(. . . You wake up.)
(Where. . . Are you?)
(You feel your own chest rise slowly and fall as you breathe. It hurts. Everything hurts. Yet, when you try and move a finger, you feel nothing at all.)
(Are, are you dead?)
(. . . .)
(You hear someone's voice calling your name.)
(You're so tired. . .)
(You pass out.)
>>>
(You wake up.)
(Where. . . You're alive?)
(You're, you're alive right? Or, or did you die and, a-and. . .)
(Your body aches, stars, it hurts so much. You try opening your eyes, you can't Even do that. You trying making a sound.)
"Siffrin?" (Voice, it was, it was, housemaiden, Mirabelle.)
(You try to talk again. Nothing.)
"Don't, don't strain yourself, I'm here, you're safe, yo. . .re. s. ."
(You pass out.)
>>>
(You wake up.)
(. . . It's pitch black, it's night time.)
(You breathe in, and out. Your head. . . It sang, it sang so, so loud.)
(You're lying in a bed. Your bed. The blankets are heavy, your body is heavy. You keep breathing. This was. . . Your bed, or, was it? You're not just you, right? That's what you had gathered.)
(Who are you?)
(. . . You leave it for now, you close your eyes.)
(You pass out.)
>>>
(YOU'RE DYING.)
(YOU'RE DYING YOU'RE DYING YOU'RE DYING.)
(Your chest, your, your, chest, it, burns, you sputter, you choke, you can feel your hand twitching, body dying, can't, can't feel, think, can't-)
"SIFFRIN!!!"
(Someone's calling your name, someone's yelling! Somoene, someone. You. Knew. You felt a hand on your chest- You felt a hand HAMMERING on your chest! Again. Again. AGAIN. PLEASE. HELP. HELP.)
(Another voice, a third, an argument. It's. it's-)
"What happened?!?"
"I-I don't know!! He started like this just, j-just-"
"Heart attack, don't stop what you're doing!"
(It hurst, it hurts it hurts it hurts so much please. PLEASE. PLEASE STOP. JUST. LET. IT. STOP!!!)
"H-he's, I don't know if, if-"
"Do you smell that?!?"
(Hahahahahahaha this was it this was it this was it this was it You're going to die today. it's finally happened you're going to die. You're going to-)
(You feel a tug on your-)
(-THWNK-)
(You scream.)
"M-M'DAME!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"
"I-I'll explain, in, a bit! Please!"
"S-siffrin! Siffrin you're ok! We've got you, we're he.... t... n...."
(You can barely hear them now. That rythmic beating on your chest continued. You were loosing energy to scream, to beg, to cry, to, to. . .)
(It all, hurts, so, much. . .)
(You pass out.)
>>>
(You wake up.)
(Everything. . . Everything hurts. . .)
(Someone is talking, talking to you. No, talking at you. Like you're still asleep. They're, they're talking about how you're doing, how everyone's doing, how their day is going. You don't know who's talking to you.)
(You, you're really not dead. . .)
(. . . It's a nice voice.)
(You pass out.)
>>>
(You wake up.)
(. . . You're not dead. A miracle. What did you miss. . . Right.)
(You got hit.)
(The sadness hit you when you were worried about Bonnie. Look at you, getting distracted, and you nearly died, again. Disgusting, you're disgusting. You deserve this.)
(. . . You open your eyes. Everything hurts, everything is blurry. You're in your room. There's, someone accross the way, sitting in a chair. . .)
(Odile. You look at her, it's all you can do, really. You're tired, you're so tired. . .)
(She looks up, and sees you looking at her. She get's up)
"Awake?" (She puts a hand up to your head, you wince, she hesitates.) "I'm. . . Going to check your temperature, ok?"
(Ugh, fine. It's, not like you could say no anyways. She touches your forhead, it feels like spikes, she takes her hand away.) "You still have a fever, can you talk?"
(She's worried about you. You don't reply.)
"R-right. . .." (She stands there for a moment.) "I'm, I have some some medicine if you can dr.. t. ... o"
(You pass out.)
>>>
(. . . Someone was calling your name)
(Your name, your name, your name was. . .)
"-Siffrin?"
(You open your eyes.)
