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beautifulplaceofyouth · 10 months ago

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JJK FF/ ROYAL GUARD

CHAPTER ELEVEN | SERIES

Ch. 1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

Ch. 7

Ch. 8

Ch. 9

Ch. 10

Ch. 11

When you keep bumping into your personal royal guard by accident not knowing he is your guardian angel

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook!fallen angel!royal guard! × fem!reader!virgin!princess

Word count: 3k

Rating: 18+ smut

Genre + warnings: Fluff, smut, dirty talk, crying, tears of happiness, lap straddling, a lot of pussy fingering, biting, nipple play, Jungkook groans a lot, full nakedness, big dick!jk, a little bit of rough French, neck kissing, hard orgasms, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it, guys :D) - she probably pregnant by the time he is done with her - upss - also mentions of marriage, paranormal romance, historical fanfiction, Kook being cold and mysterious, being his sexy self. Caring and possessive!jk! Really horny towards his princess, being a big seductive tease. A lot of swearing, cursing and a little bit of crying. The story isn’t real, just my imagination running wild so just enjoy reading!

Still waiting in Jungkook’s chambers, you nervously fidgeted, your fingers picking up stray pieces of your dress whenever your leg bounced up and down, unable to calm yourself.

This couldn’t keep happening!

Everytime you think about what happened in the forest, it makes you tremble with fear. Your palms feel sweaty and your heart is beating loudly.

What if something happened to him?!

What if they caught him?! If anything were to happen to him...

You shook your head violently.

Stop thinking like this!

Taking a deep breath, you sat straight in the chair, crossing your legs and resting your hands on your lap, trying your best to control your breathing.

Just then, the door opened revealing a servant, the lovely octopus Moe, bringing in another tray of food.

“My lady, you need to eat something. You can’t go on like this,” he said softly, afraid that he overstepped his boundaries,” The king will be back soon, don’t worry.”

You smiled at him, “ Thanks but I’m not hungry,” trying to convince him otherwise, your stomach decided to complain with a grumbling sound loud enough for him to hear and you blush with embarrassment, not believing yourself for making those kind of sounds.

He tries to hide his surprise with a polite bow and leaves the room when he finishes setting up your late dinner since it was really late, the darkness outside having already started to cover the entire castle.

A couple minutes pass by when suddenly, the door opens with a bang which caused you to jump in your seat. A familiar man enters the room.

His whole armor was covered in blood, his wings torn in some places with dried blood on them. The sight makes you gasp when he steps into the room, the door closing behind him with a bang in the same way how it was opened.

Throwing the sword on the carpet, he doesn’t even notice you sitting there by the window when he removes his face mask, revealing his beautiful face full of bruises and wounds, the right eye already forming a blue bruise on his left cheek.

A sob escapes your mouth, tears streaming down your face as you stand from your seat and hurry to him.

Grabbing his wrist, you run your fingers lightly along the purple mark that now appeared on his skin.

“Why are you here so late? Did you get attacked? Who did that?!” You asked frantically, not knowing how he even got injured like this.

Do magic beings even heal faster like from the myths?

Jungkook looks at you in surprise for a second before his expression melts into concern when he notices your teary eyes.

“Darling, please don’t cry. Everything is fine.” He says reassuringly.

Relieved, you put both of your arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace, not caring whether or not you dirty your dress with his blood.

“I need to shower . You know I can’t stay with you smelling like blood,” he whispers, his warm breath hitting the side of your cheek as his chin rests on top of your head.

You nod, tightening your hold on him.

“Okay. But make sure to be careful. You can slip in there if it’s too slippery,” you warn him seriously and your words makes him smile at you, looking at you like you’re some wonder of the world.

“I will be extra careful and If I slip, I will call you,” he smirks with a teasing note in his promise to which you laugh and hit him gently.

“Stop making fun of me. I was worried about you when you went to fight vampires again. I thought that I will never see you again,” You said truthfully.

The corner of his eyes crinkled slightly in response, showing that he understood your meaning.

“Don’t forget who you belong to,” He says, caressing your cheeks with the tips of his fingers.

Then without saying another word, he walks to the wardrobe and takes out his clothes before leaving again.

Since he went to shower, you decided to clean yourself too since your dress had bloodstains. Taking the change of clothes, you went to the other bathroom , washing yourself as fast as possible.

Once you were done, you quickly dressed in your nightgown and walked to the bed where you lay down, staring into space, your thoughts still filled with worry.

The image of him fighting in the battlefield flashed through your mind again making you shiver uncontrollably. Why did you insist on going outside the castle if there’s danger?

With a tired sigh, you feel hot inside. Fanning yourself, you go to the big window with the balcony doors and open them wide, letting the fresh air enter the room, allowing your mind to be free of any doubts.

Trying to relax, you closed your eyes, trying to clear your mind. The last thing you wanted was to dwell on what happened earlier in the day.

After a while, you hear the bathroom door open and close softly. Not opening your eyes, your heart rate started to rise when you heard his footsteps approaching you.

He moved like a silent panther with soundless steps as it wasn’t him moving at all.

Feeling him behind you, Jungkook wraps his arms around you to nuzzle your neck.

“I missed you, princess,” he purrs, nuzzling your neck affectionately, pressing kisses against the spot between your shoulder and neck.

You hum softly in return, letting your eyes flutter shut and leaning into his embrace, enjoying the warmth radiating from his body and the smell of his cologne and fresh scent enveloping you.

“I heard that you were a bad girl for me while I was away,” he murmurs, nosing the shell of your ear, his deep voice sending shivers down your spine. His breath sends chills down your spine but he didn’t seem to mind at all as his lips brushed against your earlobe gently.

"It's my duty as your future husband and your king to punish my princess whenever she does something wrong," he adds huskily.

You feel confused,” What are you talking about?”

You feel him smiling against your neck,” You didn’t eat anything , so your body needs time to recuperate. I ordered Moe to bring you some food and a glass of wine and you haven't touched it,” he explains softly, rubbing circles on your back with one hand, the other hand resting gently on your hip.

You flush in embarrassment as you realize that he caught you. "I'm sorry."

"Don’t apologise. It’s perfectly normal to miss someone while you’re away,” he replies, his thumb brushing across the curve of your waist.

Your eyes widen as you turn around in his arms, your face only inches from his.

His eyes are blazing when he looks at you and the longer he holds eye contact, the faster you let your own drop down at your feet, too shy to see his intense stare directed at you.

“Now,now. Don’t be shy now, darling. I don’t bite,” he coos softly.

There is irony in those words because you both know that you have been bitten by him before so this sentence was necessary.

When you look up again, you lock your gaze on his black eyes, seeing his pupils dilate and his eyebrows drawn together with a sexy smirk on his lips.

Suddenly, his hands are grabbing yours, pulling you closer, his hot breathe tickling your face, forcing you to tilt your head upwards so he could kiss you more deeply.

Your hands automatically move up to his hair, holding onto him securely as he deepens the kiss; his tongue slipping past your parted lips and exploring the inside of your mouth.

Suddenly, he breaks off the kiss, resting his forehead against yours, still not breaking your stare.

“Are you still sore?” he mumbles quietly and you shake your head, trying not to giggle at his question, you were more than eager to feel him in you again.

Your hands roam through the soft locks of hair on the back of his head, slowly pulling him down until he connects his lips with yours again, kissing you passionately, his tongue invading your senses. His hands roam the rest of your body, leaving heated trails everywhere they touch.

His lips trail down to your jawline, grazing his tongue over it teasingly before biting the delicate flesh there. Making you moan in pleasure, you grab handfuls of his hair, tugging playfully.

His mouth moves from your jaw to your collarbone, sucking hard as he bites your skin once again, licking the area tenderly before moving his mouth further, finding the perfect place to leave a wet hickey under your collarbone.

Panting, he lifts himself from your body, giving you no choice but to open your eyes to look at his beautiful face as your eyes traveled down to his bare chest.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers with a sad little smile as he looks straight into your eyes.

Your heart clenches painfully as you take in his state.

“What do you mean?” You ask confused.

He shakes his head,” I have blood on my hands and you still let me touch you. If I wouldn’t be the king or your guardian angel, we would never be this close. You would never have been mine in the first place,” He says brokenly.

Your eyes welled up with tears at his confession as you couldn’t believe what you just heard. You knew how he feels towards you and it kills you to see him like this because you love him.

Tears roll down from your cheeks as you wrap your arms around his neck, your eyes locked with his.

“But you are my king, my guardian angel, my guard, my everything. And as long as I have you, nothing else matters. That includes blood and death and being forced to watch you kill anybody who threatens us or our family. We need to protect them and knowing that you try to protect me despite facing danger, that’s enough reason to marry you,” you confess with a small sob, burying your face into his neck.

He lets out a chuckle in disbelief, pulling you even closer to him.

“I’m glad you see it that way because I can’t wait to make you mine and you to finally be mine forever,” he replies happily as he pulls your face back to look at him.

Lifting a finger to wipe away the tears rolling down your cheeks with such tender care, you smile at him.

“It’s me who doesn’t deserve you. You’re perfect man to be my husband,” you say lovingly.

Jungkook’s expression from warm to serious,” You make me do things to you if you keep saying these kind of sweet words , Y/N. How am I supposed to resist you now?”

You laugh at that and lean forward to press your lips to his as you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer.

Before you can stop him, his hands lift you by the waist and he carries you onto the mattress, settling you in his lap, one of his hands traveling down to your leg while the other is holding you firmly around your waist.

Your eyes open wide in surprise at the sudden move and you feel him grinning at you wickedly before placing his lips against your neck again.

Your legs automatically wrapped themselves around his torso, pulling him closer to you.

Your eyes fall shut tightly, overwhelmed by his loving touches and his soft kisses on your skin. You couldn’t help but melt under his ministrations.

“My queen, look at me,” he says quietly as he kisses your neck again.

Slowly opening your eyes, you find him gazing right at you with love filled eyes,” Look at me when I speak to you. You belong only to me and nobody else. Only me,” he declares.

Tears form in your eyes as you blink at him, feeling overwhelmed by his passionate declaration. You nod silently with tears filling your eyes.

His lips brush against your cheek softly as he brushes his thumbs on your tears, “I’ll shower you with affection everyday if it means that you don’t cry anymore.”

You let out a small laugh,” It’s tears of joy that will make me cry. I won’t stop crying. Because I’ve already cried enough times tonight alone,” you tease him slightly.

“No. No more tears. Not after tonight. You won’t get rid of me that easily,” he states, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Leaning down, your gown’s right strap falls of your shoulder to reveal your pale flesh and even further when your breast is revealed completely. Your blush darkens and you bury your face in his neck.

His sharp breath makes you moan when he gets a clear sight of your bare nipple. Kissing your neck, his tongue hits your sensitive spot as he sucks your hardened tip lightly, making your knees weak and hands clutching on his hair.

You whimper softly, letting out small noises of pleasure as his lips travel lower down your body.

‘God, what is he doing?’ you think to yourself, your breathing growing heavier with every passing second.

Before you can question him, he slides your gown up your thighs till your bare pussy is exposed to his hungry eyes.

“Jungkook-!” you exclaim breathlessly, your whole body tensing up with nerves and anticipation, anticipating his next move.

“Shhh, don’t talk. I haven't stopped looking at you,” he murmurs huskily before lowering his face towards you.

Kissing you on the lips, he traces a path with his finger to your entrance. You let out a gasp and he immediately takes control, thrusting in two fingers. The burning sensation shoots straight to your clit making you arch your body upward, making him groan loudly against your ear.

“Breathe. Just breathe for me baby girl,” he breathes out harshly as he continues to finger fuck you slowly but steadily.

You can’t help but to whimper as his fingers are moving slowly inside of you, driving you crazy.

His tongue then slips inside your mouth, his fingers still moving inside you, causing you to let out another low moan as his mouth covers yours aggressively, thrusting inside of you relentlessly.

Bucking your hips against his lap, you felt his erection pulsing under your ass beneath that towel. Since he was in the shower, he didn’t put on any clothes on.

Moaning from the pleasure, you could only hold on, almost to the point of pain, not knowing how long will you last.

“Jungkook, Oh, Jungkook,” you pant against his lips and then your guard lost it, seeing you so close to orgasm.

Ripping the towel off his body, there was a second of silence, only your harsh breathing was heard in the room when he

enters you roughly. Your eyes flutter closed in shock before opening back up when you realize how deep he was.

The sound of air hitting your ears was the only thing you could hear as he began thrusting slowly into you, stretching you in all ways possible. The feeling of his thick muscles squeezing around your insides sent waves of arousal shooting through you and soon you were moaning into his lips as his thrusts became harder and harder.

You were coming apart at his touch. Your toes curled in pleasure as your body shook in his hold, your nails digging in to his shoulders as you came undone.

Jungkook moans loudly as he watched you come undone in front of him. His own orgasm was approaching quickly too.

Enveloping you with his wings, you see only darkness with his eyes glowing white,” Oh, my God! Oh, god, oh, god..! Yes! Fuck!” You scream out loud, feeling his hard cock hit the spot in you where you needed him most. As you start to tremble with pleasure once again, your eyes widen realizing that you couldn’t take a break,” Oh, yes, yes…” you don’t know how you even lived without this feeling before but you can’t stop thinking about him being here, now, with you, giving you pleasure like nothing you had ever experienced before.

Jungkook was beyond thrilled at the sight of you. Every time you came undone at him it was the best feeling in the world.

Taking your throat, he hits the spot deeper when your eyes roll back and you almost pass out.

“Fuck!” He growls, not even stopping when he finds his own realise.

There’s so much seed that you feel it spilling on both of you which causes your vision to blur for a moment. A small gasp escapes your throat as you come undone yet again, making you moan in pleasure.

After you finally finish your climax and your walls start feel sore, you slowly sit up on his lap, your hand on his chest.

Jungkook watches you intently, his gaze so hazy with lust and love, it’s almost scary to see him looking at you like that.

He wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you tight against his chest.

“I will arrange a priest to come to the castle tomorrow,” he murmurs against your ear.

“For what?” you ask, not understanding his purpose.

“To marry you, of course. I want you to be mine forever,” he answers and his voice sounds rough and strained, like he has been running for miles.

From his words, your walls clench around his cock and he groans, burying his head in your neck,” You like that, baby? Knowing that you will be my wife,” he whispers in your ear, his hot breath tickling your skin.

Licking your wet skin, he lets his teeth nip softly at your exposed shoulder and you let out a soft moan as goosebumps cover your entire body.

“Yes.” You whisper in return, tightening your grip on his muscular shoulders and pressing yourself to him,” I would like that very much.”

“Then it's settled. We shall get married as soon as possible,” he mutters into your ear.

You smile happily before leaning closer and placing a quick kiss on his jaw,” Okay, husband.” But not before you bumped your nose against his.

Your guardian angel only smirked," We really need to stop bumping into each other."

Be continued…

p.s. All images and gifs are not mine, some of the edits are mine edited but not every picture. All the credit goes to their rightful owners

DO NOT REPOST THIS WORK AS YOUR OWN BECAUSE THIS IS THE ORIGINAL OWNER’S STORY

If you like, please reblog or like the post so I can post the next chapters :)

#bts #jungkook #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfction #fallen angel #historical romantic fiction #royal guard #bts fluff #virgin princess #princess royal #marriage #bts smut #jungkook smut

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offtorivendell · 6 months ago

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Elain Archeron Week, Day 1: Visions

I've theorised before about how I think Elain's powers - specifically her Sight, but possibly other aspects of her magic, too - might work, with regards to her murky realm/the Void, the effects of light and even magical medicinals (could witchberries play a part instead of bloodbane?) so today I want to talk a little about why I think having such a useful power could be so meaningful for Elain.

ACOSF suggested that Elain was raised by Mama Archeron to have no independent thought; no dreams of her own, no goals bigger than her garden. She was to be the family's pawn on the marriage mart in their quest for power. Valued for her looks alone, not for what she could do.

Elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused while Nesta sat beside her dressing table, a servant silently brushing her mother’s gold-brown hair, but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match. Nesta had been twelve at the time. Elain barely eleven. She’d absorbed every word of her mother’s scheming, plans for futures that had never come to pass. - ACOSF, chapter 17

And then Azriel said this...

