#what if they saw Misty digging in the snow

[scribbledonausednapkin]

Okay hear me out: Detectives Akilah and Mari and the case of the Missing Crystal.

[cayofdreams]

12 Nights of XXXMAS | Day 2: Exhibitionism

Keep Me Warm

Pro Hero!Sero x Reader

Summary: The mood is so right with your boyfriend, Sero; snowy scenery, twinkling stars in the sky, playing on the swings...fucking on the swings...

Words: 2.8k

Warnings/Tags: exhibitionism, cockwarming, teasing, public sex (park/playground)

Notes: For the Sero fuckers in the world. All 2 of you.

“I spy something…hmm…” Sero glanced around the snowy scenery as the two of you walked back home, cold hands interlocked with each other. “white!”

You cocked your head to the side, lips puckered in annoyance as you glared at your boyfriend. “Really? Everything here is white.” He simply chuckled as he responded to your glare with the merriest of smiles. “Ugh. Okay, fine.” You pointed to the snow-covered ground with a click of the tongue. “The snow.”

“Nope!”

“W-what?” Only being met with the glint of his teeth as he grinned, you scratched at your temple. “Fine- uhmm…” You now pointed to the white-painted house decorated in showy Christmas lights. “That house.”

Sero let out a laugh at yet another failed guess. “C’mon, baby. You got this.” His hand squeezing against yours would have encouraged you if you weren’t already so exhausted from the holiday party the two of you just left.

“Just tell me, already.”

“Look up.”

“Huh? What’s up th-“ You wanted to roll your eyes, but the absurdity of the answer only had you bursting into laughter as you playfully shoved Sero. “The stars? Really?”

“You were the inspiration, my dear.”

“So corny~”

“But you love it don’t you?”

You tugged Sero by his arms so you were pressed chest-to-chest. “You know I do, babe.” Bringing your fingers up to caress your thumb against his lip before tracing his cheek, you pressed a soft kiss on his lips. The both your lips chapped from winter’s cold, yet not taking away from the charm of the moment. You swindle your fingers through his black locks while his hands squeeze and rub along your waist and back. Eventually the kiss forms into simply an Eskimo one, leaving the two of you to serenely bask in each other’s embrace.

“So…do you want to come back to my place?”

“Sero, baby…we live together.”

“Ohh do we now? Maybe we should live together more often.” He pressed another kiss to your lips, finding even the way you rolled your eyes to be another testament to your beauty. “Your turn, babe~ What do you spy?”

Turning your body around you took a gander at your environment. Trying to think of something challenging, your eyes focused in on detailed objects in the distance. That’s when you saw-

“Swings!”

“Babe, you’re supposed to let me find the answer.”

“Nooo-! Look! There are swings over there! Let’s go play on them!”

“Wow my girlfriend is so cute when she’s being childish.” Pinching your cheeks he tried to bring you into kiss but you had interrupted the show of affection with the dragging of his arm.

“Shut up and come oonnnn~!!” 

----------

Having ran towards the playground the two of you caught your breaths as you slumped yourself on the swing’s seat. 

“Should I push you?”

Thinking to yourself, you had a more romantic idea in mind. “Hmm...actually you sit here annndd-” You got up and guided Sero to sit in the swing. When he comfortable in the position, you plopped down on his lap, your back pressed against his chest. “-and I’ll sit here.”

“Ohh~ I like that. A lot.”

Letting out a deep sigh, you snuggled yourself even deeper into Sero’s chest as he lightly swung the two of you on the swing with his foot. “It’s so peaceful…I kind of feel like we’re back in high school right now.”

Sero giggled at your comment, letting his hands wander from your waist to the plush of your thighs that peeked from between your skirt and your thigh-high socks. “Me too…But for different reasons.” He slipped his finger tips under the socks, caressing where your thighs had imprints from the tight fabric. “Wearing such a short skirt like this in the middle of winter, you aren’t cold, baby?”

The tickling of his fingertips on your sensitive skin made you squirm your hips, unconsciously wriggling your ass against his crotch. “S-Stooop I’m ticklish~ And we were indoors so it didn’t matter.”

Sero kept one hand playfully digging into your thigh while the other ascended back up to waist, this time slipping up your knitted sweater to squish at your soft tummy. “And now that we’re outdoors, I guess Cellophane is gonna keep you warm, huh?” You were faced away from him, but you could practically see his teasing smile with his distinctive chuckle that tickled the back of your neck.

His kneading at your doughy flesh caused for a faint whimper to leave your lips, creating a misty cloud in the cold air. “L-Let’s just go back home, Hanta.” Your continuous squirming in his lap caused you to eventually feel his bulge grinding back into your ass. “Someone might see us…”

“But babe, you already have these sexy ass thighs on display-“ The hand that molded at your thigh snuck under your skirt, his middle finger now scratching softly against your clothed folds. “What’s showing a little more gonna do?” Sero slithered the hand fumbling at your stomach up to wear your breasts sat cupped inside a delicate bra. He rolled your perked nipple between his index and middle finger, the friction with the thin lace of the bra making you wetter within your hips. “Just relax and enjoy the scenery, baby…while I keep you warm.”

“Han-!” Before you could protest his public displays of affection, Sero had slipped his fingers inside the crotch of your panties, now rubbing your slick up and down your pussy’s folds. With the quietness of the wintery night, you could hear the lewd noises of him sloshing around in your juices.

“Heh~ Sounds like you’re enjoying this.”

Too nervous to separate your lips in fear of a moan echoing in the playground, you stubbornly shook your head no. A silly choice with such a tease of a boyfriend as Sero Hanta.

“No?” He slipped his fingers from under your panties to rub them around in your face, showing off their slippery shine that was only caused by you. “Well what’s this, Y/N?” Separating his fingers from each other, you could see the thick, clear string of your essence stretching from his fingertips.

You jerked your head to the side, a pathetic display of denial when you were still grinding against his growing erection. “I-I don’t see anything.”

“Is that so? Well let me just show you more, baby.”

“Hanta- Wait- Mmph~!” You were cut of by the sudden surge of pleasure of Sero sinking two fingers inside your sopping pussy. As he curled them inside you, he tested different angles until he got the desired action from you. “Haahh~ Serooo…”

“Hold on, babe, I’m just trying to gather more evidence for you.” Now in knowledge of where your squishy sponge rested inside, he continued to stroke against the sensitive area. The bulging of your walls against his fingers told him that you were close.

Though just when you were about to release yourself around him, you heard the distant footsteps and voices of people approaching the playground. Quickly pulling your skirt down you covered his hand that was between your hips before trying to grasp the hand that was kneading at your nipple. “H-Hanta! Someone’s coming-“

“Heheh~ Good. It’s making you wetter down here.” He continued playing at your bulging g-spot and you could feel your high emerging once again. As you kept trying to pull his hands away from you, you could hear an uncharacteristic suck of his teeth in your ear. “Babe, are you gonna make this difficult?”  Removing his hands from under your sweater and panties, he took hold of your wrists and guided you to hold on to the chains securing the swing seat.

“B-babe, what are you- Oh!” Suddenly you felt the sticky and tight adhesive of Sero’s tape wrapping quickly around your hands, restraining them around the swing’s chains. “H-Hanta?! What the hell?”

“If you keep flailing your arms like that, you’re gonna get us caught.” He pressed a kiss to the back of your neck before settling his fingers back within your folds. You bit your teeth, trying to hold back moans as you saw a couple walking on the sidewalk not far from the playground. The jarring mix of their innocent laughter with the grunts of your boyfriend only thrilled you as you felt your insides bulge around Sero’s fingers once more.

“Hantaaa~”

“Y/N, you’re such a perverted girl. Gonna cum around my fingers when people are near by? They might hear you, you know?” He licked a stripe up your neck, the warm wetness of it being immediately cooled by the air sent chills down to your core. “Oh shit, baby. I can feel you tightening around my fingers, you’re that close?”

Simply nodding your head, you grinded further into Sero’s lap, trying to take in as much of his fingers as possible. The nearby couple’s laughter and museful talking filled your head as you tried to focus on the curl of the fingers inside you. The pad of his fingers pressing relentlessly against your swelled g-spot drove you into a mini-hysteria.

“Ohh~… Oh my god, Hantaa~”

“Go ahead, baby.”

As you came around Sero’s fingers, you shut your eyes closed, worried that somehow the couple nearby would sense your lewd performance. Sero’s softly stroked inside you until your quivering settled, placing soft kisses to your neck. “Fuck…that was dangerous, babe.”

“It kinda was, wasn’t it? But I think if we continue to be quiet, we can get my turn in too.”

“Wh-What?” You felt Sero slip his fingers out of you before hearing him fiddling with his zipper. “Hanta-! You can’t be serious! We’ll get caught for real!”

“Ssshh...keep freaking out like that and we will.” He freed his cock from his underwear before sliding the crotch of your panties to the side. Using one hand to lift you up by your ass cheek, he lined his cock up with your hole, sliding your juices around the tip. “Besides its your turn to keep me warm, now.”

You tried to move your hands back to push him off but the sticky adhesive from his tape kept you tightly secured to the swing’s chain. “H-Hold on- Fuck~!” Sero plunged his cock inside your pussy, already wet and sticky from your recent orgasm. Attempting to move your hips up, he placed his hands sturdily on your hips, keeping you sunk down on him.

“Oh fuck…Feels so fucking good inside.” Wriggling his hips, he adjusted himself to get the entirety of his cock inside you. “Shit, let me just stay like this for a minute.”

“Hanta…” Despite his grip on you, you continued to wriggle around in attempt to escape his throbbing cock. You could feel it grow bigger and bigger with each struggle of your hips.

“Don’t move, Y/N. Unless you want me to fuck you right here?”

Silently biting your lip, you kept your glance on the couple walking down the nearby sidewalk. It seemed they had stopped to talk about something with each other, directly in front of you and Sero. Granted they were probably 100 feet away, but anyone with at least 1/20 vision could tell what the two of you were up to with a bit of brain power.

Your whimpers as you tried to keep still and silent rose sadistic curiosities in your boyfriend as he slipped both his hands under your top. Groping harshly at both of your fluffy breasts, he felt your pussy clench with each squeeze that was a little too firm.

“Hey, I said to stop moving. I think you really do wanna get fucked right now.”

Shaking your head, you clenched your thighs in order to keep yourself in place. “N-No…”

“Then just stay still.” Now slipping his hands under your bra, he pulled up the lacy fabric above your breasts. Before your breasts were too exposed to the cold, Sero placed his hands on the fluffy mounds, pulling and squeezing to his content. The only thing preventing the world from seeing his vulgar actions being your cute, knit sweater.

“S-Shit…” With Sero kneading and twisting at your nipples, you couldn’t help the sensation from surging straight to your clit. Not to mention the mix of fear and excitement at the nearby couple finding you out kept making you quiver unknowingly around his cock. You began to grind your hips against Sero, trying to obtain some sort of friction to your twitching clit. “Fuck…Hanta~…”

“You want me to fuck you. Don’t you, baby?” Removing one hand from under your top, he stuck two fingers in his mouth, heavily lathering them with his saliva. Slipping the hand back up to your breast, he rubbed the now wet appendages over your nipple.  Your body trembled at the lewd sensation over the sensitive bud as your grinding quickened against him. “Just say it, Y/N.”

Clenching your hands tighter around the swing’s chain, you parted tremoring lips. “Okay…”

“Okay, what?”

Trapping your bottom lip between your teeth you silently tried to get your point across by lifting your hips as much as you could before slamming back down. When Sero realized what you were trying to do he wrapped an arm around your waist, keeping you completely steady in his lap. “Come on and do it…”

“Ahah~ But there are people around. We’ll get caught remember?”

“I-It doesn’t matter…”

“Doesn’t matter? Babe, we’re both heroes, remember? It’ll damage our reput-“

“Just shut up an f-fuck me already~!”

With a last chuckle, Sero used his feet to push the swing slightly back while simultaneously lifting your hips to raise you partially off his cock. With another push of his feet he pulled the swing back forward, letting you freely drop back down on him. Able to time the short swings with the lifting and dropping of your hips, to anyone else it looked like the two of you were a couple innocently playing on the swings.

As long as they weren’t close enough to see your facial expressions, that is. Or hear your breathy moans that condensed into the cold air. You could feel the butterflies cluttering your stomach with each penetrating drop onto your boyfriend’s cock.

Those butterflies started swarming when you saw the couple nearby start to walk into the park. They sat down at a bench right at the park’s edge, possibly 70? 60 feet away? Fortunately they looked way to enthralled with each other to pay any attention to you and Sero, but you tried to keep your voice down either way, talking in hushed whispers.

“Hanta~! W-We have to stop-!

“F-Fuck…so good. What did you say, baby? You want to hurry up and finish? Hold on-“ Sero tightened his grip around your waist, maintaining firm control over your movements.

“No-! T-That’s not what I-“  Sliding his hands under your thighs, he started to lift you up even higher, leaving just the head of his cock in your pussy before letting gravity drop you back down, making for a heavy pounding against your g-spot. Not being able to handle the new spike in pleasure you dropped your head down, trying to hold back moans that ended up escaping through gritted teeth. “Hnnngg~ Hahh~ Hahntah~!”

“Shit, you’re swelling up so much inside- Hugging around my cock- Fuck-!” Hiding his grunts and moans within the fabric of your coat, he continued your impaling on his cock. As he neared his orgasm, his grip under your thighs tightened and he grinded his hips upward to meet your falls. “Gonna cum!”

Too absorbed in your own approaching orgasm, you hadn’t even cared about Sero no longer swinging the two of you. If anyone were nearby, it’d be impossible to not tell that Sero was straight-on fucking you on playground swings. Eyes too blurred from welled up tears, you couldn’t even make out if the couple by the bench were still there. If they were possibly watching in shock from the indecency of what citizens of their town were doing in such a place.

“M-Me too~!” Cumming at the same time of your boyfriend, your pussy violently convulsed against Sero’s cock. His cum spurting inside you, you could feel each pulsation of his cock as he kept you held down against him. His arms sliding up to wrap around your stomach, he held you in a loving embrace as he cooled down.

With the both of you somewhat recuperated, he slid out of you, tucking his cock back in his pants before zipping up. You however, were left with his cum dripping from your pussy to over his crotch before camouflaging with the white snow.

Unwrapping your hands from the sticky binds of his tape, he gave a soft apologetic smile. Now able to wipe away the wetness of your eyes, you looked over to the edge of the park to check the occupancy of the bench. Vacant. Perhaps the two of you were discovered and they left in an awkward hurry.

“That was dangerous. And stupid.”

“It was your thighs. Your thighs are dangerous. Not stupid, though.” He lifted your hand and pressed a kiss to your fingers.

As you got up, firstly checking that you were no longer leaking, you readjusted your clothing, smoothing out any formed wrinkles. Sero soon followed suit, fixing any stray hairs lingering in his face. When he was finished, he promptly grabbed you into a hug, almost making you lose your balance before kissing you on the cheek.

“What were you saying about continuing this at home?”

Taglist: @bnha-free-writing @annalise-dreams​ @amelietheslut @waifutiddies

[cafeacademia]

Admirers || Part i

Draco x Reader

Summary: Both Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini have developed feelings for their friend at different points of their lives, but now as Valentine’s Day approaches, they realise there’s only space for one of them in your heart.

Warnings: Jealousy, fluff, mild angst, thoughts of potential unrequited love, soft Draco

Word count: Approx 2740

Masterlist

A/N: Hi loves! Here’s the first part to a mini series that will have at least one other part, plus two extra parts after that for you to choose which boy the reader ends up with! I hope you enjoy, also apologies, I’ve not heavily edited this, please forgive mistakes, I’m just writing this for fun 💕

He admired you, the light warm and hazy as he gently gripped a folded parchment between his fingers, watching as you sat alone in the library. You looked so pretty in the mid afternoon glow that was cast by the old wobbled glass windows, the sun shining through the drafty panes.

It was early February, the wind carrying a drift of heavy snow through the grounds, the sun’s usually bright hue was softened to a gentle warmth by the misty clouds.

But what softened Draco more was that while you were relaxed in your seat, you sat with his Slytherin scarf draped around your shoulders to keep the cold draft at bay. He loved seeing you like that, wearing his things, seeing how comfortable you looked as you wore something that belonged to him, that smelled like him.

You might have been best friends, but Draco couldn’t deny he saw something more and as he stood at the edge of the bookcase, his fingers running along the crease of the parchment in his hands, he pushed away from the bookcase to approach you. Though, as he stood a step in your direction, his movements diverted when another student, seemingly appearing out of nowhere approached you more quickly than he had and Draco’s jaw clenched in sudden irritation as he watched.

“There you are, I was looking everywhere for you.” Blaise Zabini said as he pulled out the chair next to you, dropping into his seat and scooting up close to your side. Why did it anger Draco so much to see Zabini this close to you? It wasn’t as if you liked Blaise, was it? No more than a friend or a classmate he had supposed, but now as you glanced over at the Slytherin next to you with a dreamy little smile, Draco felt little cause to justify his irritation now and instead of approaching you like he had intended, for once, he turned around and walked away.

“You were? Well I was right where I told you I’d be, I think you’re just making up for the fact that you’re late.” You said teasingly, prodding Blaise in the arm as you slid your textbook across so that he could see what you were working on. “We’ve got another few days until our project is due, I’ve finished this part of the analysis, but I think we still need to do some research on the properties inside of the lake.” You explained, shuffling around some papers and showing Blaise everything so he could catch up on what you had done.

Had it not been for this very class project, you might not have gotten to know Blaise much more than you already did. You had of course hung out with him now and again while you were around Draco, but he tended to stay quiet in groups. It was only until he was your assigned project partner that you actually got to know him better and you were pleasantly surprised to say the least. Blaise was charming, quiet and enthralling, he had an air about him that was brooding, his strong silence emitting an even stronger confidence. While he appeared quite stoic, it was however, not uncommon for him to smile around you and you had begun to grow quite fond of the way he looked at you.

“I’m sure we can get this all done before the weekend, we wouldn’t want it to get in the way of any plans for Valentine’s day.” Blaise said, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke, though you didn’t catch it, far too busy collecting your papers together. “Oh don’t worry about that,” You said, pausing for a moment as you closed the textbook that sat between you. “I don’t really have any plans.” You added, looking at him with a little smile as you began to pack away your things.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning? We can finish off the last of our research before class on Friday.” You asked, getting up from your seat, the Slytherin looking up at you from his lounged position in his chair with a lopsided smile. “I was actually hoping that you might join me for dinner?” Blaise asked, watching as you put the last of your things away, your movements slowing as you listened to his question. “I’m sorry Blaise, I already promised Draco I’d eat with him tonight.” Giving him an apologetic smile, you sighed a little and picked up your bag, turning away to leave your project partner to finish working on his part of the work.

“Dray! Wait a second, won’t you?” You asked, hurrying to catch up with your best friend as you quickly hurried along towards the bridge towards him. “How did the project go?” Draco asked, his voice more glum than usual, hands shoved into his trouser pockets and a look of discontent on his features. You were a little disappointed that you hadn’t been greeted by him with his usual enthusiasm to see you and instead, you pulled his scarf off your shoulders, circling around to his front to gently wrap the soft woollen garment around his neck, the ashen haired boy giving you a soft smile as you did.

You always managed to pull him in, make him feel like he was sinking in something so wonderful, heavenly like sweet honey, thick soft blankets or something as utterly divine as silk. It was that way especially when your fingers brushed his, like they did now, your hand almost accidentally brushing against his, and yet he did not flinch away, nor did he reach for you, Draco just purely appreciated it and smiled as you looked up at him with unrivalled joy at just seeing your best friend.

“It went okay, Blaise was late again and he hasn’t finished his part of the project yet either.” You sighed, Draco didn’t catch whether you had rolled your eyes or not when you stepped back to walk along at his side, but he imagined you might have accompanied that statement with an eyeroll. “Of course he hasn’t.” Draco mumbled, gritting his teeth as you walked along together. “What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, glancing up at him, the ashen haired boy just looking down at you with a soft smile, raising his hand from his pocket to affectionately rest it on the back of your head for a moment. “Nothing, Zabini likes leaving things until the last minute is all, don’t let him stress you out. I still don’t know how he manages to pull that all together into a good grade at the end.” Draco sighed, slowly resting his hand on your shoulder before he pulled it back down into his pocket.

“You’ll tell me if he tries to mess with the project, won’t you? I don’t want him taking your credit or something ridiculous.” Draco asked, glancing over at you as you paused halfway across the bridge to look out across the still frozen lake. “I don’t think he will, but I’ll tell you if he does.” You assured him, nodding as you sunk against his side, the boy putting his arm around you.

“Draco, do you perhaps… Have any plans for um-.” You cut yourself off mid sentence, nervous to really ask what you had been about to and you glanced over at him, only to wish that in some ways, you hadn’t. He was listening to you so intently, a small, warm smile on his lips as he waited for you to finish your question, brows slightly raised in a questioning fashion as he met your eyes, his smile widening as he did. “The weekend?” You finally finished your sentence, your voice smaller than you had intended it to be and avoiding the Valentine's day question that had been on the tip of your tongue, but that you had been too shy to ask about. Draco looked away for a moment, smiling to himself as you nervously fidgeted beside him, his arm pulling you closer against his side and squeezing you tightly. “No, but I was going to ask-.” “There you are!” Blaise said for the second time that day, practically legging it across the bridge towards you, Draco’s arm sliding off your shoulder as he approached.

“I think you took one of my papers with you, I need it to finish what I was writing and I swear it was on the desk when I came to the library.” Blaise said, watching as you awkwardly apologised and began to rifle through your bag. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Blaise said rather nonchalantly, Draco fixing a heavy glare on his friend and if looks could kill, this was by far the most deadly glare Draco had thrown at a single person before. But either it went straight over Blaise’s head or he knew not to dig much further and he took the paper that you had extended towards him and with a badly placed smirk and charming wink, Blaise threw you a smooth, “Thank you sweetheart.” Before turning away and returning to the castle.

Sweetheart. That really boiled Draco’s blood, his jaw clenched so tightly that it would ache for the rest of the day and his hands were so tightly balled up into fists that there would surely be indents from where he had dug into his palms in pure irritation. He’d have to say something, speak up about it because as far as Draco was concerned, you weren’t Blaise’s. You were his, as long as you’d have him.

“Are you alright, Draco?” You asked softly, looking up at him with concern in your eyes, the Slytherin glancing at you and slowly letting the tension go, relaxing a little as you reached out for him and gently took his hand in yours. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself, wanting not to snap at the person he loved so dearly and opened his eyes to give you a faint smile. “Yes love, come, let’s enjoy the snow before it gets dark.”

