#they wouldn't have been the first princes to be killed for the throne & they weren't the last

[randomwritingdrabbles]

The way murther would have a completely different dynamic if they were genderbent, like omg.

Twas reading some Merlin fics and came across Murther as you often do in the merlin ao3 fandom and it occurred to me that while I'm kinda meh for canon typical Murther (I like Lance or Gwaine with him more and also Arthur having to be like "So this is my wife, the queen. And this is my soulmate, the court sorcerer... It's complicated, don't ask.") Genderbent Murther would be genuinely feral.

Here me out, Arthur doesn't want to be a knight as a goal, he wanted to be a good prince and being a knight was part of that. So it goes to imply that female Arthur wouldn't be some burly knight or do a Morgana type 'imma learn to fight anyway bitch' thing, fem!Arthur would do her best to be the best princess she could be.

Where Arthur is a fantastic fighter, f!Arthur would be impeccable at playing the political field and reading people. F!Arthur would be the perfect princess and would fucking know it, she would still be arrogant but instead of bullying the stablehands with knife throwing it would be a backhanded compliment about someone's outdated clothing styles. Princess Arthur would be a completely different character.

Merlin however is from the boonies, peasant women can't afford not to work so female Merlin would have been raised very similar to the boys and likely the only change in character she would have would be a much higher likelihood of knowing genuine self defence.

No one is sending a young unmarried woman off to the capital on her own, she would have been taught at least enough to stab a man where it hurts, if not kill him outright.

Imagine the dynamic with this flip in the personalities though!!!

Perfect princess Arthur being saved by this random peasant girl weilding a knife and the fucking audacity. Just the dynamic of the definitely not scheeming princess and her definitely not a terrifying assasin maidservant.

I honestly think they'd get together in like five minutes flat. Arthur not wanting to have her agency taken by a man meets hella cute and also sexily violent Merlin? She'd climb that peasant girl after the first thwarted assassination attempt.

Especially given that lesbians weren't really seen as a thing back then or if they were, were considered 'training' for their 'real' relationships, so people legit would either not notice or just wouldn't give a shit.

Arthur wouldn't be able to be blatant so she would 100% train her maidservant into the perfect spymaster/assasin and unleash her on her political enemies. Merlin thought the princess was a prat for all of five minutes until said prat gave her bedroom eyes and then 'thanked' her for saving her life... Merlin now has a hot gf, a weird dragon friend, and is getting advanced stabbing lessons... she is a fulfilled bitch.

(Arthur takes the throne because she actively ousts Uther. He tried to marry her off and she already had a shakey relationship with him cus he doesn't know how to raise girls. He is now 'taking a medical vacation' and Arthur rules as queen. Magic is legalised cus merlin legit could not last a full week without this observant version of Arthur noticing the magic.)

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for letting my son live?

I (50s M) am the emperor of a vast amount of territories. One of these is a province to the south that hasn't settled down since it was conquered by my great-grandfather over a century ago. It is tradition in my family for princes to be sent off at the age of 16 to govern a part of the empire as preparation for their duties as ruler.

Well it seems like two of my boys are unruly. I can understand W (21M) being an attention seeker because I was too busy with his sisters and brother Tb (26M). Have you tried spending time with 6 wives and 26 children while also ruling an empire? It's impossible, I wouldn't have been able to do it even if I tried! So yes, I suppose I can understand why W became one of the leaders of the then-brewing revolution in the province I assigned him to govern. But why the fuck did Tb, my beloved son, order the deaths of all his half-brothers?! I was giving him my love, I raised him to be my guaranteed successor when inheriting the throne is an unpredictable and deadly business for us. He had no reason to betray me like that.

But that's in the past and this isn't about him. Like I mentioned before, W took the brewing tensions in his assigned region and concentrated them into a fullblown revolution with the goal of regaining independence. I responded to his declaration of independence with my own declaration of war.

The war lasted for roughly a year and a half with myself and Tb leading one side while W led his side. It was at this point that his friend approached me to ask if there was anything I wanted in exchange for ending the war. They gave me information I specifically requested and I upheld my end of the bargain. By imprisoning W and all of his high ranking colleagues on the grounds of treason.

Treason is treason, nobody is above the law, not even a son of an emperor. I had to make that clear by punishing him. I even went the extra mile by stripping him of all his titles so he'd die with the same lack of prestige as his comrades. But then I received a bit of intel that made me tweak my plans for W.

Tb and W share a mother and they have a third brother Tm (14M) through her too. Tm was 12 when the war started and like the foolish child he was, ran off to be with W. He was captured along with his brother. In his cell, W begged for Tm to lose his life first so he wouldn't have to die in his big brother's blood. A noble cause, I'll give him that, but this plea gave me an idea.

I organised for Tm to die while W was transferred to a more secure cell where I intend for him to remain in solitary confinement until his own natural death. Apparently this was a bad move. My wife hates me, as do my daughters, while Tb heavily resents the fact I'm using this as an opportunity to keep him in line as well. From what I hear, W is starting to lose his mind down there. The public weren't pleased to see a boy die either but they don't get it. It wasn't about whether Tm deserved to die or whether he was responsible for anything during the war/revolution. My decision was purely based on the fact W needed to learn his lesson in the most effective way possible.

I'm just trying to keep the natural order of things in check and prove that I'm not someone to cross. I mean fuck, I wasn't even going to treat the rebelling province that harshly until W got involved and whipped them up into a frenzy.

Am I really the asshole for punishing a serious threat to my empire when I didn't even kill him?

[skullsforkhorne]

The Soulgrinder spoke first. Its twin rotary cannons on its right wrist sped up and roared to life as the Khornate Daemon raked the charging line of Rhinoxen. Several Ogres were knocked from their mounts and several Rhinoxen had their legs taken out from under them, rolling into the sand.

But most kept coming, unable to be stopped, and that was exactly what Emil had wanted.

"KILL THEM ALL! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" The Daemon Prince roared as he took wing into the sky. The signal given, the rumbling grew louder in turn from the flanks. The Bloodcrushers stormed over the dunes to either side, snorting brass fury as the Daemons and their riders charged in for blood, thundering down towards the flanks of the charging Rhinox with E'ddi'e at the head. Flesh Hounds loped alongside, barking and snarling as they threaded amidst the Daemonic cavalry.

And in the meantime, in a display of rare tactical consideration, the Bloodletters did not rush the charging cavalry - then instead rushed for the sides of the slopes made by the dune as the packs of Furies dove down on the charging riders too.

Neither Rhinox or Bloodcrushers were very manouverable, but that was the point. There wouldn't be any time to turn or meet the onrushing Bloodcrushers mid charge. The impact was horrific; roars and bellows and the sounds of flesh and metal tearing as the cavalry slammed into one another. Some Bloodletters weren't so lucky, having been crushed or bulled apart by the stampede but the majority now had their opening as they moved amongst the Ogres and their mounts, hacking and slashing and dogpiling alongside the others.

It was brutal and crude but it was glorious carnage non-the-less. The Soulgrinder waded in, laying about itself with its massive flaming sword and powered claw.

Emil, meanwhile, gestured with his axe towards the rotund form of Skraag atop his mount. The air surrounding him literally shimmered with the heat of his bloodlust as he bellowed a challenge.

"YOUR SKULL IS MINE TO PUT UPON THE THRONE, OGRE!"

skullsforkhorne​:​

Ogres. That was what the Furies said as they descended from the desert skies. Stupid as they were, even they could not miss such obvious signs - nor the checkered coloured scheme that adorned their plates.

Of course Malal would employ whatever it could get its hands on.

Everything within Emil burned to meet them head-on, and yet that would be a waste in this instance. No longer could he be assured that he would return to Khorne’s service if one was mighty enough to fell him. He did not fear defeat; he feared nonexistance. He feared failing Khorne.

And so, with that in mind, Emil used his strengths. His Bloodcrushers and Flesh Hounds he had behind the dunes with E'ddi'e, awaiting their signal to thunder down on the amassed Ogres. The dunes made a natural valley with clear sightlines, and it was here he would fight. He would kill. He would offer their skulls to Khorne and eradicate them.

The rest he held with him - packs of Bloodletters, flitting and flighty Furies and their single Soul Grinder - massive hybrid beast of machinery and daemonic flesh. This one was not his, having been ‘loaned’ from another legion. He was in full view - he did not cower or hide.

“THEY COME TO DIE!” Emil roars from his throat with undisguised rage and bloodlust. The Lesser Daemons pick up the cry with howls and bloodthirsty whoops. “THEY OFFER THEMSELVES SO FREELY TO THE SKY HOUND! WHO ARE WE TO DENY THEM SUCH A GLORIOUS PURPOSE?!”

“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! WE TRIBUTE HIM WELL THIS DAY!”

The Khornate daemons were not the only un-subtle beasts out there. Sneaking and snooping– Skraag never found it to his liking, nor did he find it easy to do. And so he didn’t do it. Besides…how was one meant to hide the rumble of a veritable stampede anyway?

He could see the Khornate Daemons in the distance, there intent to fight as plain as his own. Skraag looked down from his Stonehorn to see his lieutenant, Agrik, astride his massive tawny-furred Rhinoxen right at his side where he often was. The Firebelly looked back up at him. Both wore eager grins as they looked again at the prey to be.

“ Eager ta be eaten, ain’t they?”

“Very eager.” Agrik agreed with a nod, “ Been in tha’ mood fer somethin’ spicy o’ late.”

“Perfect timin’ in that case.”

With a shout, Skraag urged his Stonehorn forward with a kick, the beast surprisingly fast despite it’s bulky body. The legion of Rhinoxes behind him charged ahead, meaning to trample the frontline. Only Agrik kept his beast still, eyeing the Soulgrinder lurking amid the footsoldiers. That could be a problem.

But no problem Flamefur, his Rhinoxen, couldn’t fix with a well placed thrust of it’s horn, he was sure.

[selkies-world]

Ok but the best news since Queen Liz No.2 dying is that King Charles No.3 is very open to the idea of opening the casket to discover whether or not the "Princes in the Tower" are actually in it or not & he's up for this mystery finally getting solved.

Can someone link that post with the deepdive about the Ricardian Society who had that whole documentary about digging up the car park to find King Richard No.3's skeleton (good), but the whole thing ended up being this major ableism thing (bad) cause the main argument was "If he really had a twisted spine then he was evil and our Richard wasn't a tyrant he was just misunderstood, so he must have a straight spine" and low and behold when it showed up he did actually have major scoliosis the woman had a fucking meltdown on camera & spent the rest of the thing shaking and crying about how much of a shock to her whole belief system that was & she had to get spoon-fed softened facts from then on, and when they were telling the literal descendent of Richard that the skeleton was in fact DNA matched and proven to be his whatever-many-generations-ago ancestor, the woman was like "Why are they telling him before me???" And she kept going on about how the society wanted to finally get justice for him & the rest of them straight up argued and refused to accept the host telling them that the scientists said that actually yeah this was Richard & yes he had a twisted spine?????

Cause I really wanna see their reaction to Charles 3 actually giving the green flag for this mystery to be solved. My "hunchback" ass really needs to see these fuckers sweat over this.

[maidragoste]

The Council

Aemond Targaryen x Targaryen!Reader (Daughter of Rhaenyra) x Aegon II Targaryen

the second part of this part3

please reblog cause i'm not showing up in tags again 😭😭

Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes.

It's been a long time since Aemond felt at peace. But that's what he felt when he was with you and the children. Every time he saw you smile or heard one of the twins laugh he felt his heart warm and he thanked the gods for letting him live, for letting him come back to you and the children.

Reading to the twins before they fell asleep had become one of Aemond's favorite times of the day and for the children as well. There was one night when he had to go to a council meeting and the children were whimpering, sullen until his father came back and told them a story.

“Why are you so surprised? They already love you” you told him that night.

You weren't lying. The twins loved Aemond. Baelon always wanted his attention, always screaming excitedly or in extreme cases pulling his hair, and Aemon loved being in his father's arms, he always had the best naps in Aemond's arms. Sometimes you made fun of your husband because every time you told him to put Aemon in his crib he always refused with the excuse that he was afraid of waking him up.

"No, no, Baelon. Don't hurt your brother,” the prince said seriously taking his son's small fist to prevent him from hurting Aemon, who was sleeping in his arms again.

Baelon had been distracted watching his cousin Jaehaera and you making flower crowns but now that he wanted to give his dad a crown and saw him with his brother he got mad and wanted to hit Aemon. When he did not achieve his mission, what did he do? He started crying and his crying woke up his twin, who also started crying.

Just when you were lifting Baelon up to comfort him. One of your maidens appeared running, when you saw her you stood up, with some difficulty for the child you had in your arms, fearing that something had happened to Aegon, you could not bear to lose another brother.

"Princess, prince" he made the quick bow "The king requests that the council meet and wants you there too"

•••••

You and Aemond knew something bad was about to happen. They had never asked you to join the council before so whatever they were going to talk about had to do with you or Prince Aegon.

Aemond was sitting next to you, looking ready to plunge his sword into anyone who would look at you, and you couldn't stop thinking about holding his hand. But if you did, the rest would see you weak. You had to prepare to fight for your life and your brother's. You couldn't look nervous or you wouldn't be taken seriously.

"Well? What is the meeting for today?" Tyland Lannister asked breaking the silence.

"Cregan Stark" replied the king and you noticed how everyone tensed upon hearing the name of the guardian of the north. "He refuses to pledge loyalty to me," he said and handed a scroll to his mother. "And he's coming over here with his army of northerners."

"That damn idiot, Rhaenyra Targaryen is dead he has no one to fight for," said one of the men.

"I'm just going to bend the knee and swear allegiance to the true queen. Y/N Targaryen" Alicent Hightower read and you froze, you felt like all the air was suddenly gone "Give her the throne or we'll fight to get it back to her"

You didn't understand Why was Cregan Stark fighting for you? Yes, you are Rhaenyra's daughter but he didn't know you, he didn't know if you would make a better queen than Aegon. You didn't even fight in the war, you had been locked up taking care of your children while your whole family died. You didn't deserve the throne.

"You have to kill her!" one of the men said and Aemond soon had his sword pointed at the man's throat.