But Azriel asked softly, taking a single step over the threshold and into the sitting room, “What other?” Elain’s brows twitched toward each other. “The queen—with the feathers of flame.” The shadowsinger angled his head. Lucien murmured to me, eye still fixed on Elain, “Should we—does she need …?” “She doesn’t need anything,” Azriel answered without so much as looking at Lucien. Elain was staring at the spymaster now—unblinkingly. “We’re the ones who need …” Azriel trailed off. “A seer,” he said, more to himself than us. “The Cauldron made you a seer.” - ACOWAR, chapter 32

Besides the fact that Sight must be an incredibly difficult power to navigate at the best of times, I will always wonder how much it meant to Elain to hear she was needed for a skill. Something she could work at and contribute that went beyond the looks she was born with. Something that could - and did - allow her to prove her mother wrong when her own "maneuverings" saved lives at the end of ACOWAR.

Even before Elain understood what was happening, while she was still lost in her murky realm, she tried to use her visions to warn/help her family. One of her biggest contributions being her untrained doe eyes peering across the world, leading Feyre to the Suriel in ACOWAR, then of course everything that followed when she ignored orders to return to camp and ended up killing the King of Hybern and saving Nesta and Cassian, and massively weakening Hybern's army.

Our trembling fawn has a backbone of steel, I can't wait for her to shine and grow in her own book. 🌿

@elainarcheronweek

#elainarcheronweek2024 #visions #elain archeron #pro elain archeron #pro elain #seer elain #mystic elain #oracle elain #elain's powers #elainarcheronweek #elain archeron week #elain archeron week 2024 #acotar #sjm books #azriel shadowsinger #mama archeron #acotar theory #elain archeron theory #fanged beast and trembling fawn

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blueberrypancakesworld · 6 months ago

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Hello. Can you write yandere/dark Maegor Targaryen and feamle reader ?

The king's blood and shadow

King Maegor Targaryen x servant!reader

warning : yandere, obsession, mentioned smut, tiny tiny comfort, dark blood magic, targaryen incest, death/murder

Summary : The third Targaryen king with his wives, Dragonstone and King's Landing filled with queens but not a single one pregnant with a son only monsters killed by poison. Until the king gets a new servant, a servant who is like him, embracing the darkness and personally chosen by his mother…a servant created to give him what he desires most.

info : Thank you very much dear anon i was very happy about the request ahh yandere Maegor is just so good and sexy so have fun and see you next time.

masterlist

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Anger, despair and hatred surrounded the king, the second son of his father, and the image of a strong warrior on whose head lay the ruby crown, ruby taken with the blood and fire he had brought to his enemies and his own family to gain the throne.

The throne that belonged to him he was the stronger one his half-brother a weakling just like his aunt but he finally had the throne, Balerion and Darksister at his side but only one thing he did not have an heir.

A king had to take a queen, like his father perhaps two, but with lust and hatred and a hint of despair that he would end up without an heir, he took one after the other, even taking his own dragon blood Rhaena as his wife, but none, none of these ungrateful women could give him what he wanted.

The handsome king turned to his mother in the nights the no boy in him came out with hate and screams wondering why he had no heir, ,,Don't you see all these women are whores, even Rhaena she has already given her abdomen to someone else but he is dead you killed him, you my dragon must take the direct blood and bind it to you" her words echoed in her chamber as the wit queen turned to her table, she had spread power and terror in her bloom but now with a glance at the dark shadows and blood filled vials she could give her son the "sister" he had always wanted.

,,When this blood comes she will be mine mother i promise you and she will give the kingdom an heir" he replied with certainty in his voice knowing he appreciated his mother's work but never believing he would soon feel the true power of old valyria and magic.

He knew the legends and legends had heard the old tales in Valyrian from his father, mother and aunt even his hlabbrother of the magic his own dragon emerged from such wonders but what would come to him was something that happened in him like a coin toss, a god who would look at his creation and take care of it.

When only a few moons later the king was in his chamber writing letters with instructions for the marches to extinguish further ends of resistance, there was only one way to join or join the fire as his father had done, ,,It's open mother" he said as there was a soft knock and he heard the almost inaudible footsteps of his mother.

The dowager queen, however, had someone else with her someone he had never seen before but a young woman who burned like a flame in his heart, the same violet eyes as his and Visenya's, the same soft body as his mother a quiet smile light almost white hair and a sweet voice that gave a ,,Good evening my king" and she curtseyed, pushing her dress up slightly and he caught a glimpse of the pure skin on her legs.

She was like a light, purer than fire, purer than anything he had ever seen and the blood in his body boiled like flames before a war when he felt his hands clutching her stall, wanting to take her at once.

,,She is your half-sister from now on your servant…the gods have been kind to me once more" was the only thing his mother said to him, but the mischievous smile on her lips and the almost flashing of her violet eyes gave him a shiver as he felt the shadows surrounding his mother.

She was a witch, a former queen, and had helped her son once more when she presented him with his desired flesh and blood.

The night on Dragonstone was suffused with the flames and roars of Balerion as the light of the flames in the king's room did not seem to go out as he fell upon his new property, taking and taking her, her body responding to him as none of his wives had done before, her voice sweet and gentle as she praised him in Valyrian, telling of distant kingdoms and giving herself to him.

Even if she was his sister born of shadow, to him she was his blood, but to the court she was only a servant, a property of the king and a property to be claimed only by him, and in the next few days men and maids burned and torn from the walls of the castle, hanging themselves to death when they met the bright white shadow, wanting to commit crimes against the thief or escape this horror.

While his light brought him almost indifference during the day, it was the next in which she began to live, ,,For fear of your revenge, they would rather throw themselves into the deep than take you," she said and only for a fraction of a moment did he think he heard his mother speak from her before she sought his lips and entangled him in a kiss and his rough hands cut the dress from her body with a dagger.

Shreds fell to the floor and light cuts were visible on her skin blood was licked up by him he feasted on her sweet taste as he took her again and again.

But the hanging lowborns were only the beginning as he began to dress his "servant" in dark and reddish clothes, watching her wear his dragon symbol, her body belonging to him, ,,A shadow filled with the light of the Dragon King," she said as a hand placed itself on her belly and Maegor swore to feel life in her womb, she would give him an heir after all.

She was at his side only from then on, sitting next to or on his throne, her crown resembling his and he watched with her the executions of those who spoke out against his only queen, the madness and vengeance in the king growing worse and worse, Balerion winning every campaign and Maegor soon dying.

,,Let it be known that the king is expecting an heir, his only wife his light will give him a son born of blood and shadow" he demanded and soon the news reached the people and the surrounding highborn houses.

For every contradiction he had the one and his house killed, so much so that he pressed his light, her chains tightened and tightened around her neck just so that he could pull her close to him, embracing her, ,,You will never leave me" he told her the further her pregnancy progressed and the king locked her up so that only he had access and his mother could visit her "daughter".

He visited her talked to her hugged her and was so sweet to her he reeked of death and blood as she realized what he gave for her to expose liars ,,My heart and soul belong only to you my Maegor" she let him know when she put her hand on his cheek and he pulled her into a kiss his thoughts were on her and the son he had to have the same pure Valyrian look.

Look only through him because he had given her his seed, held her like a pretty bird in a cage knowing she was his and had no choice. Thoughts of his inheritance, his perfection he came close to surpassing even his father, he was the only one who would need his light and the kingdom.

A once dark figure of shadows, a servant of lust and soon to be her brother's only queen as on the full moon in the hour of the bat cries and moans almost driven by lust left her lips as Maegor held her hand in Valyrian assuring her that all she had to do was keep pushing.

Hours and hours of blood and pain had passed but only Maegor and Visenya were in the room to tend to the queen as more screams left her mouth and blood continued to pour from her as Visenya instructed her daughter to do something in past words and unknown syllables and Maegor watched as the younger one obeyed and the birth seemingly came to an abrupt end with a final scream and a baby was born on Dragonstone, a boy, heir to the throne.

,,Born of light and fire, this will be ours forever," the king said as he carefully took the child from his mother, who had wrapped it in cloth, and the king showed the creature to his queen, bright violet eyes looking at both of them and light hair with a single black strand hidden underneath that resembled a shadow as his mother gave birth to him and the creature of magic.

,,The future king," the young mother murmured, gently taking her son in her hand as Maegor went to her bed and Visenya left her children alone with a knowing smile while blood and shadows continued to surround her.

Knowing that she would do anything for her son, the kingdom and her late husband it was only a matter of time before Maegor wanted another heir and the kingdom would be plunged into suffering and death from his life and for the sake of his wife for whom he would do anything because she belonged to him and no one else.

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#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #maegor targaryen #maegor the cruel #maegor x reader #yandere maegor #male x female #reader is female #visenya the conqueror #visenya targaryen

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loopstagirl · 10 days ago

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Stolen Destiny

For @febuwhump prompt day 7: alternate time line self

-x-

Merlin struggled against the cords binding his wrists. Glancing across the clearing, he saw Arthur standing tall and proud, despite his own hands also tied behind his back. He stared down their captor, not flinching. But as if he sensed Merlin’s look, he glanced back and subtly shook his head.

Not yet.

Merlin groaned in frustration. What was the point of his secret being out if he still couldn’t use his magic? But he understood Arthur’s point. Their captor was too alert, too focused on his prisoners. As of yet, he didn’t know that Merlin had magic. He had to wait until the man was distracted before freeing himself to avoid being caught in a magical battle.

Merlin didn’t doubt he would win: they didn’t call him Emrys for nothing. But his power had a tendency to explode and Gaius had long ago given up chiding him for not being subtle. He’d rather not flatten half the forest (again) just defeating one man.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to struggle, though. Not with Arthur standing there all cool and collected, challenging the man himself with nothing more than a quirk of his eyebrow.

“I really don’t have all day,” Arthur said, as if it was nothing more than an inconvenience that he was standing bound in the middle of the forest. “What do you want?”

“To set the balance right,” the man said. He was pacing back and forth in front of the prince, muttering to himself as much as his prisoners.

It was another reason Merlin didn’t want to lash out. This sorcerer didn’t seem evil, just desperate. He hoped they could talk the man down rather than annihilating him. Arthur had developed a talent for turning a blind eye since finding out about his servant.

“What balance?”

“The number of magic-users killed,” he said. “Your father has murdered so many innocents!”

“You’ve lost family,” Merlin said softly. His words carried and the man turned to him. Arthur glared at him from over their captor’s shoulder.

“Ignore him, talk to me.” Arthur’s stare spoke volumes: don’t draw his attention.

Merlin understood it: he’d have a much better chance of getting them out of this if the man wasn’t looking at him. But he’d also found, over the years, that he was really bad at staying quiet and out of the way, especially if Arthur was in potential trouble. While the prince might have his hands bound, Merlin didn’t class that as trouble. Yet.

“Killing me won’t correct that balance,” Arthur said. He almost sounded apologetic. “If I could change things, I would. But I can promise that when I’m king-,”

“No. That doesn’t save the thousands already slain!”

“Look-,”

Merlin tuned out of whatever Arthur was saying. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Power was gathering, like storm clouds rolling in, he could feel the pressure building, focused on the sorcerer. He was preparing for a spell, and given the magnitude that Merlin could feel, the time for subtlety was over.

“Turning back time won’t make a difference,” the man said. For a second, Merlin startled. He could do that?

Wait, did that mean Merlin could do that?

Something he’d have to look up in his spell book when they made it back to Camelot. Alive and in one piece, preferably.

“it was your birth that set the wheels in motion. It would happen all over again. Killing you will upset the balance.”

While the sorcerer still seemed to be talking to himself, Merlin decided he couldn’t wait around. He glanced over his shoulder and a flash of his eyes made the rope uncoil from the tight knot. He gave a small gasp of pain as the rope drew away – apparently, he’d been struggling more than he realised.

“I have to take away what makes you who you are,” the man said, clearly coming to a decision. “I’ll take away being a prince. That will correct things.”

He gathered the power faster than Merlin thought possible. He'd heard of spells like this: where the caster took away the core essence of a person. He’d take away Arthur’s destiny: take away being a prince, and Uther wouldn’t have had the authority to pursue magic users.

But Merlin had also heard about the complexity of these spells. He wasn’t sure raw power would be enough to block it. If he had time, he knew he’d be able to figure it out. But time was one thing he didn’t have. At that second in time, he only saw one option left open to him.

As the spell rolled from the sorcerer’s mouth, a dark cloud forming, Arthur backed away hurriedly. But he’d never get out of range in time. The spell shot forward... and Merlin slammed into his prince, shoving him out of the way.

Even as he sighed in relief, the dark cloud smashed into him, lifting him off his feet. Suspended in mid-air, Merlin arched as stabbing needles ripped through his body, tearing his very essence from him. If the spell was designed to take the core of a person from them, he knew full well what it was going to take from him: his magic.

He opened his mouth, whether to scream or try a counter-spell, he didn’t know. But darkness rushed in, consuming him, before a word left him.

-x-

He should’ve reached Camelot on Wednesday.

His mother had written ahead, telling the court physician to expect him.

Wednesday was two days ago.

Merlin supposed his mother hadn’t factored in his complete lack of direction, blisters throbbing on both feet and the fact he hadn’t eaten for a day after losing his pack down the same gully that had threatened to make him lose his balance and potentially his life.

But now, finally, he could see the castle looming in the distance.

The forest path gave way to cobbled stones, making his feet throb in agonised protest. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was a looming sense of foreboding hanging over the place. Acrid smoke burnt the back of his throat and Merlin coughed as he hurried through to a stone courtyard.

There, he stopped dead.

There were four or five pyres, still smoking, placed at regular points in the courtyard. The few people Merlin saw hurried by, heads bowed, not daring to look up. Merlin had never exactly heard stories of Camelot being the most joyous place to be, but nothing had suggested it would be like this, either.

He picked up his pace, anxious to get away from the morbid sight. Once he’d entered, he saw two guards at the bottom of a set of stairs. Their red cloaks had black strips stitched into them and their expressions were sombre. Merlin would’ve said grieving.

“Um,” he looked up at them. “I’m looking for Gaius, the Court Physician?”

One jerked a thumb without speaking. Merlin hurried past. The air was fresher inside. The irony wasn’t lost on him even as he climbed the stairs, seeing the signs for the physician’s rooms and following them.

Once he reached the door, Merlin forgot to knock and poked his head inside.

“Hello?”

“Come back tomorrow,” a weary voice said. Merlin had never heard so much heaviness in three words before.

He slipped into the room. An old man was sitting at a bench, head resting on his palm. He was pale, haggard, and looked exhausted when he looked up at Merlin.

“I’m not seeing patients today.”

“Oh no, um, I’m not a patient. I did have this letter, but I lost my bag, and well-,”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Merlin.”

“Hunith’s son?”

“Yes!” Finally, something felt like it was back on script.

“You were supposed to be here on Wednesday.”

“I,” Merlin bit his lip. “I got lost.”

The old man – Gaius, Merlin presumed – sighed heavily. “Maybe it would’ve made a difference. Maybe not.”

“Sorry?”

Gaius shook his head. “No matter. Come in then, boy.”

Merlin moved awkwardly through the chamber. His hip bumped at a table, setting flasks rattling that made Gaius scowl, but he didn’t seem to have the inclination to do more than that. Once he stood in front of the table, Merlin looked around, unsettled by the atmosphere over Camelot.

“What’s happened?” he eventually blurted out, unable to keep it in any longer.

“You haven’t heard? No, I suppose you haven’t given that you’ve been travelling. Prince Arthur was killed last night. A witch, disguised as a renowned singer, put a dagger through his heart. She used magic: nothing could stop her.”

“Magic?” Stories of magic had always fascinated him, as if teasing a life he could’ve had if only he’d been born with power. Maybe his mother wouldn’t have sent him away if he’d had magic? He could’ve been useful to her, rather than a fatherless boy without a trade to learn.

“The king is grieving. The city, the kingdom, is grieving. He was much loved, and would’ve grown to be a strong king in time.”

“Right.” Merlin shifted from foot to foot. The grieve and anguish were clear to see on Gaius’ face, but Merlin didn’t know the person he spoke of. “Sorry.”

“Yes. Well. Now is not a good time for newcomers to enter the city, but I shall vouch for you. Keep your head down though. The king is mad with grief, and anyone vaguely suspected of having any connection to magic or sorcery of any kind is in grave danger.”

“No fear of that,” Merlin muttered. “What you see is what you get.”

He gestured to himself. Gaius followed his gaze. “Hmph. Well. I’ll ask the seamstress to run you up some shirts to replace the ones you’ve lost. You can work for me until we find you proper employment, but I doubt that will happen soon. Not with how things are. For now, there’s a room for you at the top of the stairs.”

Merlin trudged his way up the stairs. Evening was quickly drawing in and he unlatched the window, staring out. The lights glinting from the town below were beautiful, but there was an oppressiveness hanging over the town. Gaius was right: the entire place was grieving.

