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billwidoll · 29 days

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Come back to me please

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You were at Topper's party, looking bewildered for your boyfriend Rafe, you asked everyone, but no one knew where he was. Except Topper.

"Hey Topper..." You say, approaching him, getting closer as the music was loud.

"hi yn! Enjoying the party?" Topper says drinking his drink. Topper was the king of parties and Rafe was the king of Outer banks Fact.

"Not really, I'm looking for Rafe, have you seen him?"

You ask loudly, you didn't drink or like parties much, you only went because of Rafe. You were the golden girl, you didn't drink, you didn't smoke, you were perfect and everyone was surprised when you and Rafe made it official, even Topper imagined that his friend would date a bitch, But Rafe chose you because it was love at first sight.

You had already been dating for 2 years, and Rafe was making plans for your future with him, you knew Rafe's fame, but you put that aside and clung to loving him.

"I think he's smelling dust with the kelce on top"

Topper speaks normally and you immediately get angry, as Rafe had promised he would stop it. You thank him and say goodbye to Topper.

You go up and see several rooms, and you ask everyone which room Rafe was in, until they pointed to a room that was in the last one. And you go there, ready to give a scolding In Rafe, you just didn't expect what was going to happen.

You approach the room and open the door, and you see Rafe Cameron, sucking Sophia, his best friend's breasts.

"Wow!" You speak with tears welling in your eyes and impulsively end up dropping your cell phone.

Rafe quickly sees you and stands up with a pale face.

"My love....and....I can explain...." Rafe speaks stuttering and getting closer to you and holding your arm.

"friend...we can explain" Sophia adds, and you become completely mobile, without any kind of reaction, and that terrified Rafe.

"Sophia get out of here now!" Rafe shouts, thinking Sophia would ruin his explanation.

"what about us Rafe?" Sophia asks how the victim was her. Rafe takes a quick look at her and she runs away.

"Love... don't cry... don't do this to me, it hurts too much" Rafe says holding your face and you're still a statue.

You stand up and move a little away from Rafe.

"I only have one thing to tell you: I loved you and I did my part, I thought we were going to get married and have two children like you wanted"

You throw it in his face, and his heart starts beating too fast. Rafe had just had a fight with his father, and it got on his nerves, so to distract himself he went to his father's party Topper, there he saw Sophia in a tight and short dress, seducing him, he unfortunately fell for her fetish.

"Whatever you say, I love you, I'm crazy about you, you're the woman I want to have kids with and marry, I want you to be a Cameron."

Rafe speaks crying and despairing, he was very afraid of losing the only person he truly loved.

"Bye Rafe... I hope you take care, okay?" You say, approaching the door, until Rafe jumps at you.

“Don’t give up on me, please don’t give up” Rafe cries pinning you against the door.

"no Rafe, that was the last straw" you reply, and Rafe insists once again.

"I belong to you and only you, love" Rafe speaks sobbing, and perhaps it could be more emotional manipulation that he was trying to do.

But it's true that Rafe was distressed by the fact that you might disappear from his life.

"Only you, my girl, only you, love, Only you, my girl, only you, babe"

Rafe repeats several times, placing his hands on your face and kissing you forcefully, clearly you pull away.

"Rafe! You've wronged me several times, okay? And I always forgive you, but this time you really hurt me"

You explain and unfortunately it doesn't enter Rafe's head.

"No! No! And not! You won't leave me now or ever!!!"

Rafe shouts at you and this scares you, putting you back, he approaches you to try to kiss you or hug you, but you kneel on Rafe's dick, and he falls to the floor. And you run from there. After that day, Rafe never saw you again.

Five years later

_____________________

Rafe was at the Country Club, with Topper and Kelce. Rafe didn't play golf anymore, he didn't work anymore, he didn't date anymore, and he was poorly looked after, Rafe only cared about drinking and sleeping.

"Hey man! Are you aware of the gossip?" Topper says drinking his water.

"what is it huh?" Rafe asks, drinking his whiskey as always.

"The wonderful yn, being back, married and with children"

When Topper says this, Rafe chokes on the whiskey he was drinking, he never saw you again. After the breakup, you went to Los Angeles and never responded to any of Rafe's messages.

"Married? And what do you mean with children?" Rafe asks trying to compose himself.

"and man! The girl is in luxury, her husband is a millionaire back in New York." Topper speaks, and Rafe is furious with those comments.

"so what? I'm a millionaire too" Rafe says trying to think he's better than his husband.

"Ah Rafe, let's be honest, you've run out of money and practically your father's, you haven't risen to your future friend"

Topper speaks wisely, and Rafe knew he was right and that's what you were talking about and he didn't listen and he regretted it

"you know what? I'm going to go to her" Rafe says, taking his wallet and leaving the money on the counter.

"Who she?" Topper says confused.

"the woman of my life" Rafe says looking directly into Topper's eyes.

"Man, she has two kids and a husband, do you think she's still stuck in the past?" Topper speaks leaving Rafe crestfallen, but that wouldn't stop him from going after you.

"just tell me where she is Topper!!!" Rafe yells, pulling on the ring on Topper's shirt.

"they told me she was at her old house, bro" Topper speaks in despair at his friend's desperation.

Rafe immediately gets on his bike and goes out to look for you.

_____________________

Rafe arrives at his old house, and you weren't Kook, you were Pogue, and you had a simple one.

Rafe parks his motorbike, and he sees you in the garden of the house, playing with your two young children and a dog. Rafe gets emotional at that scene, and starts to cry.

It didn't take long for you to see Rafe, and when you did, you didn't know it was Rafe, you thought he was an ordinary man, watching you and your children play.

You approach the man who was watching that scene and go to him and ask.

"Can I help you?" You ask, holding one child in your arms and another in your hand.

Rafe raises his head, and you can see better that it was the former great love of your life.

"Have I changed so much that my ex-girlfriend doesn't recognize me?"

Rafe made a light humorless joke, he was very sad but wanted to appear normal in front of you.

"oh my god! Rafe! Wow! And.... you look so... different"

You say really shocked, Rafe was really different.

"Do you want to come in? Do you want anything? We can talk, don't you think?" You ask him formally, and Rafe nods his head and nods accepting his invitation.

Rafe enters your house, and everything really was the same, everything was the same when you were dating.

"Don't fix the mess, please" you say, giving Rafe a slight smile, and you put your son in the crib and your other son on the floor to play with the cars.

"no... it's perfect. It really is beautiful" Rafe says, smiling at you too and you go to the kitchen to prepare some juice.

Rafe can't help but ask, the biggest question in his celebration.

"why did you come back....?" Rafe asks creating a tension in his words.

"I'm going to renovate this house and sell it as a beach house" you say, still smiling. Rafe couldn't believe you looked like that. Were you mad at him? I was sad? Or worse, was it over? There were many questions in Rafe's head.

"Really? You came to the Outer Banks just to sell this house?" Rafe says hoping you tell him you missed him.

"No, actually I saw it, show the beaches to my children, there in New York, we were just getting used to the cold and the city." You made it by gluing the tea to the cup for you and Rafe.

"Ah... I see... your children are cute...." Rafe says, getting confused in his answers, but he was sad and depressed.

"But what about you, Rafe Cameron? How are you? Are you still the biggest playboy in town?" You say smiling and giving him the glass of tea.

"Nah...my life is...crazy as hell" Rafe says once again scratching his head and looking down "but you're okay, right? You're already married and with kids, and from what I know the guy and one hell of a Millionaire, right?”

You noticed right away that Rafe wasn't feeling well at all, and that he was suffering from anxiety, you were angry with him, you were very young when you separated.

"Yes....I evolve in life Rafe" you say a little more intensely, without knowing the relationship as Rafe was.

"that's good! I'm very happy for you..." Rafe says with tears welling up in his eyes and you realize at some point

"Rafe? Hey! Look at me, are you crying?" You ask, putting down your tea, and moving closer to Rafe.

He lowers his head trying to hide it, but he was already sobbing.

"It was supposed to be us...it was supposed to be us, my love!" Rafe says, crying a lot and putting his hand on his face.

"Rafe...what we experienced was in the past..." You try to speak in a way that doesn't hurt him.

He shakes his head no and you sigh.

"Look....I'm sure if I didn't make mistakes with you in the past, maybe we would be a perfect family!!"

Rafe says, crying with anger, he was angry with himself for doing something horrible to you. You were speechless, you didn't know what to feel, you loved your new husband, but you loved Rafe... regardless of everything.

"I love you! My life turned into hell when you left it" Rafe says, grabbing your face and getting closer to his "I fell into drugs and drinks, I never felt attracted to you again no woman , I lost my inheritance, I'm running out of YN..."

"Rafe..." Just as you were about to start talking to Rafe, someone interrupted.

"Honey, I'm here!" Her husband speaks, opening the door and finding Rafe beside her.

"Oh dear!" You speak completely unprepared, you didn't realize that it was time for your husband to arrive. Rafe's face changes to hatred and contempt

Your husband drops his suit on the chair and approaches you, giving you a peck on the lips and then holding your waist. When Rafe saw that, all he could think about was pain and suffering.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, my dear?" Your husband encourages you to talk about Rafe and you swallow hard.

"this one is Rafe Cameron, my old.... friend" you say with a heavy heart. And that hurts Rafe a lot.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rafe" her husband raises his hand to greet Rafe, only for Rafe to leave abruptly "What did I do wrong?" Your husband asks confused.

You run after Rafe, and it was starting to rain. You keep running Rafe, who was heading towards his bike.

"Rafe! Stop! Stop! Please listen to me!" You say, grabbing his arm and trying to turn him around to make him face you.

"Stop what?! Hu?! My life is shit because of you! And you're making it worse!!"

Rafe shouts in your face, as the rain starts to get heavier.

"You betrayed me, Rafe!!! It's not my fault that your life is horrible!!!" You respond by screaming and pushing his chest

Rafe laughs without humor

"oh and? You have the husband of your dreams, a house of your dreams, you have two children and a dog, your life is wonderful!!"

Rafe says, making you so angry that you end up slapping him in the face.

"I was supposed to do this five years ago!"

When you turn to go back to your house, Rafe ends up pulling you and kissing you intensely.

The kiss had passion, anger, sadness, longing, desire, it had emotions, and that kiss was a sudden goodbye between Rafe and you.

You stop kissing and look at each other, and your look says everything Rafe wanted to know. You were married to a wonderful man and a millionaire, you had two children and a dog, you already had a life Formed. Rafe, on the other hand, had drugs and drinks. And you couldn't let go of that, for Rafe, unfortunately.

Rafe immediately understands that and he nods, understanding what you meant.

"Goodbye Rafe Cameron..."

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endless-ineffabilities · 11 months

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sapphire-hearted (part three)

Aemond Targaryen x f!reader

After his proposal, the reader and Aemond have a heated confrontation in the gardens.

themes/warnings: jealous!possessive!Aemond (no surprise that I have to write this for every part of this story... I mean...), angst, language

part one - part two - masterlist

"Will you choose me?"

That managed to stop you in your tracks. Will you choose him? As if you had not chosen him over and over, at every turn, every proposal - only for him to choose to lie with another woman in the end.

And what is worse, he does not seem to find his actions wrong, only defending them. For the good of the realm, he says.

But what if he is sincere about marrying you? Will it only be you, for all time, war be damned? Knowing Aemond, it will not be that simple.

You feel caught in a snare, helpless, for but a second. Weighing your options in your mind.

Yes. Perhaps. No. Fuck you, and your witch.

Your mind finally settles, and you turn to face him, your face cold and unreadable. "That has to be the most selfish thing you have ever said to me."

Aemond appears stunned, unmoving, as he watches you stride towards him.

“Selfish? My desire to be wed to you is a selfish thing?” he asks.

You approach him quickly, breathing heavy as words spill out of your mouth. “I know you, Aemond. Tell me this. Why do you wish to marry me now, after all this time? Why did you not do it fucking seven, eight moons ago? You only want this now because you know that I am serious about getting married to someone else. And what of the unspoken understanding between us that we could never do so because you are a Targaryen, oh great one, and I come from a lowly House of cattle-tending farmers?” You sound venomous, unrestrained, but you do not much care.

Aemond matches you in your ferocity, when he says, “Is that truly what you think? That I would marry you for some foolish reason? That I would do so on a whim? It is true that my family, the council, and perhaps the smallfolk will frown upon our union, but you know what?” He grips your elbow, and you can feel his ragged breathing fanning your face as he drags you closer. “I don’t care anymore. I have always wanted this, and I should get what I want. After everything I have done, all that I have sacrificed for this war, I deserve to marry for love.”

“No, you - ”

“Listen to me, my love,” he leans in, close enough to capture your lips in his if he wishes to. “I’d rather burn everything to the ground, rather than watch you wed another fucking man. I thought you were already well aware of this?”

His lips brush against your ear, sending shivers down your spine, and he whispers, “Do not underestimate my love for you. You’re mine, do you hear? Perhaps you will try to be with someone else, with that Ramsay. But know that it will not end well for him.”

You understand that he is not speaking lightly. That he will make do on his threat if need be. Dangerous, intense, cunning. This was the Aemond you fell in love with, so why should you be taken aback at his words? You crave all of this, all that he truly is.

But you had also thought that all of this, all of him, was only yours.

“No,” you breathe.

“What?”

“My answer is no,” you repeat. “I cannot marry you. Not like this.”

“Because of him?” Aemond accuses.

“Not exactly,” you meet his eye and find a storm of emotion resting there. “You know that I would marry you in a heartbeat.” You remember when he said the same, but it does not sit right with you that he could only have said that out of desperation. Just as he is asking for your hand now, in the heat of the moment.

“Then we shall have it done. On the morrow, if that is what you wish, my love - ”

“But we cannot marry when I do not trust you. When I cannot be certain that you will not go scurrying back to bed with Alys each time you require her visions or her spells.”

Aemond implores, “But it should all end soon. The war… we shall be sure to prevail against our enemies. And then I will have no further use for her. We can have her banished or mutilated for all I care.”

Typical of Aemond to be so thick-headed, and to stick to his ambition. So will he lie with Alys a few more times, breaking your heart, after he has just professed to love and marry you? “I cannot have that.”

“Do you not understand - ”

“I understand perfectly,” you almost hiss at him in your exasperation. “If you wish to wed me, then you cannot have anyone else. By the gods, you should not even remotely desire to be with anyone else, for any reason. Whether it be for the fucking realm, I do not care.”

You pry yourself away from his hold, every step walking back from him giving you room to just breathe. “The very thought of you with her, the truth of it happening, sickens me to my core.”

Laughing menacingly, you add, “Just as the thought of myself with Ramsay angers you so. Tell me, my love - what would you do if I were to ride him, as Alys does you?”

Aemond glares daggers at you, his jaw clenching so hard in his rage.

He seethes, “You would never get the chance. I will bury him long before then.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” you raise your hands in surrender. “I’ll be seeing you.”

“You do not get to simply leave - ” He starts to say, but he is interrupted by someone else rounding the corner.

“Brother,” Aegon greets, an ornate cup of wine held loosely in one hand. Several members of his Kingsguard shadow him, a few paces away. “How come you get to escape our council meetings out here, whilst I waste away with those droll sycophants?”

“Aegon,” Aemond greets, his voice giving away irritation at his brother’s intrusion. “I had no standing affairs today, and I am occupied with something else.”

“Someone else, you mean to say,” Aegon raises his eyebrows at you suggestively. “Nice to see you again, my lady.”

“Your Grace,” you curtsy. “I shall take my leave, so that you might speak to Aemond in private.”

Aegon responds lightly. “Stay, if you please. I do have something to ask you as well. And what is with the ‘Your Grace’? It is just Aegon to you, as always.”

“Of course, Your G-” you catch yourself, smiling now. “I mean, Aegon.” Aemond’s siblings have been more than civil towards you, and if everything else were simpler, then you might even call them your friends.

Now and then, Aegon would make a comment about your status in poor taste, though he means well. One of them being, “What a shame you cannot be made my good-sister through Aemond. The family would surely wed the pair of you, if only you had been a Lady Baratheon, or gods, even a Lannister, though I find the lot of them unbearable. What a shame.”

“So,” Aegon excitedly clasps his hands together, preparing to share some piece of news. “I’ll be holding a small gathering on the morrow. A supper of sorts. Only a few chosen people. Our inner circle, which includes you, my lady.” He wags his finger at you, playfully.

“A feast? Won’t it be improper, Aegon?” Aemond asks, with a tired sigh, already used to his brother’s proclivities.

“Not a feast, dear brother. A small, subdued supper.” Aegon looks to you for support, and you shrug in agreement. He takes a step closer, whispering to you in secret, “It is a feast, actually.” You have to bite back a laugh at his absurdity. It’s somewhat hard to believe that Aegon is the face of the Greens - their cause, their reason to wage this brutal war. Was he not just a young boy who did not choose any of this? A neglected son who was forced to abandon his dream of escape? A crown of thorns thrust upon him in spite of his resistance?

“Aegon - ” Aemonds warns, wary of his brother’s proximity to you. What in the seven hells could he be saying?

“Aemond,” Aegon sings in response, unfazed. “I’ve said my piece. My lady, I shall have my guards escort you when it’s time.”

“Alright,” you say, aware of Aemond’s watchful stare on you. In a split decision, or mayhaps a calculated move, you find yourself requesting, “do you mind terribly if I take Lord Ramsay Beesbury as my companion?”

“Oh, him?” Aegon looks to his brother, weighing his reaction, and immediately growing amused at the fury that he sees. “Well, you may take whomever you please, my lady.”

“She may not,” Aemond quickly counters.

Aegon merely grins, “It’s my party, brother.”

“I don’t fucking care.”

“I am your King,” Aegon states. “My word is final.”

"You could be the Smith himself, and I still would not care. She will not be taking him." Aemond says firmly. Only he can talk back to Aegon in such a way, and he surely takes advantage of this when he can.

They lock eyes, until Aegon bursts in a fit of unbridled laughter, his wine sloshing out of his cup.

"Gods be fucking good," Aegon wheezes. "You can hardly control yourself, dear brother." Winking at you, he says, "I suppose there is a damn good reason why they call us Greens. Aemond here is practically greener than Vhagar's slimy old scales with envy."

"Seven hells." Aemond curses in exasperation. Still, after all that, he throws you a look of warning.

You only smile sweetly in return, your mind already made up.

Satisfied with the outcome of this exchange, you nod to both of them, "I shall take my leave, Aegon. Aemond. But we shall see you on the morrow. Thank you for the invitation."

Aemond bristles at your emphasis on we.

Yet he cannot help but watch in adoration as you walk away, your skirts billowing lightly in the wind. His woman.

That Ramsay will not be able to anticipate what's coming for him.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your comments from the previous parts!! Glad we are all on the same page - Aemond should suffer 🤷🏻‍♀️ (or at least, grovel and prove himself, for the next few chapters.)

taglist: @immyowndefender @bellameshipper @aemondswifeisme @bash1018 @fuck-the-reaper @shessthunderstoms @aemondsbabygirl @melsunshine @youtoldalie @snh96 @noxytopy @ellooo0ooo @brianochka @not-a-glad-gladiator @mac95650 @whitejuliana1204 @midnightmystic @saminalloxo @oh-no-tia @magnificentsapphiresoul @clara-geekhime @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @ananas26t @iloveallmyboys @carriellie @summerposie @verycollectivecreator @toodlesxcuddles @brie-annwyl @dc-marvel-girl96 @bellstwd @bibli0thecary @happinessinthebeing @magnificentsapphiresoul

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen fanfiction #house of the dragon #asoiaf

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klausysworld · 5 months

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Hello gorgeous!