(You blink a few times, your vision was blurry, but, you could never forget that face. Those eyes, that face....)
"Iiiiisaaa. . ." (You say, you're brealy able to smile, but you smile.)
(He smiles back, such a big smile.) "!!! Good morning!!"
"Mmmorning. . ." (You try lifting your head, you see stars-)
"O-oh!! Careful careful!" (Isa leant down and caught your head, his hands.... Soft...) "You stessed yourself, like, a lot, I don't think you should even move."
"Awww...." (You groan as relax back onto the bed.) "Wha, whathappened. . ."
"Uhm," (Isa rubs his neck.) "W-well, I guess what do you remember last?"
(What DID you remember last? It was, it was. . . It was. . . Ramos, Ramos came visiting, you talked, then, blank, blank and blank, then, talking to your family, Isa, Mira, Odile. And then. . .)
"Ra, Ramos visited, and, talked. Then blank. Then. . ."
"Then nothing?"
(You nod.) "Did. . They change, my memory?"
"W-well, you tell me! You're, Siffrin right now, right?"
"Huuuh. . ?"
(He smiles.) "Yeah!! Cause, well, Loop was helping us out a lot with everything, they explained you got effected by it, a-and, oh right."
(Oh, your surprise must have been obvious. Loop? Well, well, you, you knew Loop would probably be the only person who COULD have been around without you. But, they, they were OPEN about it? They TOLD your family about it?)
(You took a second to reply.) ". . . Y-yeah. . D-don't, remember after, after Ramos visited. A few, other, memories jumbled."
"And. . ." (He, looked worried.) "Is, Ramos a friend, or, w-well-"
(You shuddered.) "No, n-no. . . Don't, don't think so."
(His face relaxes, he strokes your head.) "Haha, well, looks like you're good then! I broke Ramos' star emblem and after that a lot of their mind craft dissipated."
(Well, that was good. You were lucky that only you were effected by mind craft, and somehow Loop or Mal weren't. Then again, it persisted through looping, too, so maybe not so lucky.) "Eeeveryone alright?"
(Isa nodded.) "Everyone's a-okay, even Ramos. There's a lot to go over, but you should be resting."
(Even Ramos, huh?)
(You close your eyes.)
>>>
(You hear crying.)
(Someone was crying, there was a weight on your legs, a soft weight. There was a voice, no, two voices. It was, it was. . . Bonnie, Bonnie and Nille. Bonnie was crying?)
(You force your eyes open. Bonnie was sobbing at the foot of your bed. Nille was reasuring them.)
(You talk with some effort.) "Bbbooonbonnnn. . ."
(Bonnie looks up, they looked devistated.) "F-frin!!"
"See? I told you they're a-okay!" (Nille walked up to your bedside table, oh, theres water there.)
"I-I know but!! B-but!!"
"Whahappen. . ." (You blink the blurryness from your eyes.)
"Kiddo had a nightmare." (Nille says, putting a cup of water to your lips, you drink it.)
"IT FELT REALLY REAL!!!" (Bonnie was, gripping your blanket.) "L-like! Like!!"
"Wh'kinda, nightmaare. . ." (You say drearily.)
"B-bad. . ." (They look away.) "R-real bad. Lotta nightmares. Lot about you."
"Whuh?" (About you?)
"T-there was one where, where you were yelling, and it hurt. A-and one where you, you killed someone. And, and one, where, where w-where-" (They're starting to cry again.)
"Boniface. . ." (Nille went back to their little sibling.) "It was all a nightmare, not real, right?"
"T-there was, was a nightmare, you, you, h-hurt yourself, w-with, with your y-your--"
"What'reyou. . ." (You, hurt yourself?) "I'm ffffine, just, tired...."
(Bonnie nods, you're drifting off again, you try waving goodnight but you don't have the energy.)
(You hurt yourself? You yelled at someone? Why so many nightmares, and, and why are they. . . Familliar. . .)
(Oh.)
(You pass out.)
>>>
(You hear people talking.)
(It's, just two people, they're having an, argument? No, not an argument. More like a discussion or, no, reassurance. You decide to listen in.)
"-even awake."