If only he’d gotten here a few days sooner, then... Then what? He could’ve done something? Merlin was painfully aware he was just a nobody. He didn’t have any talents other than getting lost in the woods and falling over his own feet.

The days of travelling took their toll, and he toppled into a dreamless sleep that night. It was only Gaius calling his name that drew him from his bed in the morning. It had been strange sleeping on an actual body, but it had soothed some of the aches of travelling.

“I got you water,” the physician told him. “You didn’t wash last night.”

“Oh, sorry.”

A large bucket was sitting on the edge of the table. Merlin wasn’t sure what happened, but he managed to catch it with his elbow, sending the entire thing clattering to the floor, the water flooding their feet. Blushing, Merlin fetched the mop while Gaius clucked his tongue.

Once they’d eaten, Gaius handed Merlin a pouch of herbs.

“I need you to take this into the town.” He gave specific instructions of where he needed to go and Merlin set off, knowing full well he’d never remember them.

Sure enough, he got lost. But it wasn’t as if there were people roaming the streets that he could ask directions from. The only ones he saw were guards or knights (or both – he wasn’t sure who was who). But their hands were on their weapons and their expressions were etched with anger. Merlin had no intention of approaching them.

Once he’d delivered the package, Merlin figured the safest thing to do was head back to the castle. He hadn’t even left the lower town when an almighty bang made him whirl around to see three armed men break into a small house. The splintered hinge gave away where they’d kicked it down.

Transfixed, Merlin watched, hardly daring to breathe. A minute later, a high-pitched scream filled the air. The men appeared, dragging a woman between them. She was fighting for all she was worth, but even her nails had no effect on the guards holding her.

“I don’t have magic, I swear. I’ve never used it! I don’t know anyone who has,” she begged.

“That’s not what our sources say,” one of the guards spat viciously. “Take her away: the king wants the pyres full again by sunrise.”

They brushed past so close to Merlin that one of the guard’s cloak caught his leg. Merlin hurriedly stepped back, but it only drew the attention of the soldier left behind.

“What are you doing skulking around on the streets? Some sort of collaborator, are you? Scrawny thing like you, I’ll take you in without backup even if you don’t have magic.”

Merlin almost laughed. If he had magic, he’d be able to show this soldier that he couldn’t be pushed around! No. No, if he had magic, his mother would never have sent him here. Or he would have done something differently: saved this precious prince, perhaps, and stopped the citadel becoming a place of terror.

It was only now, standing out in the street, staring at the guard, that Merlin could finally name the atmosphere that had been crushing down on him since leaving the castle. Fear. The residents weren’t just grieving their prince; they were terrified of stepping outside their doors. Given Merlin had just witnessed not even that being enough, he couldn’t blame them.

He’d heard the stories of Uther Pendragon’s war against magic. No child hadn’t, even outside of the kingdom. But now he was seeing it in action, seeing a king driven mad by grief and determined to make anyone that he could pay, even without evidence.

“I’m talking to you, boy!” A hand grabbed his collar, spinning him around until his chest hit the building behind him. All the air was driven from his lungs and Merlin gasped even as he felt the knight draw his arm up behind his back. “I’m going to throw you in jail, then if there’s any spare pyres in the morning, you can fill them. Better your head than mine!”

Merlin was too stunned by the sudden turn of events to even struggle as he was roughly manhandled back through the streets and into the castle. The guard took him a way he hadn’t yet been, and the cool air and damp smell gave away where they were heading. Sure enough, it was only minutes later when his hands and knees skimmed the floor of a small cell and the door clanged shut behind him.

Sighing, Merlin drew his knees to his chest, hugging them to keep warm. He couldn’t blame the man, not really. It hadn’t been anger in his eyes, but the same fear blanketing the rest of the kingdom. No doubt the king expected his orders to be carried out and the pyres filled, regardless of how many innocent people had to make up the numbers.

Still, it didn’t bode well for him. No one knew he was down here. In fact, only one person knew he was even in the city. Would Gaius realise what had happened when Merlin didn’t return to his chambers or would he presume his new ward had tired of the city already and fled to the surrounding countryside? Right now, that didn’t sound like a bad idea.

Despite the sobs coming from the cells next to his, despite the fear that he would accidentally get burnt the following morning, Merlin still managed to fall asleep.

Only to be awoken what felt like minutes later by the door clanging. He didn’t move, assuming some unfortunate soul was about to join him.

“You really are a complete idiot, aren’t you?”

The voice was familiar and Merlin looked up to see Gaius standing there, hands on his hips and a disapproving look on his face.

“How did you-,”

“Come on. Unless you want to still be here at dawn?”

Merlin didn’t need to be told twice. He followed the physician out of the cell, torchlight guiding them as they hurried back up the stairs. Merlin shivered.

“You were supposed to keep your head down,” Gaius chided. “What were you thinking?”

“They arrested that woman for no reason!” Merlin protested. He didn’t admit that he hadn’t done anything wrong. As that meant admitting he hadn’t done anything, and that wasn’t something he was proud of right now.

“Keep your voice down,” Gaius hissed, glancing around. “You do not want to draw attention right now.”

Neither of them spoke until they reached his chambers again. Merlin didn’t know what he was supposed to do or say, so stalked up to his new room, throwing himself down on the bed. The slow footsteps behind told him Gaius was coming up as well.

“Camelot isn’t usually like this,” he said slowly. “If you’d arrived a week, even two days ago, you’d have been met with a bustling city and her citizens, for the most part, happy. The prince’s murder is bad enough. By being killed by magic has just reignited all of Uther’s fears and anger. He wants revenge yet the murderer is already dead.”

“But they’re innocent people down there!” Merlin protested. “Surely he can’t wish to execute his own people?”

“I think what the king wants right now is to change fate. And he knows he can’t. So he’s doing what he sees as the only option left open to him. You’re lucky they didn’t give you a beating as well.”

“Yeah,” Merlin scoffed, “lucky.”

Gaius patted him on the shoulder. “Perhaps it’s best if you stay here today. It’s not safe for strangers to be wandering around.”

Merlin didn’t have any choice but to agree. He watched the sun rise through the small window, but when the screams and acrid smoke began filling the air, he shut it and turned away, disgusted by his own weakness.

But what could he do? He didn’t have any power or authority; he couldn’t help these people. All he could offer to do was jump into the flames for them and while he wasn’t a coward, Merlin wasn’t sure what good it would do.

He dozed for a while. Then made his way down to Gaius’ main chamber and spent most of the day pacing. The physician was gone but he’d left food and water behind, along with a few notes warning Merlin not to touch certain items due to their ability to ignite or combust. After his sleeve started smoking, Merlin took the rest of the warnings to heart.

He was restless and on edge by the time Gaius arrived. All of his complaints died when he saw the physician, though. Gaius looked every one of his years as he shuffled into the room, head bowed. He didn’t speak as he sank onto the bench but accepted the cup of water gratefully.

“You knew him well, didn’t you?” Merlin said, sitting down opposite him. “The prince?”

“I did,” Gaius said heavily.

“What was he like?”

“Headstrong. Stubborn. Proud. But a dedicated prince who’d do anything for his people. He would’ve been an excellent king one day, with a little guidance. Now, however, that future is snatched from us.”

Merlin didn’t know what to say to that, so he watched the flickering candle for a moment more. When it became obvious that Gaius wasn’t going to speak again, he got to his feet. The only thing Camelot had going for it right now was his new bed. Confined to chambers, Merlin thought he may as well use it.

It was strange being in a room high in the castle surrounded by stone. He’d never noticed the noises of the countryside until they disappeared here. It was silent, nothing to disturb him until Gaius’ loud harumph awakened him the following morning.

Merlin woke with a start to see the old man standing at the foot of his bed, scowling at him. “For someone with so few belongings, how have you made such a mess?” he scolded.

Merlin gave his best innocent shrug, one that still worked on his mother. “It just happened.”

“Get dressed,” Gaius said, throwing a shirt at him. “We’ve got somewhere to be.”

His tone was curt and grumpy. Merlin thought he looked tired, as if something had been disturbing him throughout the night. Following him down the stairs, Merlin wrote it off as the pressure of the last week. It can’t have been easy losing someone you’d cared for since they were a baby.

There was no time to stop for breakfast. Merlin followed Gaius out of the doors and through the castle. He hesitated when he recognised where they were.

“What are we doing here? Are you throwing me back in jail?”

“After the strings I pulled to get you released the first time? No, Merlin. Come on.”

All he could do was trail Gaius down the steps, shivering in the cool air. The cells were quiet and not even the guards were present. Merlin wondered out loud where everyone was.

“The entire kingdom is ordered to attend the burnings,” Gaius said curtly. He picked up a torch and went, not further into the cells, but down a corridor sloping even further into the ground. Bemused, Merlin dutifully went after him.

The cavern they entered was huge. Merlin could only gape, forgetting the cold, as he stared around.

“I know you’re here,” Gaius called. “Given that you’ve been calling me all night. Well, I’m here. And I brought the boy.”

Merlin stared. There was no one here. It wasn’t exactly a hospitable place either: who would live down here?

Then he got his answer.

In a rush of air that sent the torch flickering, something moved in the darkness. Something impossibly large and just impossible...

Merlin stumbled back, aware his mouth was hanging open. It couldn’t be, but it was, only that was impossible, yet...

“Is that a dragon?”

“How observant you are, for one not fully himself.”

Merlin was pretty certain if the cave wall hadn’t been behind him, he would’ve actually fallen over.

“It speaks?”

“It is a he,” the dragon rumbled, “who has a name, although not one he will gift to a broken child.”

“I’m not a child!” Merlin protested, then the full sentence caught up with him. “And I’m not broken, thank you very much.”

“Why did you call me here?” Gaius said wearily. “Now is not the time for me to be caught down here. Uther wouldn’t care how long I’ve kept his secrets.”

“Uther does not concern me,” the dragon said. “You failed to protect the prince. But it is of no matter.”

“No matter?” Gaius drew himself up, but the weariness still pressed down on him, lessening the effect somewhat. “Arthur is dead! That matters: that means everything.”

“No, it does not. For this is not how things were meant to be.”

“You don’t say.”

“Hang on,” Merlin interrupted. “Why am I broken?”

He was both insulted and offended. He knew he didn’t have a lot going for him, but that felt a pretty harsh thing to say to someone you’ve just met. Or something – he wasn’t sure how dragons classified themselves.

A low rumble made him wonder if the cave was about to fall in. It would be just his luck it would happen right now while he was standing in it. Then he realised it was the dragon laughing.

“You often wish for something you feel is lacking?” it – he – asked.

Merlin glanced quickly at Gaius. How could he admit that he sometimes wished he had magic so that he could fix things? Now, when so much hatred and fear were flying around because of one sorcerer. But his look seemed to say enough, for the dragon made a humming noise in the back of his throat.

“Your destiny has been stolen from you, young warlock.”

Gaius flinched. “Don’t call him that. Not now, not ever. The danger it puts him in! Why would you even say that?”

“Because it is what he is. Who he is. The threads of fate cannot be so easily unwoven by a mere mortal.”

When Merlin glanced at Gaius again, it was to find his new mentor looking as baffled as he felt. The dragon suddenly rose up onto his back legs, wings beating.

“Things will be made right again,” he declared.

Before Merlin could do anything, the dragon opened its mouth. A glow emanated from the deep within its jaws and it angled its head towards Merlin-

“Hey!” There was nowhere for Merlin to go. His heart thudded painfully and his chest heaved as he stared up. He thought he’d escaped the pyres, but to be roasted inside a cave...

It wasn’t fire that came from the dragon though. A golden mist twisted around Merlin, suffusing him in a surprising warmth. It was comforting even as he felt the power snake under his skin, flooding his body.

“Wha-?” he murmured, then toppled into oblivion.

-x-

Merlin struggled against the cords binding his wrists.

Wait...

He was in the clearing. Arthur was similarly tied... Arthur!

He was alive. For some reason, Merlin felt that was of the utmost importance, even more than usual. Like he’d lost him at some point.

He knew the prince wanted him to bide his time. If they could talk the man down, find a peaceful resolution, it would be better for everyone. Better for their captor, as Merlin’s magic and Arthur’s sword wouldn’t end him, but also better for Arthur. It was hard to start building a foundation for a kingdom where magic was accepted when every magic user still forced him to kill them just to stay alive himself.

Merlin’s magic didn’t tend to do very well at talking people down.

But as he twisted in his bonds, Merlin couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of de-ja-vu. He’d done this before. And it hadn’t ended well....

The sorcerer was murmuring to himself. Arthur was warning him not to get involved.

Merlin ignored them both.

He didn’t untie the rope: he split it with one word, immediately pulling his hands in front of him.

“You don’t want to do this,” he told the man, his voice steady as he walked forward.

“You’re a servant,” the sorcerer spat. “You can’t stop me.”

“Actually, I can.” Merlin let the apology for what was about to happen filter into his tone. “And I will. You see, I really can’t let you hurt him, and for some reason, I feel like sacrificing myself-,”

“Merlin!”

“- just won’t work this time,” he finished, ignoring Arthur. “So, I need you to stop, before anyone gets hurt.”

“Never!”

Merlin sighed. “When I say anyone, I meant you.”

Without further warning, he shot his hands forward, both palms facing towards the man. A silent whoosh of wind tore through the clearing and whatever counterspell the man tried to shriek was lost as the force slammed into him. He was lifted bodily into the air and sent hurtling across the clearing. Merlin winced as he hit a tree, but couldn’t deny he was relieved when the man didn’t get up again.

Swiping his hand through the air, he cut the ropes binding Arthur.

“You’re welcome.”

“I had it under control,” Arthur said. “We’re supposed to be talking to them, not throwing them through the air.”

Merlin shrugged. “I did warn him.”

“Honestly, Merlin, no one is going to run screaming from a warning from you.”

Merlin grinned. “You never know.”

He didn’t want to admit that a Druid would. Anyone who knew his true name wouldn’t underestimate his threats. But that wasn’t important right now.

“I’m just really glad you’re alive,” he said softly.

“It was one sorcerer; we’ve dealt with worse.”

Merlin shook his head. “I don’t know how to explain it, but... It’s good you’re alive.”

Arthur gave him that look that suggested he thought Merlin might be losing his mind.

“Right. Well. I’m glad to be alive, too. We should get home before you throw anyone else into trees.”

“You should visit Gaius,” Merlin said. “I think he’d like that. You mean a lot to him.”

“Are you sure that sorcerer didn’t hit you with some sort of spell? You’re being weird.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Stranger than usual, then,” Arthur said. He nudged him companionably before turning and walking off into the forest as if they hadn’t just been attacked. “Come on, then.”

“Yes, Sire,” Merlin said, but Arthur didn’t react to the sarcasm. Hurrying after his prince, Merlin cast the unconscious man one last look over his shoulder.

Why did it feel like this man had succeeded when so many others failed?

#febuwhump #febuwhump2025 #febuwhumpday7 #alternate time line self #bbc merlin #merlin fanfiction #merlin #arthur #gaius #kilgarrah #loopstagirl

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film-in-my-soul · 1 month ago

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Summary: Three times Merlin found and foiled a love charm, and one time he didn't need to.

Something Dumb to Do | 4,595 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: The cardinal rule of being a wedding planner is not falling in love with the bride or groom. Arthur's never had trouble with that rule.

Limerence | 5,352 | BeautifulFiction / @the-pen-pot

Summary: 'The potion in question was, as far as I can tell, of suitable strength to do its job. Merlin's power would have offered him no defence. There is, of course, one universal antidote against any magics that meddle in matters of the heart...' 'Which is?' Arthur demanded, raising his eyebrows. Gaius sighed, casting a tired, apologetic look in Merlin's direction. 'If the target of a love spell is already truly, deeply devoted to someone – if they love another without question or pause – then no spell can take hold.' 'You're saying that it didn't work because Merlin already loves someone?' The words felt thin between his lips, straining to get past the sudden, leaden feeling in his chest. It felt like someone had plunged their hand inside him and caught his heart in the cage of their fist, and Arthur was left breathless as he tried to speak around the awful sensation.

I Need An Adultier Adult to Successfully Adult | 5,406 | Pendragons Dragonlord (PseudoAuthor) / @pseudoauthor1

Summary: The second time he encountered the chemistry teacher AKA Arthur Pendragon, AKA Pratface, AKA Sexy Dude in a Lab Coat, it was because his students were yelling right outside of his class room. Also he's been avoiding Arthur ever since he came back six weeks into term, because well…reasons.

The One Where Arthur Sells Tongue Cuz Being Rich is Hard Life | 5,420 | derryere

Summary: Arthur sells make-out lessons at a boarding school.