Sooo I had this idea of Klaus and reader being married (she wants a divorce) but currently separated. She starts seeing Damon. Klaus lets her have her way for a bit as nothing has crossed the line, but then he finds out reader slept with Damon and Klaus goes absolutely feral over it and tells his wife that’s enough of this and drags back reader home and slides her wedding ring back on her finger.

Not His, Not Yours.

Klaus and I had slowly but surely grown apart.

We had married for decades for now, just over a century actually and to begin with it was all but a dream.

He had hundreds of thousands of gifts and words to express his love. Paintings and poems to show how pure his feelings were.

He was gentle when I needed and only ever rough when I wanted when him to be.

There wasn’t a question of doubt between us both. I loved him with all of my heart and he loved me with all of his soul. So much so that he actually proposed to me. Elijah and Rebekah couldn’t believe it but were unbelievably supportive. I even turned into a vampire so that I could be with him forever.

And for a nearly eighty years, everything was okay.

Of course the gifts were less frequent but I didn’t care about that so much. Not if I still had him. Even if he forgot to tell me he loved me, I didn’t need him to, deep down I knew that he did.

One thing I didn’t like, was when he would get flirty with other women. Especially because of how he behaved when I, heaven forbid, smiled at a man.

But still, with reassurance from his siblings and Elijah’s promise to talk to Klaus about it, I dropped it and didn’t speak of it. So he flirted, it didn’t mean anything. What’s a kiss when I have his heart?

Surprisingly Klaus never slept with anyone else. I suppose it’s unfair to say surprisingly but to be honest I had feared and expected him to have from time to time.

Especially when he became more distant. When he would disappear or return in the early hours of the morning. I would beg to know where he was and after a series of repeated yelling, he would grab me and show me his memories of the night before. Often he just got drunk and would pass out somewhere random or wonder around for inspiration, sometimes he’d attack a village and slaughter hundreds in mere hours. When finished showing me, he would give me that same look and tell me that I shouldn’t look so surprised. He may love me, but he wouldn’t ever be better for me.

And I would just nod and told him I already knew that.

And I’d wait for the next time that would happen.

We went days between sex, then weeks, gradually months and eventually we just didn’t. We slept beside each other mostly out of habit but we wouldn’t touch.

I never stopped loving him, I don’t think I ever could but I wasn’t sure if I loved him the same way anymore. And I certainly didn’t think he loved me that way. But we weren’t exactly friends either. It were as though we were just strangers at this point, strangers who held each others hearts.

And I had accepted that perhaps that’s all we would be. We lived that way for a couple of years, I’d stay with him like a shadow but that’s all I would be.

Until Mystic Falls.

So much happened in not enough time. Klaus became his true self and for some reason part of me thought perhaps that would rekindle something but he showed no more nor less interest so I just went on.

Until one day, his eyes held a spark. But it wasn’t for me. It was for Caroline Forbes.

She was blonde, young and new to vampirism but still bold and confident in herself. I was like that once, before I grew quiet and obedient to Klaus’s will.

So I took another step back and let him chase her a little. I sort of wanted him to sleep with her so that maybe he would just divorce me and I would know that what we had was really over.

But he didn’t. He gave her a present, drawings and spoke poetry to her without her realising but he didn’t kiss her or even lean in.

He still would come back to bed and lay beside me like usual.

I didn’t want him to think I would hate him if he fell for someone else. I’d rather he be happy with another than miserable with me. I knew he craved more, so did I.

And so with a lot of courage, I asked for a divorce but he refused me. That I didn’t understand.

“Why?” I asked, my brows pulling together as he scowled

“Because you’re my wife” he answered as though that meant anything anymore “I have loved you for a century. I will not just be done with you”

“Loved, Klaus. Loved. It’s in the past.” I argued

“I love you now as much as I did then” he told me, his voice raising

“No Klaus…you don’t” I whispered, my eyes glancing to the floor as I let out a small sigh. This was probably one of the reasons he liked Caroline more. I showed weakness and submission too easily to him. The difference was that I knew he wouldn’t kill me if I fought back but I feared it would be worse.

“We’re not getting a divorce. Ever.” He stated calmly, though I could feel his anger.

“I can’t do this Klaus” I mumbled. “I can’t just be known and your wife and hide in the house all the time”

“Then go out” he grumbled

“You don’t let me” I answered, remembering the last time I went out without telling him and he yelled at me for being inconsiderate and stupid. Apparently it wasn’t safe for me without his protection due to being so intimately associated with him.

“Well…now you can” he replied matter of factly.

“You should ask Caroline out” I whispered “She likes you too, Rebekah heard her talking to Bonnie about you”

“I wouldn’t-“

“But maybe you should” I sighed, hesitantly looking him in the eye once again. “You should at least try…you might like to be with someone…” I paused and swallowed dryly “someone else”

“Are you seeing…someone else?” He asked quietly, his eyes flicking between mine.

“No…not yet” I whispered and he nodded

“But?”

“But I think I should” I murmured before falling back into silence.

We stood there for a while, uncomfortable and guilt ridden before his phone went and he reluctantly left.

He didn’t come to bed that night.

To me that seemed like his way of confirming that we wouldn’t be together anymore, or for a while at least.

When I saw he had made up a bed in one of the guest rooms, it was clear that was the case.

So I started to go out a little.

When I saw Klaus with Caroline at the grill, I realised I needed to leave. Leave town, his life so that I didn’t ruin his chances.

But as fate would have it, when I rushed out of the building, I walked straight into Damon Salvatore. He recognised me in an instant and was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

“What’s Klaus’s wife doing out and about?” He snickered and I sighed

“I’m not” I mumbled and he raised a brow

“Not what? Not his wife or not out?”

“I’m going home” I whispered, walking outside but he followed.

“Oh come on, I didn’t mean to scare you off so quick” he chuckled and I rolled my eyes

“Please. You couldn’t scare me” I muttered “have you seen who I’m supposed to be married to?”

“Supposed to be eh? Things not turning out?” He pressed, walking backwards beside me as I made my way back to the mansion.

“My marriage falling apart won’t benefit your precious Elena. It’s been broken for years.” I grumbled, and he rolled his eyes

“Forgive me for being curious” he muttered, his annoyance shining making my heart sink. I didn’t like it when people were rude and now I was the one doing it.

“Sorry” I whispered “I didn’t mean to sound so snappy”

I could feel his eyes on me as we neared the manner and before I could get it the door, his hand reached for mine which however pathetic it may seem, made my smile. Nobody had touched my skin for months.

“You should come out more, I’d like to talk with you some more” he told me and I faltered

“I wouldn’t tell you anything- not about him”

“I didn’t think you would” he answered, before leaving.

After that I went out a little more.

Damon would tease me and make me laugh. He would draw out the little confidence I had left and have me use it. I’d taunt back at him and go so far as to flirt once I’d had a few drinks.

After a while he asked to take me out. I thought he was joking.

“Oh will Elena be joining us? Perhaps Stefan to?” I laughed but he didn’t even smile

“I’m serious” he stated, his hand squeezing mine “just us…anywhere you want”

I stared at him “I um…I don’t know” I whispered, nervous and confused.

“I can wait” he answered as he caressed my arm softly.

When I got home Klaus was already there, his eyes on me in an instant. Without a word he placed his wedding band on the table before him and walked out the room. I felt a lump form in my throat as I shakily slid both my wedding and engagement rings off and put them beside his.

I went upstairs and cried. And I felt stupid for it because I was the one who asked for this.

So after a moment I pulled myself together and grabbed my phone. I took a breath before sending Damon a message

I like the Italian the next town over?

He replied quickly

Friday, 7?

I’ll meet you there

I’ll see you soon

I swallowed thickly and closed my messages before searching for apartments near me to rent.

If Klaus and I were actually ending this then I wanted to do it right. That meant I needed to live without him fully, so I sent in some applications to a couple of places.

Before any of them could come back, my date with Damon came around.

It went surprisingly well. We ate, spoke, joked and laughed. He paid, insistent that I shouldn’t. He then drove me back to the mansion and kissed me goodbye.

I refused to look anywhere near Klaus when I went up the stairs. He never said anything either, we spoke only if we absolutely had to and on the occasion that Damon and I would see Klaus out, we would instead go to his house for a while.

I spent a lot of time with Damon, he made me feel more alive. He brought back the spark in me that I thought I had lost and built my confidence back up. He made me feel more things in a couple months than Klaus had in the past fifteen years.

I knew it was wrong to compare them, but when all I had ever known was Klaus…he was all I had to know how a relationship worked to be able to tell if what I had with Damon was really something.

It progressed quickly, it scared me somewhat. I worried that it was a trap to make me help him with everyone else. However when I heard him defending me to both Elena and Stefan, I double guessed myself.

Slowly I felt myself begin to trust Damon, I felt as though I was learning to love and desire once more.

It was because of that feeling that I didn’t stop him when he began to take my clothes off. Or when he trailed his lips down my skin and pressed his mouth between my legs. I cried out for him when his fingers curled inside me and I clung to him when he finally took me as his own.

I stayed beside him for the rest of the night, pressed to his chest with his arms around me. It was a warmth that I wasn’t used to anymore but that I needed and yearned for. I stayed at his house for days after, wearing his clothes and living in his arms. But unfortunately I knew that I couldn’t just move in there so soon, so I had to go back to the mansion.

————————————————————————

(3rd person)

Klaus found out that Y/n had slept with Damon the day after it happened. Stefan had told him so when in the heat of an argument.

To begin with he thought the Salvatore was just trying to piss him off but when Stefan’s face dropped and his heart sped up, Klaus realised it was true.

Immediately he went home and smashed every item in her room. Shredded her clothes and tore up every flower Damon had gifted her and the little photos she had printed of them. It was after he broke apart her bed and found the box of forgotten memories did he calm down. He found all the poems and pieces of artwork he had ever given her, love letters and other tokens of their love kept safe and close to her. It broke him.

Klaus never meant for their marriage to deteriorate so badly. He loved Y/n, truly. But throughout the years he got distracted. Whenever his family got to town, his focus was off her and whenever a threat showed up he made a point of being distanced from her to ensure they wouldn’t attack her. After the first few times he’d done that, she got upset and wouldn’t want to kiss him, not when he would go weeks of ignoring her and then expecting her affection.

So he began to drink some more, to forget her touch and her voice for just a moment. But it made everything worse. She began to worry he was cheating on her and to be honest he couldn’t blame her for thinking that but in the moment when she would accuse him, he would be outraged.

He couldn’t stop himself from yelling, being offended and snapping. But after, when he would hear her cries and see her curled up in their bed, he would push himself further away in hopes that he wouldn’t be able to hurt her as much from a distance.

It only got worse.

And now he was on the floor of a room that was once his aswell, crying for his marriage that would no longer last.

Eventually he dragged himself up from the floor and went back to his own room, or rather the spare room that he had been sleeping in. He dug through his drawers to find their rings that he took after they both removed them and put his wedding band back on, smiling sadly at the fond memories of the first time she had put it on him.

He held her rings in his hand tightly as he heard the front door open and closed quietly before soft footsteps sounded up the stairs.

————————————————————————

(1st person)

I moved as quickly but as quietly as I could up to my room. I was in jeans and one of Damons shirts so I really couldn’t let Klaus see me.

Hurriedly I opened my bedroom door only to come to a standstill. Quite literally everything was on the floor. If I didn’t know what Klaus was like, I’d have thought a hurricane had passed through the room. I stared blankly for a moment before I both heard and sensed his presence from beside me.

“What did you do?” I whisper, staring at all the little things that meant so much to me scattered and broken into pieces.

“I don’t want you seeing him” he told me, his voice firm. My head snapped to his and I felt both anger and sadness swirl inside me.

“You ruined everything I have” I uttered, my voice still barely above a whisper

“You slept with him” he stated his tone cold but his eyes showed hurt and I part of em felt guilt but the other side just wanted to smack him.

“And?” I asked, my volume increasing slightly

“And? And you’re mine. You do not get to sleep around-“

“For crying out loud Klaus! I am not yours!” I yell, pointing my finger at him “And I do not sleep around! I slept with one person”

“I should have stopped you seeing him ages ago, this shouldn’t have happened” he muttered

“You can’t control every aspect of my life Klaus. We are not together anymore. We agreed on this” i whispered, my tone tired.

“We have not agreed on anything! I never wanted this-“

“Klaus we haven’t agreed on something for a good twenty years! It’s why we’re here” I exasperated

“That does not give you the excuse to fuck someone else” he growled and I glared

“Why? Did you plan on fucking me? Because I highly doubt it Klaus. And even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t have your hands anywhere near me now” I retorted.

I knew immediately that he would speed at me and so moved out of the way, he continued to chase me round the house until eventually he had me against the wall. Both of us were panting heavily, my hands pushing at his chest but he kept me caged.

“Get off me!” I cried, kicking my feet at his legs but he only grunted and held me as still as he could. I shoved at his chest with as much strength as I could but it was obvious that I couldn’t overpower a hybrid. He faltered only slightly at the impact before his hands were grabbing my waist to lift me. Without thinking I brought my hand to his face, smacking him as hard as I could manage.

His head cracked to the side and my eyes went wide. Slowly, he turned back to me. His expression was one of surprise as he stared at me. I felt myself grow meek under his gaze and my bottom lip wobbled.

“I’m sorry” I whispered “I didn’t mean to do that- I didn’t…” I felt his hold on me weaken but I didn’t move this time. My hand tingled from where I’d hit him and so did the guilt that pooled in the pit of my stomach.

His arms slipped around me, hugging me to him and I just didn’t know how to react.

I love Klaus. I do, I always will. But I couldn’t just pretend that every bad thing hadn’t happened and fall back into his arms. I wondered if in Klaus’s mind, if he thought that just sleeping with me and telling me that he found me pretty would be enough to fix this marriage. I knew it wasn’t but I worried for what he thought.

Still, I hugged him back gently. By touch reluctant but there. His warmth enveloped me and I felt my eyes water at the once familiar sensation.

“I missed you so dearly” he mumbled, his face lowering to nuzzle the crook of my neck. He pulled away slowly and grabbed my left hand, I looked to him blankly as he slid both rings back onto my finger. “I’m gonna fix everything” he whispered

“Klaus-“ I sighed

“Just let me try” he murmured

“I-“

“Please” he whispered and I sighed softly. Only the lords know whether I was going to make the right decision or not.

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astrid-sama · 4 months

Text

Carmilla Carmine x fem reader

Carmilla is acting strangely and reader believes she is cheating on her.

"Those three are hiding something from me"

This was the thought you had in your head for a while; it all started about a month ago, the first to behave strangely was your girlfriend Carmilla, she went from avoiding you even for a whole day to showering you with attention, other times it seemed like she wanted to tell you something important and in the end she pulled back; After a while Clara and Odette also began to behave strangely.

At first you didn't worry too much about the strange behavior that Carmilla and her daughters had adopted, believing that perhaps they were just stressed due to the anticipated extermination, but, as time passed, the more your mind speculated about the reasons for their behavior.

-She's cheating on me, I'm sure of it! How can she do something like that to me I thought she loved me-

You are currently at your best friend's house crying while eating a big tub of ice cream.

-Don't say that, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding-

-No, she's definitely cheating on me with that overlord Zestial-

-Come here-

Stolas spread his arms and you immediately went to snuggle into your friend's arms, finding it very comforting.

-Carmilla loves you and everyone in hell knows this, what makes you doubt it?-

-Well he's been behaving strangely for a while, at first I thought it was due to the stress caused by the early extermination but as time went by I realized that that couldn't be the reason, so I started to think and ...-

-And this crazy idea of betrayal came to your mind-

-Maybe I exaggerated a little-

-Decidedly; I think you should talk about it with Carmilla, I'm sure that everything will be resolved that way-

-Thank you Stolas, you always know what to say. Now let's stop talking about me, tell me how the date with Blitzo went-

The next day you decided that you would talk to Carmilla to find out the reason for her behavior. You found your girlfriend in her study, absorbed in work; you knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter.

-Enter. Mi amor, do you need something? -

-Yes, I need to talk to you-

-Tell me everything mi amor-

-I've noticed that you've been acting strange lately and I want to know why-

-It's nothing don't worry-

-No, you can't tell me that nothing is happening! If you're cheating on me, at least have the courage to tell me!-

Tears were starting to form in your eyes, you're not usually this emotional but a month of doubts and having said your biggest fear out loud had shaken you a lot.

The look on Carmilla's face was shocked to say the least, she really couldn't understand how something like that could come to your mind, it's true that she's been a bit strange lately but it certainly wasn't because I was cheating on you.

-Mi amor please let me explain-

-Speak, I'm listening-

You said crossing your arms over your chest and trying to keep a cold look.

-What is this important thing you have to tell me?-

Carmilla went to her desk, took a small black box from one of the drawers and after taking a deep breath she knelt in front of you.

-Mi amor, the first time I saw you you captured my thoughts, the first time you spoke to me you captured my heart and being with you forever would make me the happiest woman in the world because where you are is the my paradise; mi amor, will you marry me?-

For a second you were speechless, when you finally managed to process what Carmilla had said you couldn't stop smiling.

-Of course I want to marry you! I want it more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire existence!-

Carmilla stood up and after putting the ring on your finger she gave you a passionate kiss that made you feel butterflies in your stomach.

-Come, let's go and tell our daughters-

Carmilla took your hand and together you went to tell the wonderful news to Clara and Odette.

I hope you like this fanfiction.

#hazbin hotel #carmilla carmine #carmilla carmine x fem reader #carmilla carmine x reader #hazbin hotel carmilla carmine

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misguidedasgardian · 11 months

Text

The Dragon's Mistress (13)

13. Our greatest fears

MASTERLIST

Summary: Things will get worse before they get better

Warnings: cursing, mentions of war, mentions of death, humiliation, bullying, insults, use of the word bastard and traitor, incest, might miss some warnings

+18, MINORS DNI

Wordcount: 2.7 k

Notes: You need a life line, so do i so now i can finally say that NEXT chapter... something GOOD FINALLYYYY is coming reader's way, and the things that were brewing will be a liiiiitle revealed

Aemond was quickly reined in, his mother had send for him in the middle of his celebratory dinner and he had to answer the call, so he left you alone with his first wife, Floris, who looked at you like she wanted to murder you

“They will never accept you”, she said, “not the small council, not the law, not the faith”

“I know”, you whined, she looked at you like she didn’t believe you

“Then why did you marry him?”, she asked back, like a spoiled child

“You think I wanted this?”, you cried to Floris, finally snapping

“I know you did”, she said back, “it is all you always wanted”, she kept going, you only laughed bitterly

“He killed my family!”, you accused, “I’m the only one left!”, you cried, “I had bend the knee to Aegon, hoping they would leave me alone!, when one day he came to the island…”, you started telling her, that seemed to caught her attention, “he humiliated me in front of my court”, you continued, “he made me kneel, he stripped me from my titles, from the safety of my own home, he made me his personal servant!”, she looked at you wide eyed, “and then, when he finally broke me he… took me against my will”, she didn’t say anything, she just looked back at you with her big eyes

“He only promised to marry me, and I thought that was going to make it all worth it, to make my mother’s dreams come true to some extend anyways, her blood on the throne…”, you whispered sadly, taking a big gulp of the wine in the table, “but surprise, he wasn’t done humiliating me”, you whined, “he married you, almost making me watch, and made me his mistress, and oh, but well, perhaps I deserved it because I wanted all of this”, you said, and stood up from the table, “leave me alone”, you threatened, “because believe me, THAT is all I want”, and stormed out of the King’s private dining room.