“Morning, I see you’re early today.” You smiled, approaching Blaise in the library the next morning as he stood in front of a bookcase with a small stack of books in his arms, presumably about Hogwarts history and the magical properties of the geological surroundings of the school. “Yeah, I wanted to get a head start since I slacked a bit on the last part we worked on.” Blaise said idly as he thumbed through a book. “I think this is everything we need, shouldn’t take us too long.” He told you, giving you a big smile before walking you over to the table he had picked for you both to sit at.

It wasn’t long into your research, both of you making notes as you sifted through information in the books before Blaise turned to casual conversation to fill the silence. “So, you and Malfoy,” He paused, watching as you looked up from your notebook with a raised eyebrow. “What about Draco?” You asked. “Are you two a thing?” Blaise asked.

“A what?” You questioned. “A thing, y’know are you dating?” He asked more bluntly this time and you jerked back in your seat a little at how direct his question had been. “Oh, no we’re- no we’re not.” You said it with a slight frown, dropping your voice in the last part of your sentence, dipping back into your book. While some might have read your response as being one of disappointment, Blaise smiled to himself as he thought about it. “So yesterday on the bridge wasn’t- I mean I wasn’t interrupting a date, was I?” Blaise asked. “A date?” You almost snorted, surely Draco would never date you. Of course, you were best friends, you’d had a crush on him for the longest time, but he had never made a move towards you in all of the years you had known each other and you didn’t think he would either. “No, we were just hanging out. We’re just friends, Blaise.” You said, an edge of discomfort in your voice.

“In that case, fancy a butterbeer tomorrow after we hand in our project, I’m free all afternoon.” Blaise grinned, watching as you paused, slowly lowering your quill and looking up at him with mild disbelief on your features. “A date, perhaps, or just as friends?” He added with confidence in his voice as he leaned against the table, casually lounging as he leafed through the book as if he hadn’t just asked you on a date. “Um-.” “It’s okay, you don’t have to say yes, it’s a no pressure thing. Just thought that since we’ve been working on this project that you might want to let off some steam and wind down before the weekend.” Blaise interrupted your hesitancy and while you sat there, wondering for a moment what your answer might be, you looked up to meet his eyes, your heart softened by the confident smile that he wore as he waited for your response.

It wasn’t as if you had any plans and the idea of celebrating the end of the project you had both worked hard on did seem like a nice way to end it. And yet, while you contemplated, your mind flicked to Draco for a moment and you sighed, thinking it over. You wanted to spend time with him, but you were always scared to go further than just friends, especially because he never really showed much interest in going further with you. So instead, you looked up a Blaise, met his eyes with a sweet smile and nodded. “Actually, a butterbeer sounds good.” You told him, the boy’s smile widening into a bright grin. “Brilliant.”

It wasn’t long before you both finished the last of your research, Blaise volunteered to write it up and promised to deliver the paper to you later that day for you to read and you were finally able to get on with the rest of your day. It was just then, as you exited the library just after Blaise, that Draco stopped you in the hallway.

“Hi love, how did it go?” Draco asked, gently leaning his arm against the wall so he could stand over you as you talked. You couldn’t lie, having him stand over you like that made you feel a certain way, but nearly everything Draco did around you made you feel flushed and giddy and shy. “Do you just lurk until I’m done studying?” You teased, unable to meet his eyes, the Slytherin snorting out a laugh. “Something like that, I wasn’t far away and I knew you’d finish around this time.” Draco shrugged, gently tugging your books out of your hands to carry them himself. “Besides, I prefer filling my time with you.” Draco said it offhandedly, if only he knew exactly how that had made you feel, the butterflies in your stomach and the way it melted you.

“Are we still on for our day together on Saturday?” Draco asked as you walked along together towards your next class. “Of course we are, I’d never miss it.” And you wouldn’t, you spent every Saturday with Draco and contrary to spending time together all day, this was different. It was a time to relax and unwind from the week together. And more importantly, it was special. “Good, it’s a special one.” Draco told you as you rounded the corner, the two of you stopping outside of your classroom before he handed you your books and backed away from you with a lopsided grin and dreamy look in his eyes.

And as you watched him walk away, you couldn’t help but wonder what Saturday was all about. Besides, Valentine’s day was just around the corner and the closer you got to the day, the more you wondered if something might happen.

Blaise wandered to his class with a Valentine’s day card hidden in his pocket and Draco with a sweetly worded letter in his, waiting for the opportune moment to pass it to you. Draco just wasn’t sure his spoken words would suffice, but the worry that sat in the pit of both boy’s stomachs was enough to make them both feel on edge, because they both knew the other might make a move before they could.

Taglist (OPEN):

@kitkatd7​ @paintballkid711​ @thesewaywardskies​ @coldlilheart​ @victorialynn7​ @pandaxnienke​ @megantje123​ @loving-life-my-way​ @chaotic-fae-queen​ @theweasleyslut​ @daltonacademia​ @amourtentiaa​ @sincerelymalfoy​ @slytherinwh0re​ @dracosaccount​ @dreaming-about-fanfictions​

[drmmyrs]

Dropped (Becca x MC) Part 4

Soo this is the final part of this fic, thank you guys for following their journey till the end. Hope you enjoy 💕💕

tag list: @wlwplaychoices  @alexlabhont @woltk @alexroyard @red-queen1013 @gluten-free-yogurt @uselesslesbianfr @noixngn @dopeyouth @falloutdc-blog @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @baexpoppy @veenast (including some of those who reblogged and replied to the 1st & 2nd & 3rd parts. If you want to be included in the tag list just let me know 😊)

Read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Pairing: Becca x MC (Emily)

Word Count: 1378

Warnings: none

Becca had been pacing back and forth outside the door for the past several minutes. She already knew what she was going to say. She already went through it in her head countless times. But actually saying it out loud... Maybe I should just do this another day? Becca shook her head. No. She needed to do this. She was there now. Any day later, she wouldn't be brave enough. She let out one last anxious breath and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened. And then there she was, the woman that consumed her thoughts by day and haunted her dreams at night.

"Becca?"

Emily looked tired. Dark circles formed under her eyes–eyes that once wore a fiery sparkle now replaced by a dull glint. At that moment, all of Becca's previous thoughts went out the window. All she wanted to do was hug her, comfort her, take away all the pain, all the hurt. But then she remembered she was the reason for those.

"Don't worry. This–this won't take long."

Becca thought of their anniversary night. How Emily waited for her, alone, while she got herself drunk, without a care in the world. How she brushed her off when she got home, ignoring all her shouts, her pleas, her cries. And then she remembered that night—the haunted look in Emily's eyes when she saw someone else kiss her.

"I'm sorry, Em. I am so so sorry for everything. I was an idiot. I–you didn't deserve any of that."

Emily avoided her gaze, her eyes drifting down the floor.

Becca continued. "But you're wrong. I never–even for a second–stopped loving you. I know you probably won't believe me, but I never cheated on you. Hell, I never even thought of cheating on you." Becca bit her quivering lip. "I love you so much which is why I–I–"

Becca closed her eyes as her next words came out almost as a whisper. "Which is why I'm letting you go."

At her words, Emily's eyes trailed up to meet Becca's gaze, and the look on her eyes almost made Becca question if she was doing the right thing.

"I–I won't bother you anymore." Becca stepped forward and pressed her lips on Emily's forehead. "Goodbye, Em."

Becca walked away as tears started streaming down her cheeks, not once looking back.

***

The next few weeks passed in a blur. The finality of their breakup left a dull, hollow ache in her heart even though Becca knew she did the right thing. She busied herself in school in an attempt to brush away thoughts of Emily while doing her best to ignore Chloe and her friends, leaving her once again alone and friendless on campus. But maybe that was for the best. She didn't think she could be all social even if she wanted to.

One afternoon, Becca was about to go home when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi. Is this Rebecca Davenport I am speaking with?"

"Uhh, yes. This is she."

"This is Samantha Winters. We met on the mock trial? I was calling to see if you'd be interested in an internship here in California."

*** Emily's POV

"'... Not all college relationships last. But even so, the love you shared, the stories you created, even just for a passionate while, will stay with you for a lifetime.' Eeeeek, this is so beautiful, Em." Kaitlyn looked at Emily, pretending to wipe tears from her eyes.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Anywaay, I guess I better show this to James then."

On the way to the campus, Emily had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice the blonde heading straight towards her. At the collision, books scattered all over the floor.

Emily rushed to help pick them up. "I'm sorry I–Madison?"

Madison looked up. "Emily! Sorry, didn't see you there."

When Madison stood up and faced Emily, there was a distant and sad look in her eyes. "Thank you," Madison said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you... okay?"

Madison hesitated. "Yes, I–" She sighed. "I just got back from Becca's place. She said she wasn’t leaving till later, but when I got there, her car was already gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

"Becca... is leaving?"

Madison shot Emily a sympathetic look. "You didn't know."

Emily shook her head.

"She was offered an internship at California. I–I'm not even sure if she's coming back," Madison said dejectedly.

Emily shifted from one foot to the other. "I see."

Emily and Madison stood there silently for a moment until Madison spoke up.

"I probably should get going. It was nice bumping into you, Emily."

"Same to you."

Emily continued to walk towards the campus, each of her steps getting shorter than the last until she finally came to a complete stop. She then turned around, knowing where she needed to go.

*** Becca's POV

Becca sat near the edge of the hill, surrounded by trees covered in snow as cold air wafted all around her. She took a sip of the hot coffee she brought with her, hoping to regain some warmth.

"You know, I never understood why you didn't just leave your blankets and pillows here. I don't think anyone else knows about this place."

Becca turned around in surprise at the voice.

"Emily..."

Emily gave Becca a small smile as she sat down beside her.

"I couldn't risk it. Decent blankets and pillows are expensive, you know."

For a while, they just sat there, gazing at the city lights below. The only sound heard was the gentle rustling of leaves and the occasional breeze.

"Madison said you were leaving."

"I was going to, but I said no. It was a corporate law internship. I didn't think it was right for me."

Emily nodded in understanding. Soon, the silence grew again between them.

"Becca... what happened to us?"

Becca's gaze drifted over to Emily. Her expression was indiscernible as she continued to observe the stream of tiny movements on the city below.

"What happened to me, you mean," Becca muttered before returning her gaze back in front of her. "Working at Uskea and being at law school at the same time, after a while it just gets to you."

At the corner of her eye, Becca saw Emily turn her head to face her. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a hard time?"

"I–I was scared, embarrassed. I didn't want to look weak. I didn't want you to see me weak" Becca released a shaky breath, creating a misty cloud that rose into the air. "Because then, you'll see that I was never good enough for you."

Becca continued, "Instead, it became easier to fall back on old habits. And before I knew it I–" Becca squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away, before opening them again.

"At first I thought, somehow, I was protecting you, protecting us." Becca let out a humorless laugh. "It was too late when I realized that I wasn't. I was–" She clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm, "I hurt you."

"Becca..." Emily reached out and unclenched Becca's fist, interlacing her fingers with hers. Becca held Emily's hand tighter with her head held down as hot tears started to prickle her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Becca whispered.

Emily took Becca's chin and gently tilted her face up. Becca could hardly meet her eyes. "Becca, look at me," Emily said softly.

Slowly, Becca met Emily's eyes, her gaze warm but piercing. "You don't need to pretend for me. Not now. Not ever." Emily held Becca's face, wiping away Becca's wet cheeks with her thumb as she pulled her closer. Their lips met hungrily, filled with longing and passion. When they pulled apart, their foreheads rested against each other.

"Can we... try again?" Becca breathed.

"As long as you promise me no more secrets."

Becca kissed Emily again. "No more secrets."

Becca and Emily spent the rest of the afternoon in each other's arms. They watched as the sun began to set, basking the city in a gorgeous shade of orange. And when the lights began to dim, they regretfully decided to descend the hill, braving the cold, hand in hand.

[shinobis-of-ninjago-au]

Shinobis of Ninjago

Episode 1: Rise of the Snakes

Prologue Pilot 1 Pilot 2 (Episode 1, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Next Episode

Skylor met up with her teammates a few minutes later, letting out a sharp whistle and watching Amber land beside her. Taking her portion of groceries, she opened the saddlebag, only for a scroll to tumble out, Transferring the items to the bag, she bent down and picked it up.

"This isn't mine." Skylor noted the golden drawings on the backside of the scroll, far fancier than the ones she used for lessons or most she had taken from home.

Pixal dismounted from Byte, taking a closer look at the saddlebag. "This is Master Mystake's bag. You must have accidentally taken it in the rush."

Seliel and Nya slid off their saddles, coming up behind Skylor to look at the scroll. "What's it say?" Seliel asked.

"I remember seeing a lot of scrolls like this back at the monastery." Nya said. "I never took the time to learn the language."

"It's the ancient language of our ancestors." Pixal said. "It hasn't been used in centuries, though I think I can read a little of it." Her eyes scanned over the paper and eventually she pointed to a symbol. "This means prophecy." She was quiet for a few more minutes. "One warrior will rise above the rest and become the Green Ninja. The warrior destined to defeat the Dark Lady."

"Dark Lady?" Seliel echoed. "You think it means Lady Misako?"

Skylor unrolled the parchment further, revealing a picture of four shinobis clad in different colours surrounding another in green. "Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking..."

Nya smiled. "Like how good I'm gonna look in green."

"Isn't it obvious that I'm gonna be the Green Ninja?! I have the most history with Misako." Skylor exclaimed.

"Technically, I am the best." Pixal butted in.

"Everyone stop it!" The kishu ordered as she grabbed the scroll from Skylor. "Remember why Sensei brought us together in the first place, we're a team. We weren't meant to see this and probably for good reason." Seliel rolled up the scroll and put it in her saddlebag. Climbing onto Misty's back, she turned to the other three. "Come on, we have training to do."

—————————————————-

Harumi pulled her hood further over her head. Escaping from the Darkley's employees was like second nature to her; as soon as they drove up in the car to take her back to school, she waited until they were a reasonable distance away before jumping out of the backseat.

Currently she was making her way up a snow covered mountain, wind blowing harshly in her face. She was cold and hungry, the lollipop from the orange kunoichi had only lasted so long.

"Stupid ninja. I'll show them who they're dealing with." She muttered.

Harumi let out a grunt of pain as she ran into something. Not seeing anything in front of her, she looked down into the blanket of fresh, white snow. She began digging and soon enough she unearthed the thing that interrupted her monologuing. A metal rod stuck out of the ground, resembling a lever.

Her childlike curiosity got the best of her and she pulled it. The ground began to shake, sending the girl tumbling forward. The ground began to slide open, a crevice getting bigger by the second. Harumi tried scrambling away and was close to reaching the edge when she lost her grip. She slid down the stone slab and braced herself for the impact.

Her back touched cold ice as she somersaulted down into the ground. When she finally skidded to a halt, she lay there for a few minutes, groaning. Deciding to move, she sat up, gazing around. Harumi seemed to be in an underground ice cave, though some walls were marked with carvings.

"You are not of right mind to venture so far from home, little one."

Harumi bristled at the voice and turned around. There stood a figure with deep blue scales, ruby red eyes looking curiously at her. A long tail was draped across the ice and robes featuring ancient scrawl and symbols covered their chest. They had the head of a snake, with a hood that fanned out like a cobra.

They moved closer, Harumi crawling backwards as she eyed the golden staff in the snake-person's hand. The serpent looked down at the staff, then back to the child and smiled. "Do not worry, I will not harm you. Just as long as you give your mind to me. Look into my eyes, young one. You will obey me."

A low rattling escaped the serpent's chest and Harumi covered her eyes, her back coming in contact with a wall of ice. When Harumi opened her eyes, she looked up at the snake-person. They stood perfectly still, a dazed look in their eyes.

Harumi stood up and circled them before deciding on a conclusion: they were under her control. She smirked and crossed her arms. "I think you are mistaken. I will control you from now on."

The Serpentine bowed respectively. "What shall you have us do, mistress?"

"Us?" Harumi echoed.

Almost as if on cue, more Serpentine emerged from behind ice pillars and walls, their scales the same deep blue as the first one's. A low hissing filled the room, no doubt murmurs about the young girl, as the last experience they had with humans was not pleasant.

Harumi's smirk grew bigger as she realized what this meant. "My own army of snakes."

—————————————————

"—then we agree; the prophecy states that one o' us will become the Green Ninja, and the issue will not rest until it's decided." Nya stated, leading the team back up the stairs into the Monastery.

"May I suggest a tournament? Last shinobi standing is the best." Pixal suggested.

"And will be declared the Green Ninja and be promoted to chūnin." Skylor finished. "Sounds good to me. But I'm getting changed first, I don't want to do this soaking wet."

Minutes later the four met outside of the indoor training room, changed into training gis and warmed up from the cold weather. Nya pushed open the doors, only to pause when she saw it was occupied.

The other three peered over her shoulders, seeing Jay practicing with a punching bag. Once he noticed them, he stopped, leaning on the bag and smiling. "Hola."

Skylor stepped forward. "Are you wearing the—"

"Wrist braces? Yeah, do not worry." He paused and began to take off the braces around his wrists, reaching for his bracers and a towel. "What happened in town? Fake alarm?"

"Yeah, nothing we couldn't take care of. But, uh, we're gonna need the space."

Seliel opened one of the cabinets and pulled out four helmets and armoured vests. "Two matches, the winners of each face off for the title, armour for our own protection. It's time to see what our weapons can do."

"Hey Jay, wanna stay and watch me mop the floor with them?" Skylor offered, a confident smirk on her face as she slid on the vest.

"No thank you, I will visit Chai's in Jamanikai Village. Have fun." He turned and headed out the door, closing it behind him.

Pixal sent Skylor a look, silently asking who the Chai's were. "Old family friends." Skylor answered.

Nya squealed. "His accent is so cute. Ya have to admit that."

"I have the same accent as him."

"My point still stands. But he speaks in such a cute way. Not... like ya."

"Firstly: We've talked about this. No one is to make moves on my brother. Secondly: What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Match One: Skylor versus Nya." Seliel announced, interrupting the premature argument.

The two got into position, facing each other. They bowed and got into a ready stance. Seliel blew a whistle she had gotten out of the cabinet and she barely had enough time to jump out of the way.

The two wasted no time in drawing their weapons and lunging towards each other. Skylor caught Nya's trident between her sai and twisted it over her shoulder. With a grunt of effort, she sent her fellow ninja flying across the room. Nya got to her feet, twirling her trident around. She pointed it at Skylor, intending for it to shoot her with a water beam like she heard in legends. Instead, she found herself drenched in water and Skylor stifling her giggles from across the room.

Nya growled, running forward with her trident at the ready. Skylor sidestepped the attack and kicked Nya into the wall. She threw her sai, pinning Nya to the wall by the sleeves of her gi. Nya sighed, dropping her trident.

Skylor helped her up and the two bowed before the konran punched the air in victory. The two took a seat, kneeling as they watched the other two bow and assume a fighting stance.

Unlike the two before them, Pixal and Seliel did not advance right away. Instead, they circled each other, evaluating the other's footwork and stance. Pixal pulled out her whip and cracked it in the direction of her opponent.

Seliel brought out her staff, the thong wrapping around the shaft. Seliel twisted her staff and pulled, bring Pixal closer. She stuck out her leg, tripping the Purple Kunoichi. Pixal pulled off an impressive rotating chest stand, landing a solid kick to Seliel's chest.

Getting to her feet, Pixal pulled her whip back. Flicking her whip in a simple X pattern, she shot forward, the technique serving as a shield against Seliel's attacks. Seliel managed to get a lucky jab through the shield, the whip wrapping around her staff one more. She yanked her staff away, the handle leaving Pixal's hand and leaving her defenseless.

Seliel lunged forward, tackling Pixal to the ground. She held her staff tightly over Pixal's torso, pinning her arms to her side. Pixal glared at Seliel and then to her weapon across the room. She sighed, her body relaxing. "I yield."

They got to their feet and bowed respectively. Pixal went to go join Nya in being a spectator. Skylor jumped to her feet, giving her teammate a high-five and bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready for a fight.

"For the prize and title of the best kunoichi, Green Ninja, and promotion to chūnin, you may begin."

Skylor rushed forward, surprising Seliel with the sudden attack. Trapping the staff with her sai, she threw it over her head. Hey, the move worked well on Nya.

The staff flew across the room, crashing into the wall between Nya and Pixal, none of whom flinched. Skylor turned back to Seliel, only to find her missing from where she had been a mere second ago. Turning around she barely had enough time before something collided with her cheek.

Sitting up, she glared at Seliel who was standing over her confidently. Growling, her grip tightened on her sai and she lunged forward, sai ahead of her. She stopped mere inches from Seliel's face, for the sai in her hands were glowing brighter than before.

Skylor dropped them in surprise and as soon as they made contact with the floor, a thick navy mist escaped them, not unlike the one the staff produced when they faced off against the dragon months ago.

The room soon became filled with the smoke, the four unable to see anything in front of them. The door to the indoor training room was opened, a figure stepping inside and gasping. They managed to find the Staff of Illusions and the mist soon disappeared.

Mystake stared down at the heap of kunoichis that was supposed to be her students; the saviours of Ninjago.

"Could someone please get their elbow out of my stomach?"

"Whoever's ass is in my face should remove it before I make sure they never walk again."

"If one of you doesn't stop kicking me I will lose it!"

"Ow, ow, ow, watch the hair!"

Ninjago was doomed.

Mystake cleared her throat, the complaints ending abruptly. The ninja slowly untangled themselves and got into a line. They knelt before her, heads hung. "What were you thinking?" Mystake snapped.

"We were trying to figure out who's the Green Ninja." Nya replied, earning a backhand to the head from Pixal. "U-Uh, did I say Green Ninja? No, I'm sorry," She cleared her throat. " What I- what I said was lean!"

"You were not supposed to see that scroll." Mystake sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"But Sensei, we wanna know. Which one of us is the elegido?" ('... chosen one?') Skylor asked.

"None of you if you don't unlock your full potential and earn the title of chūnin." The four lowered their heads again.

"But my sai, they were so bright and they did that thing with the smoke." Skylor said, risking a look at Mystake. "Is this what you meant by unlocking our elemental weapons?"

Mystake sighed, placing her hands behind her back. "You are only at the beginning. And the road is long and winding, but yes; this is what I meant." She paused. "If this is what it must take for you to train, then so be it. But none of you are near the level of what it takes to become the Green Ninja."

—————————————————-

After hitching a ride on a bus and one trolley ride later, Jay arrived at Jamanikai Village. He wandered the streets until he came upon a familiar store. Knocking twice, he barely had to wait before the door was opened, a young boy peeking out nervously from behind it.

"Devon," Jay greeted. "Ha sido un largo tiempo." ('It's been a long time.')

Once the boy realized who it was, he opened the door fully, jumping into Jay's arms. Jay laughed and picked up the boy, entering the warm General Store where he was greeted by more children.

He had decided to spend the night with the Chai's, calling Skylor to let her know. The Chai's were a nice family, Amelia was a single mother of four, with another on the way. Jay had been sad to hear that Mr. Chai had passed and that he and his sister couldn't attend the funeral as they were otherwise... occupied.