"Do you want to repeat that again?"

"Aemond, please," Alicent said not wanting there to be bloodshed.

"Kill him," said the king drawing everyone's attention "He can't talk like that about his future queen"

Aemond wasted no time slashing the man's throat. The table was soon covered with blood. He watched the scene satisfied but then assimilated the words of his brother.

"What do you mean future queen?" he questioned now pointing his sword at the king. You quickly got up and put your hand on his shoulder.

"Aemond lowers the sword before they accuse you of treason" you whispered.

"I'm going to marry our niece" answered the king with a smile and you felt that at any moment you could faint. The only thing you could think about was that the gods must hate you because not only are you married to the murderer of your brother and grandmother but now you were also going to marry the murderer of your mother. You still have nightmares about her being burned alive by the king's dragon.

"Aegon, you can't marry Y/n. She's already married to your brother" Alicent told him like she was talking to a little boy.

"Aegon the conqueror had two wives, I don't see why Y/n can't have two husbands," he replied.

Aegon had always thought of making you his wife. The only reason he agreed to be king was so he could marry you too. Helaena would be his wife out of duty and you out of love, you would be his Rhaenys. Of course, Aemond beat him, he married you after the last supper with his father while he was in bed with fleas. But now that didn't matter, nothing could come between you. Helaena was dead and neither his mother nor his brother could not refuse because the marriage was necessary or they would all end up dead at the hands of the northerners.

"I will not share my wife just because of one of your whims" Aemond refused angrily and the king snorted. Aegon was being nice, if he wanted he could have murdered his brother and married you but he didn't. He was willing to share you.

"It's not on a whim. It's to prevent a war," corrected Tyland. "We don't have enough forces to fight the Northlanders and I'm sure Jeyne Arryn is about to bring an army as well. The only way to get loyalty from them is if we make princess Y/n queen and the only way to do that is by marrying the king."

You didn't want to marry Aegon but after listening to Tyland you would. You wanted the war to end once and for all, and if the only way was to marry your mother's killer, you would. You couldn't keep being selfish, you weren't going to let more people die for your family. The town had already lost too many. Aegon and you had to put the war behind you and start rebuilding the kingdom, rewarding the people for all the damage they had caused.

"And what if Cregan Stark doesn't agree with that? He wants the princess on the iron throne, he doesn't want him" said Larys Strong.

"Y/n will rule as my equal. She will wear the crown that belonged to my father"

"Oh gods, all that's left is for you to let her sit on the iron throne," Alicent said.

"Jaehaerys came to sit on the throne along with Alysanne," Aegon reminded her.

You felt so confused. You did not know why Aegon was willing to give you so much power. Why didn't he do that with your mother? This all made no sense but you weren't going to question it.

"We'll talk to him," you said drawing everyone's attention. "Aegon and I will speak with Lord Stark. We will show each other how a united front and he will swear loyalty to me."

Aemond turned to look at you, feeling betrayed. Was this some kind of payback for Alys Rivers?

"Perfect. My lords, there is a wedding to organize" the king announced with a smile and left the room.

tag list: @afro-hispwriter @inmmyowndefender @justsumtuffstuff @crispmarshmallowllow @daduol @safrish @lilithskywalker @solacestyles @zverea

[yzzart]

— From lovers to enemies.

© do not repost or translate !

characters: Aemond Targaryen x (F)Targaryen!reader.

summary: you and your brother, Lucerys, decide to go after a promise that was made long ago, but you meet an unexpected person.

second part here!

warnings: incest, explicit language, angst, mention of aggression and pain, mention of the dragon Tessarion & "Y/N" is mentioned only twice.

word count: 6.047!

english's not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes!

They stole your mother's crown and throne.

They had the courage and ruthlessness to kill your sister, leaving the feeling of despair and dread to your mother, the rightful queen.

Your body contemplated the feeling of hatred and burned with pure bitterness. You were controlling yourself not to go after those who betrayed your family and who broke their pledge of loyalty. — but you promised your father you wouldn't do anything while that feeling of hate dominated your body.

Your immense desire to burn them all with your dragon's flames increased by the second. All who decided to turn their backs and break the promise were decreed to die in the blue flames of Tessarion. — No one could get that out of your mind, it was impossible.

But your heart was bleeding to know that, possibly, your honest lover was agreeing to such an act of betrayal. Your lover who promised to be by your side no matter what. — The fact that you and Aemond had been lovers since childhood plagued your young mind.

"The gods know we must be together until our last breath. We belong to each other and no one can change that, not men, not dragons, nobody."

He had declared this to you on the day of your departure to Dragonstone. — You remember, perfectly, your tears being wiped away by the eldest, as he comforted you with those sweet and promised words.

You didn't want to imagine facing your prince.

The thought of you and Aemond being on opposite sides made your stomach churn and a suffocating knot form in your throat. Never has a thought managed to hurt you so much. — You weren't ready to admit how lost you were.

Your lonely tears were threatening to fall, you were so weakened. As the image of Aemond flashed through your mind, your heart raced even faster.

"You don't have to do that, you know?"

Lucerys stated in a slightly lower voice, almost a whisper. The words came out of his mouth sadly and insecurity, pulled you out of your painful thoughts.

You end up remembering your mother's request to Lucerys, who needed to communicate a message to Lord Borros, seeking alliance and his commitment to his oath. Claiming that it would not be a good idea to send him alone, you appeared and asked your mother's permission to accompany the youngest.

You didn't doubt Luke's ability, on the contrary but a war's coming, so protecting your brother didn't cost anything.

Stopping your steps and your way to your dragon, you quickly turned around to try to find the reason for that statement. The feeling of worry didn't leave your chest but it intensified.

"What do you mean by that?" — You questioned the youngest, who refused to look you in the eye. Lucerys could feel the looks of distress and confusion coming from you, but he didn't have the courage to face them. He preferred to look at the ground. — "Luke."

"You don't have to risk your life for me." — He uttered nervously and finally looking into your eyes. Lucerys's face showed sadness and especially fear against yours. You had never seen your brother with that terrifying expression. — "I do not wish to be a burden to you, the future heir to the throne."

"Future heir to the throne" those hard, heavy words have been spoken to you for all these years, since your birth. It felt like you were defined by just that.

You sighed, sadly.

"You would never be a burden to me, Luke." — You walked with firm shoulders to the youngest, wanting to convey a sense of firmness and honesty. Those painful words were like a punch to your chest. — "No matter what, i will always risk my life for you."

Your trembling and soft hands went towards the younger's soft face. Luke looked at you in awe, he felt so safe next to you. A caress was made by your hands, transmitting comfort and protection to the little boy. He needed it more than you did, that's what your mind whispered right to you.

The damn tears threatened to fall again.

"Before i'm the next heir to the throne, i'm your sister and it's my right and duty to take care of you." — Your voice trembled as your hands held the youngest's small hands, trying your best to comfort him. Lucerys felt the inexplicable weight of those words. The boy's innocent eyes gleamed against yours. — Luke didn't have the courage to say anything at that moment, he chose to listen to you carefully.

"A message needs to be communicated, don't you think?" — You questioned in a whisper, still staring at him. Something in you was telling you to enjoy this brief moment with your brother, it felt like an impression.

Luke remains silent, taking in your words. He felt so safe and secure when he was by your side. It's no wonder that, in addition to your mother, he had an immense admiration for the person you were. — Regardless of the moment, be it bad or good, you were always by his side and always will be.

Keeping silent, Luke just nods in confirmation. You understand his need for silence and respect it. This situation was vulnerable for the velaryon, he was too young to face it all.

You took your hands off Lucerys and returned to your main path, which was towards your majestic blue dragon. Tessarion calmly awaited your arrival, she was ready to face a new chapter in her life, just like you. — Tessarion was more than ready, in fact.

Seeing your body approaching, your dragon nods in greeting along with small light noises that were made by her. A warm smile reached your lips.

"īlon've jiōraton nykeā bōsa ñuhoso naejot jikagon, hāedar." (We've got a long way to go, girl.) — You informed your dragon, running your fingers over her rough blue scales. Tessarion settled to his familiar touch and understood the message.

Your dragon was a cunning beast, and everyone who had the chance to see her knows that fact. Her pride in having one of the most charming and agile dragons ever seen on earth was inexplicable. — Not even heaven, where you loved to stay, could explain your great admiration for her.

Tessarion, was a worthy queen. The blue queen, as she was known.

Scanning your eyes at Luke, you get to witness a small interaction between him and his little dragon, Arrax. — Arrax was a dragon that was in its growth period, just like his rider. He was rebellious, of course for his age, but he knew how to obey Lucerys' commands at the right times.

The memory of when you curiously watched the first interaction between Luke and Arrax flashed through your mind and the corners of your mouth turned into a proud smile.

The sun was slowly setting, soon streaks of darkness were approaching, an alert advising you to go just before nightfall. — You didn't waste your time and quickly climbed into Tessarion. The dragon settled with your light weight on his stiff back and positioned himself to leave, awaiting your command.

Your hands were on the verge of freezing, ironic for a dragon, and still shaking. You tightened your dragon's saddle strings, intending to warm your hands on it but to your misfortune, nothing changed and your hands continued to be cold.

"We can go." — Lucerys managed to say finally, visibly nervous. Happy to hear the Velaryon boy's soft voice, you can't help but watch him with the utmost attention. It looked like it was the last time you would see your fearless little brother.

That bad feeling again.

An indecipherable expression crossed your face as that awful feeling shot through you once again. Your chest felt like it was going to rip apart at any moment. — What were the damn gods planning for you?

Lucerys noticed the abrupt change in your face and was ready to ask what was breaking your heart so much but his planning was interrupted by your authoritative voice.

"Sōvegon sir, Tessarion." (Fly now, Tessarion.) — You shouted to your great dragon, and a deep roar agreed to your order. Spreading her gigantic wings, Tessarion leapt to fly over Dragonstone and roared once more, but with more force. The celestial dragon was warning everyone present in that region that she was leaving, doing her duty.

You can't hear the exact words Lucerys was giving Arrax, but you figured he was sending the little dragon to accompany you and right behind Tessarion, the smaller dragon was following her.

You turn against the strong wind in your face to see Lucerys and he smiles at you for the first time that day. His smile showed innocence but with a touch of determination, ready to be accompanied by you.

Storm's End it was your destiny.

Another thunder echoed through the skies, startling you.

You and Lucerys had no luck trying to escape the storm that was slowly building.

The wind was intensifying and it was becoming almost impossible to locate the main region and the skies were turning to pure darkness. The thunder was running with more force and volume. — The hellish storm was getting worse.

Against the strong wind, you tried to see some kind of tower or some part of the castle but you could see nothing but gray and dark clouds.

You tried to calm Tessarion down, hoping she wouldn't be affected by the loud noises created by the clouds. She just let out a stream of roars. — Your dragon's dark blue color was blending in among the heavy clouds.

You don't give up and try again to look for Baratheon castle with more insistence — In a few seconds, you see the fortress and realize that you were close to your desired destination. A mental thanks was made by you directly to the gods.

Lucerys along with Arrax, who was behind you, couldn't get the privilege of seeing the towers first. As a warning, you raise your arm and wait for the youngest to understand the message.

Even behind you and with this storm, Lucerys has a perfect view of your arm being raised and quickly understands what is happening. Arrax roared as he felt the saddle ropes tighten, Lucerys was ready to take the dragon to the ground.

"Dodieties uzmanīgi, Tesarion." (Go down carefully now, Tessarion.) — You took the risk of stepping out of the saddle a little to get closer to your dragon's pointed ears, so she would understand the command without any problem.

You took the utmost care as Tessarion obeyed your order to reach the ground. The wind was making it difficult for her to land on land, the situation was described as sensitive and dangerous. — You didn't know whether to pay attention to Tessarion's landing or Arrax's. If your dragon was tackling this entire course with little difficulty, imagine that little dragon.

The sound of rough gravel mixed with small stones warned that you and your dragon were on the ground, safe and out of harm's way for a while. A long sigh of relief escaped your lips and your head was spinning, still stunned by the scenery you'd come to witness and unfortunately participate in.

"Nomierinies, meitene. Mēs jau esam uz stabila pamata" (Calm down, girl. We're already on solid ground) — Comforting words were spoken to Tesssarion. You notice that she hasn't fully calmed down and choose to run your hands warmly around her neck.

The low roar caught your attention, it was Arrax approaching. You turn your head to the side where the sound was coming from and watch the dragon place its hind legs on the ground, raising a white smoke of sand. — Lucerys seemed to be out of breath.

You can see the presence of guards around the castle's entrance, they didn't say anything, they just watched you and your brother's arrival. — Cold raindrops have started to fall on your shoulder, you look up and realize that the sky is totally dark. What a hell.

Descending from the pure bronze blue dragon, you step to the ground and approach Lucerys. You needed to be quick before your return to Dragonstone becomes an immense terror to both of your dragons.

Your steps were interrupted for the second time that day, so you didn't finish reaching your brother, as a sound caught your attention.

The sound was familiar. You quickly froze where you were, not daring to take a different step. The feeling of fear could arise in anyone who heard that noise, but with you it was different. — The feeling of surprise took your body.

Vhagar.

Following your gaze to that immense sound, your eyes hit a shadow that was impossible not to identify. A thunderclap was performed making the image of the beast even more terrifying. Vhagar was outside the castle walls, obviously because of her size, scaring every living thing that passed through that region. — You couldn't tell if the gigantic dragon saw you and Lucerys approaching, but you hoped she didn't.

A nervous question crossed your mind — If Vhagar was here, that means Aemond was too. You couldn't answer if you were happy or not for the possible reunion with your lover in this brutal and insensitive situation.

You didn't know if you'd be able to look Aemond in the eye.

Tessarion growled worriedly at you because of your pause. Returning your focus to sending the message, you approach Luke.

"We need to hurry." — Visually nervous and distressed, you communicated to Lucerys, still not taking your eyes off the old dragon. Lucerys also sensed Vhagar's menacing presence but didn't want to face the beast. The beast of a person he gouged out the eye.

No words came out of Lucerys' mouth, he just couldn't and just shook his head in confirmation.