Aemond was getting an earful

“I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS!”, screamed Borros

“Valyrian rituals are not sanctioned by law”, declared Lord Tyland Lannister

“Nor the faith!”, said the grand Maester

“Aemond what did you do?”, Alicent whined, “you put all of this in jeopardy, the smallfolk…”

“I don’t care”, he said simply.

“Aemond”

“I will burn anyone who fights this”, he said plainly

“Aemond, this marriage is not lawful”, whined Alicent

“You all considered Rhaenyra’s marriage binding and lawful”, he mocked, Alicent just shook her head with her mouth twisted

“She was… a widow, so was he, she wasn’t married and neither was daemon”, she explained, Aemond just tilted his head upwards, looking down at his mother

“We bonded our bloods, we are one”, he sentenced, and Borros was shaking with rage, but didn’t say anything, and Aemond left the room

He didn’t find you, you were not in the dinning hall and Floris had finished her supper and went to be, he ended up eating alone, some cold food. He thinks nothing of it.

. . .

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to a couple of months, Aemond visited your chambers regularly, and caressed your barely showing belly, whispering things to you era in HIgh Valyrian, he seemed so happy and contented, that he barely noticed you.

He didn’t noticed he did all the talking

He didn’t noticed you barely looked him in the eyes

He didn’t notice that the only palace he could find you was in your rooms

That you didn't leave them

When you did, he was in council meetings, or ruling.

You tried to read in the library, or in the gardens

But everywhere you went, people would look at you mockingly, you could feel their eyes, of the court, on you, and they would even go as far as whispering loud enough so you could hear

“He is the King’s whore”

“She is with his bastard in her belly”

And worse, things that brought tears to your eyes.

Aemond only noticed your deplorable mental state once you started not to reciprocate his advances late at night in your bed. Willing or not you were always receptive to his touch, you would cum on his cock or by his mouth, you would moan softly and hug him while he was inside you.

But your whimpers and moans of pleasure started to quiet down, and the only thing you could muster while he intended on bedding you, you only looked at some place along the walls.

Now he noticed, a couple of months later, that you would barely speak to him back, that he wouldn’t leave your chambers, that you barely eat, that you looked paler than normal, the dark bags under your eyes, and your eyes… fuck

They always reflected sadness, anger, even hate, but now? nothing, it seemed that they were the eyes of someone who was no longer there.

So he decided to make a journey…

Aemond had insisted you three had dinner together at least the third day of each week, so you went to the King’s private dining hall, and you only found Floris there, the one who actually had accepted your request and left you alone.

“Where is Aemond?”, you gather the strength to ask, after awkwardly mute minutes, she chuckled as she dig into the pork chops in her plate

“Harrenhal”, she answered with a small smile. The strange part was that her smile wasn’t even cynical, she seemed like she had just surrendered to her precarious position. The news, though, surprised you dearly, making you feel a dark sentiment in your chest

“Harrenhal?”, you asked, she only nodded, that weird smile didn’t left her lips, “You know?”, you asked her

“Of course I know about the self proclaimed Witch Queen of Harrenhal”, she said back, you only sighed loudly

“Fuck”, you cursed, and then a silence followed, you looked at eachother, and laughed whole heartedly

“You’d think that a wife and a mistress would be enough”, she said, and you thanked her for saying mistress and not whore or worse. You sat in front of her and started eating too, and took a long sip of the wine that was served, you needed the wine, and wanted the food

“You would think”, you continued, and she smirked

“What a cunt”, she said after a long sigh, and you almost choked when you laughed

“I laugh so I won’t cry”, she admitted, with a smirk of your own

“Well, I laugh because I have no tears left”, you continued.

“Is it true that you are with child?”, she asked, and you looked at her, and nodded, she only nodded, “that makes it even more difficult”

“I begged him to let me leave for Dragonstone, but he won’t hear of it”, she looked sad, perhaps she had hopes to be pregnant herself, but this far it hadn't happened

This chat seemed innocent, you two were bonding over your abuser and “king”

you thought nothing of it, you didn’t even payed attention to your Kingsguard posted near the entrance of the room.

This didn’t mean you were friends, in fact, you ate what you could and then left her alone, like she wanted to.

And that little exchange did not change a thing, if anything, it made it worse.

The very next day, you attempted to take a walk, fresh air in the gardens, but the mean looks and comments were not missed.

A men from a lesser house you did not remember at the time saw you and spit in the ground right by your feet.

“The whore queen”, murmured one, that is all you could make out, and that was enough to make you whimper, the dam finally broke

You did not deserve this, you didn't.

Your King’s guard, Steffon, drew his sword and everything

“What did you say?”, he asked, and you never saw him so angry,

“Steffon”, you called, placing your hand in his bend arm, but he wouldn’t listen

“I dare you to repeat that”, the “man” turned pale as he looked at you like expecting you would help him, but you did not such thing, only looked back at him blankly, your eyes shiny with tears

“I’m sorry”, he said simply, and he and his scared group left the gardens almost running

“The next one that offends you I will behead…”

“You will do no such thing”, you whispered, secretly glad that he defended you, but bitter by the fact that it was necessary in the first place. You let out a whimper you couldn’t repress, and in the eyes of many people of the court, you walked away, crying.

You hugged your belly, you were showing just a little, but the entire castle knew that you, his mistress, his whore, was pregnant, and The Queen wasn’t, so of course they claimed you for that as well.

“You can’t listen to them”, Steffon said, but you felt incredibly defeated, tired, sad.

You thought that with this baby. at least you wouldn’t be so alone, you would have an extension of you, a new family, your own family, you were so happy.

But you were never going to be able to be happy, not in this castle, not with these people, not with Aemond.

Everybody hates you

and you were supposed to be a Queen, but the septons had declared your marriage null and void.

Aemond had destroyed you, he made you bend to his will, he danced on your family’s graves and then he made you his whore.

You were supposed to be a member of one of the most incredible dynasties this world had ever seen, but you only felt like a slave of the skin trade. No one respected you, you had no family, no friends. So you locked yourself in your room and would not come out.

While Aemond was away.

He went to Harrenhal, he was concerned about his new marriage, and wanted to consult with Alys, the only witch he knew, he also wanted to ask her for help to retrieve his niece.

So Aemond was on a very important mission, Alys actually helped him to get Jahaera from Storm’s End, but refused to tell him anything about you and your own wellbeing. You didn’t know this, nobody knew this, not even his mother.

But with the help of Vhagar, a bag of coins and threats, he managed to recover his niece, after Borros threatened him one last time the day after he married you.

Now Borros had nothing over him, now Borros could die and nobody would bat an eye, nobody will threaten him anymore.

So he spends a couple of weeks negotiating with a second cousin of the man, to have his support for when things went down with the current head of the house of the stag. And Aemond was shaking with anticipation of what was going to happen the next time Borros even said something to him.

He was looking at the hearth of Harrenhal, his niece slept in the continuing room, when Alys entered the chamber.

“You did good my king”, she whispered sweetly, he barely looked at her over his shoulder

“This certainly lifted a weight off my shoulders”, he muttered barely, “I will not bed you again Alys, and I haven’t eaten anything”, she only nodded

“I am content here in Harrenhal my prince”, she said plainly, “I will not push these boundaries, you were never meant to be mine, not completely”, she said then. He barely nodded, “but what I said to you, about her, it something i saw, I did not cast it as such”, his eye turned sad, as he looked back into the fire

“I will never have her heart, only her mind and body”, he repeated, those words she said to him were ingrained in his mind.

“Yes, it is true, one day, years ago, it might have been different, but since the day you plucked her brother from the skies, that was your fate combined”, she continued. Aemond only nodded, deep down he knew you were never going to fall for him, so he just took you, he knew you could never truly love him, so he settled on the second best he wanted.

Only your body

But Aemond wanted to fight it, he wanted to fight was was written for him, and for you, you were expecting his child, he was going to get rid of Borros, he needed to see you and be with you, things were truly going to be different, he couldn’t relent now, he make you a Queen, you had power, you had to be alright…

But what he found when he came back.

He hid Jahaera with the Hightowers, he could not reveal he had recuperated her, so he came back alone to the Red Keep.

According to the maids, you locked yourself in your rooms and wouldn’t come out, you haven't seen anything outside of your chambers in the last two weeks, so the first thing he did was going to see you.

He found you hugging yourself, plunged in a long chair by the window

“My love”, he called, calling for you, he kneeled by your side, “why haven’t you left your chambers? you have been here for days”, he said, he sounded truly worried

“I do not wish to leave”, you answered simply, hugging your belly even tighter

“why?”, he insisted

“I have no friends here”, you whined, tears coming to your eyes, “everyone hates me, the ladies of court are mean to me, they insult me, men mock me”

“Give me their names”, he demanded, angry, “I will have their tongues, and their eyes”

“Will you blind and mute the entire court?”, you asked bitterly, you didn't even looked at him, but you felt his eye on you

“Please tell me how I can make it better”, he whispered

“Let me go”, you answered simply, and he got quiet, you turned to him with your tired eyes filled with tears, “let me go back to Dragonstone”, he got bitter all of a sudden

“No”, he said, denying you, “you are my wife, you have my child in your belly, your place is by my side”, he said bitterly

“I’m not your wife”, you answered back, “the septons do not see our marriage as binding and lawful”, you said, looking back at the window

“We bonded our blood”, he sentenced, “we are bonded forever”

“You were already married”, you whispered, you felt your baby kick under your hand and you smiled shortly, “I’m just your pregnant whore”

“Don’t say that”, he said angrily

“I am only a whore”, you said again, “you had said so yourself”, you whispered, “I am only a whore just like my treacherous mother”

“Don’t…”, he said, his voice broken

“The lords and ladies of the court hate me, and they will hate my child, they will call him bastard and treat him worse than they did my brothers”

“No… I won’t allow that”

“King Viserys couldn’t help it then, and you won’t be able to help it now”, you rebuffed, and he got quiet

“I will found out what did or say something to you and I will punish them”, he said darkly, you didn’t look back at him, but Aemond thought you looked so beautiful, your belly had popped the last two weeks, you were barely showing then, and now it was impossible for you to hide your pregnancy, you, despite everything, where glowing. And it broke his cold heart to see you like this.

“I can’t do this anymore Aemond”, you whispered with a broken voice and tears in your eyes, his eye widened in shock

“What does that mean?”, he asked quietly

“Please”, you only begged, “I can’t live like this, I don’t want my child to lie like this”, he took your hand in his

“It will get better, I promise, things are going to change for the better”, he said, and you only nodded, because he sounded sincere

And as he abandoned your chambers to go and talk to you King’s Guard, he truly think about what could make you feel better

Anything, anyone, he needed to make you feel better, he needed to help you heal, and suddenly, he got the perfect idea how that could be. It was time to bring back to court, the man he had sent on a mission.

#misguidedmistress #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x alys rivers #aemond the kinslayer #aemond x oc #aemond targaryen #hbo house of the dragon #house of the dragon #targaryen!reader #house targaryen

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sihtricfedaraaahvicius · 1 year

Note

Do one of reader is Uhtred’s daughter and fell in love with sihtric. Marry him in secret and Uhtred ends up freaking out when he finds out but then accepts. With smut is a cute scene from Uhtred's future with his grandson!

Warnings: smut, 18+, fluff, Sihtric's breeding kink…

Pairing: Sihtric x you (f)

Summary: see request!

Word count: 2,7k

Note: so, the ages don't add up if you look at the series and books, but then SKMD also ignored the character's ages, so just go with the flow here ;) thank you for your request! I hope you like it! I added a few more grandchildren though because... well... it's Sihtric lmao

taglist: @clairacassidy @finanmoghra @uunotheangel @hb8301 @bathedinheat @neonhairspray @anaeve @bubblyabs @travelingmypassion @sylas-the-grim @heimtathurs @bubbles-for-all-of-us @valeskafics

'Only for you, my wife, my goddess.'

******************

'Your father will kill us both, my love.'

'I simply do not care.'

'Are you sure? Because this means forever with me, do you really want that?'

'You know I do. How could I possibly ever want someone else when I have you, Sihtric Kjartansson. My handsome warrior,' you smiled, pulling him closer, 'my soon to be irresistible husband,' you giggled, kissing his ever so warm lips while brushing your hands through his soft, recently washed hair, messing up the braids he had just finished.

'Okay, if you are sure about me,' Sihtric chuckled, blushing, 'tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow,' you nodded, and pulled Sihtric down into bed with you.

Tomorrow you were to be husband and wife, so you both agreed that today, when you were still only just betrothed, you should perhaps hump a few times more than usual. Not that anything would be really different after tomorrow, but today was the last day that you could praise Sihtric by saying 'my future husband is such a good boy'. And if there was one thing Sihtric had enjoyed after he proposed, it was asking, 'is this how my future wife wants me to please her?' before he went down on you.

It is true that your father, Uhtred, Lord Uhtred, did not know about your plans to wed, and there was a good chance he would kill you.

You met Sihtric a few months ago, after your father had accepted his oath of loyalty and brought him back home as a member of his household troops. You fell in love quickly, but didn't tell your father about it. He did suspect you and Sihtric were maybe more than just friends, much to his disgrace, and he thought that by sending Sihtric away to deliver messages back and forth between the lands, and so keeping him away from you, you would simply forget about him.

But, unfortunately for your father, instead of forgetting about each other, you and Sihtric desperately wanted to get married as soon as possible. A little reassurance, so you knew your husband would always come back to you, and so Sihtric knew he always had a wife to come back for. But it would also mean that you, as his wife, were allowed to travel with him. So, that, and the fact you could brag about claiming to have the best looking man in Coccham as your husband, which Finan would strongly argue against, was more than enough reason for you to marry.

*****************

'Why don't we go back to your home?'

'Our home,' Sihtric corrected you.

'Our home,' you smiled and rolled your eyes.

'Because yours is closer,' Sihtric smiled as he kissed you, his recently wedded wife, 'and why waste any time?' he grinned.

Sihtric had his own home, and as he had no one to look after, you'd usually go there if you simply wanted to hump, and it didn't take long before you had seen every corner and every piece of furniture several times already. Sihtric's home was the safest option, and also where you would live with him after today, but you both couldn't wait any longer.

Sihtric persuaded you easily with a kiss and threw you over his shoulder before he stepped into your home. The home you still shared with your father, but Uhtred was out scouting with Finan, so you had the entire home for yourself until late night.

Sihtric knew the way to your bed all too well, for he had often snuck in at night to see you, when Uhtred was asleep. But you had also escaped your father's overprotectiveness by sneaking out in the dead of night to find Sihtric.

'My wife,' Sihtric smiled after he had thrown you onto the bed, biting down on his lip as he spread your knees and positioned his body in between, 'my beautiful wife,' he whispered before he leaned in to kiss you, 'I will honour you and I will love you, always.'

'And so will I,' you said, moving your hands into his hair and pulling him close, eagerly deepening the kiss.

'And I will give my wife as many children as she wants,' Sihtric smiled cheekily, his fingers squeezing into your soft thighs as he kissed your neck.

'Oh, gods,' you moaned, pulling his hair again as you arch your back lightly, 'I want as many as you can give me, husband. Fill me with them, now, please, Sihtric.'

'In time,' Sihtric teased, 'first I need to inspect every inch of my new wife.'

You groaned in frustration and cursed something at him, to which Sihtric smirked. He knew you were impatient, but he loved feeling wanted and desired, and you made him feel just that. He was eager for you, the same as you were for him, but he wanted nothing more than letting you know how he adored you.

Sihtric made quick work of the light, thin dress you had worn for your secret wedding and your undergarments. When he had seen you earlier that day, walking towards him, holding a little bouquet of flowers in your hands, he already couldn't wait for this moment. To have you underneath him, watching you beg for him and curse as he explores your skin with his mouth; pecking, sucking, licking, biting and kissing every inch of you. And you loved it as much as he did. If anything, Sihtric knew how to please you and push you over your edge in no time.

'Is this how my wife wishes to be pleased?' Sihtric asked, kissing up your thigh and moving your legs up over his shoulders, before you felt his lips peck lightly at your core.

'Yes! Gods,' you moaned, as you felt his soft tongue exploring you in all the right ways, making you roll your eyes back in pleasure. 'Such a... such a good boy, my- my husband, so good,' you murmured, slightly bucking your hips, wanting and needing more of him, to which Sihtric firmly grabbed your hips, burying his tongue deeper, drinking you in all the way as he sucked, licked and kissed your sweet spot.

'Sihtric,' you breathed heavily, pulling his hair, 'please.'

'Yes, my love?' he smiled, looking up from between your legs, 'what is it?'

'Need you… I-' you spoke in between heavy breaths, 'need you inside me, baby, please.'

Sihtric chuckled satisfied and crawled back up to you, kissing you intensely, wanting you to taste yourself on his tongue. And he took off his breeches, rather clumsily, as you wouldn't leave his lips. And when you felt him smile, you couldn't help but smile too, knowing how lucky you were to call this sweet boy your husband.

When you were both completely naked, covered under the furs, Sihtric asked how you wanted him today. To which you said, 'the way you like it, my love.'

And so he did, flipping you over and pulling you on top of him. Watching you with loving, yet heavy eyes of pleasure as you enjoyed him all inside you while his hands trailed over your body, lovingly squeezing and grabbing wherever he could as you pleased him just the way he liked it.

'I-I,' Sihtric's breath hitched, 'I'm close, my love.'

'Then you know what to do,' you smiled and spoke in between heavy breaths, trailing your hands up his muscular chest, to his broad shoulders. And once you had grabbed onto his warm skin, Sihtric flipped you over on your back again with a light chuckle as you giggled. You watched your husband on top of you, enjoying you as if it were Valhalla on earth to him. His groans and sighs in your ear as he thrusted into you made you scream out his name, which was enough to tip Sihtric over his edge too, and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he spilled inside you, not wanting to waste a drop of him while he filled you up.

'So- so beautiful,' he sighed out of breath, 'so good, you, my wife, so perfect for me,' he murmured through his high as he nuzzled your neck slowly.

'So are you,' you smiled out of breath, running your fingers through his hair, 'made for me, you were made for me, to be my husband.'

'I was,' he agreed with a chuckle, 'just for you. Only for you, my wife, my goddess,' Sihtric whispered before he kissed you softly, 'I love you, eternally.'

'As do I, sweeting, I love you, until Valhalla.'

'And ever after?'

'And ever after,' you smiled and pulled his lips back to yours.

Sihtric pulled out slowly but stayed on top of you, pecking your lips and face with a smile as he watched you underneath him, glowing, satisfied, happy and safe. Your bliss unfortunately lasted merely seconds, when suddenly the door to your room flung open.

'Father?!' you screamed, shocked that he was home already and youimmediately reached for the furs, but Sihtric beat you to it.

'Lord!' Sihtric said, wide eyed, quickly covering you up with the furs while you tried to do so yourself.