He was woken up at sunrise, the four kids eager to play with him. He spent the day keeping the youngest two busy while Amelia and the eldest two worked in the store.

Later in the day, Amelia asked if he could run into town and grab a few groceries that they needed and that their store did not have. When Jay agreed, Amelia gave him some cash and thanked him before having to run back to the cashier stand.

After dressing the youngest two—Devon and Claire—for the weather outside, the three set off. Minutes later, they were inside a grocery store, picking up food when they heard screams from outside.

"¿Ahora que?" ('What now?') Jay muttered. He lifted the two out of the cart and placed them on the ground. Turning to Devon he said, "Necesito que vayas a casa y lleves a tu hermana allí. ¿Puedes hacer eso?" ('I need you to go home and take your sister there. Can you do that?')

Devon nodded confidently, puffing out his chest. The two left, and Jay was thankful the direction of their house was the opposite of the screaming. Abandoning the cart, he set off, carefully making his way through the streets until he caught a glimpse of someone clad in black. Pressing himself against a wall, he peered around the corner.

A young girl was seated in a wheelbarrow, her blonde hair tied back in braids. "Take the candy! Take it all!" Jay realized this must have been the person causing the disturbance yesterday, Misako's daughter.

He covered his mouth to stop himself from shouting in surprise when he saw who was accompanying Harumi. They looked human, if it wasn't for the blue and white scales covering their body. The robes they wore were covered in markings, no doubt an ancient language, and ruby red eyes gazed over the village. Her head resembled that of a snake, a large hood starting at her neck and fanning over the crown of her head.

Serpentine. And from what he had been learning, a Hypnobrai.

"Slitheraa, tell your army to advance. I want all the candy in town." Harumi said, watching as a Hypnobrai soldier dumped an armful of candy into her wheelbarrow.

Slitheraa, the general of the army, raised the gold staff in her hand. A low hiss escaped her mouth as her tail rattled. The soldiers stopped wandering around, depositing armfuls of candy to the wagon. They started moving out in different directions in hopes of claiming more sweets for the girl.

"This makes no sense General; raiding an entire town, for sweets?" One questioned, coming up beside Slitheraa.

"You will do as I command." The general snapped. "Because I hold the staff!"

At the sound of hissing, Jay turned, spotting a Hypnobrai standing there, a bag of throwing stars attached to their waist.

Jay got into a fighting stance. "¿Quieres bailar?" ('Wanna dance?')

[magnoliasinbloom]

Crash Course Love

In between classes (which I’m still doing online with my lovely 7th graders, no sarcasm), here’s another chapter of these two fools. And it’s looooong!

As always, infinite thanks to @anna-swims​ and @lcbeauchampoftarth​ for being awesome betas.

AO3 :: Previously

9: Lallybroch [Jamie]

“We’re here,” I said, glancing through the Jeep’s windshield.

“Oh, wow. I didn’t think the ride would feel so… short,” Claire said, peering up at the house. It was kind of intimidating, I supposed; a giant stone manor in the middle of rolling fields. Like something out of a fairytale.

Except the wolves were waiting inside, ready to pounce on us.

“Are ye nervous?”

“A little. I’ll be fine.” She turned to me and gave me a smile, shouldering her black purse. I smiled back and ducked out of the Jeep to open her door. Claire climbed out, stepping carefully. “Wait! The flowers!” She turned to the backseat door and pulled out yellow lilies wrapped in butcher paper and tied with a silver ribbon. Slamming the door behind us, we walked up the steps to the door.

I wondered if we should hold hands to make it seem more realistic. When I’d picked her up at her flat—my eyes darting around like mad in case Annalise appeared—and I saw her dressed up, I’d wanted to reach out and take her hand immediately.

We had driven over in comfortable silence. Claire had mentioned she didn’t know what to expect from lunch, so she’d had a small breakfast—more Weetabix. I laughed when I thought of the amount of food Mam always cooked. She commented occasionally on the songs from my Spotify playlists, and we kept up an easy conversation.

My hand was halfway to the doorknob when my mother appeared, and immediately engulfed Claire in a hug. I stood there like an idiot while my mam practically suffocated her; all I could see of Claire was her bewildered expression over my mother’s shoulder.

“Um, hello?” Claire managed.

“Oh, Christ, I’m so happy to meet ye, Claire! Ye are Claire, aren’t ye? Oh, do come in, ye must be freezin’! Can I take yer coat? What’s this?” My mother interrupted her gushing welcome as Claire tried to press the flowers into her hand.

“Aye, Mam, good to see ye too,” I grumbled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Completely ignoring me, she patted my back and turned to Claire once more.

“They’re just flowers, you know, as a thank you for the invitation,” Claire stammered, blushing. She gestured with her hands as she spoke, clearly nervous. “Sorry I didn’t bring a vase.” My mother hugged her again tightly.

“They’re beautiful! Ye shouldn’t have!” Mam sniffed the lush blooms and ushered us further into the house. I trailed behind them, all but forgotten. I took off my own coat and followed them into the living room.

Mam was introducing Claire to my Da, William, and Jenny. My siblings, in turn, presented each of their partners. Jenny lost it completely and practically hurled herself at Claire in a vise-like hug. Claire couldn’t seem to lose the bewildered expression when confronted with the whole Fraser clan at once.

“Jenny, let the poor lass breathe,” I called out. I gave my Da a one-armed hug and clapped William and Ian on the back. I gave Jenny a gentle shove to get her to release Claire, which she returned twice as hard. “Ifrinn, Janet, that could bruise!”

“Jamie, language!” Mam warned. She led Claire over to Mary, who gave her a peck on the cheek and a warm smile. Jenny glanced over at me and gave me a discreet thumbs-up. I rolled my eyes at her approval.

“Where are the children, Jenny?” I missed the sounds of my rambunctious niece and nephew.

“Oh, off with Ian’s parents this weekend. Give us a bit of a break, ye ken.”

“When’s lunch then, Mam?” William asked.

“Will ye leave anything for the rest of us, Willie?” Ian joked, leading Jenny into the dining room. They both traded quips and insults while everyone made their way to the table.

“Here, Claire, sit next to Jamie.” Mam pointed out her seat and raised her eyebrows at me. I immediately stood behind the chair and held it out for Claire. She sat with a soft murmur of thanks. Da took his seat at the head of the table and winked at Claire, who smiled back and seemed more at ease.

“I’ll just bring the dishes in,” Mam called over her shoulder as she walked to the kitchen.

“Can I help with anything?” Claire asked, half-rising from her chair. Jenny and I both reached out to stop her.

“Nah. This is my mam’s thing. She doesna like for people to interfere with her cookin’. Even if it’s just servin’ it,” I said, while William nodded in agreement and stuffed a roll into his mouth.

“Really?” Claire looked around the table. Da leaned over to explain about Mam’s love affair with cooking, engaging her in conversation.

Mam came in with multiple dishes and trays, all laden with meat, chicken, salad, fresh bread, ham, and vegetables. It was all artfully arranged, in true accordance with her Cordon Bleu education.

Everyone dove in, while Claire watched in horrified fascination as food was served. I reached for her plate when she showed no inclination to dig in herself; she regarded me gratefully when I got her a bit of everything, unsure of what she’d like.

There was no silence at the table. Forks and knives clattered on dishes and conversations sprang all around. Mam gave Claire the third degree about her life; she tried to answer as politely as possible around a mouthful of food. Da insisted Claire call him Brian and asked about her flower shop, being somewhat of an amateur gardener himself.

Finally, after everyone had eaten their fill (and then some), my mother moved in for the kill. “So, Claire, how did ye and Jamie meet?”

Claire looked at me, and I nearly choked on the last bite of carrots. “Um, well…”

“It was at a coffee shop. She spilled her drink on me and offered to buy me another.”

“Yes, that’s it. And then we got to talking and exchanged numbers—”

“I asked her out and she said yes, that was a few weeks ago, and now here we are!” I added hastily.

My mother seemed on the verge of spilling joyful tears and Da positively beamed. Claire squeezed my hand under the table while we regrouped.

“Mrs. Fraser, everything was delicious. Could I help you clear up, make some tea or coffee?”

“Dear, please call me Ellen. And no, ye may not make the coffee, ye are our guest! Let's leave the dishes to the men, shall we? Ladies, care to join me in the living room?”

“Should I be worried, do you think?” Claire asked as she looked at my mother and the women.

“I think I’m the one who should worry,” I muttered, as Jenny and Mary pulled Claire away from me. Next thing I knew, Mam would pull out old photo albums of me with braces or as a toddler in the bath.

I was dragged into the kitchen to help wash up. The rule was, since Mam cooked, the rest of us had clean-up duty. Seemed only fair—except my mother used a ridiculous amount of kitchenware and appliances which had to be left spotless again. I kept my hands busy scrubbing away, until William sidled up to me.

“Sawney, a brathair,” Willie said, using my old nickname and clapping me hard on the shoulder. I jerked and he laughed, mussing up my hair.

“Stop it, ye eejit, I’ll break something,” I growled, spraying him with water.

“Well, I can certainly see what ye saw in Claire, she’s lovely,” Da commented, setting empty glasses next to me. I felt a twinge of guilt.

“Aye, Jamie, she’s grand,” Ian agreed, leaning against the kitchen island. “Ye look good together. Ye have a real connection.” I couldn’t tell from his tone if Jenny had appraised him of the truth.

“Have ye slept with her yet?” Willie asked.

I dropped the glass I was rinsing and it bounced in the sink with a clatter. I turned to gape at William, who was grinning.

“Willie, that is none of yer business!” Da chided, glaring at his firstborn.

“Arsehole,” I mumbled under my breath. Ian cleared his throat behind me.

“We understand if ye dinna want to tell us, it’s yer private life and—”

“I’m not telling ye anything about my sex life, aye?” I finally said, chucking the scrubbing sponge at Willie’s head. “And you!” I turned to Ian. “We could hear ye and Jenny in yer room at Christmas last year, and man, for Christ’s sake, it’s my own sister!”

They both had the good grace to look abashed for a moment, before offering apologies and heading back to the dining room for more dirty dishes. Da frowned, but said nothing.

I fetched the sponge from the floor and got back to scrubbing a frying pan before he spoke up.

“So Jamie, lad, are ye being safe?”

- - -

In the living room, Claire was perched on the big couch, with a photo album on her lap.

“Jamie, these pictures are amazing. Your mum has saved all these memories of you,” she commented, obviously delighted with the albums. Fortunately, Mam had updated the technology and newer photographs were stored in ‘the cloud’.

“Aye, she keeps one for each of us, full of birthdays, Christmases, all of it,” I said, casually claiming the space next to her. Claire bit her lip for a moment, misty-eyed. Having lost her parents so young, I didn’t imagine she had much in the way of photographs. A peek at her expression confirmed it. I touched her hand lightly in sympathy and she smiled.

“You’re lucky, you know. To have all of this. Your parents, your brother and sister.”

“I do know. They seem to really like ye, too.”

I realized that my family had left the room, and there was only Claire and me, our hands touching on our laps. I turned to look at her, and I could catch her scent—something like growing green things and jasmine. That strange spark from the coffee shop surfaced again, vibrating in the empty room, and I felt the urge to lean in and kiss her like I had almost done before. I was drowning in her amber eyes and they seemed to get closer and closer…

“Oi, it’s snowing!” William called out suddenly, and Claire and I sprang apart in shock.

The family all crowded around the windows in the living room, watching fat flakes fall in a white flurry.

“Well, the roads will be impassable,” Da said with a frown.

“There’s a snow storm headed this way, according to BBC,” Ian commented, scrolling on his mobile.

“Och, weel, ye’ll just have to spend the night here,” Mam said briskly. “Ye can sleep in yer old rooms.”

Ifrinn! Share a room with Claire? My parents would expect that? A hint of panic welled in my chest.

“Oh, Mrs. Fraser,” Claire began, glancing at me with worry in her eyes, “I can take the couch right here. If you have a few spare blankets—”

“It’s Ellen, dear, and please, dinna be silly! We’re all adults here. Ye can sleep wi’ Jamie in his own room.”

- - -

A/N: Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there! Thank you for your likes, reblogs, and comments - they mean the world. <3

[renzu-valra]

Prompt #30: Splinter

Character: Shinza Chousokabe ♦ Region: Doma ♦ Time: 17 years ago

hosted by: @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast​​

“What would you have done had you taken his place that night? To that girl…”

Trailing my hand across the marble shelf, I maneuvered through the darkness. Making my way slowly towards the dark figure seated near the window. The corridor itself was lacking in colour. Naught in that deep midnight blue caught mine eye. Naught save what laid at the very end of it. A woman. Dressed in black. Seated on her legs, and staring out yonder a blaring white window letting in the sun.

“…Yes. You will suffice for now.”

I felt words gripping my throat, begging to be spoken. Yet my voice was missing. Sacrificed a fortnight ago. Even so, I felt as if they were still being spoken aloud. That the woman ahead of me heard each and every question. For when she turned her head, she bore her intense gaze into my skull. Answering every one.

However, I would not stumble here. I would press on with the selfsame tenacity of which I started down this oppressive path. Though the room in which we faced each other was but a dreamscape within my mind, the woman before me was a very real presence which threatened all who came into her view. She could easily pin me down and strangle my neck—choking out all life from my lungs; rendering my waking body paralyzed and without mind. Even so, I was not scared. She would not win.

When I finally stood within arm’s reach of her, she lifted her head upwards and smiled. Extending to me her hand. I humbly accepted and sat down by her side. The wood beneath my legs was cold—the soul inside each plank extracted and lifeless. She had killed it, just by sitting here. And inevitably, one day, she would claim my soul as well.

Resting my head against hers. Leaning my body against hers.

There was nothing loving in this.

“I wonder what she felt. The girl you watched for summers on end from your windowsill. Just like this.”

Her voice directed my eyes forward. The once blinding light shining through the paper dulled—emptied out—and in its place shone something far more brilliant. ‘Shaiwase.’ The gardener’s daughter.

 She was a child in this picture. Barely lived through five springs, and yet she already carried such grace. Her hair was long and black, and skin white as snow. I heard that she was born with a weak body, yet when I first saw her from this window, she seemed so very alive. Her gown was a simple cyan, and it flowed in great length behind her.

I was studying my calligraphy at the time. My teachers would expect nothing less than professional, first-class work despite my young age, and until then I had strived endlessly to meet those expectations. The moment I saw her trying to climb the cherry tree outside, my brush suddenly swirled in my hand. She was beautiful. More beautiful than the meaningless phrase I was recreating onto papyrus. Her small pale hands gripping at the thick wood—tiny nails digging into the flakes until she was high enough to sit inside the base. Looking up and waving to the birds chirping in the branches.

Birds… I don’t think I ever noticed how charming they were until then. Their harmonious song brought a smile to her cheeks, as well as to mine.

Truly, the sight itself appeared to be taken straight out of a painter’s canvas. A tranquil girl seated in-between the separating branches of a sakura tree, her long hanfu billowing in the breeze. The clouds a misty haze of white surrounding her. Except, this wasn’t a mere painting. It had true, genuine life to it, and it could be heard through the birdsong, and the warm breeze wallowing through the pink petals above, causing them to dance. This…feeling that was now blooming in my breast. It wasn’t love. It was marvel. Admiration. A wish that I could keep watching this scene forever.

“I wonder what she felt.”

The woman’s question resurfaced again. ‘What she felt..’

In the years to come, that’s all Shaiwase was. A sight to look forward to when I sat down at my desk to study during the day. And as she aged, she eventually took to learning how to tend the garden. As far as I reckoned, she never spotted me watching her as she worked. She was still frail of body, however that wouldn’t stop her strong spirit from giving life to the flowers she loved.

And yet…

The last time I saw her.

The very last time.

It was still through this very window.

My attendants had arrived in a hurry once the smoke flooded the skies past our estate. The attack on our city had just begun—yet the fires burned high and the sky blazed red. And Shaiwase. She was still tending the garden. Her back turned to the disasters directly behind her. Without a care in the world. Until the caw of a crow caught her attention, and she turned back and screamed. No one would go to her and take her into hiding with the rest of the family. She would be left to fend for herself, as would the rest of the hired staff.

And when the nightmare had ended, and a brief moment of calm was allowed to transpire.. I learned about what happened to her. To those who couldn’t escape. They were killed. Maimed and tortured in a man’s violent need to rage against his cruel fate. Apparently they hadn’t left a singular armed guard to watch over the estate in their absence—and it wasn’t a Garlean soldier who stole into their land and caused such horrific havoc…it was someone born and raised in Othard. A normal man. A crazed, terrible man. I wasn’t allowed to see the bodies.

 “We are the same, you and I.”

The woman by my side spoke—and when I turned my gaze to meet her ruby eyes, I suddenly felt an overpowering dizziness. The dream was ending… and with it.. –

  I awoke in sweat. A cruel nausea swelled within my gut that tasted of black rage. Its bile dripped on my tongue and foamed out onto my lips. I remember this. This bleak poison reminded me of that night naught but a few days past. Although the memory itself remained blurry and unspecified, I knew what occurred, whether I wanted to repress the entirety of it or not. ‘His’ instructions were precise.

Love her. Use her. Take her heart. She is but a woman of the night, and none should mourn her. For our purposes, she will suffice.

Yet mourned her I had. This sensation that swelled inside my veins as I was urged to take her life—I mourned that raw flood of emotions I had never quite experienced before. And I mourned the fact that I’d never be able to feel it with the one person who I wanted to most. The sickening tempest lurking within my bowels that was both unsatisfied and satisfied.

My heart was splintering apart—rending itself in two, and I had to fight desperately against its tearing muscle to keep it whole. There was a blade at my side. A white sword which begged to be grabbed at. I could see the shimmer of raw sharpness glare through the darkness. If I could but reach for it, I could use it to cut open my chest—rip out whatever foul curse rotted away from within.

Ah…but my arms would not function. I could hardly remember the scene which took place before this tormenting strife. I had been drugged, for my own safety. Yet still my hand twitched with need. If I was unable to supress these problematic urges, I would eventually will myself into taking that sharp sword in hand and take my life with it.

She was singing. Calling out for me…to join her in everlasting ‘–———‘

And then, before my eyes, I saw a man I had never seen before.

He touched at my hand…and as if our very souls intertwined together at that exact moment…I felt his voice reach my soul through my very veins.

It…quieted the rage which threatened to destroy me. My limbs eased and I found a resplendent calm drifting through my body—taking the drug which stilled me with it. I felt the hilt of the beating white sword throb within my palm. And I did what I knew needed to be done from the first.

Rend it clean through my heart. Give way for her spirit.

Become as one with who she is. Who I was. Who will come after.

[raleigh-ocean]

stargirl

67. When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

Words: 1, 626

send a ‘kiss’ and i’ll write something!

Leaning back in her chair, Cordelia put down the papers she had been checking for almost an hour. 

She was tired because she was sad, and even when she held it all inside of her it still showed enough for Madison to ask her what was going on. That feeling in her gut that something bad had happened, not in between the walls of the house but out in the world, was strong and it didn’t help at all that she received that envelope with the morning mail.

Cordelia didn’t even open it, she kept it in her view over the desk, in the box Misty gifted her to keep her stuff sorted out. It stuck out like a thumb, the paper full of...glitter, navy blue and golden hand writing. But Cordelia knew it wasn’t conventional glitter, feeling the magic throbbing all over it and gathering when her eyes laid on it, forming little constellations only an expert could name expertly.

God that she knew who sent that.

Closing her eyes, Cordelia rested her hands over her stomach before digging in her brain for the specific memory. The breeze coming from the window gave her some new strength to focus; and when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in her office anymore.

“Did you bring the blanket Dee?”

Cordelia felt herself tug at the corners of the blanket over her shoulders, showing it to her companion in the rooftop of the Academy. They had to sneak out of Spallding’s window to get to that place, so everything had to be on point and running smoothly. 

“Double blanket,” Cordelia sat on the floor, taking with her a Mars bar. “You know I’m always cold.”

The soft laughter from the figure in front of her, adjusting the telescope, was enough to warm up her heart and when it turned around Cordelia found herself looking at your eyes, as if she was already looking at the night sky full of stars. With you, it was always like that. No matter the time of the day, you made her feel like that without failing. 

Taking a couple steps, you already were by her side and hugging her to death. So touchy, your arms always circling her and making her brain fuzzy before stealing the open Mars bar from her hand only with your mouth. She tried to get it back, but you already were munching half of it while sitting by her side.

The last lights of the afternoon were fading when Cordelia caught sight of how your thighs were touching and your arm was resting over hers.

“Are you excited?” your voice was full of that happiness that always bubbled in Cordelia’s stomach upon see you every day. “Meteor shower is something that always makes my magic go wild.”

“I would be more if you didn’t eat my snack,” a few pats in her knee and she felt the need to bump your shoulder with hers. “But yeah, we’ve been preparing all week, how couldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, we’re breaking some rules being up here,” you shrugged and looked at her with that mischievous grin you always carried. “Miss Snow’s rules, your favourite ones.”

Cordelia was never one for violence but she just went for the punch in your shoulder. You faked, for her obviously, that it hurt just a little before smiling at her widely, which only made the butterflies in Cordelia’s belly go crazy. She was only eighteen but she was damned head over heels about you.

What were some broken rules over spending a meteor shower with you?

“I don’t care,” Cordelia felt a familiar tug in her own magic and then your hands were accommodating the blankets over her shoulders so you could fit under too. “This is fun.” 

“It’s always fun when we’re together Dee,” your giggle made her giggle too and then your arm was over her shoulders to be closer to her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you next year.”

“We can keep calling each other and...send letters,” Cordelia turned her head to rest it over her knees, pulled to her chest, to keep looking at you. “It’s not as you are going to disappear.”

“I’m going to Europe,” your hand went to her cheek and then to put a blonde lock behind her ear. “That’s like disappear.”

“Dramatic.”

“You? Always.” 

It was possible to smile wider? because for you that it seemed. Cordelia could only laugh at your antics and then you were hugging her again. With time, that was something she grew used to, having you all over her at any time given and enjoying your warmth as much as she could. You were always like a free spirit and Cordelia felt under your spell or, to keep it astronomical, right in your tail as if you were a shooting star.

A shooting star that seemed to always came back to her, shining even brighter.

She felt herself smiling at the thought and then her eyes went to the first stars in the night sky, shyly showing themselves before you two. The meteor shower was about to start, she knew by the way your magic seemed to grow and cover hers and reach for everything within that spot in the roof. Cordelia knew you didn’t need a telescope to point at the constellations or to even catch new formations, it was like an energy inside you what helped you see them easily.

“Okay, I’m seeing Cepheus there already,” your attention was drawn but you didn’t pull apart from hugging her. “So in a couple of minutes w-Hmm?”

Cordelia didn’t know what gotten into her at the moment, but her hand went directly to your neck, getting your attention again, and then slid a bit further to rest in your nape. Your eyes met then, with a glint of confusion for a second, and Cordelia leant enough to catch your lips in a messy first kiss. 

