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zeldas-cigarette-holder · 3 years

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Ahh, your headcanons! <33 Thank you for sharing them. I was wondering (after reading that one about Zelda unexpectedly finding herself somewhat dreaming about the idea of having children with Faustus) if you have any headcanons of that actually happening? Spellwood or, with a little help of a bit of magic or something, Madam Spellman?

Thank you!

I’ve planned on writing a fic that ties into both of these sets, but for now have some headcanons! Gonna stick these under a read more & two separate categories because this got long and also make their own separate posts if people wanna save/rb just one pairing! xx

Spellwood + a baby(ies)

- Where their relationship is concerned, everything is measured out and carefully calculated — it’s just the way they are. While I’m not entirely sure how witch birth control works, I’m sure she’s extremely diligent about her medication, potions, whatever it may be — she’s not the sort of person to have any sort of accidents, especially those she can control. Zelda hides her careful planning, weighs out every pro and con before even considering bringing it up to him.

- When she does decide to bring it up to him, she has a piece of scrap paper with unintelligible scribbles all over it and the sheer look on her face, her hands trembling holding her little scrap of wobbly, folded a million times piece of paper makes Faustus chuckle. She takes it as a bad response, retreats into herself and decides to table it — he mustn’t be too interested anyways, life is good with Leticia and Judas, Ambrose and Sabrina, why would they change anything?

- Faustus knows something is bothering her, and she blatantly lies through her teeth every time he asks. It only serves to frustrate him more, and drives him to tangle with sex demons at Dorian’s Gray Room. When she catches him (because she always will), she’s absolutely devastated because she has the same crumpled paper of pros and cons in her hand, tosses it at him and storms away before she lets the tears fall. It isn’t that she feels like he’s cheating on her, it’s the fact that she feels like he couldn’t have one serious conversation with her (because she sucks at feelings and would never actively start the conversation).

- She’s hurt, and it takes her a long time to come back from that sort of hurt. It’s the kind that makes her ache for a future lost even though she never tried to actively discuss it. But she’s stubborn, and she knows that he knows and it somehow makes her feel worse. He knows the deepest maternal desire she tried to hide for centuries and she isn’t quite sure how she feels about it.

- Of course she wants kids with him, and he feels so stupid that he didn’t realize sooner. She’s always been so maternal, such a good natured person (though a bit brash and irrational at times). Faustus knows he fucked up, carries around the tattered paper with him tucked in his pocket and it feels like lead. Her scratched out writing with little doodles of hearts is enough to melt his heart, and he knows just how lucky he is that she even allowed herself a moment to fantasize about a family with him.

- Faustus seeks out Hilda for help because she is the only person (other than him) that Zelda has ever divulged anything remotely personal to. She isn’t happy with him — especially not when he recounts how she threw the paper at him, though he suspects she’s known for a while by the way she raises her eyebrow — but she does try to help him, but she’s adamant that she won’t do it for him. She reminds him of how Zelda is, how she feels things with her entire heart and soul, and that she’s probably embarrassed that she felt shut down.

- It takes Faustus a few torturous days to think of what to do to make it up to her — to bring the conversation to the table again — and every passing day feels worse. She’s not talking to him, turns the other way when he comes to bed, and he pretends he doesn’t see the mascara streaked down her face. He settles on making his own list of pros and cons — his side of cons is much shorter than hers, and he knows she’ll think it’s because he’s irrational — leaves it on her desk tied with a ribbon, a box of truffles, and a fresh bouquet of white roses.

- Zelda doesn’t acknowledge it for a few days, needs her time to go over his list in comparison to her own because she’s nothing if not careful and methodical in everything she does. She sleeps at the mortuary and it’s torture — she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since before he found her list — and she realizes that after all this time, she can’t sleep without his stupid snoring in her ear, her head nestled in the crook of his neck. What finally makes her crack is when the sun is rising and she hadn’t slept for the third night in a row, and she knows she needs him regardless of everything else.

- She slips into their bed and curls against his sleeping body and satan, it feels like everything good in the world — he feels like coming home, smells like all of her favorite scents, feels so strong and safe — and she’s suddenly sobbing into his chest without restraint. Faustus wakes enough to rub her back and let her cry it out — knows she won’t be able to speak past the knot in her throat until she lets out all of that pent up emotion, knows the tears aren’t all because of the situation — and presses gentle kisses to her hair when she’s finally out of tears and sniveling herself to sleep in his arms.

- They don’t get a chance to sit and talk until the next evening, and it’s torturous for them both. They’re both rational and mostly level-headed, and knowing there’s so much to say but no time or privacy to say it is the worst part. She works later than him, despite him being the High Priest, and he takes the opportunity to make her a nice dinner with her favorite aged bourbon and fresh flowers.

- There’s a secret smile when she sits down and picks up her glass — tells him that would be the last bottle of bourbon she drinks for a while. He’s not sure it’s an answer so much as a joke, cocks his head in confusion over the way she laughs at some joke he doesn’t entirely understand, but Zelda has always been an enigma in and of herself.

- Zelda, in true Zelda-like fashion, isn’t completely sure — even when the answer from both of them is a yes. She needs time to roll it around in her head, to decide if it’s something she truly wants. She’s afraid to bring it up again — afraid that she took too long and will be shut down — but she lets herself sink into that secret fantasy of having a true family, growing his child. She contemplates going about it irresponsibly, not taking her birth control and being a little reckless, but ultimately decides against it. She isn’t the same level of desperate as she was when she stole saved Leticia, she wouldn’t dare betray his trust again.

- When Zelda finally lets it slip that yes, she wants his child more than anything, it’s in the throes of passion and he thinks she’s joking. It’s a rare instance in which they’re making love, not fucking, and he’s whispering in her ear — crooning about how perfect she is, how perfect their life is, how he can’t wait to spend the rest of his earthly life with her. She’s sure, knows that she can’t imagine anything but this perfect life with him, and tells him to cum inside of her, to get her pregnant.

- He doesn’t believe her at first, but she’s so earnest and trusting with wide, sparkling eyes and this passion and he knows, he knows she’s sure. They spend the rest of the night making a baby in various positions. It’s a lighthearted they haven’t experienced in ages, and Zelda can’t help but fall a little more in love with him.

- When she’s finally pregnant, after what felt like months and months of trying, she’s filled with some sort of renewed hope she didn’t know she needed. She has to refrain from running to him with the positive test, wants to make sure everything is okay first.

- She doubts a lot — her body, her mind, her ability to be a good mother, the fact that she’s even pregnant to begin with — but it’s easier when he knows. It brings a softer side to their relationship, not the same biting remarks and constant teasing they’re both used to. He’s good to her — sweet and everything she needs — and she almost feels guilty when she snaps because he forgot to get her a snack or a drink.

- It turns out twins run in Faustus’ family. Zelda wishes she knew before she got pregnant, though she wouldn’t change a single thing — is finally blissfully happy.

Madam Spellman + a baby

- It takes Zelda a long time to even be open to discussing getting pregnant, after everything that happened with Faustus, Leticia, baby Judas, and Sabrina’s raising. There are variables to consider, and she’s very cautious and careful about everything she does. She trusts Lilith with her entire soul and being — trusts Lilith so much it scares her — but she trusted Faustus too and that makes it even worse, knowing that at any point she could betray her the same way he did.

- Their relationship develops after Sabrina’s death, and though it’s been years by the time they’re married and ready to settle down, the wounds are still there. It’s something Lilith brings up in passing while rubbing Zelda’s feet on the lounge while drinking and enjoying the rare free time they got, and Zelda finds herself more and more open to the idea of a child — especially with Lilith.

- Lilith is good and sweet and kind and everything Zelda wants to spend the rest of her life with — Satan, she married her after she swore to never marry again — but the idea of children together is quite honestly terrifying. This is still the same Lilith who killed baby Adam, though it was for good reason, and she’s still the same Zelda who stole saved baby Leticia only to pass her along to Dezmelda.

- The wounds from Sabrina’s passing are too raw for them to consider it seriously for years, but Lilith likes to remind Zelda that they have time. Still, it’s like things never get truly better. Zelda grieves her daughter, and Lilith grieves just the same for that maternal relationship she developed with Sabrina. She loved her so much it hurt, despite every single horrible thing she had done and regrets so deeply that it keeps her up at night

- In true Sabrina fashion, she is the catalyst for almost everything in Lilith and Zelda’s relationship, and a child is no different.

- They had tried to summon her several times over the years, to call on her in any way they could — witching board, seance, trying to reach into that in between and pull her out — but nothing ever seemed to work. They never gave up hope, and when she does come to them it’s with her blessing to move on, to move past their hang ups relating to her, to be happy and start the family they’ve both always wanted.

- It’s easier said than done, and there’s still so much hesitation. Would the universe truly give them happiness after everything they had been through? It takes lots of long conversations and tears — so many tears for everything they had sacrificed, everyone they had lost, and everyone they had loved — before they come to the decision that they would try for a baby, they’d allow themselves the shred of happiness they had always wanted.

- There’s still so much to consider for Zelda and Lilith just doesn’t understand why. She feels everything with her whole heart and she’s impulsive, falls in love with ideas and follows through before thinking of the practicality behind it. It’s how she ends up in so many tricky situations — rash ideas and passionate thoughts fueled by love or self preservation— but Zelda is rational and collected even with the most passionate subjects, she needs to think of every possible outcome.

- Zelda is the one with hard limits and ultimatums, especially because of Sabrina. She blames the entirety of Sabrina’s death on the fact that she was a gift from Lucifer Morningstar combined with her being half mortal. It makes choosing a donor for their baby so difficult, and it makes choosing who would carry even more difficult. It causes arguments that end with both of them in tears because Zelda is so scared and Lilith doesn’t want to think of every single bad thing that could potentially not even happen.

- When they finally come to some semblance of a decision, they settle on the fact that Zelda would carry for a multitude of reasons. She had never carried her own child, she wasn’t of divine origin, it was the safest bet.

- Deciding on a donor was even harder. Zelda originally wanted to use Dr. Cee, because she was comfortable with him and could have some fun out of it, but he was ordinarily mortal (given the gift of immortality by Lilith, because she knew how much he meant to Hilda) and they were terrified of having a half mortal, half witch child. Faustus was another option presented by Lilith, but she didn’t want the first thing to do with him, nor a child of his origin. Several handsome demons from hell were also mentioned, though Zelda was adamantly against those as well. Lilith thinks she’s being purposely combative, it stirs up a lot of feelings in them that are hard to push past. They flip through the people that they’d feel comfortable with using and no one seems quite right. It puts them at an impasse for several months. No one is good enough, and they won’t compromise in either direction — it leads them to spend ages looking over ancient textbooks for an answer that would seemingly never come.

- There was one option they hadn’t considered — Melvin — and when Lilith suggests it, Zelda balks at her. But it’s a viable option, albeit uncomfortable, and they decide that he would be a suitable donor for their baby. Their coven is mostly females, and he’s one of the only sane options.

