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kicktwine · 8 months

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So how was stormblood? I know it's very hit or miss for people, so what're your thoughts?

I understand why it’s hit or miss! It — to get to the point i would be straight up lying if I said I was an unbiased consumer because I’m not, I’m a coastal American mid 20s rando with a Lot of very current cultural baggage around concepts like patriotism and freedom. And Hamilton references. It all has a sweet and strong and very anti-occupation message (along with themes I very much enjoy dissecting like the constant assertion that it Doesn’t Have To Be This Way, or the expansion into You may not understand this person but you must be able to accept them,) but when combined with Stormblood’s shakier coherence in writing and dialogue and pacing, it comes off as A Bit Off. to me. And I think it missed ever so slightly just due to how it was all structured and set up with the characters we have and motivations we have because the stuff OUTSIDE or Adjacent to the main story, despite how out of place it could feel, was structured great!! Like the Kojin and the Ananta trial and the Kugane mishaps and trying to murder Zenos twice and the ghost ship. Could the main structure have come across very well yes absolutely! It does it on and off it succeeds in there often! But sometimes it doesn’t. I can see a lot of where concepts were promised and not fully delivered, pacing was a bit off, things just happened without really belonging there (despite how much I loved Susano, he could have been better structured. same with many instances and also I feel like the unethical science should have been MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT — maybe it comes back. Who is that scientist.), sometimes dialogue felt somewhat canned. I feel like in a consequences-heavy expansion, many things just didn’t have important consequences, which was very strange

HOWEVER! I cannot give the new gameplay features abd dungeons any crap they are all SO GOOD. And so PRETTYYYYY. And there were so many solo duties that ruled! Every dungeon in this expansion was like whoa this is a PLACE im in you know what I mean??? I’m in a place that’s big and there’s people and there’s NEW MECHANICS and active time maneuvers (??!!!!!!!) and unique fights! I can jump on the roofs in Kugane! And, mind you, when the dialogue was good, it was good. Lyse has a fantastic voice actor. Alisaie is my favorite girl elf creature in thw world. Estinien is like the best p- the guy ever. also m’naago is my new friend. The tower was a great part of sb to me despite my singular gripe. I think Zenos’— I know it’s controversial to some people because he does assume your wol to be a bit more murderous than some people would prefer their characters be and doesn’t take no for an answer, but his um speech did something to my brain a little bit

ON that note the ending was very fast?????? Or like — not FAST, but I wasn’t expecting Zenos or Shinryu to go down in one fight. Two co-op fights, right next to each other. I kind of wanted to beat him up myself. And when Zenos was so impossible to beat before. I was expecting both of them to be WAY harder. Though Shinryu is a COOL fight I’d do the royal menagerie again in a second. I was kind of expecting a three stage trial? Like Nidhogg? I love going into space hiiii big dragon where were you this whole time… u were shafted… but u could not be suffered to live so. Maybe if we’d gotten an instance of fighting the dragon alone after beating the trial?? Could have been Themes. I don’t know

anyways no I can’t quite pin it down, but I’ve said it before I think they had the outline for the story and then built it and went oh this is too much and not enough at the same time and got stuck writing the whole thing after getting stuck in the story they already had. A COMMENDABLE job for getting turned around like that, way better than a lot of video games stories out there, good gameplay and areas that didn’t feel too empty. glances at coerthas falcons nest area. I think the ways they did the exploration thing was good, having us venture further into occupied territory etc, but so much exploration stuff felt oneoff and not there to do much for someone who has been skipping almost all of the side content except stuff I’ve been told is good. It almost felt like they were Trying New Stuff a lot, and some of it succeeded some of it failed. Such is trying stuff!! Such is trying to imitate what you had while making something new and exciting! And I can’t fault them for that

so like — putting aside the fact that I haven’t done post-sb which is like missing 40% of the Thing according to past expansions and my thoughts very well might change, i would 100% do the fights again, maybe watch some cutscenes, but I don’t think I’d NG+ this one. where is that lady selling buuz it is a CRIME i did not get to have any buuz let me buy one yoshi p