Your footsteps, drawing attention with your cloak moving against the strong wind, towards the castle fort alerted the few guards around the gate. The sound of metal moving was exclaimed in your ears. — In sync, all the guards paid attention to every step of the two of you and only one decides to stand still, waiting for the reason for your arrival.

As the oldest, you decide that you will present the reason for your trip and how important it was.

"I am Princess Y/N Targaryen" — You identified yourself. — "And this is my brother, Prince Lucerys Velaryon." — The noise of thunder was getting in the way and making it almost impossible to hear your words well, the only option was to raise your voice. — "I bring a message to lord Borros from the Queen."

You kept your serious posture along with your decent expression as you dictated the words. You didn't have a full view of Lucerys, who was behind you, but he tried at all costs to maintain an acceptable posture for the guards. — Luke was learning once again from you.

The main guard didn't say a word to you, he just nodded his head and motioned to the remaining guards pointing to the huge gate. He was allowing you to enter and you immediately nodded your thanks. — Four guards lined up to take the two of you to the main lord.

This time you looked at Luke, indicating for him to accompany you along with the guards. The boy looked back once more as a new noise was made by Vhagar but it was quick and soon his attention was on the castle of our possible ally and then you all enter.

Your footsteps echoed through the gigantic room and completely cold, it was terrifying. A shiver ran down your spine. — From your mother's words, Borros Baratheon's residence didn't seem to be all that "comforting" after all. You felt the cold feeling of dread coursing through your veins.

The main part of the castle held, in addition to Lord Borros's throne of pure stone, the already grown Baratheon daughters, probably the same age as you, a few mediocre servants and a familiar white-haired man.

An expression of surprise, after pain, formed on your face. — Suddenly, that tightness in your chest decides to come back but with more intensity.

He was there and away from you. His pure leather outfit, all black and well sewn, intimidated anyone who decided to interact with the prince. He had his back to you, but it was already taking your breath away. — Your damn heart was beating faster at the prince's presence. your prince.

"Princess Y/N Targaryen and Prince Lucerys Velaryon." — The same guard who directed the two of you inside the castle introduced your presence to everyone. Those first words passed through Aemond's ears, causing him to turn quickly and his movements exclaimed across the room.

Aemond's single eye roamed over your fully clothed body. Your body he hadn't seen or touched in days. Completely hellish days for the elderly. The one-eyed man gazed at his body in a majestic and passionate way. He wanted to admire what he had lost. — Aemond made no attempt to hide his gaze from you even in the presence of Baratheon and his daughters. — He didn't care.

A small figure caught the Targaryen prince's attention and a look of hatred came to dominate that eye. The bastard Strong was beside you. He did not admit such insolence, it was impossible to accept. — Aemond hated the unfortunate fact that Lucerys was your brother. — He looked at the boy with contempt.

He wanted to ignore the boy's presence but it was technically impossible. The feeling of disgust and annoyance was clear on the prince's face.

You couldn't take your eyes off the older Targaryen. It was as if you were bound by some kind of magic with one eye. — A side of you liked that kind of "spell."

You let your gaze slip from Aemond to a young woman who was beside him, not so close but she was close enough for a harsh feeling of melancholy to invade your face. Not a servant or anything, but one of Baratheon's daughters.

"Lord Borros." — Your brother's subtle voice expanded through the hall, soon after a light beam passed through the region. Your face tried to ignore Aemond and the young woman to focus on the old lord. — "I brought you a message from my mother, the Queen." — He explained the real reason for the meeting.

Borros didn't seem satisfied with the statement, he wasn't very interested in the words, you could identify.

"Yet earlie this day i received an envoy from the King." — The last word left you feeling sick and disgusted. You hated how the word "King" was referring to that filthy usurper. — "Which is it? King or Queen?"

You could feel the tone of an attempt at mockery coming from the Lord. It was ironic to see that a person knew and was able to swear allegiance to your house. Even though you knew about the alliance, you felt that you would not leave that castle with the support of the Baratheon.

"The dragon house does not seem to know who rules it." — Borros finished with a dry laugh.

You controlled yourself not to respond to the older man's inconvenient speech lest you risk the start of an argument and the denial of the alliance but you didn't hide your expression of seriousness and frustration.

"What's your mother's message?" — He questions starting to get impatient. Luke offers his hand, with the letter written on it, to one of the guards at his side. Promptly, the guard takes the letter and then heads towards the throne.

You flick your gaze to Luke, who turns his head to look at his uncle present. You wouldn't be able to identify the kind of look your brother was giving Aemond, but something in you told him it wasn't in a good way.

Aemond was ignoring, or rather trying to, the image of the Velaryon at your side. He hoped that after Baratheon's answer, even knowing what the answer would be, the two of you could talk. — He would do anything to hear at least two words from your sweet mouth.

Aemond's gaze made your cheeks red in an indecent way.

Before long, Borros was enraged by the maester's absence, causing his scream to echo through the room. And he only calmed down when one appeared at his side, slowly. — Silence completely reigned that cold place.

It was indeed an uncomfortable and unbearable situation to be in, in addition to the presence of your brother and uncle who do not have a very good relationship and past. It was so suffocating to bear it all.

"Remind me of my father's oath." — He replied agitatedly, squinting his eyes at Luke. You took a step forward and soon Borros' attention was on you. — "King Aegon at least came with an offer: my swords and banners for a marrage pact."

Borros shook his head at Aemond, who was subtly listening to the words.

Those words hurt you. A marriage pact? Did your long-awaited prince, who truly said you two belong together, accept that damned offer? — Your chest was aching, a pain you've never felt in your life. Not even any dragon's flames could hurt more than that.

You took a step back at that, feeling so vulnerable and weak. Luke noticed your action and approached you, almost bumping his arm with yours. He was about to ask if you were okay, but from the look on your face you, obviously, weren't.

"A fucking marriage pact?" — The only thing that came out of your mouth, which was bitter, at that moment. You didn't dare look at Aemond, your eyes simply couldn't and even if you did you wouldn't have the courage to do so. — The feeling of betrayal and pain dominated your entire body.

"If i do your mother bids..." — Baratheon continued, lingering in indignation. — "Which one of my daughters will you wed, boy?"

Luke didn't want to answer that absurd question, he was worried about you and not wanting to let you go. Your brother so wondered why your reaction when you heard about the betrothal offer that Borros mentioned, what were you hiding? — Realizing the delay in the answer, you shake your head at the younger one, intending to tell him to answer the man.

"My lord, i'm not free to marry." — Replied immediately. — "I'm already betrothed." — The lord's eyes showed pure frustration and disappointment, he didn't like the answer. Quickly, Borros focused on you once more and soon your unease increased.

"Unfortunately for us, Princess, i didn't have the chance to have sons." — The older man let out a sigh, as evidence of his displeasure. You didn't believe in that completely forced unhappiness, so you decided to remain silent. — "That's a painful thing to say, believe me."

It was so clear that this house would destroy and betray the oath. One more house decided to turn its back on your family, and that means one more house would witness the blue flames of your dragon.

"So you come with empty hands." — Baratheon raised his voice. — "Go home, puppies, and tell your mother that the lord of Strom's End's not some dog that she can whistle up at need set against her foes."

You would do anything just to have your dragon inside that hellish hall just to have that old man bend his tongue over your mother. It was a complete disrespect and made worse by the fact that that house swore allegiance to House Targaryen. — But if you did something, yet another door to war could open. — You needed to cover up your true feelings.

Lucerys tried not to show any affection for the lord's chosen words and acted calmly.

"I shall take your answer to the Queen, my lord. — An irritating sigh escapes the immense place and his eyes flicker to Aemond, not very interested in Lucerys' farewell. He was looking at the floor with his traditional thin smile.

That smile that has already made you lose your breath countless times and now causes you contempt and anger.

Realizing that your mother's message was not received in the best way, you and Luke decided to leave and return with the lord's answer. The damn answer. You knew that your mother, and probably your father, would resolve this situation, but you didn't know how they were going to do it.

The velaryon and turned, ready to leave the place accompanied by you and the guards. — Your gaze, who betrayed you, aimed in the direction of the one-eyed prince, wanting to look into his one eye as if it were the last time.

Anyone would describe your look as a definition of sadness and betrayal and abandonment, because those are the things Aemond did to you that night. — Three feelings the prince had never given you in your entire life, except for now.

Finally you turned around and not intending to turn back.

"Wait, my lord Strong." — Your footsteps were interrupted, once again, but in a rough way by words. Aemond's speech infuriated you, causing you to stand still for a short time. You would not allow your uncle, your lover, to insult your brother again.

Your promise not to turn back was ignored by yourself and your eyes burning to the eldest, who dared to utter the damn words and still in your presence. — Aemond obviously noticed your angry gazes on him and tried his best to ignore them. Aemond didn't want to fight or even insult you, he would never have the courage to do such a thing.

The only thing he wanted, since the incident that caused one of his eyes to go missing, was to get revenge on his nephew.

"Did you really think that you could just fly about the realm trying to steal my brother's throne at no cost?" — Cursed the prince with his shoulders stooped. You couldn't stand to see Lucerys being bullied that way and still in such an unprotected and angry situation.

Aemond Targaryen was the love of your life but Lucerys Velaryon was your brother.

"I don't allow you to speak to my brother like that, Aemond." — In a loud voice, which echoed through the gigantic room, cold and silent, you directed the words to the eldest. A deep, cruel laugh passed through your ears.

"You mean your… half brother, don't you, my princess?" — Aemond directs a merciless glare at you. He never looked at you that way, and it hurt in his chest. — "The one who does not deserve your great respect, dignity and deserved last name."

Aemond's tone was bitter and unfeeling, and his one good eye was dominated by darkness. You were no longer recognizing your honest old lover. Your heart was slowly breaking apart and it was so visible.

Lucerys noticed a fragile, sad frown on your face, as if you were going to cry at any moment. He didn't understand why your face looked so unhappy as he argued against the oldest Targaryen in that room. He watched carefully as your posture was weakening. — He would do anything to understand and find out what actually happened between the two of you, it felt like it was something so deep and intense.

His older sister looked so broken and destroyed.

"How do you dare?" — You inquiry with teary eyes. At that moment you weren't just arguing against the love of your long life but against your new enemy. Enemy of your family even having the same blood.

You didn't want to believe this was actually happening; preferring to believe it was an illusion in your head or something. So this is what the gods were planning for you?

"Man nav nodoma jūs nodarīt pāri, mana mīļotā. Es tikai vēlos nokārtot mazliet vecus apstākļus ar savu riebīgo brāļadēlu." (I have no intention of harming you, my love. I just want to settle some old scores with my loathsome nephew.) — Aemond straightened his posture, moving his arms back. He was trying to intimidate, giving his nephew a sign of superiority, but that action ended up scaring you

That wasn't the Aemond who promised you the stars, safety, and most importantly, his love. — How did you two get to that point?

"Ja runa ir par brāli, tad arī par mani, onkul." (If it's about my brother, it's about me too, uncle.) — Your voice was weak. You were weak in that situation. You didn't want to do this, but your family's lives and home were at stake. There was no turning back, no more salvation.

Lucerys, oblivious to the confusion that was taking place, remained paralyzed and silent. As well as Borros Baratheion, who in addition to not understanding the language in which you and Aemond were communicating, he would not be able to explain what was actually happening in his residence.

Aemond was reinforcing the idea that he didn't want to fight or hurt you but that's not what he was showing you at that moment.

"You know he deserves to pay for what he did to me."

"I will not fight you. I came as a messager, not a warrior." — Lucerys interrupted his uncle's incomplete sentence, earning Aemond's glare again. The boy wasn't afraid of the feared prince, he just wanted to get you out of that pain, even though he didn't know what it was about. And you recognized his care but couldn't explain the real reason for your tension with your uncle's presence.

"A fight would be litlle challenge." — He spoke without indifference or emotion against his nephew. — "No." — Aemond's rough hands went through his eye patch and removed it completely, leaving the missing eye for all to see and soon a sapphire was in place. — "I want you to put out your eye, as payment for mine."

You weren't surprised by the action or the revelation, but just remembered the lovely nights you two had and during them; Aemond made sure to remove the eye patch for you. — You had indeed witnessed the incident and Aemond thought you would never admire him again, that you would never lay your eyes and hands on him because of his monstrosity but you showed the prince otherwise. — And that was how Aemond realized that the gods had decreed that the two of you belonged together.

The sapphire shines even in such a dark hall and caught your attention in a luxurious and splendid way.

"Aemond." — You scolded the older man, trying to protect your brother. Your arm was in front of Lucerys, intending not to let Aemond near him. The boy backed away slowly, fearing his uncle's future action, terrified.

Aemond's next action caught your attention and soon startled you. His hand was reaching for the inside of his cloak, picking up a dagger and throwing it on the floor, next to Luke. — You refused to believe he was doing this in your presence.

"One will serve and i would not blind you." — The bitterness in his voice appeared again. — "Plan to make a gift of it to my mother."

You were baffled, and the mention of the queen, who betrayed your mother and usurped her rightful throne, left your body burning again with pure rage. It was like hell.

Your hands shook, your eyes threatened to shed tears — a mixture of feelings.

"No." — Luke's fearless, loud voice surprised you but was not well received by the white haired man. Aemond hated to see that boy not being intimidated or scared enough to comply with the bloody offering.

You watched Aemond, in pain and despair, and feared what he would do to get what he wanted from that little boy. But you were very sure that you would do everything to protect your brother.

"Then you're craven as well as a traitor." — Anger wasn't such a hard thing to detect in Aemond's voice. His posture was still strong like that but showed an indignation mixed with vulnerability. As if he was losing control.

For the first time, you didn't know what you were going to do and seeing that you had no way out of this dangerous situation, you brought your hand closer to your dagger, which was stored in your belt. You never thought you would use a blade against the person you loved.

"Not here." — Shouted Baratheon trying to stop something from happening. Borros wasn't so worried about what Aemond and Lucerys had in the past, but he was just worried about his home that would see a possible bloodbath.

Using the dagger that Luke doesn't take, Aemond was heading towards the boy with fury in his eye.