Sort of a Tourniquet | 6,231 | Thursday_Next

Summary: Arthur gives Merlin a plastic ring as a joke. But what nobody knows is how much Merlin really likes wearing it. Modern AU with lots of pining.

The Wild Hunt | 6,471 | BeautifulFiction / @the-pen-pot

Summary: 'The Wild Hunt.' 'What?' 'The Wild Hunt are coming.' His voice sounded strange, both Merlin's and not, as if something far older spoke through his lips. The words carried, seeming to drift through the mist, and Arthur saw Gwaine get to his feet, hurrying around the bed-rolls to rouse everyone. 'That's a myth,' Arthur said, trying to ignore the way his heart tripped into a faster beat and his fingers felt fat with panic. 'A story to scare people from wandering too far into the woods at night.' Slowly, Merlin shook his head, seeming to blink back to himself as he struggled free of his bed-roll. 'No, it's not, and tonight, they ride.'

The Boy Next Door | 6,718 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: In which there is pining, Merlin bakes, Arthur borrows batteries he doesn't actually need, and did I mention the pining?

Made of Dreams and Bones | 7,476 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Arthur would have starved that first winter, if it weren’t for Hunith and her son.

Uncharted | 7,836 | BeautifulFiction / @the-pen-pot

Summary: Uther believed in power, gold and riches. Arthur believed in his people, his kingdom, and the idea that good men could make life better for everyone, not just the individual who sat upon the throne. Merlin shows Arthur that magic can save his kingdom in many ways, and Arthur comes to see how there are few in the world who love Camelot and its people as much as he does, except perhaps for the man at his side. Yet will either of them speak of the love that blooms between them, or will they hold their silence?

here is a brighter garden | 9,728 | ingberry / @ingberry

Summary: Arthur's favourite street in his new neighbourhood had these lovely little gardens. Lush, impossibly green and touched by magic. Wanting some of their magic for himself also led Arthur to the man who crafted them.

Isn't It Lovely How Artists Can Capture Us? | 10,762 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Arthur buys a painting at Gaius's antique shop, only to find that the subject is a wizard who's been trapped for over a century.

The Hardest Way Possible | 12,491 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Merlin's addicted to Craigslist, Arthur's looking for love in all the wrong places, and with a little help from their friends, they manage to get it together.

License to Thrill | 14,174 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Merlin's employees bet him the recipe for the most addictive cocoa in the world that he can't find out what the hot blond who comes into his chocolate shop does for a living within the month. He ends up getting far more than he bargained for.

The Gate of Memory | 14,494 | Destina

Summary: Merlin forgets to remember, until the time comes to remember once again.

Deliquesce | 14,612 | BeautifulFiction / @the-pen-pot

Summary: The creatures stepped forward, long, narrow muzzles agape. The sun did not deter them, merely setting their subtle scales agleam. Thick saliva dripped from their jaws, smattering on the ground, yet they did not lunge forward to strike. Instead, they waited, their gaze unblinking as they stared. At first, Arthur thought they watched the knights, but when he shifted his stance, their eyes did not follow him, Instead, it was someone behind him who held them captivated. Merlin.

As Long As We Have We | 17,517 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Arthur thinks he's going to have to spend Christmas alone--at least until he somehow acquires a whole house full of strays.

But It's a Good Refrain | 23,090 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Arthur doesn't care much about the popular radio program Dragon's Lonely Hearts until his ex-girlfriend calls in to slag him off and get advice. When he calls in and has an on-air argument with the host, it starts off more than he expected, including meddling friends, overinvolved fans, and maybe love.

Would You Be Mine, Could You Be Mine | 23,456 | lady_ragnell / @theladyragnell

Summary: Merlin does not want to invite the Prime Minister's son onto his show, even if he is an environmental scientist. Arthur does not want to admit that he has a crush on the star of Merlin's Castle, the most popular children's show in the nation. In which Merlin is Mr. Rogers, there is a bouquet of finger puppets, Freya and Gwaine hooked up years ago and neither of them wants to talk about it, and eventually everything turns out okay.

The Path Of A Pendragon | 32,828 | BeautifulFiction / @the-pen-pot

Summary: 'Magic will love you,' she whispered, pressing both palms to where Arthur lay curled inside her, almost ready, but not quite. 'With all its heart and of its own free mind, magic will love you, and you will love it in turn.' When Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic on a hunting trip gone wrong, it feels as if his world has been turned upside down. Yet a mother's love is a powerful thing, and her blessing even more so. Will Ygraine's little gift be enough to help him see that he truly cannot hate half of that which makes him whole?

Blog Info ☆ All 2024 Reclists ☆ 2023 Reclists

#merthur #merlin/arthur #bbc merlin #merthur reclist #reclist #fanfic reclist

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nyrasbloodyclover · 2 years ago

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speak now (daemon targaryen x reader)

cw: ?

a/n: HORRIFIED LOOKS FROM EVERYONE IN THE ROOM BUT I'M ONLY LOOKING AT YOU!!

I hated the man I was supposed to marry. Despised him. The way he spoke, the way he used his hands while explaining something he thought I didn't understand, the way he behaved around other Lords and Knights. Disgusting.

Thank Gods for The Rogue Prince. When I first saw him, it was during a tournament King Viserys organized. Daemon's armor was the only thing that occupied me during the whole tournament. Specifically, how he looked underneath all that metal. And besides that, he saw me, and something in his gaze was telling me that he wanted to do many things with me. To me.

I found out not long after that, in one of the rooms, somewhere in the labyrinth of the castle's hallways. He pinned me against the wall and I spread my legs for him like a common whore. His fingers felt like magic against my swollen cunt as I tried to keep quiet. He was rough and fast and I was clenching around his hand soon enough, while gripping his shoulder for support. Both of us almost ran away from that place, not looking at each other, but unspoken words were still there.

This was not the last time.

Days after that, my family made me marry some lesser known Lord and I was furious. But that was the natural order of things. Anyway, people I knew and the people I didn't all gathered to witness my death as I looked at that ugly imbecile I will soon call husband.

Daemon was watching too. He had a smug expression on his face, standing like the true Prince he was. Dear Gods, why couldn't I be someone important so they could marry me off to that deranged bastard. We locked eyes and his violet ones seemed to be hiding something.

Of course, my husband said he didn't like Prince Daemon because he had to be the center of attention wherever he was, even if he went to someone's wedding. Which was the case right now. But, fortunately for me, Princes are always invited.

Vows were exchanged and my husband smiled like he won a prize. What a man.

Food was tasteless, I was tired and my head hurt. Where was Daemon now?

Then I saw him in the crowd again and smiled for myself. If I could just get to him...We would need minutes and nobody would even suspect that we were gone. He probably read my thoughts when met his gaze over the crowded room and just shook his head, as if saying Not yet.

The wedding was over, Daemon left and I felt like someone beat me up. It was time for a beddibg ceremony and it wasn't that bad, since I imagined it was Daemon inside of me the whole time, touching and biting me. That made my husband think he was doing a good job.

Days after that were monotone and I drank moon tea that Daemon regularly sent without my husband knowing. If I got pregnant with that mans baby, I might just kill myself.

So, not a word from Daemon—Until one night.

I found a note on my side of the bed. It was from him. He gave me no information about where he was or what his next move might be. Just to get off of my husband's property.

So I did. I went to my aunt for a couple of days, I was meaning to visit her anyway, so this was a perfect opportunity.

But when I got back, my husband was nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere, but it was pointless. Not even the guards or the servants knew where he was. I was called to court the next day. Not even the king knew where my husband was.

Then Daemon Targaryen slipped a note in my palm and brushed past me like nothing happened.

It was a map. A map leading to the place where we were the last time together, alone. I waited in the small room and when he finally opened the doors I started asking him questions.

"What is the meaning of this, Daemon?"

"I thought I maybe deserve one 'Thank you' for everything that led to this moment? No?"

Then it went to my head. I whispered hysterically, "What did you do to him?"

"Me? Nothing. But two very loyal spies were quite useful."

"My gods, you killed him!"

His face transformed once a smug smile spread across his face. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You look absolutely ravishing when you're excited."

"I'm not excited," she lied, "What is going be with me now?"

"Well, you're going to spend some time with us, meaning me,of course, and when you find a proper suitor, you'll marry him and I'll pay him a visit. And when I do that, you're going to return to the court and so on." He looked very proud of his plan. Daemon was insane.

Whatever, she had a couple of months with him and they aren't going to go to waste.

She kissed the prince, pulling his head down so she could reach his lips, and his mouth immediately opened, pushing his tongue inside of hers. He gripped her waist and slammed her against the wall, making something fall down and break. She flinched, but they never separated.

Then there was a knock. "My prince, is everything all right?" A loud voice. Probably a maid. "Prince Daemon?" She knocked again. He smiled, but said nothing.

"Make her leave!" I whispered to him.

He just kept smiling like a fool. "You are unbelievable! You have to say something! Daemon, speak. Now." If he doesn't say something, she's going to open the door and see them, see her, a lady whose husband went missing, doing gods know what with the prince.

I am going to regret this. I started faking my moans and whimpers, making Daemon's eyes grow wide in shock, then his lips curved in a daring smile. She smiled back at him as she continued to fake her moaning.

The maid was traumatized. "I am so sorry, my prince!" And she left running, probably embarrassed.

I started laughing, my head falling back as Daemon's hand gripped my jaw and pulled me in for another kiss that led to him taking off my dress and pulling my hair. He covered my mouth with his palm as he thrusted mercilessly inside me.

That is also how the couple of next moths looked for me, until I got married again and he sent his spies again.

#daemon targaryen #daemon targaryen x reader #daemon x reader #daemon x you #hotd #hotd fanfic #hotd x reader

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dgrailwar · 9 months ago

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Round 8, Day 1 - ALL TEAMS (but mostly Team Pretender) - [ TRUE NAME DISSOLUTION ]

Team Pretender chooses to trigger the Pretender's True Name Dissolution! Oberon's gameplay style, personality, skills, and perhaps even the current state of the Grail War will cha--

"Ahh… you're sure? This would be a pretty nasty spoiler… I mean, might spoil things in a pretty nasty way."

"Well, if you say so. Let's put up a curtain, just in case anyone wants to remain in this illusion of bliss."

Ah. So you decided to keep reading? Good. I hope you're ready. Because in exchange for visuals, you'll have to live with words.

You watched as the form of 'Oberon' began to decay, his form withering and rotting away into dark, pulpy matter. The process was vile and agonizing, the smell of sloughing sinew and blackening bones filling the forest. The bugs crawled to the disgusting carcass, worming their way in, making nests and feasting greedily as the fairy king dropped to the earth, his body no more than a dark puddle that slowly grew in size, before rising.

Rising, and rising.

A swarm of darkness, rising and rising.

A vile king, an abyssal worm, rising above the digital space.

An empty entity that loathed existence itself. An eternal pit that swallowed worlds.

And as naught but innocent bystanders, the Masters could only watch in horror, for how could they have known this would happen?!

Hah!

Yeah, right. That's horseshit.

Of course they knew what would happen. They just didn't care. Not about the others, or how things would change. That's human nature, you know? Ruin things because it seems interesting at the moment. That's the simple fact of the matter.

They probably looked on proudly. 'We did it!', they would declare, 'We summoned such a mighty and powerful Servant, and none will stand in our way', they probably proclaimed. Or, perhaps even more naively (and perhaps even worse), 'Our friend now has the power to win'! Blegh. Anyways.

Then, as the audience is given a beat to grapple in the horror of the scenario, in a manner of surprising comedic timing they would check their Command Spells… and they would be gone.

'Gone? How could they be gone?', would be the question buzzing in their minds, panic beginning to settle in. Of course, the answer was simple.

That giant abyssal creature did not exist, and yet did exist. A 'hole', only truly meant for a Lost World.

Anyways, do you want a big explanation on how each Servant suffers and dies under the curse, and how the Grail crumbles and withers into itself, reverting to nothing, and how the magical energy suffused by this dark entity breaks free from this digital prison, dooming this world? I mean, I could. Sure.

But why bother? It's basically settled. Here.

What was that thing that Shakespeare had Puck say at the end of that bullshit play?

"If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream."

It's over. You can leave now.

The dream is done.

The Abyssal Wyrm comes and everyone dies. Meaning you've reached a...

I said you can go.

Leave, shoo. Go away.

There's not much past this, so bye.

…Hah! Fine. I lied. I mean, obviously. What a shit ending that would be otherwise. Let's keep it 'sporting', then. This whole farce makes me want to puke, so I need to let out my anger on someone before this ends. Ah- wait, this is narration. No more 'I'. Let's stay detached, lest this become a monologue.

Now, let's settle the matter of where this story stands.

There was the melting, the decay, the ruination of the idea of 'Oberon'. Check.

The insects feasting, nesting, and crowding on his decaying body, a ritual to send his body to the earth, and arise anew. Duh.

The vanishing Command Spells, as you realized that your connection was nothing more than a scam. Of course.

The giant abyssal creature looming over the horizon. Obviously.

That stuff happened. Remember it.

But the Servants didn't die (yet).

The digital space wasn't swallowed by darkness (yet).

All isn't lost (yet).

Those were lies. Though, if I'm the one saying it…

Ah, whatever. Now... how did these sort of things go for the others? Right, right.

Behold, the vile king of the abyss. He who resides wherever 'emptiness' lies. The wrath of the Planet, given form and cursed with eternal loathing and hollow truth. He who only should have existed within the confines of the Lost World, as he has no role within human history. He, made of lies, sheds his farcical shell. He who makes you go 'Oh, we, uh, should have summoned the Archetype of the Planet for this one' with dumb mouths agape!

Behold, the end of worlds and dreams. The one who fells the morning lark. The one who consumes the evening shroud. The one who devours the twilight.

Behold--

The Extra Class of Endless Deceit, Pretender!

#team pretender #team avenger #team mooncancer #team foreigner #team alter ego #team ruler #team gunner #overseer post

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foxglovepng · 9 months ago

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TWST Overblot theory

CW: Spoilers book 6-7, this post is really long btw, Spoilers spoilers SPOILERS Spoilers for Malleus's age, grim boss theory.

So while I was going through book 6 (This was like when it came out) Idia made an observation and he theorized someone could be inciting these overblots. I looked over it as to what he said after made sense but I watched a theory from Rose Ember in which she discussed a time loop theory. I wanted to throw in my own two cents about an overblot theory I had been thinking about.

(As of making this post it is May of 2024 I am not up to date on any JP chapters, Crowley's card, or Heartslabyul manga book 4-Octavinelle. All of my sources I will be putting as I am taking direct game quotes)

I also would love it if at least some of you guys read this post and reblog I would love to hear y'all's opinions on this. I never seen people really look into it and I want to maybe bounce ideas off of some people on what's really going on.

Just remember all of this is just a theory...A GAME THEORY (RIP Matpat we love you king)

(Book 6 ch51) Idia was talking about how absurd it is that 5 (5 overblots up to this point) Coincidentally happened in 6 months "Overblots can happen when the caster overuses magic and builds up too much blot while experiencing intense negative motions" "It's a cascading effect that stretches back years." "And the thing that triggers emotional outbursts is the hardest to quantify our innermost feelings, or 'heart', so to speak a persons heart is the one thing we can't control no matter how hard we try." Idia's exact words. Now going with that statement and saying all of the overblots are just merely a "Coincidence" let's examine and analyze the overblots and why they happened.

Riddle

(HIS SAILOR MOON OF AN OVERBLOT TRANSFORMATION IS SO COOL IN THE MANGA.) Riddle's overblot obviously happened because his authority was being challenged as the housewarden from Ace going in a duel against him to everyone else getting fed up with his rules to defying him. Not to mention with the deep severe ties with his mother and her rules he well overblots.

Leona

His overblot happened because of his failed plan to basically kill off Malleus (He really pulled a long live the king here) from my understanding he gave up and the Savanaclaw students were like 'tf why?' he turned into an angry kitty and the feelings of being the second born prince and all that trauma raised up especially when Lilia went off on him (I fully blame Lilia for this). And he overblots.

Azul

His overblot happened from when Leona used his UM on Azul's contracts and blipped them away basically. When this happened he went back to that time when he was being bullied and was no longer powerful like he is now.

Jamil

Jamil's happened because well Azul thought it was cute to live stream his whole plan to the world exposing the fact that Jamil was essentially going to betray Kalim and well his deep-rooted years of being merely a 'servant' came up and he overblotted.

Vil

He overblotted because he basically lost to neige and was attempting to kill him (Almost killed Rook and the others). He accepted he had lost to him and will always lose to him and just snapped.