#hi Zenos I’m not going to go get tea with you but would you like to drown in a swamp with our antlers locked until someone’s head gets #ripped off and the other guy has to carry it staring at him for the rest of his miserable existence #play game #I can’t stand you as a horrible person or cancerous political presence. I bet you want to rip my throat out about it #u want me to fight you so bad it makes you look stupid #stormblood spoilers #maaah I don’t want to put my thoughts in main tags I’m writing a 30 minute high school English essay. Just grabbing thoughts and going #the more I think about it the more I think shinryu NEEDED a second one player fight #every other final fight has been multiple tri- wait well. Hm. Nidhogg was a patch quest.#no I stand by it the final HW fight was a cliffhanger so u knew a bigger fight was coming. Shinryu needed a second stage you had to fight #alone with your teeth and claws. Kill the eikon yourself; eikon-slayer. what else could you do. Nothing #nothing but kill it #This was always meant for you #maybe with Zenos inside losing control of it? maybe with him snarling at us the whole time. idk idk #I am starting to feel embarrassed for typing so much and having raw unrefined thoughts so that means I have to hit post #AND SHINRYU WAS SUPPOSED TO BE STRONGER THAN BAHAMUT I don’t know

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holylottie · 2 years

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aquarium dome.

cursed!Cove Holden x reader

warnings: father-son miscommunication, cove got the curse but cliff got the sadness, kyra and cliff together for lore needs, monarchy, reader is the heir of rapunzel's tale, cross-posted on ao3.

summary: Cove Holden is the heir to the tale of Beauty and the Beast, a prince who is known to hate any royal event. You can share the feeling, but not directly with him, Cove is almost unreachable!

But no worries, you are not alone, you can share your thoughts with C, your mysterious friend who sits on the highest shelf in the library every evening.

p.s. hiding from oneself is not a very e-fish-ent move.

Cove hopped down the stairs, his ocean green locks flowing freely. Reaching the end, he came across a room full of furniture-like employees passing by from all sides, the sight made his stomach turn. But it wasn’t long till his worries eased, in the middle of that coordinate dance of organization was his mother, and her presence was more than enough.

“Baby!” her smile was so big that Cove couldn’t contain his own “I’m sorry about the fuzz, gotta get everything ready for the big night!”

The previous smile got a little smaller, royalty balls weren’t his favorites. No event with royalty was if he was being truly honest, but he did his best for the sake of his parents.

“I promise you don’t need to be socializing for too long, okay?” She hugged him by the side, checking the clipboard on her hands “go get yourself some food! An empty bag cannot stand upright!”

The boy chuckled, walking straight to the kitchen. He wasn’t a fan of eating at the table in the morning, it was all too lonely. In fact, that big place looked lonely all the time ever since…

Well, ever since his father decided to take refuge in his office.

The new chef made some pretzels for him, eagerly trying new things everyday to win Cove’s paladar, but the young boy remained faithful to Mrs. Potts, his favorite cook. Most of the time, he didn't know if she really cooked better or if he was unintentionally sabotaging himself to his preferences.

It didn't matter now, she could cook either way.

“The king is eating in the dining room, would you like to make him some company, your highness?”

Cove's head moved so fast in the direction of the servant that the world seemed to twirl for a couple of seconds. He didn't even remember to nod and thank the man, his legs taking him fast, afraid his father could vanish.

“Dad!”

He cheers, but his voice gets progressively lower seeing that his father was already up, cleaning his hands.

“Oh, hello, darling” Clifford gives him a side smile, pressing his lips. And cove has to contain himself to not take the butter knife and cut the tension out.

Two beasts staring at each other, the unspoken words deciding who was going to be the prey.

“Are you gonna come back to your studies?” uncertainty in every letter.

“Yes, the clock is running against me.” Cliff makes a sad chuckle and if the son wasn't so busy in his own insecurities, would have noticed the kind essence behind the king's eyes. “gotta go, darling, have a nice meal. Excuse me.”

“There will be no glory for this family, you should let that animal go.”

Both men stopped on their tracks for a second, but the king paid no mind to his child's words, leaving the room. When did you stop sharing bonbons?

The young prince sat in the luxury chair, his hunger long gone.

He was the prey today.

You were on the other side of the city, sitting at goldilocks restaurant. It was even more beautiful at night, the large chandeliers and the many flowers distributed throughout the place made it an unique environment.

The food menu made Leandra jump for joy, she had finally taken some time off from the sea and prayed to Poseidon that this time no one served sushi as Lizzie had at their last gathering.