"Give me your eye or i will take it, bastard." — The prince was willing to personally remove his nephew's eye in the same way that the boy had removed his. In that moment, Aemond wasn't thinking about you or your presence, he just wanted revenge.

It was painful to think that he'd protected you from so many things in the past; like the thunder that scared you and he was there to protect you from them, the bugs that bothered you and who was there? Aemond Targaryen.

And it's this same Aemond who was facing your brother with a dagger in front of you.

You grabbed your dagger at once and pulled Luke away from you, leaving the boy behind you. Your hand was firmly holding the dagger handle towards the older man, who was surprised by your action. — You wanted to cry with anger and pain at the same time, you were fighting yourself and the love of your life. There was never a situation like this with you, ever.

Your blade was aimed towards the Targaryen and you didn't make a point of pointing it at something else.

Aemond's gaze shattered along with his defiant, furious attitude. His awareness and promise never to hurt your or commit an act as cruel, as what was happening now, in your presence flashed through his mind.

Yet another thunder was exclaimed through that hall.

"Not in my hall." — The desperate voice, wanting to end that circumstance, of Borros was heard by all. You and Aemond lowered your blades slowly, obeying the lord's order. — "The boy came as an envoy and i'll not have bloodshed beneath my roof."

Your breath was labored, anger took over you. Your body was burning once more that night. It was a huge discomfort, you felt your chest tearing.

Lucerys had never seen you like this. He wondered if he truly knew you and remained silent. He didn't dare say anything to you or the Lord, and he tried to ignore the image of his uncle, even though he knew it was impossible. Of course the boy would try to talk to you but this was not a good time for that.

Your little brother was grateful that you defended him, it was an act of courage and even more so in front of such a powerful lord. But he was regretting that you were suffering during the argument.

"Take Prince Lucerys and Princess Targaryen back to their dragons, now." — He ordered stiffly. You put your dagger back inside the cloak, and took a few steps back.

You didn't stop staring at Aemond for a second. Your fragile and sensitive eyes were covering your lover. Your lover that you swore to love, even though your parents might hate the idea of seeing the two of you together. — The thought that you and Aemond were on opposite sides was coming true. It was a reality that pierced your heart.

Aemond felt the feeling of regret for the first time in his life. Something he never thought he would feel. — He had definitely lost you.

He had already lost an eye, his father he so admired and now the girl he loved. The young woman who was written by the gods who belonged to him and him alone.

Aemond swore his love for you, promised you affection and safety, swearing by all kingdoms and capitals and cities that whoever hurt you would see the true rage of a dragon — but who ended up hurting you was himself.

Aemond Targaryen lost you.

[cocosstories]

Loki One Shot

Hi! Can you do a loki x reader one shot where loki didn't die in infinity war cos reader saved him and he's starting to like her afterwards

Everything had happened so quickly. One moment you and the rest of the population of Asgard were on the ship, praising Thor, the new King, for saving everyone, the next the ship was overrun by Thanos and his 'children'.

You were born and raised on Asgard, your family nowhere noble in the least but favored by Odin and Frigga nonetheless and made to be aids to the throne.

Even with you being a bit younger than them, you grew up with Thor and Loki, learning from them and getting in trouble along side them just as much.

While everyone praised Thor for his accomplishments as well as expecting him to ascend to the throne one day, your eye was always on Loki.

"There is just something about him."

You would say to your friends when they would tease you about being in love with him, you always playing it off as admiration, which was true enough.

You were nowhere near as powerful as Loki but your powers were impressive nonetheless.

When you were no older than three years old, you began to show promise in the world of precognition. In other words, you could see the future.

Loki had always been impressed by your talents, even coming to you when he needed help with one of schemes.

As you got older, your feelings for him only deepened, even after everything he had done, you just couldn't shake it.

And now, here you were, your home destroyed, taking refuge on a ship that was now being taken over by a force set on distruction.

"There are two more stones on earth, find them my children and bring them to me on Titan."

"Father we will not fail you."

"If I might interject, if you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

Loki walked from behind some wreckage where the two of you had been hidden.

"If you consider failure experience."

"I consider experience, experience. Almighty Thanos, I Loki, Prince Of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful king of Jotunheim, god of mischief, do hearby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."

As Loki spoke,  you saw the dagger appear in his hand just out of view to Thanos.

As Loki lunged the blade towards Thanos' neck, he was stopped by the newest stone he has collected.

"Undying? You should choose your words more carefully"

Thanos grabs Loki's arm, twisting it so the dagger falls out of his hand to the ground. He then grabs Loki by the neck, lifting him off the ground as Loki struggles helplessly to break free.

"You...will never be...a God."

Were the last words he says before Thanos crushes his neck, killing him and throwing him down in front of Thor who is being held.

Your mind comes back to the present just as Loki begins to offer his services to Thanos.

Rembering what is about to happen, you carefully make a move from your hiding spot and towards Loki.

Just as the dagger appears in his hand, you rush forward and take it from him, startling both Loki and Thanos equally.

Before Thanos can go after you or him, Loki grabs your hand and teleports off the ship and to what you can only guess is a safehouse of some kind, somewhere on Earth.

"Why would you do that? What were you thinking? He would have killed you!"

As soon as you had reached your destination, Loki was yelling at you, furious at you for ruining his master plan.

"No Loki, he would have killed you! I saw it happen. With even just the two stones he has, he is more powerful than any other being in any galaxy! You would never have gotten the blade near his skin and I couldn't just let you die!"

You screamed back at him, your emotions uncontrollable as the premonition from before replays in your mind again.

"So you risked your life to save mine? Why? Why would you do something so incredibly careless and stupid? You know what I have done. If Thanos would have killed me it would have been retribution for everything I have done in the past. I was willing to give my life to at least try and save everyone else. Why did you stop me?"

For the first time in a long time you saw something only very few people had seen in Loki before, sincerity.

"How is it stupid and careless to save someone you love?"

The last word came out as a whisper, you finally admitting what you had spent so long trying to deny.

"What?"

His head shoots up to to look at you.

"When you have faked your death before, each time I mourned, kicked myself for not saying the one thing I longed to say to you. But in the back of my mind, I had always had hope that you would come back, that it was another trick and it always was."

You stopped to take a deep breath, trying and failing to keep your emotions in check as you speak.

"What I saw tonight, it would have been real, you wouldn't have come back. You would have just been gone and I couldn't let it happen. I love you Loki. I have always loved you."

Realization hit him like a bullet as every single question as to why you constantly came to his defense or helped with was of his schemes was now answered.

He wonders how he could have missed it. How could the truth that was so clearly in front of him, be so lost on him?

You had always been there. Always ready to drop everything to help him.

You were never seen in any sort of romantic relationship, never even showed interest in one. Not that you weren't perused, you actually had many suitors in your time, all of which you had turned down without even a true answer as to why.

It had always intrigued Loki and now he knew the truth.

You watched as your revelation swirls in Loki's head.

As the minutes pass, you begin to plan your escape route, wanting nothing more than to run away and never look back.

"Y/N, wait."

Just as you reach the door, Loki grabs your arm.

"Loki, just forget I said anything ok? You are the Prince Of Asgard and who am I? No one. If it weren't for my parents being aids to the thrown, you wouldn't even know me. You wouldn't even.."

He stops you, taking your face in his hands.

"I wouldn't be alive. You aren't no one, Y/N. Not to me."

With that, he kisses you.

It was gentle but the passion behind it was felt through your whole body.

"Loki..."

The kiss ends and you look into his eyes, searching for an answer to the question you can't quite get out.

"I should have seen it before. I should have known. I'm so sorry it took me this long. I love you too, Y/N."

You smile with happy tears as he wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer to him, kissing you again.

[witchyfroggins]

A/N: haha, i had this idea in mind for awhile so seeing that people havent taken the holden opportunity for a oneshot or reader insert i guess my time has come!

Also the reader is said to be female but you can change it otherwise i dont mind.

Summary: in the unlikely events of an adventurer coming across the gate to the shivering isles in hopes of stopping the infinite loop of the greymarch a ball is to be hosted as a last hurrah.

Warnings: Emotions (possibly)

_______________________________

Everyone in the Isles gathered in Sheoth at this evening dresses in bright or dim clothes dependinf where they rein from. Mania or dementia. You were from (Mania/Dementia) you wore a (Favorite Dress) along with your hair pinned up by a white flower from Mania's garden that you managed to sneak or just take.

The normally deserted streets were littered with people in creative masks and beautiful gowns. You had a white owl mask with real soft feathers. It only covered your eyes so you had a deep (Favorite color) Lipstick on your lips.

You were new to the isles so the reason for this beautiful Mascerade was a mystery to you but you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Everyone was enjoying their time. Chatting with eachother, drinking and eating as they waited for the arrival of their very special guest. You knew who it was of course, the famed daedric prince of madness, sheogorath.

When you had arrived for the first time. You were confused and scared, the white bearded man welcomed you with a surprisingly warm smile on his face. Why did you not kill you? You never found out.

After that, in time you managed to serve under him from (Mania/Dementia). You always admired him. Your fear faded as soon as you looked into those golden cat like eyes. You, for a lack of a better word, interested in this prince. He could also say the same for you.

Presenting yourself so rawly to him. It was if he could see a fraction of himself in your eyes. You were nothing like the other mortals who had been sent to him after a a gruesome death. He wanted to get to know you better. So you stayed.

Back at the ball you navigated your way to the small bar that had been set up to get a drink. You were a nervous wreck, you weren't one to always wear fancy clothes. Let alone be in a fancy ball. This might as well be your first time.

As you were sipping on a glass of red wine the noise of the ball faded as everyone gazed upon the stairs as a figure appeared wearing a rather unfitting suit for the prince of madness. It was purple and styles like your normal Tuxedo but it was decorated with a golden floral pattern on one side while the other was a black thorn pattern. He dawned a golden feline eye mask above his nose.

Of course he was accompanied with his Chamberlain Haskill in his normal attire despite the event.

Everyone soon stopped their conversation as the mad prince raised both of his arms in the air with a wide cat grin on his bearded face.

"Let the Mascerade begin!" He Declared earning a cheer of approval as the floating orchestra began to play a tune on their own.

Everyone went back to their business as the mad prince stood from the top of the stairs gazing at what could be the last heart filled moment in a long time. The greymarch was upon him and he didnt have the courage to tell (y/n). But he couldn't find the right time.

As if by coincidence his eyes landed on her form. Awkwardly shuffling to the back of the room in her beautiful (Favorite color) gown and white owl mask. As if a predator was drawn to its prey he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Normally he would refrain himself from dancing with the locals. It wasnt good for reputation. But he may not get another chance. He cringed at the thought of becoming Jyggalag and hurting her.

As if battling with his own mind he had finally come to a conclusion. You only live once, as mortals say even though he was a daedric god. She could only live once.

Before he could even register what he was doing he found himself moving down the stone stairs. Grabbing the attention of his loyal followers as they fearfully cleared the floor for him as he strided confidently towards you.

It was only when he was a few feet away from you, you realised him. Almost choking on your wine as he stood in front of you in an almost intimidating way. But when you looked up to him as he was taller then you. You could see his eyes. The pupils weren't their usual shape. They were wider, his beautiful yellow irises shy of disappearing.

Quickly you placed your glass down and bowled.

"L-Lord sheogorath, how can i help you?" You asked forcing the words our of your mouth joping to play it cool. However your voice betrayed you at that moment.

You awaited his response. The simplest things could tick him off bu tonight there will always be an exception. He looked down at you, he just laughed. Not his usual maniacal laugh. It was soft almost inaudible to the people around him. But he made certain you heard it.

He hooked a finger under your chin grabbing your attention as he guided your head to look at him. You could feel the heat rise on your cheeks as you gazed up at him. A kind smile on his face.

After a moment he steppes back giving enough space between you two for him to bow to you! A mortal. The crowd began to stir, whispering among themselves as he reaxhed out with his hand.

"A dance? Mi'lady?" He asked in his usual scottish accent that sent a shver down your spine.

You by all means would jump at the chance of dancing with him. But with the people staring and whispering behind their masks she felt as if it was wrong.

"Are you certain my lord?" You asked in an accent of your own. Oh how he loved to hear you speak. It made him feel as if he were flying. Well he can fly but it was different.

He didnt speak a word sending a glare to those around them. And with one swift movement he took you gently by the hand pulling you towards his chest. One arm sliding around your waist with ease.

"Don't mind them my dear. Tonight it's just about you and me" he whispered in your ear. He waited to long for this moment for so long and it was finally here.

He couldn't help but bask in your presence. Your smell, the feeling of you in his arms. It was beautiful. He guided you to the dance floor. Your dress swaying with his movements.

The band began to play once again. The lamps that hung on strings between the buildings changed into a beautiful red hue as it focused only on them.

You averted your eyes from him. To embarrassed to look his way. He wasn't impressed by this and with a small 'tsk' freeing one hand only to hook it under your chin once more as if it never left.

"I dont much like people averting my gaze (y/n). If it wasn't for your exquisite beauty i would have had you displayed as a carpet in my throne room" he stated his voice staying the same mono tone. It almost scared you if not for his hidden compliment.

He enjoyed dancing with you. Having you entwined with his own dark soul as he spun you around. However his glee wouldn't last long. There was still the dire situation to come and he has yet to tell you. Maybe he doesn't.

Sheogorath had a beautiful idea. A way to show his affection for you and get you out of danger.

With one simple movement he spun you around once again before dipping you low enough for your hair to become undone and hit the stone floor. He kept you their for some time. Just admiring how you looked. The red of your cheeks brought out your beautiful (eye color) eyes.

You couldn't hear anything above your own racing heartbeat as the close proximity of your face and his. His breath mingling with yours. Drawing you ever so closer to him.

With out a warning his lips connected with your own. It was just as you imagined it, soft, warm and slightly chasped but it was perfect.

Both of your lips moved in perfect sinc with eachother. As if you were made for him. A perfect mortal molded into his liking without his torment. You were perfect. He couldn't let you call to his lesser half.

He pulled you back onto your feet. Never removing his lips from yours. Spinning you around fast enough that you couldn't see straight. Then the last words you would probably ever hear from him in some time.

"I'm sorry"

His words confused you but as soon as you regained your balance and the world stopprd spinning you realised you were not in the isles anymore. You were in nirn.