Malleus

He overblotted because of the announcement Lilia was leaving and retiring to Red Lagoon (Okay just leave your kids...ig?). I also want to say Yuu's announcement added to it because well Malleus is a lonely dragon who just wants friends and someone who is basically his father announced he's leaving and his friend outside of Diasmonia is leaving too.

Idia isn't in this list for a reason will get on with that later.

When it comes to all of these overblots in a certain sense none of them make sense as to HOW they happened. Coincidentally how is it that 7 students overblot in a school year especially with how rare they apparently are supposed to be. With them being 16-18 (Leona being 20 and Malleus being 178) You'd figure the eldest third years know the most to be careful. Plus if the staff is doing their job correctly all the students know to be careful right?

If it happened like once in a year that's understandable but 7 coincidentally? Leona had 4 years to overblot why all of a sudden??

I also want to point out something whenever blot would get built as far as I'm concerned they wouldn't even be using magic (Just having a negative emotion) and blot would built. Going by all the patterns from the overblots they get pissy it builds up they use their UM BOOM overblot. I think someone is personally targeting people to build up negative emotions purposefully and then they use a lot of magic which causes it. Having a UM like this could be entirely possible because look at the facts.

Book 2. It makes sense Ruggie would overblot rather than Leona. He just drank a potion that enhances his UM he was mad struggling he just GOT betrayed by Leona makes sense for him to overblot right? Not to mention during the Camp vargas events Overblotting was such a huge concern with just via their magic so why would the staff risk putting MANY students at risk of an overblot if they knew it wouldn't happen.

I also want to add Idia has a curse which has him burn blot and he was the first in hsi family to break that and overblot. However in order for him to thrive he needs to build it it's most likely being in Tartarus he built too much than he could burn off. (In Ch 6-51 it is also stated curses, and sealed phantoms getting lose can cause overblots as well meaning negative emotions and building power aren't the only causes to an overblot) There is a possibility from being around too many phantoms he built too much, but even then his family curse could have been burning blot during his overblot so Idia was probably never meant to overblot by any normal means (However if his curse wasn't burning off blot foul play could be involved)

Going by these facts the theory in question is a possible UM that affects negative emotions to be built up more and possibly a mood change. OR there is a pause on how blot is released causing it to build up.

(Has it ever been stated on how normal humans release blot if it's been built up...?)

ANOTHER THING. JP SPOILERS BTWWWW.

I cannot confirm my sources with this one so please take this with a grain of salt. I came across a post (I CANT FUCKING FIND IT) in which it translated if Malleus's ob doesn't end he will basically become the no. 1 enemy to society (Basically pulling an Eren jaeger). He's very powerful so you'd assume he's very mindful about overblotting especially if he's going to become the no.1 enemy of humanity.

I have some theories on who could be doing this.

1. Crowley

CROWLEY? Him and my other suspect are battling for first place but let me state my reasoning.

For the exception of Book 3, 4, 5? and 6? he was not present during the overblots and was basically useless. However he was present for book 1, 2, and 7. I put a question mark near 5 and 6 even though he was not present he was still in the general area. Via he was brought to Styx and he was DEFINITELY there at the VDC since it was a school event. book 3 and 4 he was for sure not present for.

We quite literally know nothing about him not to mention he's kind of a jerk face and will do anything to save his ass. For Jamil's and Azul's overblot this goes into hand that he could have activated his UM beforehand on them and the overblot started.

Not to mention during book 5 the headmaster of RSA was like "Bro I sense heavy magic presence" and Crowley was like "Naw you mad tweakin homie."

Two thing

He's Fae.

He has to be as old as Lilia or younger. But he definitely has at least 300 years of existence in his age.

HES A LITERAL HEADMASTER FOR A MAGIC SCHOOL

Meaning he DEFINITELY can sense magic so for him to blatantly ignore the blot sense with Vil either he was protecting his ass from losing his job or he is hiding something. Especially since it was an overblot If Malleus's magic was that good Crowley would have either sensed Vil's overblot or Malleus's Magic.

(If I'm correct an anonymous tip was sent in to Styx to check out NRC the anon in question was possibly RSA headmaster as it makes sense)

2. Ortho

Stay with me here

Ortho is from Styx and obviously Styx investigates overblots what if styx itself is causing overblots so they can study them and they are using Ortho.

Since Idia was theorizing about the Obs there is a possibility that he is not in the plan and it's Ortho plus his family and styx staff that's all in the plan.

(They could have gone too far with Malleus's)

It's merely a theory and I have no evidence to back this up

3. Grim

Quoting Idia's exact words ahem..

"He is seriously mediocre in every single way." "The preliminary report of him being a dire beast with high cost of blot density checks out, though." "He's a magical fusion of a direbeast, and some kind of animal." "He's as lackluster with magic as he looks...and his blot density COULD be phenomenally high."

Ahem okay.

So as we know Grim is a fusion with what could be a Direbeast and possibly a cat. Going back to exhibit A in which Idia said loose phantoms could cause an overblot he could be affecting the blot levels around him Yuu being the only one not affected since Yuu isn't from said world.

Some Cons tho

Using this logic Ace would overblot as well same as Deuce hence why I think he is the least likeliest but it does make sense as eventually Grim does interact with the overblot squad.

4. Yuu

STAY WITH ME STAY WITH ME OKAY

Yuu comes from different world and are trying to actively escape using their new plan MICKEY. However it doesn't exactly explain how Yuu got there since well 1 they are from a different world how would a horse basically cross the multiverse (Unless the Magic mirror is scheming against Crowley and needs Yuu's help that's a different conversation) we know jack shit about Yuu. HOWEVER Yuu could be subconsciously activating overblots since they are prom a foreign world (I'm basically thinking of that one mickey game with the ink brushes EPIC MICKEY) except Yuu causes them.

Cons tho.

As per the manga every Yuu is different every chapter and this would highly contradict (Also how tf are there multiple Yuu's?) not to mention Ace and Deuce would also OB.

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anittmyer · 4 months ago

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Alright! Here is some more angst for Daemags!!!!

(Some context first: Daeron and Maglor were able to have children through magical means due to Daeron being half Maia, their prowess in song as well. They basically sang their kids into creation. What a vibe. They have two daughters and twins boys. Since this AU Maglor doesn't swear the oath, I need hard angst to get him on on track to lonely self exile.)

'When Daeron learns of Beren's death, he is so consumed by guilt and shame that he leaves Doriath in the night, abandoning his family.'

Maglor is woken up by a herald of Thingol, telling him the king demands to speak with him. He checks his twins in their cradles before following the herald to the throneroom of Doriath. Only Thingol and Melian are present, but the queen has a sad and distant look on her face, while Thingol seemed stern and angry.

"Daeron has fled Doriath. His actions killed the man Luthien finds.. love with." The statement is clear, yet with a hint of disgust. Maglor's face turned pale and cold. His husband had abandoned them...

"Luthien won't return to Doriath if her brother's spouse resides. So. Maglor. You are to return to your brother in Himring immediately. "

The King's orders sent a cold spike through Maglor. First his husband abandons him and their children, and now he is being sent away... again... First by his father and now by his father-in-law.

Maglor bows his head trying to hide his tears from King Thingol. He must not cause trouble. He must not cause trouble.

"As you wish my King... maybe I be excused? I must prepare my children for-"

Maglor was cutoff by Thingol standing from his throne abruptly and making his way over to the Noldor elf.

"The children will not be going with you."

The words echoed in the hall. Maglor felt his heart stop and fall. His children... the elflings he'd had since he and his husband sang them into creation. All four of their children were born in a glade of purple moon flowers under Ithil. Their voices would be hoarse, but it was worth the new addition to their family.

His eldest daughter, Winyárissë (Fresh Dawn), so strong and fierce, more ready to hold a sword and bow, her love for her black steed she had raised with Maglor's help. Her black hair and light brown eyes made her out to be a beautiful raven-like nìs. His second daughter, Harmië (Treasure) a seemingly opposite to her older sister, a sweet girl and an artist. A lover of jewlery and dresses, she was a clumsy dancer but loved to dance all the same. Maglor could watch her dance forever... She was silver haired with bright grey eyes, almost as if they contained tree light. And then his twins... his two little boys... not looking like each other at all: Lahtarion (Surpasser), with his dark hair from Maglor and a singular silver streak and beautiful brown eyes from Daeron. And Luhtano (To echant), with his silver hair but two different colored eyes, one a stormy grey and the other a deep rich brown. The twins were still so young... still small enough to sleep in a cradle. And Thingol was demanding him to leave his children? All because Daeron made a stupid and rash decision!?

"B-but sire... they are my children! I-i can't just leave them! They need-"

Meglor was once more cut off by the king. His stone cold face held no sympathy.

"The children will reside in the care of Queen Melian, she will provide for them. You however must leave Doriath." Thingol looked down on the shorter elf. He felt the smallest shred of pitty for him, but his daughter came before his son's foreign bride.

"Please do not make this harder than it has to be. Gather your personal items and leave. A servant has already fetched and prepared your horse. I'm sorry but this is the way it must be."

Thingol said with his head held high. Maglor couldn't believe what was happening... Thingol had this already planned. He should have known the Doriathrim would never accept him.

"Can I at least say goodbye...?" Maglor asked, tears covered his pale cheeks and his hands shook.

. . . . .

ANNNNNDDDD I'll stop it there! I will release the entire short story on my AO3 soon! I will tag it here when I post it!

#lotr #lord of the rings #silmarillion #tolkien #headcanon #maglor #thingol #melian #daeron of doriath #daemags children #daemags

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overlyspecific · 7 months ago

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Part 11 of Merlin Hood

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 12

Sometimes life is fair and sometimes you are Morgana Pendragon. If the fact that she had to hide her very powerful magic and the only other person she knew with magic was forced to flee into the forest wasn’t enough, she now had to watch as her servant/newly realized love flirted with a very handsome man. She was so distracted by the thought of it, she didnt realize said object of her desires had entered.

Gwen: *still smiling* Hello, my lady.

Morgana: *trying to pretend like she didn’t jump a mile when Gwen spoke* Hello, Gwen.

Gwen: Is something wrong, my lady? You look a little pale.

Morgana: Gwen, dear, we are alone. You can call me Morgana.

Gwen: Sorry, my-Morgana, habits.

Morgana finds that the room has gotten tense and wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for wiping a smile off of Gwen’s face so she tries to hide her sadness.

Morgana: Lancelot seems like a nice fellow.

Gwen’s smile returns to her face and Morgana tries not to let her heart shatter from it.

Gwen: *a little timid* yeah, he is sweet. *a small blush appears on her cheeks* he even kissed my hand when he left

Morgana: *turning her back on Gwen to hide her facial expression* oh wow that’s forward of him

Gwen: *not noticing anything wrong with Morgana* yeah, i thought Leon was going to chase him away but we were lucky he bought our lie that Lancelot is from a neighboring town.

Morgana: oh, Leon is on guard? I need to speak with him.

Morgana jumps at the opportunity to leave the situation and makes for the door.

Gwen: Morgana.

Morgana: *stopping at the door and turning back to Gwen* yes, Gwen?

Gwen: if i’d done anything to upset you, you’d tell me, right?

Morgana: right. i’m just worried about Merlin that’s all. you’ve done nothing wrong.

Morgana rushes out, leaving Gwen alone in her chambers feeling out of place without knowing why.

Back in the woods, a hundred feet from the entrance to the ruins, Arthur and Gwaine are hiding in a bush.

Arthur: I can’t believe I didn’t figure out sooner that you would be one of the forest ruffians that trampses around with Merlin.

Gwaine: technically you didn’t figure it out and Merlin does most of the trampsing.

Arthur: shut up! i see something. *Arthur points at the entrance to the ruins*

Aredian exits the ruins with his face a shade redder than a tomato.

Aredian: *ranting loudly to himself* Never in my life- in all my years- who even knows all the words to the tavern songs- If the king wants answers so bad, he’s going to have to get them himself!

Aredian angrily makes his way to his horse and rides off in the direction of Camelot.

Gwaine: well, that was easy.

Arthur: *looking around confusedly* usually these things take longer or something bad happens…

Gwaine: Usually you don’t have Merlin though *gestures to the ruins* come on!

Arthur puts aside his uneasy feeling and enters the ruins after Gwaine. Neither of them notice a figure shrouded in a deep violet cloak watching them from the tree line. The cloaked figure raises their hand and a large slab of rock seals the entrance, trapping them all inside.

Sorry things in this part got a little bit angsty with Morgana’s POV. There also might be a little more angst to come with Gwaine, Arthur and Merlin all being trapped together but don’t worry ill be sure to cut it with some light-hearted humor.

#bbc merlin #merthur #merlin #arthur #merlin is robin hood #arthur pendragon #gwaine #lancelot #gwen #morgana #leon

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restlessmaknae · 9 months ago

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came the light // lee byounggon [bx]

As a princess in exile with a bad reputation, you can't understand why Byounggon would want to spend time with you, but there's no stopping him, let alone the feelings that he evokes in you.

➳ Characters: magical medic!Byounggon x princess!reader/you

➳ Genre: romance, fantasy, magical realism, kingdom au, angst, fluff

➳ Words: 10.2k

➳ Warning: mentions of fire, having a fever, arranged marriages, a prince grabs reader by the wrist without permission

➳ Spotify playlist (title is taken from 'Here For You' by CIX)

➳ A/N: This story had the third most votes in my recent poll, so I hope it lives up to your expectations. 🥰

Check out the fall into you, my abyss // CIX magical kingdom series masterpost!

➳ CIX taglist: @wccycc, @dat-town, @tsunchani, @s00buwu

You were 18 years old when your parents first tried to wed you off to a prince, but his timid self stood no chance against someone like you - someone whose words were like knives aimed perfectly at his heart, cutting into his insecurities and weaknesses. The wedding proposal was called off right after your first encounter with him.

You were 20 years old when your parents tried to wed you off to a prince from a different kingdom, hoping that the rumours about you that had spread over the years died down enough to not scare his family away. You might have spoken with knives, but Prince Sangdo didn’t obey any rules, he overruled them. Even if you asked him to keep his distance - to respect your privacy -, he didn’t listen to you. A week before the wedding was supposed to happen, he visited the palace, he visited you in your chambers uninvited, and what happened afterwards put an end to this wedding as well.

You didn’t regret it one bit - in fact, you wished Prince Sangdo could have rotted in a faraway place -, but it was you who was sent far away from your kingdom, from the cages of the palace where you had grown up. You were sent to Medicalia - the kingdom where some people possessed magical healing powers. Magical medicine was mostly used on the members of the Medicalia royal court including the royal family and the royal army, plus magical creatures that lived in the woods or in the mountains - such as fairies, unicorns and werewolves - or serving the kingdom - such as dragons guarding the palace. Magical medicine was also extremely rare since only magic practitioners could deal with it because they were the ones born with the ability to tame magic, but even they needed thorough practice and extensive training to be able to make use of their abilities to their full potential.

At least, that’s what you were told when you were ordered to pack up and leave after an exchange of letters between the two kingdoms. The magic in your kingdom - Animalia - lied in the ability to tame and speak to animals, and that’s exactly why most kingdoms were always indebted to you. You sent people to other kingdoms to tame their animals - such as the dragons guarding the royal palaces and the unicorns that had an excellent smell to detect magical plants - you shared your magic with them whereas it was extremely rare for other kingdoms to share their magic with others. For instance, Medicalia reserved their magical medics for the royal court while Naturalia boosted the magic of nature, and the trading of their magical plants was limited to their kingdom only.

That’s why it was ridiculously easy to send you into exile in another kingdom, and the only thing your father - the King - said before leaving was to not make more trouble. You were sent off in a carriage with a coachman and a servant, not even a royal guard was sent with you. Then again, what could they possibly guard? You weren’t worth their protection, for sure. You didn’t need to be told that you were only one mistake away from being disowned by your own parents since you were an asset, nothing else. A strategic move, the key to a strengthened connection between kingdoms and a woman forced into producing heirs.

The carriage suddenly came to a halt, but since the curtains were closed, you couldn’t peek outside. Based on the coachman’s muffled conversation from outside, you had a feeling that you were about to go through the gates of Medicalia’s royal court as it was around time you arrived.

A few minutes later, the carriage stopped again, but this time, there was a thud as the coachman got off the carriage and opened the door. He reached his hand out to help you down before doing the same for the servant girl they sent with you.

“They have sent word that we arrived, so they will be here soon to guide you to your… new home,” the elderly man laughed nervously after he stumbled upon the word. Indeed, what could he call it? Home? Runaway hideout? Prison?