She could only complain about the smell still making her nauseous, and how the poor little fish got through so much pain to not even be cooked.

“My feets are simply killing me!” Lee said while sitting by your side. She put her and your drinks on the table.

“I told you to choose the other one…” Elizabeth singing-said, joining you two at the table “But let's go to the subject directly: ball attire!”

The lady opened a huge smile, without being able to contain her hands.

“I am torn apart between blue and pink, to be honest…”

You and Lee shared a look, you two could give your opinions but everybody in that table knew that Lizzie would wear the one she liked in the end.

“I'm really excited, so much time since the Holden's had a ball!” Lee shared, quickly changing her expression “do you think Cove's gonna show up?”

Elizabeth and you took a moment to think.

In your humble opinion, you disagree with every single colocation that anyone on the royalty circle had. But when it comes to the beauty royalty, you were even more the black sheep.

Cove Holden seemed to live in his own world while the others wandered the earth waiting for his next move, authenticity flowed through the few poppy branches in his green hair. It was his personal garden.

You thought everything around him, about him, was so amusing. Definitely a mystery, but intriguing just the same.

“Hopefully he will feel comfortable enough to.” you answered, without giving time to them to add anything “what about your friend, Liz?”

“What friend? Miranda?”

”No, silly, Baxter!” Lee was the one who answered.

Lizzie huffed, not minding the jokes, but done with only talking about the new student.

“He is my friend, why is everyone so pressed about it?” her eyes rolled “I get it, I get it, he is the prince charming heir, I got the princess role, but basically everyone in Epilogue is royalty!”

Your other friend pressed her lips together seeing the outburst “I'm sorry, Lizzie, I didn't mean to upset you.”

The oldest shook her head, taking a deep breath and pressing her long nail in one of her fingers.

“No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't want to sound so mad. It's just...If I'm gonna sleep for a hell of eternity the least that people could give me is some liberty to make my own choices while I can, don't you think?”

Your hands were quickly to find hers, receiving an appreciative smile. You knew about complicated destinies.

“Well, I never saw anyone manage time better than you, but if I can say something, eating ice scream is the best deal to make!”

Laughs were shared between the trio, and the rest of the afternoon was light-hearted conversations and clothes search.

Shortly after, you all went to Epilogue. The school had its baobab doors open and the talking cricket welcomed everyone.

You said goodbye to your friends, having the first period free to collect your books and decide which extracurricular activities you would engage in this year.

The library was your first step of the morning, but without a specific book in mind, you started wandering through new categories that would satisfy your curious brain.

"How the lines of fate works", "Destiny: cause and correlations”, "Horses".

Horses?

You couldn't think that much about the topic, a pile of books crashed onto the floor a few meters away, you started following the direction but stopped when an alarming voice asked you.

“I've got this, please, don't worry” they said.

They were on the other side of the shelf, the last one of the right side.

“Is everything alright there?” you asked, waiting for they to get out, but that didn't happen “do you need any help there?”

“No, thank you, I'm gonna stay here for a while.” it was your answer “But I would appreciate it if you stay in your side.”

“Oh, okay” it was confusing, maybe they had a embarrassing situation going on “Well, so I will stick around and make you some company”

“No, don't worry, you don't need to do it”

Your face broke into a smile, they apologized a lot.

“You will be making me company in the same amount. And even more, making new friends on the first day sounds awesome.” you sat on the floor.

“We should begin by the beginning, it is always the same anyway” your voice got a little louder, afraid it wouldn't reach their ears “I'm y/n, how about your name?”

A few mutters escaped their mouth “Hm, would it be okay for you if you just call me him? Or he?” he shrugged, insecure in his ask

“That is more than alright, don't worry, I won't meddle in” you answered “Maybe we could decide a letter for you?”

“I can work with C!” his voice got less worried and if you pay enough attention, you could find a happy tone

“We should start with simple questions then, C.” you tried to keep the conversation going “do you like flowers?”

“Yes, I do!” his voice got excited “I have my own garden! My favorite is the poppy, but I like the yellow ones only”

You scrunch your nose, confused

“How can it be your favorite if you only like one color?”

Your parents and you lived in the center of the town, but on a no-way-out street. They were requested to stay close, even though they were almost always away in the lake house.

“Eugene! How can that be a cat?” you heard your mother's voice complain playfully.

