thekingincrimson

[thekingincrimson]

[thekingincrimson]

bashfulbunnyalyse:

Immediately she nodded and stopped speaking. Not that she ever spoke very loudly… so thankfully she doubted anyone had over heard… but she still didn’t like him being here. Why was he even in the woodland any way? She’d severed her ties with his deal, and now honestly seemed a bit of a hypocrite… with his battle against the mers and now he was married to one. With one as a child as well. She wouldn’t say that out loud, but it certainly didn’t make her any more fond of him.

“S-sorry.” Alyse took a step back, not wishing to be very close to him. Not only was he in a position of power, she wasn’t terribly fond of their history. “Why… are you here? Why are you… hiding who you are?”

Gideon wasn’t dumb, he could tell his obviously uncomfortable the child was. She always seemed shy but he was sure she was - what was the word... ah, ‘traumatized’ by being forced into spying on her family by the threat of violence on her family. That was so long ago, though, he’d have thought she’d have gotten over it. He did have a thing about scaring rabbits, didn’t he... Excluding her sister. There was good reason why that one was his favorite.

“Why am I hiding myself? Look at yourself, darling. I expect to see half of the village looking at me like that if I take down this hood and the other half would probably start a mob without my guard here,” he told her in a condescending hush. 

Honestly, that was a worst case scenario, as he knew he had some supporters while he fought this war, but he was’t willing to chance it.

[thekingincrimson]

gentlemonsterallegra:

His smile somehow made him even more intimidating, if she wasn’t busy trying to keep her shoulder from throbbing she’d probably be fiddling with her hair or her fingernails out of nervous habit. She wasn’t getting out of here as easily as she had initially believed, and that’s what made her nervous.

Her brow furrowed as he mentioned a trial, was that what she was here for? “Trial? I-… No I-I wasn’t aware I was being put on trial. I don’t know what I would be put on trial for, I’ve done nothing against your people, sir.”

“Sweetheart...” he chimed as he stepped closer to the barred entrance to the cell, his gaze leveling with hers. His tone held what could have been acknowledged as pity with a sugar-coating of condescension.  “You needn’t play games with me. We know who you are... We have a witness’s testimony. You were there at the River, torturing and murdering a man whose name I’m sure you did not care to know. And we received the message you sent this witness off with. You are the one who started this war... Isn’t that right?”

I Am Damaged || Allegra & Gideon

[thekingincrimson]

bashfulbunnyalyse:

The moment his hood slipped back slightly, Alyse’s eyes widened and a small gasp left her lips. Shit shit shit shit. Just ran on repeat through her mind. Of course she’d have to run into the one person she wanted to see the absolute least in all  of Wonderland right now. Okay, maybe not the least… she was sure there were even less pleasant people than The Crimson King… but it still didn’t make her happy to see him. 

“Sorry y-your Majesty. I didn’t… I didn’t realize. I’m gonna.. go…” Her voice trailed off. She was well aware their previous encounter probably left more of a mark on her life than his… and a small part of her hoped that through the years since and his faked death he wouldn’t really remember her.

He probably would- he’d tormented her long enough that she doubted it would leave even his mind that quickly… but a girl could hope right? Either way she wanted to leave his presence as soon as possible but he was royalty again… How rude was it to just turn rabbit and bolt from the area?

“Hush, now, dear,” he whispered as he stepped closer to the rabbit, glancing at the crowd around them to be sure no one overheard them.

“No guard, no banners, no crown... If I wanted everyone to know who I was, don’t you think I’d have brought all of that along with me?”

[thekingincrimson]

cursedcadence:

Suddenly she felt entirely too sober and her pity party had come to an end. It was likely that it would’ve ended far worse if it had gone on so perhaps it was better this way, even if she hated giving her feelings a voice. 

“You’re obligated to say that since I gave birth to your pesky child,” she muttered ironically to avoid an actual reply to his kind words. 

A proud little smirk appeared at her diversion. He enjoyed both the statement itself and that it insinuated he had successfully diffused the situation. Maybe this marriage was more fair than he had thought it to be.