You could feel the curious eyes on you as you stood there with the coachman and the servant girl in front of the carriage with your kingdom’s symbol painted over it, waiting for someone to show you to your place. Even though it was kept secret why you were coming here in the first place, you knew that these things didn’t stay a secret for long - at least, not in your kingdom.

“Is she the princess from Animalia?”

“She looks younger than I thought.”

“Is it true that she nearly killed a prince?”

You looked the woman in the eye who asked the last question, and she immediately sealed her lips, grabbing the arm of the woman beside her and turning around to go in the opposite direction. Your gaze didn’t waver, you looked straight into the wandering eyes of the strangers - court ladies, soldiers and servants passing by - with your chin up high. You only seemed weak when you let it show, and you didn’t let it show.

Most, if not all, people looked away when you caught their eyes, and it was almost amusing how they scampered away when they realised that you heard them. So naive of them to assume that you shut not just your ears but your eyes to the rumours around you.

There was one particular boy - a young man probably around your age - who stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of you, squinting his eyes at you. You looked back at him, taking in the messy midnight locks that stuck to his forehead, his sharp jawline that was in contrast to the bright, gentle edge to his almond-shaped eyes, his plump lips that failed to curl into a disapproving line like most people’s who caught your eyes. He wore a burgundy-black tunic that seemed to match the ones others were wearing around you, but it seemed more practical with its bat-wing sleeves than elegant, so you had a feeling that he wasn’t of royalty.

You tilted your head, still keeping the eye-contact, and that’s when he looked away as if he was suddenly reminded of why he was passing by, and started running again. You furrowed your eyebrows in question. What was that about?

You shook your head as a court lady came up to you to assist you with your baggage and show you to your place. You had a medium-sized room to yourself in the court with a bathroom attached to it, the rooms on your end still unoccupied and waiting for possible future guests, except for the one that they reserved for the servant girl who came with you. You were told that the Queen would welcome you the following day, and the same court lady who escorted you would bring you breakfast, lunch and dinner from the royal court kitchen, you wouldn’t need to fetch it yourself.

You thanked the young woman with a bow and a polite smile, and you saw surprise flash across her orbs as she let you settle into your new room. You didn’t ponder over the change in her expression for long, you were used to it after all. The cautious glances in your direction, the nasty gossip behind your back, and the sugarcoated words to coax you into a favour.

Too bad you weren’t one to play the dumb and ignore it all, you stood up for yourself, but that’s exactly what your parents disapproved of, that’s exactly why you were here.

Days passed by, and you seemed to fall into a routine in the meantime. In the morning, you would go for a walk in the garden of the royal court, sitting by the pond as the sun rose on the horizon, breaking the plain surface of the water into many different colours of ripe orange, rose-gold and wild apple-red. The court was tranquil at this time around, and that’s exactly what you needed. Apart from the kitchen staff who woke up early to prepare breakfast, others weren’t up around this time, so you didn’t need to bear more curious glances and more nasty accusations.

After your morning stroll, you would head back to your room, have breakfast, then read until lunchtime. Afternoon was served for whatever purpose the palace had for you: the day after you arrived, you met the Queen, after that, you met Princess Jinhee, on the third day, you were shown to the library of the court (a smaller version of what the royal family had at the palace, but nevertheless as impressive), and today, you were on your way to meet with the ladies who took care of handiwork including embroidery, sewing and tailoring.

The Queen said that these first few days will be about showing you around the court, so you knew whom to ask in need of assistance, and so that the court members could become familiar with you. You didn’t ask whether it was to dissuade their gossip or not, but you didn’t need to know that. After all, it was a wise suggestion on her part, and it wasn’t something you had complaints about. Here, you could freely roam around (with your servants following you if needed), you could spend time reading and painting in your room, and no one would ask you why. Here, you could bathe and clean yourself, you could choose and put on your clothes yourself, you didn’t need others to do it for you. Here, you could eat whatever they offered you, your meals didn’t go through your mother’s restricting wishes.

This day too, you were followed by Huisoo - the servant girl who came from Animalia with you - and Sieun showed the way - the servant girl who was appointed to you in Medicalia - as always, but as you turned a corner, the young man with the squinted eyes from last time halted beside you, his mouth forming a big ‘O’ as he caught sight of you.

“Are you the princess from Animalia?” He asked enthusiastically, and if you didn’t know any better, you would assume that he had heard only good things about you before.

When you nodded, still cautiously watching out for the change in his body language, his lips curled into a smile, the kind that made his eyes disappear. Then, he put his hands on his abdomen before bowing in a 90 degree angle towards you.

“My name is Lee Byounggon. I work as a magical medic for the royal family, so if you need any assistance magical medicine-wise, do not hesitate to ask for me,” he introduced himself when he straightened his back, the smile not fading from his lips. Despite his otherwise sharp and cold features from the day you had gotten here, he seemed gentle and warm now. The way he approached you also showed that he wasn’t one of those court members who passed by you as quickly as possible, he introduced himself head-on. He was the first one to do so which made you question:

“Aren’t you scared of me? You must have heard the rumours.”

Byounggon either didn’t seem fazed by your question or he was prepared for it because his facial expressions didn’t change. He was also really easy to read, something that you had not been so used to since so many in the royal circles put on facades to hide behind including you.

“You know… I have a special ability,” the magical medic took one tiny step towards you as if he was about to tell a secret. “I can see into people’s souls through their eyes,” he added with a smile, but you merely rolled your eyes. Even though you were not born and raised here, you knew that such magic didn’t exist here or anywhere else for that matter.

Byounggon also sensed that you didn’t believe him in the slightest because he burst into laughter in the next second, and only when he composed himself, did he continue.

“I’m just kidding, but really… you don’t look like you wanted to hurt that prince, not on purpose for sure,” he explained rather candidly, and you didn’t feel like he was lying. Lies could be covered up with smiles, laughs, sarcasm, diverting the topic or simply escaping the situation, but he… he didn’t look like he was telling a fib.

“You don’t know anything about me,” you pointed out rather coldly nevertheless, your tone intended to lash out at him.

“That’s exactly why I don’t believe the rumours. Why should I judge you when I don’t know you?”

You weren’t one to get surprised, but this did take you aback. The way he said it so unwaveringly was new, unfamiliar. You weren’t used to it, especially not after what had happened to Prince Sangdo. Byounggon didn’t seem like he had ulterior motives to be trusting you like that, but you couldn’t let your guard down over one supportive line.

So you excused yourself, explaining to the magical medic that you were on your way to the handiwork ladies, and told the servants that you could go on. The young man seemed saddened by your sudden announcement, but he did let you go, waving in your way as you were walking away from him.

You were sitting by the pond as always, watching the sunrise a few days later. It would be another day you spent away from Animalia, and you had this pang in your chest that you couldn’t explain. You didn’t miss how you used to live in that palace, you didn’t miss the bravado you had to put on to seem like an obedient, perfect little daughter, you didn’t miss the way you were mocked for not having magic in your veins when both your parents - your mother could tame fire because she was from Elementalia and your father could talk to animals because he was from Animalia - and your sister did. Until the day your magic had surfaced, at least. Afterwards, you were a curse, the mistake in the carefully crafted plans, the wrong in all the rights and the flaw in the flawless family.

You didn’t miss any of it, and yet… you couldn’t quite get used to the freedom that you had here. Despite the fact that you were in exile, you didn’t feel like a prisoner here. Sure, you weren’t invited to Prince Jinyoung and Princess Yunkyeong’s wedding because so many other royal families would be there, and it was your parents’ wish not to be seen at such events, but otherwise, you could be free. You were no one special here, and you liked it that way.

“Oh, I see someone else is also an early riser!”

A cheerful voice disrupted your silent pondering, and you snapped your head back at the sudden visitor. You let out a sigh when you locked eyes with the not so unfamiliar stranger, and turned back to the pond in front of you instead.

“You must have been deep in thought, you didn’t even see me walking towards you,” Byounggon continued despite your attempt at ignoring him, and he only halted when he reached you. You could feel his gaze on you, curious yet tentative, but you didn’t respond to it, you continued looking ahead.

“I was, and it’s because I’ve never met anyone here at this time of the day before.”

“Well, consider yourself lucky today,” the medic blabbered cheerily, and without thinking twice, he sat down on the bench beside you. When you finally looked at him - deeming his action rather brazen -, he was already looking at you, and when you locked eyes, he flashed you a dimpled smile. Why he was grinning at someone like you - a princess from a far away kingdom with a bad reputation, someone who had supposedly almost killed her husband-to-be - was beyond you. Did he have no care in the world? Did he have no fear? Was he merely naive?

“Are you that bored, or are you just set on annoying me?”

“Annoying you?” Byounggon’s smile faltered, his bright features darkening. He looked so hurt suddenly, you almost felt bad for implying something like that. “Am I really annoying you?” He inquired, blinking rapidly with his ocean-deep, jet-black orbs, swimming in genuine care. When you looked him in the eye, you felt like looking into something rare, something precious: like a gemstone containing unknown magic, hidden away from the world for its power. And you… you were probably the last person who was worthy of seeing such a treasure.

You cleared your throat and averted your eyes to the pond, unable to bear his gaze any longer.

“I’m not used to company around here, and I didn’t expect anyone today either,” you blurted out honestly, feeling exposed for what your words might indicate. Maybe the magical medic also felt the weight of it for he seemed compromising instead of butthurt or overly nosy.

“Well, I can leave if you want me to,” he suggested right away, and he got to his feet even before you could tell him to stop. However, when you did confess that he didn’t have to leave, you could feel the grin spreading on his face even without turning his way. Gosh, why did he have to smile so brightly all the time? It was so… unusual for you.

Instead, you asked him to tell you something that he felt like sharing. Like an arrow that was fired, the boy’s words came on suddenly and flew like a river. He didn’t seem to be able to stop from the moment he started talking about his best friend, Seunghun, who was a soldier here, and with whom he had a special connection. When he said that it was a secret why, you rolled your eyes, assuming that he was joking yet again.

However, after he shared with you that he had actually saved Seunghun’s life, you thought that maybe he wasn’t lying about it. Seunghun’s parents had died when their house had caught on fire, and he would have died with them too, but Byounggon - who had been a little boy back then just like Seunghun himself and who had been living close to Seunghun’s home - had noticed the fire and dragged the boy out while risking his own life. His magic had barely resurfaced before the incident, but it had come out in full-force while he had been trying to save Seunghun’s life.

Then, Seunghun ended up at the palace with Byounggon and Byounggon’s father - who was a magical medic himself -, and they had been friends ever since. The two of them with Prince Jinyoung used to play hide and seek in this very garden before, and while he was talking about his childhood days, his eyes twinkled in a different light.

“Have you had friends like that, too?” He posed the question in his good-willed innocence when you were at the topic, but you could merely scoff.

“No. I had no friends at the palace. I couldn’t even consider my sister my friend even though she is only two years older than me,” you confessed, your words loaded with bitter poison. You had always been pitted against each other with your sister, and even though you had tried to make her see you as more than just an enemy, your sister had never let you. So gone was the naive little girl who had believed that she could make everything right if she had given her share of the cake to her sister or to give her the brand new doll you had gotten for your birthday, and it was replaced with the girl who was too mature and wise for her age, nevertheless all too pessimistic.

“It must have been lonely,” Byounggon broke the silence suddenly, shattering your flashbacks into tiny little pieces. Reality struck you hard, his words even more so, and for a moment, you felt like you were about to cry. So you pressed your lips tight and dug your nails into your skin, holding it in.

The medic might have sensed your discomfort or he merely wanted to fill the silence. Nevertheless, he started talking about the upcoming Festival of Day and Light to change the subject, the usual yearly festival for the fall equinox, and why it was special for them. Supposedly, they commemorated the gift of light while also appreciating the fact that darkness was needed for light to exist, so they lit candles while thinking of their loved ones, wishing them a bright year. The best way to light candles was to put them in lanterns and to place them on the little boats that were waiting for them by the riverside, and to watch them float away.

“You should definitely come celebrate it with us. There’s always a fun celebration outside of the court, and there are all kinds of delicacies and music and…”

“Why would I go? It’s not my tradition to celebrate,” you cut off his enthusiastic chatter, but he just shrugged his shoulders, his casual way of handling your harsh words resurfacing yet again.

“I wasn’t notified that the fall equinox was created just for our kingdom,” he counter-attacked playfully, and even though you were about to open your mouth to go against him, you realised that you couldn’t. He was right.

Hence, you bit your tongue, and didn’t say anything, just let him talk about whatever came to his mind until you were called for breakfast by Huisoo who seemed quite surprised to see you talking to the medic by the pond. What could you say though? You were surprised, too.

Two weeks later, when you finally managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning in bed for hours, shivers running up and down your spine, you dreamed of a fire.

You were standing inside the fire, the flames dancing around you, and whenever you tried to move, they followed you as if they were your shadow. You looked left and right when you heard a cry on the other side of the fire, and even though you should have felt scorching hot, you could only feel icy numbness taking hold of your legs, unable to move. The cry grew louder and louder until you had to put your hands on your ears to block the frantic sound out. Then, someone called your name, and when you tried to block it out too, invisible arms started shaking you. You fought back, tears pricking your ears, but the arms just wouldn’t let go.

Your eyes bolted open at that moment, but you didn’t feel any better. In fact, you felt even hotter than in that fire, and when you looked at the figure standing above you, his arms holding onto your shoulders, you realised that the part about being shaken must have been real. So had been the part about someone calling your name.

“Princess Y/N, it’s me. Huisoo told me that you weren’t feeling well last night, and you didn’t show up at the pond today, so I came by to see if I could help,” Byounggon explained slowly, gently, as if talking to a child. Then, when he caught sight of you staring at his arms on your shoulder, he let go of you, albeit a bit embarrassed.

You just blinked at him, trying to focus on his face instead of letting the nightmares take hold of you again, but it was difficult when all you wanted to do was to close your eyes and lie in bed. Your head was throbbing, your whole body was quivering, and the last thing you wanted to do was to have a conversation with Byounggon even though he seemed genuinely concerned about you.

“Where does it hurt? How long have you been having a fever?” He asked seriously once you regained more consciousness, and even though you were reluctant to tell him because you didn’t want his help, you were too run down to care.

So you told him that your joints had been hurting since last night, just before dinner, and you had a fever since midnight or dawn, you couldn’t tell because you had been drifting out of dreams (or more like nightmares) for the most part. Byounggon insisted on helping you after hearing about your symptoms, but you declined, saying that you had been used to dealing with such things on your own in your kingdom.

“Does it mean that I have to watch you suffer just because that’s what you’ve been used to?” The medic exclaimed, rather desperate, and even though you knew all too well what he was referring to, you couldn’t help but feel exposed. Wasn’t that what you were doing now? Suffering on your own, like the strong daughter and the perfect princess you had needed to become, just because you had never been treated otherwise? Because you could never show any sign of weakness, let alone accept someone’s assistance when they were willingly giving it to you?

“Fine. Do as you wish,” you gave in after defeating the voices in your head telling you not to let him help you. You were so tired, your body felt like it was twice its weight, and your eyes were heavy with sleep and the last remains of the terrifying nightmare you had, the last thing you felt like doing was arguing.

Byounggon immediately broke into a relieved smile, and as he was getting ready, he started talking about what he was about to do. Supposedly, one’s centre of energy was around their abdomen, so he needed to put his hand on your stomach to be able to heal your energy centre. If you had been in your right mind, you would have probably backed down on your word at this part, but you were still half-conscious, so you didn’t care, even when he touched you. He touched you so gently though, you could barely feel his featherlike touch.

He closed his eyes while he was working with his magic on healing you, and his lips sometimes twitched, probably from concentration. May it be because of his magic working or because you could look at him more closely like this as he was crouching down by your mattress, but you realised that there were dark circles under his eyes. You were reminded of what Sieun had told you a few days ago, that the magical medic had asked her about your daily schedule, especially about when you usually went to the pond. Sieun had told you that she didn’t know why he was asking, but you had a feeling why.

Byounggon must have been waking up earlier to talk with you by the pond, and the fact that he got worried because you had not been there this morning as you had done so for the past two weeks made you feel delirious, as if he was a poison you had a sweet taste of, but you couldn’t let yourself have more.

“It’s done,” the medic announced, dragging you out of your thoughts, and as your head cleared, you realised that your body felt light again. You put your hand to your forehead, but it didn’t feel hot. You pushed yourself up to a sitting position, and indeed, you didn’t feel feverish anymore. It was as if you had just woken from a good night’s sleep.

“Wow, princess, take it easy! You should still rest, you don’t want this illness to come back,” he advised, eyebrows furrowed in worry, and now that you had the energy to smile, you directed a friendly one at him.

