#so instead i regaled different individuals of my own traveling party after we had the room to ourselves

[fictionadventurer]

All the tour groups in Springfield should be very proud of me for how well I refrained from sharing all my fascinating Lincoln facts.

[zer0pm]

Imagine if Alucard‘s heart beats loudly only for you.

A/N: WARNING!! This be long!!

Alright, I think it’s safe to say that we all agree that Alucard effin’ deserved better in S3, dammit. I don’t know what the writers were thinking, but if they aimed to place him on his dad’s path, there were better ways to do it. Just saying. Here’s some fluff to give our boy the love he needs.

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Alucard has been awake for some time now, his golden eyes gaze upon the serene look on your face as you slept. He wore a look of longing and adoration as his fingers brush gently across your skin, caressing your back in long strokes. The sensation of his touch stirred you pleasantly in your sleep and you released a familiar and satisfied sigh. The sound made the dhampir’s heart swell along with his ego. Gently, he pulls you further into his embrace with the intent to feel your soothing heartbeat against his chest and allow your warmth to envelop him.

As if out of instinct, you wrap your arms around his slender waist and angle your head to slightly face him. Your ear presses against his chest and he watches you smile at the sound of his heart. Beating only for you.

In that moment, Alucard was in awe. There were very few moments where he had ever felt his own heart pulse within. Although he is half-vampire and therefore possesses a biology that functions differently from humans, that mortal side of him kept his beat faint, even almost non-existent. His father, an age-defining genius, argued that a beating heart has no function within an immortal. His mother, on the other hand, claims that it was his body’s way of telling him that it yearns still for a warmth that only human life can give. Of course, there was a scientific explanation for it; however, his mother, a doctor, an individual of medicine and science, suggests that the secret behind her son’s heartbeats stems from a hidden desire for something...romantic. One that defies rational reason. After nearly choking on his wine listening to her outlandish implication, Alucard outwardly denied such a theory to which she chuckled off humorously along with his father. Despite how the he felt, the idea was firmly planted within Alucard’s mind. It certainly puzzled him, but in time he did not care to waste any further thoughts to understand it then. Until he met you.

After his parents were gone from this world, you stumbled into his life. Or rather, you had picked a fight right outside his castle. He was mourning for both his mother and father, missing the company of his friends Trevor and Sypha, and was slowly slipping into the madness of loneliness and depression until his acute hearing picked up the clashing of swords at his front door. He wasted no time in checking out the commotion, wary that his domain may be under attack and saw you fighting what appears to be two foreign warriors. You seemed to hold your own rather well, but Alucard did not dwell on this and instead shouted at you three to cease your battle.

He demanded an explanation with teeth bared, clearly angered to have his peace disturbed. You were the first to speak up, claimed the two you cross blades with were vampire hunters trying to pass themselves off as hapless travelers in search for training and guidance. You added that, in reality, they take advantage of the hosts who accommodate them and kill them for their own gain. The foreigners denied the accusations and called you a petty highwayman, trying to kill them and take their belongings, fabricating stories with a silver tongue to sway favor.

Alucard looked back and forth between the two parties. He didn’t know who to trust. If it was in his nature, he would have killed you all and get back to wallowing. But he is not that kind of man. The foreigners appeared sincere, a brother-sister pair wandering the world with wide-eyes in pursuit of a greater purpose. Meanwhile, there was you. You, he honestly could not place. But there was something about you that drew him in, and while your story compared to the foreigners seemed incredibly outlandish, he could not find it within himself to immediately conclude that you were lying. You were a curious thing to him.

Alucard somehow felt responsible for the ordeal and thus the burden of resolving it fell on him. He offered the ultimatum, leave or die. It was such a simple plan that could easily unravel the true intentions you and the two foreigners held. And like a fish on a hook, the bait was taken. The foreigners apparently thought they no longer needed to uphold their charade and moved to strike down both you and him with bow and sword raised.

A stupid mistake. And as quickly as they moved, Alucard was faster. With a single thought, his blade answered the unspoken call. A swing, and two bodies fell to the ground with their throats slit. He did not even bother to watch the two foreigners bleed out as he noticed you collapse to your knees. Without showing any reservation, and on pure instinct, he lifts you into his arms and carried you inside his castle towards his mother and father’s laboratory.