- Zelda is adamant on legally binding contracts signed by all before anything can be put into motion, because having a sense of solution and finality on the situation is scary for her, and Lilith is — again — unsure as to why it even matters. That’s the hard thing about being married to Zelda, she can’t believe the good in Lilith even though she’s proven time and time again that her anxieties are rooted in a past with someone who was much worse than her. It’s another point of conflict, and it stirs up a lot of passionate tears. Zelda cries because Faustus loved her and he still ripped everything away from her — the children she loved, the home they shared — because she was suddenly unworthy and Lilith cries because she thinks Zelda doesn’t trust her.

- In the end, Lilith decides that it’s only fair to agree to the contracts Zelda is so adamant about. It makes sense when she thinks about it, but she loathes to admit it. Melvin can’t have any rights — nor does Zelda want to think about him as the father, but it’s better than not knowing who it is — Zelda and Lilith have equal rights. The thought makes Zelda smile this sad, watery twitch of her lips that breaks Lilith’s heart, and she realizes that every child Zelda had ever dared let herself love was brutally ripped from her. After Zelda falls asleep that night, once the contracts were signed by all, Lilith excuses herself to the porch and cries openly and unabashedly — she cries for Zelda’s losses, for her own losses, for the pain and anguish and unbearable pasts they both had — and she finds Zelda sitting at the kitchen table with a tear streaked face when she finally gathers herself enough to go inside.

- They’re both fucking terrified from the moment their daughter is conceived until the day she’s born. Hell is no place for a newborn, and Lilith is afraid of having to step away and relinquish control, even if only for a few weeks. Zelda is scared of childbirth, of their daughter dying, of Lilith leaving her, of the issues they’d face raising their child. Lilith assures her everything would be okay, and she’s cautious to believe it.

- Pregnancy sucks and Zelda vows that she’ll never do it again as long as she lives. She hates not drinking, not smoking, gaining the weight, the fact that she can’t eat sweets whenever she wants. Lilith is doting and sweet and perfect, massages Zelda’s feet and makes her non-alcoholic drinks and watches trash television with her to pass the time. She takes up knitting for their baby — even when on her throne in Hell — and it’s so damn sweet that Zelda tears up every time she brings home a new blanket.

#whoop these are so fucking long I’m so sorry #and they kinda suck #I basically wrote two mini fics #oops #headcanons #madam spellman #Spellwood #zelda spellman #faustus blackwood #Lilith #my writing

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asgard-segun-elcadejos · 2 years

Text

Asgard Academy

Year 1: Part IV

[ Index ]

xxxxxxxxx

The time had finally arrived.

Today, Hilda turned eighteen years old, and her Coming of Age ceremony would also be her Coronation. Valhalla Palace was packed with nobles from all corners of Asgard, and a healthy sprinkle of European Royalty as well. She was clad in ceremonial armor, which resembled the ones worn by the valkyries of legend. Her long, silver hair was styled in a large braid on top, and the rest of her hair pinned to fall in cascade down her back. The warm and heavy grey cloak over her shoulders had her family’s coat of arms on it. All in all, she looked every bit the Royal Viking Princess she was.

Everyone gathered around the altar, with the members of the Royal family carrying out the final acts of the ceremony. Her mother, now Princess Mother Göndul, rested the black metal circlet adorned with raven wings on her eldest daughter's head. She then hit the marble floor with the butt of her lance, the sound ringing loudly in everyone’s ears, and addressed the crowd.

“It is with great joy that I now present the Lance to our foes, Shield to our People, Brightest Star in the Northern Sky. May your wisdom guide us in gentle summers, and your strength protect us during the harshest winters. Rise, Princess Hilda of Asgard.”

Hilda stood while her mother kneeled, making an offering. The circlet on her head was ceremonial, meant for show only. The black iron Lance, however, was the real Royal heirloom. Passed down from Princess to Princess since the age of myths, it had kept its exceedingly sharp edge since the day it was forged, or so it was said.

Hilda's hand trembled as she reached for it, opening her eyes wide when she felt its true weight. Göndul noticed and gave her a smile.

"'Heavy is the arm that wields the Lance'. Be proud to have it, my daughter, but humble enough not to wield it."

The now ruling Princess nodded as her mother gave her a final bow before nudging her to address the crowd. Hilda took a deep breath, drawing courage from her sister's bright smile, and hit the marble floor with the butt of her lance.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

Princess Hilda gave her Coronation speech looking like she had just descended from Valhalla itself. Embla, Artica, and Thyrna were in the living room, staring into the tiny TV, the volume at maximum.

“She really goes to the Academy with you?” Thyrna asked, enchanted by Hilda’s voice.

“Not with me, but like me,” Artica replied, with her head on her lap. “She graduates by the end of spring.”

“And her sister should join in autumn,” Embla added. “My, Boreal and you missed their years, but still got to see them at the Academy. Ain’t life funny like that.”

Thyrna gave her an amused smile. “And where’s Bud? Can’t be on a date, everything is closed today.”

“Oh, he’s watching this at his partner’s house.”

“Manor,” Thyrna corrected, not without a hint of mockery.

The phone rang, and Embla reached out to take the call without looking. After a few moments of quiet conversation, she passed it to Artica. “One of your classmates.”

With a puzzled look, she answered. “Hello? Oh, good afternoon, Rúri! How did you get this number? Ah, Bud gave it to you. Yes, we’re watching it too. Huh?”

Thyrna, annoyed that the Academy somehow managed to interrupt even in the current circumstances, raised her eyebrows seeing Artica get up, sit next to the TV and bump her forehead against the screen, squinting. “Bottom left? All I see are smudges. I’m sure that blue one is a noble, just like the other 76 around it… FENRIR? HOW CAN YOU TELL? Oh, of course, your TV is probably gigantic, I forgot.”

“Who’s Fenrir?” her partner asked.

“Another classmate. Quirky noble, that one."

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“I can’t believe the ‘thing’ you had to do on Saturday was the fucking CORONATION!” Artica exclaimed, using her hands to emphasize.

“I didn’t wanna go. In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have had to go.”

“Hm? Why is that? I bet anyone at the Academy would have killed to be there!”

Rúri suddenly put her hands on Artica’s shoulders and turned her around with an awkward, polite smile. “Only Heads of House were invited to the Coronation.”

“Oh,” she replied in the faintest of whispers. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that at all. I-”

Fenrir lowered his eyes and made a hand gesture. “It’s fine, there was no reason for you to have known that.”

There was an uncomfortable silence that Karianne smashed through like a hammer. “So? Did you flirt with the European Royals?”

“No.”

“Not even a bit?”

“No,” Fenrir repeated, mortified. “Who do you think you’re asking? The Danish Party looked my way and I immediately changed course towards another hallway. That’s how well I did with other guests.”

“Well, Rúri says you looked very elegant, so well done there!” Artica said.

“You didn’t watch it?”

“Sorry, Fenrir, in my small-ass TV, everyone looked the same; like a perfect pixel cluster.”

Heimrik came into the classroom with a rather alarmed look on his face. "Did you guys hear about the newbies?"

He suddenly made a bow towards Fenrir, Rúri, and Karianne, appalled to not have noticed them before speaking. “My lord, my ladies.”

“What newbies?” Bud inquired.

“Two kids from junior highschool that just skipped a whole grade? They’re joining the Academy today!”

“At midyear? Isn’t that a little rushed?”

“They are absurdly smart, apparently! The boy was almost qualified to skip two grades!”

“Ohh sh-, what class are they in?” Artica interrupted, already pale.

“1C,” Heimrik replied at once.

The color returned to her face. Bud also let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank the gods. Not with any of us Blacks. They would’ve sent our scholarships to rest in pieces.”

“Can’t believe it, though. I’m here squeezing everything out of my three brain cells, and they were just born super intelligent?”

“You have way more than three brain cells,” Fenrir quietly added.

“I know, it was a- Nevermind,” Artica said with a quiet laugh.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

The audacity of this douchebag to not even wave back at her! It had only been a few months since they started going to different schools.

“Really? Can’t even bother to say ‘Hi’ now? Look at you; a little while in the Academy, and you cut your hair, completely change your wardrobe and demeanor. Can’t even watch the Coronation together nowadays! Ridiculous! Or is ‘preposterous’ more etiquette-appropriate?” the girl said in a mocking tone.

The fact the boy made a wide catalog of bewildered expressions at her every word, but did not reply to any of it, made her even more angry. “For fuck’s sake, fine, I’ll get going. Clearly, I’m no longer the kind of company you want to keep. Don’t show your ugly mug around here again, asshole.”

And off she went with a dignified air, barely aware a blonde had approached the boy to ask him what happened and got a highly confused shrug as answer.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

After hearing the end of Thyrna’s rant about Bud, Artica felt like she was simultaneously choking on her burger, suffering a heart attack, and on top of it, experiencing a stroke.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“My lord, I am so sorry!” Artica was saying for the millionth time. “She’s absolutely NOT like that at all! I should’ve told her you’re twins but it somehow felt like something Bud should decide to share, not me, and-”

“Artica, calm down.”

“But you must believe me-!”

“I do! It is fine. I suspected it was something along those lines. Rúri and I rarely have business on that side of the city, so it is natural she confused me with someone else. Do not worry about it!”

This was like asking the sun to freeze over, because Artica was fretting over it like crazy. “Please don’t think ill of her, Thyrna was just amused to see ‘Bud’ after all these months…”

Syd gave her a reassuring smile. “I’d be angry too if I got the ugly twin instead.”

Artica looked like she was going to continue apologizing for another twenty minutes, so he immediately put his hand on her arm and squeezed gently. “I jest! Dear gods, Artica, please let it rest. It was an honest misunderstanding, and I am not worried about it at all, so neither should you. If I ever see her again, I will introduce myself at once, and apologize for not being able to reply on the spot.”

“Wh-”

“The whole time I was thinking it would have been hilarious if Karianne had been there too, so I could not fully focus.”

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

It was a nice day for Valentine’s.

It meant jack shit to him, but even though winter was still there, the sky was clear, and the breeze was gentle. All those couples going about their business, looking for ways to celebrate, would enjoy nice weather.

Fenrir was returning to his house after a walk and could not help recognizing someone at the riverside park. Laying down on the bench beneath the big tree was Artica, lost in thought.

He walked over out of habit. “Uhm, are you ok?”

His voice seemed to call her back to reality. “Oh, hey, Fenrir. I’m alright, and you?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, taking a seat. “You don’t look alright. Something happened?”

“I got dumped on Valentine’s. How cliché is that?”

Fenrir gave her a lopsided smile and rubbed her shoulder very gently. He had never been dumped, as he had never had a partner, but understood rejection all too well. “That sucks, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It sucks alright, but it’s better she told me instead of just drifting apart in silence.”

He couldn’t help wondering why, and apparently, it showed.

“You can ask, I don’t mind.”

“Why did she dump you?”

“Thyrna wasn’t happy with how much of my life is consumed by the Academy. Said I never had time for her,” Artica let out a deep sigh, playing with the tickets in her hand.