She didn’t even dare to open her eyes, feeling how your lips moved together. Cordelia felt like every ounce of her was about to jump out of the roof in that exact moment, but she was enjoying it too much...and then something clicked in her head and she pulled away from you, keeping her eyes closed.

What if she was ruining everything? What if later would be awkward for both?

“Y/N, I-I’m sorry, maybe it’s no-”

And then Cordelia couldn’t think anymore.

For someone that never kissed before, she thought she made up for it with eagerness. You were hugging and pulling her closer to you under the blanket, making one kiss several thanks to the sheer happiness you must be feeling and Cordelia was as high as the meteor shower you two were missing...

...but when she looked into your eyes again, she thought she didn’t care at all.

Because you were looking at her with all those stars in your eyes.

“And you said I’m the dramatic one,” your chuckle made her chuckle in response. “You wanted to reschedule our stargazing time, Goode, you can’t lie to me,” your hands felt ever so soft in her cheeks, burning with the blush adorning them. 

“Would you really reschedule it?” Cordelia knew deep inside she was being selfish, but you only leant to give her another peck.

“Can you make a shooting star stay when it has to go?”

Opening her eyes again, Cordelia smiled sadly. She obviously couldn’t, she knew it even before asking you that. Now that she wasn’t eighteen anymore, she knew that maybe if she didn’t ask you and just kept on kissing you...just maybe you would had stayed by her side.

But you didn’t.

What you did was leave, as you had planned it. Calls were made, as promised, but you completely went missing after the last call you two had almost ten years ago. You two didn’t argue, it was just your regular call every month, but she could feel something in your voice that wasn’t quite okay. You had told her about some research you were about to do, an experiment, one that you’ve been dreaming of for years.

Maybe it went wrong?

Cordelia’s hands reached finally for it, not expecting anything good coming from it. The heavy feeling in her chest only weighting more and more as each second passed. The patterns in the envelope moved to her touch, twirling around her fingertips and creating new constellations all over the paper for only her to see.

And when she ripped the paper open, she saw herself engulfed in some kind of dark powder, coughing because of it. Cordelia called for her magic to act, but something blocked it as soon as she tried to make it work, and then she felt a new weight over her legs.

A weight that took her down with chair and all.

A weight that could talk, apparently.

“Oh fuck me, I did it!” it was a familiar voice and her heart did a flip inside her chest, not feeling sad any longer. “Oh fuck Dee, I’m sorry! I didn’t expect you to actually open it in your lap!”

And when Cordelia opened her eyes, your eyes were looking back at her with all the stars that moments ago were decorating the envelope. Your smile as wide as she could remember and her hands cupping her face with the utmost care, as if you were going to kiss her right in that moment.

“Good evening, stargirl,” your voice was ever so soft in her ears after a decade. “Did you miss me?”

Oh yeah, Cordelia did miss you. 

But her first reaction wasn’t to go for a kiss, unfortunately for you. 

[wickedjaime]

Ned x Cersei, the first time cersei felt a real spark

~

It was the sheer gall of it that’d stolen her breath, Cersei told herself.

There they were, Queen and insolent Hand, sitting in the godswood amongst the quiet, the Keep, the land, hers, the place where Lord Eddard Stark thought himself kind and honorable when he’d offered her the chance for her and her children to flee before he tattled on her to his precious, beautiful Robert. The arrogance of him, speaking his staged, pretty words of mercy — words that would have been pretty, if not mangled by his barbaric Northern accent. And not only arrogant — resigned. Decided, like he’d already won. But good, still, always good, and noble, and oh so honorable. Cersei could scarcely even hear what he was saying from where he sat on his high fucking horse.

That feigned kindness will fade from your overly long, bland face, once I am done with you, mutt, Cersei was tempted to snap at him. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheek to kill her scowl, let her full lips fall into a soft easiness, pretty and soothing, with fangs just behind its curve, waiting to devour any man she’d aimed it toward. Eddard Stark was a righteous pain, self-assured of his honor, good and annoying — and worse, crippled, now, after her brother had put him in his place — but he was a man, still, and she was Queen Cersei Lannister. Far more beautiful than his meddling shrew of a wife, golden and elegant, with claws far sharper than any wolf’s. She could sway him. She could own him. She need only smile. All it had ever taken was a smile. It worked on Jaime, the other half of her soul. It worked on Lancel. It worked on all the other peons she’d ordered over the years, pathetic males who thought only with their cocks, because they were only men, and she was Cersei Lannister. It worked on them. And it would work on Eddard Stark, too. It would.

Cersei leaned closer to Ned, letting her golden hair rain down in rivulets over her shoulder. The glowing tips grazed his hand. She reached for it, smiled —

And the wince showed itself before she could catch it — a small gasp, a scowl, and digging nails, clutching into Eddard Stark’s flesh.

Her cheek.

Beyond the pale, scented powder that’d dusted her face, it was swollen. Swollen, and purple. And tender.

Tender, because Robert had hit her. Struck her like an insolent servant who’d stolen his wine. Backhanded her like one of his whores. Punished her like she’d become truth made flesh — the undeniable fact that the wrong man had died at the Trident on that cursed day, and that she’d deserved a better husband, Rhaegar, because she had, she fucking had, and her neck had twisted with the blow, so hard and quick that for half a breath, she thought it’d snapped, and her hair had flown with it, traitorous and shining like sunlight, cracking against her face like a whip.

Her cheek. Her face, beaten and stiff and healing.

And the smile had disturbed it.

Cersei snatched her hand away from him. Blood flew from her nails, splattered Eddard’s sleeve. Lannister crimson on Stark grey. Westerland wildberries on snow. Almost peaceful. Serene. Nothing like the rage rising inside of her.

Rage, because Ned Stark had seen her be honored with the lump that sat on her face. And he saw her now.

Rage.

Not shame.

Rage.

But she was a lioness. She was always enraged. It was in her nature to be so. It was what made her strong. The rage was not foreign — it was her. She could control it. And things that could be controlled, could be fixed. This can still be salvaged. She’d shown weakness, but men liked that, for beautiful women to be weak. If they were weak, they needed to be saved, and Eddard Stark was nothing if not one who perceived himself as savior to the innocent and weak. She could use this. She could.

Cersei let out a soft flutter of a laugh, one that was the perfect blend of embarrassment and softness, and charm. “Forgive me, my lord,” she murmured as a ragged breath fled her throat — part of the performance, of course. She rose her chin to demurely catch his gaze. “I am simply fright —”

Her words hung in her throat. Lips parted, breath halted, as she saw Eddard Stark’s face, truly saw it.

Not his face — the parts of it. The mouth, set tight and firm, but somehow not cruel. The brow, dark and furrowed, yet somehow soft.

And the eyes.

Gods, his eyes.

Grey, dark, endless wolf eyes. So dark they threatened to be black. Black like madness, black like evil, black like monstrous, unfeeling, soulless, and yet there was so much feeling in that darkness that for the first time since her first breath, Cersei Lannister was rendered silent.

Silent, because Cersei knew the abyss that held her gaze. Knew that look in the Quiet Wolf’s eyes.

Pity.

Pity, for her.

And before she could process it, before she could sneer, raise her paw and smack that look off his face, curse him, because the nerve, the gall, he dares, he dares —

A bleeding hand bloomed before her eye, reaching, and held her swollen cheek.

No, not held.

Cradled.

Like a newfound lover, Ned Stark’s palm kissed Cersei’s cheek, long fingers grasping her as if she were a dying rose he dared not wither. The wind was still, yet the leaves stirred and rustled, a dry song that drowned her, and Cersei felt nothing, not her breath, nor the blood rushing in her ears, nor the teeth sinking into her tongue. Only the rough plains of Ned’s hand on her bruise. He is warm, she realized. Warm, and the rest of her was so cold. Warm, and soft, somehow.

And at his touch, her cheek did not hurt.

“Has he done this before?” Eddard Stark asked, softly, gently, as if she were a fawn he feared startling. That alone should have made Cersei furious, but she felt no fury, only the warmth. It’d spread to her other cheek, like some abhorrent disease, as if she were blushing. Not as if — she was blushing. Good, she told herself. Men love blushing women. I have salvaged this. She had.

She had, yet she found herself pulling away from his touch, away from him, eyes locking on his bleeding hand, the crimson crescents her claws had given him. “Once or twice,” she said just as softly, unbidden. “Never on the face before. Jaime would have killed him, even if it meant his own life.” Why I am telling this fool any of this? He’ll be locked away soon enough, out of my sight, freezing in the North where he belongs. That, or dead; she had not decided yet.

Out the corner of her eye, Cersei saw Ned lower his head, long horse face solemn.

Cersei’s eyes burned a gaze into his bleeding hand. Red slivers oozed down white flesh, thick and slow, like crimson tears. Somehow, that renewed her anger, brought her calm face to fury. Do not weep for me, Ned Stark.

Cersei met his gaze then, chin raised, nostrils flared, eyes dry, defiant. Ned only stared back, solemnness unwavering. Pitying her, still, but something else too, now. As if he were reflecting. Reflecting, and his dark grey eyes became softer than Cersei Lannister had ever seen them. Soft, like clouded midnight. Misty clouds, like unshed tears, and she hated him. She fucking hated him.

Cersei snapped to her feet, Lannister eyes glaring down at the mutt like the pissant that he was. She laughed. “Does Ned Stark cry for all of his enemies?” she asked. Her words had as much hissing cruelty in them as she could muster, with a scowl to accompany them. She turned. “I will take your words under advisement, my lord.” She almost took a step, then thought better of it. No. She was not done with him yet. Those wolf eyes were silent, but loud, and Cersei Lannister allowed no one to have the last word, especially not some oblivious, unhandsome, pitying, long-faced mutt that she had already bested. “Heed mine as well. Your soft heart will be your undoing. It is your greatest mistake.” And I will take utmost pleasure in watching that mistake cover you with rot as you stew in my Black Cells, Weakhearted Wolf.

“I’ve made many mistakes in my life, my lady,” said Eddard Stark, sounding exhausted and haunted all of a sudden, but that softness, that fucking softness, and gentleness, still, and for some reason, out of all times she’d been tempted, she did raise a hand to slap him, but only for half a breath, and only half an inch past her hip. Ned was still talking when her hand relaxed. “That was not one of them.”

“Oh, but it was, my lord,” Queen Cersei said, and honestly, perhaps Uncle Gerion had been right when he’d said that Lannisters only spoke to hear their own voices, because she had no other reason to be advising a pathetic enemy who was too stupid to realize he’d already lost. Yet, she went on. “Win you play the game of thrones, you win, or you die. There is no middle ground.” Do you hear me? I might kill you, you fool. Give me a challenge. Give me play. You should suspect I’ve killed your sweet king already, or are you as moronic as you are kind? Are wolves truly so easy to defeat? Can your paws only offer sweet caresses? He had not touched her for countless breaths, but that warmth was still there, holding her swollen cheek. Some part of her wondered if her flesh was still as bruised as it was, though that was a silly thought. The naive wolf held no healing abilities, as supposedly gentle and honorable as he thought himself to be, and gods, why was she still here?

With that, Cersei left him, footfalls purposely slow and calm as she entered the Keep. The concealed air beyond the doors greeted her like a smothering, yet the air on her cheek remained fresh, new.

Soft.

Cersei raised a hand to touch it, only to see that it was shaking. And not just her hand — her heart, too. It was beating out of time. Out of time, like the leaves that were moving even though the wind had stilled, and her ragged breath, despite the fact that she’d sat there frozen.

It is my anger stirring me, Cersei Lannister knew. My rage. Weakness overcame me, in front of a foolish enemy, no less. Then he humiliated me with kindness, and not even a feigned one. He was genuine. Had pity, for me. His fucking pity. That was what shook her with rage, left her speechless, breathless, weightless — soon to be former Lord Hand Eddard Stark, and the fact that he dared.

The insulting boldness.

The sheer gall.

The soft, condescending nerve.

Yes.

That was it.

Only that.

Only.

Only, and Cersei Lannister decided that she would kill Eddard Stark, after all.

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

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Chapter 206: The Brightest Star in the Sky

The young man sighed, as he trekked after his determined cousin. They were about the same age, but decidedly had very different interests. As always though, he tagged along to make sure she didn't get into too much trouble at these conventions.

His cousin Nora loved anything considered weird, paranormal, or of a conspiracy nature. So seven years ago, when that crazy storm had happened in Seattle, his cousin had been enthralled from that moment and ever since she had been exploring every single aspect of that day.

She did have a point. Even he, like most, suspected that the official story the Feds fed the public about that day was garbage. But he, like most, didn't really know what to do about it so they moved on with their lives. But not Nora and she had gotten into some trouble early on in her days of spelunking in the woods of Maine and into fights at the conventions. So here he was again, tagging along to another conspiracy convention in Misty Falls, Maine and bored out of his mind.

"If you don't want to be here, JJ...then you can leave. I'll be fine," Nora told him. He rolled his eyes.

"It's just...some of these guys are in this for the cash grab now. I mean...what new or real information have they come up with in the last seven years?" JJ questioned. She sighed.

"You don't get it...there are no definitive answers, because the government is hiding the whole thing. But you've heard the stories. Weird things happen in these woods," Nora said.

"Maybe that's because this convention brings the weirdos out of the woodwork," he quipped.

"So...are you still on the fairy tale kick or do you think it's aliens?" he asked.

"If you're going to make fun of me, you can take a hike," she answered. He sighed.

"I'm sorry...but you have to admit, most of the theories are pretty insane," he mentioned.

"You saw the videos...how do you explain all that?" she asked.

"I don't know...but fairy tales? Really?" he questioned.

"Whatever...you just wait until I prove you wrong," she insisted, as they arrived at the convention tables, where they were conducting a live podcast.

"And if you're just joining us, I have made contact with a source that has a possible lead on the man known as David Nolan. Now, if you remember, David Nolan is the detective from Seattle that curiously had his wife and son stolen from him by a man, who was known on the dark web as the Collector. His wife had amnesia and was diagnosed by a shady doctor with dissociative identity disorder. The woman had an alter and yes, you're remembering correctly. Her alter was none other than Snow White," the podcaster said.

"This couple was splashed all over the tabloids for weeks and their romance became an obsession; an obsession that the Internet still hasn't let go of. Especially when this same couple showed up on that fateful day in Seattle and things happened around them that can only be described as magic, no matter what the official government story tries to tell us," he continued.

"But then they disappeared, without a trace, like they never existed. But if the rumors on the dark web are anything to go by...then they are somewhere hidden in these very back woods of Maine, possibly in a hidden realm or maybe even beneath the surface of the earth if you believe the hallow earth theorists," he added.

"But no matter how much they try to dissuade us from seeking the truth, we will not stop until we expose what really happened that day and just who these mysterious people really are. Join us again tomorrow, as we make our annual hike into the woods of Maine in search for answers," he said, concluding his podcast. JJ rolled his eyes, as Nora got in line to get an autograph from the man who had made a living with podcasts and books on this subject.

"I'm gonna go check us in at the Inn and if it's booked again like last year, we're leaving, cause I'm not sleeping in a tent again," he complained, as he started off that way when screams from the diner nearby attracted all the attention. And if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have never believed it.

The diner exploded in flames, with any of the poor people inside, obviously perishing instantly. He stood, fear stricken, as two flaming figures strode toward them.

"You…" one said, as the flames faded mostly.

"You will drive us to a place called Boston," Arthur demanded.

"Uh...here, take the car," JJ said, but Gawain growled and grabbed Nora by the arm.

"The King has requested that you drive us and you will do so unless you'd like me to melt the skin off her body," Gawain threatened. JJ nodded, as he led them back to his car. Suddenly, all the conspiracy had just gotten very real…

~*~

David stood behind his boss with a few other agents, as she made a statement to the press and delivered the profile, stating that they believed their perpetrator to be a highly educated professor with access to multiple Universities campuses.

"Major Donovan...are you really accusing someone in the educational community of perpetuating these crimes?" one reporter questioned.

"As uncomfortable as it is...I'm afraid so. The chemical compound alone suggests that this person is at least a scientist and someone highly intelligent. But the location of the crimes is very suspicious as well. Only an educator would have the kind of access that to the multiple institutions that these crimes occurred," Patricia answered.

"They're cannot be that many that fit your profile. Does that mean you've narrowed the suspect pool?" another asked.

"Yes...we are getting close and we are doing everything in our power to make sure the last victim is this person's final victim," the Major answered, as she stepped away, effectively ending the impromptu press conference. But one person, without a press pass, slipped through and ran up behind them.

"Agent Nolan is it?" he asked. David sighed and turned to him. He hated reporters.

"Make it quick...I really do want to catch this guy," he said impatiently.

"No one else has seemed to put it together, but rumors in the alternative community have suggested that you are the same person as the Detective Nolan from strange events that occurred seven years ago in Seattle," the man interjected.

"I'm sorry...what media outlet are you with?" Patricia asked.

"I'm an independent researcher for the people, Major," he answered.

"Ah...so one of those nuts on the Internet. Got it...if you'll excuse us, we have work to do," she said, dismissing him.

"I've done some digging. Your wife, Margaret Nolan, she's a teacher, right?" he called and David stopped in his tracks.

"Look...I don't know who you are, but I've never lived in Seattle and I'll let you go right now if you go without another word. But you mention my wife again or even think about going near her...then we'll arrest you for harassment," David warned. The man smirked.

"Fine...but pictures don't lie, detective. Oh, I'm sorry...it's agent now," he said, as he tossed the newspaper to him and walked away. David sighed and followed his boss back into their workplace. He was about to look at the paper out of curiosity, but tossed it on his desk when Agent Harding called them into the conference room.

"Hey...I think I might have narrowed it down now," she said, as they both went into the conference room.

"Really?" David asked.

"Well...we caught a break. Our perp has been careful up until now, but after the last student death at Boston University, they put even more cameras," Danielle replied.

"Wait...are you saying you got something on camera?" David asked.

"Well, nothing incriminating, but I went through and cross referenced everyone that was signed into the lab at Boston University on both nights of each murder that occurred there," she replied.

"Nice work...how many are we down to?" Patricia asked.

"Eight...so still not great, but way better than the thirty-two suspects we had it down to this morning," she replied.

"Okay...well eight is workable. Let's see them one by one," Patricia said, as she nodded to Trevor and he put the slide show up on the screen. And David's heart nearly stopped, as he recognized the photo of the sixth man on the screen. As the slide flipped to the seventh one, he called out.

"Hold it...go back!" he said, as he stared a the image of Dr. Ian Jenkins.

"David? Do you know him?" Patricia asked, as his mind was racing a mile a minute and he remembered what, at the time, had been a fairly innocuous conversation with his wife.

~*~

They had taken the kids out for pizza after the game so Bobby could eat with his teammates. They were so glad he finally seemed to be fitting in. Middle school had been an awkward time for him and he had always said he felt different than other kids and had trouble relating to them, but he was never really sure why. Snow and David were fond of telling him that it was because he was special, but they weren't sure that helped much. At his age, being special was definitely not easy. It wasn't easy to be normal at his age, so being extraordinary or special came with its own struggles. But his teammates really seemed to take to him. They both just hoped there was more to it than the fact that Bobby was winning games for them.

After pizza, they had stopped for ice cream and she was currently sharing a pint with her husband on the couch. In his lap no less, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

"You're a little quiet...lost in the chocolate goodness?" he teased, as she looked him.

"No...it's kind of silly I think," she replied.

"Your feelings are never silly to me," he reminded, as she put her spoon in the ice cream and set it aside on the table.

"Well...my new boss, Dr. Jenkins...he's nice and all and I kind of feel bad for him. He's socially awkward...but I kind of got a weird vibe from him today," she said.

"Did he come onto you?" he asked.

"No...why would you think that?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Because you're beautiful and I saw the way he was looking at you. I may have acted like I was absorbed in the game, but trust me, I always notice everything when it comes to you, especially when other men look at you," he replied. She caressed his face.

"You're the only man I want," she reminded him.

"I know...that's why I don't gouge their eyes out when I see one looking at you. That's serious self control...you should be proud," he joked, as she nudged him playfully.

"But seriously...was he making you uncomfortable?" he asked.

"No...not really. He just was weirdly insistent that I should enroll in his night classes and get my doctorate," she replied.

"Do you want to get your doctorate?" he asked.

"No...I'm happy where I am. Besides, spending my evenings away from you and the kids would only make me miserable," she replied.

"Then he should accept that and if he gets out of hand, I want you to let me know right away," he stressed. She shrugged.

"I don't think it's like that. I think he's just lonely and is trying to be a friend," she said.

"Maybe...but remember, I'm a cop. I see this kind of thing go bad way too often and it scares the hell out of me that you could be on the receiving end of someone that doesn't like to hear the word no," he lamented. But she stroked his face.

"I'll be fine. Like I said, he's just awkward and hasn't crossed any lines. I'll be friendly, but keep a professional distance," she promised, as she kissed him.

"Good...because I don't think I have to tell you what it would do to me if something happened to you," he said, as she caressed his face again.

"I know...it's the same for me when it comes to you. I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied, as their lips met again.

~*~

"David?" Patricia questioned, as she noticed his fear stricken face.

"I know him…" he uttered.

"How?" Danielle asked.

"He works at the same school Margaret and Bobby are at. He's the head of the science department," David answered, as Trevor pulled up his information.

"Dr. Ian Jenkins, five PHD's and moved to the United States from Great Britain a few years ago," Danielle said, as dread knotted in David's stomach and he ran out of the room and to the stairwell.

"Pull up everything you can get on him, from his time here and his home country. I have a feeling this is our guy," she said, as she followed him.

~*~

Mount Olympus practically shook apart to rubble, as Seth unleashed his rage at what was going on in the United Realms at the moment. There was a heavy ice storm plaguing several Kingdoms and a lightning storm over Storybrooke. If that wasn't enough, there were also several cyclones raging in the waterways, creating violent hurricane-like winds. He had told Mephisto not to bother returning unless it was with the Charmings in chains.

"I'm going to torture you all...and burn everything and everyone you love!" Seth raged, as his eyes bled yellow with evil and he glared down at the United Realms. In his mighty rage, he blasted Snow and David's castle in Misthaven and then Winter and Charming's near the toll bridge, torching them both. He knew they were likely empty by now, as these storms were clearly a distraction. He glared at the reserve and then the mysterious area near Bald Mountain. Even in all his immense power, he was unable to get through the shields protecting these areas and it made him livid in a way he had never been.