He placed you atop one of the cushioned seats and analyzed your injuries. Several cuts and gashes here and there, but nothing severe and you were visibly exhausted. Apparently you were fighting for an extended period of time. Even though Alucard defeated them with ease, you did not have the same combative advantages. He noted first a particularly nasty gash atop your forehead to which he then swiftly proceeded to clean and apply salve on much to your protest.

“It is not as bad as it looks,” you said with a wince.

He ignored you, “When you stop bleeding, I’ll take your word for it.”

You released an indignant huff, but otherwise allowed him to do his work. He felt you watch him from the corner of your eye and wondered then what you were thinking. After a moment of silence, you relaxed before letting out a meek “thank you.”

“It is nothing,” shrugged the dhampir. There was another shortlived pause before curiosity got the best of him. “How did you know of their true nature?” He already had an idea, but wanted to ask regardless if not to have a better understanding of you.

With a deep breath, you regaled your tale. Apparently, the foreigners were taken in by your kin, admitting that they seemed a good, friendly pair of lost travelers just trying to find a place to belong. But one day under the cover of night, they hid away into your kin’s sleeping quarters, seduced them, and slew them before taking off with their valuables. The next day, you returned from the market in time for one of your loved ones to reveal all of this to you before dying in your arms. When you had finished, Alucard could see that tears threatened to spill from your eyes but you managed to restrain through sheer will. He knew you did not want him to see your pain, it was a sentiment he was all too familiar with.

The dhampir spoke before he could stop himself, “Forgive me.”

You shook your head. “It is not your fault, nor was it your burden to bear. I did not want other poor souls to suffer the same fate. Which is why I had to find them and punish them for their crimes before they had the chance to strike again.”

“It seems I am lucky, then. You have my utmost gratitude for coming to my aid.”

“Ha,” you huffed lightly. “You looked like you could have handled them yourself, see past their deception.”

“How do you know I am not simply that naive?”

“Are you?”

Alucard responds, “I confess, I do not know. At the moment, my situation is delicate. I probably would have welcomed any friendly face to my company should they present themselves.”

You seemed surprised by his honesty, even he did not know why he would confess such a thing, but at the moment, he felt that he could trust you. You offered an amicable smile. “In that case, you, sir, owe me. Big.” There was an unmissable, playful glint in your eyes when you said this.

The dhampir laughs, a rumble deep within his chest that resonated in his voice. He has not laughed like that since his adventure with his speaker and hunter. And even then it felt like such a long time ago. “Undoubtedly,” he added with a smirk.

There was a comfortable moment between you two before you casted a glance to one of the open windows that led to the outside. The day was still young. “I should get going, then. Pay my final respects to my kin at home before leaving Wallachia.”

“Leave Wallachia?”, his brow raises. “Where will you go?”

“I’m not sure, really. Anywhere that will allow me to...heal my wounds, I suppose.”

It was in that moment that Alucard was assured of this blooming and unspoken kinship between you and he. He already admitted to himself that he rather liked you and would like to get to know you better, perhaps even allow you to help him combat his loneliness. For this reason, his next words flowed effortlessly.

“You shall stay here.”

You were shocked, clearly taken aback by this unexpected offer and was stumbling with your words of protest, “I-I can’t possibly- You don’t know me, sir.”

“I know that you are selfless, possess a strong moral compass, and went out of your way from God-knows-where to spare me, a stranger, from the machinations of ingrates. You did not need to do so, let alone warn me, yet you did so, anyways.” Alucard closes his eyes for a brief moment in pensive thought before continuing, “I understand what it means to mourn for those you loved deeply. Please. This is the least I can offer, allow me to thank you and give you the space and time to mend your wounds. All of them.”

For a moment, he thought you would refuse and you did not immediately answer. Your brows furrow in deep thought, your lips in a thin line. He was about to apologize for speaking out of turn when you spoke first.

“Very well, then...”, you conceded with a grateful and almost saddened smile. Your eyes met his with sincere intent. “And perhaps you will not have to mend yours alone, as well.”

Ba-dump.