Fenrir frowned. “Don’t you make a circus out of your schedule every month to clear a week to spend with her?”

“Thryna doesn’t feel it is enough, and I don’t have the energy to make the circus bigger, so…”

“Does she understand what being a Black means? Not only in requirements, but in benefits? You’ll graduate with a very desirable curriculum and whatever.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Artica replied with a hand gesture. “When the time came to set priorities straight, Thyrna wasn’t willing to compromise, and I can’t make more time for her. The moment I said that she dumped me.”

There was a short silence. The wind blew a bit, swaying their hair in the breeze. Artica stared at her tickets and an idea came to her. “Hey, isn't your birthday this month?"

“Yeah, it was last week.”

“WHAT? Why didn't you say anything!"

He was baffled by her question, unable to understand why anyone would care, so he just shrugged.

Artica let out a sigh. "As a late birthday gift, wanna go to the fun park? My treat.”

Fenrir side-eyed her, unsure on whether he should accept. This was a rather awkward day to hang out with a friend. However, it was pretty shitty of whats-her-name to dump Artica exactly on this date. He took a deep breath.

“Okay, but I would rather pay my ticket.”

Artica made a hand gesture. “These are already paid for, don’t worry about it. Shall we go?”

At his nod, they both started their way to the fun park in the middle of the city. Artica had her hair unbraided, but pulled back in a ponytail, wearing her favorite hand-knitted sweater with simple make-up and boots. He felt a little embarrassed to be wearing his trusty fur-trimmed jacket and sneakers, somewhat underdressed in comparison.

“Oh, before I forget,” Artica said just as they were getting in line. “Since today is Valentine’s, there’s an understandable expectation that most of the attendees are couples. Whatever the vendors say, just nod and accept the goodies they give you.”

“Huh? You want to pretend to be a couple?” Fenrir asked, now very unsure accepting her invitation was the right choice.

“No, I would never ask you to do that! They’ll be giving away a bunch of treats, and some other things during the day. It’ll be a little awkward if you decline, so just give’em a smile and take them.”

At every new ride, they were offered sweets and corny gifts that started piling up. After lunch, Artica was wearing heart-shaped plastic sunglasses, and two sets of fantasy necklaces, while Fenrir was stuck with a headpiece with purple cat ears, a bunch of bracelets, and a few balloons trailing behind him. That, on top of their pockets (coats and trousers alike) full of chocolates and other candy.

Overall, the experience was quite fun. The tickets Artica bought allowed them to skip the long lines, so they were able to try all the rides without having to wait. This was his first time at a fun park, but Fenrir quickly decided roller coasters were his all-time favorite rides and rode each at least three times in a row.

Artica and Fenrir were having a laugh as they got out of an instant photobooth just outside the park gate. So much, they didn’t even notice the couple staring their way. When Fenrir turned around to throw something away, still wearing the cat ears Artica put on him, he froze on the spot. The color drained from his face, and he felt a sudden chill in his spine.

“Artica!” Karianne exclaimed, embracing her. “Look at you, honey, all dressed up!”

The Black gave her a sheepish smile while hugging back. Bud narrowed his eyes, his expression difficult to interpret. “So, you’re…?”

“A poor replacement for her Valentine’s date,” Fenrir blurted out, unsure on what to say. Was he angry? Or even updated on his friend’s romantic status?

“Oh, shit,” Bud whispered, tearing Artica away from Karianne's embrace. “She dumped you?”

Artica let out a tired sigh. “Yeah, this morning…”

The girl with the black curls hugged her again, their cheeks touching. “No! How dare that ungrateful fool dump you! It is alright, honey, we will mend your broken heart in no time.”

Bud somehow looked both angry and relieved. He also gave Artica a hug. “C’mon, let’s get a burger.”

The girls walked in front, deep in some chit chat that was hard to follow. Bud and Fenrir walked a few paces behind them. The twin clapped his back with a small smile. “Thanks for taking her out today.”

Fenrir had to laugh. “Actually, she took me out, as a late birthday gift. I’m just glad she managed to distract herself.”

“Never liked Thyrna much. She craves attention, and Artica’s the type to provide it.”

“Isn’t that just a match?”

“A low quality one, in this case. None of them had a boundary. Not the healthiest match.”

Fenrir raised an eyebrow, looking at Karianne, which Bud picked up on. “Yeah, K also likes attention, but she has the common sense to reciprocate it. Look at how much she fusses over Artica.”

They stopped in front of a very small corner shop. It only had two tables, and one of them was covered in soot. Karianne seemed delighted, but Artica turned around with a frown. “You brought them to Visa’s greasy ass burgers? Sannfridsson, have some class!”

“What, you like’em!” Bud replied with a shrug. He made his way inside and bumped his fist with the large man behind the counter. "Visa, my man, hit the old girl up with your best. She’s kinda sad today."

Visa was a thirty-something year old individual from Finland, who at some point decided his dream was to open a shop in the small Asgardian Principality. His hair was ash blonde, his eyes were brown, and his left leg a prosthetic. "Big A is sad? Not here! Visa's Special coming right up. And for the two fancy friends?"

"Just regulars for us, thanks!"

Visa's Special was just a regular with two patties instead of one, and greasier than usual, but Artica appreciated his efforts, nonetheless. "Thanks, Visa! Your burgers are the best!"

The man gave her a smile, massaging his stump at the knee. His accent was noticeable, but not difficult to understand. "For best customers!"

To Bud and Artica's surprise, both Karianne and Fenrir wolfed down their burgers without skipping a beat. "You guys were hungry, huh?"

"There aren't burger places in the North," Fenrir explained with a shrug.

"Burgers are not etiquette-appropriate," the other girl said with a mocking gesture.

They stayed quite a while after finishing their orders, listening to Visa explain how he came to Asgard and met some of his top customers. "So Big B came in one Friday with two lil' kids and said-"

"Who's 'Big B'?"

"My brother, Boreal," Artica added quickly, nodding for Visa to continue.

"And said 'brought these two punks to eat best burgers in town… where should I go, Visa?' And it was not funny! But Lil' B still ordered the special so-"

"Who's Lil' B?"

"I'm Lil' B, stop interrupting!" Bud answered in an exasperated tone.

The other boy had the reaction of a dog beaten up with a newspaper. Very aware of how Fenrir was treated back at his house, Artica aggressively nudged Bud's foot under the table. The twin had the good sense of looking apologetic.

"A curious one, yeah?" Visa said to lessen the tension. The silver-haired boy seemed grateful. "So Lil' B ordered the special, and now they come every Friday."

Karianne clapped her hands together. "Well, Mister Visa, count me in the list for frequent customers too, for I shall return!"

"Big A and Lil' B always bring me new customers. Like Lil' T."

Bud almost choked on his drink while Artica let out a sad groan. "Oh, Visa, I'm sorry. I don't know if she'll be coming back here."

"Why not? Once a month, with you, no?"

Artica gave him a short explanation. The Finnish man patted her head gently. "No worries, Big A. You are nice girl; another nice person will soon find you."

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“How have you been?” the therapist asked, looking at her over her glasses.

“Mostly fine. I got dumped recently.”

“Ahh, that’s unfortunate… Do you want to share any thoughts on that?”

Artica slouched a bit, and briefly explained how and why her relationship ended. “I thought she’d give in a little. We’d been together for over a year, y’know? Just a little would’ve been fine, but…”

There was a pause, then a sigh, and finally a mortified groan. “I cared more than she did, didn't I?”

“You already had this conversation with yourself, I see,” the therapist nodded. “Rationalizing, I mean.”

“...Yes.” Artica did that frequently. Overthinking, that is. “I haven’t seen any dogs recently, so that’s been a great help.”

Noting the change on subject, the therapist pressed a button on her desk phone. “I’m glad you brought that up, because I have a proposal. There is a therapy dog on site today. If you’re comfortable with the idea, we can bring it in here for a bit.”

Artica immediately thought ‘NO’, yet understood why it was being suggested. Already sweating, she nodded, and the door opened. An absurdly friendly-looking chocolate labrador retriever and its handler entered the room. At her second nod, they both came closer, but barely, because when they were two meters away, Artica suddenly got up, tilting her chair, and flattened herself against the wall.

“Okay, that’s a start,” the therapist said, thanking the handler for their time. “You allowed them in your general space, that’s good! In your personal space… we’ll figure out how to process that.”

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

There was a man Fenrir had never seen before sweeping outside the small one-story house. He stood a few meters away, staring like an idiot, unsure of what to do. The man looked at him from time to time but would soon get back to his chore without a word.

It had already been a good ten minutes when the man finally cleared his throat. "So, uh, are you going to come in or…?"

Fenrir nodded and followed him inside. He offered the boy a chair and they sat there in silence for another ten minutes. The man was visibly distressed but made an honest attempt to ease the tension.

"My lo-... F-Fenrir. Embla and Artica said etiquette was not necessary with you, but I find it very difficult to do, I'm a simple country man… I apologize for not speaking to you sooner."

The boy blinked twice, letting out a relieved sigh. "N-not at all, sir. I'm… an awkward kid anyway, sorry I made you nervous."

The man gave him a small smile and extended his hand. "You probably guessed, but I'm Reynir, Artica's dad. They told me you might be coming over."

There was no need to guess. His wizened silver eyes made it very clear.

"They told you I'd be coming over today?" Fenrir asked, suddenly trying to recall all his previous visits and if they had somehow given out enough information to predict it.

"What? No, in general," Reynir replied. The boy seemed just as described, with a little overthinking on top. "So, Embla says you're from the northern mountains?"

Fenrir nodded eagerly.

“Nice and quiet up there, unlike the central region.”

He nodded again with a small smile. “Very different. Life is slow, but I really like it.”

A few hours later, when Artica and Embla returned home, they noticed the sound of arguing inside the house. Beyond the door, Reynir and Fenrir were livid, talking over each other in a childish manner.

"As I said, sir, they are still around in the northern forests!"

"Nonsense! I've been there a million times and seen none!"

Embla noticed there were two glasses with beer remnants on the table and had to laugh. "You two finally met."

Both men turned their heads at once.

"Artica, sweetheart, you're an experienced hunter, please explain to your friend that wolves are not part of the northern ecosystem!"

There was a spasm in Fenrir's right eye. "I say this with the utmost respect; your father doesn't know shit about the topic at hand!"

Artica took a seat, flipping through the pages of an ancient notebook. She let out a whistle. "Oh, this must be serious if Pa brought out his old hunting journal."

"EXACTLY! My personal hunting journal! Tell him!"

“Nah, uh,” Artica said, wagging her finger. “If you want me to take a side, both of you have to start from the top and explain to me your reasoning.”

“Fine!” they yelled with a definitive tone.

Embla pulled out some leftovers and started heating them for dinner. Artica felt comforted by the fact that, even though Reynir and Fenrir were ready to argue to death, there was clear enjoyment in their faces.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

Rúri was mixing the ingredients eagerly, immersed in the recipe. There were seventeen different items over the kitchen island, and somehow, she seemed to be considering using all of them for the dessert. Only the sound of something heavy letting itself sink on someone else made her raise her eyes.