'What is this?!' Uhtred hissed, eyes wide as a wild animal, 'Sihtric!' he shouted as he stepped towards the bed, 'that is my daughter!' he huffed, pulling Sihtric off you by yanking his ear.

'Lord!' Sihtric raised his voice suddenly, quickly reaching for one of the furs to cover himself up as Uhtred dragged him away from you.

'Father! Stop!' you jumped up, also desperately clinging onto the fur around your body.

'What is this!' Uhtred shouted again, confused and horrified by the sight of his daughter and the boy, one of his most loyal men, both naked in the same room, 'what is he to you?!'

'He,' you said curtly, looking at Sihtric, 'is my husband.'

Uhtred darted his eyes between you and Sihtric, before he finally settled his deadly stare into the eyes of your handsome husband.

'Your husba-,' he paused, 'no he is not!' Uhtred exclaimed.

'No, I am not, lord,' Sihtric panicked, almost dropping the fur that barely covered him.

'Yes he is! Sihtric,' you scoffed, 'you are!'

'Are you?' Uhtred asked, threateningly, 'her husband?'

'I- I,' Sihtric stammered.

'You lie to me?' Uhtred's voice suddenly calmed, placing his hand onto Sihtric's shoulder as a power play, while you quickly dressed yourself.

'I didn't mean to, lord,' Sihtric flinched lightly, as if expecting a slap across the face.

'Who married you?'

'I'm s-sorry,' Sihtric said, closing his eyes and awaiting his punishment.

'Who married you?' Uhtred asked again, raising his voice.

'Father, stop it!' you pulled his hand off Sihtric, who you quickly pulled back towards you as his trembling hands held onto the fur, 'you can't behave like this!' you scowled.

You took Sihtric's trembling hand in yours as you placed your other hand on his cheek, caressing it softly while you brought his face to rest against your own.

'No one will hurt you, my love,' you whispered, 'I promise.'

Uhtred watched the couple, bewildered, and he rubbed his hands over his face, awaiting an explanation.

'Beocca married us,' you said, stepping in front of Sihtric as you turned to face your father, 'this morning.'

'This morning?'

'Yes,' you said curtly, 'and we have consummated the marriage already so there is nothing you can do about it anymore.'

'Oh, I can,' Uhtred huffed, his hand reaching for Serpent-Breath's hilt.

'But you will not!'

'Give me one reason.'

'Because I love him!' you said, 'and he loves me.'

Uhtred dropped his hand slowly, away from his sword and looked at you and Sihtric in silence for a moment.

'Is that true?' he asked Sihtric, 'you love her?'

'I do, lord.'

Uhtred sighed, smacking his lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

'What is the plan then? You both live here?' Uhtred grimaced.

'No, we agreed that I will move in with Sihtric.'

'Absolutely not,' Uhtred snapped.

'Why not!'

'I can not think of you sharing your bed with him every night!'

'So, then what,' you scoffed, 'you want us to live here so you can hear it every night?'

'No!' Uhtred felt his stomach twist at the thought.

'I will live with him, father, it is already decided,' you said calmly, reaching behind you to lace your fingers with Sihtric's, who was blushing heavily. 'Do we have your blessings?' you asked.

'My blessings?' Uhtred scoffed and thought quietly for a long moment before he huffed, 'fine.'

You both snapped your faces up to Uhtred, who still grimaced lightly.

'Thank you!' you smiled widely.

'Thank you, lord,' Sihtric smiled, 'we- we will name our first son after you.'

'What? No!' you pulled a face.

'No you will not!' Uhtred scowled.

'We will not,' Sihtric mumbled, squeezing your hand softly.

Uhtred felt sick again and left as fast as he could, after which you both chuckled nervously before Sihtric helped you pack up your belongings, moving everything over to his home.

*****************

five years later

*****************

'How many more are ye planning? Sweet Jesus,' Finan chuckled as he held your youngest.

'No more, for now,' you sighed and looked up at your husband, 'my body is tired,' you chuckled lightly.

'I know, my love,' Sihtric smiled sweetly at you as he wrapped his arm around your waist, 'you have already given me more than I could dream of.'

'Aye, same goes for him,' Finan cocked his head towards Uhtred, who was face flat on the grass, piled under your three other children, who all tried to throw soft punches at him.

Sihtric had truly kept his promise, and you found out he already got you pregnant on your wedding day. You gave birth to a beautiful boy, named Cynlaef, who, as young as he was, already started to take after his father; charming and always in a mood to play pretend fights with grandpa Uhtred and uncle Finan, but it was uncle Osferth who always got the most beatings.

Only two months after you had given birth to your first son, you found out you were pregnant, again. Sihtric was ecstatic, Osferth surprised, Finan a little shocked, Uhtred still appalled at the thought of his daughter with Sihtric, or with any man for that matter, and you were happy but also nervous. You loved your married with kids life, but you worried about providing for your children when Sihtric wasn't there. You had expressed your worries to your father, but he told you there was nothing to worry about, except that a battle would soon approach and Sihtric had to go.

And so you gave birth, without your husband by your side, to a daughter who would be named Gunnora. Sihtric had returned several weeks after you had given birth, and from that moment it was already clear that Gunnora was daddy's girl, and whoever would end up betrothing her, would have a hard time convincing Sihtric. What Sihtric wasn't hard to be convinced of, was that you had missed him and you desperately wanted him. Which once again led to pregnancy and resulted in another boy named Björn. A few months after Björn was born, you became pregnant again, and so there would be another boy; Torsten.

As much as you loved your children, you had enough and discussed with Sihtric how you simply couldn't birth another child, at least, not for a few years. Although Sihtric loved seeing you pregnant with his pups, he understood and agreed, not telling you how he was sometimes so exhausted he would fall asleep when he actually had to guard the fortress. And so, shortly after your last birthed child, you found a healer, who gave you a potion to drink each time after you had humped. And luckily for you, it worked wonders.

Uhtred, your father, truly loved his grandchildren and would stop by whenever he could. But you could tell four grandkids was a lot, even for him. He walked back over to you with your eldest on his back, your daughter in his arms and your other son got dragged over the grass as he clung onto Uhtred's ankle.

'Lord,' Finan snorted, 'your daughter has something to tell you,' he taunted, riling Uhtred up.

'No!' Uhtred shouted, exhausted, 'no more children! Please!' to which Finan laughed loudly and slapped Sihtric's shoulder, who also couldn't help but laugh at Uhtred's sheer panic.

'No,' you laughed, 'Finan is just messing with you, father, there will be no more children for at least a while,' you reassured him.

'Bless the gods,' Uhtred smiled with relief as he set Gunnora back down on her feet, who immediately ran to Sihtric, claiming his attention away from you.

'Mother!' Cynlaef exclaimed as he jumped off Uhtred's back, 'grandpa said I can fight with him! Just like dad!'

'Did he?' you gave Uhtred a disapproving look, who grinned and shrugged. 'We'll talk about that when you are old enough, son,' you said, 'now, go wash your hands. All of you, it's time for dinner. And you all know the rules, no talks about battles at the table.'

'Aye,' Finan said as he caught your hard stare, 'I won't say a word.'

'Nor speak of more children,' Uhtred commented.

'That too,' you laughed. Sihtric rolled his eyes and gave you a kiss, before he followed your children inside, where you watched him make order of the chaos as he sat them all down at the table. And you thought that maybe another child wouldn't be so sad. But just not this year.

'Maybe next year,' you smiled to yourself and took a seat in between your irresistible husband and your softened father.

#sihtric x reader #sihtric x you #the last kingdom fic #sihtric fic #the last kingdom #sihtric kjartansson #sihtric #tlk #the last kingdom fanfic

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adachimoe · 9 days

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Adachi's fixation on Mayumi

In a previous post, I talked about how the game is vague about why Adachi is at the Amagi ryokan, and how I believe it's implying he was stalking Mayumi, and that he hadn't actually been assigned to guard her. I still believe that, but, what exactly about her was Adachi so fixated on that he felt compelled to do this in the first place?

Normally, one would probably just go, "Adachi is an incel" and that's supposed to serve as an explanation for both why he liked her and why he killed her. But painting over everything about him as "Adachi is an incel" feels really reductionist.

When Adachi calls out to Mayumi at the ryokan, he asks her to come to the lobby and begins by asking her about the affair. This scene actually has some significance in how Katsura Hashino re-interpreted the mythology of Izanagi and Izanami for Persona 4: In his mind, Izanagi going to Yomi to verify if Izanami was dead or not represented a desire to seek out the truth; death is when you "quit thinking". Adachi mirrors this, going to the Amagi's (his Yomi), and verifying information about Mayumi (his Izanami).

And when Adachi asks her, he presents it in a way that says, he is on her side. His phrasing here is notable: The affair - it's not true, right? And it shows what he wants to believe too, because he doesn't want to believe that she was in an affair with a married man.

After all, he probably saw her on the Midnight Channel before and has it in his brain that she's his "soulmate". Heck, even when you find him in the TV World, he's ranting about her not being single:

It's parasocial and it's creepy. God I wish he'd talk about me that way.

But, I think it's in how he presented himself as "taking her side" that we can figure out why he was so fixated on her. If Adachi comes in assuming that Mayumi was not really having an affair with Namatame, then that means that her losing her job at the station, her being forced to hole herself up in the ryokan, the media circus surrounding her, etc... Then that would make her a victim in all of this: Someone who has been thrown under the bus and is being treated unfairly. And by her former media contemporaries, nonetheless.

Funny enough, as it would happen, there is a character in the story who feels they are a victim who has been treated unfairly and fell from grace at their workplace, and sees their current situation as punishment from their coworkers...

...aaand it's Adachi.

It feels quite probable to me that part of why Adachi fixated so hard on Mayumi is because he basically looked at her situation and thought, "Oh, she's just like me, frfr". Dude really headcanoned that her affair wasn't even real.

We aren't really shown what happens with Adachi and the Midnight Channel after he comes into town. We know that he had seen it before he talked to Mayumi, as he was aware he could touch the TV, just unaware that a whole body could go in. And with Mayumi's scandal being in the news and media, and her being on people's minds, we know she appeared on it during Namatame's flashbacks.

I think Adachi got it in his mind that even though she was this otherwise out of of reach person for him, being a celebrity and all, she too was a victim of sorts, and what he saw as a common point between them (we don't actually know why he got transferred lol) could have led to a blossoming relationship. Like they were meant to be together, as he probably saw her as his soulmate on the Midnight Channel. Oh, what a coincidence for her to go through this big media scandal when around the same time that he transfers into Inaba. Clearly it was fate.

Really, he's fucking delusional. It's great.

Although, I do wonder if this also says something about him. While he talks big in his Golden Social Link about only going after insanely beautiful women, he isn't actually portrayed in the narrative as trying to hit on women or ask them out regularly. While he has his preferences, perhaps he only tries to seriously pursue women who are broken or downtrodden in someway--like it's less chance of getting rejected.

#persona 4 #tohru adachi #mayumi yamano #adachi brainrot

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therealjordan23 · 4 months

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gwiles shitpost

ooo

The first thing Gwen had to do was tell Miles, and from some of the stories she had heard from other women, it was always one of the challenging parts. It wasn't supposed to be scary or difficult, but ever since the doctor confirmed her suspicions two weeks ago, anytime she tried telling Miles, she found the words die in her throat every time she opened her mouth. At this point, he must've been under the assumption that she had developed some form of memory loss.

The first night they were married, they had spent the night curled up in bed in Miles’ dimension. Too much had happened in too little time; they simply slept, wrapped up together all night. The next morning, Gwen woke up with her arm resting lightly against his bare chest, and she felt his steady heartbeat underneath her palm. She was relieved to find out that it wasn't a dream, and she had indeed gotten married to the man of her dreams.

When he finally woke up an hour later, she kissed him with every ounce of passion she could muster, and they had truly become husband and wife in that one final threshold.

And now 4 months into the marriage, she was 2 months pregnant.

��Not that I don't like spending time with you," Hobie said thoughtfully. "But it's also dawn, Gwen. I thought you’d be asleep."

Gwen had woken up early that morning, before the sun had begun to rise. She detangled herself from Miles' loving embrace, and pulled the covers up to his chin upon seeing goosebumps rise steadily on his chest from being exposed to the cold air. She kissed his forehead and silently dressed herself. Sneaking out, she headed to Hobie’s dimension where she knew he’d just be coming back home after a night of partying. True enough, she had found him, and together, they were taking a morning walk.

"I needed to talk to you where other people wouldn't listen," Gwen insisted, sitting down on a tree trunk. "It's a secret."

"And Miles isn't in on this because…?"

"That's the problem."

She looked down at her hands and watched them shuffle and fidget. She'd been elated when she thought she might be pregnant, but she had to keep her excitement in check until she was sure. As soon as the doctor confirmed her suspicions, she took sudden permission from the universe to be as excited as possible. Truthfully she wasn't exactly sure if she and Miles were able to have children considering that they were from different universes. It was something they had accepted and talked about before tying the knot, and she was ecstatic to learn that yes, they were able to conceive children. Gwen wondered immediately if it would be a baby boy or girl, whether they would have a son or a daughter. She hoped the baby had her eyes and Miles' hair, and as much as she relished saying Gwen Stacy-Morales to herself often, she was even more excited that her children would share the same last name. Miles was the father of her children and she was the mother of his.

She wanted to communicate all of this to Miles, but she never found the words.

"Talk Gwendy, what's wrong?" Hobie asked, taking a seat on the ground next to her.

"I'm pregnant."

Why was it so easy to tell Hobie and not Miles? Well, perhaps because Hobie had little stake in it other than being the fun uncle. She and Hobie would not be forever bound by this life that they both created and shared.

That didn't stop him from turning pale and his eyes went wide. Gwen groaned.

"I don't know how to tell Miles, and you're freaking out, which means he'll definitely freak out, and it shouldn't be this hard! And at this point, he won't find out until I actually have the baby, and just say, 'Hi, this is yours', and, oof—!"

She was cut off by a very sudden and very tight hug. After a moment Hobie jumped back though.

"Sorry, I don't want to hurt you, love," he said, eyes darting to her still flat stomach and laughing nervously. "Congratulations Gwen! I’m so happy!"

Gwen smiled at that, and relaxed for the first time in days. "Really?" she asked.

Hobie looked at her in disbelief. "Are you daft? What do you mean 'really'? Of course, Gwen! Miles is basically my brother, you're like my sister!"

"I'm just nervous."

Hobie moved to kneel in front of her. "About what?"

"About what? About everything! Miles will lose his mind—"

"Why?" Hobie challenged.

She fumbled for an answer. "B-because he's going to be a father! His entire world is going to change, and suddenly, we're going to have a baby to take care of—"

"Gwen."

Hobie took her hands gently but with purpose. When she refused to look up, he put a few fingers beneath her chin and tilted her up until her eyes met his. And then he smiled the warmest smile he had ever shown her.

"No one is going to make better parents than you and Miles," he said very plainly. "Miles was born to be a father, and despite not knowing if he could, he's always wanted kids. And you've always been such a kind, gentle, nurturing person. And even better, you two are in love. That's rarer than it should be when it comes to parents. Hell, I wish my parents weren't separated, but here we are, Gwen. Love between parents is rare to come across these days. I know you'll both love that baby with all your heart because you love each other."

It was surprising how deep Hobie could be, and he had a point. She had been elated in the first seconds of knowing she'd be a mother, because she knew that they were doing this together. That's what a baby was: two lovers coming together to create an entire universe made up of stars from his eyes, planets from her hair, comets from their skin.

"Tell him Gwen. I mean right now when you get home. If you don't, I can't guarantee I can keep quiet for long," he laughed.

She smiled, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, gave his hair a stroke, and stood, opening a portal back to Earth-1610. Hobie gave her one last hug as she walked through the portal to the front door of their home. Gwen entered just as quietly as she'd left.

The house was still dark. In the bedroom Miles had moved, turning onto his side with his hands bunched beneath the blanket. He was still heavily asleep, his breathing very deep. Gwen took a deep breath. She kneeled in front of him and gently brushed her hands through his hair. It was always soft and thick and curly. She studied his features intently: he had grown up a lot from their teenage days. Miles grew to be around 6’2 while she stayed 5’10, keeping his hair relatively the same. He had a light stubble, and was a lot more filled out and lean.He began to stir slightly at the touches, his eyes slowly creaking open. She leaned forward and kissed him until his eyes opened completely and he kissed her back lightly.

"Are you awake?" she said.

"Hmfph," he gave as a response, his voice thick, blinking rapidly.

She fought back a laugh. "Are you really awake? It's important," she said.

Miles pulled a hand up to his eyes and roughly rubbed the sleep out of them before pinching at the bridge of his nose. He sat up, the blanket falling down and exposing his skin to the chilly morning air and he shivered. He gave his hair a once through with his own hand before turning to Gwen with clearer eyes.

"Sí, mi amor, I'm awake," he said, yawning. "Are you alright?"

She took a deep breath through the nose, and told herself when she exhaled out would also come the news about the baby.

"I'm pregnant, Miles," she said.

He looked at first like he'd misunderstood her. Then his jaw fell open. His eyes looked down with such concentration she thought he might have been reading an invisible book.

But when Miles' eyes finally snapped back to Gwen, he smiled and his eyes were like fireworks. In one fluid motion he grabbed and pulled her in and rolled over. He tightly hugged Gwen who hugged him back. The anxious weight on her chest finally dissipated, and a garden of flowers replaced it. She told Miles, and it felt amazing.

He was whispering words of adoration in her ear while she just pulled at him tighter and relished the smell and feel of skin.

"I love you, Gwen," he said plainly and quietly.

"I love you too," she returned.

They spent half the day in bed, talking about names, taking bets on whose hair and eyes it would have. Miles insisted it would be the best Spider person; Gwen said she didn't care as long as they were happy and didn't set foot in an abandoned subway tunnel. He brought her food on a tray, insisted they'd buy all new food immediately, fresh food, he'd bring it to her whenever she needed. She laughed and told him it would be months before she'd truly need that.

It had been the best day of Gwen's life, but she knew there could only be one day that could outdo it.

But she'd have to wait 9 months.

#miles morales #gwen stacy #across the spiderverse #spider man: across the spider verse #gwiles #miles x gwen #gwen x miles #spider gwen #spiderman #ghostflower #hobie brown

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aemondsbeloved · 1 year

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Hey can we have headcanons for Aemond when he realizes that the reader is The One for him?😊 It can be before or during their courtship.

notes: these headcanons are basically Aemond slowly falling for his betrothed though it takes him a long time to truly understand his feelings

You were kind, that was the first thing Aemond had noticed.

Since your arrival in the Keep for your formal betrothal Aemond had seen your kindness in everything you did. Above all you had been kind to his sister Helaena.

He had not seen it at first but Helaena had told him. How his lady, as she phrased it, had told off that pesky Lady Lannister after she said something that had made Helaena upset, and how after the ladie’s tea in the gardens that day his lady had found her again, inquiring if Helaena would join her in the Godswood the next day. That day Helaena had told him that while at supper with himself and their mother, he had smiled gently, a gesture usually done to placate his sister who had few joys in life since marrying their elder brother. This time the smile had been authentic and real on his lips.

After that day he had taken more care to notice you. It was not like the prince had been dismissive of his betrothed, the opposite was true in fact. He often thought of your beauty in the gardens and the way he enjoyed your smiled. But your marriage was for political purposes. Something had changed within him and Aemond could not ignore it.