That was the first time Alucard had ever felt his heart do that. It was such a surprising feeling that, in his shock, he thought he was dying. But he was surely fine and became curious to learn what caused it, eyeing you from his peripheral vision. He was certain you did something.

Suddenly, your eyes widened and your body stiffened so fast that Alucard thought you would jump out of the chair. “I’m so sorry, I was so caught up with what happened earlier that I never asked for your name.”

Again, he steals another moment of careful consideration, his golden eyes bore deeply into your gaze before answering, “My friends call me Adrian.”

And thus how your agreement came to be. Some time has passed and during that time, you two have grown closer. Alucard found himself enjoying your company immensely and expressed genuine interest in learning everything about you and you to him. You never seemed bored in his company which pleased him greatly as once he overheard someone describe him as a “cold spot in the room.” He was certain that the person didn’t mean to harm him with these words, but it affected him, nonetheless and Alucard feared that he would be subjected to an eternal life alone. But your presence changed that thought, your kindness and genuity showed him that he did not need to face his depression on his own. He cannot remember a time when he has smiled so much and has you to thank for that. Even as your wounds healed and you had plenty of opportunity to leave, you stayed by his side and continued to be his light. And he did not question you one bit.

Ba-dump.

That alien sensation began to feel familiar to him the longer he is with you. His heart remained still in the beginning yet now every once in awhile, it would pound for a single pulse in your presence, growing in rhythm and intensity as time with you went on until he was certain he could dance to the beat. When you would look his way, it skipped. When you would look away when he caught you, it quickened. It was such a tortuous, wonderous sensation.

His heart stopped completely when you declared that you loved him and it began to pound instantly when he felt the sweet press of your lips against his. Never in his life did he felt the need to breathe until he tasted you. It became too much, too blissfully suffocating that he feared that he could drown within you forever and never rise up again. As if sensing the intensity of his growing addiction to you, you pulled from him and placed your head atop his chest, your ear above his pounding heart.

“I can hear your heartbeat. Is this the human side of you?”

“It is a side only you know.”

It went on like this for some time. As your affection for one another grew intensely, your innocent intimacy turned into a needy hunger. He felt like a starved man each time you two touched each other desperately but had no idea how to sate the burning inside until you gave him his answer by lifting his nightshirt and-

“Adrian?”

The drowsy sound of your voice pulled him from his wonderful reminiscing and his golden eyes met you.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, but...did you sleep at all?” you asked, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with a hint of worry in your voice

He replied reassuringly, “A little bit.”

“Was it that bad?”

He raises his brow at the subtle teasing under your tone. “Actually, I’ve been waiting for you to wake for another round.”

You laughed and would have continued to laugh before your voice was choked by a yawn. Your eyes were beginning to droop again. “I’m sorry, Adrian. As tempting as that sounds-”

He silences you with a chaste kiss upon your lips.

“Shh. I only slightly jest,” he smiles. “Go back to sleep.”

“Only slightly jest,” you teased again.

Alucard lifts you effortlessly to place your body atop his. “It will be a long morning when you wake.”

You looked at him with a mischievous glint in your eyes and a sly curve to your lips. “Promise?” challenged you.

Badump.

When Alucard finally regains himself, he grins at you with a lecherous flash of his fangs and squeezes your bottom generously before pressing you against his hips. The dhampir now has a newfound restlessness and was making you aware of you of it. His smirk curved with pride at your blush from the feel of him.

“Sleep, you idiot,” he commands lowly before placing a final and firm kiss upon your lips then tucking the top of your head beneath his chin. Although you huffed in slight frustration yourself, you listened to your love and fell back to sleep with a content and impatient sigh.

It was moments like these before the break of dawn when nothing else in the world mattered but the two of you lying together in complete peace, your hearts beating in blissful harmony- did he find happiness renewed.

[adrenaline-roulette]

Absolute Beginners

Chapter one: Breaking a few egg heads

Years after running the Labyrinth, and rescuing her baby brother. Sarah finds herself forming an unlikely friendship with the Goblin King himself.