“THELO! Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry, he is such an attention-hoarder,” she said, immediately going to Artica and picking up the absurdly heavy cat that had collapsed on her lap. There was visible strain in Rúri’s face.

Just by looking at it, it was clear to Artica that this was not a large animal, just a fat one. She looked down at her uniform, now coated with a healthy amount of cat hair. “A-ah! I-It’s nothing. I’m surprised he even came close. Animals don’t seem to like me much…”

The blonde was going to argue, but one quick look at the left side of Artica’s face made her reconsider. She pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Oh, no, no. No need to worry. Thelo is a sweetheart, he would never-”

At her words, the cat immediately swatted at Artica’s hair. To be fair, it was half-hearted, and that simple attempt seemed to leave it exhausted.

“THELONIUS RÚRISSON, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!”

A few moments later, footsteps rang from the nearby hallway, making Artica spring to her feet.

“Mother! Welcome back!” Rúri greeted cheerfully, turning around. “Miss Reynirdóttir, may I introduce Lady Paulfrid, Head of the Guarding Swan?”

“It is an honor to meet your acquaintance, my Lady,” Artica said with a deep bow, suddenly embarrassed about all the cat hair on her clothes. “My name is Artica Reynirdóttir. I am a scholarship student at the Academy, and classmate to lady Rúri.”

Lady Paulfrid, a woman slightly taller than her, with short, light brown hair in a pixie cut and dimples in her smile, was clearly the one who gave her daughter those endearing, deep blue eyes. She was too well bred to flinch, but her gaze did briefly pause on the left side of Artica’s face.

“Welcome to our home, Miss Reynirdóttir. It is our pleasure to have you here. Baking something, darling?”

“Yes, Mother. We are in a leap year, which means Karianne can celebrate on the actual day this time, so I was thinking of making her favorite dessert… but four layers in total.”

“Ah, extra layers for each year she missed, fantasic. Miss Reynirdóttir, please allow me your uniform. We wil get it back in pristine condition while you two make the dessert.”

Artica was spooked by the older woman who suddenly appeared at her side, offering her a bright yellow skirt. She complied without a word, taking a moment to change in a nearby bathroom, deeply thankful. After all, she could try cleaning her trousers, waistcoat and jacket at home, but it had been so long since she had a pet, it was probably better to let them handle it. The white button shirt and tie would be much less of a problem. “Thank you for your kindness, my Lady.”

Lady Paulfrid and the older woman left the kitchen while Rúri took her hand and made her do a turn. “Well, you look great in yellow, sweetie! Though because you are taller than me, the skirt looks somewhat short on you. I hope that is not a problem while we bake this out.”

Her classmate shook her head and put herself at Rúri’s orders, unsure on how to be of use. After a healthy number of attempts from Thelonius, it was clear she could just focus on keeping him off the kitchen counters. For such a fat cat, he was incredibly determined.

“Truly, Thelo, dear. If you invested as much energy doing normal cat things as you do trying to steal this butter…” the blonde said, watching him weakly fight the Black’s grip.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

Two weeks ago, Fenrir had the very impressive experience of going to a match between the Asgardian and Norwegian national football teams. The stadium had been full to the brim with fans, their faces painted with their team’s colors. A million voices chanted encouragement, or colorful insults to each other, while waving flags and other themed items. The whole atmosphere was utterly breathtaking.

… but Fenrir wasn’t sure he wanted to experience it again. People were so loud, and the sport itself was so boring. At least to him, because Malik, the student who invited him to the game, lost it every time the Asgardians got the ball. He even lifted Fenrir up in a hug when they scored the goal that gave them a hard-earned victory, 2-1. He was thankful Malik invited him to hang out, it was just not exactly something he would do again soon.

Or so he thought, taking his seat on the bench. Artica sat next to him and handed him a pole. She carefully unrolled the banner she had carried all the way there, tightly holding the other pole between her legs to straighten it. It was an eye-catching orange and had a purple owl stretching its wings wide. At the top, ‘Go get’em, Vaito!’ was written in urban-looking handwriting.

“Woah, that’s pretty cool! Did you make it?”

Artica scoffed, busy pulling out some snacks from her bag. “It would’ve been nice if the gods had given me a teeny tiny bit of artistic ability, but no. This was made from scratch by his sister, Aalu. She mailed it to us for this match! It’s Vaito’s first with the team, but she couldn’t come this weekend.”

Said match was about to take place in Vaito’s school’s soccer field. Most people in the stands were, like them, family, friends, and classmates of the players. Forty people in total, probably. As the players entered the field, a boy suddenly froze when he saw the orange banner in the stands. Artica dropped her snacks at once and started signing. ‘Show them how it’s done, eastern style!’

Vaito’s dark eyes drifted from her to the banner and then rested on Fenrir. They weren’t really friends, just acquaintances who met through Artica, but Vaito still appreciated seeing another familiar face in the crowd.

Not quite as fast as his classmate, Fenrir also encouraged him. ‘Do your best and have fun!’

It was honestly baffling how different this was, even though the sport was the same. Understandably, it was less loud, but there was a kind of electricity in the air. Fenrir’s eyes darted around the field, following the ball’s every move and feeling terribly stressed every time the other team took it.

“I know this isn’t as exciting as the match you saw a few weeks ago, but thanks for coming with me today,” Artica said, offering a beverage can and some crisps.

“Nah, I’m honestly more excited about this one.”

And invested. Damn, so terribly invested. They were losing 2-0, and time was running out. Vaito’s team was mostly students his age, while the other team had several older ones, taller and more experienced. Their captain, a girl with bright teal eyes, was as fast as a viking tiger. However, she seemed to miscalculate a pass and the ball landed right next to Vaito. In what he would later describe as a jolt of panic hitting his brain, he ran with it, kicked it as hard as he could, and then tripped over his own loose shoelaces.

The main referee blew his whistle and raised his neon yellow flag, just as one of his assistants did the same, marking the final score and the end of the match. Fenrir lost his shit the moment he saw Vaito score, immediately picking up Artica from behind in a celebratory hug. He let her go a moment later, awfully embarrassed.

“S-sorry, I got a little carried away."

"Don't sweat it,” She was laughing, not giving it a second thought. “I didn’t know you liked football."

He didn’t, actually, but for whatever reason, this had been a million times more fun than the previous time. Vaito's father, who arrived in the middle of the match and sat behind them, was now parading Aalu's banner all over the stands. The team carried Vaito rockstar-style back to the locker room and it took a while for him to reemerge, now covered in confetti. This was all highly amusing, considering his team had still lost, 2-1.

They were deep in conversation when Fenrir noticed someone looking at them. He immediately straightened up, made a short bow and started signing. 'Lady Vaike! What a pleasant surprise to meet you here.'

Vaike, with her long black hair in a ponytail, bowed too. 'Likewise, my lord. I see you came to cheer on this match's newcomer. Oh, the junior with the antlers! Good afternoon. You did not tell me your name that time we spoke.'

Fenrir raised an eyebrow, but Artica was already full scarlet. She made a bow. 'Good afternoon, my lady. My name is Artica Reynirdóttir.'

Around that time, the captain of the opposite team joined Vaike, who ruffled her hair with a smile. Just by looking at their eyes, it was clear she was Vaike's younger sister. The captain looked at them, then at Vaito, and signed. 'You got lucky, newbie. We'll see how it goes in our next match!'

Vaike pinched her cheek at once, hardly dissimulating her embarrassment. 'Please excuse her, my lord, Miss Reynirdóttir, young man. She is an unruly brat.'

They bid them farewell and returned to the very important task of celebrating Vaito’s fantastic first loss.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

Artica let out a deep sigh, finally done with updating her calendar.

"Wow, looks way better now. Less cramped."

"Yeah…" she replied, her lips tight.

Fenrir raised an eyebrow. "You alright? I thought you agreed with her reasoning."

She didn't even look at him, resting her head on her desk. "Just because I agree doesn't mean I instantly stopped caring about her. You know what I mean?"

Fenrir, in fact, did not know what she meant, but unwilling to demonstrate, nodded. "Yeah."

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“Again.”

Artica let out a hiss. It was well after club activities were over. The Archery Tournament was even rescheduled due to the monetary cost the Coronation had on Central Asgard. Why did she have to stay for extra practice?

“Pardon me, Captain, but I think hitting 27 out of 32 targets is more than enough for today.”

“This is not about if you hit or miss, it is about how you carry yourself in the field.”

“Huh?”

“You aim like a hawk but do so looking like a farm horse.”

The Black turned around at the speed of light. “Excuse me, my lady?!”

Even for a Year 3 Blue, and Archery Captain, that was uncalled for. Artica had noticed that for a few weeks now, she had been correcting her stance, or the position of her elbows. Even in which direction her feet were pointing to. All little things that made no difference, because she was hitting most of her targets anyway.

“Artica,” the Captain said, and this was the very first time the Black had heard her say her name. “You are an Academy student now. You represent it as much as any Blue in this club. If you want to be sponsored by the Academy in the tournament, a countryside demeanor will not do.”

“I am from the countryside!” she blurted out. “There is no shame in that!”

“No, there is not, yet you must consider how it reflects on you. The tournament welcomes everyone, including high-ranking nobles, and that includes royals. I believe you know even Crown Prince Adalhar from the Neighboring Kingdom has competed in it.”

“Oh, yeah, Boreal kicked his ass that time.”

“That is beside the point.”

“What is the point, captain? That I embarrass you? That I would embarrass the Academy?”

“That you are already diligent as an Academy student, and certainly a skilled archer, yet the tiniest details will have others talking. Do not give them the satisfaction of undermining your achievements because you could not bother taking the more formal stances while shooting.”

Artica hissed again, annoyed. The Captain continued. “Your other Black friends already heard this from their instructors and trainers. You all need to step up, and show you are just as capable as any Blue, or even better.”

There was no immediate reply. The Captain turned to the wall where several pictures were hung. “When I joined this club, your brother was already a senior, and his skill was enough to make everyone in the room hold their breath. Blacks struggle in general, but before Lady Hilda came to the Academy, it was worse. Boreal struggled greatly, he might have told you that, but he also understood how to minimize the impact on himself. By his senior year, his technique was flawless, met every standard, and even improved a few details! He made sure there was no gap others could use to undermine him, at least in archery.”

“You hold my brother in high regard, my lady.”

“I do, because I was one of the people who initially looked for those gaps to mess with him. A Black from the countryside? Easy target to pick on and deviate attention from my own lack of commitment. Yet he was relentless, and basically shut me and all others up by smoothing over any of his deficiencies.”

Artica said nothing.

“So that is the point. You still have a long way to go in the Academy, and you will struggle through all of it. Help yourself early on and minimize the impact.”

There was a short silence as Artica let all of that sink in. She was so sure this was going to be some new derogatory Blue tactic, it never occurred to her there was an underlying concern for her struggles. For all their Black struggles.