____________________________

All done!

Wow! That took longer then i though and it is longer then i thought.

Anyway part 2??

[sweetestpopcorn]

In your previous anon answer, you said that Daemon eventually would have disposed off the Velaryon prince's to make way for his sons.

His daughters were betrothed to 2 of the prince's. Surely he would be somewhat satisfied with having his daughter as queen.

As for the while blood and cheese incident, I do think Daemon was the brains behind it while rheanyra maybe sort of knew very vague details, such as you'll get revenge, the Greens will pay etc.

When I first read the blood and cheese part, my first thought was Good Riddance Cold I know. But this was war in those times, they weren't going to hug the Greens and wear each other's colours to settle all grudges. And even today, where I live, brutal and cruel events occur. It was not fair to Helena or her children bit Aegon/ Alicent deserved it a hundred times over

Hi there 🤗

Answering your question, before Laena died and while Daemon was married to her - and very far from ever having a chance at the throne himself - I do think he had come to accept that having Baela be queen was as good as it would get for him. Now was this all he wanted? In my personal opinion, and from what we see of Daemon, I am inclined to say he would like a little more.

He had been able to get closer to Rhaenyra again, and I think it's very likely he would want some place at her council in the future, maybe even as her Hand making himself the second most powerful person in the kingdoms after her. And... who knows getting even closer to Rhaenyra as well so he could better control her, since from the start Daemon was very set on being the only man in her life, showing this again and again. My guess would be that after he secured himself a legitimate son, that he could very well take Harwin Strong's place as her lover, again to have a better hold on her. He knew his place by her side was dependent on her affections for him. But this is my personal opinion.

But! Y'all knew that but was coming.

But Laena died... and then Laenor was killed likely by Daemon's orders died... and then all of a sudden he was free and she was free, and boy oh boy (!) did no one waste any time to get into bed, make a baby, and get married, all the while giving 0 f_cks about the memory of their spouses! Laen who?

120 AC for Daemon and Rhaenyra in a nutshell:

Bottom line is that suddenly Daemon's situation changed dramatically. He was now no longer only the father of the girl who was set to marry the next heir. He was the husband of the Queen to be, the Prince Consort in the making, and he had two major table turners under his belt - two sons, Aegon and Viserys, who unlike their brothers, did not have their legitimacy questioned by anyone.

So now, best case scenario, he wouldn't just be the father to possibly the next queen and maybe a member of the Small Council; he would be Prince Consort and could very well have his sons as the next heirs to the Iron Throne. Just one tiny thing between the latter: the "Velaryon" princes.

As Prince Consort with his sons as the next kings to be, Daemon would have everything he always wanted. He would be king in all but name, and it would be his line on the Iron Throne, and importantly here, his line through a male heir - which I don't think I need to explain why in asoiaf terms is better than through a female heir. More weight was placed on sons than daughters and on this regard Daemon was no exception.

Why would he give up this opportunity? Especially because he could just marry his daughters to his sons, they only had 4 and 6 years between them 🤷‍♀️

All in all, why be "somewhat satisfied" when you can be completely satisfied? And it’s Daemon we are talking about - anyway this is just my view on the topic ;)

Still about the “a son for a son” incident I mean XD I can’t blame you. For the most part I just cannot for the life of me bring myself to care for the Greens. Yes the rational, objective part of me understands that it was wrong, but the petty emotional part of me is like “Who cares?!”. Yes I know I am going to hell. At least it’s warm there.

Also, so sorry Anon you live in such a place :( you spoke no lie, however. The world is filled with brutal and cruel events. I hope you are safe and that your situation can improve soon ❤

In a lighter mood - and to end this on a positive note - f_cking hell was Daemon bending over backwards for Rhaenyra! This dude was deepthroating her on the regular ever since she was a child! She got gifts, all of the attention, he was willing to kill to marry her (maybe even to get rid of the competition), he killed for her... no wonder she was all “My prince” this “my prince” that. Girl same! Same! - I’m kidding.

All the best to you, Anon 🥰😘

[bobcatmoran]

Last night I went to the theater for the first time since March 5, 2020 (I know the date, because the ticket is still in my phone's wallet). I'd bought season tickets for 2019-2020 for the local touring Broadway shows, and, less than 2 weeks after seeing "My Fair Lady" back in March 2020, the theater — like pretty much all other theaters in the US — went dark.

I got periodic updates over the next 18 months — this show had been canceled, that show had been rescheduled, then rescheduled again. Hamilton had been moved all the way out to spring 2023. The theater was upgrading its ventilation, masks would be required for whatever the next show was, then vaccinations required, too.

And last night, I got to be part of the very first audience back — pure coincidence, because that's the night my season ticket got reassigned to.

The head of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, the organization which runs most of the historic downtown theaters, including this one, came out before the show to welcome us back to cheers and raucous applause.

"Frozen" wouldn't have been my first choice for First Show Back, but it was really good! The actor who played Anna is from the area, which gave it a nice hometown connection, in addition to the general snowbound Nordic setting, which, of course, resonated with a Minnesotan audience. She was also really good, definitely one of the highlights of the show, having a great sense of physical comedy, an amazing voice, and some superb dance skills. Both Kristoff and the King of Arendelle were Black, which was a pleasant surprise. There are quite a few songs that weren't in the movie, and pretty much every one of them served to strengthen the weak points of the movie's storyline (except Hygge, which was just a really good way to bring the audience back into the theatrical space after the intermission). They also did a really good job tweaking the settings and, in some cases, the lyrics, of the movie songs to fit in a stage setting.

The political storyline in particular, with Hans plotting his way into taking over the throne, definitely benefited from the additions — he has a great "Follow Me" type song, that is a wicked blend of setting himself up as the Heroic Prince and ensuring that, should his plans to kill off Elsa and marry Anna go through, he'll be able to rise to a seat of power that'd normally be far beyond his grasp as a 13th son.

There's also a couple of very prominent puppets — Sven, the reindeer, is almost certainly working on the same mechanism as the gazelles in "The Lion King," and is decently effective. Olaf, on the other hand, is more Bunraku-style, like Timon from "The Lion King," and feels almost like he walked in from another musical entirely (I felt this way about Timon, too).

The special effects were amazing, especially one of the ice effects at the climax that I won't spoil — I don't think I've heard an audience cheer and clap that much at an effect since seeing "The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins" at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre ages ago (I still have NO IDEA how they did some of the more extreme hat replacements). Though honestly, this was one of the most responsive theatrical audiences I've ever been in, probably because we were all REALLY GLAD to be there.

And as far as the theatrical experience itself went, they did indeed enforce the masks and vaccination verification, and I didn't see a single person even wearing their masks below their noses unless eating or drinking. The staff had masks with clear windows on them so you could read their lips, though I don't know if that was an all-the-time thing or just because this is the performance that was also captioned on screens to either side of the stage. They sold concessions, but unlike the Before Times, they didn't allow you to bring them into the theater, and requested that you just pull up your mask between bites/sips. And there were also more locations selling souveniers and concessions, so that people were more spread out for that. There were also new air purifiers in the restrooms, as well as newly-installed touchless faucets and soap dispensers, though they couldn't fix the fact that the restroom layout is truly dire, with stalls hidden behind a wall so that the staff has to point them out and paper towel dispensers that are located right behind the only logical place to line up.

I also saw probably a couple dozen total little Annas and Elsas in the audience, which was cute.

Overall, a good experience, and a good first night back seeing live theater, which I've missed terribly.

[araviera]

Mermaid AU

"My parents are coming tomorrow and how am I going to explain to my mom that there's a merman in my bathroom?"

"You can hadle it. I know this, Wisegirl."

Annabeth helped Percy get to the bottom of the beach to free him. After he managed to fend for himself, the merman looked at her and said something that Annabeth could not hear thanks to the earplugs she wore. Considering the time they spent together in the bathroom and the endless conversations, she took off the earplugs, trusting him, and smiled.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she joked.

Percy smiled back, and Annabeth soon regretted taking off the protector. She saw, through his eyes, lines of evil that told mermaids stories. He started to sing.

Annabeth struggled, fought, but failed to overcome the spell. Percy sang and called her deeper, further out to sea. He said that everything would be fine, that it wouldn't hurt, and she knew it was a lie. Annabeth's body obeyed without reluctance. Her mind watched everything without doing anything. Annabeth, the real one, panicked. It was sinking deeper and deeper. She felt algae and corals at her feet. The rising tide was pulling it harder and harder. She was no longer able to touch the floor when she took Percy's hand.

Annabeth cursed him with every possible name in her mind. She had been careful at all times, she hadn't trusted him right away, and yet she had failed. She had been foolish to think that even though she knew a little about him, he would not betray her.

Soon, the ground disappeared. Her body was no longer able to stay above water. Percy pulled her down from time to time.

Annabeth submerged.

The pressure and suffocation of the water brought her down. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to avoid the salt water. Automatically, she held her breath, before the merman speak with her.

"Open your eyes, Chase. Look at me."

His melodious, sweet voice made her obey him. Annabeth exhaled and looked at him. Percy was beautiful, there was no way to disagree. His skin shone under the moonlight under the water. Her hair floated like black algae. The blue interior of his eyes, which in humans are red, shone brightly.

Annabeth was beginning to despair. "He's going to kill me. I'm going to die. I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry, dad. Forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Percy came over, ready to bite her, but she saw him hesitate. He looked at her, and before she lost consciousness, he looked away.

He would never be able to say what exactly went through his head to give up the idea of ​​killing her. Of course, in addition to liking her, since they had spent a few days together and she had been a true friend (something he never had), Percy had the impression that there was something wrong.

But it was already too late.

Annabeth was dying, he knew. He had done this many times before. Her face was losing color, water was entering her lungs freely. There was not much to do for her. For a human.

Percy couldn't kill her, couldn't let her die after the last few days - he decided. He leaned over and pulled the blonde's head hard towards him and kissed her.

He had never done that before, but his studies at the Palace provided knowledge like that - which, honestly, Percy thought that all hybrids should know.

The girl's limp body shone brightly and stretched. Percy felt her skin turn into scales, sprout fins and thin her waist. He felt the girl's clothes disappear in his embrace, with nothing he could do.

When the metamorphosis passed, Annabeth was breathing weakly.

Percy lost his breath when he saw her.

"Gray?" He thought aloud.

Lines of magic, created by the brightness of the moon, descend from the eyes to the body. Her tail was encrusted with shiny stones.

Percy hoped she would turn into a random mermaid, but gray... Gray was an extremely rare color, and that was worrisome.

Annabeth could sum up that week as a nightmare. The last thing she remembered was being under the spell of Percy's Singing. She was drowning and, then, darkness. Only darkness. Annabeth woke up with a tingle throughout her body. She looked everywhere, but didn't recognize where she was.

Then, she saw Percy.

Percy was standing on the end of the bed, watching her. He wore a robe that covered part of his body, as well as an alternative crown on his head.

At first she thought she was dreaming. Then, started to scream.

"Annabeth! Annabeth! Calm down!" he tried.

"Calm me down?! Get away from me! Monster! Treacherous! Traitor! I trusted you!" she screamed, but her voice was affected, and only then she realized that she was under water, that she was breathing, and that she was undressed.

She screamed even more.

"What did you do ?! Percy! What did you do?" Annabeth felt her throat tighten when she looked down.

Her legs weren't there. A tail stirred back and forth unconsciously.

"Annabeth, listen" he tried again. "I'm sorry-"

"NO, DON'T FEEL" she fumbled for the nightstand looking for something she could use for defense.

"-but I needed to do this. You were going to die" Percy approached.

"No!" she hid her fork behind her and asked for distance between them. "Don't talk to me! If you hadn't betrayed me, I wouldn't nearly have died!"

His shoulders withered.

"Wisegirl, I ..."

Then Annabeth decided that hitting the prince of the kingdom would be a good deal.

After that - Percy almost dying with a hit in his heart, the royal family locking her in her room, discovering she would never see her family again, crying, breaking furniture and other tantrums - Annabeth felt more alone than before. Percy, whenever he could, went to visit her, but she never let him in or talked about it. She was devastated.

Her mother must have been in tears thinking that her daughter had died.

She would never be able to see her family again...

Later, Percy appeared at her door and threatened her.

"Annabeth, I don't want to have to do this, but today there is dinner at the Herbal Garden and you will be my mate," he said. "A maid will leave your clothes here, and I will come and get you. If you aren't, you will be thrown to the sharks."

And left her alone, terrified at the thought of being killed.

Annabeth didn't trust him or his family, but she had to trust her enough not to fall.

And that was what she was doing at that party.

"You see? I can swim on my back"

"Pff, look behind you, Percy"

-

And, thats it. Mermay finally ends :"(. It was so cool do a Percabeth au underwater. But maybe i should explain some points:

1- Percy is immortal bc he is Poseidon' son (duh) and he is the prince and heir of Throne (Sally is a mermaid too).

2- Percy has few friends, and, usually, Poseidon doesnt give him permission to hang out with them. There is all the pression at him, so Percy never can be himself.

3- Zeus was a merman from an important royal family, and Athena too (cause she is his daughter, duh/2), but they decided living on mortal realm and left all behind. Athena never told this to Annabeth, but she alwals said to her to stay away from sea.

4- Poseidon, Sally and Percy, first, didnt know who was she, but they "addopted" her because she was from an important family.

5- Annabeth finally talked with her mother. Athena said how worried she was, how happy she was to Ann was alive and how sad she was about Annabeth transfomation.

6- After this, Annabeth and Percy became friends. They hang out together and Poseidon let them hang out with Percy's friends.

7- Annabeth met Rachel and Grover, and she loved them.

8- Annabeth became known as Prince's Wife and as Princess before they know they like each other. The gray tail became famous in the "City that never sleeps"

[knwsoft]

[where did it goes wrong?]