“It’s alright. I feel good thanks to you,” you pointed out, and you saw how he tried to hide the grin that was creeping onto his lips. He failed though, alongside the pink that was tinting his cheeks, and the way he needed to clear his throat before he spoke up again.

“Well, it was nothing, really,” he shrugged off your compliment, averting his eyes elsewhere but your face. You were about to ask him to tell you how his magic worked when he caught sight of your paintings, the canvases resting by the wall.

“Did you paint them?” He inquired, a pure kind of curiosity lighting up in his eyes, and you didn’t have the heart to lie to him. So you told him the truth: that it was you, and that you had been painting for some time though your mother had never approved of it since she didn’t deem it appropriate for a princess who should have been learning how to engage in polite conversations and seducing princes instead of doing art.

“Seducing princes? Do you really learn that?” Byounggon asked, rather surprised, but there was a playful smile hiding in the corner of his lips. It seemed that even the medic himself couldn’t decide how much to believe your words.

“Well, she wanted me to. We had books on them in the library, and there was a teacher giving lessons on courting, but he only succeeded in teaching my sister. I made him give up after two lessons,” you shrugged your shoulders nonchalantly.

“Wow, you are so…”

“So?” You quirked an eyebrow challengingly when he seemed to search for the right words. Usually, when you gave people this look, they backtracked, and started babbling or changed the topic, but the medic didn’t.

“Admirable,” he decided on it a few seconds later, and your features softened. It was as if someone had offered you some quiet after the cacophony of the royal events you were forced to attend: you felt comforted, and your heavy heart felt a bit less tight. “I applaud you for how you speak your mind. I find it refreshing.”

You found his approachable personality refreshing too, but you couldn’t tell him that. After all, what good could that lead to? You had already let down your walls around him enough times, you were afraid that if he kept going, he would see behind that admirable facade, and see you as you were: terrified of history repeating itself and being far from perfect when it came to reciprocating other’s kindness. You didn’t deserve his care, you didn’t deserve his kindness.

Instead of commenting on his words, you asked if he had any duties he needed to attend to, and now that you reminded him, he realised that he should go to the palace indeed. However, before he could leave, you thanked him for healing you, and if anything, he gifted you with the widest smile you had seen on him.

“Anytime.”

Coming from him, accompanied by the comet of affection travelling through the galaxy of his jet-black orbs, somehow, you didn’t want to question the sincerity of his words.

The court was in a frenzy because of the upcoming wedding, but those who had some spare time still decided to go to the yearly Festival of Day and Light. You had contemplated not going, but when you asked Sieun about the festival, her whole face lit up, and you had a feeling that she would want to go.

So you told Sieun and Huisoo that you would head out to check out the festivities, but they could go their separate ways afterwards if they wanted to. The girls both objected fervently, but it was only until Huisoo was ever so obviously swept up by a handsome young man with shoulder-length hair at a flower stall, and the other met someone she had known before because then, both of them excused themselves. Which left you alone with the sugarcoated apple in your hand that you had bought for yourself - and one for either servant girl -, strolling around the main market square where the festival took place.

There were all kinds of games for kids who ran around without a care in the world while their parents were running after them or cheering them on. Beside the games, stalls of delicacies - ranging from sugared fruit to freshly-baked bread and dried figs coated in cinnamon - were lined up like tiny little stars dotted on the canvas of cobblestones. Beside the riverside, people either lit up candles or placed them on the little boats that waited by the sides just like Byounggon had told you so. The whole festival was full of cheers, laughter and life, topped by white and yellow decorations in the shape of the Sun, the Moon and the stars.

Despite being an outsider, you could feel the kingdom pulsing with the energy of its people, bright and cheerful. When you had been living in Animalia, you had visited the festivities outside of the palace maybe once or twice as a kid, so to be able to see how ordinary people celebrated such a meaningful time here warmed your heart. Suddenly, you felt like you were being surrounded by a community instead of being left alone in the vastness of the icy, jarring unknown.

Maybe it was because of the sentiment or because of the eager ladies by the riverside handing out candles, but you found yourself lighting up one of them when you found a part of the riverside that wasn’t as crowded as others.

“You do know that you need to make a wish when you light a candle. Otherwise, it will be pretty but less meaningful,” a familiar voice spoke up from behind you, and you hid the smile that was creeping onto your lips with a frown.

“You do know that you seem to spend an awful lot of time with me these days,” you pointed out when Byounggon halted beside you, and flashed you a wide smile, the kind that turned his eyes into little crescents resembling the moon above you.

“I am just keeping an eye on you. I wouldn’t want a princess to be sick again or to be sick of boredom,” he retorted cheekily, and you bit your cheek to not smile back at him as brightly as you could. He kept his eyes on you, and the way the moonlight reflected in his orbs and cupped his features in a magnificent halo mesmerised you for a moment. He didn’t need light to shine, he was so bright, so full of life either way, but under the crafted lines of the moon, you wondered what it would be like to make a painting of him one day - and whether you could capture his features as gracefully as your eyes did now.

Byounggon did develop a habit of accompanying you on your morning stroll. Sometimes he was early, more often he was late, but he did show up every day without fail. When you questioned if he had nothing better to do, he said no, and that he was actually looking for company for his morning walks, too. If you hadn’t heard from Sieun that the medic had specifically asked her about your morning visits to the court garden, you might have believed him, but since the servant girl’s remark, you couldn’t have fought the seed of hope that was blooming in your chest.

You let him join you, and you let him talk. You got to know all kinds of stories regarding court life here, and childhood stories of his soldier friend, Seunghun, and Prince Jinyoung, more or less funny ones that cracked up the medic, too. You also got to know about current affairs of the kingdom, and how Prince Jinyoung’s heart was someone else’s, but he couldn’t love her fully because he was going to marry a princess for a favourable trade deal. When you inquired if the wedding could be called off because of the prince’s feelings, Byounggon shook his head, a bitter smile tinting his lips - something that you had ever so scarcely seen on him. You hadn’t been in Prince Jinyoung’s shoes because you had never wanted to sacrifice an arranged marriage for a genuine love, but you could understand why it was difficult for him to marry for convenience.

You liked when Byounggon was talking because you could get to know about how things worked in the kingdom, but you could also get to know about him and his (adorably) gullible personality and his (precious) big heart. Once you realised that his intentions were truly pure, you let yourself be comfortable around him, including this day.

“So you came here to make a wish?” You quirked an eyebrow when you caught sight of a candle in his hands. The medic let out a deep, joyous laughter before answering.

“Well, I came here because I saw you, but yes, I also have a wish,” he flashed you a wide grin, and as he crouched down to put his candle into a lantern, you couldn’t help but ask:

“What are you wishing for?”

“It’s a secret,” he winked at you playfully. If he had been someone else, you would have probably felt offended by the gesture. However, it was him, and you knew him well enough by now, so you merely rolled your eyes at his antics.

“Fine. I won’t tell you mine either,” you retorted with a huff as you followed suit, and lit your own candle. He helped you put yours into a lantern, and placed them beside his own on a nearby boat. You waited a few minutes until the boat was filled up with lanterns and a man pushed the boat off the railing to let it float, to let it get further away from you while you were making a wish.

You watched it go with a sentimental smile, thinking of how much had changed in the last few months, so that you could be a part of a festival like this and wish to have many more moments like this - when you forgot about who you were, and let yourself be, let yourself rest after carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

“You seem to be happy now,” Byounggon remarked gently, quietly, no hint of playfulness in his voice after a few moments of utter silence. You looked at him, humming a yes, and let out a long sigh. When you inhaled, it felt like breathing in a whole new flavour of air.

“Is it because of me?”

Now Byounggon was teasing, his lips quirked up, but you had a feeling that he was doing it on purpose because he was way too pleased with himself when you laughed at the sudden change of the mood.

“Do you think it’s because of you?” You asked back, equally as curious as challenging. You knew that the medic would answer no matter your tone because he always did, and you liked that about him: that he was willing to speak his mind, even if it meant that he embarrassed himself because of his silly antics or that he made your heart flutter with a genuine compliment of his.

“I would like to think that, at least partly, it’s because of me,” Byounggon played along, theatrically placing a hand above his heart. He tried to remain serious, his features unwavering, but his lips twitched slightly, and his whole demeanour changed when he heard music coming from the main market square. They started playing a song - unknown to you, of course - on the drums and there was probably a little bit of guitar as well, and some instrument that you couldn’t quite put a finger on. Byounggon’s face immediately lit up hearing the melody, and it only took a few seconds until he bolted off, exclaiming that you should join him dancing while he was running off.

You followed him swiftly, and watched as he joined the circle of people who started dancing to the music. There were older people, younger ones, even little children, men and women alike, and the different colour and design of their clothes indicated that they were from different classes. You caught sight of Huisoo and the pretty boy from the flower stall in the crowd, and something in you twisted when you looked at them - so carefree, so joyful, so present in the given moment.

Then, Byounggon suddenly showed up by your side, and reached his hand out to you when the music stopped. You looked down at the boy’s hand, then up at him, into his almond-shaped eyes, and your first instinct was to shake your head and tell him no. The medic’s smile didn’t falter despite your hesitation, and maybe that’s what prompted you to take his hand and join him.

No one threw you a nasty glance, no one judged you for being there, no one cared, and honestly, that was the most reassured you felt for a long time. With your hand in Byounggon’s and in a little girl’s on your other side, you followed their lead and mimicked their dance moves. One after another, one after another, and then you lost count of the steps as you got swept up in the stomping footsteps and the echoing melodies.

You didn’t know how much time passed by - it could have been minutes or hours, you couldn’t tell -, but when the dance was over, and Byounggon inquired if you wanted to head back to the court together, you immediately said yes. It was only after a few seconds that you realised that the medic still didn’t let go of your hand, and you watched him take it away with a coy smile and a scratch of his neck.

And that’s when you realised that he was actually right: that he was a part of why you were happy here.

Prince Jinyoung and Princess Yunkyoung’s wedding took place as planned, and since Sieun was obligated to join because she was a part of the royal court here, you told Huisoo that she could spend this day however she wanted, you would be fine on your own. You didn’t like asking them for favours either way; since your mother’s watching eyes weren’t on you, you enjoyed that you could cater for yourself, and didn’t require their services as much. Both girls objected at first, saying that you were too generous, that’s why you started asking them to accompany you when they could break free from their role a bit - like at the festival when they could join the crowd or when you started going to the court kitchen to eat together with others instead of having your meals delivered to your room -, and you had a feeling that Huisoo would take the opportunity to meet up with the pretty flower stall boy from the festival.

That left you with much free time on your hands, preferably spent alone in your room, so you couldn’t bump into your mother who would attend the wedding and be reprimanded for being in the public’s eye. You spent the morning working on a painting of the riverside on the day of the festival, illuminated by the mysterious moon, and you spent the afternoon reading a book on the many magical creatures of the kingdom. You did have quite a few of them at Animalia too, but Medicalia boosted a high number of creatures that you had only heard of before, yet never seen them - such as phoenixes, kitsunes and caladriuses which supposedly had healing powers.

You were in the middle of reading a chapter about phoenixes when you heard a knock on your door. Expecting it to be one of the servants, you told them that they could come inside, but the knocking persisted. Hence, you rose to your feet from your crouching posture, and stepped up to the door to open it. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw who was behind it.

“Mother!” You breathed out in shock, not expecting her to pay a visit to you after the wedding ceremony. She was all dolled up for the event, but the evident frown on her face ruined the innocence of the swan-white outfit she put on.

She walked into the room with much disgust in her eyes, and only after you closed the door, did she turn around to face you. You could already tell that she was frustrated, her feelings shown in the tight lines of her lips and the way she squinted her eyes at you. Not to mention her thundering voice when she spoke up.

“Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble here? Didn’t I specifically ask you to not use your powers here?” She spat the questions like venom, her words sending a bullet through your heart one after another.

“I do not understand, Mother,” you answered, your heart wrenching at the thought that she could assume something like this when you had nothing to be ashamed of. You had not caused any trouble here, and you had never used your powers ever since you had entered Animalia. Even though it had been tempting because you had wanted to see what you could do with it if you had put effort into practising, but you had to bury the thought as soon as it was born.

“Oh, come on, you’re not a child anymore! Don’t play the innocent kid with me,” your mother striked again, and took a step closer to you, looking straight into your eyes when she continued. “There was a fire a few days ago in the palace’s kitchen. I’ve heard that they haven’t found what caused it yet, though it could have been simply out of negligence. With you being here, I don’t think it was accidental.”

For a moment, you had no idea what to say. Then, you felt your blood rise as you balled your hands into fists. Just how could she assume something like that on her own when you were totally innocent? Just how low could she stoop to make you play the bad guy when the fire in your room at the Animalia palace wouldn’t have broken out if it hadn’t been for Prince Sangdo’s lack of manners? Not to mention who was to blame for your powers? Wasn’t it your mother who came from Elementalia and had the power to tame fire?

“Do you really think I visit the palace each and every day, just to burn something there? Do you really think of me so lowly? I have not even set foot in the palace for a month, let alone create a fire in the kitchen, but if you want to blame someone, sure, blame me. That does not mean I am guilty,” you objected fervently, but before she could open her mouth to say something more, you continued. “I wish you would have made a scene like this when Prince Sangdo had come into my room and grabbed my wrist when I had asked him not to touch me that night. If I was guilty then, you would have had your reason to blame it on me now. But I was innocent and I am innocent now, it is only your perception of me that always makes me the bad one in your eyes. The child that does not sit back and watch injustice without speaking up about it, the daughter that would choose painting over marrying a prince, and the girl who did not seem to inherit your powers until she did, and then, you wished she hadn’t.”

Your words flew like the river during a storm - waves crushing violently, heavy winds catching the surface ever so indignantly -, and it felt like there was a thunderstorm in your heart. You wanted to fight, to punch the walls, to knock over the shelves around you - anything to make your mother go away, alas, you could only fight back with your words, and they even didn’t seem to reach her. If anything, they made her even angrier, no sign of remorse in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that! A princess knows where to draw the line, but you… you are out of your mind, and being away from Animalia didn’t seem to help either. And I thought-”

Your mother’s words were interrupted by a few rhythmic knocks on the door, and you both snapped your head towards the sound.

“Princess Y/N, it’s time for your lesson,” a familiar voice called, and despite the fact that you had no lesson, let alone with him, you didn’t want to object. Your mother didn’t seem to think it through either, instead, she let out an offended huff and murmured into your ears before leaving:

“Don’t think that you can come back anytime soon with that attitude.”

You gulped down the knot in your throat as you watched her leave, and turned around to be with your back to the door, so that Byounggon wouldn’t see the way your hands were shaking when he came inside your room. You heard him close the door behind him, and fumble with something before he dared to ask:

“Are you okay?”

“How much did you hear?” You retorted back, standing by the walls with your back to him. You tried your best to hold back your tears, but you weren’t sure that you were doing a good job because you could feel your eyes watering despite your best efforts.

“Uhmm… I think everything,” Byounggon admitted after a long pause. You closed your eyes for a moment, the first teardrop rolling down your cheeks, leaving a cold streak behind on your warm cheeks. “I saw your mother leaving the ceremony, and I had a feeling that she would come to you, but I wasn’t sure. So I followed her here. I know it sounds very bad, but I was afraid that she would… do something to upset you or hurt you because you told me that she was the one who wanted to send you away, and I don’t know what exactly happened, at least I didn’t know until now, but I knew you didn’t deserve it, and it really seems you didn’t. And I just… I wanted to protect you from her. I’m sorry I was late,” he rambled incredibly fast, and the more he talked, the more heavily your tears were following.

You couldn’t understand how someone who had never met you could trust you and believe in your innocence even before you had met for the first time. On the contrary, your mother had blamed you for everything, and she had known the full story. How could someone be so pure to you? How could Byounggon care about you so genuinely, so selflessly? He didn’t have anything to gain from caring about you, yet he did so, and it just broke your heart even more.

You heard the medic take a few steps towards you, and when he halted beside you in a safe distance, he immediately caught sight of your silent sobbing. You looked at him from behind the curtain of your tears, watching how he was trying to gesture with his hands, but was unable to decide what to do. So you decided instead of Byounggon himself, and stepped up to him to embrace him.

“Thank you,” you croaked out, your voice coming out a lot more strained and fragile than you wanted to.

You could feel him loosen up, and slowly, gently, he put his arms around your frame, patting your back while you cried against his chest. He was warm, he was warmth itself, and you wanted to get lost in his touch, in his arms, in his voice.