“Thank you for your words, my lady. I think I understand now.”

“Good. Even after I graduate, I look forward to seeing the Hawkling in the tournament.”

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

The three of them were busy trying to win at Tetris when a red-headed Black made his way to them. "Hey, Reynirdóttir, my condolences."

Artica raised her eyes from the screen with a rather mortified expression. "Oh, you heard already."

"Yeah, that's tough… which is why I wanna know if this time you'd accept my invitation to catch a movie this weekend?"

Bud and Fenrir also raised their gaze, darting between Asgrim and Artica.

"Yeah, okay. I'll pick the day and you pick the movie?"

"Sounds good to me," he said, turning around. "Let's talk after school."

"Alright, see you later," Artica replied, looking at the screen again. "Game over? What were you two doing?!"

They both gave her nervous smiles, too embarrassed to admit the game became irrelevant in an instant.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

Fenrir was sitting in one of the gardens, listening to music, when three students from 1C came closer and started to chat. That was nice, right? Others wanting to interact with him? And yet, he couldn't find any real topic to discuss with Levina, or even begin to follow whatever Malik was talking about. It felt like there was some kind of barrier that prevented them from truly connecting.

Awkwardly trying to figure it out, Fenrir was suddenly distracted by someone passing by, her braid swaying gently from side to side. That connection was immediate, and he was already walking towards her.

"Hey, Artica! May I offer some help with that?"

The Black had barely turned to him when half of the books she was carrying were taken away. "Ah! Yeah, okay. Thanks!"

Malik was visibly irritated. "Did you hear that? Not even a hint of formal language!"

"They sit next to each other, apparently," Rae explained. "Not unusual, I guess."

Levina said nothing. Her olive eyes followed them until they entered the library. She took a mental note of this and went about her day as usual.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

He smiled, even though it did not reflect how he felt. For whatever reason, Fenrir was unsatisfied to learn Artica had a good time with Asgrim. Apparently, they even shared the same taste in movies! However, unable to truly pinpoint why it bothered him, Fenrir just pushed it to the back of his mind and did not analyze it any further.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“Ta-da!” they exclaimed, using hand gestures to draw attention to their ears.

Finally, after meticulous care and constant check-ups, their helix piercings had healed enough to be approved for piece switching. Now, they each sported a small charm in the shape of two feathers (green and blue) hanging from a golden earring.

“They look fantastic, darlings. You two have great taste, as always,” Karianne said with an approving nod. “I know you have been waiting a long time for this, so feel free to parade them all over the Academy.”

“Why two feathers, though?” Bud inquired, admiring Rúri’s charm with childish curiosity.

“Oh, I am glad you asked! You see…” Syd replied, giving what ended up being a twenty-minute explanation.

They were all listening, yet near the end, Artica noticed an appalled expression on Fenrir’s face. Once the younger twin was done, Fenrir excused himself and left, arguing he didn’t feel well and would like to rest back at his house. Knowing he found anything but rest where he lived, Artica ended up following him, promising the rest she would report back if needed.

“Hey, wait for me!” she said, rushing to get into the same train as him. “You okay?”

Fenrir let out a deep sigh, staring out the window as the train began to move. “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”

The walk from the station was done in complete silence. Right outside his house, however, Artica got it out of her system. “Hey, are you okay? I know you said it was nothing but it’s clearly something.”

He pulled a worn-out locket out of his coat. It had Fenrir’s family crest engraved on the top and appeared to be made of some blue-coated metal. Even though Artica expected there to be a portrait of his parents inside, it only contained a pair of small, off-white items.

“I don’t have many things to remember my parents by. A person who loved them dearly gave these to me, even though I was just a child at the time and could’ve lost them easily.”

She couldn’t help eyeing the helix piercings with interest, considering they were made from an uncommon material.

“That person said ‘They loved each other deeply, and you are living proof of it. My Lord and Lady are now with you, forever.’ When Syd started talking about his and Rúri’s pieces, those words came back to me, and I felt… overwhelmed.”

Fenrir’s voice faltered a bit, so he turned away to compose himself. Artica allowed him a moment before gently squeezing his shoulder. After a deep breath, he resumed. “Anyway, it’s really nothing.”

“Alright, as long as that’s really all there is to it…” she replied with a reassuring smile. “I’ve never seen pieces made from antlers! Very stylish.”

He was puzzled for a moment, but then figured she had probably seen many of those when hunting with her family. “Y-yeah. It’s a thing they do on Father’s side…”

“Pa and Ma’s are made of wood,” Artica shared. “Because of their names (1).”

“Oh, that’s very clever!”

“Yeah. They’ve had to remake them a few times, but thankfully materials are accessible… Is that really all you have from your parents, besides the lands and that kind of stuff?”

“No, there are a few other things… Do you wanna see one now?”

At her nod, they went around the manor and to the very back of the property, where a magnificent bush of pale blue winter roses was in full bloom, just under a large window with two leaping wolves in stained glass. “Mother brought it from the family manor and planted it here one time Father was ill for a few months. She firmly believed they could chase evils away, so…”

Artica had barely heard about this rose type from her sister, much less seen one, but was immediately in awe. The bush was full of them and looked well kept. “Wow! They’re gorgeous!”

“Mother planted them just outside the master bedroom, so the breeze would blow in their perfume. I remember one time, when I was little, she opened the windows and-”

There was a dry sound as someone closed a nearby door neither had noticed was ajar. Fenrir tightened his fist and turned around. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere else.”

It ended up being the creek. They sat under a large tree.

“I’m sorry for never inviting you inside, even though I spend so much time at your home. I don’t want them to talk to you,” he said, before clarifying. “Because they might say something rude.”

“Ah… That’s okay, I understand.”

Fenrir suddenly raised his hand to his mouth and whistled. A bush rustled nearby, and Ging popped out of it to drink from the creek. Artica shuddered, flattening herself against the tree trunk. “Wh-why did you call him?”

“I didn’t, he was already there, I just asked him to stay on that side.”

“With a whistle?”

“Yeah, because they're similar to when he-“ and stopped, scratching ‘howls’ out of his mind. “Whines.”

She narrowed her eyes, and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was enough if Ging decided to comply, Artica didn’t need to know the details of how or why, even if his explanation sounded rather silly. “Do you regret moving to the central region? Where Ging has to hide?”

“I miss the mountains greatly, yeah, but I don’t regret having to move here. I’ve learned a lot of new things and met a lot of new people. I even made a friend.”

What he did immediately regret was that phrasing. What was he, eight? How could he blurt out such childish thoughts? Fenrir was so busy reprimanding himself; he didn’t notice Artica had relaxed a bit.

“I’m happy we’re friends. It’s made the Academy much more manageable. I was nervous we might not make any Blue friends until Year 3, like it happened to my brother… But we even met before school started!”

He couldn’t tell her right there, but the feeling was mutual. Fenrir had been pretty sure things wouldn’t be particularly different at the Academy from how they had been his whole life; by himself, with no one else but Ging. And yet, because he ignored his better judgment and approached a girl between some trash cans, things had taken a radically different turn. Considering how much of a blissful coincidence it had been that they were both going to the Academy, he blurted out something that had been in his mind for a while now.

“Why did you want the scholarship? You guys are busy all the time, why would you choose that instead of just regular education at any other high school?”

Artica’s gaze became distant, looking at something that wasn’t there.

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“There he is,” Bud pointed towards the bus stop.

“Oh, you guys were waiting for me?” Boreal asked the moment his younger sister launched at him.

He was completely exhausted from school, club activities, and club assistance, yet found it in himself to pick her up in a hug. The girl was smiling, but it diminished when they gazed at each other. Boreal was painfully aware he had heavy bags under his eyes, and probably looked somewhat pale right now. After all, he had little time to eat that day.

His sister asked to be lowered. “B, why do you try so hard? Isn’t it difficult? Aren’t you tired?”

Boreal took the hands of both kids and started walking. “Yes, and yes.”

“Then why do you do it?” Bud asked, frowning.

“You guys are barely eleven, so it might take a while for you to understand how I feel right now,” he replied, and immediately squeezed their hands in his. “Pa sat me down one day and told me I should become a hunter like him, because I’m good at it. At first, I was thrilled. I love to hunt! So obviously doing it as a job would be easy, and fun! But as I got older, I realized I wanted to do other things, that I had other passions.”

“Like drawing!” little Artica exclaimed.

“Yes, like drawing, but hunting requires a lot of time out in the wild, and a lot of focus… there wouldn’t be enough left for drawing, and that made me sad.”

They stopped at a bakery, and he bought doughnuts for all of them. “I was so sad, P noticed, and asked me why. I remember crying on her dress because I didn’t want to disappoint Pa, but I also didn’t want to let go of my passion, so didn’t know what to do. A few days later, one of the times Kalervo came to visit, they sat us all down and told us about the Academy Scholarship. It all sounded ridiculous at first. Me? Going to the fancy Academy with the nobles? Becoming my class’s official nerd? Why would I want that?”

He paused to take a bite from his doughnut. “P had already thought it all out, bless her heart. She said nothing about me crying but sprinkled the conversation with the universities that seek Academy graduates, and stuck the National University of Art and Design, in the Neighboring Kingdom, in there. You see, universities here currently don’t have Art and Design sections, so I wouldn’t have the option at all. A few days later, Pa came into my room and asked me if I wanted to try that. I don’t know if P or Kalervo ever mentioned it to him, but it seemed to me that either way he realized maybe he’d been too vague when discussing my future with me.”

“I don’t understand,” his sister admitted.

Boreal had always appreciated her honesty and gave her a smile. “Maybe, when I graduate, I’ll be tired of drawing and embrace hunting once again, but what if I don’t? I decided to aim for the scholarship because I want to be able to choose.”

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

“We were inspired by Boreal.”

“He lives in the Neighboring Kingdom, right? With your older sister?”

“Yeah, he goes to university there.”

Fenrir made a vague hand gesture. “Huh, I’ve never really thought about what I’m gonna do after the Academy.”

“That’s alright,” Artica said. “We still have some time to figure it out.”

x+x+x+x+x+x+x

The great hall had been beautifully decorated with colorful banners, each with the coat of arms of the many nobles graduating that day. There were delicate peach flower arrangements in every corner, rumored to be in honor of Her Majesty, as these were her favorites. As this was the only activity on the last day of the school year, most students were just arriving. Blacks from all years, however, were asked to help with preparations, and so had been there since early morning.

Bud, Artica, Asgrim, and Heimrik were under the impression this was the Academy’s way of squeezing every minute out of them before the end of term, but were flabbergasted to find out that Hilda had, in fact, organized a special breakfast for all eleven Blacks in the Academy. She took the time to hear their concerns (and complaints), but also to encourage and advise them on their next steps.

Sigurd used the opportunity to thank Hilda for everything she’d done for the Scholarship program and its students. Hilda in turn thanked them all for their efforts, and then proceeded to highlight each of their individual strengths. Overall, it was a humbling experience for everyone.

