser. Your mother's poison had killed the young princess before the physicians could even get through the door. As Queen Bang had cried and screamed for the loss of her child, your mother had secretly smiled. 

She had ruined the Hwang’s grab for more power and gotten rid of a Bang daughter in one fell swoop. She was the chess master, and she had outmaneuvered them all with a pretty face and a pretty smile. You don't know if she foresaw any of the consequences of her actions: the execution of her husband, the ruin of the family businesses, and the loss of your family's prestige.

Your mother had broken the mold. She had held your father under a spell with her looks alone. His station allowed him to take other wives if he chose, but he never did. He allowed her the freedom that many women would never get to taste in this lifetime, and she took it with greed and left him in a grave of her making. 

“Was the power worth it, Mother?” You asked the carriage window that tottered down the street.

Through the pristine glass, the lush landscape was ruined by the image of heavily armed men on horseback. They wore the colors and heraldry of the Bangs, and they patrolled the road to the palace with keen eyes and sharp blades. Their numbers were more than usual as they surveyed the throng of carriages and ladies on horseback that made the journey in an unlikely parade. 

The Selection was the only time that the Kingdom of Miroh would see such an odd assortment of women making their way to the Palace of Kings. It was a rare event, only happening when the Royal family required more women to act as concubines and maids. The needs of the Palace had nobles and commoners alike sending their daughters off for the possibilities of fame and fortune. 

Serving the royals as a maid was an honor that most of the peasantry could only dream of, but even nobles would be pleased if one of their younger daughters could secure a spot in the Royal household. It would ensure that they were at least in the line of sight of the many princes, and the maid staff were compensated fairly for their time along with accommodations and food provided for them. There were certainly worse places for a woman to find herself.

You, however, were not sent by your mother with such plebeian goals. 

It was not comfort you sought, nor was it the possibility of an affair with the princes. You were to aim higher. You were to become one of the women that history scorned for reaching beyond her station. 

Your aim was to ensure that you became Prince Bang's Most Favored. Your mother would accept no less. She wanted the favor, the prestige and wealth that would come along with your rise. It had always been her goal, and it had been fed to you for so long that you weren't even sure how much of it was your own desire over her influence. 

Did you want that level of power?

Did you even care to join the Royal family in such a fashion?

Would you ever even come to care for Prince Bang as more than a chess piece on your own board?

These were questions that you could not answer. You often thought of being a young girl again - ignorant to the world and the affairs of adults. You liked your pretty dresses. You loved running through your family's well maintained gardens with your favored hunting hound on your heels. You loved scrubbing paint off your arms and being scolded by your governess for ruining good gowns after a day of painting lessons. You were innocent then, but that was certainly no longer the case. 

The frivolities of childhood had to be left behind. You were an adult, and you knew more of the world than you cared to. You knew that as a gently bred woman, you would never be more than a broodmare for a rich and powerful man unless you took charge like your mother had so many times before. The consequences could be grave; you could lose your head if you weren't careful, but great queens had never become so by following the status quo. 

As you toiled with emotions far beyond your depth, the King's Gate shadowed your carriage eerily. It was an original part of the palace’s structure, built so solidly that the centuries had done minimal damage to its intricate design. It towered over the road, blocking out the sun with marbled walls inlaid with precious metals and jewels. It was meant to intimidate, and belittle. It was meant to make everyone passing in its shadows feel weak and small in comparison to the glory of the Royal Family. It opened seldomly, and only for whatever family sat the throne at the time. 

Its momentous shadow lasted for what felt like an eternity as the line of carriages trudged along the walls of the palace to a more appropriate entrance for those not of royal blood. You and the other women arriving for the selection were being directed to the same gate used for supply carriages and merchants. It was yet another mind game: being delivered like fine cattle to await the murderous whims of a king. It was a way to ensure all women of the selection knew their place - but you saw things through the lens of your mother. 

The Gate of Kings was the first thing all arrivals to the palace would see by design, but it would never open for them. Instead of intimidation, you saw a challenge to inflame and inspire your heart. You would enter through the Merchant's Gate, but you knew that the Gate of Kings would open for you one day. It was all a matter of what you had to do to make it happen - consequences be damned. 

Prince Minho

Head held high. Feet light and delicate. Body slim and lithe. Features sharp and regal despite station. Gown loose and flowing in bright, ostentatious colors. 

She could be a candidate, Lee Minho thought to himself as he watched the dancers practice. 

The brightly colored fabric of her gown rode up her ankles as she moved, offering the briefest flash of a pale and delicate ankle. It was inappropriate – bordering on scandalous. Had it been even a decade prior, she might have been imprisoned for her lewdness but times were changing. It was a fact of life as set in stone as the changing of seasons: people evolved and people learned. 

Minho liked that concept. He liked the ideas of society shifting and expanding. He liked the change of pace from the monotony, but what he liked even more was the prospect of those daring enough to enact that change. It took an uncommon spirit to go against the masses – to challenge the very knowledge that civilized society was built on. 

As if reading his thoughts, the dancer’s eyes found his and held them. Her's were not the wide eyes of an innocent maid. They were heavily lidded, seductive in their intent.

It was another act of impudence, a daring so strong she probably would be locked in a labor camp if his father witnessed the scene. A woman so open in her sexuality was a threat to the masculinity of the insecure men around her who grasped at whatever shred of power they thought was within their reach. She would be scorned – likely punished by her closest male relative had she acted so with any other man.

Lee Minho was certainly not just any man off the streets of Miroh. He was so much more, and arguably so much worse. A Prince of Miroh could easily have her pretty head taken off for such an insignificant slight against social norms. He hated himself for even thinking about it, but he did. He hated himself even as the dance practice came to a natural end and the dancer approached him carelessly. 

It was a silent exchange – not a single word passing her rouged lips as he took her slim hand in his and led her from the banquet hall. He knew what she wanted. It's what they all wanted. Motivations differed, but the methods never changed. A fun time with a Prince of one of the most powerful nations in the world. He was never one to reject the advances, never had been. 

Lee Minho was many things. He was a Second Prince of Miroh. He was the son of the most powerful man in the kingdom. He was the younger brother of the Crown Prince. He was an intellectual, a graceful fencer, and the official Spare of the Bang family. These were all monikers and titles the public used to describe him, but behind closed doors they sang a different tune. 

He was the shame of the Royal family. He favored arts over swordsmanship. He was an alcoholic who frequented ill reputed pubs and discussed philosophy over ale with criminal scholars. He was a rake who lived at brothels and slept with low class whores. They talked as if they knew him. They spoke as if he sat at their tables and discussed with him personally over hot tea – but they had no idea. 

They knew nothing of the self hatred that coursed through his veins. They knew nothing of the helplessness he felt due to his station. They would never understand the uncontrollable guilt that never failed to find him. 

He was a Prince. He held all the power in the world but that power was wrapped up and presented to him with strings attached ever since he came into the world. He could drink, he could talk and he could sleep his way through the entirety of Miroh but that was as far as his freedom extended. The second he even stepped over the invisible line of what was acceptable, everything could be taken away. 

The change he wanted was within his reach – a delicate treasure that would be so easy to share. Reaching up to break it free for the rest of the world would spell the end of everything he had, but he was not brave enough. He was a coward – a coward hiding behind fancy words and under the colorful skirts of women far more courageous than he. 

His frustrations often manifested in indulgence in the freedoms he was allowed. He would drink, he would dine, and he would fuck in a vain attempt to fill the deepest pits of his tarnished soul. He never wanted it. He had wanted to change it, but his own desires had twisted him. He became the very thing he feared: a powerful man taking advantage of the luxuries given to him without giving anything in return. 

The dancer’s back was pressed against a thin wooden door. Her lithe legs had wrapped around him of their own accord and her hands were threading into his hair and the fabric of his shirt – pulling him deeper into a brief moment where he was not a Prince. He was a normal man without a moral compass, enjoying the pleasures of a woman's body. 

There was no foreplay – no kissing or passionate words. He didn't even get her name before he was pushing her skirts up and sinking his sheathed cock into her cunt. It was not an act of love. It was the act of a desperate fool seeking to forget the world around him. 

And he took. He took the brief reprieve with abandon. The door shook dangerously behind her. Her nails raked him though his shirt hard enough to leave marks. Her moans and whines intermingled with his hushed pants to fill his ears with sensual distraction as her walls squeezed him. 

It was over too fast. The sounds, smells, and feelings of arousal tapering until all that was left was grim reality. Post orgasm clarity was never a good moment sober. Words failed him, and all the truths he ran from distracted him from the beautiful woman who had originally caught his eye. 

“Talia,” she spoke as she adjusted her skirts. 

“Excuse me?” He questioned dumbly. He had put space between them, giving himself a moment of reprieve and allowing her a moment to collect herself. 

“My name: Talia,” she repeated. 

“You're telling me now?” He asked in mild amusement. 

“Figured you might want to know who just made you cum,” she shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Is that any way for a lady to speak?” he asked at her audacity. It was brazen and crass, but he was far from mad about it. Her words had his cock twitching in his pants again.

“M’no Lady. You know as well as me that I'm not gentleborn.”

“Since we're being so frank, relieve me of my curiosity,” he said as he propped himself against an abandoned and dusty desk against the wall opposite of her. He regarded her levelly, but with the easy charisma that he was often praised for. 

“Anything for Second Prince Bang,” she mocked with a quirk of her brows. She never shied away from his stare, never let herself be subdued by the power his titles held. He liked that – a lot. 

“I figured you knew.” He was not surprised in the slightest. His portraits were few and far in between, but it was highly likely the palace staff had informed the dancers one of the princes was watching in on their practice. She made no comment of guilt, so he continued, “What did you want from this entanglement?”

“Other than being able to brag that I fucked a Prince?” She laughed. It was not a malicious laugh, but a genuine one. She also found their exchange amusing. 

“Are you going to join my fanclub?”

“I'll be the leader.”

At her remark, he laughed. It was an honest laugh, one that had him feeling light and free. It was an uncommon feeling for him, one only his brothers had managed to make him feel. He liked this girl, but that's all he ever could do was like her. He was under no illusions that this was just an exchange of banter. She was a passing moment in his life, not a permanent fixture. 

“Were you that pleased?” He asked with a spark in his gut. He made to move from the desk, but she put her hands up in surrender. 

“So pleased, I fear another round would have me fainting.” She let out a sigh as she fanned herself in exaggeration before letting out a snort of derision. “Isn't that what the gentleladies say when their ladybits can't take it anymore?”

“Even noblewomen like to dabble in the fine art of overstimulation,” he smirked back. 

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Are you avoiding my question?”

“I would never dare,” she hummed with a twinkle showing in her eyes. It was teasing – daring on its own. 

“Then answer.”

“Is that a command, Your Highness?”

“Would you obey if it were?”

His question had her approaching him, a smirk that mirrored his own pulling at her painted lips as the gauzy material of her dress flowed around her slim figure enticingly. When she was directly in front of him, close enough that he could feel her breath against his skin, she sank to her knees before him. Her hands deftly handled the ties of his trousers to pull them down enough to free him. 

“If the Prince commands, I will serve.” Her mouth, hot and wanting, was on him before he could even think of a witty response.

Prince Christopher

As heir apparent of a nation, Christopher Bang was not unaccustomed to worry. He worried about the coming winter and if the provinces had prepared their food stores accordingly. The winters in Miroh could be harsh– deadly even. If the cold didn’t kill the populace, hunger was a certain second contender. If he could help alleviate that in any way: he would. It was his birthright and his duty, and he was nothing if not a man of his station. 

Any indication of increasing hostilities in the Borderlands would have him holed up in his personal offices for weeks on end. He would analyze patterns. He would discern strategies. He would rethink choices in generals. He would make plans to advocate for peace treaties with the neighboring territories. WIthout fail, his efforts would be rebuked by the King and the conflicts would continue unchecked. He never stopped trying. 

The conflicts never turned to all out war. They were simply petty squabbles with centuries long history over dejure land rights. It was almost ingrained as tradition– sons carrying out the same trite battles as a matter of pride over any true cause. Ofcourse, it wasn’t the Kings or Princes that suffered. 

It was the common soldiers with wives and children waiting for their safe return. It was the fishermen who watched warily as flagships came to shore. It was the farmers who worked full days for a meager loaf of bread only to watch their livelihoods be put to the torch in a war they never asked for. It was average people who held no stake nor say in the matters of governance or state. It didn’t matter to them who held the territories they called home. Their lot would stay the same regardless of which Lords called themselves King, but the battles for that title hurt them more than anyone else. 

Christopher knew that. He wanted to change it. He wanted to right historical wrongs and be the King his people needed. Alas, he couldn't. All he could do was worry. 

It wasn't even just grand matters of state that occupied his mind. Smaller, more personal affairs piled on his already overloaded platter of responsibilities. He was the eldest of his family's sons – even in the circles of peasantry that came with its own responsibility. He had to look out for his younger siblings. He had to ensure they played their parts as royal children and kept the family name clean and as prestigious as ever. Some of his brothers made it harder than others. 

Changbin had taken his duties easily as had their younger brothers: Seungmin and Jeongin. They knew their stations and how to conform within the standards that befit them. Felix and Jisung tried, but they were more empathetic. They struggled with their places on the world stage– questioning the morality of their way of life and the responsibilities they held. It wasn't a negative thing, and Christopher could not fault them for it. It was a natural part of being human.

In his youth, it wasn't at all uncommon for his studies and training as heir to lead him down a spiral of questions. He was one of the most powerful men in the world thanks to nothing other than being born a son of the Bang Family. He could make people tremble in fear if he so much as looked at them with ill intent. He held the power of life and death in his hands. How could that possibly be fair? How could he live knowing that he had everything while others had nothing? He was as well aware of the moral quandaries as Jisung and Felix. He would not fault them for floundering – he could not.

The hardest thing – he had learned – was having all the power in the world and still trying to be a decent human. 

The duties and power of royalty were a loaded hand cannon given at whim by an unfair creator. Some men would tremble at the burden, and lay it down without problem. Some would take the power to head and heart, and become a terrible beast whose machinations could ruin entire realms with a single shot. Others –  a very rare few – had the sense and sensibility to know not only how to shoot, but how to aim. 

It was Christopher’s only hope that he ended up in the history books as one of the latter. He would be a good king when the time came. He would care for his people and not let the burden of rule turn him hard and corrupt. He would be the role model his brothers needed. 

But these were simply hopes and dreams. In reality, he was simply one Prince amongst many others. His father still held the crown of governance, and he answered to the King as well as anyone else. 

“You can not simply force him!” Beauty Lee cried out with as much emotion as Christopher had ever seen her express. She was usually so calm, and collected. She was a Beauty of the King’s Harem, but he had learned far too early that even his father could break the cool facade of the Palace women with little effort. 

“And what's to stop me, Woman?” King Bang grunted back with a bite. His voice was not to be forgotten. It was distinct in its unyielding harshness, and it suited his appearance just as well. 

He was a hardened man – a King but a true warrior at heart. He was graying and wrinkling in age, but he was still considered a handsome – even fearsome – man.  Under the wrinkles covering his face and hands were scars from battle. He had seen war, but his age and dress showed he also knew luxury in equal measure. 

“He is your son! You must have an ounce of compassion for your own blood!” Beauty Lee protested. 

“Compassion? Is compassion what he needs, now?” The words were not spoken, but spat in frustration. It was a testament to Beauty Lee’s determination that she did not shirk away from the words. “I'd rather a firm beating to undo all the years of coddling you've put the boy through.”

“Is a mother's love coddling? I shall not deny he is flawed. Heaven knows we all are, but he's grown into a good man with a good heart!” Her voice was calmer, but still burning with resolve. 

The feeling of dread that had been slowly rising in Christopher’s chest engulfed him until he felt bile rising in the back of throat. He knew he had not been summoned to the King’s receiving chambers to simply witness a lover’s quarrel. They were speaking of Second Prince Minho - Beauty Lee’s only son and the Second of the Bang Sons.

Minho wasn’t like his other brothers. He had always been incredibly brave even if outlandish. He broke tradition: galavanting across the world with intellectuals, keeping the company of whores and artists, and never accepting his duties as a Prince of the Royal Family. He had always done what he wanted, and Christopher admired him for it even if it stressed him out to his wits end. 

“A heart our enemies would tear out of his chest and eat for protein. He is soft. Sometimes I question whether he is even my son,” King Bang said viciously. It was a tone that could cut down enemies. I was not a tone to take with a gentlewoman, especially not regarding your own blood.

“You– you can't say such things! He is your true son! I swear it,” Beauty Lee prostrated. 

“Ah, bugger off woman! If I had any true suspicions you would be dead and he would be left to rot in a cell.”

“Please, Your Highness. Minho admires you so much, he just needs time.”

“Time? Had I known you and your welp would be so resource intensive, I would have left you both in the whore house you came from.” King Bang said it as if he were discussing the menu for the upcoming festivities. It was as casual a threat as could be delivered, but it was a threat. 

“Plea–”

“Save your whimpering. There will be no further discussion. Minho will cease his fruitless adventures and settle down here in the palace with a harem befitting his station – or he will be sent to the Borderlands indefinitely.”

“You would send your own son to die in such a way?” Beauty Lee cried. As if suddenly realizing he was present, her wild eyes fell on Christopher. Before he could even register what was happening, she was tugging the sleeve of his shirt in desperation. “My Prince! He is your brother! Minho will die in the Borderlands! You know it.”

“Unhand the Crown Prince, Woman! I have taken heads for less!” King Bang roared amongst her pleas for mercy.  