“I think you know me well enough to know otherwise, my love.” 

[thekingincrimson]

bashfulbunnyalyse:

Alyse was taking her usual stroll through the Woodland. She tried to get out, but with everything going on it made her very nervous. Especially the sickness. Despite it’s helpful nature in the war, Alyse did not want to get sick. She didn’t like the idea of being stuck in one form or the other. She liked her rabbit form, it was quite literally second nature.

However, she tried to force herself out of the house every day. Even if it wasn’t a day she worked, she’d take a walk through the woods. Today was one of those days.

There were a fair few people around… something Alyse was trying to get better about. It had her nervous though- thankfully she recognized many of the faces. Her arms wrapped around herself as she walked. Her eyes scanning everywhere but the figure that she walked right into. “Oh my teas, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She had immediately taken a few steps back, thankfully there wasn’t much force behind Alyse and she didn’t think too much damage could be done… but she still was concerned that the person could be angry.

The girl he’d collided into was hardly large enough to force him to stop, but his movement in his surprise had been enough to knock his hood back enough to illuminate his face just briefly before he pulled it back down. 

“No worries, dear. Pardon me.”

He fully intended to push past the young girl and be on his way again, but his eyes caught up to him just a moment later. His gaze fell on her again as he took a small step back, not entirely certain if she was who he thought she was.

[thekingincrimson]

gentlemonsterallegra:

She stared at him intently, trying to see if he was believing her, but his facial expression didn’t seem to give away his thought process. He’d done this before, interrogation, she could tell by his demeanor. She shook her head again, her body now more tense than it was before as she tried to keep from looking intimidated, “I have committed none. I have only acted as a messenger since I’ve been on land.” That wasn’t exactly the truth. While it was true that she had never killed anyone before, she couldn’t say she hadn’t tried. There was that one girl she encountered in the woods a few months back, when she tried to take her life but fled at the last second. She would live the rest of her life with the guilt of almost killing that girl, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself at all if she had actually followed through with it.

His smile grew in a malicious sort of curve as she lied to him. He looked toward the ground as though he were trying to conceal how entertaining this was to him.

“So then you have no idea what you are on trial for here... Do you, darling?”

I Am Damaged || Allegra & Gideon

[thekingincrimson]

goldenelias:

Elias raised his eyebrows, looking at the king, wondering what happened and why in the world he was getting so upset at him for answering a question. He picked up the plate and a fork, taking a bite. Smiling, he sighed, happily. “Thank you. That’s so good, wow, so soft.” His stomach had most definitely been growling and he definitely needed it. But clearly there was something wrong and he wasn’t sure how to ask. He didn’t want to overstep his boundaries, but he wanted to know.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, looking at him as he continued to eat the insanely tasty omelette. “I’m sorry if I did. I can be kind of an ass sometimes, but I didn’t think it was all that bad,” he explained. Elias was trying to be a better person. He knew he needed to be better, not just hotter and smarter, but a kinder person. His ego only went so far. It wasn’t always the best decision and he was trying to fix that. People got very easily offended and he wasn’t much of a fan anymore.

At first, Gideon just stood there, staring at Elias like he was trying to figure out what in this man’s mind made him so dense. Had the last minute not happened? Did he apologize and then immediately think that moment had been erased from the past?

Gideon had no patience for this or the man’s weak attempt at deep conversation. With nothing but a roll of his eyes and what may have possibly been the word “dumbass” formed under his breath, Gideon took his own breakfast and walked out of the room.

[thekingincrimson]

gentlemonsterallegra:

Allegra shook her head vigorously, “No. No sir- Well, I am a mer, but not murderous.” She winced as she stood up from the cold stone floor to look at him more directly, but given her short stature she still had to look up to look him in the eyes. One hand held tightly against the wound in her shoulder, the other holding onto the bars in front of her, she continued, “I have abandoned the Sea of Song. Their violent and cruel ways are abhorrent to me and I want no part of them.” 