Fenrir entered the hall, looking around for any familiar face. He found Bud first and had a hard time processing that the person next to him was, indeed, Artica. Her long hair was down, with a braid going around her head, and no bangs obstructing her scar. Unlike in previous months, she was wearing the uniform skirt, with black thigh high stockings underneath. For the first time, Fenrir found himself thinking she looked very-

“CUTE!” Karianne exclaimed, making her do a turn, so the skirt twirled as well. “Mhm, sweetie, this is definitely a look!”

Artica scoffed. Considering the girl with magenta eyes looked cute in everything, she couldn’t help blushing a little. “Your words are kind, my lady.”

“And you are the perfect height for a kiss, unlike others, who are too tall now.”

Bud immediately rolled his eyes at her. Artica grabbed Karianne and got her right beside her partner. “Yeah? I think it’s better with him, because he’ll have to lean into you for a kiss… or pick you up with these big, strong arms of his."

The older twin caught on at once and got awfully close to her. “So, what shall it be? I lean, or I pick you up?”

For all her mastery at teasing, this seemed to catch Karianne terribly off guard, and she was barely able to stutter a word. Bud leaned in and kissed her anyway, then backed away with an insolent smirk on his face. Rúri and Syd politely contained their laughter, which made Karianne turn scarlet, just as everyone was asked to take their place around the hall for the Graduation speech, given by Siegfried Sigurdsson himself. There was a nostalgic feeling in the air, even for those who still had years to go.

Once the ceremony was over and everyone broke into little groups to chit chat, Siegfried casually came up to Fenrir and brought him next to one of the windows, overlooking the gardens.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Your Majesty,” he said at once, giving her a deep bow. “To my lord as well.”

“Thank you, Fenrir,” Hilda replied with a gentle smile. “Tell me, how was your Year 1?”

“Oh, uh… Full of new experiences?” he didn’t intend to make it sound like a question, but it was too late to correct himself.

“Ah, all positive ones, I hope?”

“Y-yes, I would say so, Your Majesty.”

The ruling Princess let out a relieved sigh. “It eases my heart to hear that, truly. I understand it was a big change to move to Central Asgard, and at such a demanding institution as the Academy, yet you seem to have adjusted well. Siegfried tells me you are skilled at karate too. Maybe you should consider being in the exhibition match at the beginning of next school year?”

The tips of Fenrir’s ears turned red. “I believe there are others with much better technique, but if both of you think so, I-I will consider it, Your Majesty.”

“Good. We will see each other soon enough, at your Coming of Age ceremony. Unlike any other current student, you will also officially inherit the title of Lord that day, which is… an unfortunate circumstance at eighteen. If I may offer some advice…”

“Please do, Your Majesty.”

Her purple eyes wandered around the room and settled on a group of Year 1 students having a laugh in the far corner of the hall. “Being a Lord is a heavy responsibility, and none of your peers will truly understand it right now. I encourage you to ask the Heads of the Guarding Swan, the Celestial Horses, and the Viking Tiger for guidance.”

Fenrir nodded, already imagining the awkward conversation with Rúri’s mother and Karianne’s and Syd’s fathers.

“Yet, if you still need further support, please do reach out to the Palace. I will set aside some time to share a cup of tea. After all, I might be one of the few people who… understands.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for all your kindness. I hope to become a Lord you will be proud of.”

“Oh, I have no doubt. You will see it too, soon enough. I must bid you farewell for now, Fenrir, so take care, and enjoy the rest of your time at the Academy.”

He gave them both a deep bow before reuniting with the group on the far corner. Rúri politely offered him several pieces of paper with phone numbers written on them. “So we can keep in contact during summer break.”

Fenrir suddenly realized this was the first summer he would enjoy with someone other than Ging and felt his soul bubbling in excitement. After all, unlike winter break, this would be three whole months, and not even XXXX could hope to fully monopolize all his time. He tightly squeezed the locket in his pocket, wishing hard for it to start already.

“Hey, did you guys hear? There is a Culinary Exhibition happening next week! Should we go and gorge on everything together?”

“Absolutely!” Syd declared happily, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Once back in their side of town, Bud and Artica watched as Fenrir opened the gate with his keys. He put one foot inside and turned around, almost expecting everything to vanish into purple smoke and reveal itself a dream. However, his classmates were still there, waving goodbye.

Artica gave him a warm smile. “See you on Monday!”

XXXXXXXXX

(1) Embla: Old norse, (speculated) “elm tree”. Reynir: Old norse, “rowan tree”.

#AAAU #AU #artica #fenrir #syd #bud #karianne #ruri #reynir #embla #boreal #hilda #scumbag10aniversario #scumbag10au #scumbag10ocs #aa!artica #aa!fenrir #aa!bud #aa!karianne #aa!ruri #fic #aa!syd #eng

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whatstheproblembaby · 3 years

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Fic: Points of Contact

PG-13, 2325 words, intended to be a character study but just kind of turned into a pile of fluff and banter? /shrugs

Also on AO3.

As much as she loved a quiet meal at home with her family, Shelagh appreciated their monthly invitations to dinner at Nonnatus House. The little ones were in ecstasy, surrounded by all of their favorite adults, who had no excuses not to play with them. She herself got to enjoy a meal in which she only had to cook one of the dishes, and now that Cyril and Fred were part of the guest list, she knew that Patrick looked forward to a little time with “the lads,” as he was (unfortunately) wont to call them.

She felt a smile blossom across her face as she re-entered the dining area from the kitchen, fresh cup of tea in hand. The others had adjourned to the parlour, where they were waiting for Doctor Who to start. Patrick, Cyril, and Fred had all dragged dining chairs to the far side of the room and were chatting away animatedly, though Cyril kept turning his gaze to the television every so often, clearly not wanting to miss a moment of the show. Sister Monica Joan was on a low stool, no more than a foot of space between her and the screen. Her focus, though, was on the children, who were listening somewhat attentively to her explanation of what to expect from the programme. Violet had had to step out on council business, so Sister Julienne and Phyllis had commandeered the armchairs, leaving the rest of the nuns and nurses to pile onto the sofa or sprawl out on the surrounding floor. Shelagh scanned the space, trying to see where she could squeeze in, when a gesture between Trixie and Sister Frances stopped her cold.

Trixie had perched on the arm of the sofa, one arm draped across Sister Frances’ shoulders. Even that level of public affection was a surprise to Shelagh, who hadn’t realized that Trixie’s comfort with casual, friendly touches extended past her fellow resident midwives, but Sister Frances’ response was the real stunner.

Sister Frances leaned contentedly into Trixie’s loose embrace, tucking her head as best she could onto Trixie’s shoulder and throwing her right arm over one of Trixie’s legs. She showed no fear of being caught doing something improper - indeed, Sister Julienne looked on with a smile as Sister Hilda finished relating an anecdote and the whole sofa burst into laughter.

Shelagh felt her breath catch. She only realized she had been hovering in the doorway a little too long when a concerned “Shelagh?” came from Patrick’s side of the room.

“Forgot to add milk,” she quipped, raising her cup and hoping the laugh she added at the end sounded less forced to everyone else’s ears. She turned and headed back to the kitchen, where she rummaged through the refrigerator with unseeing eyes.

A religious Sister is holy and separate, Sister Adelaide’s voice swam up from her memories. She rejoices and mourns with the community she serves, but she is not of the community. She cannot confuse the comforts of being a sister of man with her higher purpose fulfilling God’s commands with her Sisters in Christ.

Shelagh pressed her lips together wryly as she imagined Sister Adelaide’s reaction to the current display in the parlour. She knew her former instructor in the religious life had since passed on, but she hadn’t realized quite how different the lessons for the newer Sisters would be.

“My love, are you sure you’re all right?” Patrick reached down and took her teacup, setting it on the counter before securing both of her hands in his. “You’re taking an awfully long time to add milk to your already milky tea.”

“Maybe I want the extra calcium,” Shelagh said, smiling up at him. “These old bones could use some shoring up.”

“I’m not even going to respond to that statement, in order to not incriminate myself in the process,” Patrick said with an echoing smile. The love in his eyes still caught Shelagh off-guard, even after years of marriage. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m fine, Patrick,” Shelagh said tenderly. “The times have changed, that’s all. Now, we’d better get back to the parlour before Sister Monica Joan turns all of our children into mystics and Romantic poets.”

Patrick huffed out a laugh. “You know I’m going to ask you to explain what you mean by that first statement later.”

“I will. I just need a little more time to process it for myself first.”

Shelagh noticed the sensation of Patrick’s hand on the small of her back a little more acutely than usual as he guided her back to the party, marking how he removed it once they were properly in mixed company. Later, too, she became aware of how there was always a careful space left for her amongst the women, close enough to ensure she was included, but not so small that she was nudged playfully in the shoulder or brushed by someone crossing their legs to the other side.

The warm weight of her son in her arms at the end of the evening was her anchor. Teddy was dozing off by the time they left, and May and Angela weren’t too far behind. Thankfully, Sister Julienne offered to carry Angela out to their car to keep Patrick or Shelagh from having to make two trips down the stairs.

“Thank you for inviting us to dinner. We always have such a lovely time,” Shelagh said, rocking Teddy as she waited for Patrick to settle May in the back seat of the station wagon.

“The pleasure is all ours, Shelagh,” Sister Julienne said. She reached out and squeezed Shelagh’s arm once, maternally. “You know you’re part of our family. You are always welcome here.”

Shelagh just smiled, unsure of what her voice would do if she tried to respond aloud. By then, Patrick had secured May, so she focused on getting Teddy into the car next without waking him or disturbing the girls. Once all was in order, she and Patrick wished Sister Julienne a good night and waited for her to get back inside safely before they drove off.

In the car, Patrick started to say her name, but Shelagh cut him off by sliding across the bench seat and dropping her head on his shoulder.

“Get us home, Patrick. I’ll explain once we’ve got the children squared away for the night.”

The ride home was quiet, the soft sound of the radio the only real noise as Patrick navigated the streets of Poplar. Shelagh eventually shifted so her hand was resting loosely on Patrick’s above the gear shift, to allow him to manoeuvre the car better, but she stayed close by his side as they unloaded their children and got them in bed, earning a pleased yet confused look from her husband.

“You’re tactile this evening,” he observed mildly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall to their own room.

“I’m tactile plenty of evenings,” Shelagh replied, handing Patrick his pyjamas from the wardrobe before fetching her own. “I just don’t always allow myself to act on it.”

“Because of-” Patrick broke off, freeing himself from his vest before continuing, “Because of something I’ve done? Shelagh, I’m so-”

“Not because of you, Patrick,” Shelagh said decisively. “Quite the opposite, in fact. But I’m not explaining while you’re changing - I don’t want you to smother yourself with your own clothing!”

They separated long enough to get their pyjamas on and wash up for the night, giving Shelagh one last moment to collect her thoughts.

“Come here,” Patrick said when she reentered the bedroom, holding his arms open from where he sat on his side of the bed. “If you’re still allowing yourself to be tactile, that is.”