It was moments like this that Christopher liked to pretend. He was not simply Prince Christopher: he was King Christopher. He held the power. He would never let Beauty Lee be in such distress and he would be content to let Minho live as he saw fit, but those were still dreams. He was but a Prince, and Minho was too. If they wanted to survive for a future, they all had their parts to play. He could not pretend: he had to take action. 

“Father,” Christopher spoke up as Beauty Lee clung to him. “I will take responsibility.”

“For Minho?” King Bang questioned with narrowed eyes. He was always suspicious– always seeing a play even if there was none, and truly Christopher didn’t have one. 

“Yes. I will ensure he settles down into Court Life,” Christopher assured his dad and the bleary-eyed Beauty. She blinked up at him with hope, and even fondness. She always had been kind to him and his brothers. She would sneak them sweets when they were young and practiced at swords and the King forbade it. She was a kind woman – maybe too kind for the world she had been adopted into. “I will make sure he accepts it, and adjusts appropriately.”

“Sometimes, I fear I have raised no sons, but seven bleeding hearts instead,” King Bang sighed. He contemplated for a moment, his eyes flashing between his concubine and his heir with laser focus. If he were looking for something, he seemed to be content with what he found. “I will let you.”

“Oh, Your Majesty. I will be forever grateful. You are good, and just!” Beauty Lee cried as she dropped Christopher’s arm only to bow as low as possible at the foot of the King’s ornate desk chair he occupied. 

“Save your words,” he commanded her. Her words stopped at once at his admonishment. “If Christopher should fail to tame my most wayward son, it will be a statement of his right to rule.”

As he spoke, he stared right into the eyes of Chrisopher. 

The young prince was not surprised. He had spent his entire life jumping through hoops to earn not only his crown, but even a shred of affection from the larger than life figure that he shared blood with. His aptitude had never failed him, but he would never feel safe relying on his father’s love for anything in his life. 

“If I cannot trust my heir to command his own blood, how can I trust him to command the people of an entire kingdom?” the King added. He let the threat hang in the air before turning his attention back to the sniveling Beauty at his feet. “In other words, if he fails: you will ruin two of my sons.”

It was another threat meant for the woman who had borne him a child. 

She was one of his longest lasting concubines. It was rumored that Beauty Lee was the one woman of the harem that held any love from the King, and she had suffered for it. She had been scorned and bullied by the other women of the King’s harem. She had been attacked in countless games of court intrigue. She had outlasted all the attempts to have her ousted from the court and from his favor. 

Christopher could only wonder: how would she survive the biggest threat of them all? 

[ukininayu]

LOOKING OUT FOR YOU. —NAOYA ZEN'IN.

SYNOPSIS."when will you start looking out for me too, instead of leaving me staring at my shoes?" CW. Imaginary layout of the zen'in place. you were a very concious toddler w/ a sheldon-level memory. WC. 2125.

A/N. This is just filler, a backstory. Im not sure if I want to continue so I'm stopping here! Just showcasing! I think I had a female in mind?? My mind has the whole story planned OUT. I only gotta write it, but I'm lazy and this might flop n I'm just checking b4 taking this srsly

I think the pov switches every sentence I think

The Zen'in clan was a strict clan.

a cruel clan.

⏤͟͟͞͞ ✯

your mother was a dedicated servant to the zen'ins. dedicated to the point other servants thought she was in a relationship with a zen'in member, even.

not long after the servants suspicions, a few were brave enough to talk to the highest ranking member of the clan about it— well, they had only spoken to the assistant in charge of being the great Naobito Zen'ins messenger bird.

as expected, the assistant only came back explaining the leader of the clan did not care enough to look into it, or to order somebody else to in the most respectful way possible.

after that, everything went back to normal.

unfortunately for her, the other servants secretly kept their suspicions in their minds, going as far as to calling her names behind her back.

"prostitute.." others would murmur, "whore…" others would whisper, some even calling her a concubine!

of course, nobody knew your mother had a family she would go home to whenever she took her leave on the late afternoons.

a husband, and after a shocking discovery, an unborn child.

she and your father were ecstatic when they noticed a lump forming on her stomach after a few months flew by.

while the suspicions of the servants heavily grew when they noticed, too.

after five months was the bump in her tummy actually recognizable.

that was when the servants decided to strike once more. now determined to convince the higher ups.

three servants, the people who had gained the suspicions first, along with the first complainants, went with a plan, instead of going straight to Naobito Zen'in, as if they did, they would only be called liars and jealous servants.

so the trio went to a lower ranking male zen'in to complain.

"sir, we are only concerned over what she has been doing."

"for the last months, she's been acting as if she was hiding a secret affair with... a Zen'in member."

"though her dedication for this clan and higher-ups like you is… inspiring, we fear there is more to that then simply… 'dedication'."

to their surprise, the zen'in had listened, telling them that he would inform the other zen'ins.

your mother was completely unaware about the scandal concerning her.

time quickly passed by, and the latest complaint had finally traveled to Naobito.

What was to be a normal day for your mother had changed drastically when she was called in to have a "talk".

Sitting on the ground and looking down at the shining floorboards as Naobitos messenger bird explained what he had collected was the last thing she could remember. Everything else after was a blur. Vague.

But she knew what she was forced into.

"A slut you are, huh? I would kill you, but you are a woman who can do her duty. Could, I should say, since you decided to follow a path of a whore instead, no? You're left with a choice to make."

"You can offer your unborn child to the clan and run away from this estate, or I can kill you right here. Make a choice now."

" you're in no position about asking about the whys. but it wont hurt much if i told you. To pass out an offer to get another servant, perhaps guard, that can replace you would be a shame. Only a fool would. Who wouldn't want an obedient dog? hah!"

A difficult decision to make, a decision that needed quite the time to think about before answering, but that wasn't her case. She was instead pressured with time. A meek minute to think about.

Who could even think about this so quickly? More so, your mother was still in the process of consuming the untold "story" about what she had "done", and unfortunately, she was smart enough to know that she couldn't make them believe the truth, if she ever tried to tell them, as they, everybody, jumped into the rabbit hole of her "story". Screaming about a random story that goes against the false one would only cause trouble. She had no way out.

If she chose the first option, she would live, and her unborn child, you, would to. She could be with you for at least half your childhood before she had to vanish from your life completely, and so would your father.

Worse of all, she would have to leave you in the clans care. A harsh environment, and you had to serve them the rest of your life. But you would live. And would have a place to be.

If she chose the second option, both of you would die. She didn't mind sacrificing herself, but two things kept her from doing so. She had to leave her husband behind without any clue of what was happening, and, she couldn't even sacrifice herself as doing so will kill you to.

Both choices were horrible, but with the limited time she had to think about it, it was obvious which the better one was.

"The first choice... I.. Choose the first choice. Please. I don't want my child to be dead. Don't hurt them."

"That's settled. Until your child is at lest six years old, you will take care of them and work here."

Your mother did just that.

The day after that and so on your mother was working.

But it was worse.

Now she could recognize the stares, the laughs, the glances, the humiliation that everyone else gave to her. She didn't miss the fact that her duties were changed and she had the worse ones that would take away all her energy. At times, she would think that she wouldn't even be strong enough to give birth or something would happen while she was at the estate that would cause her a Miscarriage.

But she stood strong, encouraged by your father, who after learning about what was happening, tried his best to help her out in any way until you were finally born.

⏤͟͟͞͞ 𖤐

Soon enough, you were nearing your second birthday. Such a happy child you were. The day you started to walk, your mother often took you to a large fancy ol' place with a lot of fancy houses, cool shrines, big land, and fancier people, who you recognized wore clothing similar to clothes you had seen in your little picture books.

You had one rule to follow. Simply stay right beside your mother and not talk when someone who looks "expensive" is near. So you did.

You don't get why your mother was always running around. Never stopping. You know that it isn't good for her to keep "tiring" herself out, since you heard your papa say it to her. In more than one occasion definitely.

So when she woke you up so early the sun wasn't even up, you already knew where she was taking you to, so with the most Exaggerated jump out of the bed, you got yourself (with the large help of your parents) ready and off to go.

Once you had stepped in the estate did you realize you shouldn't have made a tantrum about not wearing a sweater in the autumn. Maybe you could blame the walk you and your mother did to get here. But you couldn't tell this to your mother. Psh. Of course not. Might as well adapt.

Though it was nothing new when going with your mom, cleaning sure was fun! Definitely the highlight of your day if you do say so yourself!

Well... Watching her clean was! You even helped by cleaning the floor! (You pushed a full bucket of water so it could clean the floor. It went all over! Smart you! It's alright though! You scrubbed it all so perfectly every floor was evenly scrubbed!)

After much of going with your mother in this estate, she trusted you enough to wander around. As long as it was on her sight. Of course with the same rules you still had to follow.

So after the little cleaning up you helped with, she gave you the best prize and awarded you to go wander around! (She wanted you to stop distracting and stepping on the clean floor with your dirty boots. You don't know that.)

So you did! Just to her side, you ran to a cherry blossom tree that caught your eye, running circles around it and inspecting it. Analyzing it. Thinking why it caught your interest.

But it didn't. You find that out when another takes your interest, now a sound. Crackling of leaves to be exact. But it came from the other side of the estate, and if you were to go and pass the corner turn, you would definitely be out of your mother's sight.

But who are you to think about that? You're three. You do what you want.

So you do and tip toe to the turn, immediately a bigger tree with pink leaves takes your attention, it doesn't look like a cherry blossom, and it's closer to the estate wall than the heart of the place.

Squinting your eyes to see more detail, you see strands of dark green—...almost black hair behind the tree. They looked like they were sitting. More importantly, they looked your age! And to think you were all alone! there was another kid, maybe it was a kid of your mom's companions! Lucky you.

You excitedly rush to the tree, stopping at a small bush near you to take a flower to give to the hopefully future friend of yours.

you take your steps slowly and as silently as you can once you reach to the other side of the tree trunk. oh! he's a boy. your future friend, your first ever friend, is a boy! you could see him focusing intently on two beetles fighting. huh.

not much seconds later, the boy looks up behind him, only to see you behind the tree, head peeking around.

he quickly jumped up, hand pointed at you. " maids r' s'pposed to work, what'r you doing here!" the exact thought he had. after all, it was what he saw the other Zen'in members were doing. whats stopping him from copying?

You completely ignored his weird tone, a tone you've never heard before, making sure you would finish your plan of getting a friend.

You look down at your hand, before giving the flower you plucked to him, your finger presses on something prickly on the green stem, giving a little cut on the pad of it.

The boy watches your face, your eyebrows furrowing as you look down at something. He looks at your hand, then a rose. Then your cut.

You would usually cry in times like these where you'd get injured, but you had your priorities, and you still wanted your priorities to be right.

You extend your arm, your hand offering the pretty red flower to him. "T's p.. Prickly. be car'ful. Here!"

He takes the flower hesitantly and thanks you, taking your warning and reaching for the stem with the same place your fingers were placed on carefully.

"Friends?" He looks at you and sees your big smile, he thinks it's targeted to him since you were happily looking back at him. it was so long since he saw someone his age.

"Fine." He's never talked to another kid. He questions the way you talk. Do you even know how to? Is this how every kid talks? They always told him he was superior, maybe you weren't taught like he was, duh.

"Yay! What's y'ur name!" You immediately ask, babbling your own name as an introduction. "..uh, Naoya.." He was all too confused about this sudden interaction with someone new to remember the things they taught him about not taking "disrespect" such as these. How did someone in this big place not know his name?

Naoya. Such a nice name your friend has! You tell him just and thank him for being your friend. Naoya nods, and that's enough to keep you smiling.

Tired of standing, he turns and goes back to sitting under the tree, back against the stump. "Sit." He commands, but you hear it as a request. When he scooted and gave space for you to sit, you obliged and sat beside him.

You and him spend the whole day under the pretty tree, watching little bugs fight, Naoya going in the estate and back to the tree every once in a while when somebody looks for him, the boy of you talking about everything, him bringing the nice snacks his servants kept giving him when he went in the estate for the both of you to munch on.

Just a fun time. With a cool friend.

🂡〡🀆〡🂡

That's it for now I think idk, thanks for reading! ♡

[loveneversleepss]

Royalty Part 2

Pairing: Prince Felix x female reader, switched POVs, set after 2 years.

Warnings: smut duh with a plot ofc, unprotected sex(wrap before you tap), nicknames, cursing, death? Mental health issues, heartbreak lol, violence ig.

A/n: heheh ik you’ve waited for this so enjoy! Ps Daniel deserves sm better😭

W.C: 7000 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Felix?” My attention was brought back by Chan, he snapped his fingers which made me jump. “Are you okay?” Am I okay? I’ve been asking myself that for a long time.

I nodded my head and gave a reassurance smile, which was completely fake. He was talking to me about some duties I needed to attend to. I had to step up, as the widowed-crown prince, who was a better fit than a 7-year-old. I had to get over everything so fast, my bride who died on our wedding day, I was forced to forget about it. But I couldn’t, I simply could not. Because I would only love her and only her. “Are you even paying attention?” I dropped my hand against the desk which was holding up my head. “We need to find you another bride.” I became outraged, “what are you talking about?” He sighs and sits in front of me, “it’s been two years. We need a crown princess.” I stood up from my chair, “how could you ask something like this?”

“You are the most wanted husband in the land, you have ladies lining up for you.” This brings me back to before, when I was invited to the imperial palace for the first time, and saw her. “I don’t want another lady.” He groaned in annoyance which caused me to turn angrily, he spoke before thinking, “why can’t you just forget her?” I charged towards him, lifting my fist to him and gripping his shirt, but I caught myself. I let him go and sighed, “why do you think? She was murdered on our wedding day, I couldn’t save her. To this day I don’t know who murdered her.”

Her father refused to investigate her death, her assassin. He believed it wouldn’t let her soul rest, which he ordered no one to look into it or they would be killed. I looked at the jade ring on my finger, our wedding rings, I buried the other one with her. “I just want her back.” We were interrupted by a guard stepping inside, “his majesty would like a word alone.” I motioned for Chan to leave and the King stepped inside. “Your majesty,” I bowed and he bowed back, “Felix.” I sat down, but he insisted on not sitting with me. “It’s time we find you a bride.” I slumped defeated, unbelievable. The king had recently remarried after y/ns mother couldn’t handle the pain of her death. She killed herself. He chose to remarry only a month ago.

“It’s just hard, after everything.” He reached for my hand but I reluctantly moved. “I understand, but I did it. Which means you can too.” I held my breath as he was turning to leave, “just think about it.” Then he slithered away. I sat there for a while, thinking about everything that happened. I decided it was time I should go take a bath. I walked into my room and told my servants I wanted a bath. They left to prepare and would alert me when it was ready. Chan came running inside. “You won’t believe what I just heard.” I crossed my arms and stared, awaiting the information.

“I overheard a conversation the king had with his new bride.” He gets up and walks over to the station full of sweets and drinks. “She had a twin sister. She lived in the village, poor as mice. She was taken care of by undercover palace guards.” I frown my forehead and lean against the table in my room. It was y/ns, her room. I watched him pour a cup of tea for me, he set it down on the table in front of me, “I don’t drink tea.. Have you investigated this?” He sighs heavily, “there’s no record of her. Anywhere.” I stepped back, stunned, “how could there be no information on her?” He shrugged his shoulders, and sat down on the chair. “Maybe he didn’t want anyone to find out about her.” But why?

“I want you to investigate y/n’s past.” He raises an eyebrow, “I will be killed.” I shut my eyes and looked at him with annoyance, “not her death. Her birth. There must be a reason why her sister was sent away.” He nodded his head and bowed then disappeared. I was called away.

~~~

“It’s crazy.” I sat in disbelief on my bed, our bed. Chan ran into the room with grief news. “But it’s true. She was born from a different mother and that’s where the sister is.” I shook my head and my hands wiped my face, Chan’s eyebrows carefully moved to his emotions “but then why would the queen kill herself after?” He smacked his lips, “she raised y/n as her own. She couldn’t have children, or so she thought until she gave birth to Daniel. But the king bedded another woman secretly to have an heir.” I laid back into my bed and looked at the ceiling. “He sent away her sister to the mother to keep the affair quiet,” I concluded. Chan patted my chest and laid down with me. It was silent for a few moments until I sat up suddenly. “We have to find her.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “There’s no way we could pull that off.” I licked my lips and chewed on the inside of my cheek. There is a way. “The king wants me to find a bride, I could say I’m searching for one.” But of course where would I even take her? I can’t take her here. It would have to be back at my home, my mansion. “Send word to my mother that I will be returning for a few days.” Chan exclaimed softly as his bright smile beamed and he patted my back, “we’re finally going home.”

~~~

“Welcome back, Felix.” My mother held out her arms to me which I felt obligated to fall into. She rubbed my back softly and hummed, “it’s so good to see you.” I broke away and she cupped my cheeks, “how are you, lix?” I sighed and hung my head low, “I wish I could say better.” She paused and tried to lead me inside. “I have to do an errand before I enter, would you mind having the servants prepare my room?” It was an excuse not to talk about things, because I knew she would ask. She smiled and sent me off with a wave. I walked the streets alone, without Chan. I always loved walking down the market, watching couples and families enjoy themselves. I always wanted to do this with y/n.

I get a harsh shove into my right shoulder, a man apologizes without looking back. I rubbed my shoulder when I noticed a fabric dragging on the ground, from a woman covering her face. My fingertips brushed against it as it passed by me. It’s royal silk, a beautiful pink. How would a commoner have this? I watched the figure walk away silently, ducking her head down so as not to be noticed. I get curious and begin to follow behind her.