“You gave me creative liberty!”

When you entered the living room, your father had puppy-eyes to you and your mom was seated haphazardly on the couch.

“Do you wanna see my mimic, sweetie?”

“From my mother's experience, I think I do not.”

“Meow-ch” he answered, tossing himself by your mom's side.

You walked in the kitchen's direction, but stopped once you saw pre-packed lunches on the table.

“no.”

“y/n, you have to try it again…” your mother pleaded.

“I can not! Is it that hard to understand, I just freeze!” your voice became hoarse easily.

Thinking about your biggest fear was enough to upset you.

“It's okay, we can go on little steps” they both went to the kitchen, taking you in their arms “slow and steady, hm?"

“Like a chameleon!" Eugene's added.

Things weren't solved with a simple hug, but you're glad to have people around you to make it a little easier.

A failed try was still a try.

All of your attempts to hide your new mysterious friend from your not mysterious best friend had the same result: failure.

Derek is, without a doubt, a terrible liar. For a time, you were almost sure that he could be Pinocchio's heir, until you witnessed his green magic.

But here's the thing about terrible liars: they are great at figuring them out.

“Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you can't believe that I will believe this hard-to-believe excuse.”

You smiled, he certainly spoke more than his tongue.

“So I don't have to tell you?” you arched one eyebrow, thinking the whole conversation was very amusing.

“Well, no, I mean, I'd be happy for you to tell me, completely happy, but I'm certainly not going to be mad if you don't.” He smiled at you “Even if I think the wise thing to do would be to tell me, if it is bothering you, it's definitely too much of a burden to carry alone.”

You laughed, nodding your head in denial, could ever be a conversation where Derek didn’t worry?

You two headed to Cinderella’s class, a non-regular dance lesson, but that was held every week before a ball. Author forbids anyone to ever miss a step in these routines.

Derek and you were a little bit late, too busy in your own conversation to carry about the ticking clock, and once you two entered the room, the boy by your side was scooped by the teacher. She knew Derek was the only one polite enough to not decline dance in front of the whole class, even if he hated all the attention on himself.

However, you didn’t stay alone for too long, another person was late. One point for destiny, zero to your indecision!

Immediately, the music started playing, and you looked to your partner.

Well, destiny must be really up for the competition, cause offering you a hand was the Holden Prince. A very uncomfortable prince, but looking incredibly charming nevertheless.

Two points for destiny, zero to your insecurities. You felt like a fish out of water so close to a big member of the royal council.

His face was flushed, more red than the roses you saw in the path to your house, and the previous duo-dance transformed into a trio. Him, you and the deadly awkward silence between.

He didn't mutter a single word to you and once the teacher dismissed the class, Cove was the first one to take his bag and leave.

You made a mental note to complain about it to your library friend.

The last lesson of the day was Introduction in Princesology and you couldn't think about a more boring class.

Sitting on your usual spot, you waited for your desk-partner. Placing your books and pencil case on the table, you notice a little note glued to the support part of the table.

“Delight me in your presence? — C”

It was a simple yellow paper, adorned with a beautiful sketch of a poppy and a happy fish.

A wave of happiness went through you, and you suddenly got up from your seat.

Which could be normal unless you are in the middle of a class, with the teacher making a practical example on how to spot the difference between a regular frog and an enchanted one.

She looked at you with a big question mark on her face. The same expression as everyone in the room.

“gotta go. Headaches.” you said, leaving the class, not giving enough time to your body swallow itself in embarrassment.

A few steps were all you needed to head where you were needed.

You entered the library already complaining, and sat on the floor, not failing to notice that this time a new rug adorned the floor.

“I just, I can't do it!” you said, frustrated, adjusting to the rug “I literally ran away and I mean, going in the wrong direction would have me dead! How can I be a suitable heir in these conditions?”

Your friend gives a loud laugh, but quickly hides it with a fake cough.

“Are you seriously laughing at me? I thought this was a safe place to vent!” you said, not really upset.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it! It was stronger than me!” he apologizes

“It's okay, don't worry…” your hands started making patterns in the soft fabric. “I'm glad I could make your day a little better, but my problems aren't really that bad, I'm improving my singing skills, it's all I truly needed.”

“You need to be a singer?”