"I must find a way through…" he growled, as he disappeared and reappeared in Nephilim. He needed to consult Madam Mim's oldest spell books. There had to be something in one of them to combat the power of these truest loves. He had little faith in Mephisto's new charges and thus, he knew it was very likely that Winter and Charming's good halves would soon return. Which meant he needed a way to obliterate them and their entire bloodline…

~*~

Thanks to their abundance of beans, multiple portals opened with people pouring through them. Due to the nature of the barrier, created by the combined light and dark powers of Winter, Charming, and Rumpelstiltskin, it made the barrier around the Bald Mountain area nearly impenetrable, even by the mighty Seth. Another perk of the magic woven into the barrier was that anyone that walked into the refuge of the mountain through a portal had their real memories returned. Emotions were running high, especially, as many people were reunited with loved ones thought to be dead, including Abigail with her father.

"That should be mostly everyone that we could get," Leo said, as he arrived with Frankie and Joe, having retrieved them and most of the people of Storybrooke.

"Yes and it shouldn't be too crowded, thanks to the magical extensions," Regina agreed, as they arrived back from the Maritime Kingdom.

"Where is Eva...this is taking too long…" Charming said, as he paced a hole in the floor. Thankfully, a portal opened, as she and Paul arrived back from the Land Without Color and its people.

"I'm here Daddy…" she called, as he hugged her tightly and cradled her head.

"I'm okay, Daddy," she assured and then pulled back.

"I hope everyone is mostly here though. He destroyed your castle in Misthaven and the one by the Toll Bridge," she reported.

"We're safe...that's what matters most, sweetie," Winter said. He nodded.

"She's right, angel...we can rebuild when all this is over," Charming assured.

"So what now? As usual, you've built a resistance and led us all here. But Seth is worse than I ever was...so you two better have a plan," the Evil Queen asked said, as she stood beside her other half.

"Emma will bring our other halves back, along with Summer and Bobby. Until then...we ready ourselves for the battle to come," Winter declared.

"She's right...because this one is going to make the Final Battle look like a casual afternoon sparring match," Charming said.

"We've lost Fandral too...that was not a blow we needed," Elsa mentioned.

"We must hope that his friends got our message and were able to rescue them," Hermes implored and they could only hope she was right.

"Let's hope the barrier holds long enough, because Seth will do everything he can to get through that barrier," Winter whispered to her husband and he pulled her into his arms.

"It will...and Emma will be back soon," he promised.

~*~

"...and that was how we ended up in the All World River," Fandral said, as he got choked up again.

"And I almost lost the best thing that ever happened to me," he said, as he clutched her hand and Rose rested her head on his shoulder. She was cuddled against him in a large chair, as they had opted to share and no one bothered to tell them they could have their own. At the moment, he could bare to let her out of his sight or even let go of her. He was too afraid that she would disappear.

"By Odin's beard...there is really a serum that can separate a person from their good half and their bad half?" Lady Sif asked. They nodded.

"There is...it was originally created by Dr. Jekyll to separate himself from Hyde," Fandral asked.

"They are the ones in the story when you were cursed to be bear? This Jekyll is the one that tried to keep you apart, yes?" Thor asked. Rose nodded.

"He did...he separated from Hyde, but it turned out that he was the real monster all along and Hyde, though he has done some terrible things, he retained a goodness in him. He helped reunite us...despite his feelings for me," she explained.

"And your friends? Their dark halves...they don't seem all that dark," Valkyrie observed.

"They're not...they have done dark things in the name of revenge, but ultimately, like Snow and David, they still love each other and their family. They're just a little more willing to go to dark places to protect them, whereas Snow and David do so from a place of light," Fandral tried to explain.

"And your friends good halves are cursed again?" Sif asked, trying to understand.

"Yes...to protect their youngest. Seth fears his powers, which I have feeling he hasn't even begun to come into. But their eldest has gone after them in hopes of waking them up and bringing them home. The final battle with Seth draws near," Fandral answered.

"And I thought our lives were insane," Valkyrie quipped. Fandral sighed.

"We must get back to the children…" Fandral said.

"They are safe...I know our friends would make sure of that," Rose assured him. He nodded.

"If you are sure of that, perhaps it is wise to remain here until the right time to make your entrance," Thor suggested.

"That is a good idea. We just have no idea how to know when the right time will be," Fandral said. Thor exchanged a glance with Valkyrie and she rolled her eyes.

"If anyone has any kind of tech that can see across realms, it's probably one of them. It's one hell of a long shot though," she mentioned.

"We should try...I'll make the call," he said, as he stood up.

"So...he doesn't look so good. I feel badly for asking for his help," Fandral said, but Sif shook her head.

"No...this is exactly what he needs. It's been two years here too since the snap and he's been drowning himself in his own sorrows," Sif replied.

"She's right...you seem to be someone that's able to do what none of us can and that's pull him out of his misery. He feels he has no purpose now so do not feel bad about giving him one," Valkyrie admonished. Fandral nodded and Rose kissed his cheek.

"So...who is he calling?" Fandral asked curiously.

"Someone with a really big brain," Valkyrie answered.

~*~

Margaret arrived back in her classroom and started gathering her things to go home for the day. As she put things away in her bag, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and jumped when she saw Dr. Jenkins standing in the doorway.

"Oh...Dr. Jenkins, you startled me," she said, with a quiver in her voice. The way he was looking at her made her very uncomfortable and warning bells started going off in her head.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry...I don't mean to. I just wanted to thank you again for all your help. Today was quite successful, thanks to you. We made quite a team," he mentioned. She swallowed thickly and grabbed her bag in order to make a quick escape. Unfortunately, the contents of the bag went spilling to the floor instead.

"Oh dear...let me help you," he said, as he started picking her things up.

"That's okay…" she said, as she quickly stuffed things into her bag and stood up.

"I...I need to go. Bobby's waiting for me," she said, as she walked past him and fear seized her when he grabbed her arm.

"Margaret please...I think it is important that we talk," he said.

"Doctor…" she started to say.

"Margaret...please hear me out," he pleaded. He wasn't giving her much choice though, as he did not let go of her arm.

"I've never met anyone like you. Brilliant and beautiful, with a kind soul. I don't connect with many people, but I felt an instant connection with you. Can you not see that we belong together?" he asked.

"Doctor...I'm married. Happily married and very much in love with my husband. Please...let go," she pleaded, as she was now on the verge of tears. But that only made him squeeze her arm harder.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that...and you'll soon see that you belong with me," Jenkins he said in a matter of fact tone. She tore away from him, but he grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Help me!" she cried out, as he put a hand over her mouth. She bit his hand and he cried out. He backhanded her across the face and she went spilling to the floor.

"This is not how I wanted to do this, Margaret...but you leave me no choice," he said, as he pinned her on her back. She cried and screamed, but the school was mostly empty by now and those that were still around were in the gym.

"Shh...stop your struggle," he chided, as he put the scarf she was wearing around her neck between her teeth, as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't believe his strength. He didn't look all that strong, but his grip was like a vice and her struggling didn't faze him at all. She winced away in disgust, as he caressed her face.

"The moment I met you...I knew I had to have you," he leered and she tried kneeing him, but he held her knees down.

"You are so fiery...it's exhilarating, but this will help calm you," he said, as he pulled a syringe out of his jacket pocket.

"A simple muscle relaxer. You'll remain awake...but unable to fight me," he said. Her eyes widened and she continued to struggle. Just as she thought the worst was about to happen, she saw the doctor be literally peeled off her and thrown...across the room. Her son stood there, looking at his arm in surprise, wondering how he had even done such a thing, but decided that was a question for later, as he helped his mother up and into a chair.

"Mom…" he said, as he helped her pull the scarf away from her mouth and her arms flew around him.

"It's okay Mom…" he soothed, as he looked back at the doctor and put his hand up.

"You stay away...you stay the hell away from my mom!" Bobby hissed, as Jenkins started toward them.

"You won't stand in my way once I make a guinea pig out of you for my new drug. You're strong...maybe you'll be the first one to survive it. Either way, you won't be able to stop me from taking what I want," he said.

"Drug?" Margaret asked, as she saw the syringe with a red liquid in it.

"You're...you're the one my husband is looking for. You...you killed all those students and homeless people," she realized. He smirked at her with admiration.

"As usual...you are stunningly brilliant, Margaret. Such is wasted on your muscle brained husband. He's supposed to be an FBI agent and you figured it out before he did," he said smugly.

"Don't be so sure...I know my dad and he's probably already onto you," Bobby warned, as he guarded his mother.

"You don't want to tangle with me, brat. I don't mean to harm your lovely mother...I just need to show her why she belongs with me," he said.

"You're really are psycho if you think I'll let you touch her or that she belongs with you, because trust me, she belongs with my dad," Bobby growled.

"We shall see…" Jenkins said, as he kept walking toward them, causing Bobby to charge the man and they went tumbling to the floor.

"BOBBY!" Margaret cried, as she looked for something to use as a weapon.

Jenkins managed to get his hands around the boy's throat and started choking him, until he felt the incredible pain of being beamed with a chair across his back and rolled off, howling in pain. Margaret quickly helped her son up and looked him over.

"How dare you try to hurt my son!" she growled, all traces of her usual kindness gone.

"You are making this very difficult on yourself, Margaret. I do not want to hurt your boy...but I will if you do not come with me right now," Jenkins said.

"Go to hell," Bobby growled.

"I'm already there, young one...I'm already there without her to complete me," he claimed.

"You are sick…" Margaret spat, as he got up and she had no idea how. She had hit him with a metal chair, after all. He started toward them and Bobby punched him, before taking his mother's hand and leading her to the door. They were startled when they opened it and found a blonde woman there with a few other people. The woman smiled at them, like she was relieved, and put her hands up.

"It's okay...I'm a cop," she assured and they sighed in relief. But Margaret cried out, as Jekyll grabbed her and put his arm around her neck in a headlock, before dragging her back.

"Don't move...or I strangle her," he warned, as she gasped for air.

"Stop it!" Bobby cried.

"If I cannot have you, sweet Margaret...then no one will…" he hissed in her ear, before sniffing her hair.

"Let us leave...and she'll keep breathing," he said.

"You have four guns aimed at you four-eyed psycho so you're not going anywhere with her," Emma growled. But he smirked and pulled her tightly against him.

"But none of you will risk firing on me as long as I have her...she too precious…" he hissed, as he looked at her with a lustful stare. Suddenly, one of the windows in the classroom shattered in surprise and Jenkind looked that way, only in time to see a fist connect with his face, busting his glasses. He stumbled to the floor and Margaret sighed in relief, as her husband caught her before she went crashing to the floor with him.

"Oh David…" she cried, as her arms flew around his neck.

"It's okay now, my darling…" he promised, as he held her tightly. Emma smiled at them. Thankfully, some things never changed and that one thing was the love between her parents. It still shined as passionately and brightly like the brightest star in the sky.

"Hands up where we can see them," Nick warned, as he leveled his gun at the doctor. Jenkins smirked and jabbed the needle into Bobby's leg.

"Oww…" he cried out, as time seemed to stop.

"What...what did you just do?" David cried. The evil doctor looked at him with a smug smile.

"You know what I have done, agent Nolan...the same that I have done to all my other test subjects. I doubt the boy has but a few moments to live," Jenkins said.

"You son of a bitch!" Emma cried, as she felt tears fill her eyes and she tackled him to the ground, before cuffing him.

"Bobby…" Margaret said, as their son began to convulse.

"Oh God...no...no...no...I can't lose our baby," she cried, as she fell apart and they held their son.

"This is agent Martinez, I need an ambulance at North Star High School immediately. We have a student that was injected unwillingly with a dangerous substance!" Angela said into her phone. Bobby convulsed, as his parents held him and cried over him. Suddenly, the ground beneath them all began to shake.

"An earthquake? In Massachusetts?" Nick asked in confusion. But Emma and Killian exchanged a glance.

"Yeah...not an earthquake," she told them and their eyes widened.

"Are you saying the kid is doing this?" Nick hissed.

"That drug...it might have just awakened his powers," Emma said.

"But there is no magic," Killian reminded her.

"Yes there is...my parents have half the chalice hidden in their rings," she reminded him.

"Then...he might survive this," Killian said hopefully.

"It's possible…" she said, as the rest of the windows shattered and wind whipped around all of them.

"If my brother doesn't kill us all with the elements first," Emma said, as the paramedics arrived and were unsure as to what they were seeing. Her brother's magic was fighting the drug and he had a better chance than anyone else of surviving. But if he destroyed everything around him in the process, it was going to be something they would have a hard time explaining…

~*~

Summer arrived home that evening and was surprised to find the house seemingly empty.

"Mom?" she called.

"Hmm...they must still be at school," she muttered, as she dropped her bag in her room and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. It was strange that her mother hadn't texted her that they would be this late though and she opened the fridge to grab an apple. She heard the doorbell ring at that time and went to answer it, finding a package on the doorstep. It was a little strange since there didn't seem to be a delivery truck. She shrugged and took it inside, surprised that it was addressed to her and her brother.

"That's weird...we didn't order anything," she said, but shrugged again and opened the box. Inside was a large, leather bound book with the title emblazoned in gold.

"Once Upon a Time," she read.

"Fairy tales?" she wondered, as she opened the book and was suddenly seized with a river of memories running through her.

"Oh my God!" she cried out, as it all came back to her. She put the book down and dug through the box, extracting the Dark One dagger from it.

"I need to find Mom, Dad, and Bobby," she uttered, as she grabbed her bag. She stuffed the book into it, as she heard a noise.

"Hello?" she called, but received silence. A chill ran down her spine and she clutched the dagger.

"Daddy?" she called, but somehow knew he wasn't there.

"Afraid not, young one…" a voice said and she turned to find a man that she recognized as King Arthur.

"My my...you have grown up. You were so very small the last time I saw you," Arthur said.

"As fair as your mother," Gawain said.

"You stay away from me, jerk face," she growled.

"And with the same mouth too," he quipped.

"Believe it or not...I do not want to hurt you, little one. Just give me the dagger and we will be on our way," Arthur said, as she clutched it and backed away. She ran from them, as their arms became alive with fiery chains. She screamed, as Gawain sliced through the kitchen table and she ran out the backdoor, before colliding with a young man she didn't recognize.

"I'm sorry…" he said, as he helped her up.

"Who are you?" she asked, as Arthur and Gawain tore their way through the house.

"Uh...later," he said, as he led her back to his car. Just a few moments ago, he had the opportunity to run away, but something had told him not to and now he knew why.

~*~

A Few Moments Ago

"You're welcome crazies!" he called, as the two weirdos that had forced them to drive them four hours to Boston got out in front of a nice house in a very nice suburb.

"JJ...what are you waiting for? Floor it!" Nora urged. He snorted.

"So everything you've been going on about for seven years is probably true and now you want to run?" he asked.

"Away from those psychos...yeah!" she answered. But he heard a scream from inside the house and got out of the car.

"Someone is in trouble...stay here!" he told her, as he ran around the back of the house. He may have been dragged into this conspiracy stuff unwillingly, but now that the danger was real and people needed help, that's where he shined. He wanted to help real people from real danger and he wasn't about to run away from that, even if what the danger he was facing seemed wildly unreal.

JJ took the girl's hand and they ran to his car. Nora was still in the back seat and he opened the passenger door for her.

"Get in," he said, but Summer hesitated and looked back at the house.

"I need to find my parents," she replied.

"Fine, but it's not safe here and I assure you that we're better than those freaks," he said. She nodded and got in. He ran to the driver's side.

"Where to?" he asked.

"North Star High...I'll tell you how to get there, just go," she urged, as he peeled away, leaving Arthur and Gawain behind…

~*~

Training was in full swing at the refuge, as Leo sparred his Uncle James and his wife was firing icicles at Regina, who was using fire to extinguish them, just as Eva ran into the training room.

"Honey...what is it?" Winter asked.

"Something is happening in Boston...it's all over the news," she said, as Rumple magicked a television into the room and they turned to one of the national news stations.

"And if you're just joining us, Boston is experiencing a strange series of weather events. No one is sure how or why, but the source of the earthquake appears to be a local school, North Star High," the reporter droned on.

"North Star High?" Leo asked.

"We looked it up. Your Mom teaches there under the name Margaret Nolan and Bobby is a freshman there," Paul replied.

"But...that doesn't make any sense. Why would Bobby unleash his powers?" Elsa asked.

"And how even? They're in the Land Without Magic," Leo added.

"Mom and Dad have their half of chalice, even if they don't know it," she reminded him.

"Which means something must be happening and Bobby might not be able to control his powers. It's the only way he'd ever use them out there," Regina surmised.

"Exactly...but this could be the catalyst we need. Emma should be there by now and she'll bring them home," Rumple stated.

"Except that we know Seth sent Arthur and Gawain after them and if people see those two and what they can do? There is no putting this one back in the bottle," James said. Aphrodite nodded.

"Snow and David will know what to do...we have to have faith. I'm assuming that package has been delivered?" the Goddess asked the Dark One.

"Young Summer should have it by now and with any luck she's awake so it's only a matter of time until the rest are," he replied.

"Let's hope you're right, because Seth has access to every magic book in Rose Red's library and if he finds a way through our barrier prematurely...then it's over," the Evil Queen warned.

"Then I guess it's time for you to take a page from the Charming manual as I have, Your Majesty. We must have hope," he said. She looked at him in disgust.

"Hope...that damn word. It always comes down to hope and that insipid princess and her idiot husband," the Queen complained, receiving many glares, most notably from the twins.

"I'm sorry...I love you both, but your mother and father are a menace," she complained.

"No...they're heroes and they'll be back soon to help us fight. With the United Realms joining together, all our armies, all our magic...Seth will go down and we need to be ready," Regina said. Robin smiled at her and put his arms around her.

"And we will be, because we're all heroes, especially you now," he said, as she smiled back at him.

"And if we can't put this back in the bottle? Even if we do defeat Seth...what if the whole world becomes aware of our existence?" Leo asked.

"Yeah...because something tells me that Seth might decide he wants to rule more than just the United Realms," Eva added.

"I'm afraid you're right...Seth may decide he wants to conquer the world. But we'll save it and then we may have to face an entirely new world where we are no longer hidden," Aphrodite told them.

"As hard as it may be, it can be done. There was a time on the Earth in the realm where Fandral comes from that believed magic, Gods, and heroes were mere fantasy, very recently, in fact. But that is no longer the case there and may no longer be the case here much longer. But I am certain of one thing," Hermes said.

"What's that?" Leo asked. She and Aphrodite smiled.

"Your parents will lead us through it all. Your family is a beacon of hope to everyone in the United Realms and I know that the same will be true for the whole world if such comes to be," Aphrodite declared. The twins exchanged a glance and nodded. They weren't sure they liked the idea of their family being so exposed to the world, but they knew she was right. Their parents would somehow lead them through it all with their love shining like the brightest guiding star in the sky...

[zardoru]

Ice

Part 2, Chapter 1

The hail was making it too hard to fly. Fri settled down and let her talons settle into the snow, digging into a few centimeters of it. The freezing temperature wasn't as much of a problem as the burns that ate away at her scales. She started thinking about the words Tija and Astra had told her. To bear the cold. It had two meanings; both that she was enduring it, and that she was, in fact, the one that yielded it.

I might have not been, in their eyes, who I thought I was.

How appropriate it was then, that she was being the one to set foot in a land of ice. They must've known.

I'm not going to find any dragons here.

And still, all she wanted was to grab the spear she had stolen from the scavenger and have it point in some direction. There must be someone here. Nevertheless, she had to do something about the penetrating cold. "I the great ice dragon, enchant myself to bear the cold," said Fri, putting her left talon on her head to hang onto her ritual. Her wings quickly turned from their usual black leather to a light blue that blended her better with her surroundings. Her temperature started to lower. The ice outside started feeling better and better; it had become as normal as dirt. Her breath stopped emanating the steam she had come to associate with her own soul to be replaced with nothing. She was one with the snow, and she hated it. Fri started walking through the white desert, pulling out the spear she had stolen from the frightful scavenger. It lifted up on its own and pointed in a direction far beyond where she was right now. Seeing the spear reminded her of that brief moment of empathy. They had, as species, hurt each other. I can't think about that right now. If only she had foreseen that everyone deciding where they'd go meant that she would have to go to this freezing hell, she would've acted earlier.

But I can't take that back any more.

How twisted it was then, that she just had made herself the most capable dragon for surviving in the snow. And now that she was getting used to it, hundreds of steps later, it wasn't all that bad.

They will be as cold as you are.

How would her tribe be in a hundred years? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? Would she be proud of what they become? Did it matter? Will our tribes even get along in the future?

That's for them to decide.

When the future is uncertain, all you can do is try to guarantee it. Perhaps that is how Astra felt, after all. To guarantee her legacy; but becoming immortal is another story.

Because I don't want to allow us to intervene in their lives.

Fri, nevertheless, couldn't stop thinking about her parents. They seemed like memories so distant, so blended in the snow now, that she even started to question if they had felt the same way.

Had they intervened to guarantee my future? Even though they never would be a part of it?

She might ask Tija one day.

And did they know that I could do what I do?

Would that have changed their perspective on what they did with me?

Fri shook her head and kept following the direction the spear she carried pointed to. The monotonous snow came to an end; Fri raised her head and saw the ocean, punctuated by beautiful, vast icebergs, seals that lived on the coast, bears and penguins on an island across the water, standing on a frozen lake.

Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought.

The snow slightly ahead of her moved. A dragon, the color of the bright blue sky with short, stubby horns, spikes on the back of the neck, a slim frame and a smaller size than Fri dug out of the snow, belly-up, jumping back in shock and stared at Fri with defensive intent. "Who are you?" said the dragon, "What are you doing here?" Fri examined the spear she carried; it pointed to this dragon. She cherished her first encounter with a new dragon.

"Hello, stranger," said Fri, not sure of what to say. "My name is Fri. I am the great ice dragon, and I am seeking help."

"W-who talks like that?" stuttered the dragon. "Seeking help for what?"

"It is my intention to lead all dragons into conquering the continent," said Fri. "For which, I and my companions travel around the world to find other dragons to help with our cause and take the land from the scavengers."

"Sca---what? You mean the humans?"

"Indeed, the scavengers."

I could get used to talking like this.

"That's impossible," said the dragon. "We are so vulnerable to their weapons, their aggressiveness, how could you convince anyone of doing something like that?"

"Tell me, dragon, are you cold?" asked Fri.

"Have you taken a look around you recently?" The dragon chortled, "I had to cover myself in snow to keep my temperature."

"Allow me then, to take the cold away from you," said Fri, extending her talon to the dragon's head.

"Wait, wait just a second," he said, stepping away from Fri, "What are you going to do?"

"Enchant you," said Fri. "But I don't need to touch you to do it."

"Enchantments. Okay. Sure. I totally believe you," it said.

"Well then. I, the great ice dragon Fri, enchant you to bear the cold," she said.

"Well that doesn't seem to do anyth---" The dragon's words were interrupted as they started going through the same changes Fri went through; preserving their color and overall appearance otherwise. The dragon stopped for a moment, shocked, and looking at Fri. "Y-you did this?" Fri nodded. The dragon dug into the snow, playing with it as if it was warm mud. "That's..."

"Incredible?" asked Fri.