I easily got stopped and bumped into the crowd. I see her turn into a side street. Which I walked into at a distance. I’m standing in the middle, where she’s nowhere to be found. I turn to leave, and there she is. Standing in front of me with a dagger up to my face. “Y/n?” Her eyes squint and she looks me up and down, scanning me. “Who are you and why are you following me?”

~~~

He doesn’t speak for a few moments. He’s speechless as his mouth is gaping a little open. “Well?” I stick the dagger closer to his neck. He clears his throat, “you look like someone I knew.” I scoffed and tilted my head, “y/n?” His eyes widen, I hear a shuffle behind me but I keep my eyes on him. He moves swiftly and fast, he grabs the dagger from his throat and swings it behind me. A man groans from behind me and he pulls me behind him. “We have to get out of here,” I cling onto his shoulder, “now.” I have no time to react as we start running in the opposite direction. He leads back into the crowd of the market.

He grabs my headpiece and wraps it around his shirt. “It’ll be better if we hide in plain sight.” I frown as I stare at him. “More like exposing myself,” my face is completely open and more of a target now. He unwraps his own waist piece and pulls it over my head, it’s soft but not silky. “The pink gives you away, royal silk is obvious.” I pause and stop in my tracks. “How’d you know it was royal silk?” He brings up my wrist as my jade bracelet dangles down my arm. “Just like this bracelet which is only for royals.” He drags me alongside him as the crowd starts to settle down. “I’ll walk you home, lead the way.”

“How do you know I have royal clothing?” He sighs as he pulls us out of the main streets. “I’m a royal too. Crown Prince Felix.” I remain blank. “Which is why I know the design of this.” He points to my jade bracelet, the engraving of it. “My wife, she had the same so I should be asking you. How do you have this?” I don’t say anything as I take a step back. “Hello, Yuna. Nice to meet my sister-in-law.”

~~~

She sighs heavily and crosses her arms in disgust. “So you know who I am.” I analyze her clothing more closely. The beading on her dress was made with no flaws but now hanging off from the misuse. Her pinks and beiges collide perfectly with each other but blue strapped to her head make her look common. I lean against the wall on my shoulder, “it was obvious, you’re twins.” She rolls her eyes and looks away, I guide her chin to turn towards me gently. “You’re almost the same person,” I scan her face for any scars or moles that could depict that she’s different from y/n. But nothing. Her eyes engrave into mine, her lips the same shade of pink, eyes the same shape as hers. But she’s not her.

She snaps her chin out of my reach. “But we’re not,” she picks up her dress and begins to walk past me. I follow her as she leads the way. A man pops out in front of me and yells, “boo!” Chan pulls off his hood. Yuna jumps back a bit. “God, what’s wrong with you?” He laughs uproariously and I groan and shake my head in my hands. I hear her giggle a bit and he turns his attention to her. “Whoa, you found her?” Yuna raises an eyebrow and looks at me for confirmation, “you were looking for me?” I sigh heavily and nod, “wasn’t it obvious? I knew who you were.” She blanks her face out and walks away, while Chan and I exchange a look and follow.

A pair of children are playing in front of us and are throwing a ball. I see her body release from tension as she watches them as we approach. “I know my sister died,” it’s silent between us. She stops in her tracks and slowly spins to me. “But why does that have anything to do with me?” I bite the inside of my cheek, “it doesn’t. But I just wanted to know if it was true, that she had a twin sister.” She flexes her fists into a ball, “I heard you’re looking for a bride,” there’s anger in her voice. I walk past her with Chan by my side and she closely keeps up. After a couple moments, I mention, “I have no intention of marrying another woman, no one will ever replace her.”

I hear her footsteps stop in place. “Everyone's replaceable,” Chan and I turn, standing frozen, staring at her. Something about her eyes is so familiar, like I've looked into them before. Like they’re sad, on the verge of tears, like y/ns. It must be a twin thing. “I mean you shouldn’t live your life in the past, she wouldn’t want you to be alone forever.” The ball accidentally launches our way and the children run to us. They bump into her and I stop them. “Return the bracelet,” the children look at each other. She looks at me weirdly, “now.” The kids bow their heads and hand me the bracelet that they stole from Yuna. They immediately apologize and get on their knees. “It’s okay, stealing isn’t the answer.” I hand them a bag with coins from Chan, which they gladly accept.

They run off and I turn to Yuna, who is standing astonished. “You might want this back,” I walk to her silently, holding out her jade bracelet. She clings onto it tightly and pulls it onto her wrist. “You’ve helped me twice today,” my mind flashes back to y/n. Her voice in sync with my memory, “If you did have an intention of marrying, you would be a good husband.” The resemblance is too much. My eyes flash to her wrist, a mole in the exact spot. Her eyes drive into mine, she looks away, as if she realizes she said something she shouldn’t have. “It scares me how alike they are,” I whisper to Chan. She clears her throat harshly, “before I was interrupted… I was showing you to my place.” I nod my head as she sways past us, she takes a sharp turn which causes us to skip ahead.

“Don’t mind the mess,” she holds down a handle and the door creaks awfully open. She nods her head to enter, Chan begins to walk but she pushes him back by his chest. “Not you… him only.” Chan widens his eyes and scoffs at her, his head twists to me. I raise my head and shoo him away. “Just take a walk, get snacks or something.” He rolls his eyes and storms away. “I don’t really trust him,” she mumbled to herself as she walked inside. But it was clear to me. Why? What made her feel that way?

She led me to a room, one with a table on the floor and silk bedding. I presume it’s her room. The appearance of the outside is destroyed, but inside reveals a marvelous haven. There’s a shelf of books, books no ordinary girl would have. I reach out to grab one. “So my sister really did a number on you.” My hands freeze in motion and flutter to my side. “What do you mean by that?” She suddenly begins to cower, placing the pot on the table. “You’re the crown prince, by marriage right?” I sigh heavily and look at the seat in front of her. “I’m not really supposed to talk about it. It’s sort of illegal.”

I sit in front of her as she pours the liquid into a cup beside me. “What could I do? People don’t even know I exist.” She munches on the cookie next to her. “Technically I’m not the crown prince.” Her brows furrow as she sips on her drink, “you know of her death, correct?” She chokes on her drink. She pats her chest and gasps, she stutters, “yes I know she’s.. gone. But not how it happened.” I chew on the inside of my cheek, dreading to relive the moments and explain what happened.

“She died before I could marry her, the morning of to be exact. She was murdered and I wasn’t allowed to investigate.” Her eyes drop into sorrow, deep with understanding and remorse for me. “You came to look for me, was it because you wanted to know more about her?” I shook my head, “no. I just wanted to see if the rumors are true, some part of me wishes it was her. But you’re not your sister, and I won’t imply you are anymore.” It’s silent between us. She reaches for her drink and stares at me, “you’re not drinking your tea?” I had forgotten all about it. “No, I don’t drink tea anymore.” The painful reminder of y/n, how she tried to make the world go away by it. Yuna bites her bottom lip as if tempted to say a secret.

I decided to try to get more information about her. “Have you ever met her?” Her eyes dart up to mine, eyes wide and she licks her lips to bide time. To utter simple words, “no.” I narrowed my eyes, “You never wondered to meet her? Not a single drop of curiosity?” I simply don’t believe it when she shakes her head no. I sit back a bit and smile unconvincingly. I sigh heavily, “I wish I could be more to Daniel.” When I brought up his name, I saw a slight twinkle in her, a glimpse of pain. It was something no one would easily notice, but it’s my job to recognize things. “Your little brother in fact, he was so destroyed by everything. The queen mother died of a broken heart by the death of y/n. I couldn’t comfort him, I was grieving myself.” My eyes begin to water without me being able to control it.

Her hand reaches over the table and clings onto my arm. “I’m so sorry,” her thumb rubs against me softly. “I had no idea how much it affected everyone.” My hand rests on hers, “you didn’t know. It’s alright.” I blink back my tears and wipe my face. She suddenly gets up from in front of me and comes by my side. She crouches to my level. She grabs the cloth that I used to conceal her and brushes it across my tear streams. “I don’t want you to hurt, I want to take your pain away.” Her words hit me so deep, so close to my heart. I wish she were y/n, so I could hold her close and kiss her. To have her in my arms again and never let her go.

~~

His eyes slowly travel and wander into mine. “You can’t, only she can.” He slowly takes the cloth from my hands and into his lap. “You said I was like her, let me help you.” I cup my hands around his face, “treat me like I was her. Pretend I am her and let me handle the pain.” He furrows his brows confused and shakes his head, “why? You’re doing this because you pity me?” I frown and try my best to explain, “no, because you saved me and I want to repay you.” I lean in and admire him, his sun-kissed freckles and hazel eyes. Looking so deep into mine. “Just let go,” I feel his breath against my lips and inch my way slowly. Our lips don’t connect as he puts them against my neck and he groans, he pulls me away by my arms and just stares. Completely shocked and completely entranced.

He doesn’t wait to connect his lips again. He sighs as if he’s finally letting himself relax. He’s groping at my clothes and leading me into his lap. So hungry for comfort and love. He claws at my buttons and tries his best to softly undo them. It’s taking too long and my body is beginning to feel on fire. I could care less if he’s imagining my sister instead of me, I just want him. I break away from him and undo them myself, I try to lead him back but he pulls away. “Should we be doing this?” He’s out a breath already and salvaging his strength. I stand up and drag the dress down my shoulders, achingly slow. “I want this.” He shakes his head and his hands pull my dress back up. “I can’t do this,” he looks faint and white. He can’t shake that he knows that he’s been the only one to touch me. So, he couldn’t leave me impure and unwed. Even if it’s a secret.

~~~

My head is spinning and I can’t look at her straight. Her face drops immediately and she turns away to readjust her dress. “I didn’t come here for this, I came to take you. And now that I’ve touched you, I have to take responsibility for you.” She seems to wipe her face, and breathes harshly. “Take me where?” I let silence overcome us until she realizes. And turns towards me angrily, “you want to take me to the palace? You’re out of your mind!” I try to reason with her and explain but she shushes me. Her hand rolls off her hair in disbelief, “explain to me why I should even bother to go. My own sister died in that place, she was murdered! And no one is allowed to investigate or even question what happened!” Her hands bang against the shelf, and she lays her head against it. “I will not go there just to be killed for existing. Just for my presence.”

I walk to her cautiously, my hand hovers over her skin. The skin I was touching so recklessly earlier. I lightly took her arm to face me, “you don’t have to go. But I want to make sure you’re taken care of, and since I’ve seen you in that way… I have to keep my duty and respect, and marry you.” She smiled lightly at the words. Her eyes stare at the contact, she shrugs her shoulders and looks up. “You have to ensure I won’t get hurt, that nothing will happen to me, if I say yes.” I nod my head and show her a sympathetic smile. “I want to take you to my home first.” Her eyebrow raises and her eyes crease, “to your home?”

~~~

We arrive with Chan leading us. Her head is concealed and so am I. We walk inside and Chan looks around to see if the halls are clear. He instructs us to go and I grab a hold of her hand, rushing her into my room. “Make sure no one comes inside,” I whisper to Chan and order him to stand outside of the door. I turn and watch her wander around my room. She lets her hood slip down, “this is where you live, hm? Didn’t take it that you were a pampered little lord before royalty.” I smile awkwardly as she walks around the room, her hips sway as her dress follows her movements. Y/n always was graceful, her motions would flutter my heart and she was truly beautiful. She had such a way with her movements, a performer.

I grabbed the box from the table beside my bed, containing the matching wedding ring to mine. She noticed me standing awkwardly and walked to me. I made no action or effort to explain as I slipped the ring on her fingers. “It’s beautiful,” she admired the crystals. Blue and white diamonds. It fit perfectly as it slid on like butter. Looking just as it was on y/n. I walked away to face a nightmare awaiting me.

“Felix?” I snapped to the balcony, where Daniel is standing with tears and distraught. He begins to sob and runs to Yuna. “You’re alive!” He jumps into her legs, screaming with joy but she pushes him away. Pushes him so harshly that he falls to the ground. He falls with a thump and looks up at her, “y/n?” The scene hurts my heartstrings, and I can’t move, can’t explain. He scans her from head to toe. “It’s me- Daniel. Don’t you remember?” Her head hangs low and she tries to help him up. He crawls away from her, shaking his head. My legs finally move and I get him up from the floor. “Why are you doing this?” His eyes begin to tear up again and his bottom lip trembles. “I don’t know you-“ her voice breaks as she backs away. Her hand clings to her chest as she breathes hard. “How could you say that? I’m your brother, your little brother!”

He stomps his foot down and reaches out his hand, holding a book. “You would read this to me, every night you would read to me.” Her bottom lip is trapped between her lips. “Don’t pretend you don’t know me-“ Tears begin to flow down his cheeks. But she stands just staring at him, nothing behind her eyes. He drops the book at her feet, “I wish you didn’t come back, I wish you stayed dead.” I stared at Daniel as he said those words, it seemed to shatter something inside Yuna. She falls backwards onto the bed and Daniel runs out of the room. Chan runs inside and I yell to run after him.

~~~

Yuna wouldn’t speak to me after that. She didn’t eat for the rest of the day and Chan drew her a bath to soothe her. But when he tried to encourage her, she sent him away. She just sat on my bed, staring into oblivion. “Yuna, I’m going to take you to the bath.” She didn’t look at me as I picked her up into my arms. I walked her to the bath and tried to tell her to get in. “Please,” I begged and she finally looked at me. I turned away as she undressed and went in. The bath was built into the floor and was filled with aromas and petals. I turned once she was inside and scrubbed her back. She wouldn’t move and I tried my best to help her.

I put her to bed but she dressed herself. I made sure she would. She turned away from me in the bed. “Yuna, tell me what’s wrong.” A tear slid down her cheek and she broke out into sobs. She cradled the blanket into her chest. I rubbed her shoulder which caused her sleeve to fall down. I noticed a burn on her lower neck which was not there before. Then I noticed she stopped moving. “Yuna?” I shook her but she didn’t move. I rolled her to face me and she wasn’t responding. I yelled out to Chan to get help. No, no. This can’t happen again. I carried her in my arms and ran out with no regard for who would see her. Servants followed behind me and I couldn’t shake off their faces, their fear. I ran to the doctor’s quarters and placed her on the bed.

I ordered him to help her and he immediately ran to work. “Poison,” he muttered and my skin wanted to scream. It burned and ached and my heart began to lose its beats. I forgot how to breathe and the walls began to close in. My vision began to get dark as I clutched her hand. “Felix,” the doctor tried to call my attention. I blocked him out of my mind and focused only on her. The marking on her neck worsened and then a shine hit my eye. I pulled her sleeve to reveal a needle sticking from the hem, dripping was her blood mixed with a green substance and I knew it was placed on purpose. Chan ran in behind me and yanked me out of the way. He led me out of the room and in the hall. “Where were you?!” I roared at Chan and he stood speechless. “Where were you when this happened?” He rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, that’s when I noticed it. A marking the same as Yuna’s.

My eyes narrowed at him and I faced the wall to hide my realization. “I don’t really trust him,” Yuna’s voice rings my head. It finally clicked for me, all of this. Y/n’s death, her assassination, the poisoned needle in Yuna’s clothes. Chan had just as much authority as me to enter and escape secretly. Just as much power to kill. But why? Why would he do this? I punched the wall and yelled. My father, it’s the only reason. He may be dead but his business will live on. He wanted to train me as an assassin. He wanted to gain control of me. What better way to do that by manipulating and controlling my closest advisor? Chan, what a traitor. You killed y/n. Didn’t you? And I won’t let you get away with it.

The doctor comes out and immediately brings me back to the situation. “We’re going to need an antidote immediately. She’ll die without it.” We don’t have the resources here to look for one or create one. I have to get her out of here. “Quickly get a carriage ready to the palace,” I ordered and everyone scrambled to hurry. I stayed by her side the whole way and she was struggling to breathe and clenched her hand against mine. I tried to calm her and tell her she’ll be okay. Her neck had begun to turn green and swell. I recognize this. Of course, it’s my father’s poison. I’ve never seen it but I’ve heard of its effects. As soon as we arrived, I recited the antidote to the royal doctor and he immediately injected the serum into her.

Her chest began to rise and fall normally. The swelling went down and the green disappeared. I sighed in relief and ordered everyone to leave the room. I sat alone next to her, holding her hand and crying. Her eyes opened with a flick and she mumbled a light, “Felix?” I gasped in delight and shushed her. I gripped her hand and kissed it. “You’re okay, thank god.” I whimpered with my head down. Shaking my head back and forth. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you died.” My voice is breaking and sounding pathetic, but I could care less. “I wouldn’t leave you again.” My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Again? “I wouldn’t dare die on you again. I just got you back.” Got me back? “Sleep, get some rest.” That’s all I told her and tried to push away the mumbles.

She pulled me back in. “Don’t you see me, lix?” Her hand brushes on my cheek, pulls me and whispers, “it’s me, lixie.” My tears continue to flow down my cheeks while I stare at her. “You’re not in the right mind-” she cut me off. “I love you.” My heart drops and I shudder away from her touch. This is too much, all I can think of is y/n. “Stop.” I tremble onto my feet and she falls asleep. My head cannot handle this. I don’t know what to think and just leave. Is it true? Is all of it true?

~~~

I wake up with my head pounding and the room is dark. So very dark. My vision clears up and I realize I’m back in Felix’s room. I turn to see Felix in the corner. Huddled up in a ball on a seat. He notices I’m awake and sits up quickly. He clears his throat as I sit up too. “God, what happened?” He hands me a cup of water and I swallow it whole. “You were poisoned.” My mouth gapes open and my mind flashes to last night. “You were out for a couple days.” I begin to feel my blood rush to my head as I want to scream out. My palm rushes to my head to try to ease my headache. I’m trying to remember the lost time when he blurts out unbelievable words. “I won’t marry you.” My eyes dart towards his direction. “What are you talking about? You won’t marry me?”