"I know, but, but if they do wake up you should talk to them, right?"
(Isabeau, and, and. . .)
"I dunno, Isa. I-I mean, I did some pretty bad stuff, wouldn't just, going away be better?"
"Rams, what did you promise me again?"
(Oh. Ramos.)
". . R-right, you're right, just, gotta be brave about it."
"See? Here, how 'bout we stick around for a bit to see if they wake up."
(. . .)
(Do we want to talk to Ramos?)
(. . . I do not like them.)
(Yeah, I know. But they made a mistake, right? Shouldn't they get a chance?)
(. . . Fine.)
(You open your eyes.)
(Ramos and Isa are both here, talking. Ramos, they seemed, different? It was hard to describe, it was like they were more, nervous? Less confident? Isa eventually notices you.)
"Oh! Good morning!"
(Ramos turns, catches your eye, then looks away. Isa nudges them in the side, until they say.) "H-hey, glad you're ok."
(Ramos. Ramos. Who you had considered an enemy not long ago. They just stood here, stood in your room, next to your, your someone-who-is-important-to-you. Not like nothing happened though, look at them, they're scared, nervous.)
"You. . ." (What do you even say? After all you went through. Do you threaten them? Say it's ok? Ask if they're ok? What do you do.)
(Whatever is is, it looks like they're expecting the worst. We made mistakes too, after all. Fine.)
"You. . . You're really stupid."
"S-sif!!!"
"N-no, they have a point." (Ramos put up a hand.) "I was being really, really stupid."
"B-but, still!!"
(You laugh, and then cough. Stars, that hurt. Isa rushed to your side, you cut him off before he can ask.) "I'm fine, Isa. Just, just a cough."
"You don't know that!! Change, I just want to make sure you're alright. I've been worried all week about you!!" (You can't stop him, he's getting you water. You accept it, of course.)
". . ." (Ramos walks to the bedside, rubbing their shoulder.) ". . . I-I'm sorry, about, about all that, mind, stuff."
(It was hard to Believe, they where just, apologizing. Just like that. After they hurt you, changed you.)
(But that didn't happen, did it?)
". . . It's, it's Even." (You finally say.)
"H-huh?!?" (They look surprised.)
"Not forgiving you, just, even." (You sigh.)
(Ramos looks at Isabeau, then back to you.) "You make it sound like you owed me."
(. . . Honesty is going to backfire on us one day.) ". . . We, killed you. Once."
"O-oh. . ." (Ramos sinks down a bit.) ". . . T-thanks for, uh, n-not doing that."
(You laugh again, not coughing this time. You and Ramos both knew things wouldn't just, heal up in a second. What they did to you was lost in the loops, just as what you did to them. You were still wary though-)
(Did Isabeau say week?)
"Week?!?" (You say, finally having that sentence register. You try sitting up.) "W-what, what-"
"C-calm down Sif!" (Isa gently puts a hand on your chest to stop you.) "It, W-well, yes, it's, it's been a week, actually just, five days but it's ALMOST been a week."
"Buddy I don't think two days makes much of a difference." (Ramos comments.) "'you're not supposed to craft time' and here's Siffrin telling Change he can do whatever he wants."
(You laugh.) "I met Change once."
"Oh yeah. . ."
"What, like in a dream?"
(You shook your head.) "When we fought the king. They were angry at me for looping."
(Ramos looks at you dumbfounded. You laugh again, and cough.)
"Here, Sif." (Isabeau helps you drink a tonic, it was some mix of ginger and. . . You couldn't place it.) "You should probably rest up now, right?"
"You've got to tell me about your traveling stories. W-when you're better." (Ramos says with a smile. You nod in reply.)
(They really were better, huh. . .)
(You close your eyes.)
110 notes
·
View notes
Crazy In Love²
A Strollonso AU where Fernando succeeds the Spanish throne and makes it his goal as king to make the Prince of France his groom. (1.9k words, dark!nando, murder (duh), fluff too) [@catboysracing @mercyreg] {This took so long but first kiss race 14 is taking longer so 🔥}
last part - masterlist - next part (coming soon)
As people began to disappear into the guest rooms Fernando excused him and Lance once again, his hand settling on the small of the boys back as he showed the Prince to the room he'd be sleeping in for the night.