"Incredible!" it yelled. "You said your name was Fri, right?"

"Fri, the Coldbearer," she said.

"Coldbearer. What an accolade," they said. "I'm uh," they stopped for a moment to think about their own accolade. "I'm... Stalactite!"

"I request of you to act in an orderly and respectful way," said Fri. "For less than that may cause you to meet an early death at the hands of the scavengers."

"Y-yes, my queen!" said Stalactite, bowing to her. Fri almost let out a smile.

I could enjoy this.

"Come, Stalactite. We have many others to find before we can enact our victory upon the land."

"Of course, your majesty!" said the dragon, quickly getting up and following her. Fri took out the spear and stared at it. It pointed back into the white desert and away from the ocean. She looked back at Stalactite and wondered if it was time already to continue. The sun was setting; the sky was tinted orange as scraps of clouds covered what remained of the sun. The stars and the moons started decorating the afternoon.

There's no need to hurry, is there?

"Stalactite, how did you end up here, anyway?" asked Fri. "Oh, it's not a funny story at all," they said. "I was on my way home, after trying to make my way through the snow and see if I could find any human settlements."

"Human settlements? What for?"

"Oh, it's fascinating," said Stalactite. "They have these... odd items with inscriptions on them, where they speak at length of many incredible things."

"Inscriptions?"

"You know, those things you unroll, and it has a bunch of symbols in it?"

"Sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about," said Fri, confused. "Oh, let's go to my hideout," said Stalactite. "It was on one of the icebergs before I got tired."

A hideout? Out here?

Stalactite excitedly started beating their wings and took some height. "Come, my queen," they said, smirking, "To the great Mollusk's hideout!"

"Your name is Mollusk?" chortled Fri. "Oh, no, no, not any more. It's Stalactite. It's just that the place is not me, so its name doesn't change," they said with a bit of sarcasm in their voice.

"I see," said Fri, extending her wings, "Let's go."

"Let's go!" Stalactite cheered pumping their left arm and giving Fri a wink; guiding her over the ocean. Fri quickly leaped to follow her new tribemate. The vista of the vast sea was another of those things Fri had never seen beforehand; not just that, but she didn't know how to swim. It was somewhat unnerving to see so much water underneath her, she wouldn't know what to do if she fell into it. Nevertheless, flying across and seeing the incredible ice structures floating amicably was an incredible sensation, as the humid, misty air hit her face in a liberating way, moistening her scales. Fri almost drifted away her thoughts just enjoying her way to wherever Stalactite might have resided.

It is beautiful.

The cold was beautiful, after all. "It's here!" said Stalactite, making a sharp turn behind one of the icebergs. Fri, a bit distracted, quickly reconnected to reality as she tried imitating Stalactite's sharp turn a little later than she would've wanted. Stalactite extended their wings again and started beating them in an eight-shaped motion as they pulled their body backwards and suspended themselves in the air. "Here it is," pointed Stalactite, extending their right arm to point at a small opening, for a dragon, that seemed to have been craved painstakingly, by hand. The claw marks gave the edges of the ice a jaggy texture. They both entered the opening. Fri set her talons on the floor of the opening; the interior was still illuminated by the few bits of light that the sun still came up with. They reflected on the interior much in the same way Tuga's light reflected of Fri's scales in the night. "Beautiful, isn't it?" said Stalactite.

Beautiful?

Fri felt she was suddenly blushing.

Oh, the interior.

"It's amazing," said Fri, still with a blue blush on her face. "Is it warm here at night?"

"I used to use a snow blanket at night, but I don't need to anymore," said Stalactite. "Hey, let me show you before we run out of light." The dragon ran to the back of the hallway and turned left, disappearing after they entered a room. Fri sat down and brought her wings towards her, settling on the what-would-have-been-slippery ice floor.

I never would have thought how bright the snow really was.

It was oddly uplifting compared to the darkness of the cave; everything seemed so at peace compared to the incredible variety of plants, insects and animals that lived back at the mountain. It was a treasure that perhaps her friends wouldn't had ever been able to appreciate. This could be our home. If human settlements were hard to find, obviously, perhaps their friends could see reason in wanting to live here, away from the other humans. Predating on whatever they could find here, where very little could really harm them; where they could use the ice to build all the incredible wonders they wanted. And animus powers could help. It would be an incredible society of dragons. Stalactite came back to Fri across the hallway with parchments of yellowed paper in their mouth and talon, clumsily using their wrists to walk. They dropped all of the papers down in the floor; they quickly started to moisten. The dragon grabbed a large mat made out of animal leather, similar to that of the skin of a bear, and put the scrolls resting on top of it.

"And there you have it!" said Stalactite, quickly rummaging through the papers. "Ah, this one! This one, has beautiful drawings of the land. It even includes a map of the continent," they concluded, holding a scroll open with both hands.

"A map of the continent?" Fri examined the parchment Stalactite held open. It revealed that the continent had the shape of a dragon. "This is shaped like a dragon!"

"Isn't it incredible!? It says it right here. 'This unnamed land is in the shape of dragons. Beware, for they are vile and dangerous creatures not to be reasoned with,'" quoted Stalactite.

"What? Us? Vile?" asked Fri. She looked at the inscribed symbols on the scripture, attempting to decipher them; they were no more meaningful than scratches on the floor. But of the dragon shaped land?

It is an omen.

"Well, it's not like they have the best relationship with us," said Stalactite. "I've already lost some friends to some inept thievery of these scrolls. They're..." Stalactite put on a pained expression. Fri felt a connection to this dragon for their pain of the loss. She patted the dragon's back in understanding.

"They're important to you because of that, aren't they?"

Stalactite nodded. "That's correct. Pyra always wanted to know the shape of the continent," they said, containing their breath. Stalactite exhaled, breathed in deeply and gave Fri a sorrowful smile. "Well, now we'll get to take the continent for ourselves."

"It's a signal," said Fri, in an attempt to give consolation to Stalactite.

"A signal? A signal of what?" they asked, confused.

"That this world belongs to us," said Fri, decisively. "Or that it will."

Stalactite smiled. "Thank you, Queen Coldbearer."

[thechillingadventuresoflili-blog]

Almost done updating. Chapter nine. As always this is dedicated to @zeciex and @lovelykhaleesiii

Chapter Nine The Council

Lilia had been standing outside his door for about twenty minutes, thinking of how to knock on his door. She had been biting her lip and pacing, going over different conversation starters.

“This is stupid. I have the powers of every powerful female creature in history. And yet this boy can reduce me to nothing.” She rolled her eyes and knocked.

And waited for about another five minutes before he opened the door. In nothing but a towel.

“Oh, shit.” She whispered as she saw the planes of his chest and the water that clung to him. She licked her lips and looked at him.

“Ms. Snow-Moore, what can i do for you?” Michael smirked at her and opened the door for her to come in.

She had no idea what had come over her, but walking into that room had sealed her fate. Upon hearing the door close, her shirt was off and her lips were attached to his. She had ripped the towel from his body and his arms had snaked across her body, digging his fingertips into her bra clasp and tossing it away from her to touch her soft skin. Sometime during their journey to the bed, Lilia’s skirt had fallen from her body, leaving her only in her underwear. Pretty soon, they too were off of her body.

Passion and confusion drove them for hours as they explored each other’s bodies. Lilia had never felt pleasure like that in her life. Some moments she thought she was going to explode from how he was driving her body into the mattress. She was pretty sure this was his first time, but he acted like a pro. He left marks on her body. Not where anyone could see them. She had made sure of that.

When they allowed themselves to be swallowed up and the rest of the world fell away, Lilia laid on his bed and looked at him. “Why do I feel this connection to you?”

Michael shrugged and moved a sweaty strand of hair from her face. “All I know is that my foster mother said I would find my equal here among the warlocks.” He nuzzled his nose into her shoulder.

Lilia smiled and looked at the clock beside them, sighing. “Tomorrow, the council will be here to discuss you taking the Seven Wonders. Please, stay away until one of us comes for you. We never know how they might react to you.”

She was terrified of him taking the test and not surviving. She had been at the school and watched first hand what could happen. It was a day of mourning after the Seven Wonders. She knew that Cordelia wasn’t over the loss of Misty Day, a witch who had lost her life during Descensum, going into the Hell Realm and beating it. She didn’t want to become like Cordelia, forever mourning the loss of Michael.

“Do you have no faith in me?” He asked as he pulled her closer and wiped a tear from her face.

“I have more faith than my father does.” She laughed and kissed his cheek, getting up. “I have to go. I need all the sleep I can get if I am to deal with the witches.”

With a final kiss, Lilia left the room and went back to hers. She was smiling and thinking of ways to hide the bruises on her wrists when her father spoke to her.

“Stay away from him, Lilia. He is dangerous. He will be the death of us all.” John Henry’s eyes went to her wrists, gasping. “Did he hurt you?”

“Did you hurt Mom when you conceived me?” Lilia shot back at him. “He is just a poor boy who has had a hard life. Like so many of you warlocks. Like I did.”

John Henry scoffed and walked away from his child. “Do not become blind to his beauty. He will kill you.” And left her to go into her room, tears flowing from her eyes.

Why couldn’t her father be happy for her? She was finally happy. And she wasn’t going to give him up for anyone.

The Witch’s Council had arrived and the boys were abuzz. Most of them were talking about Zoe and how much they wanted to bang her. A brave few were talking about Cordelia.

Lilia was late. She had gone to Michael for moral support and they had gotten carried away in the shower. She smiled as she moved her jacket collar to hide the huge hickey on her neck from view, too late to do a concealment spell.

“Sorry, Cordelia. Had a student freak out on me.” She told the Supreme as she walked into the room to take her seat in between Ariel and her father.

As usual, Cordelia ignored her. “Let it be known that this emergency gathering of the Council has been commenced. Now, what is it that it so important?”

Ariel sighed and looked at his leader. “We have come to believe that one of our own may be able to perform the Seven Wonders.”

The Council looked dumbfounded. Myrtle, the red head, looked at them all like they were stupid. “A boy? As in male?”

Cordelia laughed. “You can’t be serious. No man has ever been able to do that.”

“So just because no one has doesn’t mean it can’t happen.” Lilia told her. Her IQ was already slipping away from the stupidity of these witches. “What makes you think it can’t happen?”

“Well, for one, testosterone is a known inhibitor of the ethereal realm. And two, I will not put his life in danger. I care about all of our people.”

Lilia scoffed and shook her head. “What about Queenie?”

Behold nodded. “We see you, Miss Supreme.”

Cordelia went on to explain how she couldn’t get Queenie out of the Hotel Cortez. That was when she felt it. The shift in the air that let her know that Michael wasn’t near anymore. She could feel it like an itch in her heart. She couldn’t breathe. It drove her crazy.

The witches refused their request. She knew that Michael could survive the Seven Wonders. He was more powerful than them. Lilia stood near the elevator to take them out of their school when the itch disappeared. He was back. She followed the witches and looked upon the faces of Michael, Madison Montgomery, and Queenie.

Lilia ran to her lover and hugged him. “You ever leave the school without me again and I will kill you.” She whispered to him as he hugged her back.

“I had to prove myself.” He pulled back just in time to see Cordelia faint. The other witches rallied around her.

“Get her inside.” Lilia moved away from Michael and moved into the monument to get her father. “Papa, Cordelia fainted. We need help.”

Levitating the Supreme to the parlor room, the witches and warlocks spoke quietly and separately, Michael and Lilia standing away from the rest of the groups.

“What the hell were you thinking? Going to the Hotel Cortez and going into the Hell Realm?” Lilia placed her hand on his cheek and bit her lip as he kissed her palm.

“I’m fine, Lilia. I lived. I was perfectly safe.” Michael reassured her as he smirked at her.

From the parlor room, they could hear the Supreme screaming as she was passed out. Lilia looked to the room as they walked out.

“I was not expecting that.” Cordelia looked to Michael and sighed. “I wanted to thank you. For rescuing my girls.”

“And I wanted to get your attention.” Michael calmly shot back at her as Lilia rolled her eyes.

“I assume you have it now.” Lilia smiled at him and looked at Cordelia as she was closer to them.

“Yes, he does.” Cordelia looked at him and nodded. “You will perform the Seven Wonders in two weeks. I suggest you be ready.”

With that she turned to her council and spoke of the vision she saw when she was passed out. Lilia looked at her lover and smiled at him. She just really hoped that he would be careful. She couldn’t bear to lose him now.

[bluebird167]

True Beauty

Chapter 9

In the middle of the night she awoke to hear that terrible wailing, howling noise but this time it was followed by a squealing. She lit a candle and followed the noise. It was coming from Adrien's bedchamber. Opening the door, she found a long stairway waiting for her. She climbed up the fleet of stairs which from her point of view seemed to be getting longer and longer until she finally found the door to the room. She carefully opened the door and quietly made her way inside.

"Hello? Adrien? Are you here?"

No answer, as she searched around the room she noticed it was very cold and dark. She couldn't see anything, not even her own hand in front of her face. Then she caught hold of a snarling sound, like a wild animal devouring it's prey. She found a fire burning and just inches from it was Adrien devouring a wild boar. The sight of him digging his fangs into the boar's hide and tearing at it's flesh was ghastly. She became paralyzed with fear, it was only when he looked up at her with blood dripping from his mouth that she could bring herself to move again and she fled. She ran down the stair way with the trip ending a lot faster than she thought and then ran toward the castle doors.

Without thinking she ran outside where it was snowing and the wind was blowing hard. The winter wind that blew against her felt like glass cutting her as it blistered her skin. Marinette wasn't sure what she was doing all she knew was that she was over whelmed with great fear and wanted to get away from what she had seen. Behind her Adrien was chasing after her on all fours, the chase led all the way to the frozen lake. Marinette had just barely made all the way across the icy surface when Adrien pounced on her, pinning her back to the frozen water. He hovered over her with cold breath and misty eyes, she felt herself tremble with great fear. Then he brought his fanged lips toward her, was he going to eat her like he did to that boar? Or was he...Was he going to kiss her?

She didn't have time to figure out which because at that very moment the ice broke and she fell into the freezing water while losing consciousness in the process. Adrien quickly grabbed her and pulled her out of the lake. He then removed his cloak and wrapped her frail body up in it to keep her warm. Then with great care he carried her back to the castle and upstairs to her bed chamber, once inside her wet gown instantly changed into a a warm night dress and he tucked her into bed. He then called for Wayzz to look over her.

"Will she be alright?" He asked the little green creature who resembled a turtle.

"The shock from the cold made her quite un well." Wayzz said. "She's freezing really bad but if you keep her warm she'll be fine."

"Alright start a fire in her fireplace then have Trixx prepare some tea and tell Tikki to make the warmest blankets and to bring them here."

"Yes sire."

Wayzz started a fire while his servants had hot tea and several new warm blankets made instantly. Once they were brought into her bed chamber the blankets were laid on top of Marinette and the tea was left for her to drink when she awoke. You see this castle was magic and if anything was needed it would appear instantly when the master or mistress requested it. Also the fire in the fireplace would not go out without Adrien's consent and neither would the tea grow cold without his say so. Marinette laid in her bed shivering and whimpering from the cold.

"Sleep Princess." He soothed to the young girl. "There's nothing to fear. You're safe now my beauty."

"My prince." She sighed in her sleep. "My prince is it you?"

Adrien saw that she was dreaming. He leaned over and began to stroke her hair.

"Go on dreaming Princess." He told her.

Adrien never left her side all night, in the morning he went to his garden, cut a red rose and came back to gently lay it on her sleeping chest. When she awoke the next morning she saw Adrien looking at her.

"I know I shouldn't be here but I wanted to make sure that you were alright. Are you well?"

"Yes I am."

"Okay them I shall leave you."

"Wait...You'll have breakfast with me this morning right?"

"As you wish." He said leaving.

Though Marinette had been greatly frightened by what she had witnessed last night she couldn't help but feel sorry for Adrien. She realized that someone like him must suffer so much and despite his suffering and his temper he was a kind creature who did everything he could to make her happy not to mention he saved her life twice. Her fear of him soon vanished and it's place she felt compassion.

...

As requested Adrien did join Marinette for breakfast the next morning. Together they sat at the table and talked to each other while Trixx served tea, fruit pies, salted pork, and eggs. Of course Adrien didn't eat a single bite of it, rather he just sat there and watched Marinette enjoy her meal.

"Thank you for joining me for breakfast." Marinette said as she and Adrien dined together.

"You are most welcome Princess." Adrien said.

"I do wish you would eat some of the wonderful food Trixx prepared with me."

"Alas I cannot because the way I eat is disgusting and monsterous, something that your beautiful eyes should never see."

"Don't be ashamed, you can't help it can you?"

"Yes and no. I can eat like a man but it's so difficult, my animal instincts almost makes it impossible."

"Maybe I can help you learn."

"I don't know."

"Please, I want to be able to dine with you properly. I always feel so greedy eating all this wonderful food while you just sit there watching me."

"Very well I shall try but only for you dear princess."

"Wonderful. Listen would you please join me in the library today?"

"What would I do there?"

"Why read silly."

He blushed shamefully.

"What is the matter?"

"I am ashamed to tell you but I cannot read."

"You never learned?"

"I learned but it has been so long, it's a little difficult for me to remember."

"Well then how about I read to you and later I can teach you to read?"

"If that is what you wish my lady."

After breakfast he joined her in the library where she picked out several books and began reading to him. Adrien loved the sound of Marinette's voice as she read him a story, it was just so calm and soothing. It reminded him of when his mother used to read him stories.

"Now you read to me." She said.

"I already told you I cannot."

"Oh yeah, well let's read it together and see if we can revive that memory of yours."

It took awhile but soon Adrien was able to learn the words and read them properly and he enjoyed it. It had been far too long since he had read a good book, he used to do it all the time. It surprised him how much he had forgotten.

As for Marinette she had never known anyone aside from her parents, who was so desperate to please her, so desperate to see her happy and well, so desperate to give her everything she wanted. She decided that she wanted to thank Adrien for all he had done for her. After reading in the library she went to Tikki and asked her for some comfortable but stylish fabric, thread, some shears, a needle, and Adrien's measurements. She then began to sew him a jacket by hand, Tikki offered to help but Marinette insisted that she wanted to do it on her own. She worked non stop on the the jacket and it was made from magic fabric and thread so it was finished in one hour.

She then asked Trixx to tell her what Adrien's favorite meal was. His favorite meal was spiced and herbal soup with a hot baquette and creme brulee. With the information, she went  into the kitchen and began to cook the food.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Trixx asked her.

"No thank you."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

At seven o'clock the table was set with a delicious supper for two. Adrien felt his mouth water when he saw what was being served but felt sad for he knew he couldn't eat it.

"Why has a meal been laid out for me?" He asked.

"Because you're going to eat with me." She said. "You said you would try to learn."

"Yes but I...I don't know if it's possible."

"Nothing is impossible." She said. "Please try, I was told that this is your favorite meal and I made it just for you. So can you try for me?"

"You made this just for me?"

"Yes."

"You know you could've had Trixx cook it."

"Yeah but I wanted it to be special and besides I'm used to cooking for people."

Adrien sat down and grabbed a spoon but he dropped it. He had a difficult time gripping it. Marinette went to his side and began teaching him how to eat properly with a knife, fork, and spoon. Like with the reading, it took awhile but he eventually learned to eat properly. He enjoyed every bite of his meal.

"Did you like it?" She asked.

"It was very good. My compliments to the chef."

"Thank you."

"I haven't eaten a meal with a human being in so long. It's strange."

"I'm glad you enjoyed the meal and I have a gift for you."

"You want to give me a gift?"

"Yes."

She handed him a box. He opened it, inside was a satin black jacket stitched together with green thread and it had sliver cuffs. He slipped it on, it was a perfect fit and it was warm and soft but very handsome and stylish.

"You've given me so many gifts I thought that maybe I should do the same for you. Do you like it? I made it myself."

"It's the greatest gift anyone has ever given me." He said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

[lostinfic]

Nubivagant 2/3

(adj.) wandering through or amongst the clouds; moving through air; from the Latin nubes (“cloud”) and vagant (“wandering”), c. 1656.

Summary: Based on the movie “A walk in the clouds” but on a sheep farm in the north of England, at Christmas. During the war, Betty ran away from her grandfather’s farm with a man. Now that he’s left her and she might be pregnant, Betty must go back and face the family she abandoned. When Colonel Mercier finds her crying at the train station, he offers to pose as her husband. Tags: Hurt/comfort! fake married! sharing a bed! huddling for warmth! and many more! Pairing: Jean-François Mercier x Betty Vates  Word count: 5400 Rating: Mature Warning: pregnancy scare

A/N: For @timepetalsprompts adoption drive

Part 1  |   Ao3

December 23rd 1945

As soon as Betty woke up, she checked the floor beside her: no makeshift bed, no khaki duffle bag, no Frenchman.

She supposed she ought to be happy he’d stuck to the plan. Of course, he would. A man of his word.

Betty rose slowly, expecting a bout of morning sickness. She waited but nothing happened. Still, she remained sat on the bed, staring in the middle distance with bleary eyes.

Even if she didn’t know him from Adam, Jean-François was on her side, unquestionably, and that had given her strength. Now she was alone again. “Well, not quite.” She rubbed her stomach tenderly. She should visit the village’s midwife, but it scared her to know for sure. Right now, she could entertain either possibility depending on her mood.

As she bit her nails, something glinted on her finger: Jean-François’ signet ring. “Oh bugger, I forgot to give it back to him. I don’t even have his address.” Maybe someone in London, from their office, had it. She would send the ring, and he would reply with a thank you note, ask how she’d been, and maybe— No.

Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she walked to the window. Plumes of frost framed the landscape. A patchwork of lands, in greens and yellows, with dry stone walls and shrubs in lieu of stitches.

The morning was grey, in the distance the Howgill Fells slept, mellow curves, covered in moorland pastures as smooth as velvet, and dusted with snow. At their feet, in the gorge, fog slithered above the river and the trees.

Movement on the right caught her eye. Grandpa Marshall walking out of the shed with Jean-François behind him, carrying tools. Her heart skipped a beat. “What the heck?”

She found some clothes in a trunk, and hastily pulled wool socks up to her knees and slipped a wool jumper over an old floral dress, then rushed down the stairs.

Her mother, Sarah, was in the kitchen, washing the dishes at the big enamel sink. She didn’t look at Betty when she said, “Is it your French gentleman giving your airs and graces, or have you forgotten what time we wake up on this farm?”

Betty stopped dead in her tracks. “I’m sorry, I overslept. In London—”

“There’s a basket by the door, gather the eggs.”

War and the death of her husband had affected Sarah, she looked so much older than when Betty had last seen her, her shoulders hunched, grey streaked her hair and wrinkles etched worry lines on her forehead and mouth. Despite her mother’s coldness, a protective sort of affection rose in Betty’s chest. “Mam… I— I never meant to hurt you by leaving.”