— member. lee know

— genre. fluff, faint angst, arranged marriage!au, royalty!au

— words. 1.4k words

grew up as the only and most loved daughter of the kim duchy never made you worry about your future. that was until you got the chance to see your entire future in a dream.

in your dream, you just turned 16 years old when your happy life became miserable. the crown prince—who was your future fiance—falls into unrequited love with your adoptive sister. this made you blinded by jealousy thus got yourself and family executed by the prince because of the sin that you did toward her.

therefore, you were determined to reshape your future by treating your big sister as if she was your life. so, you wouldn’t be killed by the time it comes. 

talking about the crown prince, you actually hate to send a man like him to your sister. he is a good-looking, sweet-hearted man of this age, and an invisible swordmaster with fierce passion toward his own people. but, you have to live. and in order to do that, you need him and your sister to love each other. that way, you could live with your own happy ending and spend a thousand years on your own.

the day you were waiting for had finally come—your twelfth birthday party where the crown prince made his first appearance and met your sister. 

the beginning is important, so let’s do well.

the party went on with a speech from the duke and cheers from the guests, followed with some polite greetings and wishes for you. you politely thanked them, thought mind not fully paying them attention. you even didn’t know them or even their status that well. and the party itself was just fine. it's too extravagant to your liking. 

thankfully, the boy you were waiting for finally came, making people turn their attention to him as he made his way to greet the duke.

he was no other than lee minho, the crown prince—and your possible murderer.

“it’s nice to see you come, your highness,” the duke greeted him back politely.

“how have you been? his majesty has sent a gift to lady [name] in celebration of her twelfth birthday.”

there was also one thing that you learned from your dream. the very reason why minho was engaged with you.

minho was a perfect man, but he doesn’t have one thing, which is bloodline. the emperor was known to not have married yet, and minho's existence as the sole heir to the throne became a debate between the aristocratic faction and imperial faction.

“it’s a gift from the emperor, so come out to receive it, lady [name].” a servant then came to his side and brought him the gift sent from the emperor.

that’s why, to secure his position as the crown prince and silence the aristocratic faction, the emperor pushed ahead with the marriage of minho and you, the daughter of kim duchy, the second most powerful family after the imperial family. but you know better that he will fall in love with your sister, who doesn’t help his situation at all.

now is the chance! 

you hide behind your sister’s dress and grin, “my sister will take it for me.”

this should be work, you thought. you’ll get out of here on your own, so they two could get to know each other and fall in love. just like what you planned. 

however, you didn’t expect that minho would kneel down in front of you to match your eye level and lean closer, shortening the distance between you two. this made you blushed and lost of words. 

“my lady, i’m talking to you right now,” he looked directly at you in the eyes. he didn’t bat an eye at your sister at all, not even just for a mere second.

something definitely didn’t feel right here.

to play it safe, you hesitantly took the present before thanking both the prince and his servant. 

for some reasons—and to your knowledge, minho didn’t like to be around the kim duchy family that much. if it wasn’t because of the arranged marriage and duty as your fiance, he might now not come to your birthday party. but weirdly, this hatred also included your sister, the one he was supposed to fall in love with. 

not only that. whenever you tried to leave them alone, you would somehow ended up with him alone instead of your sister. to make it worse, his lack of expression face and habit of not saying much made the atmosphere awkward and difficult for you to bring up a topic. it felt more like you're talking to yourself than to the prince.

looks like this plan wasn’t going to be easy as you thought.

however, little did you know, minho secretly liked your presence.

he might look cold and rarely show his expressions around you. but once he did, it was no other than horror that was written all over his face. 

you were just trying to protect your sister from this noblewoman harassment. and instead of slapping your sister, her palm landed on your face instead.

he saw everything. and with rage, he called the guard to take the nameless noblewoman away, not letting her to explain herself, and dismissed everyone in the room to leave you two alone. he quickly ran to your side in worry and asked you so many questions.

“i’m fine, your highness.” you assured him with a smiled while touching your sting red cheek. “more importantly, could you help me check on my sister? she-”

“how can you still care about the other in this situation?”

he wanted to roar with frustration, he wanted to cradle you close and never let this happen again, he wanted you to stop being selfless. he raised his trembling hand to your cheek and caressed it, “how can you still look for the other when you’re the one who is hurt here?”

“this is nothing compared to what happened to my sister, your highness,” you answered.

“don’t tell me this is nothing! you're my fiance, and whatever happens to you is matter to me.”

he was supposed to look after your sister and left you alone here, not worrying about you. yet, deep down, a part of you was happy he did.

is that okay for you to feel this way for him? why did he come closer to you in the first place!?

"but, don't you hate me? my status as the duke's daughter was the reason you are engaged to me. the reason why you have to be tied with me!"

you swallowed and looked down, ducking away from his stare for the first time, or else, you wouldn't know what else to do with your own feeling.

he just kept his mouth shut, surprised at your thought of him.

was that how you see him all this time, someone who doesn't care about his own fiance's well being and only cares about status?

"are you that blind?" he softly asked you in disbelief.

all this time, people were always trying to be careful around him. no one dared to displease him, nor get into his bad side. and minho found this boring and annoying. but, all of that changed after he met you on your twelfth birthday on the emperor’s order.

you weren't scared of him at all. while other people tried to avoid his eyes, you weren’t. you looked him back at the eyes like he wasn’t someone higher than you. though he never understood why you avoided him for a multiple time—using your sister as the excuse—before, you still never pushed him away. instead, you were the first one who wanted to talk to him normally.

he didn’t know when it exactly happened, but you started to be someone important for him. you’re the reason why he can’t seem to be focused lately. you’re also the one who made his day better just at the mere thought of you. so, when he saw that nameless noblewoman hit you, something inside him snapped. yet, you didn’t understand that.

"yes, i might hate kim duchy at first, but i never hate you. instead, i love you. i care for you more than anyone else in this world and i want you to be with me.” 

you didn’t know what to say.  you used to find joy in reading heartfelt confession novels you found at the kim duchy’s library. but, hearing it in person from the most unexpected person felt strange. happy, shock, confused—you didn’t really know how to describe this feeling at all. 

“i...”

“let’s continue this talk later. we need to treat your swollen cheek first.” right before you could protest, he added, “this is an order. not a request.”

since when did this ‘being cupid for your sister’ turn into ‘making the prince love you’? where did it go wrong?

[paolaofthewatertribe]

young k - did i mention? part one

«and i would give my kingdom for

just one kiss»

Once upon a time, during the 20th century, in the beautiful lands of The Lemore Kingdom, the King and Queen welcomed a little girl into the world. They named her Elle, which meant light. Meaning she would light up the kingdom and bring it joy.

Growing up, she fell in love with Kang Jinhyun, a boy who worked at the royal stables. She loved how tender he was with animals, and he loved how her smile lit up the world whenever she was around.

The kingdom wasn't in a good financial state, and so her parents wanted her to marry someone of royal descendance.

She refused. Jinhyun and her loved each other, and she wouldn't marry someone who wasn't him. Her parents prohibited her from seeing him, and they also fired him.

But, every night, without anyone knowing, they would meet in the skirts of town. They talked about the stars, about life, about having a family together, even about leaving. Jinhyun told her that he was going to get a better job, so he could provide for the both of them if that moment came.

He didn't give up. Every morning he would go to the castle and try and talk to the King, telling him how he would do anything for Elle.

A couple of months later, the King and the Queen finally realized they were wrong the whole time. The happiness of their daughter was more important than some financial problems, at least for now.

Jinhyun and Elle became rulers of the Lemore Kingdom, after her parents decided to retire. And from there, everything went uphill.

They closed deals with nearby countries, solving the kingdom's financial problems. The Lemore Kingdom was doing better than ever.

Three years after stepping into the throne, Jinhyun and Elle became parents to a little boy named Younghyun, Kang Younghyun.

Every person in the Lemore Kingdom knew this amazing love story, including [y/n]. She loved it. It was just straight out of a fairytale, and that made it one of her favorite stories.

Her parents used to tell her the story every night before she went to sleep. And she couldn't help but fantasize about it.

She would imagine marrying a prince and having the same love story as Queen Elle and King Jinhyun. But sadly, something like that happens once in a lifetime. And [y/n] was sure it wouldn't happen to her.

– We're here! – her mother's voice woke her up from her fantasies.

As they exited the car, a small building came to view. It wasn't the prettiest one, but it was something.

[y/n] had been accepted to Lewis Lemore University, one of the most prestigious colleges in Northern Europe and named after the first King of the Lemore Kingdom. She worked really hard during her whole school career, doing extracurricular activities, studying day and night just to get into it. And she made it.

The bad part about it was leaving home. Her family lived in Alevine, a small city in the south of The Lemore Kingdom, which was three hours away by car. That meant she had to move all the way to Lundale, the capital, and start living alone.

She was half excited half nervous. She couldn't wait to experience living alone, but what if she wasn't made for it?

After a couple hours, her little apartment looked more like home. She would probably be living here for a long time so she needed to make it feel hers.

– It looks so pretty [y/n]! – said her mom while hugging her.

– Let's see how long you survive living alone – joked her father, making them laugh.

– I'm going to miss you so much. I'll try to visit as much as I can, I promise.

[y/n] had tears in her eyes. She didn't have any siblings, so she was practically leaving her parents alone, after 20 years of raising her.

– We're gonna miss you too honey. Remember to close the door every night, don't open it to strangers and take care of yourself, alright? I love you.

– And stay healthy! – said her father while they were leaving –. Oh, and no boys!

The first day of college. Now, [y/n] was officially a student of the Lewis Lemore University. And she couldn't be more excited.

The first week was supposed to be an introductory week, where you get to know new people, and also go to parties.

She was studying journalism, since she loved to write. She wrote diaries, blogs, she even was the main writer of the newspaper at her school. So yeah, journalism was her thing.

After her classes, she headed towards the library. She knew she would spend a lot of time there in the future, so why not check it out now? She also needed some books for some of her classes so she could kill two birds with one stone.

There weren't a lot of people there, which was normal, considering the semester had just started. [y/n] greeted the librarian and showed her the names of the books she needed. She was kind enough to accompany her to the right section.

She looked through the shelves and found the books she needed. But she kinda wanted to look for another books. She decided to look for her favorite childhood books, the Percy Jackson series, and read them again.

And so she headed to the fantasy section. She was so mesmerized about the selection of books available, she kept taking books out and reading the summary on the back.

She found one written by Rick Riordan, the same author of Percy Jackson, called Heroes of Olymp. And she realized it was a sequel. Her smile reached her eyes while reading the summary. She would definitely take it home.

She looked through the pages and saw there were more than one main character, there were Jason, Leo, Percy, and a lot more.

She was so into the book, she didn't realize someone was watching her from the other side of the shelf. She looked up after she felt it and then her eyes met another pair. And it was the one and only Kang Younghyun, also known as Prince Brian.

[y/n] was mesmerized by his beauty, he looked straight out of a fairytale. He smiled at her, sweetly. And she couldn't help but smile back. But then, panicking, she left, breaking the moment.

She used her student ID to lend the books and then quickly exited the library. Prince Brian, on the other hand, kept thinking about how pretty her smile was. But he told himself he would probably never see her again, so why get his hopes up?

Little did he know...

– You cannot do that! What about me? Are you just leaving me alone?

[y/n] couldn't help but laugh at Dowoon's reaction to her going back home during the holidays. He was the Duke of Islurgh, a small town near Lundale, and they met at one of her classes. He was 24, but he had just finished his first career and wanted to do another one, one that he found more interesting. He also knew Prince Brian, so he would tease y/n about having a crush on him all the time.

– I'm sorry that I miss my parents and want to see them, maybe you should visit yours too?

– I will, but not over the whole two weeks!

– You wouldn't understand. I'm also going there to work, since I'm a broke student, not like you, Mr. Duke of Islurgh.

– I can give you money, just stay! – she laughed again, he really was a baby.

– Stop whining! You can hang out with Wonpil, or Jae.

– If it's necessary I will. But I'll miss you.

– I'll miss you too. But it's only two weeks. I'll be back as soon as you can say "I'm drum" - he looked at her like saying "are you serious" and she laughed –. Oh, the train is here, bye!

They hugged and she prepared herself for a very long ride home.

Days passed and [y/n] had a great time with her parents. She had missed them a lot, so they spent a lot of time together. They went to the aquarium, to the cinema, and they also went to the town's annual carnival. She had so much fun, feeling like a kid again, and forgetting about her adult problems for a while.

Her parents owned a small coffee shop that was situated in the center of town. She was working there during the holidays to make a bit of money, and also spend time with her parents.

It was Sunday evening. Her parents weren't working today so she was the only one in the shop. It was about to be closing time, and there was only one client left. It was Mrs. Love, an old woman that lived in Alevine her whole life.

– Thank you for the coffee, [y/n]. It's nice having you here – she thanked after standing up and heading for the door.

– It's always a pleasure Mrs. Love, see you next time! And get home safe! – she waved her goodbye and turned to clean the table.

But then she heard a male voice and turned towards the door. A young male was holding the door for Mrs. Love, and they exchanged a few words she couldn't hear since she was at the front. He also smiled sweetly at her, and at that moment y/n knew who he was. She would recognize that smile everywhere.

Prince Brian was there, in Alevine. At her parents' coffee shop. She let a deep breath out and kept doing her job. Even though it was hard having her crush there, she supposed Brian wanted to have a normal evening and she was going to give him that.

Anyway, she found it quite funny how he was wearing a cap and sunglasses in the middle of autumn, and at 6pm. He kept looking at a menu he took from a nearby table, didn't really knowing what to order, which, for whatever reason, she found adorable.

Truth is, Brian was in Alevine to deal with some some royal businesses. But he really wanted to spend some time as a normal person, alone and not with his bodyguards around. Thankfully, he had Sungjin. They were the same age, but he was kind of like his main bodyguard. He knew how Brian enjoyed having some time for himself, and he wasn't gonna stop him from doing it. So he offered him help, for him to get a whole evening for himself, without anyone bossing him around. He had to be back at the hotel by midnight at the latest, but he wouldn't complain. He was really lucky of having such a good friend by his side.

Brian didn't want anyone recognizing him, so he opted for a cap and some sunglasses. Sungjin laughed at how ridiculous he looked, but he didn't care.

He really wanted to get some coffee first, so he entered the first coffee shop that he found. On the door he was met with a lovely old woman, who recognized him and wished him a great evening, making him smile. He noticed he was the only client in the shop, and that there was only one employee left. He felt kinda bad for making her work more when she could be closing up to go home.