He stands up angrily and crosses his arms. “I won’t marry you. I’m sending you back.” My eyes water and I try to blink them back. “But why? Is it because of the poisoning? Did I do something wrong?” He doesn’t face me now and his arms drop to his side. “No,” he says simply as if he doesn’t owe me an explanation. “Is it because of my sister?” He turns in fury to me. “You almost died!” My chest rises up and down heavily. I get up from the bed. “But I’m not! You can’t blame me and punish me for something that I had no control over!” His fists tightened, “and no one should blame me for not knowing who killed y/n!” I take a step back, “what?” I say in disbelief and almost breathless.

“I won’t let you die in vain, not like she did. I can’t let this happen.” I scoffed, “she didn’t die in vain. I know that because she wanted to be happy and she was. And you have to trust that the person who killed her will eventually be revealed.” His expression changes heavily, as if something had clicked in his mind. He takes small steps closer to me. “You claimed you didn’t know her, and as you said she wanted to be happy, as if you did meet her.” My expression goes blank. “I do know her killer will be revealed,” he sets his hands on my shoulders and leans into my ear, “because..” His words are a husky whisper in my ear. “You know who killed your sister. Because it was you at the beginning, y/n.”

~~~

I caught her, so perfect in a lie. She steps back while shaking her head, fear in her eyes. “You switched places with her.” Her hand clasped over her mouth, concealing a cry of realization. She is starting to hyperventilate, and she clings to her chest. “Please- let me explain.” I give her no chance, and approach her, “you let me think you died! Do you know the pain I went through?!” She sobs loudly now and closes her eyes. I shake my head and my hands clench into a fist. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Her words are broken and full of heartbreak. She tries to calm herself down and explain, but I turn away.

“I switched places with her because I wanted her to experience being a princess and to be truly loved at least once… I wasn’t expecting her to die that day.” I snapped my head, “She said she loved me, as she lay dying in my hands.” I was screaming internally. Why? Why would she play with me like that? “She chose not to break her cover… for me.” She got on her knees in front of me, “please believe me. I had to keep playing like her, I couldn’t live in that place anymore.” I begin to tremble as I drop down too, “you couldn’t be with me? Be happy with me?! I would’ve treasured you and cared for you!” She breaks down even more and reaches for me. I reject her touch, “if you would’ve given me the chance. I would’ve made you happy.”

“Please, Felix. I’m still me!” A stray tear falls down my cheek and I struggle to swallow. “Felix, look at me!” She latches onto me and forces my head to her. “It’s me! Your y/n, your wife!” She rubs my cheek as she tries to soothe me, but it doesn’t. My heart feels as if it’s breaking. “You broke my heart, broke everyone’s heart. Daniel is suffering as much as me. And you think I can just forget that?” I bite my lip and hesitantly pry off her hands from me. “I can’t,” I walked away from her and out the door. I stood outside the door, holding it close and listening to her cries and pleas. It’s for the best.

~

I knocked on the door the next morning with maids following behind me. Y/n… She was sitting on the bed waiting. “Pack up her stuff and get her ready to travel.” She gasps in disbelief and stands up. “Leave us!” She says with such intensity the maids jump back. I nod at them to leave and they do. “Asshole!” I furrow my brows in confusion. She throws a pillow at me. Then a blanket. Then her shoes. All while yelling incoherent insults. Then she pushes me onto the bed while slapping and kicking me. Getting all her anger out. “How dare you try to send me away! I’m your wife. I love you and I want to be with you! I will not let you reject me!” I start to laugh, a real laugh. She stops in her tracks with a pillow above her head. She begins to giggle and smile when she notices I find her amusing.

“You’re hilarious,” she frowns and crosses her arms. “I’m supposed to be intimidating.” I sigh and she backs down and sits next to me on the bed. “Are you really gonna send me away?” She blinks at me with such hope in her eyes. “Give me a reason why I shouldn't.” She raises her shoulders at me in disbelief, “did you not hear my whole speech right now?” I smile and sit up. “What do I get out of this?” She throws the pillow at my head and tackles me. “A loving wife who listens to you!” I laugh again and watch her. She rests herself in my lap and it makes me anxious. She notices and gets self conscious too. “Are you not okay with this?” I look to the side, avoiding her gaze. I know I can’t say no to her, and she knows it too.

“Look at me,” she pulls my chin to her. “It’s me, lixie. Just as before.” Her hair is messy from all her playfulness. Her clothing is a beautiful shade of pink and hanging off her shoulders, her beautiful skin. So soft and smells of roses. Her beauty is unmatched and looks even more in this setting. Just us together. “You want to know what you get out of this?” I make eye contact with her and already know what she’s going to do. She begins to untie her dress and lets it slip off. I close my eyes and shutter when I feel her clothing slip down my legs and onto the floor.

~~~

He can’t avoid this. You won’t let him. You place his hands on your breasts and he gasps. “My god-” He whispers to himself and he can’t resist as his eyes open. He practically devours you with his gaze. “This is what married people do,” you begin to rock your hips against his covered length. He bites his bottom lip and whimpers. “The best part…” you begin to moan which causes him to get more comfortable. He lets out a sigh of relief, “making love.” He sits up and attaches his lips to your chest. Slowly traveling across your skin with wet kisses and getting to your breasts. You let out a moan of pleasure so loud, you feel almost embarrassed. Almost. But not enough to stop your hunger.

You yank his hair up so you can press your lips to him. He moans in your mouth and the feeling is incredible. Finally, After so long. You moan into his mouth and his hips push up into you, needing more. He grabs your hips and pushes you under. He begins to strip off his clothes with no regard. You take the opportunity to get more comfortable and drag yourself onto the pillows and under the sheets. “Come here,” he whispers and leaps next to you. You giggle and attach your lips again. He slowly thrusts inside you which causes you both to moan out loud. “Fuck, fuck,” he mumbles softly against your lips. “God, you feel so good.” He can’t help but snap up into you.

You moan breathlessly as he begins to take a rhythm. He stares into your eyes, so lustful and lovingly. He leans next to your ear, “my little princess huh?” His hand sneaks to your breast, pinches your nipple gently. “Thinking you could just get away with it?” He pinches it mercifully which causes you to whimper, “imma show you all that you missed.” His hand lets go off your nipple and gains a new target. His thumb circles your clit which causes you to let out a scream like moan. He starts to speed up his movements when you get more loud. You feel as if you could cry as your moans turn into whimpers. “Is my wife too fucked out, hm? Can’t take it?” Your body begins to twitch as you grip his arm. “Fuck, Lix. Just make me finish!” He laughs satisfactorily in your ear and licks it teasingly.

He covers your mouth as you get louder. “I love your noises but we don’t want anyone to interfere.” You roll your eyes as you feel the build up slowly being released. Your body snaps and it all let go, making you tremble and let out a final moan. He pulls out and watches the liquid fall out of you. He smirks at his masterpiece and pulls away but you grip his length. He winces and stares at you. You rub up and down his length, “I want you to finish inside me.” You place it at your entrance and he chokes down a smile. “Just can’t help yourself huh? Want my babies too?” He re enters and you whimper at the overstimulation. “I do, Lixie. I want your babies.”