In truth as your courting the prince continued Aemond had begun to covet you. It was barbaric to him, the thought of wanting to have ownership of a lady such as yourself and for no man to ever look at you without knowing you were his. He felt depraved, like Aegon even, and disliked himself for these feelings very much. Because when one day you had shone him a light blue flower and tucked it into his doublet he had to fight the smile on his lips.

Aemond only tipped his head down, though he was assured it was not done bashfully, and thanked you quietly for the gesture. Your smile was not soft like his but knowing and you did not look the bashful maiden that day. Your fierceness was there, perhaps like it was there when you told off Lady Lannister, and realized you might have been more the lion than her family was meant to be.

His fierce lady, he often thought of you as, but only in his mind. Never aloud.

It was a moon before your marriage when he had realized he had doubted you in his thoughts of you only being gentle, kind, and true. You were all these things but you were also fierce, though Aemond thought this was not enough description of who you were.

That evening Queen Alicent had wished for her children to dine together, alongside with yourself as Aemond’s betrothed. Aemond suspected it was Daeron’s return to the Capitol that urged his mother to do so.

It came as little shock when Aegon was crass and said something as far from something any gentleman would say. That would be Aegon, Aemond had thought bitterly.

What had come as a shock was you, standing up from the chair you sat in beside Aemond and lowly threatening the elder prince with your carving knife in hand.

Aegon had been struck dumb, not saying a single word and leaned back in his chair, almost impressed, though it would have only been at the vulgar words you had just called him. Helaena seemed surprised, something she rarely was, and Daeron seemed to approve of you when he glanced at Aemond, though the approval was hardly needed. His mother seemed glad she had not been the one to handle Aegon for once.

Surely fierce and loyal could not describe you. Aemond had thought of you for weeks, even when you were in his presence he could not escape thinking of you. It felt all consuming to a degree. He did not know how he felt; to covet was too weak a word now and his duty was not the reason he was anxious the morning he stood in Sept the day you were wed. His nerves were not in fear of you abandoning duty but only his anxiety to be with you always. He knew it was a foolish thing to want because battles would always come and duty would reach for him as the son of a King but he could not fight the duty he had to you even before you were his.

He had come to realize what you meant to him days, or maybe weeks, after your marriage had begun. You were precious. His love. It was unavoidable and now the difference was he could not even want to avoid recognizing it.

You were a weakness, he remembered saying to you. Just as he remembered amending it. “If anyone knew how dear you were, how most beloved you were to me they would burn down cities because I would tear the realm to get you back,” he told you that day in your chambers one morning.

Still in your underclothes and hair undone from the night before you had not been expecting them from the gasp at his words. Your awed expression had a smile forming on Aemond’s lips but this one was anything but practiced. It was real.

Ñuha prūmia, he called you. My heart. You had asked him many times to teach you his mother tongue and when he finally did, Aemond had loved how you preened when he called you that now that you knew its meaning.

One day, many years in the future, Aemond would take his children into the gardens of the Red Keep. It was not the first time he had held their tiny hands nor was it the first time they had plucked flowers to bring to you. It was the first time his daughter, Aerea, had asked how he knew their mother was the one he must marry.

“She was impossible not to love,” he told her with a smile, handing her a rose she grasped.

Another day when she was older, not so much a child who only cared for flowers and thought love so simple, he would tell Aerea that sometimes love creeps up slowly on you; he would tell her that one day you can no longer simply list off why you are fond of someone who is at your side and must reconcile that love comes up on you like a snake slithers in the grass but if you’re lucky there will be no bite along with it.

“I was lucky to have your mother as my betrothed,” he says instead of what he thinks but that does not make it any less true. “There is no one more wonderful, would you not agree?”

Aerea is all smiles, nodding and giggling as her younger brother runs up to hand her more flowers. Later, your children are graceless as they run to you in the castle to hand you the flowers gathered for you. When Aemond observes it all he realizes that unlike the kind of love he saw as a child, sometimes it can be simple and kind, and does not need to have pain in order to be worth it

#aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen x you #aemond targaryen x y/n #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond imagine #aemond headcanons #aemond fluff

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haesunflower · 1 year

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to hell with the stars | royalty au with ricky and zhanghao

(written in the stars chapter 3)

✩ chapter 1, chapter 2 ✩

genre: romance, angst

pairing: reader x ricky, queen oc x zhang hao

about/tags: you're back in astoria where you feel love bloom again. among other things, the queen of mariposa's relationship with king hao worsens. (4k+ words)

y/n is a princess, infidelity, cursing, mentions of death, slight slutshaming, these characters live such hard lives

The sky is a beautiful orange, with pinks blendings purples to welcome the impending setting of the sun. Celeste and Citrine are busy drinking from the water trough after a long day of riding. Ricky tosses you an apple meant for the horses, but you don’t have much of an appetite.

“I hear you’re leaving tomorrow.” The prince takes a bite into the red fruit, as he sits down next to you under the tree where you’ve been planted for the past twenty minutes. Your mind was all over the place, thinking about your sister – how you and her husband, the king, spent over an hour crying and getting closure, how you eventually shared a kiss with him.

That would have been enough reason to leave the following day anyway. So when you received a letter from your parents in Astoria asking you to come home, you were a little bit relieved. It saves you the agony of coming up with an excuse to tell your sister.

In true avoidance, you spent the whole day riding. You rushed to the stables that morning, without even letting Chaehyun know. Everyone was looking for you the moment they realized you disappeared with your horse. Which is exactly why they sent Prince Quanrui to look for you, and he successfully found you crying by the pond.

With no one in sight, he hugged you, arms embracing your torso as you sobbed into his chest. His head rests atop yours, as he soothes your back trying to get you to calm down. Even in your misery, a part of him is glad that he gets to hold you like this.

You don't want to return just yet. So again, there you were sitting under the tree. Just thinking. You haven’t said much to Ricky at all, he didn’t pry. Instead you both moved in silence. Grateful for his perceptiveness to your emotions, he deserved a decent conversation. “Yes, tomorrow morning. The King and Queen have summoned me.”

Ricky nods slowly, but he’s undecided on whether or not he wants to believe that answer. He sets the apple down, and sighs loudly. “Since you’ll be gone, I have no purpose staying here any longer than you are. I’ll leave tomorrow as well.” he says matter-of-factly.

You can’t say you’re not surprised. In fact, you’ve suspected that he favors you more than any other royal because he likes you to some degree. And you like Ricky too, how could you not?

You spent every year of childhood playing with him around the castle, he was your favorite guest at your tea parties, he was your escort for your first royal ball, he taught you how to paint, and he made you laugh. And you once overheard both your mothers joke around, saying perhaps their children will marry each other one day. You weren’t sure if that meant you. But if it did, you wouldn’t mind. Ricky is a friend above all things, a really good friend – who is also a welcome distraction from your thoughts.

“You spent almost all of Spring here in Mariposa, did you not tire of my company?” you playfully nudge him, and the tip of his ears turn a little red. He breaks into a smile as he turns to you, eyes locking “it wasn’t dreadful”, he jokes back.

“I knew it. So you do like me a little bit, Prince Quanrui?” you tease.

“Love. I do love you Princess Y/N.”

There is no more joking undertone, just a declaration. He says it confidently, his voice unwavering. He looks to your lips, then to your eyes before he looks away – staring at the sky instead, “but I can wait, however long you need, Y/N.”

You think about what he just said, and you’re scared to ask “Ricky, you know something, don’t you?”

“Well…” he begins. “I knew there must have been a good reason as to why you didn’t come to Solaria when I invited you, perhaps you were occupied with royal matters too. And because I was at your sister’s wedding, I figured you weren’t in attendance. Perhaps you were sick, as there was no way you would have missed an event that involved your family. I also know that you were trying to get away from that dumbass King after your dance with him –” he wants to continue, but he glances in your direction.

Your head is down, ashamed. So he was right, it is about the King.

“I’m a horrible person. Yesterday, I kissed him.” you whisper the confession, barely audible. You check on Ricky, who is no longer watching the sky, and is instead gazing at you. He seems unphased.

“Do you see me differently now?” you ask, feeling hopeful that maybe he doesn’t think you’re a disgrace, a slut, a traitor. He one ups your expectations when he responds with “I see you exactly as you are. The same from when we were kids. Beautiful, terribly unfunny, but fresh like air. Nothing you do changes my love for you.”

For confirmation, you ask once again – “you love me?”

“In every way imaginable, Y/N”. You smile as you realize how easy it was for Ricky to answer that question, and compare it to how difficult it was for you to answer Hao the night before.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

When you leave the next day, Ricky is the one that brings you to your carriage, opening the door for you. He tells you that he’ll visit Astoria after he gets his political affairs in order. He removes the glove that you had on, and kisses the back of your hand sweetly. It’s intimate, sweet, and in Solaria – reserved for only husband and wife.

You want to tease him, but you don’t. Instead, you remove your necklace, a golden chain with a sun and star on it, and place it on his palm. You enclose his fingers around it gently, and your hands stay in that position for a while. You’re afraid this is the last time you’ll see each other as just Crown Prince Ricky and Princess Y/N.

“Don’t keep waiting for me, okay? Thank you for the past few weeks”. You place your hand on his cheek, and swipe your thumb comfortingly.

Those are the last words you speak to him before the carriage door is closed. Ricky is watching as the carriage smalls to the distance. The necklace is safely nested in his clasped hands, afraid he’ll lose the precious item you gave him. Rather, afraid he’ll lose you entirely.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

When you return to Astoria, the first thing that you are alerted to is that the crown prince’s condition has worsened. Crown Prince Hanbin has been sick since the middle of winter, and everyone had assumed he would eventually get better. He always does. But an entire season has passed, and his condition has only worsened.

You enter his room, and he’s laying in his bed. Your mother and father, the queen and king of Astoria, are seated on chairs by the side of his bed. For both of them to be here at the same time, it must be really grave, you think.

You close the door gently and walk to your brother to take his hand. He’s coughing but he manages to smile when he sees you. “What took you so long, sister?” he asks, his voice is hoarse.

“Don’t speak, I am here now brother.” You place your hand on his head, feeling his temperature and wiping away the layer of sweat that rests on his skin. “What do the doctors say, mother?” But she doesn’t respond to your query.

“Y/N, let’s speak outside....” Your father commands.

Hanbin interrupts, “no, let me be the one to tell her.”

You’re looking at both of the men in the room, waiting for them. “Sister, listen –” a roar of coughs erupts before he gets the rest of the sentence out “– you know that if anything were to happen to me, you’ll be queen regent right?” You’re nodding, “starting tomorrow, your official title will be crown princess.”

Your world spins, and you think you might faint. You were right, that was going to be the last time you would be seeing Ricky as just, princess y/n. Tomorrow, you duties begin as crown princess, the next in line to the throne.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

In Solaria, Prince Quanrui’s mother asks how his trip to Mariposa was. And if he has already proposed to you, like he said you would. He shakes his head, and tells her that it isn’t the right time.

“I always knew that both of you would end up together,” she says quaintly. “You begged to visit Astoria almost every year, even when we didn’t need the diplomatic meetings anymore. You studied her interests, her country, and you know the Astoria government more than anyone in our parliament. Son, you even painted a portrait for her,” she scoffs “you’ve never even painted for your own mother. And remember when you were devastated when she didn’t visit us last year?” The current queen of Solaria pauses to take a sip from her wine, watching the expression on her son’s face. “Am I right to believe you’ve loved her ever since?”

When the prince nods, she nags at him, "then why are you in Solaria and not Astoria?"

He has a small smile on his face, and he thinks of you as he touches the gift you left him, currently clad on his neck.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

A letter from Solaria announcing Prince Quanrui’s intent to visit Astoria arrives a week late. Now, the palace staff are in visible panic, making last minute preparations. You haven’t seen them make this much haste since the last time a crown prince stayed in Astoria.

It’s a bright day, and the gardens are littered with fully bloomed stargazer lilies this time around. As if timed perfectly, a carriage slows down the moment you leave the palace doors. A footman opens the vehicle, and Prince Quanrui steps out dressed in all black. On his right hand, a dozen red roses.

As you walk down the stairs to greet him, he bows at you. And out of habit, you curtsy back. “Your favorite, Princess Y/N”, he hands you the flowers. Roses don’t grow well on Astoria soil, so Ricky has made it a tradition to gift you a dozen every time he visits. They’re usually yellow or white. You wonder if these red ones hold any special meaning, and you decide to read on it later.

“They’re beautiful as always, Prince Quanrui.” He takes your ungloved hand, and plants a delicate kiss from his lips. It feels familiar, it feels sincere, it feels nice.

“I hope the King and Queen are not too offended about my sudden desire to visit the Astoria palace.” You’re walking side by side, back to the grand doors. “Don’t be silly Ricky, they’re elated that you’ve come here again.”

Ricky is glad to hear that he’s still in your parents’ good graces. Because he plans to ask for their blessing for your hand in marriage soon.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

The palace staff are instructed to not speak anything about Prince Hanbin’s debilitating condition, nor are they allowed to address Y/N by her new Crown Princess title around guests. They have not made the royal decree public, and they only plan to do so once things have been made final. Everyone hopes that it doesn’t have to come to that point.

Silently, you’ve been preparing to take over. Hanbin’s responsibilities have been passed on to you, along with additional education from his royal tutors. It’s exhausting to be a ruler. Thankfully, all of that takes a backseat for the first few days of Ricky’s visit.

At first, you enjoyed your usual activities. Strolling by the garden, painting together, visiting the new museum artifacts, riding Celeste and Citrine, having meals together. You threw a tea party for fun, and he willingly participated, joking about how you must have no better company because he’s the only one present. “I’m in disbelief that your idea of fun is throwing tea parties and rotting away at the library.”

Faking offense, “excuse me, that is no way to talk to your host.” He laughs, uninhibited, gums showing. Your favorite. He often puts on a cool and cold demeanor around strangers, but you know who he is. So in rare moments where he allows himself to genuinely laugh, even with palace staff around – you treasure it, tucking a memory of this moment.

“Let’s do something that’s actually fun. I’ll come get you later this evening.”

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

“Are you certain about this?” you ask Ricky, as he tucks the rest of your hair into your cloak. Underneath, both of you are sporting commoner clothes that you rarely use.

“Unfortunately, I’m not taking no for an answer. Come on.” He grips your waist tightly and hoists you up the palace walls, the ones near the staff entrance where it’s much, much shorter. And therefore, very climbable. Ricky follows after you, and you’re both giggling at the excitement of sneaking out past curfew.

The stars are littered throughout the sky, acting as a soft source of light. You mount your horses, and ride towards the central area of Astoria. The night market at the town square feels so alive. There’s a weekend festival that the tavern owners like to host, and you hear old men as they clink their mugs and cheer for the free drinks. Children are still up, enjoying the Astoria delicacies being sold by vendors. At the center, near the fountain, a traditional square dance ensues. It’s mostly old couples and young teenagers. Ricky drags you in, and you’re both welcomed into the chaos of music, laughter, and sweaty bodies. As he dances with an old lady, you can’t help but stare at his beauty that surely rivals your own. He’s holding both her hands, encouraging her to go along with the beat. He’s smiling wide, as he teaches her the steps. That damn smile that you love so much.

You’re walking down the food vendor lanes when you buy Ricky an Astorian strawberry delicacy. To put it simply, cow’s milk that’s been pasteurized with strawberries. “Try this, you’ll like it.” you excitedly bring the cup to his mouth, and he takes a sip. He says it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.

You try a lot of new things. There’s a sketch artist that offers to draw the ‘lovely couple’ in charcoal, and you both pose on the chair attempting to keep your laughs at a minimum. He buys you a little doll made by a local toymaker, saying it looked like you when you were younger. Both of you even try winning a game of hopscotch against the children. He doesn’t want to, but when you tell him to lose on purpose to make them happy, he obliges.

You’re walking back where you came from when you tell him “your idea of fun is certainly better than mine.” You slow your steps, and decide to go to the railing of the bridge overlooking the lake. There are fireflies dancing around the swans.

“Thank you. For taking me out of the palace today”. Your hands are glued to the railing, but you’re looking up at him. Ricky’s gaze is heart-stopping, and you struggle to maintain eye contact with him.

Meanwhile, he thinks that you shine the brightest at nights, with the moon illuminating your face – like you’re the only thing that matters. To him, it holds true. He doesn’t know if it’s because he missed you, or if it’s purely from the way you’re looking at him. But he places his hand atop yours on the railing. You don’t move, not because you’re frozen, or nervous, but because it feels – natural. You look to his hand, safely enclosing yours when you notice the necklace you’ve given him, now repurposed as a bracelet that he’s wrapped thrice around his wrist. “You kept it…”

“I treasure it as it’s from you.” And there’s an increased fondness that grows in your heart for the boy that loves you. You regret the words that you uttered to him when you gave it to him.

“Ricky, I take back what I said.” He looks confused, “about you not needing to wait for me. I take it back. You’ll keep waiting, right?” You look up at him, desperate and glassy eyed. Ricky thinks your eyes look like they’re sparkling, but he knows it’s because you’re on the verge of tears.

“I didn’t plan on stopping anyways.” To assure you the only way he knows how, he moves your hands from the railing to wrap it around his shoulders. As if letting you know that it’s okay to rely on him. Then, he inches down closer to you, so that your noses touch. Your lips are merely milimeters away. He searches your eyes, and asks “may I?”

You give a tiny nod, and he places his lips on yours. It’s not as gentle, it’s unlike what you’re used to. But you find it exciting, and there’s an electricity that you’ve never felt before. He swipes his tongue against your lower lip, and you slightly open your mouth to let him kiss you more fervently. Your stomach drops and you hold on to him tighter. You’re both out of breath.

And as you stand there at the bridge overlooking the lake of fireflies, you feel that you’re just Y/N and Ricky. Two people, no titles.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

It’s a rude awakening, to get yelled at by your mother for disappearing into the night. Work piled up over the last few days, and you’re struggling to catch up. Prince Quanrui sends you little letters or drawings that he slips under your study. Cute, you think. You start to feel terrible that you haven’t been seeing much of him anymore, so you invite him to join you in your royal duties.

You’re in the middle of studying the star patterns, something you did weekly as a requirement in your crown princess education. Previously, you did this as a hobby. It's a sudden whiplash to start viewing your favorite activity as duty. It’s burdensome.

Ricky is surprisingly very willing and interested to participate. He’s quick to be useful, though you’ve only taught him once at thirteen years old. He seems to have taken notice of your change in demeanor though, he knows something is troubling you. So when it’s just the two of you, he asks “I’ll speak candidly, Y/N. Is something wrong?”

He’s standing by the telescope when you retract yourself from the eyepiece. You look at him, and he seems genuinely worried. His brows are furrowed, and he’s slightly biting his lip anxiously waiting for an answer from you. Ricky is never nervous. But nowadays, you have been the exception. Ricky fears you're actively avoiding him, thinking he’s scared you with a confession of love, or if he’s come on too strong since he’s arrived at Astoria. Maybe it was the kiss you shared. Or perhaps you’re still in love with Hao.

“Can I tell you when I’m ready, is that okay? It’s not anything you did, I promise.” It’s like you read his mind. So he nods, and decides to patiently wait until you are ready to confide in him. To wait, just like you asked him to.

This time, you’re the one that steps closer towards him to rest your head on his chest. He wraps his arms around your back, and you feel safe. You don’t want to tell him anything just yet. You’d rather stay in his arms, an ignorant state of bliss.