After staring at the menu for way too long, he finally made his way to the counter, facing the employee. He recognized her from somewhere, he was sure about that, but he couldn't seem to remember.

– Excuse me... –he started –. I don't really know what to order, what would you recommend? – she looked at him deeply, which make him nervous.

– Looking at you, I'd say an Iced Americano. You look like someone who would enjoy it, even in this weather.

– Well then, I'll have an Iced Americano, please - she smiled and turned around to make his drink.

He couldn't shake the fact that they had already met. He then remembered she was the girl with the pretty smile from the library. What were the odds of meeting her here, in Alevine? The fact that it was her made him even more nervous than he already was, but he wasn't going to show it.

– Here you go – she placed the drink on the counter –. That would be 2,95€.

At the mention of these words, Brian froze. He was so used to not having to pay for anything that he forgot to take money with him. Now, that would definitely make him look like a douche.

– Ehm... I don't have money with me – he touched his neck, embarrassed. [y/n], on the other hand, found it cute. She already saw it coming.

– Don't worry, it's okay – she smiled at him –. I'll pay for it.

– No! I can't let you do that! – what would his parents say if they found out he was going to let someone pay for his drink? They didn't raise him like that.

– It's fine, really – she reassured him. Brian found the small gesture cute, and smiled at her, making [y/n]'s cheeks turn red.

He took a sip of his drink and smiled. She took the right decision. He loved it.

– Thank you for the drink, it's amazing – he smiled –. By the way, I'm really sorry for making you pay for my drink, and I'm also very sorry for coming 10 minutes before closing.

– You don't need to be sorry about anything, really.

She went quickly to the back to get the stuff she needed to start cleaning and then came back. Brian didn't know what to do, he was probably annoying her, but he wasn't going to leave. Something inside him wanted to spend time with her, get to know her. And he was going to follow those feelings.

[y/n] found it a bit embarrassing to be cleaning in front of him, but on the other side she was happy he decided to stick around. It warmed her heart.

She was done after some minutes. She went to the back again to get changed. She took her stuff and when she came out, Brian was next to the door, drink empty, waiting for her.

He opened the door for her, and she smiled. She liked chivalry in guys. She turned off the lights and then the two of them went outside. She make sure the door was closed and then turned to face Brian.

They stood there for some seconds, both staring at the ground. Brian was struggling. He didn't know if he should tell her that he was the prince. It could change the way she treated him, but he wanted to be honest with her.

– I'm the prince – [y/n] looked up at him. He took of his sunglasses to show her. He was expecting to see a surprised look on her face, but she just smiled.

– I know – she laughed –. I didn't want to say anything because I thought you'd like to be a normal person, at least for once. It was an honor to help you, Your Highness – she bowed slightly.

– No! – he was surprised about her recognizing him straight away, but also relieved –. Like you said, I'm trying to enjoy a day as a non-royal, so please call me Brian.

– As you wish. So, Brian, what are your plans for tonight?

– Honestly? I have no idea – both laughed –. Do you recommend anything?

– Let me think... Oh yes! This week is the town's annual carnival and it's beautiful. I was there yesterday with my parents, we usually go every year and it's always an amazing experience – her eyes lit up talking about it, and Brian couldn't help but smile –. You should check it out, I'm sure you'll love it!

– If you're saying you love it, then I'll have to check it out.

The sun had already set down, so they stood there under the light of the street lamps. Brian didn't know why, but he wanted to ask her to accompany him, to show him around town. He just wanted to spend more time with her. And so did she. But she knew it wouldn't be right.

– I'll be going home. Have a nice evening, Brian – she curtsied and turned around to start her way home.

Brian watched her leave, but then something inside him snapped.

– Wait! – [y/n] turned to face him –. What's your name?

– [y/n].

– Well, [y/n], would you like to show me around? – he smiled playfully at her, and her heart jumped at that gesture.

– It'd be an honor.

– So you just eat it with your hands?

[y/n] had just bought two crepes for them to eat, and let's say Brian was struggling to eat it.

– Yes! Look, like this – she took a big bite out of hers and Brian just stared at her –. Hmm, it's so good.

He mimicked her and took a big bite. The flavor of the crepe and the Nutella together was so heavenly he went straight for another bite, making [y/n] laugh.

– Oh my god this is so good! I'm telling my parents to add this to the menu like as soon as possible – [y/n] noticed he had a little bit of chocolate on his cheek and let a small chuckle.

– Brian, your cheek – he frowned and touched his cheek, but he only spread it even more, making her laugh really hard.

– Stop, you're making it worse! Stay still – she took a napkin and put one hand on his neck and used the other to clean his face.

Having her so close made Brian nervous. He held his breath during the whole moment. [y/n], on the other side, couldn't help but look at his lips. Those were thin and had a very soft pink tint. Once she was done, she looked at him and smiled before distancing herself from him. He let out the breath he was holding and smiled back.

– Thank you.

It was getting colder and of course [y/n] didn't have a jacket with her. Her house was not far away from the coffee shop so she never had a jacket with her, since it was a very short walk home. Brian noticed it and his instant response was to take his jacket off and put it over her shoulders. She was surprised and wanted to object, but his jacket felt so warm she just couldn't do it.

They walked around the carnival for a while, talking about their lives. She told him she lived there her whole life and that she was studying journalism. He told her he studied business management and graduated last year. He also told her some funny stories about him, wanting to hear her laugh.

It was getting really late, and so it was time for Brian to go to the hotel. He was really dreading it. He was having so much fun with [y/n], talking about common hobbies and laughing at stupid jokes. But he promised Sungjin he'll be back by midnight and he wouldn't break that promise. And also, [y/n] was getting really tired.

– Do you still know where your hotel is? – she asked, and he smiled embarrassed –. I guess you don't. Tell me the name and I'll walk you there.

He did and after a couple of minutes they arrived. Sungjin was waiting for him outside, and it really surprised him to see Brian with someone, especially a girl. He was going to scold him later for blowing his cover.

– Thank you for everything today [y/n], I really felt like a normal guy – "going on a date with the girl he likes", whispered a voice in his mind –. And I'm really sorry you had to pay for everything, I promise I'll make it up to you soon – he bowed, took her hand, and kissed it softly, before turning around and entering the hotel with Sungjin.

[y/n] bit her lip. She hadn't felt happier and more alive in her entire life. She walked home with a big smile plastered on her face, and only once she was there she noticed she still had Brian's jacket. She didn't know if return it to him, but she decided to keep it. Just to remember and cherish this amazing night with him.

[n3k0c0]

"Endlessly"

         It was a normal day, like any other. The woods were alive with the birds chirping their song and the trees rustling in the gentle breeze. AJ sat in his garden out back, tending to his flowers and picking herbs for remedies. Ever since he had moved from his home and taken up the life of an apothecary he had lived a calm life, people occasionally coming to him for various remedies, serums, and things of the like. People called his gift for making such healing agents “a gift from the gods,” but he didn’t think so. He believed the gods looked down upon him, as his life before he left was truly the unluckiest one he could have lived. He learned to heal through hard work and dedication, and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. He heard the back door to his house open, prompting him to look up. Standing on top of the steps that led to the garden was his dear friend, Roxas. He smiled softly and stood, quickly dusting off his apron before running over to Roxas. He stood a step below the boy as he waited for him to stop rummaging through his bag. Soon, Roxas pulled out a couple of small packages and handed them to AJ, who happily took them.

    “Managed to find what you needed. It was a little hard,” Roxas said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. AJ simply shook his head and smiled.

“Even if you found nothing I'd be grateful that you even took the time to look and go outside the town walls… You're the only one who does.”

“Well, as far as I know, no one else is good friends with an ex-prince who has worked night and day to get to where they are now.” Both boys shared a small laugh.

“How are Sora and Xion?”

“They're doing okay. Xion has started studying to be part of the the elite guard, and Sora's… Well, he's Sora.”

“Yeah, he is… And the elite guard! That's hard to get into with my father's stupid rules!”

“Well, she passed pretty much every test. She just has to go through physical in a couple of days, and she's been preparing like a madwoman.”

“Well, tell her I wish her luck. She's going to need it if my father will be supervising.”

“At least your sister, Ashlyn, will get the throne next. I'd hate to know what Amalthia would do if she ruled… Pray to the heavens that Ashlyn does step up soon.”

“I'm sure she will, given my father's condition when I left. He was sickly, but he tries to pass it off.”

“It's as if the gods want him gone, too…” Roxas said, winking. AJ giggled and led Roxas inside, where they unpacked the packages and set jars of liquid and jars of other materials in their proper places. Once that was done Roxas bid AJ farewell and made his way down the path back home. AJ made some quick remedies then made himself some tea. He went to the front porch, where he sat on one of the chairs and enjoyed his tea as he looked down the path. It was nice, peaceful…

“Well, fuck you, too, ass hats!” Well, the quiet didn't last long. AJ looked to the small path with tree cover that led to the nearby lake, where a voice had come from. It held such authority and held a certain sound that seemed similar to a raging fire. He set his cup down on the small table next to his chair and stood, quickly making his way to the path and running the rest of the way. He eventually made it to the lake, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He looked around some more until he found a boy laying with the lower half of his body submerged in water. AJ ran over and knelt next to the boy, who was clearly still somewhat conscious. He had pale skin, his hair dark and sticking up all over the place. He was covered in blood and cuts, some big and some small. His breathing was irregular, as well. It was as if he had just been in a battle. AJ said softly, pulling the boy's arm over his shoulders. The boy groaned in pain as he was lifted to his feet, but seemed to silence as they began to head home. Once AJ got the boy inside he brought him to his room, laying him on his bed. AJ quickly got his first aid kit and moved to treat the boy's wounds, but it seemed all that was left was the blood.

“Did he heal himself…?”

“Of course I did, idiot…” AJ let out a small yelp as he threw the closed bottle of antiseptic at the boy. There was a small 'thunk’ accompanied by the sloshing of liquid, followed by a groan. The boy quickly moved his hand and covered his eye, sitting up in bed. “What the hell was that for?!"

“I thought you were unconscious!”

“Why would I be unconscious?!”

“Do you not remember the bleeding cuts you had?”

“Those were nothing compared to what I get in the battlefield, but I'm thinking that I might get a black eye from that bottle.”

“Over dramatic much?”

“It's not every day you get a bottle thrown at your face by a mortal and actually have it hurt.”

“Quit talking like your some higher being.”

“I could kill you right where you stand with a flick of my wrist.”

“... You're a rogue wizard, aren't you?”

“What? No!” AJ rolled his eyes and picked up the first aid kit, setting everything that had spilled out back inside.

“That's what they all say..."

“I'm a god!”

“And I'm a minister of the temple.” Both looked at each other for some time before AJ stood and put the first aid kit away. “So, either one of us is lying, both of us are lying, or none of us are lying. Take your pick.”

    “You are. Why the hell would a prince become minister, much less an apothecary?” The boy asked. AJ stared at the boy for a few moments. The boy rolled his eyes. “Trust me. The gods won't shut up about you. You're supposed to be their 'chosen prophet,’ and that's what they hoped you'd become after you left home.”

“Just who are you?"

“Vanitas, God of War.”

“... Now the resemblance between you and the statue at the temple makes sense.”

“What, you're not afraid?”

“Not really. After disrespecting someone like you I can expect death."

“... So, what happened to make you an apothecary?” Vanitas asked changing the subject. AJ still hardly believed it was the actual god, but maybe it was better to play along than risk death.

“Didn't want to life of a prince. I hated being treated like I was this important person when I was just a kid. The only people who treated me like an equal were my close friends, but even then they were practically forced to keep their distance. I told my mom that I wanted a normal life, and she told me that she'd grant me one as long as I wrote to her as often as I could. I promised, and I ran to this place. I fixed it up with help from my friends, and I made it my workplace and home. I like it this way better than I would if I took the throne.”

“And what did your father have to say about this?”

“Oh, he told me there was hell to pay. Tried forcing me back to the kingdom, but Sora, Xion, and Roxas saved me with their powers. I'm thankful for that every day I see them.”

    “What kind of powers?”

“They were born with them, but Sora got his amplified when he started working as a priest in the temple of Ventus.”

“Uh huh… and what of Xion and Roxas?”

“Roxas runs around as a trader, and Xion's working to be part of the royal guard… Why would you care?”

“You seem to surround yourself with people who are more successful than you… Those who get to travel the world, work under the gods, or even fight for their kingdom… How come?” AJ could tell that Vanitas was trying to dig deep, find a weakness. He wouldn't be swayed so easily. He quickly looked away and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“What I do is enough for me. They're happy with their lives, and I'm happy with mine.”

“You seemed to perk up at the idea of being the chosen prophet… Is that what you wanted before this?”

“What? Being a prophet isn't what I wanted. Besides, I'd have to be a woman to be one. They have the best sight.”

“What's in your eyes says otherwise…”

“I don't have time for this. You're all better, so please leave.” With that, AJ left the room and went to the backyard, where he sat in front of his bed of crysthanamum flowers. He needed to calm down, to find his peace. If that really was a god, then he had to go. He wanted nothing to do with working for the gods. They weren't there for him, so why would he be there for them? If he's struck down then and there, so be it. He lived a full enough life to be happy. Nothing was going to change that.

“How do people wear this…?” AJ asked softly, re-adjusting his eye covering for nearly the hundredth time. He become a prophet, though admittedly against his will. Vanitas brought his brother, Ventus, God of the Moon, to talk things out. When that didn't work, Ventus brought Terra, God of Earth, and Aqua, Goddess of the Sea and Goddess of Love. Seeing that they weren't going to give up, he reluctantly gave in. He was grateful that they were at least polite, unlike Vanitas.

    “Well… It could be worse,” a girl's voice said. AJ sighed and leaned back in his seat, the carriage providing little to no comfort.

“Easy for you to say, Xion… You didn't have four gods in your house, trying to convince you to be their spokesperson.”

“Fair enough, but look on the bright side… You get to be in town."

“Yeah, but I don't get to see it…”

“There is that… and it's not like you'll be allowed to really go anywhere once we get to the temple… Once you're done there, we're off to the next… Man, the gods have it out for you, don't they?"