“No, no, no” a little chuckle escaped your lips “I just need to be able to sing one healing song, nothing much…”

He didn't say anything for some time, and if you didn't know he was up in the shelves, you would have thought he was gone.

“You mean your song can make things come back the way it was before?”

“Well, kind of, I guess.” you shrugged, you never really had to explain it before, and finding words to it was harder than you thought. “It’s more like healing what once was damaged”

It was quiet for a while again, but it didn’t bother you this time. You started to learn that his silence sometimes said even more than his words.

“Do you think you could help me with something?”

This time, you were the quiet one. Getting up from your previous position, you tried to get closer to the voice, worried about him.

“Are you hurt, C?”

“NO! No…” he quickly added “I-I’m, it’s just… it’s very complicated.”

“I like complicated stories, you shouldn't spare me the details!” you sing-said, already finding a more comfortable position to listen.

“Well, I guess I already revealed a lot about myself anyway…”

C was thinking on the best way to start, at least that was how you take his silence.

“It all began not so long ago, in a not so far away land. The king had a nice marriage and a happy kingdom, not much more could be asked for in a simple man’s eyes, but he had a secret wish in his heart, that claimed his whole body and soul: to have a golden heron that wandered around his realm.

He went on long journeys away from his wife, trying to capture the golden animal. Until the ball in celebration of the queen's birthday came, and as her gift, she pleaded to her husband to forget about his wish, and he promised to, even if he didn’t understand her pleas, it was just a gilt bird, for who could ever learn to love such a beast?

But the golden heron was his deepest dream, he wanted it more than anything. He said it to his wife before they even married. More than anything.

After a few days of discussion, he thought that the best was to just leave it aside, to hide his ambition.

Until, he spotted the animal close to the sea. The royal ruler's land was full of living mazes, plants and trees everywhere, which confused the poor heron. The king shoots a straight arrow, craving it in the animal's heart.

It didn't last long, in his sight the heron was long gone, switched into a naked woman. His wife. The sky closed with dark clouds, a rainstorm starting.

He asked for her forgiveness while she asked the moon god for mercy. Yet it was all for nothing, the moon god condemned the man to be seen as he was.

A beast in the body of a man locked in the form of a beast.

The god made his daughter a statue. A material memorie of the beast's choices, holding a red poppy until the beast was able to find someone to truly love him. Until he was able to love himself the way he was deep down…”

You thought there was more, the history made you want to understand every single detail, did the king loved the queen? How about all the rest of the kingdom? Did it end up happily? C didn't give you anything more.

“I think I like your version better. If I am condemned to be the way I am, I would rather do it all by myself in a tall tower” he said, from the top of the library shelf.

You took a moment to fully comprehend his words, still processing the tale. Who was the beast? How did it affect C? How could he wish to do all of this on his own?

“What about your parents? You can't talk to them about it?”

He said something that you couldn’t catch, not hearing an answer back, he repeated it, louder “They never saw it. I never showed it to any of them.”

Even without wanting, your face contorted into a deep frown. It must be hard doing it all alone. You still couldn't imagine him a beast, everything about C was gentle.

“Not that I don’t have their support, but mom is most of the time some miles away for her queen duties. And my dad…” he stopped for a moment, in the silence, the only thing you could think of were the sound of bubbles “my dad tries his best but he’s just not the same anymore.”

His voice had a feeling that you couldn’t catch. Maybe it was the kind of mix of understanding and grief that only parents could give.

“Isn't it ironic that both our lives were doomed by flowers?”

For a few moments, you both were lost in your own musings, without knowing that we're sharing the same thoughts.

“Perhaps we could find our own seed. Make sure it grows happily.”

You smiled. C's own personal garden was now yours too.

“I have nightmares about it. I think I'm afraid of becoming something worse.”

He confessed and your father's wise words echoed in your mind. You took a little longer than him to gather the words, but you hopped to help that same way.

“You know, when someone passes for such a hard thing like you do, they have a lot of fear, and this fear doesn't come out all at once. They get out little by little, with every little laugh and hug you receive.” you said, mentally praying it would fit in C's context, your hands move freely while explaining, even if he couldn't see it “so these nightmares are the little amount of fear that your body is still holding. But you don't have to worry, one day it will all go away.”

“I guess I got to laugh a lot then!” the secret friend answered, holding to the little by little part.

“Well this is your lucky day! You have me to do it!”