He practically finishes at your words. It was so sudden, you laughed shocked. He moaned in your ear which made the butterflies in your tummy appear. “That easy huh?” You teased him and he laughed as he flopped on his side. He pulled you into his chest and held you tight. “I’m never gonna let you go again.” You smiled and drew hearts on his chest, “and I’m never gonna leave.” He clears his throat, “this might be a bad time but..” You look up at him. “I know who killed your sister.” I sit up confused. “Don’t worry, I took care of it already.” I blink at him blankly. “Why do you think Chan hasn’t been around?”

~~~

A/n: Thanks so much for the kind comments and waiting so long for this storyyy. But this isn’t the end. What if I told you they met again in another life? Well that story is for another day so.. Stay Tuned for “Mama’s boy!”

[asumi2020202]

Someone who will always Love You

Pairing: Tantai Jin x reader

Summary: what will happen if Tantai Jin finds someone who is ready to actually sacrifice for him? Born with the evil bone, Tantai Jin experiences various emotions which he never thought he would.

Anon: hello! I noticed that there is literally no Tantai Jin fics. I am offended. Like seriously This show is extremely Underrated. So like....... For all of the people obsessed with Tantai Jin like me, I am here to somewhat satisfy your thirst.

About Reader: You are the youngest daughter of the Ye clan. But instead of being mean and cruel, like ye Xiwu was shown, you are kind and soft hearted. Just the the original story, you are the beloved daughter of the Ye clan.

Things to know:

Tantai Jin doesn't become the devil lord.

There are some changes made in this fiction which differ from the original plot.

_______________________________/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\____

Ever since he was born, he was never shown true kindness. Betrayal is not new to him, nor is the harsh environment that people create for him and take pleasure from.

He entered the Ye household keeping in mind that he will never be treated kindly. But oh...how wrong he was.

Tantai Jin was sent to the Ye household by his so called "Father" in order to marry the youngest daughter of the Ye's.

The king did it for two purposes. One because he couldn't tolerate Tantai Jin and wanted him to be away from his sight. And second because he wanted the Ye's to be somewhat in his control.

Nothing was new to Tantai Jin, the beatings, the teasing, the badmouth people did to him. All were known to him. He thought nothing would change even after his marriage. But his thoughts changed after he got to know her. Ye Y/n.

_________________________________________

Some days after the marriage, y/n had decided it was time to meet her husband. She hadn't seen him due to him respecting her privacy and sleeping on the floor the previous days. She decided she should get acquainted with him.

She was on her way to her husband when she saw him getting bullied by some staff and her brother.

The usually calm girl suddenly became a bit raged. The stormed upto them and stood there.

_________________________________________

3rd person pov

"Young miss!" Some staff suprised to find me there. "Hello sister, look at the pathetic little man. Doesn't he look good beaten up like that?" Ye zeyu asked. Y/n suddenly slapped him straight in his face and said " He is my husband brother! You have no right to do what you did. If I see you harassing him again, I will reach out to father!" Shocked at his sister's behaviour, zeyu left from there.

As he left, y/n turned to Tantai Jin and wrapped her winter coat around him. "I am sorry for his behaviour, come with me I will treat you wounds." Said y/n to which Jin replied " I am used to it by now."

Y/n led him to their room and sat him on the bed. Carefully cleaning the blood from his wounds with a soft wet cloth. As she applied ointment to his wounds, jin observed her carefully.

When after some time she left, a crow had landed beside jin. "This is the first time someone showed you genuine affection. Remember your goal Tantai Jin".

"Indeed"

_________________________________________

Time skip

Y/n was happily entering her shared room as she thought how she and her husband had gotten atleast 1% closer, when she saw Tantai Jin holding a blade to his neck about to slash.

Rushing there, she grabbed a hold of the knife as her own hands were cut due to it. Pain flowed through her arms as she stared at him.

Tears falling down her cheeks. Tears not for her pain, but tears because Jin had tried to kill himself.

Even though their marriage was arranged, y/n had fallen in love with him at first sight. Watching her lover trying to end his life, she couldn't control her tears.

Taking the blade from jin's had, y/n threw it away, And hugged him. Nothing was said between them for a while. Y/n looked at jin and said-

"It's not worth it. Throwing your life away because people hate you. Even if the entire world hates you, I will always love you for who you are. Know that there is ......

....someone who will always Love you......"

Y/n was a weak girl. Her body couldn't handle stress very well . Due to excessive crying, she fell asleep on Jin's chest.

Tantai Jin felt warm. A feeling he had never felt before. He felt loved... for the first time. He thought he couldn't feel emotions, but here he was. Someone loved him. You loved him.

Someone, who he thought hates him, actually loves him.

From that day, he realised that perhaps you are different. He started to be more open and friendly to you. You're the only person he can trust and rely on.

_________________________________________

When you came to know about the devil lord, you were kinda shocked. But nevertheless he was your Tantai Jin. Your Jin. You can't give up on him.

Even if you can't extract the evil bone from his body, you can surely change his mind. You can guide him to a better path. And that is what you did.

_________________________________________

Years Later

Tantai Jin decided not to become the devil lord, even though the previous lord tried to brainwash him. He didn't give in. He had you now.He had his lovely wife.

He, unknowingly walked under a white cherry blossom. Admiring it's beauty. A little butterfly sat on his knuckles as he talked to it for a second before it flew away.

He turned around to see his loving wife standing behind him with their son in her arms who was asleep. The boy was 2 years old.

Getting a moment for themselves from the busy world, they sat down under the tree. Tantai Jin cupped y/n's face and gently kissed her, it was a long yet soft kiss. When they pulled away, they looked at eachother and then at their child. A smiled appeared on their face.

No matter who he becomes or what he becomes. Y/n will always love him.

"No matter what others say, remember my dear lao-gong, I will always love you. He will always love you."

"As will i, my dear lao-po"

As they stood up, he kissed her again. This time more passionately. One arm pushing y/n's waist towards him while the other was supporting his weight on a stone slab as y/n was using both her hands carrying the sleeping child in her arms.

Jin got to experience something which he never thought he would.......

.... Someone who will always love him.....

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: Wrap-Up.

Hello world!! I read sixty-three (63) books in 2024, and here they are! The pages-out books are stand-ins for library books and other borrowed books (which were ADHD for Smartass Women, When Among Crows, Ghost Station, and The Killing Floor). Mostly these are shelved in the order I read them, save for the stack at the end (Ordinary Monsters is Too Tall to fit on my current shelf arrangement, and the borrowed books are out of order).

I posted individual photos (and sometimes reviews!) of everything pictured here, which you can find tagged with their titles or authors, or you can see all of them if you peruse my "books of 2024" tag. Now, for the Highlight Reel, in order of when I read them:

FIVE FAVES

The City We Became by NK Jemisin ★★★★★ Always love Jemisin, but this duology had me laughing more than I remembered for her other books, which I definitely needed! Excellent cast (your honor I love Paolo so much and also literally all of the boroughs), I tore through this by staying up past my bedtime too many nights in a row.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed ★★★★★ Perfect tiny little gutpunch of a book MADE FOR ME, I loved it so damn much. Everyone please go read this immediately.

The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan ★★★★★ I was not expecting this to rewire my brain, but it DID, over and over and over again. Very dense chewy book, which I read hoping to get inside an actor character's head better, but honestly I think anyone who does any kind of art or creative endeavor should read this, because OOF was it insightful. (I have ordered his second book that came out this year, but it's hugely on backorder apparently.)(Go figure: The first one was SO GOOD.)

Leech by Hiron Ennes ★★★★★ This was a reread for me, and I'm so glad I revisited it--it holds up even better than the first time through, because so much of it falls into place once you know what's really going on. Masterclass in POV, very gothic, very fucked up, very Deep Winter book, I very much think anyone who was An Animorphs Kid would enjoy the hell out of this (but mind the content warnings, of which there are Many).

Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka ★★★★½ This one also hit my perfect trifecta of weird-and-funny-and-fucked-up exactly right, which I wasn't expecting? Pleasant surprise there at the end of the year. Come for the family heart crimes, stay for the unhinged overseas texts to your husband about an art heist, what a blast.

TWO TWOS

turns out i didn't actually read any 1-star books this year, so here's the bottom of the barrel, and yes i DID write lengthy salty reviews about both of these, if you're interested in the particulars of My Beef

Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro ★★ This was too damn long and ~Messy™~, and all of that just to end on a cliffhanger because it's a trilogy. Why did I bother with this 600+ page brick (oh, right: because it sounded promising)(it was Not, or at least not Enough).

Ghost Station by SA Barnes ★★ This was TOO DAMN FRUSTRATING (bad science, bad scientists, stupid characters, etc), and there was JUST ENOUGH neat promising worldbuilding in the background that Could Have Been Cool to make this otherwise mediocre experience enraging. Super bummed, because I wanted to read this author's other stuff, but now I don't trust her and therefore shan't.

Overall! Had a great reading year--those Two Twos were the only things I rated that low, and I enjoyed everything else! Looking forward to another fabulous year of books :)

[eclecticqueennerd]

Confessions

Part 3

*language, mentions of r*pe, kidnapping, mild gaslighting, brief mentions of smeggs, angst*

Butcher POV

You lot didn’t deserve how he’s been treating you lately, pushing you to the brink of exhaustion and then pushing some more. His need for revenge for Lenny caused Kimiko to almost die. No, that was her fault. She shouldn’t have jumped in front of Soldier Boy. Sure, Frenchie could have been killed but still, Kimiko will get better, she always does. At least y/n wasn’t hurt.

Oh y/n. He could list all the reasons as to why he fell hard and fast for you but there’s not enough hours in the day. Where he barked orders to the crew, you were there to keep their spirits up. When he fell victim to his thoughts of self-loathing, you were there to talk him off the ledge. You showed the boys loyalty when you finally got your revenge on the supe that killed your husband after finding out how high the Vought shit ladder went. You were support, humility, loyalty, kindness, knowledge, and compassion. Everything that Butcher wasn’t.

But then you had to go and become the very thing he despised. A fucking supe. In the back of his mind, he knew y/n was forced into becoming enhanced and that he shouldn’t have stormed out, especially after finding out how Homelander violated you. But even in the best of times, Butcher can’t control his anger. Despite how many times you’d tell him he’s not, he’s exactly who his father says he is.

*flashback*

When you were kidnapped by Homelander, Butcher went into beast mode. Anyone who had the smallest bit of information on where you were located was met with brutality that even made the boys nervous to be around him. When Grace told him that you were found and safe with her, he damn near dropped everything to drive as fast as he could to meet you. He had to see that you were alright. He needed to hold you and by doing so, would calm the waves of fury, sadness, and relief that was pulsing through his veins. He had to tell you that he loved you.

Grace refused to tell him your exact location, per your request. You should have just spit in his face, it would have the same effect. When the two of you were reunited, all the ill feelings dissipated as he finally got to embrace you. She’s fine, she’s here, my y/n.

“Where ya been dove, what took you so long?”

“Sorry, I wanted to stay longer to train.”

“You let some other cunt train ya? I coulda done it.”

The calm went as quickly as it came once new information came to light on how to take Vought down. Butcher never got the chance to confess his feelings.

While on missions together, Butcher wanted to but never breached the topic of what happened while you were kidnapped. He wanted you to trust him and tell him in your own time, as he did with you about Lenny. He was attentive to whatever needs you had; you did not want for nothing. As time progressed, he noticed subtle differences. You were quick to catch things falling off the kitchen table, you were finally able to open that jar of pickles you always asked Butcher to open, he purposely tightened it each time to make sure you’d come to him for help. One night you cut yourself with a paring knife while mincing garlic and the next morning,

“Hey, how’s the finger?”

“What about it?”

“Ya cut it last night making dinner.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yeah, you did, I patched you up.”

“I think you dreamed that, Billy. See?” Butcher looks at your finger, “My finger is fine.”

“Huh, guess I did dream it.”

“Looks like we’ve been hanging out too much, you’re starting to dream about me dicing my fingers off.” Y/n was also increasingly jumpy around him even though he was as gentle as possible around her.

In hindsight, this should have been a red flag, but he's always been blinded when it comes to you. Now, piecing it all together it makes sense after you told him you were a supe.

“Hello, Earth to Butcher.” Maeve snapped her fingers. He came back to the task at hand, the Temp- V. Frenchie and Kimiko were at the hospital, MM quit the mission and went back to his apartment and tasked Hughie and y/n with finding Soldier Boy after he blew up a small building in New York.

“Did you even hear a word I said, Butcher?” Maeve asked. He shrugged,

“No.” Maeve scoffed.

“You should apologize to her.”

“To who?”

“Y/n.”

“You’ve got no business talking to me about y/n. How bout you just give me the Temp-V and fuck off?”

“Come one I know the two of you are fighting right now. She’s your friend and if you just tell her-“

“Who the fuck is telling you all this, eh?”

“Starlight.”

“Well, that cunt doesn’t know everything. I’ve got nothing to apologize for. I’ve done nothing wrong.” That’s fucking lie. Maeve threw the packet of vials on the couch.

“Fine, don’t take my advice. What do I know?” Just before Maeve left, Butcher stood up and offered her a drink of vodka.

“I’m 4 months sober you asshole.”

“Oh... Starlight never told me.”

“Like you said that bitch doesn’t know everything.” Maeve looks at the bottle and back to Butcher, she grabs the class and plops herself onto the couch. As the evening sky turned black, Butcher and Maeve busied themselves fucking on MM’s desk in the corner of the hideout.

“You know what Butcher? You’re a real piece of shit.”

Yeah, yeah, he was.

[bothoutsiders]

Bruce: You seem happy with Jason.

Tim: My husband is a better man then most would have him out to be.

Bruce: He's a dangerous man.

Tim: Bruce, you are a dangerous man. Superman, your best friend, is a dangerous man. As the late Ra's al Ghul will tell you, I am dangerous. Life is dangerous. Only death is free of risk. And I'm in no hurry to be safe.

hey, anon! thanks for the request and i apologize for taking so long. i was unsure of how to take this so i did something different and made it in third-person but bruce's pov. hope it's alright :)

--

It was true, all of them were indeed dangerous but that was not the point. Tim had done something he didn’t approve of. He dared to break the rules, to take control of his own life and make his own awful mistakes. He did something terrible, something that Bruce never planned out for him.

Perhaps it was all Bruce’s fault. He had failed as a mentor, as a role model but he had thought it was just a phase.

He had pretended he didn’t know what had been happening behind his back. That he didn’t notice when Tim didn’t come back home to sleep or that there was peace in the streets. No violent killings from Red Hood.

‘They might be getting along.’ A silly thought that crossed his mind a long time ago. ‘Tim might be good for Jason. Might convince him to stop killing.’ Or perhaps a way to have a leash on Jason.

One thing was to fix him, another one was to marry him. What was Tim even thinking?!

And the sole thought of it made his blood boil. The anger and frustration building up inside of him. His intention was to play nice, to not be so direct and harsh, but Tim wasn’t making things easy for him.

“He is still a criminal, Tim. He uses violence and he’s unstable. There is no bright future by his side.” His patience had run thin by now but it was very hard for Bruce to keep quiet. To not show how this bothered him.

“We all are criminals. We use violence and you in particular are very unstable. There’s no bright future for me here. I’m always under your rules, your opinions, your tricks. You’re always making decisions for me, even when I’m not looking. You placed people in my way for a purpose and you push away others if you don’t like them.” He shoved the last item inside his bag. “Once you couldn’t fix your relationship with Jason, once he stopped accepting your orders, you threw him away as if he meant nothing.”

No, no, no. Why couldn't he just accept things?! Why couldn't Tim just see things his way and stop trying to be something he was not?!

“That’s not true. You know I tried.”

“You never really tried. If you did, you would’ve done things differently. But you never did, Bruce.” He slung his backpack over one shoulder. “I’m done with you.”

Before Tim could walk out of his old bedroom at the mansion, Bruce hit the doorway with his fist, blocking the way. He was going mad and desperate. He might have wanted Tim to react, to get him angry and throw insults back at each other, to give Bruce a reason to hurt him, to make him feel bad. But nothing was going the way he wanted.

Tim wasn’t playing his game anymore. He was in control of his own feelings while Bruce wasn’t.

“You’re in my way.” His face was serious and even seemed to be already bored of this. Gritting his teeth, Bruce finally pulled away, letting Tim walk away.

He remembered the day that things got worse. Officially worse.

It was on the news, on the radio, printed on paper. It was everywhere and while Bruce wanted to ignore it, to pretend he knew nothing about it, it was simply impossible to run away from what the whole city was talking about.

It was not in his hands.

Bruce immediately left to the Watchtower, not wanting to hear or see more of it. He would rather focus on some international work than being reminded of what they have done.

When he arrived the first thing he saw was the huge screen on. Barry and Hal were already there, watching the news of Gotham city because of course they would use it for anything other than work.

“Care to turn that off?”

“I didn’t know little Tim got married, congrats!”

“Uhm… Hal– no–” Barry tried to interrupt while he turned the screen off immediately.

“I didn’t know he was marrying Jason though. Not judging, I’m just glad they are being a pain in the ass for you. I’ve heard about how Jason isn’t welcome at your place.” He sat down and rolled his chair toward Barry. “Not sure why he bans people who hate him though. Not like we are interested in going there.”

The thought of talking to Tim crossed his mind many times. He thought he still had time to nullify his marriage but his relationship with him wasn't that good anymore. Things happened and honestly Bruce never did much to fix what broke between them. He always thought Tim would see, eventually, that he meant good and he did care about him in his own way. He didn't know how to open up, how to be a proper mentor but he had good intentions and that should be more than enough.

Talking to Jason wasn’t in his options. He knew it wouldn't help at all. Jason was already broken and angry. While Bruce might see a glimpse in him of that small and good kid he used to be, Bruce knew it was impossible to make him understand. To convince him to make this right.

Jason was a lost case.

He could pay someone to invalidate the marriage, to make it disappear. He could do something and bring back Tim, to go back to the way things used to be. His mind was quick to make many different plans, to think about the outcome of every single one of them… But nothing seemed to have the ending he wanted.

Completely furious at this chain of events, Bruce took the clock on Tim’s bedside table and smashed it against the wall. While it had broken and there was no way of fixing it, it didn’t help. He didn’t feel any better. In a desperate need to take out his anger, he did the same with a book within reach. He threw it against the window and shattered the glass with it.

Nothing was going to change because of it, and he knew it, but he wanted to release his anger, show how upset it made him. How he wasn’t okay with what Tim and Jason had done. They had definitely done this to bother him.

He paused for a moment, mind going back to the options he had, because he wasn’t going to let this go that easy. Just then he heard the sound of some laughter and a bike.

Making sure no one from the outside would be able to see him, Bruce moved to the window, curious about what was going on downstairs. Just then, he saw them.

Both of them were there, smiling and laughing. Tim wrapped his arms around Jason, and once ready, they drove away.

The sight of them only left a bitter taste in his mouth.

[theyanderespecialist]

Vox's Wife 1: Cereal for Dinner (Scenario) Yandere Human Vox X Columbian Marie (Hazbin Hotel)

(Fun fact, My co-author who Marie is based on is part Columbian. We headcanon that Vox would be the type of man in the 1950's to like Latinas and Latinos (Valentino is possibly Latino) so we decided to do the thing where men go and marry someone from a different country and have a wife that way: Like mail-order bride, a bit WARNING THIS HAS SOME THINGS THAT ARE BASED OFF THE 1950s THE PAST SUCKED! WE DO NOT CONDONE ANY OF IT IF IT IS MENTIONED)

(No One's POV)

Marie had just legally married her husband three days ago, he had come to her country and offered her a life in America and now they were together. They spent a three-day honeymoon in a beautiful hotel. Now He is carrying her over the threshold of their home. She grins. It was such a big house. She was excited to have kids and see them running around! He kisses her and spins her around. He was so happy to have his new wife, the love of his life.