“Don't know what I did to piss them off… Besides, my vision will be the worst compared to lower prophets.”

“It's actually said that the most caring have the best vision… Doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman.”

“I feel so much better…” AJ said, sarcasm evident in his tone. Xion laughed nervously before falling silent for quite some time.

“You know… Once this is over, we can go back home. We can be ourselves,” she said, a dreamy edge to her tone.

“I wish… The gods are making me leave once I've given the last message to the last temple. I'll only be allowed back down when they need me to give messages or I have a vision, and who knows when that'll be…” he sighed. “The only ones I know of who objected to this are Aqua, Terra, and Ventus… They were overruled by the rest of the gods.”

“So there is some good in them… Any way you can get out of this?”

“If I fall in love with a god… I'd have to swear my life to them and take a blood oath.”

“I'd say go for Aqua, but she and Terra…”

“Yeah…”

“What about Ventus? You could practically be King of the sun alongside him…”

“Tempting, but… he looks too much like Roxas. I'd feel weird.”

“Then the only one is…”

“The biggest prick of them all.”

“Vanitas can't be… Well, actually, no, he would be. He is the god of war, after all.” Both shared a quick giggle before they felt the carriage come to a stop. Soon the door opened and Xion stepped out, taking AJ’s hand and helping him down. He could see through the veil that covered his eyes, but it was still annoying to wear. At the base of the steps to the temple of Ventus was Sora, who wore a forlorn expression. His temple was the last on AJ’s journey. As Xion led AJ up the steps with Sora trailing behind them, a woman began walking down the stairs. She seemed to pick up her pace as she neared the group, finally stopping in front of AJ and grabbing hold of his hands.

    “AJ, I have some news… It's kind of good, but it's caused an uproar amongst the gods.”

“Uh… Aqua…?” AJ asked softly, the hood of the woman's cloak obscuring her face. She quickly took off her hood, showing her blue hair and blue eyes. Xion and Sora quickly fell to one knee with their head down to pay their respects.

“It's Vanitas… He's willing to live on Earth in exchange for your freedom. He'll still be a god, but he said he was willing to give up his place in the heavens for your freedom from, well… this,” Aqua said, gesturing to his attire. AJ didn't know what to say. He'd started this nearly three months ago, and now Vanitas was trying to let him go free? “There is one condition… He has to make you fall in love with him in the span of three months.”

“That's a generous time allotted, but falling in love? I don't think war and love go hand in hand like that.”

“Well… He said something along the lines of fighting for you, but that could just be me. He's probably at your place by now. Once you're done here, head straight home, alright?”

“... Okay.” Aqua smiled and hugged AJ tightly before putting her hood back on then running down the rest of the steps. Xion and Sora rose to their feet and stared at AJ for some time before Xion spoke.

“I see that you have good relations with her…”

“... More or less."

AJ stepped up to his home, his veil folded neatly in hand. He quietly opened the door, hearing silence and seeing a dimly lit front room. He stepped in and closed the door behind him, making his way towards the back. It felt weird to be home after three months, but it was nice. He opened the door to the backyard, where he found Vanitas standing amongst the roses. He stepped into the grass and set his veil on the ground, then went to Vanitas’ side. He looked to the god’s face, which seemed complacent.

“Why?” That was all he asked. He wanted answers to why this god, this higher being, was sacrificing his place in the heavens for a mere human.

“I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this…” Vanitas said, his voice barely louder than a murmur. He looked to AJ, clear sadness and regret in his eyes. “If it weren't for me then you'd be with someone you actually love, you'd still have a normal life. I was sent down here for starting a fight with Ventus. Had I just let what happened pass over, then you'd live your life how you wanted and you'd be okay.”

“God of war, being sentimental… That's something I never thought I'd experience in person.”

“Hey, I'm not all blood lust and violence.”

“I know, I know… it's just not what I'm used to,” AJ said softly, looking back up to Vanitas, who rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to the roses.

“Tell me about these… Why red, and why pick roses?”

“Roses are my favorite… and red always gave me a sense of comfort. The deeper the red, the better. Why do you ask?” Vanitas picked a rose, holding it in his hand before looking to AJ.

“Isn't it customary for lovers to make a bond with a rose?”

“... We've got three months to make this work, so hold your horses.”

“Are you sure that you don't feel anything?” AJ opened his mouth to object, but no words came. He simply looked to the roses as he brushed a few loose strands of hair behind his ear.

“I'm… not sure, actually… I don't know… I liked Xion for a time, but I never said anything. I was afraid that she'd reject me, or that I'd mess up somehow and she's leave forever… I didn't want that, so I stayed silent,” he said, hanging his head. “I've stayed silent for a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have…” AJ said, which made Vanitas confused. He leaned down slightly to get a good look at AJ’s face, only to see tears on a practically expressionless face. AJ realized that Vanitas saw this and quickly wiped away his tears, closing his eyes to do so. As soon as he moved his arm away from his face he felt a warm, rough hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes as his face was gently turned to face Vanitas, who wore a look close to guilt. “I was given everything I could ever want, but I wanted nothing of it… I wanted what normal kids had, like a house and not a castle, a toy that would last a lifetime and not something deemed too childish for me… I wanted what I felt cheated out of.”

“Well… It's about time that changed.”

         AJ sat on the porch of his home, sipping on lavender-chamomile tea with honey. It was a cool autumn day, the leaves now orange and gold with small leaves of red. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his lips. He looked to the front door of his home, where Vanitas came out with a small box in hand. It was strange, seeing such a feared god now dressed in such normal clothing, but Vanitas had made that choice. He stayed for AJ’s freedom.

    “Feeling okay?” Vanitas asked, sitting down next to AJ. He nodded slightly as he stared out to the giant path.

“Yeah… Just waiting for Roxas to come with the ginseng and kelp.” Vanitas smiled as he rolled his eyes. He handed AJ the small box he had been holding, prompting him to open it. AJ carefully untied the twine holding the box together then opened it, his eyes widening as he saw a blood red gem framed by silver on a thin, black cord in the box. He looked to Vanitas for a few moments before looking back to the box.     “Vanitas, I…”

“Here.” Vanitas stood then kneeled in front of AJ, taking the necklace from the box and putting it around AJ’s neck. “There… Now I'm never far away. Before you ask, I had a bit of a talk with Terra. He said that red really stood out with your monochromatic appearance. I'll probably ask for a sapphire next time I see him… Blue may be a bit standard for you, but it works better.” AJ giggled softly as he held the gem in his hand. Vanitas gently pulled AJ’s hand away from it then held both of the boy's hands in his own, leaning up and pressing his lips to the boy's cheek. AJ blushed at the sudden action, still getting used to such affectionate gestures. They rest their foreheads against each other, smiles on their faces.

    “So… We'll be together for a while, won't we?”

“I have a feeling we'll meet again and again as time passes…” Vanitas said. “Doesn't matter what time in the future, I'll know it's you… You'll be as eternal as the gods, even if you're only human.”

Sure enough, different AJ’s came and went, having spent their lives. The time Vanitas met the boy again was in our present time. The key factor to point him out? The gem. That beautiful, blood red gem that hung right over his heart.

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

@khoc-week

[kristinakyidyl]

Agreed, it wouldn't be simple. I think though that given Viserys I's position as an absolute monarch, he could have worked this to his advantage. If he'd had them married, it could be specified that Aegon would take on a consort role. Eg, king-consort or prince-consort, with Rhaenyra inheriting the authority. It could have served the purpose of making Rhaenyra's rule easier to swallow for those who have an issue with a woman ruling. And, certainly, for Otto, it would be a preferable solution to Daemon being a consort. It also may have meant that either Aegon was with her on Dragonstone when Viserys died, or that Rhaenyra was in the red keep. Her lack of proximity during the death was one of the main disadvantages she had in the beginning, and arguably if she'd been there or Aegon hadn't been, his crowning wouldn't have happened. If it did change the dance from a hot to a cold war, I feel that's still an OK option considering the losses that occurred during the war. And in a cold or hot war with a Rhaenyra/Aegon marriage you end up with Daemon on the side of the Velaryons, Rhaenyra & Aegon, or Alicent and Otto attempting to put a second son on the throne. I don't really believe that the support of the lords would be nearly as split in this case. Two younger brothers vs. two older siblings isn't really as much of a conflict as an older sister vs her younger brother. Having Aegon in a royal marriage softens the question of a female ruler. At that point it is up to Rhaenyra to either exercise or lose the power she's been given by her father. And Aegon had no desire to rule at the time, so I don't think he'd be as willing to let his mother talk him into usurping the throne from his wife as he was willing to usurp the throne from his half sister and uncle. Then again, who knows, perhaps if they'd married Aegon would have met the same sort of mysterious death that Laenor did...

It is true that the Velaryons would, as you say, view this as a 3rd snub (ignoring the fact that they'd still had Daemon in their family.). But...so what? The Velaryons are rich, but not nearly powerful enough to be at the head of civil war conflict for the throne. If people aren't willing to support Rhaenyra because of her gender, then it's unlikely they'll rally behind Laenor's claim either (as much as I love Rhaenys and think she should have been queen.). Yes, the Velaryons do have 2 dragons, but in a Rhaenyra/Aegon match, the entirety of the rest of the dragons end up on their side (assuming that Laena and Laenor weren't killed by daemon in this scenario because they weren't standing in his way. Although given that Laena died in childbirth, it's still possible that they lose Vhaegar.). And by the time Viserys died, Rhaenyra had several children that were old enough to be betrothed. There's no reason to believe that, had she married Aegon instead, that wouldn't still be the case. He was clearly capable of fathering children. Fertility didn't seem to be an issue for either of them. I think the Velaryons could have been brought back into the fold via marrying Rhaenyra's heirs. And, ironically (not that they'd know this at the time, obviously), Aegon the Younger ended up having a Velaryon queen. There were a lot of potential matches that could have been made that weren't Laenor/Rhaenyra bc there were a lot of Targaryens and Velaryons at the time. When I read F&B the first time, this just seemed like an odd choice to me. I remember thinking "Oh, cool, he had a son, I guess that's who Rhaenyra will marry to unite their claims" bc I'd somehow *forgotten* about the dance lol.

I guess it kind of comes down to the fact that before Rhaenyra's marriage there were three factions of what would be the dance: The Velaryons, the Greens, and the Blacks. Viserys could eliminate one of these factions by marrying Rhaenyra to someone, and he chose to eliminate the Velaryons. I don't know that he viewed it that way. I think he just viewed it as keeping Otto's power hungry ass further away from the throne. And I get his reasoning here, but I don't think I'd have made the same choice. The Greens were, at the time, far more powerful than the Velaryons.

Although, let's be real, the biggest mistake was made by Jaehaerys when he chose Otto as hand.

@kristinakyidyl reblogged your post “If Alicent haven’t given birth to a daughter for…”

Tbh I don’t think Alicent was wrong about marrying Rhaenyra and Aegon. It would have solved a lot of problems. Viserys said it was because they were 10 years apart and didn’t like each other, but he obviously wasn’t above making her marry someone she didn’t want to marry, and late 20s is certainly not too late to have kids even in westeros. I know it was to heal the rift with house Velaryon, but certainly sending Daemon to help Corlys with his little freeloader problem and then the royal marriage that ensued didn’t hurt relations between their houses. A promise to wed Aemond to Daemon and Laena’s potential kids could have also helped with the rift. It always just kind of seemed short sighted on Viserys’s part to me.

I’m not sure it’s quite so simple. After all, Viserys also seems to have concluded that, in his words, “‘[t]he boy is Alicent’s own blood … [s]he wants him on the throne’”. Of course, Alicent did want to see her son on the Iron Throne (not illogically, from either a political or a personal perspective), and I could see where such a marriage might have raised significant questions about the division of power between the spouses. Who would hold the authority in the relationship - Rhaenyra, Aegon, or the two of them jointly (an even more pressing question for the Targaryens, who to that point had precedent for the latter two options but not the former)? If Aegon proceeded to sit the Iron Throne, would he have been seen to emulate Rhaenys and Visenya (who ruled the realm from the Iron Throne in their brother-husband’s absence) or his predecessor kings (who sat the Iron Throne as full executives)? Would Aegon and Rhaenyra both wear kingly crowns (as they did IOTL, albeit as rival monarchs, with Aegon having the Conqueror’s crown and Rhaenyra the crown of Jaehaerys I), and if so, what might that action imply about the nature of their respective positions? Would Aegon and Rhaenyra both sit on the small council, and if so, what role would they each take there? You can absolutely believe that Rhaenyra’s faction would want Rhaenyra as the sole monarch, while the green faction would press for Aegon to rule as a nominally joint but in practice sole monarch (blurring the line between a jure uxoris inheritance, a la Tyrek Lannister or Bronn with Lollys Stokeworth, and Aegon’s rights as the senior legitimate male descendant of Viserys I). This marriage, in other words, wouldn’t necessarily stop the Dance, it would just change the nature of the Dance from an all-out civil war to a court war (which could in turn evolve into a civil war).

And of course, as noted, such a marriage wouldn’t help Velaryon-Targaryen relations at all. By Velaryon reckoning, they now would’ve been snubbed no fewer than three times: at the death of Prince Aemon (when Jaehaerys I skipped over Princess Rhaenys and/or her unborn child for Prince Baelon), at the Great Council of 101 AC (when Jaehaerys, following the votes of the assembled lords, proclaimed Prince Viserys his heir), and in 105 AC (when now-King Viserys refused to marry Laena in favor of Alicent Hightower). The Velaryons of this era believe, not without some reason, that the throne is rightfully theirs, and if they were willing IOTL to make a play for the throne via that proposed Laena-Viserys marriage (and then the actual Laenor-Rhaenyra marriage), they would not likely meekly accept the king’s younger brother and the king’s second son as marriage matches. Indeed, this latest snub might only motivate the Velaryons to renew their insistence that the throne belonged to Laenor (with, perhaps, the idea that Daemon and Laena’s children would be his heirs presumptive), so perhaps turning the Dance from a greens vs. blacks conflict (although again, that could still be an element) to a Targaryen vs. Velaryon conflict