“It’s okay. You can cry with me,” he murmured into your hair, his voice rid of any playfulness or teasing.

Tears like pearls fell onto the silk of his shirt, leaving behind more than just wet stains - leaving behind the last walls that you had been keeping up around yourself to protect yourself, all crumbled down now, and the stories he had never heard before, neither had you shared with anyone else since leaving your kingdom.

The following days, you were cautious about meeting Byounggon, secretly terrified that he would see you as a horrible person, that he wouldn’t understand your pain, and you would end up feeling lonelier than ever before. You had never opened up to someone like on the day of the wedding, and you were afraid that you would need to rebuild your walls, and never let anyone in, ever again.

On the other hand, Byounggon acted the same way, if not more protective over you. He highlighted how much people liked you here in the court, especially since the festival when you had gone out to celebrate with ordinary people, and how your own kingdom didn’t deserve you if they turned their back on you when you had wanted to protect yourself. What’s more, he pointed out that he would have been delighted to meet someone like you when he had been a child because taming fire would have meant that you could have helped save Seunghun’s parents when he had managed to save Seunghun only. Sure, power might come with great responsibility, but it wasn’t your fault that your power had surfaced at a time like that. It merely showed that you had been desperate back then, and no one had paid attention to that part of the story, they had been too quick to send you away.

You felt yourself becoming softer and softer towards the medic afterwards because he was everything you had never had the chance to have - the shoulder to cry on, the one who understood your body language even when words failed you, the boy who always asked for your permission when he wanted to come closer to you or hold your hand, and the one who would fight for you through thick and thin. You had never met a more considerate, more gentle soul, and even his goofy self was endearing to you.

Even when he claimed that he didn’t steal a flower (that allegedly resembled you in his eyes) from the court garden (“because it wasn’t considered stealing if he was on good terms with the gardeners”); even when he managed to fall into the pond when he got scared by a bee during one of your morning strolls, and even when he ran all the way from the palace to you because he thought that you were the one who came down with something in the court, sweating bucks because running wasn’t his forte, your feelings towards him grew stronger and stronger.

Not to mention the time he shared with you the secret he had been keeping about his friend, Seunghun. When he had first talked about the soldier, you had assumed that he had been joking when he had claimed that the reason their relationship was special was a secret. However, when he let you know that by saving Seunghun, he managed to keep him alive as a phoenix, it all made more sense. You could also understand why he was keeping it a secret because phoenixes didn’t have human forms, at least not ones that the books knew of.

You knew the part of the story that Seunghun’s parents had died when their house had caught on fire, and he would have died with them too, but Byounggon had noticed the fire and dragged the boy out while risking his own life. His magic had barely resurfaced back then, but it had come out in full-force as he had been trying to save Seunghun’s life. Since he hadn’t known at first just how much he could have helped the almost burned boy, he had also applied fireflower on his wounds - the flower that was born after fires, so interestingly so, it was almost like a phoenix, born after turning to ashes.

In a way, Byounggon tied himself to Seunghun by saving him because his magic continued to live inside his friend’s body, and whenever the soldier was hurt, it was only Byounggon who could heal him completely. At least, until Seunghun was saved by a girl, and her magic saved him just like the medic’s magic had saved him when they had been young. Ever since then, their magical bond might have faded, but their friendship stayed the same.

You even met the so-called soldier friend and his girlfriend at the court, and after a while, it became a habit of yours to have dinner with them alongside Huisoo, Sieun and the medic himself. You felt light whenever you were around them, that’s why you didn’t take it to heart when they started teasing you or Byounggon who was clumsily trying to get closer to you. Bit by bit, you let him get closer, but you needed to be the one to take the final step nevertheless.

“Byounggon, we need to talk,” you told him one morning, sitting by the pond while the sun was just rising on the horizon.

“T-talk?” He stuttered, extremely nervous for someone who was usually so chatty, but maybe he sensed the serious edge to your words, and he was scared by what was to come.

All was well though, so he was scared for nothing. Your parents had previously sent a letter to the royal family of Medicalia, telling them to take care of you for at least a year more until your sister could settle down with her husband, and you had a feeling that meant that you would never be welcomed in Animalia again. Hence, you had the permission to stay here longer, and you tried to be useful by applying to become an arts teacher in the court. You had your first lessons with the cousins of Prince Jinyoung and Princess Jinhee not too long ago, and it proved to be a success, so that was taken care of.

Nevertheless, you had a feeling that the boy might have thought that you would need to go back to Animalia or worse, marry a prince from a far-away kingdom. Thankfully, neither of them were likely to happen anytime soon, but it warmed your heart how worried he got.

“Yes. I want to talk about you and me,” you broke it down to him, but if anything, that just made him appear more appalled. He visibly gulped, but his eyes were still on you, intent and curious.

“Suuure. Go ahead,” he prompted semi-confidently, and you reached out to put your hand on his, to soothe his nerves. You could tell that it had its effect on him because his lips immediately curved upwards, and he squeezed your hand to hold onto you more tightly.

“I want to thank you for waiting for me,” you started sincerely, but the talkative person he was, he couldn’t help himself, but to interrupt you.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I? I’m not like that horrible prince who deserves the absolute worst, he deserves to-” He started getting riled up again, something that he always did when you mentioned some injustice you had encountered at the Animalia palace or he thought of Prince Sangdo. You were sure that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back if he were to ever encounter the said prince, but thankfully, there was little to no chance of that happening.

“I love you, Byounggon,” you announced, loud and proud, and the medic’s mouth stayed open, probably because he was in the middle of his monologue, but also because he was surprised by your sudden confession. Then, he closed his mouth, his features softening, and he immediately threw his arms around you.

“I love you, too. Gosh, I love you so much!” He shrieked excitedly like a little kid, and hugged you tighter than ever before. You smiled to yourself while he was holding you, amused (and bewitched) at the way he kept saying ‘I love you’ like he would never want to stop.

He couldn’t stop even when Sieun and Huisoo walked by, and they tried to sniffle their giggles while watching you two embrace each other in the middle of the blooming garden, bathed in the rays of the sunrise.

“I’ve told you he liked her when he asked about her morning strolls,” Huisoo told Sieun as they were heading towards the kitchen while the other girl just let out an amused laugh.

“Sure, Miss Matchmaker. What about your flower boy though? What was his name again? Leewoo? Leehan?” Sieun teased her and smacked the girl in the side, playful as ever.

“Ssshh,” Huisoo shushed her, pretending to stay nonchalant about the topic, but she couldn’t help a smile creeping onto her lips as she said: “Well, love might be in the air for everyone.”

A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think in the comments or as reblogs. I always read them and react to them. 🥰

If you want to read more stories of mine, let it be for CIX or for other bands, consider signing up for my taglist here.

Hope you have a lovely day/night! *-*

#cix scenarios #cix imagines #cix x you #cix x reader #cix fluff #cix angst #bx scenarios #bx imagines #bx x you #bx x reader #bx fluff #bx angst #lee byounggon x reader #lee byounggon x you #lee byounggon scenarios #lee byounggon imagines #lee byounggon fluff #lee byounggon angst

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coffeetailor · 1 year ago

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GTober Day Three: Candle

(A/N: Took some time off for my birthday. So that's why this is posting late.)

Sure, opposite day wasn't really a thing in Ancient China. Wasn't even really a thing in modern China unless you counted on the internet, but sometimes an author got bored or ran into writer's block and started researching random shit, okay? It kept the words going and that meant it kept his rent paid and food on the desk. (Because be realistic, he never actually ate at the sad excuse for a table he'd shoved into the corner of the 'kitchen' part of his apartment.) He'd had the idea of a silly little spell that could flip things around for a limited period of time, good for a rare reverse harem scene where Binghe had gotten a little taste of his own talents for once until the cursed necklace broke and the orgy reversed course. Not really a fan favorite, but there'd been a lot of fanart drawn of the scene.

Shang Qinghua hadn't counted on running into it while looking for an entirely different cursed necklace that his king wanted for some reason. And to be fair, nothing had happened when he'd picked it up and hauled it back to the northern palace. The one he'd been looking for was supposed to drink your blood if you wore it on the full moons, but in return would direct you to a treasure trove. Pretty light in terms of curse territory, really. And surprisingly non-sexy. And who would have guessed that... he might have re-used the same design on at least a dozen magical pieces of jewelry over the years he'd been writing the book.

His king had put on the necklace, Shang Qinghua ready to jump if it drank too much blood. But nothing happened.

At least, not until his king vanished between one heartbeat and the next, his empty clothes dropping to the ground without a body to support them.

He stared in horror at the place Mobei-Jun had stood. Had he just killed his king?! A curl of smoke rose up as if to drive in the point, and the author followed it down to the pile of royal silks and furs... Which had started to burn.

"No no no..." Shang Qinghua whimpered, diving forward. He slapped at the flames to put them out before they could engulf Mobei's clothes, but every time he put one part out it seemed like another would start to burn as he panicked. And then he felt a burning on his hand itself and jerked back with a yelp, tears coming to his eyes. "Noo..."

"Qinghua!"

He froze, still clutching his injured hand. "My king?" Did he become a ghost right away? Was he trapped in an alternate world? "Where are you?"

"Down. Here."

Shang Qinghua looked down, but all he saw were the still burning clothes.

"I don't see you, my king," he said with a hiccup, shaking his head. "Are you haunting me?"

A sudden flare of heat to his kneecap made the author let out another yelp and swat at his knees to put out what had to be the flames moving to his clothes. He didn't want to die too!

But when his hand landed, there was something small and solid between his palm and clothed knee. Small, solid, and moving. And strong, shoving his hand up before Shang Qinghua lifted it himself to face the angry blue eyes of his king.

"My- my king?" he whispered, forgetting the pain as disbelief and relief fought over his nervous system.

Mobei-Jun had been changed. Where the demon had been large and cold... he was now small and hot. So very small, and very hot. Standing in the middle of a little flame that burned around him kind of hot. Staring at him, the realization of what he'd just been trying to do sunk in and his eyes flew wide.

"Please, I beg your forgiveness my king! I didn't know it was you setting the fires! The necklace must have been switched with the cursed charm of opposites at some point, or I never would have presented it without warning. Please forgive your worthless servant for this oversite. I do happen to know that the effects should only be temporary and will wear off after a day or two."

"A day or two?" the demon repeated with a growl, staring up at him. Being surrounded by fire was... terrifying. No matter that he would never put such a thought to words. He was an ice demon. There were reasons why his servant's deception had worked so well against his uncle before. And then being so small on top of it. How was he going to rule his kingdom or protect his cultivator and future spouse like this?

"Yes, I'm sorry my lord, but of the ways to break the curse of opposites, that's the only one I can think of as viable! You'd burn anyone who tried to cure it physically," Shang Qinghua said. He started to wring his hands before flinching as he was reminded of the burn.

Seeing the flinch made Mobei feel a little guilty, even though the wound had been made trying to survive. He'd promised not to hurt him again. Taking a deep breath (that made the little flame flicker larger for a moment), he reached for the calm that usually served him well. "What do we need to do?"

"Well, you're a flame demon until it wears off it looks, so we have to keep your flames fed. Bigger the fire, bigger you. But if it wears off early, it wouldn't be safe to make a bonfire and have you return to your ice demon self in the middle!" Shang Qinghua said, talking them both through it at the same time. It kept him from panicking, which would not be useful for his king. "But rest assured, I have an idea that should keep you going for hours at a time."

A candle. His idea was a candle, bringing it to the little flame demon and tilting it down so the wick could be reached. Mobei-Jun studied it wearily before grabbing the wax-stiffened wick to pull himself up. The little flame around him flared as Shang Qinghua brought it back upright before settling into what would have been a normal, if maybe somewhat large, candle flame. Except for the demon in the middle of it, that was.

"I'll find you a better candle as soon as I can, my king," the author promised, cupping his hand around back of the candle as he climbed up to his feet, protecting it from any stray breezes that could risk blowing it out. He didn't want to find out how quickly a flame demon died when put out when said demon was Mobei-Jun! "This was just the first one I saw when I was looking, and this servant didn't want to make you wait too long."

Mobei scowled up at him. Which... wasn't quite as intimidating as it normally was. His king was smaller around than his fingers after all! And now that he had enough focus to actually study him... completely naked.

The realization made him blush and look away, telling himself the excuse that staring at fire too long was obviously bad for your eyes, and he had to watch where he was going as he slipped out of Mobei's study and headed right for his rooms. One of the few places in the northern palace that actually was built for heat and had a good supply of lamps and candles! And some of the best locks in the palace, which had been for his safety originally, but now Shang Qinghua activated them once they were inside to keep anyone from coming in and seeing his king in a vulnerable position.

Setting the candle down carefully, he hurried to start digging into his chest of supplies. "One moment, my king. This servant should have something with a longer burn time. Or even multiple wicks! Those have bigger flames so you won't have to stay so small. Though you're kind of cute like that..." The last part, of course, he muttered to himself as he continued to dig. "And a prettier holder!"

"Qinghua."

It was just too bad that he couldn't touch him without getting burnt, because he just bet that Mobei's skin would feel all soft like this, and he could poke and prod him without fear of being turned into a popsicle.

"Qinghua."

On the other hand, he couldn't give him any clothes either, because he didn't have anything fireproof and anything else would just burn off as soon as it was given over.

"Shang Qinghua!"

He jumped, hissing when the lid was jostled enough to bring it down on his head. Shang Qinghua turned around, rubbing what was sure to be a lump soon. "Yes, my king?"

The demon pointed across the room towards the bed piled high in furs. Or, more precisely, at the glass lantern that sat on the table beside it, a deep blue candle sitting inside. "That one."

Shang Qinghua blinked, looking between them. "That one, my king? But it's an old lantern and not even a fresh candle. Surely this servant can find something better for you."

Mobei-Jun shook his head. "It's the most suitable. I will rest on that candle. And no other. Will you deny this king?"

The author sighed. He'd liked that little lantern! It'd been one of the things he'd actually brought from his leisure house when Mobei had given him a room in the northern palace. Even if he didn't quite remember where he'd gotten it from. It wasn't exactly shiny and new, but there was a pretty frost and flower pattern in the metal and etched into the glass. And the glass sides had meant he didn't worry so much about falling asleep reading to its light. "Of course, my king."

He fetched the lantern from his side table and brought it over, opening the little glass door so Mobei could move from one candle to the other, watching to make sure he was settled before putting out the first candle. "Where would you like this servant to place you for the night, my king? Some privacy can be arranged if you'd like."

"Back where it was," Mobei-Jun said after a moment. He wouldn't say it, but he wanted the cultivator close. Even if he couldn't touch him without hurting him at the moment. And he'd promised himself he wouldn't hurt him again. "You should remain close until I return to my correct form."

Shang Qinghua felt a warmth climbing up into his cheeks, nodding his head as he picked up the lantern, king and all, to bring back to his bedside table. "Can this servant get you anything else, my king?"

"No. This king will meditate for now. You may rest."

"Thank you, my king." Permission given, he gathered together his sleeping robes, stepping behind a privacy curtain to change. Obviously he wouldn't be returning to his office to do any more work that night. Perhaps tomorrow he could carry Mobei with him? Or bring his paperwork in to work at his personal desk. Wrapping his hand before taking down his hair to comb out for bed, he felt eyes on him from across the room with the kind of intensity that made him squirm even without needing to look over his shoulder. Shang Qinghua quickly braided his hair and returned to the bed. "If you feel yourself growing, please wake this servant. I would hate for you to have to break out of the lantern. It's my favorite."

Mobei-Jun nodded his head, eyes closed as if he'd never been watching him. Ha. You aren't that subtle, my king. "This king will do so."

"And if you need anything else too! Especially if the candle gets low," he pressed on, pulling back the thick layer of furs so he could slid under. "Anything my king needs."

The small demon huffed, his flame flaring. "Sleep, Qinghua."

"Right, right, of course," the author said quickly. He automatically started to reach to blow the lantern out, jerking his hand back as his brain caught up. Right, can't do that. Instead, he laid down and turned his back to Mobei-Jun, closing his eyes to further block out the light. "Goodnight, my king."

Mobei didn't answer, watching the back of his servant's head, the only part he could see, until Shang Qinghua's breathing finally evened out. Despite the situation, he once again felt a little smugness. Clearly, he'd been wise in his choice. Both in giving the gift, and choosing his place to rest for the night. While it was a pity that he couldn't touch the human, the chance to watched him so close, and see him so unguarded...

Perhaps he would have to become cursed more often.

#fanfiction #shang qinghua #mobei jun #moshang #svsss #gtober2023 #gt #Coffeetailor is typing...

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