Shelagh slid under the covers and into his arms gratefully. “I’m going to try. I don’t want to display too much affection in public, but...I think I may have been holding myself to old-fashioned standards.”

Patrick just raised an eyebrow, looking down at her with curiosity.

“Tonight, at Nonnatus, I saw Trixie and Sister Frances cuddle up to each other without a second thought, and I didn’t know what to do for a moment,” Shelagh explained. “When I was a Sister, casual physical touch was not encouraged. One was supposed to focus on one’s commitment to God to find sustenance and support. Perhaps after one’s life vows, or at a funeral for another Sister, there could be a quick embrace, but on a typical day, there should be space between one and one’s Sisters on the sofa at recreation, and one should not even think about touching or embracing a layperson unless they were experiencing labor, bereavement, or a medical emergency.”

“Really?” Patrick asked. “I’ve always thought of the Sisters as the most nurturing community presence - but now that you say that, I can’t count many times I’ve seen them actually offer a hug. An encouraging squeeze of the arm, perhaps, or a parcel of food or clothing if it serves.”

“We were expected to love as God loves, of course,” Shelagh said. “But there were ways we could do that while staying ‘holy and separate.’ Or so I was taught.”

“It would appear that whichever Sister was in charge of your lessons isn’t instructing anymore.”

“No, she’s long gone, may she rest in peace. And perhaps this new embrace of - well - embracing others is more of a Nonnatus trend than a result of any teachings from the Mother House. Still, it caught me by surprise tonight.” Shelagh tucked her head into the crook of Patrick’s neck as she finished speaking.

Patrick kissed Shelagh’s temple. “Because you were uncomfortable?”

“Because I was jealous,” Shelagh replied. She closed her eyes briefly to hide her embarrassment at saying so, but when she straightened up and looked at Patrick again, she saw nothing but understanding in his eyes, emboldening her to go on. “I spent ten years of my life keeping my distance from other people, believing it was the right way to show my devotion to God and my vows to Him. Still, I saw every moment I could have hugged a frightened mother and didn’t, or every moment I refrained from comforting one of the resident nurses at Nonnatus. I didn’t even let you hold me in public for the first year of our marriage because I was afraid everyone would think I was so starved for affection that I left the church the first time a man so much as looked at me. And now the Sisters can just casually curl up with the nurses on the couch in the parlour?”

Shelagh couldn’t restrain her frustrated tears any longer. Before the first of them were even finished trickling down her cheeks, she found herself wrapped in Patrick’s arms, her head cradled against his shoulder. He murmured soothing nonsense in her ear, assuring her he was in no rush for her to pull herself back together.

“I’m sorry, Patrick, I got you soaked,” Shelagh said once she was finally able to sit upright again.

Patrick wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I see the reasoning behind what you were taught as a Sister, but good intent doesn’t make up for years of you suppressing instincts that are now being supported by that very same institution.”

“Thankfully, I’ve also had years to work on retraining myself,” Shelagh said, a tentative smile on her face. “You’ve been quite helpful there.”

Patrick’s forehead crinkled. “I have?”

“Maybe not in so many words, but you reached for my hand when I was still afraid to name what I was feeling for you. You wrapped me in your coat when I was lost and cold on the road back to Poplar. You’ve held me time and time again as I’ve cried without me having to say a word - not five minutes ago, even! You have shown me that physical affection can be simple, natural, and meaningful, and it doesn’t diminish the quality of our love or our professionalism.”

“And here I thought I was merely capitalizing on my chances to show my devotion to my lovely wife,” Patrick said, squeezing Shelagh’s hands where they lay in his own. “I’ll always be here if and when you reach out, Shelagh.”

“I know, Patrick. I’ve always known that.” Shelagh leaned up to kiss her husband at that. “And I’m going to let myself reach out to you and to our friends more. I don’t want to give people a show, of course, but I’ve barely let myself hold your hand in public out of concern for propriety. I think we’re still within the bounds of good taste if we go a little beyond that, don’t you?”

“I should say so,” Patrick said, pressing another kiss to Shelagh’s smile. “But I could have a hidden agenda.”

“A hidden agenda? I’m not sure what you mean,” Shelagh teased, rolling onto her back and pulling Patrick on top of her.

“Let me explain.” Patrick leaned down and proceeded to illuminate his agenda quite thoroughly, adding a few items to Shelagh’s own in the process. When they had finally finished, Shelagh curled up with her head on Patrick’s chest, feeling sleep begin to claim her.

“Somehow I don’t think I’m going to add any of what we just did to my ideas of what’s appropriate in public,” she murmured, laughing softly. “But I’m happy for some things to remain just for us.”

“There’s a time and a place for everything,” Patrick agreed.

The last thing Shelagh felt before drifting off was a light kiss to her hair, an action she was all too willing to repeat the next morning as they opened up the surgery. The almost comical look of shock on Miss Higgins’ face in result gave her another reason to keep pushing her former boundaries - after all, where else was she going to find this level of amusement?

#call the midwife #call the midwife fic #turnadette #turnadette fic #jen does words #g: fluff #but also kinda #g: hurt/comfort

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keyofjetwolf · 3 years

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THE GIFTENING 2020: Day 3

Miscellaneous Day is upon us!

These are your top three voted events for today, which I’ll be splitting up into two hour chunks. I’m playing several of these by ear, so can’t guarantee how they’ll turn out, but I shall do all that is capable with these giant Jet Wolf hamhocks I call hands.

First up, Intros Only, for which I at least have some experience. I figure we’ll run it like last year (and here is the link to revisit last year), where I put the video I’m about to watch and tell you what I know. I forgot the “I haven’t seen it” provision from last year, so fuck that this year, we’ll figure it out. Then give initial impressions, dig a little deeper, and summarize my assumptions of the premise. After weeding out dupes, you nominated 171 different openings. I’M IMPRESSED. I stuffed them all in the randomizer, and present to you the Top 30, which I will absolutely definitely not get through in the time allowed, but here I am dramatically overestimating as always. Today’s Intros will be two hours of however many of these I can get through!

Paranoia Agent

Yes! Pretty Cure 5

My Roommate is a Cat

One Piece (English dub rap opening)

Johnny Test

Princess Precure

Azumanga Daioh

Extra Olympia Kyklos

Critical Role Kickstarter intro for campaign 1

Greatest American Hero

Hilda

Get Smart

Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills

Dead Like Me

Reporter Blues

Cardcaptor Sakura (dubbed) intro

Totally Spies

Mirai Nikki (Future Diary)

Baccano!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season 2

Deadman Wonderland

Kakegurui (first OP)

The Haunting of Hill House

Gal & Dino

Yuri on Ice

Gummi Bears

Liberty Kids

Kill Me Baby

Sailor Moon Stars: Makenai! (you’re right I do want to)

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Then we’ll have two hours of me reviewing my old as balls Top 100, which I’ll talk about more before starting that, and finally two hours of me recreating Sailor Moon scenes with Mina and/or Hot Pocket and/or Whatever I Have Lying Around. REMEMBER TO SEND ME YOUR SCENE SUGGESTIONS FOR THAT AS I MAY NEED THEM

Reminder that we have a Discord channel filled with lovely people with lovely thoughts who are lovely! They’d love to have you join them for chatting about whatever the fuck I do today (and any day and whatever else you want to talk about). Invite link is here!

Finally, the tags to block today are #the giftening 2020, #the giftening 2020 day 3, #the giftening 2020 intros only, #the giftening 2020 top 100 review, and/or #the giftening 2020 scene recreations.

We’ll be starting in just a few minutes! I HOPE WE ALL HAVE A GOOD TIME TODAY

#THE GIFTENING 2020 #THE GIFTENING 2020 day 3 #THE GIFTENING 2020 intros only #THE GIFTENING 2020 top 100 review #THE GIFTENING 2020 scene recreations

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iamnotoriginalphil · 4 years

Text

Family Matters (Zelda Spellman x Reader) - Part 25

Synopsis: You return from your meeting with Bella.

Words: 1222

Warnings: none

AN: Okay, apologies for not releasing this yesterday. My hard drive is completely ruined and as such my laptop is now out of commission. I’m being forced to use the family computer for posting purposes now, which means I may be posting at weird times until I can get my laptop fixed. Thank you for all the birthday wishes! If you’d like to be tagged in future chapters just let me know.

Zelda was pacing around the living room, waiting for the sound of the front door opening. You’d been gone for over an hour. Night had well and truly fallen and she wasn’t able to settle until she knew you were unharmed. The thought of Bella laying a hand on you made her want to tear the vampiric skin straight off her body.

She should hate you. Logically she knew that. But you were deliciously pathetic enough to make her feel more pity than anger. And she could certainly understand the fierce protectiveness you felt towards your family. Plus, you had somehow managed to worm your way into her heart deep enough that your betrayal hadn’t managed to push you out of it quite yet.

“Zelda, please sit down,” Hilda said from her seat on the sofa. Her knitting needles were clacking together, creating an annoying tempo that was driving Zelda crazy.

“She should be back by now,” Zelda snapped.

“I’m sure everything is fine. That girl knows how to handle herself,” she said.

“Not against Bella,” she replied.

The front door opened just as the heavens did. Zelda hurried into the entrance hall, ignoring the heavy rain pounding on the roof. You were standing there, shrugging out of your coat. She let her eyes rake over you, trying to find any indication of what had happened out in the woods. You seemed normal to her.

“Well?” she demanded.

“It went perfectly to plan.”

Your smile was bright, lighting up the whole room in your glow of satisfaction. Her heart stuttered at the beauty before her, despite your hair frizzing from the mist outside and the dark circles under your eyes. Zelda reached a hand out towards you. You didn’t hesitate before taking it, threading your fingers through hers.

“She bought it hook, line, and sinker,” you said.

“Was she angry?” she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Completely, but given she was astral projecting there wasn’t a lot she could do other than make threats and look vicious,” you said with a laugh, “she calmed down when I explained why I was away, and she completely forgot it when I mentioned you were thinking about a reconciliation.”

“Well of course she did. I’m a pretty good incentive to forget anger.” She smirked.

“It proves I’m not as bad a liar as you seem to think I am.”

You managed to surprise a chuckle from Zelda. Her fingers tightened around yours, pulling you a step closer. You looked up into her eyes, mirth dancing in yours. She couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward, capturing your lips with hers.

“Oh.”

Zelda drew back, a scowl replacing the relieved smile she’d previously been wearing. She turned, finding her sister in the doorway of the living room, looking at the two of you. You ducked around Zelda, pushing your hair behind your ear. Your hand slipped from hers.

“As always, sister, you have impeccable timing.”

“I didn’t realise,” she said.

“Yes, well, that was rather the point,” Zelda snapped.

“Where’s Luna?”

Zelda looked around, unable to see your figure in the room.

“I’m in here.”

Zelda turned on her heels, marching into the kitchen. You were stood at the sink, filling the kettle with water. Hilda bustled over, taking the kettle from your hands. She shooed you away. You rolled your eyes but slid into a chair at the table. Zelda perched on the edge of her seat, staring at you across the wooden surface. She found it hard to tear her eyes away from your face, now she knew you shared her feelings. She felt like she had permission to stare.