"Okay, I got to give you the tour!" He says and takes her hand. He lived in a sort of penthouse home, it was amazing, to say the least.

Marie looked at Vox. She could tell he was excited- the entire time he was there in her country, he'd show her everything there was to television at the station- she didn't understand much of it, but he was so excited that it didn't matter to Marie that she didn't understand much of it. She was sure he'd be the same with the house.

Which he was and then he pulled out a box that had a big bow on it. "I know your home did not have one, and I don't want you to feel like you have to take care of me. So a friend said, why not get a dishwasher? So I got the latest model!" He was so excited his friend told him how happy his wife was when she got one from him. So he wanted to make his wife happy."

He seemed so happy to show her it and to be honest, she was happy he seemed to think about her. He even got it in a pretty aquamarine color.

"Oh- Vox- I- I don't- know how to use it."

She said as she realized she wouldn't even know how to start it.

"I got instructions!" He says. "Do not worry, we will learn together, and hey if you can understand how to use it just fill it and empty it and I will manage the rest." He says and kisses her.

She pulls him close and smiles. He is such a good husband, he takes such good care of her~

(Vox being in charge of tech XD)

She was nervous at first.

It wasn't like she lived in another state, or even in North America.

She had to leave an entirely different country, a different continent, to be with him.

And it was scary, so many things could have happened..but she wouldn't have chosen differently if she could go back.

He nuzzles his face into her neck. "Now you sit down, and relax and I will make dinner." He says.

(Oh no XD Marie does not know he does not know how to cook but he is trying to be a good husband XD Welp I hope he has fire insurance XD)

(Oh god he's gonna be like my grandfather and give her food poisoning)

(He is trying but he is going end up killing his wife via fire or poisoned food XD)

She let out a hug, just holding his arms in place, enjoying the feeling of him wrapped around her.

"Just one more minute." She said softly, leaning back into him.

He smiles and nuzzles her more. He loved this, if they could stay like this forever they would.

"Mmmm, okay, I will sit." She says kissing his cheek, the one under his half-blind eye.

She sat down for only ten minutes later the smoke alarm to go off. Marie having a grandfather who could not cook knew what happened. She jumped into action and put out the fire. Vox felt terrible as he looked at the burnt food. He could not even do this right, what type of husband was he…

In the months they'd known each other, she was always the one to cook or he'd take her out.

Seems now she knew why.

She could tell he was upset. "Vox. It's okay. I'm just glad you're not hurt."

"I am sorry, I am not a good en-" She kisses him to shut him up.

"Honey." She says and strokes his cheek. "You do not have to be a good cook, I can be the main cook, An equal partnership is splitting it up equally. I am a good cook and you are good with tech, I can take care of the home and soon our kids. You can be the main breadwinner. We will be okay."

He pulls her into a kiss and they make out. He then looked at the burnt food. "All I got left is cereal and some milk."

"That will do, we can go shopping later." She kisses him again and then they make bowls of cereal. Marie was eager to try all the flavors she did not have in her country. So it ended up being good, cause it seem Vox had at least ten different characters.

(well when you burn everything you cook you need variety in other stuff XD)

(XD)

(I hate these cereals XD There are at least THREE Brands from the 1950s that had a clown mascot on their cereal like HELL NO XD)

He was back to his usual charming self, happy to show off the television and all the channels he had for them to watch as they ate side by side, with her leaning into his side once she had finished her cereal. She wasn't always able to keep up with shows, she spoke English of course, but it was a second language, Vox seemed more than happy to wrap his arm around her and tell her what was going on.

"So they were fighting and now-"

"I don't need a translation for that." She said laughing as the couple kissed.

"Oh- yeah- right-" he felt her hand on his face, turning him to look at her.

"Kiss me like that, Vox."

He could tell the tone in her voice and he smirked. Setting their empty bowls on the table. They did have a whole penthouse to break in,~

(My Co-author: Lmao the fact I was imagining it as a very soft and romantic act)

(XD Vox is a horn dog: Marie was thinking romance and Vox, we are breaking in this couch XD)

[cr--books]

Chapter Two

Content warning: mommy kink, mention of being sold for sex, Macdonalds (it made me want maccies) innocent reader, shitty mom, angry nat, implied torture

Nat's POV

I drove me and my new baby home, my hand resting on her thigh rubbing circles, I felt small patterns on my hand and smirked slightly as her innocent little smile watched her fingers draw little shapes

"You okay baby" her head lifted and she smiled nodding at me with the same innocent smile, it was so cute

"Is my baby hunger we can stop to get you food" I smiled back at her watching as her eyes filled with confusion

"I already had food today I have to wait till tomorrow" she whispered, her finger never stopping tracing the patterns, I bite my tongue my grip on the steering wheel tightening, i wanted to turn around and kill her mother myself but I wanted to look after her first

"Baby your with mommy now you can eat whenever you wish" she cocked her head to the side and I felt myself getting wet from the cuteness

"Have you ever had ice cream" I smirked and nodded, when she pouted I had to stop myself from bending her over here and now, "can we get Icecream I've always wanted to try it" she bounced in her seat causing my hand to slide up a bit further

"Yes princess, I know the perfect place" She smiled and giggled

_______

"Welcome to macdonalds what can I get you" the mans voice called through

"Can I get two vanilla ice creams and a orange juice with a kids chicken nugget happy meal" I leaned out of my window

"That'll be £6.47 go to the first window to pay" the man sounded like he wanted to jump off a cliff, I couldn't blame him little kids were quite annoying

I picked up the food and drove home, y/n eating her fries quietly, a small grin on her face, as we got to my home I tapped my card on the security desk before the gates opened, I pulled up

Hopping out of the car, opening the door for y/n and taking her seatbelt off for her, she gripped my hand

"You have a really pretty home" she whispered into my ear, her hand never leaving mine, "how do you keep a house this big so clean" her eyes widened as she glanced around the room

"I hire people and pay them a hefty amount" she furrowed her eyebrows again

"But mother never paid me to clean" I bite my lip in order to stop myself from going back to her home

"Baby, mommy's gonna call thor, can you be a good girl and sit at the table" she nodded and walked over to the table

I sighed before getting my phone out calling thor, "yes boss?"

"Is the whore dead" my tone was harsh and I made sure, my new innocent dove hadn't heard, she hadn't

"No, boss, crying a lot, the husbands awake and not actually her husband, its lucky we got there when we did, y/n was about to be sold to a 65 year old man for sex" my nails dug into my thigh

"I want every man on that list tracked down and killed and bring them two to the basement, I'll deal with them"

Oh I'll deal with them

[twigg96]

Daryl X Pregnant! Reader

In the Nick of Time

Time frame: Season 6ish Alexandria

Warnings: Cannon Divergent, Possible Spoilers, pregnancy, labor, birth, character death, POV changes, descriptions of violence

Pronoun: She/her, You

(A/N: hi so I just want to say I’m watching TWD for the first time recently and am only on Season 6. So if I get any of the characterizations wrong I’m so sorry but this has been in my head the last few days. I hope you enjoy!)

Your POV ~~~~~

A low groan escaped your lips as you paced the floor of the shared Alexandrian home. Rubbing your swollen tummy you hissed as another contraction ripped through you causing the tiny baby inside you to kick at your ribs as if having the audacity to tell you to knock it off. Counting slowly you tried to keep up with the seconds the contraction lasted before giving up. “Fuck.” You hissed sitting down on the window sill to catch your breath. “They’re getting closer together…” Rick commented, worry thick in his voice. You were lucky to have him and Michonne around to help while Daryl was out on runs. You never blamed him for being chosen and you knew he hated being out while you were so far along. But duty called and this run was taking extra long. “I ain’t having this baby til he gets back.” You muttered stubbornly, pulling yourself back up into a standing position to continue pacing. Rick shook his head but the smile was clear on his face. “Your just as stubborn as your husband.” He murmured. “Kinda why I married him.” You said rubbing the spot in your back where your child decided to kick you most.

The door opening sent sparks of hope and excitement through your body. But they were quickly extinguished and replaced with something akin to joy once Michonne walked in hand in hand with your daughter Phoenix. “Momma! Aunt Michonne let me feed a duck!” Phoenix giggled giddily running up to hug you gently. “That’s great baby!” You said proudly, combing through her unruly hair with your fingers. “Are they any closer together?” Michonne asked Rick. The greying man simply nodded his head. “Slightly. We still got time though. She’s 12 minutes apart and they’re only lasting about 30 seconds.” You wanted to scream. You were right there thank you. But the glare you sent their way must have been hot enough to burn as Rick sent you an apologetic smile. “Michonne and I are going for a walk around to do patrol. We’ll head to the gate… see if we see him.” Rick muttered softly. “We’ll be back soon don’t worry.” Michonne said with a kind smile that reassured you. “Ok… if you see him, give him a swift kick in the pants and send him home please.” You teased chuckling. Rick nodded turning his gaze to your daughter. “Phoenix, you know what to do if your mommy needs help?” He asked, pointing at her as he and Michonne opened the door to leave. Your little ass kicker nodded smiling brightly. “Come get you, Auntie Michonne, or Aunt Carol.” She said proudly giggling as Rick ruffled her hair. “That’s right. Now, watch your momma while we’re gone.” He ordered closing the door with a soft click behind him.

One agonizing hour passed before there was a soft knock at the door. You knew instantly it wasn’t your husband on the other side of the door just by the timidness of the knocking itself. You had assumed it was a woman from Alexandria coming to “offer support” when Phoenix opened the door with your permission. However when you were greeted by the two faced priest you simply scowled. “What do you want?” You hissed. You assumed the venom in your voice either didn’t reach his ears or was simply ignored by the man as he smiled and stepped forward. If looks could kill he’d be dust. The last thing you wanted to hear was a sermon from a man you never trusted one bit. But the bald man glanced passed you as if surveying the house then looked to your face giving you a look that sent shivers down your spine. “May I come in?” He asked, his tone dripping in that fake kindness that people of small town suburbia just ate up. “Absolutely fucking not.” You growled, wincing as another contraction ripped through you. “Now if you excuse me I’m busy.” You muttered bluntly. But your attempts at closing the door were stopped as Father Gabriel stuck his foot through the threshold and pushed the door open. “But I really need to speak with you.” He muttered his voice shifting into something… different and shaky. It was as if you could feel the desperation in every syllable he spoke. His face morphed into pure crazed mania, his eyes flitting between your face and your stomach and suddenly you never felt more vulnerable in your life. Father Gabriel let himself into the house taking you by the elbow. “You should sit…” he said darkly, walking you over to the windowsill. You could see the terrified stare Phoenix gave the two of you from her hiding place behind the kitchen’s island and it was only then that you noticed the knife in the man’s belt and the gun the man had pointed at you. The world spun around your head at a thousand miles an hour. You felt as if you were going to be sick. Glancing over the priest’s shoulder you felt tears sting your eyes. “Please.” You whispered desperately. “Don’t hurt my daughter. What do you want? We’ll give it to you.” But Father Gabriel simply laughed. “Hurt her? No. No. No. no. I would never harm an innocent child. No. I’m here. To stop. The antichrist.” He said it so nonchalantly… pointing the barrel of the gun directly at your tummy. The little life inside you kicked at you as if desperate to get away. But you just blinked up at him in utter disbelief. What? The fuck. How… how did it end up this way. Sure. Father Gabriel never really believed this baby was Daryl’s. You had gotten pregnant at the prison right before the take over. As a matter of fact you didn’t even know until after the Governor attacked and you had gotten out with Rick, Carl, Judith and Phoenix. So you had just started to show at the church. He assumed you were Rick’s wife which set you both off but even after Daryl’s return he still seemed to refuse to believe the baby was Daryl’s. He’d call you the odd name once in a while. Made you feel like you were wearing a scarlet letter when you first came to Alexandria and told the community that Daryl and Carol were an item. But you never put stock into it. Just Christian BS. But now. As you stared into the barrel of the pistol he most definitely stole you knew it was so much more.

Nodding to Phoenix to get out you tried to keep his eyes on you and distract him. “What do you mean? Antichrist?” You asked slowly, keeping your eyes firmly on your brave little girl silently creeping behind your captor. “You poor broken soul. So tainted… it’s no wonder the devil chose you.” Father Gabriel muttered shaking his head as if he knew the answers all along. “The devil has seduced you sweet little sheep.” He whispered using his free hand to brush hair from your sweaty face making you cringe away. “He seduced you into the sin of lust out of marriage… into adultery. Now you will bare the child that brings ruination and damnation to the whole world.” His voice shuttered as if terrified by the simple thought. “Im so sorry but… I’ll have to make sure the bride of the devil dies… with the Antichrist still inside her.” He whispered caressing your face with the barrel of his gun. You couldn’t help the pained laugh that escaped your throat as tears pricked the sides of your eyes making the man of faith raise his brows at you. “News flash ass fuck. The end of the world shit already happened. If I’m really havin’ the Antichrist… this must be his cousin or some shit.” You laughed hearing the soft click of the front door shutting only made you smiled wider. Phoenix was safe. Now came the hard part. Surviving.

Phoenix’s POV~~~

Phoenix ran as hard and as fast as her little legs could carry her. Sprinting over to where she had last seen her Aunt Carol she was horrifically disappointed to find a lack of any of her family near the duck pond. Turning in circles Phoenix searched for anyone she could trust before bolting down a familiar street. Or at least it seemed familiar at first. But now the houses all looked the same and Phoenix wasn’t sure which was was which. She hated this suburban lifestyle. She could get around the mountains and forest with no issues. But this was impossible! Turning and running toward where she believed the gate might possibly be, Phoenix heard the faint roar of her father’s motorcycle. Tears bristled her eyes and she fought sobs as she rounded the corner to see him sitting on his idling bike talking to Uncle Rick and Aunt Michonne. Finding the energy in herself to sprint the block to the gate Phoenix couldn’t help but cry out not bothering to hide the fear evident in her voice. “Daddy!” The look in her father’s blue eyes said it all. The relaxed expression he once held melted away as soon as she came into view. “Phoenix? What’s wrong?” He asked scooping her up easily. He smelled like blood, dirt, cigarette smoke, and sweat. But Phoenix didn’t care. She sobbed openly into his chest. She tried desperately to get out what she needed to. But nothing but strangled sobs would come out. “M-momma… hurt… gun.” She wailed. But that was all that needed to be said as Daryl pulled her tight to his body and sped down the roads of Alexandria on his bike to get to his wife.

Father Gabriel’s POV~~~~

The click of the door was just audible enough to hear over that insane woman’s crazed laughter. Fuck! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! This was supposed to be easy! It was supposed to be fast. No strings attached. Just dispose the woman. Just dispose the baby. But now the child that damned child was getting in the way of it. All of it. “Where did she go?” He asked hastily. Glancing out the window he tried to catch a glimpse of the girl. Maybe if the brat was close he could get a shot off. But the woman moved to stand in his view and shrugged. “Dunno.” She muttered annoyingly. Smiling. Damn that smile. Gabriel growled shifting in his spot anxiously. He’d wipe it off her face soon enough. “You’re weak.” The words stilled him. Her serpent like eyes gleamed with something akin to glee. She was toying with father Gabriel. He refused to have that. “You always were…” Gabriel felt his ears ring as she continued to speak slowly raising his hand he struck down hard. It felt uncomfortable. Unnatural. But Father Gabriel knew it needed to be done. Another raise of the hand. Another strike down and suddenly the woman was down on her knees holding her bloody mouth. That would teach her to open her mouth. Now… looking to the pristine marble of the kitchen Father Gabriel smiled he needed an alter to preform his sacrament.

Daryl’s POV~~~~

The gavel bellow his bike had been such a relief when he first rolled through the rusted metal gates. Home. He was home. Rick jogged up to him with a smile, Michonne close to his side. “How is she?” Daryl called out parking his bike to chat a moment. “You should see for yourself!” Michonne yelled over the roar of the motor. “She’s in labor… no baby yet but she’s about ready to pop.” Rick teased making Daryl roll his blue eyes. “Shut up.” He growled endearingly. He knew Rick was just teasing but the thought of his wife giving birth without him there made him anxious. He was about to start his bike back up and roll it back to the garage when a whimper caught his attention. Looking down the road Daryl watched his daughter sprint down the road, tripping to catch herself as she ran to him. At first the sight warmed his heart. Maybe his wife sent her to fetch him? But as she looked up and Phoenix’s terror resonated through her face. Her desperate screams calling his name. A 20 ton rock dropped in the pit of his stomach. With one motion he scooped the girl up with one arm. She was shivering like a leaf in the wind and bawling. He tried soothing her. Tried easing her fears by whispering “Daddy’s here. I’m home now.” But she only seemed to cry harder as if not hearing him. “Phoenix? What’s wrong?” He asked as calmly as possible despite the lack of control he felt. “M-momma… hurt…” Phoenix started shakily, trying to make words come out but only more sobs came loose. “Gun”. Was the only other word Daryl could make out clearly enough to make sense. Guns and Alexandria went together like oil and water. Revving his engine Daryl pulled Phoenix close to his chest, Rick’s pleas to think rationally flew in one ear and out the other as he drove ahead of the others.

Daryl drove as fast as he possibly could with a six year old clutched tightly to his chest. He knew Rick and Michonne were coming as fast as they could. He has heard Ricks little order to wait until they got there to help. But Daryl would be damned if he let anything happen to you. Not when he had a fucking say about it. Not when he already lost so god damned much. Putting his bike in idle he rolled as silently as he could to the front of the house. A small crowd had gathered outside and despite the raging urge Daryl had to simply shoot them all in the temple to make them all just disappear, he moved swiftly and silently. Placing Phoenix down he covered her mouth pointing in the direction of Carol who was waiting by the bushes with his free hand. Daryl watched Phoenix nod dutifully before running over to her aunt’s side. Before Daryl could even process it… a gunshot rang out from inside the house. The sound sent ice through the archer’s veins that froze him completely. Another second another gunshot another round of screams from the crowd gathered. “No.” The word fell from his lips before he had a chance to stop it. Grabbing his crossbow Daryl rushed into the house ignoring Carol’s plea to just wait for Rick to catch up. There wasn’t time. There simply wasn’t.

The first thing Daryl noticed when he busted the door down was the blood. It was everywhere. He felt sick to his stomach and wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. But he kept it all swallowed down stepping through the living room carefully. “Y/N.” He called out praying to God that the bastard would remember his name and you’d answer. But there was silence. Nothing. And it killed him. “Y/N. Sweetheart. Where are ya?” He cried out a little louder. A little more desperate. Then came the whining groan. No. No! NO NO! Daryl paced from the entrance to the kitchen. That priest. That fucking god damned priest lay growling dead on the floor blood oozing from his broken and bleeding legs. But his blood wasn’t the only splattered across the tiled floor. A long streak of dark colored blood led into the bathroom. Low groaning came from behind the door as tears stained Daryl’s dirt covered face. No. No way it was her. He refused to believe you were one of them. Taking his anger out on the living corpse of the priest Daryl shoved his knife deep into the skull of the fallen holy man. Silence once again overshadowed the house followed by the rattling of the closed bathroom door. Trying to steel himself as he turned his attention back to the door Daryl tried to force his mind to be clear. To focus on only the happiest of thoughts and memories he held of you. But he couldn’t help his breath from hitching as he heard your soft whines coming from behind the door nor could he keep his mind from wandering to the deepest darkness and what he and Phoenix would do if he lost you and your unborn child.

Your POV~~~~

The priest was quick to notice the absence of your daughter. But you knew he was far too late. Panic set upon his face as he pressed the barrel of his pistol to your temple. “Where did she go?!” He growled glaring angrily at you as you simply shrugged your shoulders. “Dunno.” You replied easily a sly smile on your face. You loved the heated glare Father Gabriel sent you. You knew you were getting to him as he started to shuffle his feet anxiously. “You’re weak.” You bit out catching his eye. “You always were. So let me go. And maybe Rick won’t gut you.” You had started to laugh again foolishly believing you’d get out of this unscathed. The first blow from the heel of his palm made stars glow across your vision making you stumble to catch yourself. The second filled your mouth with hot blood that poured from your lips onto your chest and the floor as you doubled over. The kicking of the child inside you reminded you to mind your place even if it were a little bit. It wasn’t just you that you were trying to protect.