He playfully laughed, charmed by your cheers.

The silence grew comfortable once again.

“Yeah, I think I got my own golden heron.” he whispered, smiling gratefully.

The reunion of Parents and Tales was a gathering between guardians and professors that happened every two months. The objective was to make everyone aware of the semester routine, events and the student's grades.

You find it boring but always come to spend time with Derek or Lizzie, except for today, cause the second your feets passed through the door, you excused yourself to the library.

And we're there for at least one hour, without having any need for it to end.

“I will give you twenty crowns for you to tell me which you prefer.”

“You can't buy my sincerity! That is a hideous move!” his words were interspersed with laughter

“Okay, I will just choose it then.”

His silence was short, followed by a sequence of “What is it? What is it? What is it?”

“Getting a handful of these brings a joy you've never felt, but don't leave me in your pockets because I may melt! What am I?”

You said the riddle, waiting for his answer.

“You brought me chocolate?”

His voice didn't carry the joy you mentioned. Actually, suddenly C sounded down.

“You don't like chocolate? I bought you the cherry one, but I can give you another flavor or…”

"I can't do this. I can't, I can't, I can't…”

C's voice suddenly stopped with a loud thud in the background, making your whole body shiver. Your brain was so filled with uneasiness that you didn't realize where your legs were taking you. You broke the promise.

You had got up, running to his side of the shelf.

And once you were there, in your sight was the prince.

Well, he did have a crown.

But he also had fins, gills and scales.

An ocean green fish, a moorish idol looking like in a round aquarium ornate with gold. In tiny steps, you get closer and closer, seeing that his little left flipper had an even smaller pink scar.

“No! No, no, no, you gotta leave!” he said. The fish. C. Cove? You didn't even know how to refer to him.

“Do you…can I…do you want to be held?” you kept going forward and back, afraid of passing any limits.

Cove could only mutter, and once you saw a puddle on the floor you started to freak out, losing any common sense.

“It's okay! It's okay! I'm going to help you, cove” you got close enough to have his little bowl in your hands, trying to equilibrate him for no water leaking. “You gonna be okay, I promise”

And this promise, you intended to never break.

The night of Holden's ball came.

The last time the palace looked that illuminated and perfectly decorated was when the heir was born.

Walls with expensive fabrics, floral arrangements in every corner and crystal chandeliers adorned the entrance hall.

The principal saloon had a huge dance circle, a big table that went from end to end with an enormous variety of food, but what made it perfect for a party was the impeccable vitrales that the room had. No other place in Grimmwood could ever compare to the beauty of the Holden's windows.

In the left corner of the room, a white staircase resided, shaped like a C, and you need to be honest, a curved ladder gave a nice touch to the architecture.

Not that you could focus that much on the building. Going down the stars was the Prince, his ocean green hair was looked by a fish golden clip, his attire was on the finest finary: a white ruffle shirt decorated with a golden and red brooch, matching with dark pink trousers.

The Holden family got together for the pics, at Merlin's request.

The camera facing Cove, his father's arms around his shoulders and every single person's eyes on that room were on him, and he couldn't breathe. He suddenly couldn't breathe.

The young boy's smile faltered, and as soon as the flash went out, he left the room, going to the stairs to find refugees in his mother's personal library.

He missed the sound of steps behind him, Clifford was in his tail, following him with a worried look.

The boy reached the second floor, entering the first door he could find: his father's office.

“you know what? I can't do this anymore!” Cove cried out.

Cliff closed the door behind him, watching his son pace around the room.

“You are still the king you were before! Still an egotistical man!” Cove's hands move exasperatedly, all his body attempting to emphasize his despair “you still only seek glory!”

“You changed ever since the cursing! You are not the same with me.” Cove’s words got through his dad's skin, piercing his heart more deeply than any dagger could, making it seem easy to kill a beast. “You never looked at me again. Not truly.”

The ambient got quiet for a while, until faint sobs were heard.

The king was…crying?

“It was my fault. Your curse was mine to take upon.” Clifford couldn’t hide the aching in his voice “I left you for a couple of minutes, I told you to not touch the fallen rose, but you’re such a young and curious kid, and now you’re doomed to this suffering like once I was. I had my time to accept that my claws were claws, but how can I forgive that your little fingers would soon fade into such tight grips? That I couldn’t protect you like I was supposed to? Oh, Cove… I would rather have this kingdom succumb to ashes than see you face the mirror with fear. I had to do something, That’s what I’m researching. No magic is powerful enough to be unbreakable. Definitely not with the strength of my love.”