Sarah Williams was well and truly done with life. Not in a, ‘Oh what a cruel, harsh world!’ sort of way, but more of a ‘If Jareth shows up in my home one more time uninvited, then I may be forced to commit a crime’ sort of way. Don’t get me wrong, the company Jareth provides is rather excellent, a pleasant change from the goblins who she constantly found ransacking her kitchen cabinets and fridge, and he certainly made for intelligent conversation while her university friends were away during the semester break. The only issue with the King of the goblins continuously showing up unannounced, was the sheer amount of glitter that he left behind during each visit. Now Sarah likes glitter just as much as the next girl, but trying to vacuum it out from her carpet, and washing it from her hair was a nightmare! So much so, she now found herself simply leaving the apartment as it was, covered in glitter. Though she had to admit, that in the right lighting (Usually around 5:13 pm) the rooms took on an almost magical look, what with all the glitter…. And dream catchers, and wind chimes.

 With a groan, Sarah shouldered her front door open, dropping the heavy grocery bag onto the tiled entrance way, a sickening crack filling the empty apartment. “Shit.” She muttered, looking down at the fabric bag, which was slowly becoming wet at the base, “There go the eggs…” She kicked off her shoes, and frowned down at the bag, knowing full well that it wouldn’t clean itself up, though she damn well hoped that maybe, just maybe if she scowled at it long enough, it would. A familiar gust of wind caught her attention, though not enough to cause her to look up, she knew exactly what it meant, and the sound of the patio doors bursting open only confirmed her suspicion.

“My dear Sarah, I’ve brought you a gift!” called the clipped English accent of the one and only goblin king. Sarah remained staring at the ever-growing pool of shattered egg, that was slowly creeping closer to her sock clad feet. “Hi Jareth.” She smirked, looking up at the ever-glittering king who now stood in the apartment entrance with her. “Any chance you could, you know.” She motioned her hands in what she called, her best magic impression, which was more or less a vertical rendition of jazz hands. Jareth rolled his mismatched eyes, muttering under his breath about not having to wave his hands to perform magic, instead he used crystal balls. With a flourish of his black leather gloved hands, one of said crystals appeared between his fingertips, he twirled it there a moment, watching as Sarah grew impatient, her eyes following the egg yolks as they neared her big toe. With a small chuckle, he lunged the crystal at the mess on the floor, the puddle and shattered egg shells all disappearing in a grand display of glitter. Sarah glanced down at where the murder of twelve innocent individuals had just occurred, nothing was left at the scene of the crime, no one would ever know what had happened.  Her eyes travelled up to Jareth’s, a smile playing on her lips. “Remember that chat we had the other day?”

“You mean the one where we discussed whether pork was really a type of vegetable?”

“No, not that o- Wait, when did we have THAT conversation?!”

“Perhaps that was with my advisor Garret, not matter, please continue.”

Sarah shook her head in wonderment, the things that man said were a mystery sometimes. “I meant, the chat we had about you coming to the door like a normal person. I don’t care if you glitter poof outside of my home, just not inside, it takes too long to clean up afterwards.” Sarah watched as Jareth visibly scowled at the use of the word ‘poof’.

“Sarah, precious, I do not poof anywhere. I appear, there is a difference. And besides, I simply had to arrive as suddenly as I did, as I announced when I arrived, I have a gift for you.”

Sarah manoeuvred herself around Jareth, having collected her grocery bags once again, in order to deposit them on her kitchen counter.  As she made her way around her kitchen, she found herself trying to recall how this had all started. The whole, Jareth appearing in her apartment and presenting her with gifts.