Sarah finally looked at her, her silence was unbearable. At last, almost reluctantly, she opened her arms.

After two years of fear and guilt in London, after her heartache, if felt good to be held by her mother. Sarah rubbed her back in broad, soothing circles. “I missed you too. I was so worried about you. You’re lucky it worked out well. I thought he’d leave you at the first chance.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know…” And that was the thing with her mother— the thing Betty hadn’t missed— she couldn’t tell if this “you know” referred to men’s flighty nature or her daughter’s unlikeable character.

When they stepped away from each other, her mother was misty eyed. She patted Betty’s cheek and returned to her dishes.

Betty put on wellies and a scarf and exited the house. Being up north like this and cloudy, the temperature was cooler than London, the absence of wind kept it comfortable.

Jean-François was hard at work, sawing planks. Wood chips dusted his chic tweed trousers and olive jumper. A curly fringe fell on his forehead as he bent to hold the plank, working the saw harder. He was stronger than he looked, she realized.

“Hello wife.”

“Is that the best pet name you can come up with?” she teased.

“Darling? Sweetheart?”

“How about ‘light of my life’ or ‘my queen’?” she joked.

He pretended to consider it, then looked her up and down. “Ma belle?”

She buried her nose in her scarf to hide a blush. “Oh, em, yeah that— that will do. Why are you still here?”

“I’m sorry, but when I tried to slip out this morning, your grandfather was already in the kitchen. He asked me to help him fix the fence.”

“Oh, no. You’re stuck here another day.”

“It’s okay. I can leave tomorrow.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Yes. It gives me more time to smooth things over.”

“Is he any nicer to you, at least?”

“Is he ever nice to anyone?”

She smiled sadly. “He was to me. Before. I was his favourite of the grandchildren.”

Grandpa Marshall had high hopes for her. All his daughters had married men who’d sought work in the factories, and they’d moved to the city. He worried no one would take over the farm, but then Betty had showed such a keen interest, a natural understanding of plants and animals. He had it all figured out that she would marry Donald (the son of his best friend who also owned a farm in Tebay) and he’d bequeath them his land. It was always implied that she had to marry— if not Donald, at least another farmer— to inherit the farm as if she couldn’t be more than a farmer’s wife.

Betty had gone on a few dates with Donald before he received his called-up papers. He was a nice enough boy, if a bit boring, and it might have worked out hadn’t she met Craze. She wondered if she still had a chance with him, boring might not be so bad after all.

Her grandfather pushed a wheelbarrow up the path, carrying more wood for Jean-François to saw.

“Did Homer break the fence again?” Betty asked, referring to a ram with a bad character.

“Homer’s dead. We ate him last winter,” he replied curtly. “Stop dawdling, John, we’ve more work to do.”

Betty and Jean-François exchanged a resigned look. “John?” she mouthed. He shrugged.

A flutter of feathers and cackles welcomed her inside the coop. Some eggs had frozen overnight, the shell cracked from the yolk expanding, the others were still warm. She hadn’t eaten such fresh eggs in too long, she hoped her family would let her eat breakfast today. Her mouth watered at the thought of Marnie’s pancakes and sausages. Before leaving, she added fresh straw to keep the hens warm and cozy.

She brought the eggs back inside the house, her sister was in the kitchen now. She wore a scarf to hide her dark hair roots. “Did you check their feed?” she asked.

“Er, no.”

“Well get back there, fill the water buckets whilst you’re a it, give ‘em a good scrub before. And Marnie needs help with the laundry.”

“I’m on it.”

“I hope your husband’s not snoring, he took advantage enough of this farm last time.”

“He’s real sorry, Margie. Really.” She wondered if she could have said as much about Craze. “S’like he explained last night, he didn’t have a choice. He’s working with Gramps now. Working hard. He’s a good man, he is.” Her voice rose with passion. If only she could explain all Jean-François was putting up with just to help some girl he barely knew.

“What kind of good man takes a daughter away from her family?” Grandpa Marshall said, walking in at that moment.

“But he brought me back.”

He grumbled something busied himself filling his pipe, Margaret averted her gaze. Betty went back outside, the least she could do right now was prove she was helpful on the farm.

She hauled bags of food over her shoulder, fed the chickens and the rabbits, scrubbed grass stains off clothes and hung them to dry. The wind chafed her cheeks, and her fingers went numb with cold as she scrubbed the animal’s tin water buckets. Her stomach growled with hunger, but she ignored it, vigorously swiping hay with a pitchfork. Hercules, the dog, followed her around, watching with his head cocked. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine,” she told the dog.

“Sure, ‘cause talking to a dog is a sign of sanity,” Margaret said, walking into the barn. “That’s enough, soon you’ll be digging through the ground.”

Betty rested her arms on the tip of the pitchfork, panting.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Margaret said. “You’re my sister and I love you…”

“But?”

“You don’t know what it was like after you left. Gramps went to the post office twice a day, in case you’d sent a letter or a telegram. Grandma made the sign of the cross every time we heard of bombing victims. You broke their hearts. And Mam, well, she’s not doing any better and you left me alone to take care of her.”

“I know. I keep thinkin how different things would be if my letter had reached you.”

“It wouldn’t’ve changed the fact that you ran away. Why did you do that?”

“It’s complicated.”

“You keep saying that. I’m worried there’s something you’re not telling us. That he made you do something.”

Betty bit her tongue, fighting, again, the urge to defend Jean-François. “I was so in love with him...” She held her sister’s gaze, willing her to understand. Margaret was no stranger to the effects of attraction.

“Well, if you still do love him, he could use a cuppa. He’s not gonna catch a break any time soon with Gramps.” They walked out of the barn together, and Margaret added, “He’s not me type exactly, but I can see why you fell for him. Bit too posh, but nice bum.” The sisters giggled, and, for a moment, it felt like they had never been apart.

Their laughter attracted Jean-François’ attention. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and waved at them. Warmth bloomed on Betty’s cheeks.

Oh goodness, get a hold of yourself.

She followed her sister’s advice, and prepared tea. She liked to put a dash of milk at the bottom of the mugs, and let them warm up on the stove, until the kettle boiled.

She joined Jean-François outside. “You look like you could a thé as you French say.”

“Tout à fait.” He put down the sledgehammer, and they sat on bales of hay.

“You don’t have to work so hard,” Betty said. “You don’t have to do anything really.”

“I’m repaying Craze’s debt.” He took a sip of tea and sighed in contentment, a little cloud on his breath. “I’m enjoying myself actually.”

“You are?”

“I spent the last four years in London thinking, analysing, planning… always in my head.” Before today, she had only ever seen him in uniform or suits, usually walking briskly down a hall or shouting at someone, always tensed, but now he looked relaxed. “It feels good to work with my body, surrounded by nature,” he concluded.

They looked at the horizon, at the land sloping gently towards the mountains. A hare hopped across the field. In London, one can never see that far ahead without a building or black smoke blocking the view. All this space. She felt like she could draw in more oxygen. And here, no coal dust polluted the air. Every breath was cleansing.

With each rise and fall of her ribcage, her bones and muscles ached from exertion. A rewarding sort of ache, not the sore feet and neck pain of office work, but a reminder of a job well done. She would sleep well tonight.

Beside the bleating of sheep, all was silent, and flurries drifted lazily from the sky to melt on the ground. The softest sky she had ever seen. A cashmere sky, all pale gradients of blue and pink. No sun in sight. A feeling of peace swept over her.

She leaned sideways, towards Jean-François, her body unconsciously pulled to him. She caught herself before her head touched his shoulder, and straightened her back.

“Is it a river over there?” he asked.

“Yeah, river Lune in the Lune valley.”

“Lune?”

“It’s a Roman word, supposed to mean clean and pure.”

“Lune means moon in French. Valley of the moon.”

“That’s nice. With the fog sometimes, it looks like the sky is on the ground.”

“Heaven on earth,” he commented.

“Well, except for the smell of manure.”

He laughed and tugged her into a one-arm hug that made her heart stutter. “Your family’s watching, ma belle,” he whispered against her hair. Of course, that’s why he’d hugged her. Marnie, Margaret and Sarah were at the kitchen window, observing them without a hint of subtlety.

She allowed herself five more seconds of hug before asking him to help her feed the sheep.

As they neared the pen, she told him about the history of the farm, her great-grandparent and how much bigger the herd used to be before the war, she went on to talk about shearing in the spring and auctions in the square. “They love oat mixed with molasses, and— sorry, I’m babbling. Dunno why I’m telling you all that.”

“No, I think it’s interesting.”

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I know. Do they have names?”

“Yeah… Me favourite’s Violet. That’s the one over there. She’s a bit shy.” She called its name, and the ewe approached slowly. “I used to feed her apart from the others ’cause her brothers and sisters ate everything. She couldn’t make room for herself.” Through the fence, Betty scratched Violet behind the ears. “Ain’t that right, Vivi? You’re a good girl. Oh yes, you are.” Jean-François squatted down to pet its head too, and their fingers brushed together.

Betty and Jean-François grabbed pouches of feed and slipped inside the pen. She’d forgotten the strength of a herd. The females were all pregnant and in full wool, weighing over 200 pounds. The rams were even bigger. Huge balls of wet wool shoving and pushing as Betty wedged herself between them to reach the manger. Like an undertow, the animals carried Betty and Jean-François. Both were in stitches, holding each other’s hand for stability as the sheep pushed them every which way, hungry and impatient. Betty dropped the bag of grain and grasped Jean-François’ sweater. Excited by the food, a ram knocked Betty in the shins and she toppled over. Jean-François shouted her name, threw away his bag and hauled her up by the underarms. He carried her over his shoulder away from the herd.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I’ll have bruises, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?” He placed a hand on her belly, and she instantly pushed it away. “I’ll help you to the house,” he insisted.

“I’m fine,” she said coldly. “I’ve fallen before, I can take care of meself.”

“I can’t leave you like this.”

“Yes you can. That’s what you’re here for.” She ran away from him.

*

After the incident with the sheep, Betty was nowhere to be found. Mercier suspected Marnie knew something, but she kept her mouth shut. And although he knew more than one way to make someone talk, he’d rather not use them on this lovely elderly lady.

To be honest, it upset him that Betty had dragged him all the way to Tebay, but rebuffed him when he tried to help. He thought they were getting along well, but it could be she was only being polite and didn’t like that he’d stayed one more day.

Mr. Mashall declared the work completed, and they headed back inside. Before supper, Mercier showered, shaved and dressed up, and was unsettled to find that no one else had bothered to do as much. He felt the judgement in their gazes, then a “fancy-schmancy” was mumbled. Still, he kept his jacket and tie on, it’s how he’d been brought up, proper guest etiquette.

Betty came back just as Mrs. Vates pulled a pot out of the oven, but he couldn’t ask where she’d been in front of the whole family.

He stood up to pull out a chair for her, she glanced at it and pretended to have to wash her hands. He followed her to the bathroom. “Can’t I pee alone?” She slammed the door in his face. When she came back, she sat away from him. He talked to her, but she barely said one word back.

For a reason Mercier had yet to understand, Eric chose politics as a discussion topic. Mr. Marshall quickly joined in, and they expressed unfounded opinions on anyone and everyone from the American president to the Japanese soldiers, not sparing French or Poles along the way.

Betty’s agreement with some of their statements surprised him. She should know better after working closely with the Polish resistance organisation during the war. But he noticed her hands tucked under her legs, her pinched lips and tight nods. Mercier, however, had less patience with ignorance and prejudices, and, after suffering Mr. Marshall’s bad mood all day, he didn’t hold his tongue for long. He launched into a impassioned monologue about the French people’s resilience, and the courage of the Résistance. Betty stared daggers at him, but he didn’t stop arguing with the other men.

“Enough politics or there’ll be no dessert,” Marnie declared. Silence fell on the room, only the sound on cutlery on plates disturbed it.

“Guess who’s pregnant,” Margaret said. Betty gasped, and Mercier groaned inwardly. “Lil’ Suzy MacEwan.”

“Suzy? She’s married?” Marnie said.

Margaret snorted loudly. “No, she ain’t! Won’t say who the father is. Thank goodness that didn’t happen to you, Betty, eh?”

“We thought it might have,” Eric said.

“But I says to him, she’s smarter than that our Betty. Didn’t I, Eric?”

“Yeah, Margie, but you also said—”

“Shu’ up.”

Betty stood up swiftly, knocking her chair over, and stomped away. The door banged behind her, and she disappeared into the darkness. Mercier rolled his eyes at her immature reaction. How did she expect to get back in her family’s good graces? He kept eating. He’d worked all day and he was hungry.

“So,” said Marnie, “are you gonna go after your wife or not?”

Mercier put on his coat and scarf, and lighted a storm lamp. He had no idea where she could be. He roamed the property, but his heart wasn’t into it. If she wanted to sulk and act like a child, so be it. She wouldn’t want to talk to him anyway. He searched for her in every outbuilding on the large estate, calling her name.

The wind picked up, and worry crept up his spine. What if there was something wrong with her pregnancy? Or worse. He’d heard of what some women do in desperate situations. His throat constricted, his mouth went dry, with every minute that passed without finding her, he imagined worse and worse scenarios. He quickened his steps, called her name louder. She wasn’t on the farm.

Then he remembered she’d found Craze in an abandoned shed. He ran to the edge of the forest. Shouted her name. No sign of her on the west side. He crossed to the east, heart hammering in his chest. Branches whipped his face, but he didn’t care. Between two oaks, he spotted a small stone building with holes in the thatch roof and half a door. Inside, Betty paced the small space, biting her fingertips. He let out a woosh of relief. “What are you doing here?”

“Leave me alone,” she said.

“I couldn’t well leave my wife—”

“I’m not your wife.”

“No, you’ve made that abundantly clear.”

She continued pacing. The wind howled and whistled through every crack of the shed. She crossed her arms, rubbing herself for warmth. She’d left without a jacket.

He didn’t ask her to go back inside or offer his coat, for fear she might push him away. As long as he stood there, in silence, she tolerated his presence. Mercier leaned against the door and fought with several matches against gusts of air to lit a cigarette. When the fourth one went out, he cursed under his breath and gave up, knocking his head back with an impatient sigh.

“This is where I found him,” Betty said at last. “The first time I saw him, he was curled in on himself in a corner. He hadn’t shaved in weeks. He looked like a bear hibernating…” That fond little smile annoyed him more than he cared to admit. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. She levelled his gaze, eyes full of defiance. “I don’t regret it, you know. Sure, he was a tosser in the end, and maybe he didn’t love me as much as he said he did, but he wanted me. Me. And he showed me— other things. And I went to London and I got a job, and I did it well, I did it all on me own!” Her voice broke and she looked down at her feet. Her teeth clattered from the cold. “Oh, gimme your bleedin’ coat, I know you want to do it.” He draped the trench coat over her shoulders. She tucked it under her bum and sat on the ground, arms around her knees.

She looked so vulnerable like that, his annoyance melted away. He racked his brain for something to say. “I’m certain you will be able to take care of this child, with or without your family’s support.”

She didn’t say anything, but absentmindedly twisted his ring around her finger. Through holes in the roof, snowflakes fell and twinkled in shafts of moonlight. He pulled up his collar, and his sleeves over his hands. After some hesitation, he sat down beside her, knees up too, and placed the storm lamp at their feet for warmth.

“I’m not pregnant. I went to see the midwife this afternoon. Something to do with weight loss and nerves. Says it’s been happening to a lot of women.”

“That’s a good news. You must be relieved.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

She sighed and scooted closer to him. An inch of snow had accumulated in front of the door. Cold seeped through the stitches of his jumper. She didn’t seem ready to leave, so he stayed.

“You don’t look relieved.”

“I never asked, did you have children with your wife?”

“No. We wanted to, but Annemarie’s health was too fragile.”

A gust of wind chilled his spine, and it was his turn to move closer. His bum was growing numb.

As she picked at her pilling jumper, Betty said, “I guess, since I started thinking I might be in the family way, despite everything, it made me a bit happy. I’d imagine taking care of a little bairn… Gave me some hope.”

It pained him to hear that. “Don’t you have hope anymore?”

“Maybe hope’s not the right word. I just meant it was something to be, in the future. I’d be a mother. Now I don’t know what I’ll be.”

“You could get another job?”

She scoffed. “D’you really think they’ll let women keep working now men are coming back?… I’d love that, though. Now I’ll just be the girl who ran off. The girl her husband left on Christmas Eve.”

“It does seem unnecessarily cruel.”

“Makes me more pitiful. I couldn’t keep you from Christmas with your family, anyway.”

He didn’t argue, instead scanned the forest outside. Strong gusts of wind made the trees creak ominously. His jaw ached from suppressing teeth clattering. “We should go before it gets worse.”

“It’ll pass soon,” she said. In an attempt to share the coat with him, she ended up with her arms around his waist. He slipped an arm under the coat, around her shoulders, and they held each other with some awkwardness.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “Are you warmer?”

“Yeah, warmer. Ta.” She kept glancing up at him. “I’ve told you all my problems. You can tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I told you my estate was destroyed… it wasn’t just the buildings. I don’t think I have any family left in France. Maybe some distant cousins. My sister and her husband are still in the United States. Everyone else in Boutillon is—” His throat closed around the words. He knew, from agent’s reports and newspapers, the state France was in, but seeing it with his own eyes that would be something else entirely. If he was being honest, his offer to come here with her was not entirely selfless, but an attempt to delay the inevitable. “It would not be a happy Christmas,” he summed up.

Betty shivered, so he held her closer, resting his cheek atop her head. Her hair smelled like grass and cold. Her breath warmed his chest. They should really leave this place, head back to the house, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“You could stay one more day,” Betty said.

“Are you sure?”

“If you want to. You wouldn’t be alone on Christmas Eve. It wouldn’t change anything to our plan. ”

“It might even make it better,” he said, although he couldn’t explain how.

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“I will need gifts for your family.”

“I have some, you can add your name.”

“I’m not sure your grandfather deserves one.” She burrowed further into his arms, and he caressed her hair.

“He’ll come around,” she whispered.

Betty slipped her frozen fingers under his sweater. The cold reached the marrow of his bones, but it seemed worse outside. When they both yawned, Betty reacted. “Oh no, we really have to move. Come.”

Through the blizzard, the house’s lights shined dimly. Holding hands, they ran, wrestled against the gale. Margaret and Eric came out of the house with big blankets to help them cross the last feet.

They were ushered in front of the fireplace, buried under more blankets and offered mugs of steaming tea spiked with whiskey. Eric threw another log in the fire. They removed their shoes and socks to soak their feet in hot water, his skin tingled and itched as it heated up.

“Betty, you’ve got to stop running away,” Marnie chided her gently.

“Where’s Gramps?”

Marnie pressed her thin lips in a sad smile. “You have to understand, he lost his precious little girl.”

“But I’m back now. I was only gone two years.”

“But you’re not a little girl anymore.” Marnie glanced at Jean-François, and, for the first time, he sensed blame from her. His honour rebelled against it— it was Craze, not me, I’d never— but he clenched his fists and kept his mouth shut.

“Your place is here,” Marnie added.

“Is it?” Betty asked. “Do you really want me here? The way I am, not the way they want me to be.”

“Yes, sweetheart, but I think we need to get to know the woman you’ve become. Listen, tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, we’ll make my special mince pies. Together, okay? I love you.” Marnie kissed Betty’s forehead and left the living room.

“There’s hope,” Mercier said, and she smiled at him.

He wished he could huddle with Betty again, but they were two separate bundles of blankets. She looked at him over her mug, something shy in her eyes, nose and cheeks still pink, and he wondered if she wished the same thing.

With Margaret, Eric and Mrs. Vates, they listened to Paul Temple, a popular private detective show on the radio. But Mercier didn’t pay attention to the plot, he thought of the first time he’d seen Betty, at the Poles’ HQ in Dorset Square, those chestnut curls and plump lips, her eagerness to help the officers. When his Polish counterparts had invited him to the pub at the end of that day, he’d accepted hoping she’d be there.

One by one, the family members went to bed, and Mercier stayed behind, watching the last glowing embers in the hearth.

“You’re still here, John,” said Mr. Marshall, and Mercier worried he was onto their subterfuge. It would explain his hostility.

“Yes. I am.” Mercier stood up, hands on his hips.

Mr. Marshall’s eyes flashed with contempt as he lit his pipe. “Don’t do that, using your height, that’s a cheap trick. Might work on me granddaughter—”

“Why can’t you be nice to her? Hate me all you want, but don’t hate her. She’s kind and strong, and I didn’t take any of that away from her.”

“But you did take something away from her.”

Was this whole quarrel about her virginity?

“Dunno what she did in London,” Mr. Marshall continued, “but she ain’t the same. She’s lying to me, I can tell. And she’s sad. You took away her joy.”

The accusation hit Mercier right in the stomach. Not me, he wanted to claim again. “Well, you’re making her even sadder,” Mercier replied.

Mr. Marshall huffed, but there was a flicker of pain in his eyes. “If it wasn’t for me wife, I’d’ve chased your stinky arse all the way back to France with me rifle, I would.” He turned on his heels and left the room with a puff of pipe smoke.

To be hated by her family was all part of their strategy. He doubted staying one more day would do any good. He had better put an end to this, once he left, they would rally around Betty and bound over their hatred of the husband who left her.

When Mercier entered the bedroom, Betty was standing in front of a tiny mirror, rubbing homemade lotion on her face to soothe the effects of the cold. If she’d heard him arguing with her grandfather, she made no mention of it.

Mercier undressed and piled blankets and pillows on the floor. The sheepskins looked like clouds against the chipped blue paint of the floorboards. Valley of the moon. Heaven on earth.

“What if your grandfather comes up here again?”

“Oh, right, yeah, maybe… maybe you should lie down with me. Just for a wee bit.”

“Yes, just a little while. Just in case.”

They turned down the blankets together and lay down as far apart as the mattress allowed. Mercier’s limbs were stiff, and he was uncomfortably aware of his breathing. Aware, too, of his desire. Her turned on his side, one arm under his head. She emulated him. Although he couldn’t she her face in the dark, only the vague shape of her silhouetted by the starlit window, he liked to think she was smiling at him.

“If I ever meet Craze,” he said, “may I punch him on behalf of your family?”

She giggled but a yawn stifled her laugh. “You’d make your ancestors proud,” she mumbled sleepily.

“What?”

“Knights. You’re my knight.” And that made up for all the undue blame he’d received today.

Betty fell asleep quickly. In her slumber, she shifted around, closing the gap between their bodies. Her cold toes sought the warmth of his legs.

After some inner debating, he put an arm around her. Lightly. Resisting the urge to pull her closer. Under his hand, through the cotton nightgown, he could feel her ribs, and it made him want to feed her all the foie gras, chocolate truffles, wine and croissants she could ever want.

It was unlikely Mr. Marshall would come up the stairs tonight, and Mercier had said he would only stay in her bed for a little while. That little while was well over now. He called upon the strength of the knighthood in his blood and carefully disentangled himself from Betty to return to his place on the floor.