The shorter one was practically beaming, unable to wipe the smile off his face since his father and Fernando began discussing the terms of the marriage.
"Will my son be able to continue his studies if he was to begin living here with you?"
"Of course. I'll be sure he learns the same if not more."
"Will my son be involved in battles if Spain was to find itsself in conflict while he's ruling by your side?"
"No, I'll do everything in my power to ensure he's as far from conflict as possible."
They'd continued asking and answering questions like that for ages, Chloe and Lance drifting to the side to talk about the younger boys plans as the soon to be King Consort
Lance was excited once Fernando whisked him away, eyes glued to the man as they walked, almost tripping over his own feet because of how lost in thought he'd gotten
"Careful, mi rey" Fernando spoke, quick to pull Lance into his arms, pulling one hand away to point at the two doors closest to them, the rooms across the hall from one another "This one is yours for the night, I'll be a few steps away if you need anything."
"Can I stay in your room?" Lance asked, hands grabbing onto the Spaniards biceps as he spoke
"With me?"
"Just until I get tired, I don't want to be alone" Lance said quietly, praying the man wouldn't find it weird
"What, are you scared of the dark?" Fernando raised a brow, just teasing the Frenchman
"Mhm" He nodded, bottom lip jutting out slightly at the thought of sitting in the new dark room alone.
The King laughed under his breath, not expecting the boy to really be afraid of the dark. Without hesitating he unlocked his door and pulled Lance in, letting go of him in order to light the lantern besides the door
"It's not funny!" Lance protested, covering his face in embarrassment as he stood in the chilled room
"I know, I'm sorry, mi rey" Fernando cooed, pulling Lance closer to him again to litter his exposed skin in kisses, pleased with the giggles that came as a result.
They spent the next hours just talking and getting to know eachother. Lance had practically told Fernando everything about him and Fernando had told the boy everything he needed to know.
Just as the boy began getting tired there was a knock at the door, it wad weird and had a certain pattern to it that caused Fernando to get up instantly, planting a kiss on his grooms temple before excusing himself to deal with whatever was waiting outside for him.
Lance heard the yelling from through the door, he wasn't sure what was going on since the conversation was happening in Spanish and he was far from fluent.
All he understood were scattered cuss words and the obviously tense tone. He heard Fernando's voice above all the others, the king's sentences practically overflowing with swears as his fist slammed into the closest wall, Lance unable to hide his fear as he heard the situation escelate.
He had no idea what had happened but when the door opened and the now rugged looking King came back in a part of him was scared. Scared of what he might be capable of.
Fernando noticed.
He always noticed.
"What's wrong, darling?" He asked, reaching out to cup the Frenchmans face, reddened knuckles further contrasting their skin tones
"Did something happen?" Lance asked, eyebrows knitting together as he gazed up at the man towering over him
"Nothing important, mi rey." The man insisted, craning his neck in order to peck the boys lips, taking a seat on the mattress besides him as soon as he pulled away "Don't worry about anything, it's all under control"
Lance believed him, of course he did. What reasons did he have not to?
Not long after Fernando came in Lance had fallen asleep, head on the Spaniards shoulder as his breath steadied.
The man knew he had stuff to do and if he didn't move the boy soom he'd never get to work so he slowly lifted Lance, laying him on the mattress and covering him up. The boy slept as if he'd never faced any misfortune in his life, he hadn't. Not yet.
Fernando krept out of the room, looking back to make sure his groom was still asleep under his covers before closing and locking him in.
"Padre" A voice called, Fernando turning to see his oldest son and military commander just steps away
"Carlos, when did you return?" Fernando asked, little to no emotions in his voice as he spoke
"Just now." He confirmed, coming closer to his father so he could lower his voice "I've almost finished escorting Jesuits out of the kingdom but some have barricaded themselves in their homes. What should we do?"
"I'll handle it. Lead me to them, Carlito."
It was towards town square, one house in particular had a handfull of Jesuits in escondites throughout the large building.
Fernando wasn't stupid. He practically broke the door down, snapping the wooden plank holding it shut in two, Carlos following close behind because he knew many men were in the home but he also knew his father had a tendency of getting out of control once he started.