The 25th of March seemed to spring to mind when thinking about the beginning of this all. It was three years after Sarah had run the labyrinth to reclaim her baby brother Toby from the Goblin King. She had been out with her friends at a house party, where everything was served in a red solo cup, and no one really knew what they were drinking, but it was obvious that whatever it was, it contained copious amounts of alcohol. By the time Sarah had stumbled home, it was past 3 am, and even in her drunken state, she knew to be grateful for her father, Karen and Toby being away for the weekend. She made her way upstairs, after finally managing to unlock the front door, she could’ve sworn she felt small goblin sized hands helping her steady her own shaking hands, to open the door, but they seemed to disappear just as soon as they had appeared. Her typical evening routine was abandoned that night, instead she opted for stripping her rather revealing dress off, and throwing on a pair of sleep shorts and shirt, she could take her makeup off in the morning… Or afternoon, depending on what time she managed to drag herself out of bed. She sat on the edge of her bed for what felt like hours, but was in fact no longer than twenty minutes, her eyes focused on the mirror of her old vanity table, contemplating whether she should call on her old friends again. Ludo, Sir Didymus and Hoggle had always been happy to talk with her, but perhaps not at such an ungodly hour. She shook her head, and sighed. “Goblin King, Jareth, I need you..” She whispered, as tears slipped from her eyes. After such a great night, the last thing Sarah expected herself to be doing was crying, especially over something that had occurred over three years ago!

“Sarah, have you called to wish away another child….” The sneer in His voice fell short as Jareth peered down at the young woman sobbing on her bed. This certainly wasn’t how he had imagined their next meeting, especially not with Sarah looking as she did now, the makeup running down her face was not an appealing look.  “I… I’m so sorry Jareth!” Sarah cried out, her wide green eyes seeking out his own, there was such vulnerability there, one he had not seen during her run of his labyrinth. “Sorry for what Sarah?” He smirked slightly at the way she shuddered lightly at the sound of her name from his lips, perhaps there was hope for him yet? His mind danced away from the scene playing out in front of him, paying only a small amount of attention to the blubbering Sarah, explaining why she was sorry. In his mind, Jareth Saw himself and Sarah dancing, which seemed like such a novel idea, especially seeing as there were far more things that were less polite that he would like to picture himself doing with Sarah. Though something caught his eye about their dancing, at first it had seemed like any other ball Jareth would host, or attend in the underground, but this was different. Not different in the layout, or the guests who smiled politely as the couple danced past, but in what Sarah was wearing. It would have meant nothing if the shade of her dress was slightly darker or light, but no, this particular shade of red could mean only one thing. The image playing out in his mind was of their wedding day, more specifically their first dance, and if Jareth had it his way, one day it would no longer be a dream, but instead a reality.

He suddenly found himself jolted out of his dream, by the sound of Sarah blowing her nose, it looked as if she were finally getting to the point of all of this crying. With a deep breath, she launched into a grand speech. “Jareth, I forgive you. All you did was what I asked for. You took Toby to your castle because I wished for you to do so. For years I tried to convince myself that you took him under different circumstances, but I can’t lie to myself any more. Everything I asked for, you did. If anything, I should be thanking you, not hating you!”

Now this took Jareth by surprise, and very little did these days. After living for over a thousand years, it was hard to find anything truly shocking, but this was certainly unexpected. It was as if his brain had stopped working, he couldn’t think of any witty response to Sarah’s sudden change of heart, come to think of it, he couldn’t think of anything to say at all! So instead, he opted for standing in front of the mirror he had appeared through, his mouth agape and nodding along, like some sort of stunned fish. A very regal looking fish, with fabulous hair, but a fish none the less. With one final half smile from Sarah, she fell to her side, head resting against the pillow, and slept.

“That was…. Unexpected.”  Jareth murmured, raising an eyebrow down at the sleeping woman. He did not envy her of the headache she would undoubtedly have in the morning, he only hoped she would remember what she had revealed to him. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against her temple, chuckling softly had she hummed happily in her sleep. “Take care Precious.” He whispered, before vanishing through the mirror, leaving the first of many clouds of glitter behind him.

 After that first night, Jareth found various reasons to visit Sarah, though he always made sure she had the house to herself before he appeared, knowing full well that she may have found it rather difficult to try and explain the dashingly handsome King in her bedroom. Or as she put it, ‘If my father finds out there has been a man in my room, he will murder me.’  But Jareth much preferred his variation of the story.

As the years passed, Jareth found himself having fewer excuses to visit Sarah, especially after she moved out to her own apartment. There were only so many times he could simply pop over to reclaim one of his goblins, who he most definitely had not sent to her home himself. Besides, if he used that excuse too many times, he feared Sarah may think he was negligent of his care to the goblins… She was right of course, but he would never let her know that! So, instead of taking some time to think of decent excuses to visit her, he began appearing almost daily, with some of the worst reasons imaginable!