A strong grip on the back of your hair made you whine and cry out as the priest drug you onto the tiled flooring of the kitchen. “You’ll make a mess of the carpet.” He said it so calmly as if scolding a child who spilled communion wine. Feeling the strong hand let go of your hair you caught yourself with your elbow staring up at the father. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, your adrenaline running high your heart pounding in your chest. You watched as the priest pulled a cloth from around his neck and laid it on the stone counter of island. Next he pulled a small hand carved cross from one pocket kissing it gently before he placed it on the cloth. Then the man pulled a white tea candle from the other lighting it with a match you hadn’t seen until it was glowing in your peripheral. He placed them ritually on the cloth before pulling a photo of the mother Mary holding baby Jesus from the same pocket. Making the motions of the cross across his body with his gun he kissed the barrel before laying it gently on the cloth with the photo and the other items. Father Gabriel folded his hands, bowing his head in prayer. “Dear Lord in heaven. Forgive me for what I must do-“ you heard him whispering and suddenly you knew. It was now or never. Standing as quickly as you could you shoved the man against the counter with your whole weight grabbing the knife from the priest’s waistband. You barely registered the small yelp Father Gabriel emitted before feeling his elbow dig deep into your chest and stomach. Falling flat on your back you felt the rush of blood between your legs before you had even seen it. Terror ceased you for merely a second before you seemed to remember where you were. Father Gabriel screamed turning to take aim but you were faster. Slicing at his heel and cutting his Achilles he dropped to the ground. The gun went off as he hit the ground shaking you to your core but you didn’t hesitate to stick the knife deep in his artery watching red hot blood shoot out in unstoppable bursts that coated every surface around the priest including you. The rage still shone in Father Gabriel’s eyes as he tried to aim the pistol at you once more. With a single finger you held his wrist down as he fired another shot his breaths ragged and weary. “I was wrong…” he wheezed. “You were the devil the whole time…”

Crawling into the bathroom you whined and groaned as your contractions grew ever closer lasting longer than they had the entire day. Where the fuck was Rick? Michonne? Where was your husband?! Where was Daryl?! Propping yourself against the counter of the sink you closed the door with your foot and held it there. You knew you fucked up by not skewering that fucker but part of you wanted him to suffer a little longer. To come back and be killed again by one of your loved ones. Every moment was agony. Pain wracked your entire body and your vision blurred. And suddenly you wondered if you’d suffer the same fate. The thought of Daryl coming home to see you covered in blood and having to drive a knife through your head made you physically sick. Closing your eyes to keep your lunch down you focused on anything other than the taste of blood and pain tearing through you. Y/N. God you were hallucinating now. Tears rolled down your cheeks as you fought back sobs with a palm pressed tightly to your mouth. Y/N. Sweetheart. Where are ya? She wanted to cry out in response but she kept as quiet as she could. Taking deep breaths to help sooth the pain she pulled her knees up and reached down just to check, she had to know. What she didn’t expect to feel was the top of her baby’s head just about ready to crown. “Fuck me.” She whispered.

A strangled cry escaped her throat as the door flew open suddenly. Holding her bloody hands up in defense she sobbed loudly as a crossbow pointed straight to her chest. “Y/N?… Sweetheart…” Daryl dropped the bow to the ground rushing to his wife’s side pulling her as tight to his chest as he could. “You’re here! You came!” You cried burying your face deep in his neck as she clung to him desperately. “Wha-what happened? Are ya alright… you’re not bit are ya?” Daryl asked worriedly flittering over your bruised and battered body. Opening your mouth to answer him all that came free was a pained groan as you clawed at his strong chest for support. “N-not bit.” You got out whimpering slightly as Daryl lovingly rubbed your back. “Baby… Now.” You managed cracking an eye to peak at Daryl’s. “Oh… fuck. Ok. Let’s get you to the-“ he started, trying to pull you up to your feet but you simply couldn’t stand. Despite everything you two had laid out. Despite all the planning and preparation. Your baby was being born in a bathroom. Go figure. Shaking your head you pointed wordlessly to the bathtub. “H-Hot water.” You ordered. If you weren’t actively about to push a baby out, you would have giggled at the speed at which your husband moved, tripping over the bathroom’s little trash can he heated it up to an acceptable temperature before starting to fill the bottom of the tub with water. Everything moved so fast from there. Daryl helped you into the tub and washed his hands. “Gotta be clean to hold our kid.” He said much to your impatience. Grabbing several clean towels he sat them them by his side, kneeling next to you and held your leg reassuring you with every push. Then suddenly. It was over. There was a sputter and a piercing wail that rocked you to your core. Daryl was scrambling to dry the newborn smiling from ear to ear. “It’s a boy, sweetheart.” He whispered tears once again spilled over but this time they were happy. So fucking happy he couldn’t help but laugh. “Beau.” You whispered caressing the baby’s downy soft hair. “Stop it… we’re not naming him Beau.” Daryl teased kissing the top of your head. “I like it though.” You whispered. “Beau Merle Dixon. A name of his own. The middle to honor the man that gave everything to make sure he lived.” You whispered meeting your husband’s awestruck gaze. “Mmm…” he hummed caressing his son’s soft cheek. “Alrigh’. Beau Merle Dixon it is.” He said softly. “Now let’s get you out of that cold ass water.”

[azlan-snow]

Broadcast Husbands

Chapter Five: Happiness and New Guests

(Told from Vox’s POV)

As Charlie and I step into the hotel, we are in awe at the renovations.

“Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!” Alastor appears in front of us, grinning widely, taking pleasure in our shock. Charlie drops the groceries she was holding and rushes toward him. She embraces my husband with tears flowing from her pale face, causing him discomfort. He looks at me, confusion on his face. ‘Just go with it,’ I display on my screen. He accepts Charlie and hugs her back, with a look of pain and confusion lying on his face. “Why the tears, darling?”

“I’m happy,” she mumbles, face buried in Alastor’s chest, sobbing.

“Thank you, Al. Thank you so much.”

“You’re quite welcome, darling. Now would you be so kind as to release me? Your grip is immaculate and strangling.”

“Oh! Sorry, Al. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s quite alright. I’m guessing by your tears of joy that you like what I’ve done?”

“Yes. I love it. It’s beautiful.”

“Of course it is! It was created by a man of style, darling!” Charlotte giggles at his words, finally smiling after what occurred at the embassy. I’m happy Al didn’t go with us, as he would have destroyed the whole thing. Hell, I even thought about it. But Charlie and I kept our cool and dealt with that bitch accordingly. I can’t wait to kill that angel. But I am happy to see her smile once more. She’s like our kid, now. We have to take care of her and each other. But that aside, it was time for preparation. I picked up the groceries that Charlie had dropped and walked over to him and whispered in his ear.

“Good Job, honey.” I enter and see how fashioned to him it is. He would probably hate it if everything was modern. I remember when he first tried to use my kitchen. He kept asking how it worked, and in the end, gave up and ordered takeout from his frustration.  That was the most frustrated I’ve seen the man. It was absolutely hilarious. He insisted that he replace it with something more to his time so he could cook, and I gave in. He is an excellent cook, after all. Unless he’s cooking sinners for dinner. Then it’s just gross. 

I put everything away according to his labels and heard more voices from the lobby. “Damn Girl! What’cha do to the place?”

“Hey Angel! I didn’t do anything. It was all Al!”

“Al?” Alastor sounded offended by the nickname.

“Strawberry pimp did this? That’s impressive, dude.”

“Thank you, my effeminate friend.” 

“What are you doing near her, you red-headed freak? Get away from Charlie!”

“Relax, Vaggie, it’s fine. Besides, I’m the one who invaded his space, not the other way around.”

“I don’t care!”

“Relax, dear girl. If I were going to hurt anyone here, I would have done so already.” You can hear the radio static in his voice from here, which is outrageous. He might have laid it on too thick this time. I walk out  of the kitchen, headed towards Alastor and gently placed my hand on his shoulder. “Al, stop. Tell her the other surprise.”

“Oh, yes. That should happen sooner than later, shouldn’t it.” He snaps his fingers and the fireplace lights in the living room with a small black object inside it. I shiver, since I know who it is. He picks up the black object. It opens one large eye and blinks before shaking off the soot that she was covered in. “This darling here is Niffty!” She falls to the ground, landing on her feet, and begins to pester everyone with budding questions. I stand next to him and she looks up at me in a devilish grin that rivals Al’s. “He~ey, Voxxy!”

“Hello, Niffty,” I say, avoiding eye contact with the very small and skittish girl.“There’s someone else too. He should be arriving here soon.” A knock on the door is heard and Charlie heads to open it. She peeks out and sees the cat demon, Husker, standing outside.

“Is this the right place? Fucker only told me edge of the pentagram.”

[thewardenisonthecase]

Weathering the Storm

Chapter 2: The Storm Hits

Read on AO3

A/N: TW for Miscarriage.

This chapter is focused only on the Ferelden front but the we will see the other POVs on the next one.

Your Majesty, 

I thank you for your message but I fear that the worst has come: We are facing another Blight. 

The darkspawn activity from the Deep Roads and our contacts from the North confirmed our suspicions. An archdemon has not been spotted yet, but last month, blighted dragons attacked Tevinter and Antiva. 

From what we know, this Blight seems to be contained to the northern countries but we will remain vigilant in case their forces spread south.

Best Regards, 

First Warden Howe of the Southern Grey Wardens

Anneliese folded the letter, as she rubbed her forehead.  

Under any circumstances, a Blight was a terrible ordeal, but with the current fragmented state of the Order, things would be ugly for the North. 

Ten years ago, the southern and the northern grey wardens had begun a dispute. Anneliese was only mildly aware of what transpired, as she had been away at the time, looking for a cure. 

The story she was given had been that, after the disaster at Adamant Fortress, orlesian, ferelden and free marcher wardens were called to Weisshaupt, to discuss the orders fate. The southern group believed that the wardens needed to go into the light, and help defend Thedas against other evils, and not just darkspawn. They argued that one day, all archdemons would be killed, and people would no longer see the need for the Wardens. 

The First Warden, alongside the rest of the northern group disagreed and thus, a civil war broke out in Weisshaupt. By the time Anneliese had returned from her search, she discovered the southern grey wardens had broken away, establishing their own headquarters in Vigil’s Keep. Commander Howe, Nathaniel’s nephew, has been voted as First Warden of the South. 

‘You’re not part of the order anymore.’ She had told herself. ‘Don’t involve yourself in those matters.’ 

But now she couldn’t help but fear. Was it wise to leave their northern brethren to their own devices? And would they withstand another Blight, without the full forcer of the order standing together?

There was much to consider. She sighed, rubbing her belly. Nearing the end of her first trimester, Anneliese knew she shouldn’t be getting too stressed.

She folded the letter and stood up, making her way outside. It didn’t take long for her to find Alistair, as he was in the training yard with a wooden sword in hand as he sparred with Duncan. 

Anneliese watched them play, a small smile on her face as she noticed Alistair exaggerating the pain each time he was hit. 

At one point, Duncan hit him on the side and he went to his knees, dramatically saying “Ah, my prince, you wound me deeply! Look at me, bleeding all over the floor! Mercy I say, mercy!” 

“Only if you yield!” The boy shouted with glee. 

“I yield, I yield!” Alistair placed his sword on the ground, raising both arms. “Now, help your old man get up.” 

Duncan put his own wooden weapons aside and sprinted towards Alistair, but before he knew, he was tackled to the ground, laughing as his father tickled his sides.

“This is why you never drop your guard!” Alistair laughed and when the kid shouted ‘yield’ he stopped. The two of them gathered their breath, and when they noticed Anneliese watching, they stood up.

Duncan ran towards his mother. “When will I get to fight with you, mum?” 

She smiled “Only after your new sibling comes along, Duncan.”

“But that will take soooo long.” 

“Trust me, Duncan” Alistair said, walking behind him and messing his hair. “You do not want to fight with your mother. She’s ruthless.” 

Anneliese smirked. “Listen to your father.” She kissed the top of his head “Now, go take a bath.” 

The boy sighed but nodded, running away to his maid. Anneliese turned to her husband. 

“Howe sent word.” She said, handing him the letter. The smile dropped from his face as he read its contents. 

“Maker’s breath…you don’t think it could spread here, do you?” 

“I don’t know, but we should prepare for the worst.” She took a deep breath, brows furrowed. A familiar sense of impending doom began to fill her. 

“Love? What are you thinking?” 

“Nothing.” Anneliese shook her head. “I’m just…remember how I told you that before Howe attacked my family, I had a bad feeling about it all?”  

He nodded and said “You’re feeling that again?”

“Yes. I can’t help but feel dread.” 

Alistair gently grabbed her arms, pulling her closer. “If something does happen, we’ll be prepared. We have the Wardens in the Denerim compound, and we can make haste to Vigil’s Keep in a matter of days.”

She sighed. “I know. I just worry. It seems like everytime we have some semblance of peace, the world goes to shit again.” 

Alistair chuckled. “No rest for the wicked.”

“And neither for us.”

. 

Anneliese tossed her head around in her bed, as her dreams morphed into nightmares. Much like Alistair had described, she too saw the Archdemon, this one much different than Urthemiel. 

It turned its head to her, as it flew from the ground, opening its mouth and before it could eat her, she woke up, quickly sitting up on the bed. 

She turned to see that Alistair had done the same and not a moment later, the door was knocked over by darkspawn. 

The couple sprung into action without a second thought. Both Alistair and Anneliese kept one of their swords hidden beneath the bed, just in case something like this happened. Without their armor, however, they were still vulnerable. 

They made quick work of the creatures, avoiding getting hit as much as possible. They ran outside and heard screams, the dull headache on the back of their heads forming as they sensed more darkspawn. 

“We need to evacuate.” Alistair said. 

“Rally the guards and the others. I’ll get the children and go to the armory.”  

“Anneliese, wait-” He said and looked at her stomach. 

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” 

Alistair still looked worried but he nodded and the two of them headed out. 

Anneliese looked at the floor, noticing the man who used to guard her door was dead. She kneeled and began removing parts of his armor, mainly the breast plate and the helmet. She was quick to put them both on, the years of training to put them quickly while on the road kicking in.

Finally, she grabbed his shield and headed towards her children’s room. Luckily for her, there were not many darkspawn on her way, but the corpses of several servants littered the halls. 

A pit in her stomach began to form as she got closer to the room, seeing the body of the children’s guard on the floor next to the door. When she tried to open it, she realized that something was blocking the entrance. 

“Brynne, Duncan, if you’re inside, move out of the way!” She shouted before kicking down the door. 

“Mommy!” Her youngest said, rushing to her and hugged her leg. 

She kneeled, holding her daughter’s face. “Are the two of you alright?” 

The girl nodded. “Duncan protected us.” 

Anneliese extended her arm to him, and he dropped the wooden sword he was holding as he ran to her. “I heard the shouting and barred the door, like you taught me.”

She kissed his forehead. “Good boy.” 

“Mommy, what’s happening?” Her daughter asked. 

She looked at the two of them, their frightened expressions and she said “It’s hard to explain right now, but I’ll keep you two safe.” Anneliese hugged the two of them tightly. “Now, hold on to each other’s hand and don’t let go, you hear me. We have to go to the armory.” 

“What about daddy?” Duncan asked. 

“Daddy’s going to meet us there too.” 

Brynne held her brother’s hand, holding her stuffed animal close to her chest. “I’m scared.” She whispered. 

Anneliese patted her hair and kissed her forehead. “I know, my love, I know, but we have to hurry. Hold tight to your brother.” 

She stood up, placing them in front of her. “I’ll be right behind you. The first sign of trouble, you two run and hide.” She said as they walked out of the room. 

They walked as quickly as they could, Anneliese making sure to use the longer but more hidden paths. 

Memories rushed to the forefront of her mind. Herself, much younger than now, followed by her mother, running around as their home burned. Ser Gilmore telling them of Howe’s betrayal. Her father, lying in a pool of his own blood. 

Anneliese shook her head. She needed to focus. 

They were nearing the armory when she saw an ogre, of all things, standing in front of it. “Go, go!” She told her children. They ran, finding somewhere to hide as the ogre turned around and rushed towards her. 

She ran and matched the creature halfway, slashing its middle. The ogre fell forwards, and she jumped out of the way. As she got close to it, it kicked her, making her fall on her back. 

The ogre stood up once again and Anneliese dodged its attack at the last second. In one move, she got back on her feet, stunning the ogre with her shield and slashing its knees. The darkspawn fell down and she slashed its throat, blood spraying everywhere before she climbed on its chest and impaled it with her sword. 

Breathing heavily, she jumped back, Duncan and Brynne running to her side. She opened the door to the armory and headed inside. 

She looked around at all the weapons they had, swords and shields and daggers she had collected over the years stored in a single room. She grabbed a few of her preferred weapons, strapping them to her, before walking over to a wall and stepping on a specific tile of the floor, a hidden passage opening before her. 

As they were about to walk in, Duncan said “Mommy, you’re hurt.” 

She frowned and looked down, only now noticing the blood between her legs. Now that they had had a moment to breathe, the pain was starting to make itself known. Anneliese did not have time to think on what this meant, as she turned towards the kids.

“We need to hurry.” Noticing that Brynne looked too spooked to do anything, she grabbed the girl into her arms, balancing her on one hip as she held Duncan’s hand. 

“What about daddy?” Duncan asked. 

“He’ll find us, love.” 

Anneliese led them down a dark corridor.The more they walked, the more faint she began to feel, but the weight of Brynne on her arm reminded her to keep moving. 

Finally, they reached the end, being met with a door. Opening it, they found themselves in the stables, and Anneliese’s mouth opened in disbelief as she saw the chaos and destruction outside of the castle. 

She saw blight cysts falling from the sky, and taking a step back, she saw tendrils twisting around the castle walls.

This was worse than what they had faced 20 years ago. 

“Annie!” She heard Alistair’s voice and turned around to find him running towards them, several guards, servants and citizens following behind him. “We have to evacuate the city, now!”

“Alistair” She breathed out as he took the girl from her arms. He said something else, but she could barely hear it as the world around her began to spin. She heard her name being shouted one last time before everything went black. 

. 

It took them a week to arrive in Vigil’s Keep. 

As soon as they passed through the gates, First Warden Howe greeted him, a worried look on his face. That’s when Alistair learned the situation was worse than he had imagined. 

Denerim hadn’t been the only place attacked. Kirkwall was overrun with darkspawn and Val Royeaux was dealing with them and the Venatori. Communication was becoming increasingly difficult. For now, they had to fend for themselves. 

Their plan for now was to contact the other arls, banns and teynirs of the incoming threat. Word was also sent to Orzammar, but it would take long for them to receive an answer. 

In the meantime, Alistair worried. For his country, for his people and for his family. During their journey to Vigil’s Keep, Anneliese had been fading in and out of consciousness. One of the healers, a mage, had confirmed the worst - during the fighting, she had lost the child she carried, and the loss of blood was the reason for her current state. 

He hadn’t felt like a complete mess in a long time. He thought of that boy he once was - twenty years old, with the burden of a Blight on his back and giving all of the responsibility to Anneliese. 

Alistair couldn’t be that boy, not when he looked at the tired expressions on his children, on his soldiers and on his people. 

Not when he looked at Anneliese’s sleeping face and knew he had to be strong. If anything, he had to be strong for her. They would weather this storm, like they had done so ten times over. 

He sat by her side, holding her hand, waiting. 

Waiting. 

Then- 

. 

Anneliese Cousland was nineteen again and her home was being attacked. 

But this time, the bodies were different. Instead of Iona, it was Alistair who lay dead on her bed. 

Running outside, she saw the bodies of her brother, her nephew, and her own children, all mangled and bloodied. 

From between her legs, blood flowed freely.

Ser Gilmore and Duncan, also dead in the main hall. The Cousland’s family sword and shield were gone. 

Anneliese raced to the larder and once again, she saw her father and mother embracing each other. They gave her one last look before turning to dust. 

The fire grew all around her, consuming her completely. 

Anneliese woke up with a dry mouth and laying on an unfamiliar bed. She looked around, and as her vision began to focus, she recognized where she was. 

Vigil’s Keep. This had been her room when she had been the Warden-Commander. 