The king listened, lanza gripped hard in his left hand. He'd had it modified, shortened so he could use it easily even when he wasnt on horseback. It was ironic, his weapon of choice had always been a lanza but something felt different today. The name felt different. Lanza. Lance.
His fingers flexed around the wooden rod, knuckles white as he began searching the first floor, Carlos staying further back to watch. His father liked what he did and he liked doing it alone.
He could hear breathing, it was shakey, it was muffled, but it was near. He stopped walking, realizing the person was behind the bookshelf to his right. Fernando turned back to Carlos, nodding over to where he suspected the Jesuit to be hiding.
Fernando didn't want to move the shelf, figuring there was somewhere else they could run off to in the mean time so he positioned his lanza against the wood and shoved it forward, hearing the way skin tore under his blade. He knew it wasn't a serious injury because only seconds later the bastard began to pray
"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil."
He scoffed. Ridiculous. There was no St. Michael. No Archangel. No God. No Devil. But if there was, Fernando would be the closest thing to it.
He pulled his blade out harshly, shoving the now broken wood out of his way so he could reach the man easier, seeing him clutching his shoulder as he continued
"May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God,"
It was embarrassing, the King thought, how the man was still praying to his god after being put in this situation.
He reached out his hand to grab the frightened mans cappa. He shook under Fernando, practically falling to his knees as he began to sob. Not stopping his prayer. Fernando was going to let him finish.
"Thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
As soon as he heard the mans voice fade he slammed him against the caved in wall behind him, lanza positioned against his larynx. Fernando knelt down, the Jesuit too afraid to move
"There is no god." He spat, watching as the mans sobs became harder before he pierced his throat, the life leaving his eyes as he was propped up with the Spaniards blade.
It took time but eventually Fernando had managed to rid Madrid of the rest of the Jesuits. Anyone else would feel some sort of emotion, regret, fear, jealousy, Fernando just felt content. Knowing the Popes biggest supporters were either dead or exiled brought a smile to his face.
The walk back was nice, Carlos telling him the things he'd gotten into that day. His oldest truly was a mini-him. The other two mainly took after their mother but Carlos was the spitting image of Fernando and he couldn't wait for his boy to be king.
As they reached the palace Carlos told his father goodnight, going to see what food was left over from the ball while Fernando returned to Lance.
The Spanish king unlocked his door, eyes scanning the hall around him before he stepped in, making sure to re-lock it before finding his way back to his groom.
He was still asleep, eyelashes laying against his pale cheeks as he slept, soft smile on his face. He was beautiful, to Fernando, to everyone. The man still had his blade in his hand, his lanza, he hadn't bothered to wipe the blood off, simply stashing it in his wardrobe before finding his way to bed with the Frenchman.
It wad odd, sleeping in the same bed as someone you were just engaged to, but killing someone with your blade then laying with someone with the same name was stranger so Fernando couldn't be bothered to do anything differently.
Lance awoke hours later, registering the arms around his waist straight away, it was nice, foreign, but nice.
His hands found their way to the Spaniards, fingers lightly brushing over his rough knuckles, scabs forming over the cuts he'd made the night before. He was rugged, far more rugged than Lawrence.
Fernando was the first King, besides his father, that Lance had truly been in the presence of since he was very young, since the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle when he was only six.
He felt safe, for whatever reason, in the mans arms. He was so much larger than the boy, so much stronger, so much more powerful. Lance felt as though he could lay in Fernandos arms forever and never have to worry of anything bad happening to either of them.
"How'd you sleep, mi rey?" Fernando spoke softly, lips pressing against the nape of Lance's neck
"I slept good" Lance smiled, turning to face Fernando, checking to make sure he was as handsome as he remembered. "Did you sleep well?"
"How could I not" The king smiled back, hand leaving the princes waist to brush the hair from his face "Sleeping next to you was perfect, can not wait to do it every night."
Before Lance could respond there was a knock at the door, a man saying something in Spanish that caused Fernando to get up, petting the boys head as he left the mattress
"Let's get dressed, your father wants the wedding to happen as soon as possible."
40 notes
·
View notes