“Oh, hello Sarah, I’m so sorry to intrude, but I wanted to offer you this lovely feather duster to replace the one my goblins ran off with the other day. It is of course made of pure chicken feathers.”

“Sarah dear, I wonder if you have any of that mortal pain remedy. Paracetamol I believe it is called? The goblins have given me a terrible migraine.”

“Precious, I was just about to cook myself up a delicious omelette with these fresh eggs, would you care for one?”

“Sarah! I don’t know what to do! The goblins, they…  They’re trying to build a catapult! Do they know something that I don’t? Should I be preparing for war? Sarah help!”

“Are you any good with political negotiations? No, don’t ask questions, just give me a yes or no answer. “

    “Dear Lord, Sarah! The goblins, they’ve set the bloody hedge maze on fire. It turns out the catapult wasn’t for an upcoming war, no instead they’ve used it to fire burning barrels of ale at the labyrinth!” (This particular instance was followed by Sarah coming home from classes the next morning, to find Jareth seated in her patchwork armchair, elbows resting on his knees, with his chin planted firmly on his interlocked fingers. Without so much as a question asked, Sarah had made her way into the kitchen, leaving Jareth there for thirty minutes, before returning with two bowls of steaming hot pasta, and a glass of wine for each of them. After this occurrence, Sarah found herself no longer dreading Jareth’s impromptu visits, and instead she simply worked around them. Jareth also realised, that perhaps he no longer needed an excuse to visit her any more, and soon found himself inviting himself over whenever he pleased, just for a chat.)

 “Sarah? Is there any particular reason you are holding onto those biscuits with such force?” Jareth chuckled, as he smirked at the brunette beauty before him. She had been standing in the same position for the past five minutes, her only movements those of when she breathed, and blinked. She had that far off look in her eyes she often adopted when thinking of particularly fond memories, or dreaming of somewhere she would rather be. Jareth found himself hoping for her to be thinking of memories, and prayed she didn’t despise his presence enough to dream of herself elsewhere. She blinked her eyes slowly, before returning to the kitchen, where her body remained despite her brain being a million miles away. “I… Sorry, I was just thinking about what to do now that I have destroyed all of my eggs. I was supposed to be making a cake for work tomorrow.” She blushed, knowing full well that Jareth knew that was the last thing she had been thinking about. Even though he had no actual clue of what she had been remembering, it doesn’t take a scientist to know that no one spends that long thinking about eggs.

“Well dearest thing, isn’t it just an amazing coincidence that my gift for you, just so happened to be goblin city fresh eggs!” Jareth grinned at the exasperated sigh that came from Sarah. She was onto him! He had used that excuse before to visit her, he had hoped she wouldn’t remember!

“Thank you, Jareth, I do appreciate it. But don’t you want to keep them? Either for yourself or the goblins?”

“The goblins don’t particularly like eggs. They prefer chickens as an animal, alive and clucking, and terrorising my throne room. Not chickens pre, all of that. As for me? I never have a shortage of eggs in the kingdom.”

“Are there really that many chickens in your kingdom, that you have enough eggs to keep you in stock?”

“You have seen my labyrinth love, surely you registered how many chickens there were just hanging about?”

“Well, uh, you see… I had always assumed you had put them there, thinking they were some sort of scare tactic…”

“I… I genuinely do not know how to respond to that Sarah. After setting the cleaners on you, you thought the chickens were there to frighten you?”

Sarah felt the blush creep up her cheeks at hearing how silly it all sounded now that it had been said out loud.  And that damned look Jareth was giving her just made her want to scream at him. Instead she threw the pack of biscuits at his head, smirking as it hit him square in the forehead.

“Now that was just rude.” Jareth muttered, and he picked up the biscuit packet off the floor, feeling the broken cookies inside the wrapping.

“That’s two casualties this evening! First the eggs, now the biscuits? When will your murderous spree end Sarah?” Jareth cried in mock horror, his lips curling into a smile as Sarah rolled her eyes at him.

“It will only end when I have murdered the greatest threat this world has ever known!” She declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Oh? And who is that my dear?”

Read chapter two here

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