Because you feel that if you tell him, you’ll speak it to existence, some sort of manifestation. It scares you. Because you might be Queen of Astoria, and Ricky is meant to be King of Solaria – thus, you aren’t free to love him either. The damn stars, even at a second chance of love, there is no hope for fruition.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--

In Mariposa, things are more dreary. Hao smells like whiskey, and the alcohol’s scent follows him as he barges into the queen’s quarters. It’s been several months since Y/N left, meaning it’s been several months where the king spends his evenings drowning himself in liquor.

The queen has been holed up in her room since she found Hao and her sister in the second floor library. She didn’t even say goodbye to her when she left, making up an excuse about pregnancy pains. It’s been a few months, and she’s since given birth to a daughter, Yeseo.

Amidst motherly responsibilities, Knight Jiwoong has been a distraction for her. In Astoria, he swore under oath to protect her with his life. It helps that they’ve known each other forever, and that comfort of having someone know you equally, or maybe even more than yourself has been saving grace for her. So when the queen found her husband and her sister that night, the first thing she did was run to Jiwoong. She cried, and cried, and cried – and he silently listened.

The palace talks, and word must have gotten around about the Queen’s secret rendezvous with the Astoria Knight that guards her door. When there is a change of the guards, Jiwoong makes sure to come back outside right before anyone catches them. Sometimes, his uniform is in disarray.

It’s unsurprising, yet terrifying when Hao makes a beeline at the Knight who is currently standing by the Queen’s window. His hands are grasping at his armored collar, in an attempt to intimidate him. “How long have you been fucking the queen?”

“Hao! Let him go.” The queen rushes to the two men, and pushes the King away. Jiwoong is silent, and he kneels down before his King, but doesn’t respond. “I demand an answer, knight Kim Jiwoong. How long has this been going on behind my back!” his eyes are fueled with rage, as he stares down at the man that’s knelt before him.

“Do not answer him Jiwoong.” The queen puts a finger up towards him. “Hao, if you want to play ‘timelines’ we can. So now I’ll ask you – how long have you been in love with my sister?”

This time, Hao is silenced, but he breathes heavily.

“Is this,” gesturing to you and Jiwoong “the reason why you were okay with all of that? Even asking me to dance with her. Were you pushing me towards her so that you could enjoy your little play thing? You knew this whole time?” Hao is visibly angry at the story that unfolds in his head. An angry King Hao, it’s a sight that is rare to even the oldest of staff in the castle. His chest is huffed out, and his eyes are wide.

The queen, luckily, is not one to back down. “I know that you kissed my sister while you are still married to me.” The queen walks past Hao and takes a seat by the fireplace. She’s staring at the fire when she says “I know that you do not love me. I know that ever since we’ve left Astoria you’ve been different.”

“Do not guilt trip me. I am devoted to you, I chose you!” he’s yelling.

There’s venom in the queen’s voice when she says “you are devoted to me but you do not love me. You are devoted to the country, you are devoted to your children. And yes, you will choose me each time because I, as queen, am also Mariposa. But you do not love me.”

He walks up behind the chair of the queen, and accusingly he says “you speak of the children, but are they even mine? – Yujin & Yeseo, are they even Mariposa blood?” His anger blends into sorrow, the thought of not being the father of his supposed heirs is more heartbreaking than anything else.

It is only then that the knight speaks. “Your Majesty, I am impotent. There is no doubt that the young heirs are Your Majesty’s”

And just like that, Knight Jiwoong’s secret is out. Hao pours two glasses of whiskey and takes a seat next to the queen.

—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- final chapter here

✩ chapter 1, chapter 2 ✩ ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

A/N: these chapters just keep getting longer and longer also i'm sorry i made you impotent jiwoong TT

taglist: @en-ct @honghongbri @beomibeom @jiaant11 (and tagging other people that left comments on other chapters @cherriegyu @annoyingbitch83 @missuszabini @aleinasstuff @wtfhyuck @zhanghrt @flwrinn @xiaoting999 @xmxcris @seokmthw @kyrjnie @dimplewonie @leoonoa) @kflixnet

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jackoshadows · 6 months

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No doubt Tyrion Lannister is a morally grey character, especially with regards to his treatment of women. Nevertheless, when I come across some posts, it hits me how so much of the hate/critique directed towards the character is because of ableism, just like in the books.

Brienne of Tarth maybe at the top of a morally good scale, but even she is susceptible to bigoted propaganda like every other character in the world of Westeros. It's up to us as impartial and enlightened readers to parse through her thoughts and opinions and agree or disagree with her instead of just accepting that she is right because she is good.

Lady Catelyn had said that Sansa was a gentle soul who loved lemon cakes, silken gowns, and songs of chivalry, yet the girl had seen her father's head lopped off and been forced to marry one of his killers afterward. If half the tales were true, the dwarf was the cruelest Lannister of all. If she did poison King Joffrey, the Imp surely forced her hand. She was alone and friendless at that court. In King's Landing, Brienne had hunted down a certain Brella, who had been one of Sansa's maids. The woman told her that there was little warmth between Sansa and the dwarf. Perhaps she had been fleeing him as well as Joffrey's murder. - Brienne, AFfC

IMO, Brienne is wrong because on a scale of Lannister cruelty (Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Joffrey) Tyrion has in actuality been the least cruel Lannister of them all - especially towards the Stark kids, including bastard Jon and disabled Bran. And yet a consistent theme in the books is that Tyrion gets the most hate from the people because of his disability.

Even Brienne's last point of Sansa specifically fleeing from Tyrion stands out because we see from Sansa's own POV in the vale that she considers Tyrion an option to escape to if he had been alive.

The man Brienne loves and defends - Jaime Lannister - has tried to murder one Stark child, attempted to maim and cut off the hand of another Stark child and forced himself on Cersei. If Jaime had been in KL instead of being taken prisoner, he would have continued being Cersei's henchman and supported his sister and their son while they abused Sansa as opposed to Tyrion stepping in and putting an end to the beatings. Jaime has been verbally abusive and cruel to Brienne herself.

Hell, even when they are parting, Jaime tells Brienne to not save the poor child being send off to marry Ramsay Bolton.

"With a sword at my throat, but never mind. Lady Catelyn's dead. I could not give her back her daughters even if I had them. And the girl my father sent with Steelshanks was not Arya Stark." "Not Arya Stark?" "You heard me. My lord father found some skinny northern girl more or less the same age with more or less the same coloring. He dressed her up in white and grey, gave her a silver wolf to pin her cloak, and sent her off to wed Bolton's bastard." He lifted his stump to point at her. "I wanted to tell you that before you went galloping off to rescue her and got yourself killed for no good purpose. You're not half bad with a sword, but you're not good enough to take on two hundred men by yourself." - Jaime, ASoS

Despite all this, while Brienne thinks positively of Jaime because he's beautiful and saved her, Tyrion is the worst of all the Lannisters because everyone says so. Brienne feels pity for poor Sansa being forced to marry the imp but what of the poor girl the Lannisters - Jaime included - are sending off to marry Ramsay Bolton. We all know what poor Jeyne Poole has been through.

Not defending Tyrion's marriage to Sansa here because that was wrong. However, the fact that Brienne thinks Tyrion was even crueler than Cersei and Joffrey towards Sansa and that it was Tyrion who forced poor, gentle Sansa to murder Joffrey should tell us that even Brienne is not without her biases and unquestioningly accepts Westerosi bigotry.

Let's take the character of Jon Snow. One could argue that he is a character closer to Brienne on a morality scale, as one of the good guys. However, the fun aspect here is that if one puts Brienne of Tarth and Jon Snow together they would end up disagreeing on Catelyn Stark and Tyrion Lannister.

This is not a point to argue which character is good or bad except that characters form relationships based on their personal interactions and experiences rather than whether characters are good or bad and this is why GRRM argues all his characters are morally grey.

The Old Bear shrugged. "A boy king … I imagine he'll listen to his mother. A pity the dwarf isn't with them. He's the lad's uncle, and he saw our need when he visited us. It was a bad thing, your lady mother taking him captive—" "Lady Stark is not my mother," Jon reminded him sharply. Tyrion Lannister had been a friend to him. If Lord Eddard was killed, she would be as much to blame as the queen. " - Jon VII, AGoT

Here is Jon defending Tyrion and assigning equal blame to Catelyn and Cersei if any harm befell Ned Stark. Keep in mind that even after knowing Sansa and Tyrion are married, Jon does not show an iota of the concern Brienne shows for Sansa. Instead his thoughts are for Tyrion, finding it hard to imagine the man he shook hands with and called friend as a kinslayer.

"It is not my intent to choose any side," said Jon, "but I am not as certain of the outcome of this war as you seem to be, my lord. Not with Lord Tywin dead." If the tales coming up the kingsroad could be believed, the King's Hand had been murdered by his dwarf son whilst sitting on a privy. Jon had known Tyrion Lannister, briefly. He took my hand and named me friend. It was hard to believe the little man had it in him to murder his own sire, but the fact of Lord Tywin's demise seemed to be beyond doubt. "The lion in King's Landing is a cub, and the Iron Throne has been known to cut grown men to ribbons." - Jon, ADwD

Jon's personal experiences define his opinions just as Brienne's personal experiences define hers. Brienne's admiration for Lady Catelyn means that she agrees with all of Cat's opinions and has sympathy for Catelyn's daughter. In fact if Catelyn had talked of Jon Snow, Brienne would think of Jon as a treacherous bastard out to steal the Stark birthright like Catelyn warned Robb that Jon or Jon's children would do.

Remember when the Blackfish casts aspersions on Jon Snow's character because his sister has told him that the bastard was not to be trusted? We would see Brienne think the same way because she has never met Jon Snow and would trust in Catelyn's opinions of him.

Would we then unquestionably accept Brienne's opinions of Jon Snow because she's a good person? I doubt it. Brienne's opinions of Tyrion as the cruelest Lannister - when Cersei and Jaime are right there - should similarly not be taken at face value and instead attributed to the bigotry that has surrounded Tyrion for as long as he has lived.

#Tyrion Lannister #Brienne of Tarth #Jon Snow

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mothercetrion · 8 months

Text

I really like the relationship between Johnny and Ashrah. like, a lot, and I think it's a very underrated relationship between the characters. full thoughts under the cut because it gets long (and also has MK1 spoilers!).

they get along for the duration of the story mode, with Johnny flirting with her/talking about her looks significantly less than he does any of the other women he has met (Kitana, Mileena, and Sindel, notably). he still does on occasion, but it doesn't feel as often? to me?

Johnny is the one to invite Ashrah and Syzoth to come back to Earthrealm with him, Kenshi, and Lao. when Johnny gives her what she views as a ridiculous disguise at the festival, she openly says as much, and Johnny insists that it looks good on her. it's about as flirtatious as he gets when he's speaking to her in the story.

A: You couldn't steal a more functional hat? JC: What? It hides your face. And honestly...it suits you.

I'm sure it's more of a nod to her more well-known design, but…still. it feels so much more genuine than his normal compliments, if that makes sense? no cheesy nickname, nothing drawn-out or overly dramatic. short and sweet. very unlike Johnny and incredibly endearing (and noticeable) as a result.

and then, once they're in Earthrealm, he's the one to introduce Ashrah and Syzoth to Liu Kang. he attributes the safe arrival to Earthrealm to them, which is true, but hearing Johnny openly credit them for their help was quite nice.

their story mode interactions end here, but their pleasant relationship continues in their intros. granted, Johnny does flirt with her (he is Johnny, after all), but it's a lot less than it is with the other girls on the roster. their intros are actually incredibly sweet and show off their close bond.

A: You fought bravely against Shang Tsung. JC: That's just life imitating art, sweetheart.

Johnny calls her "sweetheart" in this one. typical Cage flirting and hyping himself up.

A: I will fight without fail until I am absolved. JC: You are truly a wonder, woman.

more flirting…and a not-at-all-subtle "Wonder Woman" reference. a mix of Johnny's typical media references/possible flirting and a nod to Ashrah's VA (Susan Eisenberg, known for voicing Wonder Woman) from NRS. checks out.

JC: It's hard to believe there's a demon inside there. A: My true face would horrify you, Cage.

they talk about Ashrah's demonhood and how human she looks, something Johnny notes within seconds of their meeting. I feel like this intro also implies that Johnny thinks she's beautiful? "under there" being a beautiful face and Ashrah's "true" face potentially being horrifying to him, unlike her more human face.

JC: Your kriss would look outstanding on my mantel. A: I could never part with Datusha.

Johnny needs a replacement for Sento since he gave it to Kenshi! he thinks Datusha is neat, just like he did Sento. not a surprise here either.

JC: I love redemption stories. A: Yet mine is not for sale.

JC: C'mon, a tour would really help my story research. A: No living creature should visit the Netherrealm.

A: Your Hollywood is rife with evil. JC: You don't need your kriss to know that.

they talk about Johnny's movies, life in Hollywood, and Ashrah's story being made into something that Johnny makes. it makes sense with Johnny's character since he's interested in everyone else's stories for his movie, but talking about Hollywood generally is interesting to me.

A: So you were once married? JC: Amazing anyone would let me go, right?

Ashrah talks to Johnny about a very personal part of his life, possibly in an effort to get to know him more? or perhaps just asking him about it after hearing it from someone else. it's not revolutionary that she would ask, considering that it's brought up in other intros, but it's still interesting nonetheless.

JC: I've been in recovery too, y'know. A: We all have our inner demons.

this intro is one of my favorites for Johnny. he mentions doing "steps" to her briefly in the story mode, and he mentions his "recovery" here. I am extremely curious about what he's gone through in his career to warrant what sounds like therapy of some kind. regardless, he knows what it's like to want to be a better person, and he tells Ashrah that, supporting her own journey to goodness in his own way. it's a new layer to him that I would love to know more about. regardless, for some people, talking about their vulnerabilities so openly can be challenging, so it's clear that he doesn't want Ashrah to feel alone in her efforts. it's sweet.

A: You have poor taste in disguises. JC: [groans] When will you forgive me for that hat?

…and Ashrah still gives him hell about that disguise.

the vast majority of their intros are friendly with minimal flirting in sight. if so, it's much more subtle than his usual manner. Johnny is much more genuine with Ashrah than he is with the other women on the roster, and I think a lot of that is because of their time together in the story mode. they get to know one another and even have some things in common, things to bond over to strengthen their relationship.

anyway, I think Johnny and Ashrah are really close <3 and I think it's sweet.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat 1 #johnny cage #ashrah #mortal kombat 1 spoilers #i don't ship them romantically all that much BUT i can see it more than other johnny m/w ships with the girls on the roster so. there's tha #me: i want to make a post about johnny and kenshi's relationship #my brain: ashrah and johnny are good friends #me: oh my god you're right #i didn't mean to include ALL of their intros but come on they're interesting #mine