Cove’s mouth got dry, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t feel anything beside his burning eyes.

“Even for the pain that comes with being different, sometimes, I miss my ugliness, and I think that some people may miss it too.” The older Holden took a deep breath, looking through the stained-glass window. “It's easier to be hated and love for afar than let yourself experience any good thing that you sort yourself undeserving. I didn’t want you to ever feel what I did during those years.”

Clifford shocked his head, trying to focus on the topic and gather his thoughts.

“But none of this is ever an excuse for what I did to you. My fears and regrets are many but not one of them regards you… I mean, except for the absence ever since it happened. I’m sorry, Cove. I truly am.”

And that was the first time in a few pages that father and son looked at each other in the eyes, the first time they were in the same paragraph, paying attention and trying to understand the other's notes.

“I really apologize about that, my darling. The last thing that my monstrous heart wanted was to put you in any kind of pain.” Cliff gave a sad smile “I love you endless, from the tips of my claws to the end of my nose.”

“You don’t love me till the end of your forehead?”

“Well, considering that my thought was that the best for you was to not have me around to focus only on the cure, I suppose that my head isn’t the best place to receive love right now.”

Cove shrugged “I think that's what makes it the most needed place.”

The dad’s eyes watered once again “There is no creature that your heart couldn’t ever bend.”

You went outside, your legs and mind aching for a rest that only a comfortable bench in a silence garden could provide. You kept walking, looking at the ground once you saw the crying statue that the Holden palace had. You were afraid that looking at it for too long would make you cry too.

You wandered aimlessly, your feet passing through to the living gates without a care in the book, that was until your attention was caught. In front of you was a red poppy field, an impeccable courtyard that you couldn't take your eyes away from, lured to the shining petals.

“Don't touch them!”

You jumped, having his hands on your shoulders quickly, but the panic was soon gone, you recognized Cove's voice, only this time, you could also see him.

“Sorry, they are incredibly pretty” you apologize, even if his voice is nothing but worry for you.

“Yeah, the moon god has some mercy after all…” He said, not looking directly at you, but not able to face the flowers too.

“Thought that some fresh air would do some good.”

“Already cut your hair?” he moved his gaze to your head.

“Couldn't handle the sweat.” you laughed a little, smiling wider to him. “How long have you been here?”

“A little bit. Couldn't stay that long…”

“Well, you did try your beast.” you smiled, trying to catch his eyes.

He stopped for a minute, confused if you meant if or got a wrong letter. The prince gave the first true laugh of the night.

“The stars in the palace seem brighter than the ones in the city.” you commented, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Oh, these are not stars” the young boy smiled, and you realized that there was something even brighter than the constellations lighting up the place “they are firefly's in lanterns”

A garden seemed like a suitable place for both of you to talk, little by little Cove's roots and yours were intertwining and the silence that grew between you two served only to water the comfortable relationship.

Cove got up and stopped a few feets away from you —and the field—, swinging his body softly by hearing the melody from the party inside. He was looking you directly in the eyes for the first time. It was a night for a lot of first time's for him.

“Care to dance with me?” he gave you a shy smile.

“I can't hear anything, we can't dance without a song!” you said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The young Holden stared at you in a funny way, you could almost see his brain searching for solutions. Until his lips started moving, he was singing?

He comes close to you, giving his hand in offer while making his own melody.

You chuckled, bowing slightly and accepting it, and found yourself in the same entranced feeling from before, but your sight was even more amusing and bright.

It started as a classic ballroom routine, but soon you entered the song making an energetic duet, twisting and turning around the garden, resulting in an exciting dance, as if the steps were engraved in both your minds.

The song got progressively lower, and once you and Cove came face-to-face, he approached your ear, in an barely audible voice, whispering

“more than anything."

#cove holden x reader #our life #cove holden cursed #our life: happily ever after #ol:ba #cove holden #our life beginnings & always #fairy tale au #itmighthavebeenlibrary #i also wanted to name it eclipse garden tbh #english is not my first language so forgive me for any mistakes #writing this instead of studying for my final exams #gb patch games #tw monarchy

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