More than ever, he knew he had to leave the next morning. There would be no train on the 25th, and the more time he spent with her, the harder it became to walk away.

Mercier didn’t sleep, he stared at the ceiling, debating the pros and cons of leaving right now. He felt responsible for her, but it wasn’t his place to be. Every time he looked at Betty, at the soft rise and fall of her chest under the sheet, his resolve crumbled, which further proved his point that he should go before the line between pretence and reality became too muddled.

Around 4am, he stood up, as silently as possible, and put on his clothes with a heavy heart.

“You said one more day.” With her mussy hair, and her nightgown sliding off one shoulder, and those big brown eyes staring at him, Mercier knew, then, he would never refuse Elizabeth Vates anything.

Part 3

[us2dinosaurplanet]

Ultimate Story 2: Dinosaur Planet-Chapter 5: Hailfire Peaks 2

Fox landed his Arwing in a cavern with a lava pool underneath. When he got out, Misty grabbed Fox and immediately flew him out with the others because she didn't like what she saw. Misty: “Couldn't you have picked a safer place to land?” Fox: “Heh heh. Sorry.”

Misty rolled her eyes. Peach deactivated her suit and put her coat back on. Fox: “All right, everyone. Spread out and search for anything that can help us.”

And so, the search began. However, it soon wasn't long when Bubbles called for her friends and found her with a Snowhorn in a shackle. Bubbles pulled the shackle apart. Snowhorn: “Oh, thank you, little one.” Bubbles: “You're welcome. Now, can you tell us where Scales placed the Spellstone?” Snowhorn: “Scales has hidden the Spellstone somewhere in the mine. Please, be careful and keep an eye out for Belina Te, the gatekeeper's daughter. She didn't mean to get us in this mess by telling Scales about the Spellstone. She did what she thought was right. Please help her.” Misty: “Don't worry ma'am. We'll look out for her.” Fox: “Alright, guys. Let's move out.”

They rushed out as fast as they could. When they came near a metal door, they saw 2 Sharpclaws beating up a weak Snowhorn. The girls ran up to the Sharpclaws, beat them up, and save the Snowhorn. Snowhorn: “I am forever in your debts.” Misty: “It was no problem. Now let's move on, shall we?” Bubbles: “But the gate's in the way.” Misty: “So we'll bash it open.” Fox: “I don't know, girls. That gate looks too strong to be the normal type of metal that you can just bash open.”

The girls position themselves to bash the gate. Fox: “Hey, wait a minute! Girls, wait! The gate's made of...”

But it was too late! The girls screeched in pain after they tried to bash the gate open. Fox: “Titanium alloy…” Kazooie: “Oh, great. Just what we need, a gate made of material that the girls can't punch through. What will we do, now?”

The Snowhorn then focused his attention on Tricky. Snowhorn: “Hmm…I see your little friend is yet to learn his flame command.” Bubbles: “Earthwalkers can breathe fire?” Fox: “The dinosaurs on this planet, I believe, are very different from the ones that were extinct from yours 65 million years ago.”Bubbles: “Oh.” Snowhorn: “Go on, youngster. Give it a go.”

At that moment, Tricky started blowing fire out of his mouth like a dragon. Kazooie: “Cool!”Snowhorn: “And about your gate problem, I would help you bash through those through those gates if I weren't so weak. I need some food.”

It was a good thing Tricky learned his flame command. The alpine roots were buried behind ice walls and the girls were so much in pain from trying to bash the gate open that they couldn't break through anything for a while. Plus, the bitter cold was too unbearable for them to do anything else, so jumping over the gate was out of the question.

After they found the roots, they were immediately fed to the Snowhorn. Then the Snowhorn got up and charged the gate open. A little afterwards, they caught up with it. Misty: “Thank you so much.”Snowhorn: “My pleasure. You DID save my life, after all.” Misty: “Well, that's true.” Fox: “OK, everyone. Spread out and search for anything.”

And so they began another search. Within a short period of time, Bubbles spotted a Sharpclaw Cannon. She flew over to it and beat up the Sharpclaw operating it. Suddenly, a door to the structure in the middle of the area opened up and out came 5 Sharpclaws. Fox, who was still searching the area, saw the Sharpclaws coming out of the structure. Fox: “Huh? What's going on?”

Just then he spotted Bubbles, who was floating above the cannon, waving at him. Fox: “What in the name of...Bubbles!” Misty: “Fox, what's going on?” Fox: “Look.”

She looked in his direction and saw exactly what he was seeing. Misty: “Oh! Bubbles!”

She grabbed on to Fox, flew in the air and landed behind the cannon. Fox: “Bubbles! What are you doing here?” Bubbles: “I found a cannon, Fox. It might help us.” Fox: “Great! Let me take a crack at it.” Misty: “I’ll get the others to safety.”

Misty flew out and got Banjo-Kazooie, Peach, Rayman, and Tricky out of the way. Fox aimed the cannon at the 5 Sharpclaws in the area and shot at them all one by one. Then he spotted a metal barricade and destroyed it. Fox: “Let’s go see what happened.”

Bubbles helped float Fox off the cannon ledge. Back on the ground, they saw a doorway below the cannon that recently opened. They went in it. Inside was a metal cylinder box. It seemed as though it could be unlocked by the use of the staff. When Fox unlocked the box, it revealed some sort of weird horn. Bubbles: “This is the weirdest looking horn I have ever seen. What is it used for?” Fox: “I don’t know, but whatever it’s used for it may be important. Come on, Bubbles. The others might be waiting for us.”

Bubbles and Fox met the others at where Fox destroyed a barricade with the cannon. They went through the tunnel that was closed off. From there, they wound up within a small area where a snowstorm was blasting in their faces. They were unable to make it through the snowstorm, but they did find a ramp to the left. From there, they spotted a picture of the horn that Fox and Bubbles found earlier. Bubbles: “This might be the time to use that horn.”

Fox nodded, took out the horn, blew on it and out came a Snowhorn from the blizzard. Fox and Bubbles smiled at each other. Bubbles: “So that’s what the horn was used for.”

Fox ran to a nearby platform that helped him climb on to the Snowhorn along with Peach. Suddenly, the Snowhorn began to move. The guys were able to follow along.

As Fox rode the Snowhorn through the blizzard, the girls and Tricky mysteriously vanished. The others still stayed with Fox. Fox: “Bubbles? Misty? Tricky! They ran off again.” Snowhorn: “They’ll come back. They usually do.” Peach: “I sure hope so. I don’t want anything to happen to them.” Fox: “Neither do I, Peach.”

Fox and Peach climbed off the Snowhorn and rushed into a cave with the others. When they entered, Fox saw a snowmobile and got on it. He soon found himself riding through a territory that he and his friends visited before and before long, he was entering the mines and rushed through the tunnel. As soon as he reached the end of the tunnel, he started to hear voices that sounded like Bubbles and Misty calling his name. Fox: “Girls? Girls, are you there? Girls!”

Just then, 2 flashes of light flew in and grabbed Fox before the snowmobile crashed and exploded. Those flashes of light revealed themselves as Bubbles and Misty.

After they landed, Fox put his arms around the girls and squeezed them with all his might. Fox: “Oh, girls. Thank the stars I found you 2.” Bubbles: “Actually we were the ones who found you, Fox.”

Later, they stood together. Fox: ”What were you 2 thinking? Losing us in the blizzard like that! You had me worried sick!” Misty: “We’re sorry, Fox, but Tricky ran off into the blizzard and we tried to stop him, but we lost him in the blizzard, too.” Bubbles: “We found him in a cell. We can’t get him out because we’re still numb from trying to bash that gate open.” Misty: “But get this: we also found Belina Te.” Fox: “Bu-Belina Te, the gatekeeper’s daughter? You found her?” Misty: “Yes, we found her. We have to find the keys for both cells and save them.” Fox:’ Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

And so, Fox and the girls searched for the prison keys. Soon enough, the others were able to catch up and helped out with searching for the keys. After a long search around the area, they were able to find both a silver key and a gold key. The silver key was for unlocking Tricky’s cell. The girls were very happy to have reunited with Tricky as was he. The gold key they found last was for Belina’s.

However, she didn’t leave her cell. Instead, Fox and his friends went in to see her. Belina Te: “Who are you?” Fox: “I am Fox and these are my friends. We were sent by the Snowhorn gatekeeper to find the Spellstone. Do you know where it’s hidden?” Peach: “You must be Belina Te, the gatekeeper’s daughter. Am I mistaken?” Belina Te: “No, not at all. Have you guys come to rescue me?” Fox: “I’m sorry, Belina, but he feels that you have betrayed the belief of the gatekeepers. We were only sent to find the Spellstone.”

Kazooie popped out of Banjo’s backpack. Kazooie: “Serves you right for betraying your own father.”Misty: “Kazooie! Stay out of this if you can’t control your attitude!”

Kazooie pulled herself back into the backpack. Belina Te: “The old fool. I had to save the tribe. If it wasn’t for my father being the gatekeeper, none of this would have ever happened in the first place.”

Belina Te was so mad she crashed right through the wall in the back of the room, leaving a pile of rocks behind her. Fox ran up to the pile. Fox: “Belina. Are you there?” Belina Te: “Listen carefully: find another way to the bottom of the mine. I’ll meet you there.”

They stood by for a bit. Rayman: [“So…now what?”]

Suddenly, Misty sensed something nearby. Fox took notice of this. Fox: “What is it, Misty?” Misty: “I…I can sense water…directly near us…” Fox: “Hm, that must be your special powers kicking in again. Where is it?” Misty: “Um…I…I think it’s on the other side of that wall nearby. Tricky, you wouldn’t mind if you can dig up a hole in that wall, would you?” Tricky: “Not at all. I would be glad to.”

He dug a hole in the cracked wall right of the pile of rocks and went right through, leaving an archway. Fox and the others ran through. They soon found themselves in a cavern with ice and water. Misty stood and stared out at the water, Fox walked right next to her and stared out at it with her.Misty: “Wow. The water is beautiful.” Fox: “Yeah, I know.”

He looked at Misty. Fox: “But not as beautiful as you.”

Misty looked at Fox. Misty: “Really?” Fox: “Yeah, really.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes deeply and happily. Peach whispered to the others. Peach: “Uh-oh. They’ve got that weird look again.”

Bubbles giggled. Soon enough, Fox and Misty were able to come to, they made their way to the other side of the cavern with the others. Then they exited the cavern, ran through a few conveyor belts and caught up with Belina Te. Fox: “Belina.” Belina Te: “You made it.” Bubbles: “We thought we would never make it out alive.” Peach: “But where’s the Spellstone?”

Kazooie popped out again. Kazooie: “Yeah, lady. Cough up the rock.” Misty: “Kazooie! What did I just say!?!”

Kazooie pulled herself back in. Belina Te: “Well, my father didn’t say exactly where it was, but he knew that General Scales had hidden it somewhere close. Look carefully. I’m sure you guys would be able to find it before they do.” Fox: “OK.”

They rushed off as fast as they could towards the next room. Belina Te: “Time is short. You must find the Spellstone.”

They stopped and stood around in front of Fox. Fox: “OK, everyone. Spread out and search. That Spellstone can’t be far.”

And so they went in different directions and searched the entire place.

After a long search, all they found was nothing. However, Bubbles found something that became useful. She found 2 switches that were barricaded. With her strength to bash things open recovered to her fists, she bashed through the barricades, which activated the switches. After bashing the switches, she flew down and saw her friends who were near a lava bridge that wasn’t there before.Fox: “Bubbles. Did you make that bridge appear out of that lava pool? I don’t recall seeing that bridge there. What did you do?” Bubbles: “So that’s what those switches do.” Fox: “What switches?”Bubbles: “Um…nevermind. Can we move on?”

Fox nodded and they all crossed the bridge to a warp pad. Bubbles: “Hey look. It’s another warp thingie. Where will it take us?” Misty: “Hopefully to the Spellstone.” Fox: “Well, there’s only 1 way to find out.”

And so they all stood on the pad and warped.

They wound up in a room with a hideous ice statue. Bubbles: “Ewww! Who would be stupid enough to make that statue?” Fox: “I don’t know, but look what it’s holding in its icy grip.” Tricky: “It has the Spellstone.” Misty: “Yay! I knew it!” Fox: “OK, Tricky. Melt that thing down so we can claim our prize.”

Tricky used his flames and before they were able to celebrate, the ice statue started to crack and move. Bubbles: “Hey! That’s no statue, it’s a hideous monster!” Fox: “RUN!”

As the ice started flying off the monster, Fox and his friends ran and took cover. Then the monster gobbled the Spellstone that it was holding in its grip whole.

At that time, everyone stood in cover. Bubbles: “AHHHHHH! What will we do? What will we do? What will we do? It ate the Spellstone!” Fox: “BUBBLES! Come down. Everything’s under control. I have a plan.” Bubbles: “WHAT’S THE PLAN?” Fox: “I’LL TELL YOU!”

He and his friends huddled together. Fox: “Now, here’s what we’re going to do.”

He whispered his plan to the entire group.

Soon enough, the monster was still looking around. Bubbles: “Oh, lizardface.”

The monster turned itself around and saw Bubbles, Misty, and Peach (in her PPG suit) release their fists at him and began to pulverize him. As the girls were beating up the monster, Fox, Banjo-Kazooie, and Rayman were getting ready for their half of Fox’s plan. Banjo pulled Kazooie out of his backpack and held her like a shotgun (a.k.a. Breegull Blaster, as seen in Banjo-Tooie), Fox pulled out his staff, and Rayman practiced his strafing and magic fist throwing. The monster fell to the ground.  Misty: “Our half of the plan is done. It’s up to you, boys.” Fox: “Good job, girls. Banjo, Rayman. Let’s go.”

All 3 of them walked into the monster’s mouth. They arrived in the stomach. Rayman: [“Guys, look. The Spellstone’s in the uvula.”] Fox: “Let’s do it, boys.”

They attacked the uvula with everything they’ve got. Fox used his fire blaster, Banjo shot grenade eggs out through Kazooie’s mouth, and Rayman threw his magic fists. They kept doing this until the Spellstone slipped out of the uvula. Fox walked up to the Spellstone and picked it up. Fox: “(Sigh) We did it.”

All 3 of them celebrated. They soon exited out through the monster’s mouth. When the girls saw that Fox had the Spellstone in his hands, they started to celebrate, too. Bubbles: “Alright, we did it!” Fox: “You all did a great job, but it’s not over, yet. The worst is still yet to come.”

Later, they met Belina Te back near the cavern where the Arwing was parked. Misty: “You must forgive your father, Belina. Together, you can lead the tribe against Scales instead of fighting each other.” Belina Te: “And that’s what I’ll do. Because of you guys, my people shall no longer live as slaves. I don’t know how to repay you.” Bubbles: “No need to. We’re just doing our job.” Fox: “Speaking of job, we need to continue ours and return this Spellstone to the planet. See ya, Belina.”Belina Te: “Bye. Thanks again.”

And so Fox and his friends returned to the Arwing. From there, they got ready to return to the planet.

[flyingsassysaddles]

The Almost Dead

Tshering had found the almost dead warrior on the ground. More specifically, on the ground surrounding his small temple, a couple leagues away, buried in the blood-soaked snow.

It had been a normal enough day before he found the warrior. He had cleaned the temple, weeded his garden, fed his stray cats, and took his daily walk around the temple, trying to find inner peace and tranquility, when he had stumbled upon the half-dead Mongol. Literally, had tripped over the body and smashed onto the ground, something he was cursing himself for now as he dragged the man into his temple, and plopped him down on the floor. Now with the body in a secure location and no medical tools in sight, Tshering started to panic.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, there's a dead body in my temple,” Tshering muttered over and over again, looking for a towel or water or SOMETHING that could stop the startled wounds that had started to bleed again. Finally, he found his medical kit he kept in the back for just this type of situation and dashed back to the groaning man, who suddenly made clear that he was not in fact dead.

“Stay still,” Tshering advised as he knelt down and started ripping off the dirty closed of the now conscious man, who decided that just as he was about to get medical treatment was the best time to start wondering what the heck was going on.

“W-what? Where am I? Who are you? And what are you doing with- ARGH!” The warrior screamed in pain as his wounds were reopened and Tshering placed more pressure on them. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!”

“No, I'm trying to save your life. Hold still.”

“Don't you dare come any closer with that knife- HOLY SHIT!” The man screamed again, weakly trying to push the monk away as Tshering cut off all the bandages and started to dig out a rock that had buried itself on the large wound on the warrior’s chest. “STOP IT!”

“Do you want to die?” Tshering asked calmly.

“NOW I DO!” the warrior roared back. He kept trying to push away the healer in panic until Tshering decided enough was enough and got up to get something.

“Where are you going?” Eyes narrowed in suspicion, the wounded man watched as Tshering dumped a bottle of liquid into a cup and presented it to the warrior.

“Drink it. It'll help with the pain.”

“And I should trust you why?”

“Because I'm the only thing that stands between you and death by blood loss,” the monk snorted. The temple was silent for a couple minutes as he said nothing, before Tshering grew impatient and shoved it towards him. “If you don't drink this I will be the nearest candlestick and knock you out that way.”

The warrior looked straight into the monk’s eyes and saw that he wasn't exaggerating. Deciding that death by poison was better than death by stab wounds, he yanked the cup out of his healer’s hand and gulped it down. The world started to fade mere seconds afterwards, and just like that, the man was passed out on the floor.

“Much better. Okay, let's get you healed.” The monk spent the rest of the time putting on new bandages, replacing the warrior’s robes, before finally coming down to the man’s worst wound of all. His mangled leg.

The leg was in tatters, and fragments of bone peeking out behind the ripped gashes of skin. Half bottom half of the leg was in ribbons, and the top half didn’t look much better. Tshering gave a sigh of regret. The leg had to go.

He left the temple and returned hastily with a cutting tool in hand, cursing at the fact that he didn’t have anything else to do the procedure with. He sat down and took a deep breath. It had to be done quickly before it got more infected and killed the man once and for all. The dead tissue was already growing past the bloodied wounds, and Tshering pushed away every pacifist bone in his body and prepared to cut off the leg, cleaning and medical supplies ready, when the warrior again decided this was the perfect time to wake up.

“Ugh, I feel like I drank seven bottles of opium what- OH MY GOD GET AWAY FROM MY LEG YOU LUNATIC!” the man shrieked, trying to yank away his leg but then reeling in pain.

“Stop moving,” Tshering ordered, grabbing the leg despite protests and putting it closer.

“No, no, no. Please not my leg. Anything but my leg,” the man raved, weakly trying to move it and then staring into the temple ceiling, eyes growing cloudy. “My arm I can live with. My fingers I can go without. But not my leg. Please not my leg.”

The monk stopped dead and stared at the broken man before him. “I have to,” he explained. “If I don’t you’ll die. Best case scenario, you’ll never be able to use or move this leg again. Worst case scenario, well, you know what that is.”

“I don’t care! Just not my leg! Let it kill me if you have to! I’d rather die whole than live a cripple!”

“Well too bad, because you're going to live, one way or another,” Tshering declared, determination filling his heart before his eyes involuntarily gazed back at the warrior. H was lying there broken, a shell of what he must have once been. He had seen scars that had been inflicted over his body while he was redressing the man’s wounds, and knew that he must have been a great warrior of some kind. He had even found a dagger or two on the ground next to where he had lied in the snow. And now the man was sitting in a temple about to have his leg chopped off.       

“What’s your name?”

“Why do you care?” the man spat back, the look of defeat he had seen earlier vanishing into a look of hatred, one that obviously suited the man much better.

“Well, when you live, I’ll have to take care of you until you get used to having one leg. So what’s your name?” Tshering stated calmly, not looking at the warrior and getting his tools ready once more.

“What do you mean ‘when I survive?’ I thought I told you to let me die!”

“Nope. You're going to live.”

“Are you a doctor or NOT?! Let. Me. Die,” he commanded, before being wracked with pain. The monk appeared to consider his request before going up to get something from his medicine cabinet in the far right of the temple. When he came back, he was holding a glass of foul smelling liquid.

“Well? You want to die right? This poison will kill you,” he stated with a blank face, causing the warrior's brow to furrow in confusion. The monk was actually going to let him die? He looked at the poison for a couple seconds, before looking his mangled leg. Better the demon you know and won’t fill you with pain, he thought, gesturing for the poison. The monk silently handed it to him, and he gulped it down, wincing at the foul taste before lying back down, as the world started to get hazy.

Tshering could have danced with delight when he saw the warrior give himself an exorbitant amount of the knock out drug, and quickly went back to preparing for the operation. The man groaned before muttering something Tshering couldn’t hear.

“What was that?”

“I’m happy to die.” The monk stopped dead once again. The man was delusional, he told himself. These were simply the rambling words of a drugged man.

Why?” he asked despite himself, not knowing why he had said the words.

“I don’t have anyone anymore. I killed my best friend. My brother tried to kill me multiple times. I disowned my sister,” he confessed, gripping a rock that had stumbled into the small, forgotten temple. The floor shivered, cold seeping up and curling through the air. The scent of iron and blood drifted with it, and Tshering felt the frigid air burrow into his skin as the man spoke his dying words. “I betrayed my army, my general, to become a mercenary. And for what? For the money?” The warrior gave a bitter laugh. “I killed so many, done such horrible, horrible things I’ll never forget for as long as I live. I see so many faces when I close my eyes. I’m glad that I’ll never have to carry that weight again.”

“And so you choose to die?”

“Yes. At least I’ll finally get some sleep now,” he chuckled, staring at the roof with misty eyes, mouth curled into the first thing resembling a smile he had seen on the warrior. The monk couldn’t help staring, the emotion and just pure gratefulness dripping from his words and onto his lying heart.

“You’re not going to die.”

“What?”

“You are not going to die.”

“Why?” he mumbled, eyelids drooping with the drug finally taking effect.  

“Because you still have a life to lead.”

“I have none. I’ve done things that would your toes curl. I’ve done things that would make you stab that knife into my dead heart. When I die today, I won’t be missed.”

“What do you mean, ‘when you die today?’ You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to save you. After this, I’m going to make sure you get better. I’m going to save your life, and give you a life worth living.”

“I doubt you can do that.”

“Watch me. If you had stumbled upon a doctor, he probably would have let you die. Heck, most people would have,” Tshering shrugged, feeling a hand of determination seize his heart. “Unfortunately for you, you landed on the doorstep of the most idealistic, pacifist, and determined monk in all of Asia. So you’re not going anywhere.” The monk gave a steely gaze to the warrior, only to find the drugs had taken effect and he was lying passed out on the floor.

----

The procedure was over, and the Tibetan monk was washing his hands of the blood from the amputation when he heard a soft whisper coming from the crippled man behind him. He walked over to the man, and saw the face of the man, no longer drugged, eyes empty with emotion except a shred of one.

“My name is Munkhbat.”