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bumblesimagines · 1 year

Text

When Fire Meets Fate

Part 3

Request: Yes or No

these are much shorter than I’d like them to be but I’m trying to be strategic about pacing

~~~

Stepping into the nursery, his eyes immediately found his sister. Her fingers drummed against her swollen belly, head turned toward the open window as a light breeze came in. Alicent stared outside at the sky, lips pulled into a small frown and eyes heavy with longing. Hearing soft babbling, (Y/N) looked toward his nephew as a maid gently bounced him in her arms. Aegon, they'd named him. A true Targaryen with a head full of silver hair and pale skin. Just looking at him made (Y/N)'s stomach churn. Aegons' mere existence meant his sister was forever tied to her husband.

"My Lord!" The maid gasped and bowed her head upon noticing him, the other maids turning and following suit. Alicent turned her head and smiled, attempting to rise from the chair by herself but wobbling in the process. The maids quickly flocked to her side, helping her to her no doubt tired feet. (Y/N) grimaced as she took a few steps forward but Alicent smiled, albeit tiredly, and nodded toward her firstborn.

"Would you like to hold him? I know you haven't since his birth." Alicent chuckled, one hand moving to rest at her back, supporting her stance. The maid stepped toward him and Aegon turned his head, pulling his chubby fingers out of his mouth and reaching toward his uncle with glee. (Y/N) looked down at his little hand for a moment and shook his head, turning back toward his sister. Aegon whined and (Y/N) ignored him.

"What did you need me for, Alicent?" Alicent frowned at his lack of affection for his nephew and sighed, stepping toward her son and stroking his head.

"As you know, today is Aegon's second name day. I wish for you to join us for the Royal Hunt... and for you to perhaps convince Rhaenyra to come as well. I've noticed the two of you have gotten closer in the past years. It would please me considerably for all of us to spend time together as a family." Alicent explained.

"I've never cared for hunting, you know this. If that is all-"

"I am asking you as your sister, not as Queen Alicent, but as the girl who came out of the womb minutes after you. I have sensed us growing apart and I wish for our relationship to be repaired, (Y/N). I miss you." Alicent pleaded, reaching out to take his hands in hers, eyes watering in desperation. As much as the marriage had disappointed him, (Y/N) couldn't say no to his sister's tears. Not when she'd put her body through such pain to birth her son and would continue to do so until King Viserys could no longer impregnate her. Such had been the fate their father had coaxed her into.

Inhaling softly, he glanced at the chubby prince in the maids' arms and nodded. "I suppose some time away wouldn't hurt. I'll see what I can do about Rhaenyra, but I can't promise she'll listen." Alicent beamed and wobbled forward, barely able to wrap her arms around him. Stepping back, Alicent rubbed her belly and smiled.

"You know, I cannot wait to see your children, (Y/N)."

"I have no plans to marry or have children, Alicent." (Y/N) reminded her, eyeing Aegon as the maid sat down and set him on her lap.

"You say that because of Father... But, I'm sure when you find a lady of your choosing, you'll be more than happy to have your own brood. I expect you'll have many sons, as they seem to run heavily in our family." Alicent smiled fondly, eyes twinkling at the thought of her brother having his own family. More excited than she seemed about her own growing family.

"If I were to have children, I'd prefer a girl." (Y/N) admitted and Alicents' brows raised. "I'd be able to give her Mothers' belongings... Perhaps she'd even get Mother's name."

Alicent smiled sadly and hummed. "That'd be lovely... Mother would've loved to hear you say so."

Leaning over to kiss her temple, (Y/N) rubbed her back before stepping back and leaving the nursery. Aegon's second name day brought him no joy but if he could at least make his sister feel more comfortable given the circumstances, he'd tolerate the festivities. But he knew his new friend wouldn't be as easy to convince. She'd been stone cold during the wedding, and even more so when Alicent showed signs of pregnancy the following year. King Viserys and Alicent had given her space, per Ottos' advice, and Rhaenyra had used that space to build a wall between them and her.

Hearing a soft voice singing caught his attention and he stepped out into the Godswood, spotting Rhaenyra settling down on some pillows propped against the roots of the weirwood tree. She placed a large book on her lap and flipped it open, studying its contents whilst the minstrel strummed his instrument and sang a familiar song. Heading down the stairs and stepping onto the short grass, (Y/N) quietly approached him, raising his hand to stop the minstrel from standing up to greet him.

"No feast for you, I gather?" He called out with a grin. Rhaenyra snapped her head in his direction and a wide smile broke out on her face.

"I'm afraid I've already eaten." She responded, watching him move closer. "I take it you've done the same?"

"Perhaps." (Y/N) responded and lightly shrugged, leaning down to pull a pillow out from underneath her and plopping it on the spot beside her. He settled on it and exhaled, tilting his head toward the sky. The dark red leaves of the tree brushed against each other as the branches rustled with the gentle breeze. Feeling something land on his lap, he looked down.

"I know your love for histories so, I got you some books," Rhaenyra explained, leaning over to bump her shoulder against his. Humming, (Y/N) looked over the leather covers. Rhaenyra eyed his reaction for a moment, chest puffing out in pride before she reached over to the tray beside her, picking up what appeared to be a journal, and offering it to him. (Y/N) glanced between the journal and her, brows furrowing in question as he took it from her pale hands.

Rhaenyra cleared her throat. "I know you've been wanting to learn High Valyrian for some time now." Opening the journal, (Y/N) chuckled, looking over the words and their meanings. Pages upon pages in Rhaenyras' familiar handwriting. The princess had taken time out just to write him a little book and it warmed his heart.

"Thank you, Princess."

"It was nothing." Rhaenyra dismissed with a shake of her head and looked back down at her book with the smallest of smiles. (Y/N) continued to flip through the pages until he reached the last page and ran his thumb over the single sentence written in the middle signed by Rhaenyra.

Avy jorrāelan, (Y/N).

"I'll have to translate this myself, I assume?" (Y/N) turned his head to look at her. Rhaenyra glanced at the page and grinned, nodding as the tips of her ears turned a light red. (Y/N) flipped back to the first page and began reading, listening to the minstrel sing.

Reading with Rhaenyra had turned into a common practice during long, dull days. When the septas gave her things to read and memorize, she'd find her way to (Y/N) and settle down with him, sometimes reading aloud or listening to him read. Sometimes they'd find their own books and sit in each others' presence. The silence never grew awkward or uncomfortable, and most knew to leave them be. Though, Rhaenyra occasionally studied other things. She'd watch (Y/N)s' concentrated face, brows sometimes raising or falling when he read something particularly surprising or confusing. The corners of his lips would pull into the smallest of smirks when he found the contents of his books amusing. Rhaenyra found it pleasing when he'd rest his temple against his fist, eyes fluttering close every few minutes until his breathing slowed and his eyes remained closed.

Looking away from her book and back at the Hightower, she smiled. She'd spent so many years wondering what it'd take to get (Y/N) to trust her, to like her. Now, he actively sought out her company without being asked to. Her smile fell as her gaze shifted to the figure dressed in red watching them. Alicent slowly made her way toward them, her pregnant state making it harder for her to walk without growing exhausted. A state Rhaenyra prayed she never found herself in.

Upon seeing their queen, the minstrel scrambled to his feet and bowed. "Your Grace," He called out in greeting and Alicent smiled warmly in return.

"Did I say to stop?" Rhaenyra asked, returning to her book as (Y/N) turned his head to look at his sister. Clicking her tongue, she sighed. "From the beginning." She ordered and after a moment of hesitance, the minstrel lowered himself onto the ground and began singing once more.

Swallowing, Alicents' gaze flickered toward her brother before she called out to the princess. "Rhaenyra?"

"Yes, My Queen?"

"Your presence is wanted in the outer courtyard. The royal hunt readies to depart." Alicent explained, rubbing the side of her belly as she watched her former friend.

"I've decided to remain here and read with (Y/N) instead," Rhaenyra replied, and (Y/N) sighed, closing the journal and collecting the other two books Rhaenyra had gifted him. Rising from his spot, Rhaenyra peered up at him curiously, brows furrowing.

"You may go, Samwell." Alicent dismissed the minstrel and he rose from his spot, reading to depart.

"You are to stay by order of the Princess," Rhaenyra ordered, though her eyes remained trained on (Y/N), almost as if ordering him as well. The minstrel glanced between Rhaenyra and Alicent, nervously shuffling his feet as he debated whose orders to follow and whose to disobey. Looking at the poor conflicted man, (Y/N) nodded.

"Go, Samwell." The minstrel swallowed, clutching his instrument close to his chest and glancing at Rhaenyra one last time. He bowed and cleared his throat, quickly leaving the weirwood tree to avoid further conflict between the two girls. Rhaenyra huffed in annoyance, looking back down at her book. Alicent gave her brother a thankful look and stepped closer to the tree.

"The King wishes for you to join us."

"The King has much to celebrate. He does not need me."

"He wants for all of us to be together. And perhaps... the hunt could be... fun." Alicent attempted, fingers curling atop her belly. Rhaenyra avoided her gaze and clenched her jaw, the words of her former friend barely coaxing her into considering it. Licking his lips, (Y/N) reached down and grazed his fingers along the top of Rhaenyras' head.

"I'll be going as well, Rhaenyra. You might enjoy watching the men make a fool of themselves to impress your father." (Y/N) murmured and Rhaenyra looked up at him and sighed, fingers tightening around the edge of her book.

"Is it the King's command?" She questioned.

"Yes, but-"

"Then at once, Your Grace." Slamming the book shut, she took (Y/N)s' offered hand and pulled herself up, tossing the book onto the pillows below. (Y/N) met her irritated gaze and quirked a brow, getting a soft huff in return. Rhaenyra released his hand and stepped over the roots, ignoring Alicent.

"But it needn't be. None of it needs to be this way in truth, Rhaenyra!" Alicent pointed out, face falling when Rhaenyra continued walking without glancing her way. She exhaled and pressed her lips together, watching Rhaenyra disappear down a hall. She shook her head, gazing down at her belly.

"She'll never forgive me." She whispered.

"There's still a chance she will, Alicent. But it is ultimately up to her. It cannot be forced." (Y/N) stepped toward his sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean against him as they walked back inside, making their way to the outer courtyard where carriages awaited them. Alicent squeezed (Y/N)s arm before she climbed inside the royal carriage after Viserys'. Rhaenyra casted a glance toward him and begrudgingly entered the carriage as well.

Sighing, (Y/N) turned toward his father and followed him to their carriage, entering and sitting across from him. Neither (Y/N) nor Otto attempted to break the silence as the carriage began moving, taking them through the streets of Kings Landing and beyond its walls. The two men glanced at each other every so often but otherwise kept to themselves until Otto cleared his throat, hands folding in his lap.

"I've looked over some ladies I'd like you to meet, (Y/N)." He began. "Ladies from good families that already reside here in court. If you could make time to-"

"I'd rather not." (Y/N) muttered, hand falling down to the cushioned seat in an attempt to steady himself as the carriage traversed on a bumpy road.

"A marriage to a powerful family-"

"You already got that with Alicent, did you not?"

"What will come of you, (Y/N)? You refuse to engage with the other men your age, you refuse to marry, you've decided against knighthood. Do you wish to drink and fuck your youthful years away? It'll only be so long before one of the maids appears with a babe in hand. Bastards you'll saddle this family with. Alicent has done something for this family whilst you go against my every wish. I advised you to pursue Princess Rhaenyra, to comfort her during her time of mourning and secure a place by her side." Otto ranted, waving his hands around as he spoke.

"You wished for me to seduce Rhaenyra. You wanted me to taint her so we'd be forced to marry when I'd likely be killed by King Viserys himself for daring to touch his daughter in such a manner!"

"You're smart, (Y/N). You wouldn't have tainted her." Otto clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You're a Hightower, you're my very flesh and blood. I would never do anything to put you in harm's way. Heavens, if I did your mother would rise from her grave."

(Y/N) scoffed, fingers digging into the bright red cushion. "You've already brought harm upon Alicent. All she'll be doing these following years is have child after child. She'll be destroying herself, her body, her well-being... Is that what Mother would've wanted? For you to use her daughter? When you retire you should open a brothel, you've proven you got what it takes to run one."

"If you had been more cooperative then perhaps you'd be married to Princess Rhaenyra by now and Alicent could be courted by a man of her liking. Your sister made sacrifices you were too stubborn to make. Your mother would be sorely disappointed at how you failed to protect your own sister!" Otto sneered, jabbing a finger in his direction. The carriage fell silent afterward, neither party daring to utter another word, for it would surely evoke another argument. (Y/N) crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, turning his head away from Otto.

Hearing the sound of people shouting outside, (Y/N) felt the carriage slow down and relief flooded his veins. Otto adjusted his clothes and sighed, lifting his dark gaze to look at his son. "I did not mean to raise my voice-"

"I don't wish to speak of this for the rest of the day, Father." (Y/N) interrupted, scooting closer to the door and standing once it opened. Upon stepping out, he was greeted by cheering faces, though they mainly cheered and clapped for King Viserys as he stepped out of his carriage and greeted his people. Otto slapped his hand over (Y/N)s shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze before he walked toward the tent. (Y/N) watched him go, jaw clenching hard enough for his teeth to hurt. His eyes scanned the crowd until he spotted horses, feet taking him toward them. He easily mounted one, tugging on the reins and encouraging the horse forward toward the treeline.

"(Y/N)-"

"I'd like some time alone, Uncle." (Y/N) clicked his tongue and the horse quickened its pace into a jog. (Y/N) kept going until the chatter had been replaced by singing birds. Until he felt the weight of his surname lifted off his shoulders. Until he could finally breathe without feeling suffocated. The sounds of the forest offered him peace and signaled the lack of humans, something (Y/N) desperately needed to shake off the last of his anger. He slowed his horse down to a slower pace and continued his trek through the forest, coming across a slow-moving river. His fingers released the reins, falling onto the saddle and tracing the wrinkles in the leather.

The Kingswood had always been a beautiful place, though (Y/N) rarely visited for royal hunts. While his father reminded that the food they ate had to come from somewhere, (Y/N) had never been keen on listening to the squeals and cries of a panicked animal or watching the blood soak the earth and the clothes of everyone who got near it. He'd rather see the animal once it'd been cooked and served up. But, King Viserys enjoyed hunting, even if he rarely had a part in the actual tracking and capturing, and wherever he went, the Hand followed. And (Y/N) had the pleasure of being the son of the Hand.

"Princess! Slow down!" Ser Cristons' familiar voice echoed through the forest along with the sound of horses galloping.

"Peace is so fleeting." (Y/N) sighed, reaching over to rub the side of his horses' neck as it moved around anxiously in response to the sudden commotion. It didn't take long for him to spot a white horse with a silver-haired rider being followed by a knight on a dark horse. Rhaenyra slowed her horse down, forcing Ser Criston to move off to the side to avoid a collision. His horse breezed past (Y/N), nearly barreling into the murky water.

"My father wishes to sell me off to Jason Lannister!" Rhaenyra exclaimed, pulling on the reins once she was close to (Y/N), eyes flickering toward the panting knight.

"Out of all men..." (Y/N) crinkled his nose. He'd had the displeasure of meeting said Lannister. A woefully arrogant man who only seemed capable of speaking about himself.

"Tell me, (Y/N)," Rhaenyra breathed, fingers pushing strands of straight hair away from her face. "Would you build a dragonpit for me?"

"He offered that? As if he wouldn't piss himself upon seeing a dragon up close." His words brought a smile to Rhaenyras' face, replacing the bitter look she had on previously.

"May I ask what you were doing out here alone, M'Lord?" Ser Criston asked, slipping off his helmet and running his fingers through his long hair.

"Enjoying some peace and quiet. But, it seems the royal family has a knack for finding Hightowers." (Y/N) grinned teasingly and Rhaenyra rolled her eyes, skin turning a light shade of red as she looked away from him.

"Mere coincidence."

"Yes, I'm sure." (Y/N) chuckled. "Regardless, I should head back before I anger my beloved family. I'll see the both of you back in camp."

✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶

The Royal Hunt had proven more interesting than the previous years; the white stag had eluded the hunters and Rhaenyra had returned to camp the following hour drenched in boar blood. The latter had been the more interesting part, of course. But the amusement of it all had vanished as soon as they left Kingswood and (Y/N) was forced back into a carriage with his father. This time, however, they both bit their tongues and enjoyed the silence for the next hour or so until they reached King's Landing and went their separate ways, much to Alicents' dismay.

Sliding his rings off his fingers, he glanced in the mirror as the doors to his bedroom opened. Rhaenyra entered, waiting for the doors to close before sighing and taking a seat by the fireplace. (Y/N) hummed, looking at the princess over his shoulder.

"Did you not enjoy being covered in blood, Princess?"

"Hilarious." Rhaenyra scoffed softly. "But, I came here for something else, (Y/N)."

"What is it?" (Y/N) ran his finger over the journal she'd given him before turning around and leaning back against the desk. He nodded for her to continue, noting her fidgeting. Rhaenyra toyed with her own rings, teeth gently digging into the flesh of her bottom lip.

"What if... What if we were to marry?"

"Why would we?"

Rhaenyra blinked, lifting her gaze to look at him. "I believe it'd help us both. Neither of us wishes to be pushed into the duty of marriage. We enjoy each other's company and while our marriage could be... loveless... Most marriages in the realm are. I know our fathers have spoken about it, even our mothers before their passings."

Pushing himself away from the desk, (Y/N) approached her. "You are heir to the throne, Rhaenyra. A throne I've resented for years... I care for you, you and I know that well enough. But I would not be happy as a king consort, not if it means tying myself to that throne." He spoke softly, standing in front of her and lifting one hand to cup her cheek. Rhaenyra leaned into his touch.

"Many men would die for the opportunity-"

"And those very men have sent letter after letter to your father in hopes of gaining an audience and winning your hand in marriage. If you had been a Dornish princess or a lady born to another family, I would've accepted this proposal. But I am not my sister. I will not sacrifice my happiness and wishes for the sake of another. I am certain you'll find a husband to keep you company, or a lover to warm your bed when your husband does not. I'll be by your side. As a friend and ally."

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notyour-valentine · 9 months

Text

Welcome to Downton, Mr Shelby 13 ~ Tommy Shelby x Crawley!OC (Series)

[Masterlist] [Taglist] [Series Masterlist]

Summary: Derby Day - what could go wrong?

If interested, you can check out this post for more about Charlotte

All my writing is produced by an adult and created with an adult audience in mind (18/21+). You are responsible for your own media consumption.I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other.

Wordcount: 5400 words

Part 13

“What does love feel like?”, she asked Sybil, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “Why are you asking?”

Charlotte glanced down at her lap before answering, seeing her hands fidget on their own accord.

“I want to know.”

“Why are you asking me?”, Sybil wanted to know, as she sat down next to her.

“Because you love Tom Branson.”

It wasn’t an accusation, just a statement of fact. And perhaps, after days of hearing how it was just a fancy, that she didn’t - couldn’t - really love him, seeing Charlotte accept her feelings was what made her answer.

“It’s strange, really.”, Sybil said. “You think about them even when you’re not thinking. You hear their voice in your head as if they were sitting right beside you. You knew what they would say or think or how they would react to something that is happening around you, but these thoughts come on their own.”

Her voice was so soft and dreamy as she spoke, almost as if she wanted to lull Charlotte to sleep.

“It’s not a conscious choice to be reminded of them, but everything somehow does, as if they were the sun and the world had begun to revolve around them.”

So Tom Branson is the sun?

“It sounds rather invasive.”, Charlotte mumbled. “But it’s not- at least it doesn’t feel that way.”, Sybil argued at once. “It’s comforting really, because sometimes the person you love feels like the only person who knows you.”

Hearing that hurt, after all Charlotte knew Sybil as much as anyone could, and Mary and Edith have known her since the day of her birth, as had Mama and Papa.

Surely Branson, no matter how Sybil liked or even loved him, couldn’t know her better than they did.

“They also inspire you to be the best version of yourself - the true version of yourself. The you without limitations, and maybe the you were trying to hide.”

Charlotte doubted Sir Richard was bringing out the ‘her’ Mary was trying to hide, nor exactly the best version of her. She was just Mary- the way she had been with the Duke and she hadn’t loved him.

Not that she was the best judge of love. Or any judge on anything remotely romantic unless it was taking place between the softly bound covers of a romance novel.

Then again, in these novels, especially the dangerously raunchy ones, weeks of pining, fo sleepless nights, fluttering stomachs and shaking hands all culminated in the purest and most devastating expression of love that was a kiss.

Or was supposed to be. It wasn’t like she had the experience to warrant a literary exploration of the subject on her own, but the last time she had shared a kiss with someone, she had felt so much, she thought she would combust - the thrill of the forbidden, the fear of being caught, the disbelief in the fact that someone actually wanted to kiss her, and that she wanted to kiss someone too.. And that were her thoughts alone, not the butterflies in her belly, not the softness of his lips and the smile they formed after, not the way his hand searched for the side of her face, as always as gentle as a butterfly’s wing, fleeting traces at first, and then the warmth of his palm that lingered after he had pulled away.

She hadn’t been sure that that was love, but it had taught her heartbreak.

This time there were no butterflies, no fear, no excitement, not even the knowledge she was doing something forbidden. It was beyond inappropriate, being seen kissing in broad daylight, and then a man she was neither engaged nor married to.

Instead, all her mind could summon was “Oh-”

A realisation of what he was doing, followed by the rather important question of “why?”.

Her own absence of emotion surprised her, especially since it seemed to be such a significant thing to him. She yet remembered how he leaned his forehead against hers, how his breath had shuddered, and his hands trembled.

For a moment he had held her such, his hands cradling the side of her face, before he had stroked his thumb over her cheekbones.