She attempted to straighten herself as much as she could with the pain of her wound, lift her head up high as if she were being courageous, “I was always told I was weak for never wanting to harm those who were different from us, but now I see they are the weak ones. They fear land dwellers so much they think they need to kill them to keep them at bay.” She took a deep breath, she had never voiced these feelings out loud, and now that she had the chance to, it almost felt good to renounce herself from the Sea. “I do not wish to fight in this war anymore, I only wish for freedom from Song.”

Playing the role of a rebel for sympathy. Gideon could admire her attempt, though her sincerity was not very convincing. All the Mer were so beautiful and charming, and yet Gideon was rather sure this one would like to rip him to pieces if there were no barrier between them.

Still, he went along with it, to a point. He didn’t want to give up his intentions too quickly.

“You say you no longer wish to fight, but what about the crimes you have already committed, my dear? What should I do of that?”

I Am Damaged || Allegra & Gideon

[thekingincrimson]

gentlemonsterallegra:

Allegra grabbed onto the bars of the cell when she heard footsteps, her shoulder still throbbing with pain, but she continued to look up and down the corridor to see who was approaching. When she finally saw a shadow of a man slowly make his way towards her cell, she sighed with relief. She started speaking before he was even in front of her, “Can you help me, sir? I need to speak with whoever’s in charge. There’s been a huge misunderstanding.”

When he finally stopped in front of her a chill ran down her spine at the intimidating air of this man, she had a feeling he was the one she was supposed to be talking to. “That would be you, though, wouldn’t it? … You’re the Crimson King?” she asked, just speaking his title made her mouth go as dry as sandpaper.

A smile crept across Gideon’s lips as she eventually came to figure out who he was. It was the kind of cautious recognition that reminded him just how powerful he was, and it gave him a kind of pleasure like nothing else could.

He was intrigued, though, by how she thought there might be a misunderstanding, so he figured he might as well give her the benefit of the doubt to start. It would make her disappointment so much more satisfying in the end.

“Tell me why this has been a mistake. Are you saying you aren’t a murderous mermaid?”

I Am Damaged || Allegra & Gideon

[thekingincrimson]

waning-shadows:

Jensen couldn’t help but smile at Gideon’s answer. Cece had twirled her father around her little finger so tightly it was rather funny to watch. “Everything for the Princess”, Jensen replied and took off his jacket putting it on the edge of one of the nearby chairs. He looked at his father, thinking what he should say or should he say anything, but since they hadn’t really been talking much lately – Gideon taking care of the mer situation and Jensen doing some investigation and Gideon taking care of his family while Jensen was taking care of Paige – but maybe this morning they should just talk like.. like normal people, like a family. “How are you?”

“I’m actually doing... all right, I think,” he answered honestly for probably the first time in his life. He only ever made it custom to lie to Jensen if he knew he didn’t want to upset the boy, but right now... He didn’t have too much to be upset about. The war progress from the Mer had been delayed, his family was together, he hadn’t yet gone insane again... 

“How about you? How have you and the dwarf been?”

[thekingincrimson]

goldenelias:

Elias put his hands up in defense, chuckling slightly. “Woah, woah. I don’t care what’s in it as long as it looks good. Is there anything wrong with that?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. He knew he should never disrespect his king and he hadn’t meant to, at all. Leaning up against the table, he looked down at the food and back up at his king. “You can put whatever you want in it. You asked, so I responded. I’m just not a fan of mushrooms. They’re squishy and I don’t like squishy,” the archer explained.

The king noticed how Elias attempted to laugh it off, but Gideon hadn’t found any of this the slightest bit funny. And this was primarily why Elias was made to be a knight and not a jester.

But knowing the man had been put in check, he turned back to the stove and dropped whatever he had cooked off of the pan and onto a plate with completely carelessness. He then placed it in front of Elias like he was dropping a bowl of food in front of a dog. 

“There.”

[thekingincrimson]

gentlemonsterallegra:

Allegra woke with a start, not in the water of the river, not in the dirt of the forest, but on a cold, hard, stone floor. Her eyes had shot open with immediate fear, this place looked completely unfamiliar to her, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Stone walls and stone floors, bars that kept her in a small area of the cold room, and barely any light to see anything in the first place. She tried to sit up and was greeted with a shooting pain radiating from her shoulder. She looked over and saw a white bandage covering a wound and she was quickly reminded of what happened at the river. 