She sighed in relief. They had made it out of Denerim, at the very least.

Turning her head, she saw Alistair sitting on a chair, his head on his chest as he slept. It was then she noticed that he had been holding her hand. With a gentle squeeze, she woke him up.

He looked startled, but once he saw her, he whispered “Thank the Maker you woke up.” before kissing her knuckles. 

She motioned for him to help her sit up and once she was settled, she asked  “How long have we been here?” 

“A little over a week. We arrived a few days ago.” Alistait replied “What do you remember?” 

“Darkspawn everywhere. Denerim burning.” 

“We got everyone we could out of the city, with the help of the Wardens on the Denerim compound. We decided to head here, as it was safest.” Alistair took a deep breath. “Lise…a lot has happened while you were out.” 

“Tell me everything.” 

“You just woke up, you should-”

“Alistair.” She said, sternly. “Tell me what happened. I need to know.” 

He sighed but complied. He explained the different attacks that happened simultaneously, that the other nobles had been contacted and that they waited on Orzammar’s response. 

Then, he looked somehow even more somber. “There’s also something else. Anneliese…he healer, he…” 

Alistair didn’t have to finish the sentence for her to know what happened. It wasn’t the first pregnancy that she lost, but it didn’t make the pain any better. 

She took a deep breath. “Duncan and Brynne? How are they?” 

“Shaken and scared. Brynne has barely uttered a word since we arrived and Duncan is putting on a brave face. But I think they’ll lighten up when they see you.” 

“Maker…they shouldn’t have to go through this.” She rubbed her forehead and then shook her head. If Ferelden was to go through another Blight, she had much work to do. 

Anneliese threw the sheet off of her and placed her feet on the floor. In a flash, Alistair ran to her side and helped her walk. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Well, I have to eat something. And then we have to discuss what we’ll do next.” 

[lvxybby]

Our Messiah, Kai anderson x reader

3RD POV: you had recently given birth to your 2 week old baby girl, Jade. you were resting your eyes as your sleeping daughter was held in your arms. you tried so hard to sleep but it was either jade crying or paranoia keeping you awake. you heard the door open and voices fill the room before a loud shush quieted them. kai and everyone else stood before you, watching you hold your daughter. "you're dismissed" kai spoke in his regular plain voice. everyone exited the room except him. "hey" kai whispered as he approached the couch. you hummed as you held jade closer to your body. he knelt down and pet your head. he knows your completely drained from your mother duties. he honestly felt a bit of sorrow for you since you weren't sleeping at all anymore. it was really concerning to him. you and his daughter were his pride and joy. he would do anything to ensure your safety. "hey sweetheart" kai said focusing his attention to his sleeping daughter. he placed a small kiss on her forehead. "kai...?" you asked peeking open your eyes. "yeah?" he responded "is jade ok? is she still asleep?" you said with your eyes closed. "yeah...dont worry about her..." kai said with a smile. "how long are you going to keep doing this..." you said cuddling jade closer to you "what? keep doing what" kai asked. "y'know...the cult shit...im tired of constantly being put in danger" you said peeking open your eyes. "im doing this to keep you safe...to help us...are you not grateful for the work im putting in for you? the work im putting in to keep my family safe? the SHIT i do to make you happy!? HUH" he shouted. "kai please dont yell" you said waking up fully. "i never said that...its just im really scared cause...im worried about you too...i dont want you to get hurt or die doing some crazy shit! night of 100 tates? seriously kai! when you did that i was scared for my life too! i was scared you were going to kill me cause i was pregnant! i was scared you would get caught and go to prison! and im scared about the fact you talk to yourself! you scare me!" you cried out. your daughter woke up and began to look around. "oh really!? really?! i am perfectly fine! you are fine! i do this for you! for my daughter! for my job!" kai shouted. "KILLING PEOPLE ISNT A JOB KAI ANDERSON" you shouted. you stood up with jade and left the room. she was quietly crying now. you went upstairs to your shared room and grabbed the knife from under your mattress. kai kept it there for safety. you ran into the bathroom and slammed the door and locked it. you pressed your feet against the door as hard as you could. you heard kai chase you up the stairs and into the room. "open this door right fucking now" he said pulling on the door handle. you were scared. you cried with your daughter as you embraced her. you wrapped around her and sobbed. you were scared of your own husband. the man you trusted with every cell in your body to take care of your daughter and you, is banging on the door telling you to open it or he'll hurt you. "Y/N i'll bust this door down and fucking beat you! open it right now" he ordered. you pressed with your feet harder. you were shaking. you worried for you and your daughters lives at that point since kai was on the verge of insanity. you and jade were basically the only thing keeping him from going mad. you and jade were that tiny piece. next thing you know the door flew open and kai stood there. he was pissed off. but his expression changed when he saw you and your daughter sobbing. you were shaking like crazy and you had your daughter wrapped around you tighter than ever. you were hyperventilating like hell. you weren't able to breathe at all. you held the knife in your hands with a tight grip. "Y/N...oh..oh...god...i-" tears began to form in his eyes. his voice shook. "im so sorry..." he said. he reached out for you but you backed away. tears streamed down his face. "Y/N please im sorry" he cried. you gripped the knife tighter. you weren't going to risk your child getting hurt. kai sat on the floor across from you.

[mikaela-granger]

The Long Wait (Season 3) Chapter 16

Two Weeks

Fandom: Grimm

Pairing: Sean Renard/OFC

The Long Wait Masterlist

A/N: Snapshots of Lorelei’s fortnight on bedrest.

DAY ONE

***Lorelei’s POV***

“Are you sure you are alright, staying home alone?” Sean asked her as he took a seat on the bed beside her.

“I’ll be fine.” Lorelei assured him. “I’ll use my free time to shop online for stuff for the baby’s room. You got to work.”

Sean nodded, still looking unsure as he kissed her goodbye and headed off to work. Once he was gone, Lorelei sighed. These were going to be the longest two weeks of her life. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t make the best of it. She got up and headed out of bedroom to have breakfast before returning to the bedroom with her laptop.

***Sean’s POV***

Sean arrived at work, wishing he could be at home with his fiancée. However, as he had taken half of yesterday off there was work to catch up on. Not long after he arrived, Nick stepped into his office. “How’s Lorelei?” He asked, closing the door behind him.

Sean looked at him. “She seems to be doing alright. Although I am not sure how she is going to handle being on bedrest for the next two weeks.”

Nick chuckled. “She is going to drive us nuts.” Noticing Sean’s questioning gaze, he added. “When Lorelei was five, not long after she started school, she got the chicken pox. Even then she did not take well to having to stay at home all day. She was afraid of falling behind at school. God, she drove us nuts. Every morning, she would get up, get ready for school, and try to convince Aunt Marie to let her go. Stubbornly insisted that she wouldn’t play with her friends, she would just sit at the back of the classroom. When told no, she’d give us the silent treatment or walk around the house sighing loudly. God knows what it would have been like if she had a cell phone.”

Sean smiled; he loved hearing stories of his soulmate’s childhood. She sounded as tenacious than as she was now. Lorelei was always out and about, whether it was school, work, the gym, or socialising with friends. She was always on the move. This pregnancy had certainly slowed her down. And now, she was confined to the apartment. “She understands the importance of bed rest.”

Nick shrugged. “Doesn’t mean she’s gonna like it.”

DAY TWO

***Lorelei’s POV***

By the second day, Lorelei was getting a little antsy. She wasn’t used to this. Although the bed rest ordered by Dr Brody was not overly strict, she was still confined to the apartment. She had already ordered most of the bigger furniture for the baby: the crib, changing table, stroller, and car seat, by the end of the first day. On the Sunday, Sean had gone into work again. Lorelei found herself spending the day in the living room on her phone, the tv on in the background. To pass the time, she was scrolling through the internet and sending funny memes to people. Thankfully, she was distracted after lunch when Juliette had come to visit, her friend Alicia in tow.

“Your asshole husband is lucky I wasn’t there.” Lorelei told Alicia when the women had filled Lorelei in on the events of the morning.

Alicia laughed. “From what Juliette has told me about you, he is very lucky.” Alicia commented. “Did you really kill two men who were trying to kidnap you, while fighting off the effects of chloroform?”

Lorelei shrugged. “Apparently. I don’t really remember a lot.”

Alicia took a sip of her coffee, looking impressed. “Damn, that is about a badass as it can get.”

DAY 5

“Thanks for coming over.” Lorele said, as she let Angela in.

“It’s not a problem. I haven’t seen you in a while.” The older woman said, before holding up the bag she was holding. “Now, I need to get these in the fridge. I have a chicken casserole, spaghetti bolognaise, and Phoebe sent over her sweet and sour pork. She knows how much you love it. Oh, and she sent over her red velvet cupcakes.”

Lorelei smiled. Bud’s wife made a mean sweet and sour pork, while her red velvet cupcakes were to die for. “You guys didn’t need to make all this food.” Lorelei told her as they reached the kitchen.

Angela waved her off. “You need to be taking it easy, that includes not slaving over the stove.” She replied. She smiled. “Besides, you know we show our love with food.”

Lorelei laughed. “Yeah. I know.”

Once the food was put away, the pair sat on the couch. Angela looked at her. “Now, how are you really doing?”

Lorelei sighed before shrugging. “I feel…I don’t know. Scared…anxious…guilty. What could I have done differently? What’s going to happen in the future? You know, if my blood pressure doesn’t improve. I could go into premature labour, I could…I could die or my baby could die. I just…” Lorelei’s voice trailed off, as she was overcome with tears.

“Oh sweetheart.” Angela said, as she put her drink down and pulled Lorelei into her arms. “You are doing everything you can. Sometimes our bodies just…they don’t do what they are supposed to do. And no matter what we do, we can’t change it.”

“I try not to think about it, you know, focus on the good. But…sometimes when I am alone…the bad…it’s all I can think about.” Lorelei sobbed, her head resting on Angela’s shoulder. Angela rubbed her back soothingly.

“I can’t make any promises about what will or won’t happen. But I will tell you this.” Angela had Lorelei sit up, as her hands came to cup Lorelei’s face, her thumbs brushing away the tears. “You are not alone. You have me and the other eisbibers, you have your brother and your friends. And you have your soulmate. You, my dear, are so loved. We are here for you.”

Lorelei smiled tearfully before nodding. “Thank you.”

***Sean’s POV***

Sean was grateful he was able to get off work at a reasonable time. He’d had a few late nights recently, and Lorelei was usually asleep when he got home. He peered into the bedroom, he was a little disappointed to see Lorelei was asleep, Molly and Daisy curled up with her. However, she wasn’t wearing her pyjamas, so it must have been a nap. The smile slipped off Sean’s face when he heard a noise come from the kitchen. Sean took his gun out and slowly crept towards the kitchen. There were still noises coming from the kitchen, someone was definitely here. Sean stepped into the kitchen, gun drawn to face the intruder. It was a woman, she let out a small cry of surprise, arms raised when she saw the gun, and woged…into an eisbiber. Sean lowered his gun. A friend of Lorelei’s. “Sorry. I thought you were an intruder.”

She laughed nervously. “It’s ok. You must be Sean?” She said, as her woged disappeared. “I’m Angela Wurstner, a friend of Lorelei’s.”

Sean holstered his gun. “You’re Katie’s mother, right?”

Angela nodded. “I am. Uh, Lorelei invited me over.”

Sean nodded. “Has she been asleep long?”

“About 45 minutes.” Angela replied. “I was just tidying up, getting some dinner ready. I hope you like chicken casserole.”

Sean smiled; he could understand why Lorelei like Angela. She exuded warmth and maternal energy. “I do.” He glanced in the direction of the bedrooms. “How is she?”

Angela shrugged as she considered what to say. “She’s ok. She was a little upset earlier. Honestly, I think she just needed a mom today.”

Sean was concerned to hear that Lorelei had been upset. However, he was glad that Angela had been there for her. “Thank you for being there for her.” He told Angela earnestly.

Angela smiled warmly at him. “Lorelei’s family. We take care of our own.” She said, and Sean returned the smile.

DAY 6

“Renard.”

“Uh, hi, Captain Renard. It’s Rosalee Calvert.”

“Oh, hello. How can I help you?” Sean was surprised to hear from Lorelei and Nick’s friend.

“Right...um, so I Juliette and I have been planning a baby shower for Lorelei. We were planning on having it later in the summer, but we were thinking about moving it forward, to this Sunday afternoon. We thought it might cheer her up a bit.”

Sean nodded. Although Lorelei tried to hide it, Sean knew that being forced to stay at home all the time was bringing her down. She had expressed concern that Dr Brody may suggest extended the bedrest or even hospitalisation. Perhaps an afternoon with all her friends celebrating her and their baby would lift her spirits. “That sounds like a lovely idea.”

“Oh, good. I wasn’t sure whether you thought it might be a bit much for her.” Rosalee told him, sounding relieved.

“No. I think it might be just what she needs.” Sean said. “What time were you thinking?”

DAY NINE

***Lorelei’s POV***

Sunday found Lorelei, surrounded by all her female friends for her baby shower. Lorelei had been surprised when Sean had told her that morning that her friends would be throwing her an early baby shower that afternoon. Rosalee, Juliette, Angela and Phoebe, Bud’s wife had arrived around 11 to get set up. Sean had left not long after that, telling Lorelei to have fun. It was midday when the other guests started trickling in. Katie, Melody and the other girls in their group, Carly Kampfer, Juliette’s friend Alicia, and some of the female eisbibers that Lorelei was close with. There was a lot of food including  devilled eggs, tea sandwiches, cheese and cold cuts, a cobb loaf with spinach dip, red velvet cupcakes, and a chocolate fountain. There was iced tea, cocktails and mocktails. Rosalee and Juliette had the idea to have a little photo booth. They bought different props and everyone had fun taking pictures with both the instant camera’s they had brought as well as their own. Rosalee and Juliette had also arranged a few games including diaper toss, a baby shower themed game like ring toss, and diaper change relay race.

The final part of the day involved everyone giving Lorelei their gifts. “Oh Carly, this is beautiful.” Lorelei told the younger girl, as she held up the knitted blanket and crocheted duck. “Did you make these?”

Carly ducked her head shyly. “I did.” She said, smiling as everyone complimented her work.

Once all the gifts were opened, the rest of the afternoon just involved the ladies sitting around, talking. “You know, if someone had told me that I would be sitting at a baby shower, for a Grimm, who is pregnant with a wesen’s child…I’d have thought they were crazy.” Alicia commented before taking a drink of her wine.

Everyone laughed. “I am sure my ancestors are rolling in their graves at that knowledge. And I love it.” Lorelei commented, a shit-eating grin on her face.

Eventually, most had left, leaving on Rosalee and Juliette to finish cleaning up, while Lorelei relaxed on the couch making note of who had given what so she could send out thank you cards. Juliette finished putting the dishes away before she came to sit with Lorelei, letting her feet rest in her lap. “You have a good day?” Juliette asked, as Rosalee also joined them, handing them their drinks.

Lorelei smiled at her friends. “I did. You two outdid yourselves. It was perfect. Just what I needed right now.”

***Sean’s POV***

When Sean arrived home, the sun was just setting, although it sounded like the party may still be going as he could hear laughter coming from the living room. “Ah, the father-to-be has arrived.” Juliette said as he entered. Lorelei was laying on the couch, head in Rosalee’s lap and feet in Juliette’s. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight, more so when Lorelei’s face brightened upon seeing him.

“I am. Did you ladies have a good time?”

“It was great.” Lorelei said looking up at him. “Although don’t mind these two, they are a little buzzed.”

“Lies.” Rosalee said glancing down at her.

“You two just polished off another bottle of wine.”

“It’s a party. Leave us alone. Geez, you’re such a mom already.” Juliette told her.

Sean shook his head at their antics as Rosalee glanced at her phone. “Oh, Monroe’s here. Come on Juliette, let’s give the parents-to-be some alone time.”

Once the two had left, Sean joined Lorelei on the couch, pulling her into his lap, holding her close. “You had a good day?” He asked, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

Lorelei nodded. “I did. I had a lot of fun. It was nice just hanging out with everyone. There was food, games, and gifts. Rosalee and Juliette did a great job.”

Sean rubbed her back. “I’m glad.” He said, holding her tightly.

They sat there in contended silence for a little while, before Lorelei grabbed his hand, placing it on her stomach. “Do you feel that?”

Sean concentrated for a moment, and then he did indeed feel it. He looked at Lorelei in amazement. “Is that…?”

Lorelei nodded, smiling at him. “Yeah. She’s kicking. You can feel her now as well.” She said softly.

A smile broke out across Sean’s face as pressed his hand a little against Lorelei’s belly. He was rewarded with another kick. And then another. There she was…their little girl.

DAY 12

A couple of days before Lorelei’s next doctor’s appointment, Sean had arrived home to the sound of the cello. As he approached the living room, he was surprised to see Monroe seated on one of the dining room tables playing the cello. Sean could see Lorelei was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. Monroe stopped playing when he spotted Sean. “Oh, uh, hi.” He said, looking a little awkward.

“Hi.”

“Uh, Lorelei asked me to come play the cello for her. And, uh, when she fell asleep, I figured I’d just keep playing. I haven’t had much chance to practice lately.”

Sean nodded. “How long has she been asleep?” He asked, approaching his sleeping fiancée. She looked like an angel. Sean crouched down beside her, tenderly stroking a strand of hair off her face.

“Not long, she keeps drifting in and out. She has been out for about thirty minutes this time.” Monroe glanced at his watch. “Although, I should probably head home. Rosalee will be wondering where I am.”

“Thank you, Monroe. For, keeping her company.” Sean said, once Monroe had packed up.

Monroe nodded at him, before heading out the door. Sean sat on the coffee table, reaching his hand out to rest on Lorelei’s belly. Shortly after, he was rewarded with a kick from his daughter.  Sean smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss on Lorelei’s belly before he got up and went to arrange dinner.

DAY 14

“At least I can get out and about now.” Lorelei commented as they returned from her doctor’s appointment.

“That is true, but nothing crazy though. You do still have to take it easy.” Sean reminded her. There hadn’t been much change in Lorelei’s blood pressure, however everything was all well with the baby.

“Nothing crazy. But I can start setting up the baby’s room. Do you have to work on Sunday?”

Sean shook his head. “No. We can set up the bigger furniture. I’m sure if left to your own devices, you would try it yourself.”

Lorelei shrugged. “Yeah, probably.”

“And you are sure you don’t want to have the room painted?”

Lorelei shook her head. “I like the colour of the wall. It’s fine for the baby’s room.”

“If you’re sure.”

A/N: Not an overly interesting chapter, but I didn’t want to skip the bed rest period completely.

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[alienqueeenrando]

Perfect Plan..Or Not

I don't own miraculous or DC comics. All rights to owners.

In this Lila's dad is dead(mysteriously) and her mom(who is an assistant to the Italian Ambassador)taught her how to be manipulative and lie.

After Greta Rossi's time in Paris was done, She got her next assignment in Gothan, New Jersy.

Lila pov

in her room GOTHAM! I’m going to Gotham with mama. Although this does mean that I have to give up my job as a model and my hold on Adrien, it does mean I can go after bigger fish, such as THE Damian Wayne. Mama taught me from a young age how to get what I want, she told me that I have to be willing to do anything to meet my ends, I mean that is how she got my father to marry her. My dad was born into a relatively wealthy family in Italy but he was the youngest of five, so he never learned how to spot gold diggers AKA my mom. She went the damsel in distress route to get his attention before trapping him for good. He loved her. laugh poor fool. Mama told me her plan for Gotham; first we “accidentally” into some criminals (men we paid to mess with us) before being saved by some rich dude, hopefully, Bruce Wayne, and butter him up with thanks, then make up some story about being wronged and maybe tell some story about having my dear poor father being killed in front of me, in order to gain sympathy, of course, the sucker will take us in and mama will have the chance to seduce him. In time, after I make a name for myself as the rich, talented heiress, we’ll be invited to the Wayne Gala and I will have my chance to get my hands on a Wayne husband. As I was packing for our plane ride to Gotham, I saw Sabrina's dad walk in the door before going up to my mama. I didn’t hear what they were talking about but mama seemed outraged. “My daughter did no such thing” she screamed, which got my attention. “Miss please move over, your daughter is under arrest and there's nothing you can do” Officer Roger replied before attempting to cuff me. “What is the meaning of this?” I demanded. Roger sighed before answering “many celebrities have come forward about your claims and are suing you for liable”. I stood there shocked. How did they find out? The only person who knew was…Alya. She must have finally done her research and used her stupid little blog to expose me. DOESN’T SHE KNOW WITHOUT ME HER BLOG WOULD’T HAVE GOTTEN POPULAR? I MADE HER POPULAR. HOW DARE SHE. I struggled as I was dragged out into a police car. Mama looked disappointed. Doesn’t she know this is her fault? She taught me how to lie, she taught me everything I know. If she just had a better job then I wouldn’t have to lie to stay relevant. We had a perfect plan. A perfect plan…or not.