“I have to go now.”, he had told her, his voice thick with an emotion she couldn’t place, let alone hope to return. With another short kiss to her brow he had disappeared, something that filled her with immense gratitude since she had not the faintest idea of how to react to that.

In the days that passed between then and now, she had given the question of why people kiss great thought. Beyond her own experience, she had seen it in only a few examples. Of course, her Mama and her Papa kissed, but she mostly only saw it on greeting or departing, or in moments they stole when they thought no one was watching. On the lips that was, her father was quite fond of kissing her hand too. She had seen Sybil kiss Branson, but that wasn’t exactly an appropriate example, although there was a little Lady Marion and Robin Hood to it all. If Robin Hood’s friends set fire to Nottingham Castle and gave the money to the Irish.

Once when she had been little she had seen a maid kiss a footman, both long gone from their service, and once she had seen Anna and Mr Bates share an embrace from her window. Another greeting between those already certain of their feelings.

Why Tommy Shelby thought to kiss her was a mystery to him. It did make things a whole lot more complicated and left a bitter taste in her mouth, and it was especially harsh since she lacked Sybil’s advice. She was so far away.

And it wasn’t like she could ask her other sisters. Edith did not have a lucky hand in love, and Mary, well, whatever in love was, it certainly wasn’t a term to describe her and Sir Richard.

Although they both made a valiant effort, him especially, but she knew her sister well enough to know it was icy between them, even in the suffocating heat. Beside her, Edith groaned.

“I didn’t remember it being this hot.”, she complained, flapping air towards herself with her fan.

“I wouldn’t know.”, Charlotte said. This was her very first race season. Before the war, she had been too young and during the war, they hadn’t gone.

But since the season had resumed, so had the race attendance.

Edith was right, it was impossibly hot, and even in an all white dress, with a white hat and white shawl to cover her bare shoulders, she had to fight the heat with her fan - also white to match the rest. It was a colour scheme that was carried throughout their part of their enclosure. It was separate from the grand-stands, and only for guests with name or title.

There was so much to see - the race course, naturally, but also the many, many people who had come to watch and cheer, the betting stands and bars below. Not that they were allowed to go there. Hospitality took care of them.

“Charlotte, Edith, darlings,”, Mama said, gesturing them closer, “stay a little in the shade, will you? I don’t want you getting a headache.”

“Of course.”, she agreed.

Although that might save her from the planned meal at Sir Richard’s later. She had to be polite and kind for Mary’s sake, but that didn’t mean she had to like him.

Right now, he was bragging to Mary about all the bets he had laid on the horses. Charlotte didn’t know much about racehorses, how could she?

But she was looking forward to seeing them - so tall and proud and strong.

Only until the race started, there were a lot of greetings that had to be exchanged, a near endless list of people to be introduced to and an infinite number of courtesies to be exchanged.

The heat didn’t exactly help make that more durable. Everyone said the same things. Unfortunately for her, she was still a topic of interest, as a debutante and a fresh face, with Edith, who kept her company, sadly being unable to take much of it away from her.

“I just need a minute.”, she whispered softly, after one particularily keen Viscount had taken his leave.

“Do you want me to come with you?”, Edith asked, but she shook her head and took her absence with a squeeze of her hand.

She walked all the way to the edge of the balcony, to where the waiters were loading champagne glasses on a tray.

One drink will probably kill me in this weather, she thought, and instead opted to look down at the ring below.

People there looked to be far more excited, far more at ease than them up here.

There were so many of them - hundreds upon hundreds. Charlotte tried to think if she had ever been to an event with this many people crowded into one place. Each and every figure she saw had their own mind, their own name and family and fate, their own reasons for being here today and their own loved ones they could come home to.

It was rather overwhelming - so many, so very many and just one her.

But then she spotted something, a man, in a long dark coat, too far away for her to make out his face, but she didn’t have to. Why should she, if she noticed the walk?

Charlotte couldn’t help the wide smile that came to her lips at once.

Tommy.

He was headed in the direction of their hospitality, or close rather, and with every step he took, her heart began to beat faster. Then the memory of their last interaction came back and made her smile drop, taking with it the excitement of possibly introducing the man whose foundation she helped build to her family to finally get their approval for her work. It would be wise not to mention the kiss - and if she told Tommy that, he too may forget it ever happened and they would all be able to go on as they had, working together on a real project.

This was just the plan! Besides, she could introduce him to the other guests too. That wouldn’t hurt his business.

Glancing over her shoulder, she rushed towards the exit of the hospitality and began to rush down the stairs.

She passed four sets of security officers, who all gave her funny looks, but didn’t stop her. They weren’t allowed to talk to her after all.

Once she was down, she had to weave her way past a few race goers to reach him.

He didn’t seem to care for any of the surroundings, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on something ahead of him.

“Tommy!", She called once she came into earshot. “Tommy!”

His head piqued up, but there was no smile on his lips, no light in his eye- nothing.

Instead he just stared at her as if he didn’t recognise her.

"How wonderful to see you!”, she said, offering him a wide smile, in spite of the pit in her stomach. Perhaps she had miscalculated drastically. Then again, what reason would he have to wish to avoid her when he had been the initiator during their last encounter?

"You're here?", He asked breathlessly.

"Of course I am.", She said. "We all came, it’s the first race of the season and Papa said we could go.”

As she spoke, she looked up at the balcony of the enclosure.

"I could introduce you if you like.", she offered.

"Introduce me?", He asked as if he didn't understand a word she was saying, as if the language was foreign to him.

"Yes, my parents would surely be most interested in meeting you.”

He shook his head, swallowing hard.

"No, no, Charlotte.", He said under his breath, his pale blue eyes glancing around as if he was searching for something.

"But why not?”, she demanded to know, trying not to sound as disappointed as she was.

"This is not a good time. I have things to do."

"Aren’t you here to enjoy the race?”

What other things were there to do at a race track?

He didn’t say. Instead, his eyes danced around impatiently.

“Tommy are you quite alright?"

He didn't respond. Instead he licked his lips, took her by the arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"That's your family? Over there?", He said breathlessly, pointing at them.

"Yes, do you want me to introduce-"

"No!", He insisted sharply. "No, that blonde one? The tall one that's your cousin, yeah?"

His tone was rougher than she was used to, coming from him. “That’s your cousin, Captain Crawley”

She was surprised to hear him using his military title. He didn’t like anything to do with the military, and Matthew hadn’t been a Captain since the war ended, and hadn’t introduced himself as such. Why would he know his rank?

“Well, yes, Matthew.”

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face him. His grip was uncommonly tight.

"You stay close to him, you hear me? Promise me you'll stay close to him."

His eyes were wider than usual, and although he didn't show more emotion than usual, there was something about his voice that made her skin crawl, something that made her heart skip a beat.

"Tommy, whatever's the matter?", She demanded to know.

He took a deep breath and came even closer, so close that she could smell the lingering scent of an already-smoked cigarette.

One of his hands found her cheek.

"Promise me you'll stay close to your Captain.”

“But-”

“Charlotte, I need you to promise me.”, he snarled. “I’ll try to find you after the race and if not, I’ll call you tonight.”

She swallowed hard and nodded.

"Good. Now go, go!"

The police officers let her through without a word but with suspicious glances.

It was as if his uneasiness had washed over her, even once she was with her family once more.

"What has gotten you so pale, Poppet?", Mama asked, putting an arm on her back. “Is it the heat?”

She waved for a lemonade.

Sipping it, Charlotte’s eyes scanned the track below, trying to find something - anything - that would be amiss. He wasn’t like that for no reason. Something must have happened. Something must have him concerned. It couldn’t have been the kiss, surely?

Maybe something is wrong with his horse.

But she saw nothing, no one, and his horse was brought to the starting line.

Before the race started, she moved up next to Matthew, Tommy’s instructions ringing in her head.

He had been in quite a mood today, but didn’t seem to mind her company.

The gunshot rang through the air and the horses began to race, and yet she still couldn't look at them. Instead she looked at everything else, even as all around her the people cheered.

Then she felt commotion- it wasn't that she saw it, not at first, but she felt the shift of energy all around her as if someone had clicked a switch.

Soon after, Matthew noticed too, his head peeking up and his eyes dancing around the ring below.

Then, he suddenly stepped away from the balcony and towards the exit. Charlotte followed suit, but by the time she reached Matthew, he had already returned from speaking to the police officer.

"What is going on?", She asked him, taking his arm.

"Nothing.", He lied, and very poorly at that, guiding her back to the group. Charlotte, however, saw that only two policemen remained at the entrance of the group.

Stay close to him.

"Matthew, where have all the policemen gone?"

He swallowed hard and gave her arm a little squeeze. "Everything is fine."

It's not, she thought as her eyes darted over everything that was happening below. It's not fine.

She had no clue what was happening but she knew it had to do with Tommy. She just felt it deep down in her bones.

Absentmindedly, her fingers brushed against her dress, where Sybil’s pearl pendant lay beneath.

But the race went on, and the people, most people, even Mama and Papa, Edith and Sir Richard were watching and cheering. Only she knew she and Matthew and Mary who had caught them both looking and was now equally confused.

There was loud cheering as the race concluded, followed by celebratory drinks and the like, but Charlotte could only stand at the edge of the balcony, staring down at the ring.

She knew there was something she was missing, but even as the stands began to clear, she couldn’t say what it was.

“Charlotte?”, she heard a booming voice from below. “Oi, Charlotte, that’s you up there, eh?”

She recognised the voice at once, but it took her a while to find the person that spoke.

Only when she heard Arthur Shelby curse “Get the fuck off me!”, and saw the ring of commotion did she realise he was on the steps already.

They wouldn’t let him in, they wouldn’t let anyone in.

“Charlotte, come ‘ere love, we need your help!”, he said, gesturing at her to come down.

She glanced back at where her family was sitting and standing with drinks. “A moment’s all we need, come ‘ere”, Arthur Shelby repeated.

There was a burning in his eyes, that made her rush towards the exit.

“Ma’am, you shouldn’t leave the enclosure.”, the police officer warned. “It’s not safe out there.”

Arthur growled at the man as he took her arm.

“She’s safer with us than you!”

They were walking so swiftly, she had trouble keeping up. “What’s going on?”, she asked him breathlessly. “Is everything alright.? Has something happened with Tommy?”

“Wha- yeah, Tommy is Tommy, he’ll be fine.”, he growled. "Wherever the fuck he is."

That was not at all reassuring, especially given his use of profanities. They made her flinch each time.

He hurried her past tables and chairs with empty glasses and tipped over bottles until they reached the edge of the circut.

“What the bloody hell are you doing, Arthur?”, the familiar voice of John Shelby asked. “What is she doing here?”

“She’s the only one who can go in there.”, he said. “The only woman here we know.” “Go where?”, Charlotte asked.

John spat on the floor. “What happened?”, she demanded to know, glancing at each of them in turn.

All of this made her skin crawl, from the distress in the crowd, the swearing and the fact that John was as keen as ever to be in her company.

For a moment, both Shelby brothers stared at each other, and she knew they were having a silent deliberation.

“Fine.”, John finally spat, beckoning her closer. Only now did she realise that they were close to the facilities.

“Lizzie’s in there and she won’t come out. Just get her to come out and don’t ask stupid questions.”

He had always been dismissive and rude to her but now he had an urgency in his voice.

“Miss Stark?”, she asked.

“Please.”, John sneered, although it was clear he didn’t like saying it.

This is why Arthur took me? For the emergency that Lizzie Stark wasn’t leaving the facilities? It almost sounded like a bad joke to her, but she was here now and so she nodded and walked towards the facilities, passing the security guard standing by to ensure order.

Charlotte walked inside. By now, it was nearly deserted, her heels echoing on the wooden ground.

The first door was open, as was the second, and the third and even the fourth. The fifth, the one furthest away from the door was the only one locked.

But behind it, there was silence.

Charlotte took a deep breath and stepped closer to the stall door. “Miss Stark?”, she asked softly. “It’s me, Charlotte Crawley.”

“Go away.”, she snapped. But it wasn’t an angry voice. It was strained and tense and Charlotte swore she heard a sniffle too.

“The Shelbys are outside. They are worried about you and they sent me to fetch you.” “Fuck them!”, she spat, her voice trembling, followed by a shuddering breath.

Charlotte flinched slightly, the palm of her hand against the door.

“Miss Stark? Is everything alright?”

The stall door was opened with such force, Charlotte jumped back. “Does it look fucking alright to you?”, she screamed at her in a tone that made her flinch worse than teh swearing had done.

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she saw the cut on her brow and the blood on her cheek. The top of her dress had been ripped and she had lost her hat, leaving her hair in a tangled mess.

Her eyes were red from crying, smudging the dark makeup around them.

A hand flew to her mouth. “I’ll call the nurses!”, she insisted and had already turned, when a bruising iron grip clasped her wrist, pulling her back. “No!”, she hissed. “No fucking nurses. And no fucking Shelbys!”

More tears spilled out of the corner of her eyes, spreading the dark makeup around her eyes further, and her voice cracked as she said their name. Then, in a split second, the fury seemed to abandon her, leaving her weak and hurting almost like a lost child.

“I just want to leave. I just want to fucking leave.”, she wept, clasping her hands over her face.

When the other woman began to sob, Charlotte did the only thing she could think of and that was stepping forward and pulling her into an embrace. To her own shock, Miss Stark clung to her with a strength she had not anticipated, her whole body trembling as her hands dug into her. “I just want to leave. I just want to leave. I just want to leave.”, she repeated again and again.

“Alright.”, Charlotte said, her own voice breathless, as she tried to think of what to do. Step by step, she thought. I’ll figure it out as we go.

“We can leave.”, she offered, allowing her request.

“But they are outside. I don’t want to look at them. I don’t want to speak to them!”, she insisted.

“You won’t have to.”, Charlotte said. “You can leave with me, We’ll find a way.”

She could put her in a car home, but this was so unlike the Miss Stark she had known and she felt responsible for her. Something told her that she shouldn’t leave her alone. “I can’t go out like this.”, Miss Stark whispered as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

“Fuck!”, she whispered, cursing her own reflection.

Charlotte draped her shawl over her shoulders. It hid her ripped dress. It left her own arms bare, but oh well. At least her dress wasn’t ripped.

Then she took her handkerchief and let water run over it before wiping her cheeks like she would do with those of a child, before smoothing down her hair.

“Better?”, she asked.

Miss Stark only nodded meekly.

“I can take you with me. To London.”, Charlotte offered. “You won’t have to go home with the Shelbys. Is that alright?”

The nod was barely there, but she took it as confirmation enough. One arm was around her waist, the other holding her arm.

Once outside, they were swarmed by Arthur and John and at once, she felt the other woman tense. “Miss Stark doesn’t wish to speak to you!”, she announced without stopping in her tracks, like Mary would, and they just kept walking.

For a while she feared that they might come after her, but thankfully her tone seemed to have stunned them into silence..

Charlotte walked over to their hospitality with Miss Stark, in front of which now six police officers stood.

“Sorry no access.”, he told them.

Charlotte scowled at him. “I am an invited guest!”

They exchanged a glance. “There were orders not to let anyone in, Miss.”

Charlotte spoke with all the authority the Crawley family history granted her, with the forcefulness that would put Mary’s to shame. “I am no Miss, Sir, I am Lady Charlotte Crawley, now I politely request you let us pass right this instant!”

Her tone was less polite, granted, but it did make them step aside.

Most people had moved away from the balcony and inside to the shade and the cooler drinks. “Would you like to come or wait here?”, she asked, but before Miss Stark could answer, she heard fast footsteps. “Charlotte, there you are!”, her mother scolded. “I was so worried. You can’t just disappear like that with no one knowing where you are.!”

“Apologies, Mama!”, she said quickly. “I-

Over her shoulder, she could see her looking at Miss Stark, her eyes wide.

“Mama, this is Miss Stark. She works for Mr. Shelby- the foundation, you remember?" At that mention, Miss Stark scoffed and seemed to shrink into herself.

“What happened?”, her mother demanded to know, concern written all over her face, and a recognition Charlotte knew she lacked. What confused her about Miss Stark’s state, seemed immediately obvious to her mother. “I fell, Milady.”, Miss Stark said without looking at her, the injured side of her face turned away. “The heat.”, Charlotte said at once. “Miss Stark lives quite far from here and so I was wondering if perhaps I could take her back to the house, to rest.”

“Of course.”, her mother said at once. “But I gave the staff the day off until dinner, so you’ll be on your own. Perhaps you take her to Rosamund’s?”

“We can manage, I think.”, Charlotte said, glancing at Miss Stark. “Well then, have the chauffeur take you.”

“But who will take you to the luncheon?”, she asked.

“I won’t have you two young women in a stranger's car. “, she said sternly, “Run along now. I’ll make your apologies to Sir Richard.”

“Thank you, Mama!”, she said, as a tension she didn’t know fell from her, as she kissed her goodbye.

The car ride was entirely silent, all the way from Epsom to St. James Square, with Miss Stark trembling beside her, and her not knowing which words to say.

Usually, in the absence of causes for conversation one could always turn for the weather or flowers of the season as topics, but both seemed hollow and useless to her now.

Inside, Paul, the hallboy opened the door. It was strange to return to such a deserted house without Carson or Mrs Hughes or anyone there, but she felt that Miss Stark might prefer it this way.

“I…I..”, Charlotte stammered, before relinquishing her attempt at sounding like the presentable and put together hostess. For that, she was just too unsettled and uncertain. “Just please tell what you need.” “Can I wash somewhere?”, she asked, speaking to the tips of her shoes.

“Of course.”, Charlotte said. She took Miss Stark by her hand and helped her up the stairs and down the corridor to the bathroom she shared with Edith and Mary.

With Miss Stark was just standing there, it was left to Charlotte to draw her a bath and lay out some towels for her. “Everything is here, I think. Just use whatever you want.”

With that, she left Miss Stark alone. Only once she was alone with the silence, Charlotte felt her hands tremble.

She didn’t claim to understand everything, but she understood enough to know that something truly horrid had happened to Miss Stark today, something so awful it made her mother throw out all their day’s plans and even end the scolding of her running off. And by chance it was her taking care of the woman now.

In he mother’s parting words was a charge, a task she would now fulfill to the best of her abilities.

Miss Stark was a great deal taller than her, more Mary’s size, but she couldn’t take her sister’s clothes and so she picked out some of the clothes she had brought which she thought Miss Stark might like to wear, and placed her robe over the fire Paul had lit in her bedroom.

Then she set about trying to find anything else that might be helpful.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

When she hadn’t heard a noise from the bathroom in over an hour, she knocked on the door. “Do you need anything, Miss Stark?”, she asked.

When she didn’t hear a response, she decided to try again. “I have a robe here, if you want to step out. It’s been warmed, I presume the water has turned cold by now.”

When once again, no response came, Charlotte decided to open the door and enter. Miss Stark had already stepped out of the bath and was sitting next to it on the floor, with towels wrapped around her body. Her hair was still dripping wet.

But she got up, when Charlotte came in and put on the robe she offered.

Her own clothes had been torn by her own hand and thrown on a pile.

“Do you…ah…have any clothes I could borrow?”, she asked.

Charlotte guided her back to her bedroom and showed her the pieces she had set out for her.

“I will let you change.”, she said softly and stepped out once more, going down to fetch what she had prepared earlier. Miss Stark looked confused when Charlotte returned with a tray.

“I brought tea and cakes. I would have cooked something, but I don’t know how and the staff has the day off.”, she admitted, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

She had also added a bowl of chocolates and some tarts from yesterday’s tea she could find.

“I hope that’s alright.”

Miss Stark stared at her with wide eyes. “I also found Mrs. Hughes medical kit. I think you might need some iodine or cream for…”

The fact that Miss Stark only stared at her made her increasingly uneasy.

“I could also have a doct-”

“No doctor!”, she insisted at once.

She nodded and raised her hands to soothe her. “Whatever you want. We have a telephone in the hall that you can use if you want to call someone.” “No one there to call.”, she whispered under her breath.

That felt like a punch to her gut.

“Miss Stark,”, she said softly, “I want to help you but I don’t know how.”

The woman’s dark eyes found her, staring right into her soul and making Charlotte feel as weak and foolish as a school girl. But for once, there was no malice in her gaze, just…sheer disbelief.

“Do you have a cigarette?”, she asked, shaking her head with resignation.

Charlotte wrung her hands. “I guess I could bring you one of Papa’s cigars.”, she offered. “They are kept in the Smoking room. He has South Americans which he is rather fond of.”

Miss Stark scoffed and shook her head.

Then she bit her lip and looked up at her.

“Why are you even helping me?”, she asked. “You hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”, Charlotte argued, her voice softly, “we are not the best of friends, but that doesn’t mean I hate you.”

In all, she doubted she hated anyone. Except perhaps Fräulein Kelder, her old Nanny, with Sir Richard being a close second.

Lizzie Stark scoffed and shook her head, then another curse slipped her lips.

“I didn’t believe them when they said you didn’t know, but you really don’t, do you?”

Charlotte felt her chest tighten.

“Know what?”, she asked, her hands finding Sybil’s pearl.

“About Tommy.”

She said the name like a curse, as if each word was a glass shard stuck in her throat. “Who he is. What he does. What his family does.”

Charlotte swallowed hard and stared at her wide-eyed. "I don't understand- he's a businessman. He sells cars."

Miss Stark scoffed, pulling the borrowed scarf around her tighter, as the look she gave Charlotte, made a shudder crawl over her spine.

Thank you for reading - I'd love to hear your thoughts

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