After taking another look about her surroundings she was finally able to piece together her situation: she had been captured. She became even more frightened, realizing just how bad this looked. She had given herself away as a mermaid, in the middle of a war between Wonderland and the Sea of Song. But Allegra wasn’t fighting for the Sea of Song anymore. She wanted no part in this war anymore, if she could just talk to somebody and convince them she was harmless, she could be freed, from both this cell and the Sea of Song. She crawled to wall of bars in front of her and began to shout, “Hello?!” but heard no one, “… Can anybody hear me?!” 

Gideon had ordered the knights not to confront the young Mer they had dragged in last night until he was ready. He didn’t need anyone fucking up like they had when Reed was imprisoned. The other cells in that wing of the dungeon had all been cleared out and the entrance put on high security, just for her.

So when a knight interrupted his dinner, he knew what it must be about and immediately made his way down to his shiny, new prisoner. He entered alone and approached the girl’s cell with slow, taunting steps.

“Welcome to the Palace, my dear.”

I Am Damaged || Allegra & Gideon

[thekingincrimson]

Gideon kept his hood pulled up just above his eyes, letting the long shadows from the evening sky keep his identity concealed as he walked alone among the crowd in the Woodland. 

He’d been trying. He really had. The Mer seemed to be at bay for now but, at any moment, the sickness could fade out and then where would they be?

The people of the Woodland just seemed so peaceful now... Far less frantic than when he had last been out her. And just for nostalgia’s sake, it seemed Gideon was mindlessly making his way toward the old bakery.

[thekingincrimson]

cursedcadence:

She was so used to be being calm and collected, always in control and ready for anything. This threw her off and it was no wonder that she attempted to find comfort at the bottom of a bottle. But it’d pass because she didn’t allow for herself to fall apart. She wasn’t weak. 

“I’m fine, I just wanted some peace and a break — is it too much to ask for when I’m the enemy the rest of the time? It’s all my fault that your people are being slaughtered out there and I care. And I hate that I care because it makes me weak and I can’t be weak when my family’s lives are at risk.”

Gideon’s teeth raked his lower lip as he listened to her speak, hating what he heard in her voice. He wished he could change everything for her, but they were not even close to winning this war and he didn’t even know what the next step should be. Regardless, he had to say something...

Lowering himself beside her again, he looked up at the woman who meant everything to him.

“Cadence... You are the farthest from weak that you have ever been. You have gone from a guarded refugee to the bloody Queen of Wonderland. You have won the love and leadership of the greatest land there is while barely lifting a finger. Who needs calm in the storm when there is a passion like yours to get through it? You are stronger right now than I have ever seen you, because you care.”

[thekingincrimson]

[thekingincrimson]

wandering-wills:

Will recognized now the inherent authority in their interactions. It had always been like this, he thought as he obeyed the gesture toward a specific chair.  He sat down and listened to the answer to his question.  This place was so strange.  A baker ending up as king.  Anything was possible.  

“Did you like it, or do you do it out of necessity?” He asked, thinking in an abstract way how easy it would be to poison a king who was helpless in front of a stove.  Maybe it was a safeguard.  He wasn’t stupid enough to say it.  “I mean, either way, thank you.” 

The boy asked good questions. That was true enough. Gideon had always wavered with the thought himself, but he supposed now was as good a time as any to speak the truth. If Willem were here to kill him, a little conversation wasn’t exactly going to change anything.

“Both, really... I didn’t when I was first crowned. I had people who cared for me then - people I trusted. As years went by, I became less trusting... So, then I suppose it was out of necessity. But I’d always cooked when I needed a good chance to think.” He went on to flip the eggs in his pan before continuing. “Some mindless gestures and wonderful smells make for a peaceful environment.”

And once he was sure they were cooked through, Gideon slid his meal onto a fresh plate, extinguished the stove, and turned to place himself at the opposite end of the table. 

“Today, however, I just wanted to make sure my family and I have a good meal with no risk to our health.”