“Is she going to show up in person in Greendale?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“She said we’re moving up our plans so by next week she should be in town,” you replied, nodding emphatically.

“What does that mean exactly?” Hilda asked before Zelda could. She glared at her sister but turned her attention back to you, waiting to hear your answer.

“Well,” you hesitated, blowing the steam away from the mug of tea Hilda set down in front of you, “in three days Bella will blow into town and I’ll meet her for the final instructions. Then on the new moon in a week’s time I’ll lure Zelda out to the woods where Bella will do the binding ceremony.”

“What you are saying is we only have three days to put our plan into action?” Zelda asked.

“Basically.”

Zelda sighed but bit her tongue before she could criticise you. She was sure it wasn’t your fault. She remembered how stubborn Bella could be. It had grated on her nerves back then, and it grated on them now. She watched you take a sip from your cup, a soft smile taking over your face.

“I still don’t know how you’re going to manage this,” you said, “surely she’ll be able to smell your scent if you’re anywhere near her.”

“I’m taking a leaf out of her book,” she said, “a lot can be accomplished while astral projecting.”

“But if you’re in that clearing at all she’ll be able to tell even in three days time.”

“That’s why you’re going to be doing the preparations tomorrow,” she said with a growing smile.

“But I’m not a witch.”

“All preparations will be magic free,” she assured you.

You gave her a relieved smile. She brought her tea to her lips. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from you as you wrapped your hands around the mug, relaxing into your chair.

“I should probably go to bed,” you said.

“I think I shall join you.”

A pretty flush climbed up your cheeks. You turned away from her, a flash of a smile all she could catch. You left your tea on the table, steam still rolling off it. Zelda followed behind you, ignoring her sister trying to catch her eyes. She was in no mood to discuss matters of the heart with her own flesh and blood.

“Are you coming to lock me away from the world?” you asked, turning to look over your shoulder at her on the stairs.

“Nonsense,” she said, “we’ve moved beyond that.”

“And why’s that?”

She enjoyed hearing the teasing tone enter your voice again. She’d missed the joy she’d grown accustomed to hearing from you. You turned outside your door, leaning back against it. She stood in front of you, unable to stop herself from reaching out a hand to grasp your hip.

“I think you know why.”

She kissed you softly, letting herself ignore the fire so often flickering in her when you were around. You wrapped your arms around her neck, pulling her closer.

She pressed her forehead against yours, her eyes still closed. She listened to your breath, the relief of it still being present coursing through her. She hadn’t wanted to admit how worried she’d been. She hadn’t wanted you to come to any harm at the hands of a vampire.

“Goodnight Zelda,” you whispered.

She drew away. The quiet click of the door closing behind you was enough to snap her from the romantic notions running through her head. She turned away, her thumb running over the key in her pocket.

She shook her head, pushing it deeper into her pocket. You deserved more than that mistrust.

Tags: @theenglishwizard @eyesofanangeltongueofadevil@hallospaceboyy @alexusonfire @justkeepbreathingnow@ghostsunderstoodmysoul @witching-imagines @praisezeldaspellman@escapetodreamworld @panicnymph @anxiousgoldengirl@theprassebox @witchessticktogether @pizzapyjamas @plooffairy@whos-to-know @spicyrice20 @fallenangelmuse @step-intoyour-power @basicwitchtm @lovelyleafylesbian @saucy-sapphic

#Zelda Spellman #zelda spellman imagine #zelda spellman x reader #caos #caos imagine #family matters

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stardust-22 · 4 years

Text

WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED (AU) CH.5/?

A/N: Writing this took a couple of writing sessions but it’s finally done! Without further ado, here’s the next chapter! As always, feedback is always appreciated xx

Tagging @totalfictionprincess @elizaglad @turtlesandalpacas @kanakalala458 @justconfusedperiod @aesthetically-feisty @apocalypticdetention @scriberated @bluecandy91 @calibansprincessx @perfect-ginger-maniac @xxspacequeennxx @calibanswhore

cause y’all are squad lol

CHAPTER 6 PART 2|

SUMMARY: Pagans swarmed into Greendale. Sabrina & Caliban compete in the final regalia.

CHAPTER 5: THE CHALLENGE

SABRINA POV

I can’t believe that was our first kiss and it felt electrifying. After our kiss, I had to calm my heart rate from speeding up too fast. You shouldn’t be overreacting like this Sabrina, it’s just a kiss with your husband who you’re in a political marriage with.

I looked up towards Caliban and Ambrose, “Okay since our wedding is done. We need to make a quick stop here on earth to take care of the pagans before we can move forward with the third challenge. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sounds good to me, cousin. I’m going to head back to the academy to check on Aunt Zee, Prudence and Aunt Hilda. I’ll leave you and your loverboy here to plan but meet back at the academy please.”

On that note, Ambrose bid me and Caliban adieu.

I was so deep in thought, Caliban started to shake my shoulder trying to snap me out of my revoir.

“Princess, are you okay?” Caliban looked at me concerned but I blocked him out. Why does this kiss have a deeper effect on me? Thinking back to my kisses with Harvey’s and Nick’s, my kiss with Caliban felt more significantly different than theirs. Hmm is it because he knows what I’m going through trying to live up to everyone’s expectations? That he understands me on a level that no one can perceive but us. We’re both “competing” against each other for the throne. But maybe this marriage thing could work out. And he’s been more considerate now since he helped me and the gang saved Roz. But we’ll see where this goes. I didn’t notice in my reverie while I was thinking about Caliban, that I was staring at his lips the entire time.

Caliban saw the direction of my stare has changed and started to give me that cheeky grin of his.

“Care for another my Queen?”

I gave Caliban a slight shove and my blush began to give away my true feelings.

“My dear husband, focus on the plan here. We need to figure out how to defeat the pagans and also plan for the third challenge.”

“Hold on, one situation at a time my Queen. Maybe if we regroup with your aunties and cousin, we’ll be able to figure out everything together.”

“Fine Caliban. We’ll focus on the pagans then we can continue on with planning for the challenge.”

“As you wish, my Queen.”

“Wait before I forget, maybe we should change our wedding attire back into our regular clothes. Since we don’t want to show everyone that we’ve gotten married, right?” I felt a blush reddening on my cheeks, looking down away from him.

“That would be a good idea my Queen. And we’ll have to glamour our rings as well until we reveal to everyone that we’re married.”

We were walking back to the dressing rooms that Ambrose made up for us. While I was changing, I kept staring at my ring. It was a rose gold band encrusted with diamond and a moonstone shaped like a teardrop. Even the matching wedding band itself was beautiful as well. A rose gold band with a diamond arch to match with the engagement ring.

While I was gazing at my ring, I almost forgot to use a glamour to hide it.

“Abscondere annulum meum.” I murmured to myself and my ring was hidden away. But not for long, it’ll reappear again. I’m probably overthinking this but Caliban chose beautiful rings for me even though we barely know each other that well. Maybe Ambrose had a hand in this since he’s my cousin after all. At least I’m back wearing my regular clothes even though I did love the gown that Deumos made for me.

I heard a knock at the door.

“Princess, you’re taking your sweet time in there. Might you need assistance on changing because I will be happily obliged to do that.”

“That is definitely not necessary for you to do that. I was about to get out anyways.”

After I opened the door, I was met by Caliban’s face staring at me. He was rather pleased with himself in trying to make me blush. Luckily my embarrassment went away before I opened the door. We both left the dressing rooms and headed outside to the clearing.

“Let’s head back to the academy and regroup with everyone.”

As I felt Caliban’s flames start to ignite, I felt his arm wrapped around my shoulder as we began to teleport back to the academy. Caliban’s flames began to dispitate and his grip on my shoulder loosen down. We appeared in front of the entrance of the academy and started to walk through the doors to head inside. I stood in front of Caliban as I led us to the academy’s office. Due to the chaos with the pagans, the halls were empty with no one in sight. I walked into the office and saw Aunt Zee, Aunt Hilda, Ambrose and Prudence gathered around.

“Hi everyone! What’s going on here?”

“There you are Sabrina. We were wondering where you had gone off to and I’m not surprised you’re not putting much commitment to the family or the coven.” Aunt Zee said while she was smoking her cigarette. Oh classic Aunt Zee with her comebacks.

“School ran late but I made it just in time! I also brought a friend with me who might be able to help us. Everyone this is Caliban, Prince of Hell.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Isn’t this the same Caliban that you’re going against the throne for?” Aunt Zee quipped up.

“Auntie Zee, defeating the pagans is our top priority and we need all the help we can get. Now what’s happened since I’ve been away?”

“Well cousin, since we captured Circe we need to figure how to defeat the pagans before they start to retaliate.” Ambrose interjected to dispel any tension simmering before it heated up.

“So how long do you think we have before they start to raid us?”

“About 2 to 3 days but not much any longer.”

“We’ve already killed 4 of their members and have Circe held captive. We need to reconvene and gather everyone together.” Prudence added into the conversation.

“Okay Aunt Zee and Aunt Hilda, you guys head back to the house to check if we have anything useful to bring to the fight. Ambrose and Prudence, you guys tell everyone to get themselves ready cause it’s all hands on deck from here. Me and Caliban will head back to hell’s library to see if there’s anything that could be of use to us. Then we can regroup back at the Spellman mortuary.”

“Sabrina don’t forget about dinner since I’ll be making my famous english supper. Maybe Caliban can tag along as well? If he doesn’t mind.” Aunt Hilda always likes to get the last word in.

“It would be a pleasure to join you all for dinner. I hope my presence doesn’t intrude on your plans.” Caliban said oozing out the charm there.

“Come on Caliban. We don’t want to keep everyone waiting on us. Bye aunties, Ambrose and Prudence. We’ll see all of you at the house!” As I motioned Caliban out of the office and made our way to the library. After we teleported to the library, I felt annoyed with Caliban for some reason.

“Princess, if you wanted to get me alone all you have to do is ask me.”

“Caliban you almost blew our cover. We can’t let the Aunties, Prudence or anyone else know that there’s something more between us.”

“My Queen, you’re overreacting. Your Aunt Hilda was just being nice and you did say that you needed all the help in order to defeat the pagans remember?”

Suddenly I felt him closing in the distance between us. His face was going in fairly close to mine and his arms were above me, holding me hostage that I couldn’t escape from.

He then whispered to my ear, “Besides my dear Queen, I can think of other ways to bide our time.”

I felt his left hand move down to my shoulder and had to close my eyes. I felt movement and as I opened my eyes, he was actually grabbing a book from behind me.

“This book might be of some use to us in defeating the pagans. I’m going to examine more of its contents and check back with you. Give me a yell if you find anything as well Princess.”

After that, Caliban cheekily smirked at me and walked back towards the table.

That cheeky jerk knew what he was doing. He just wanted to get a reaction out of me and my thoughts went straight to the gutter. Oh he is so gonna get some payback after this whole situation is done. Rustling away my plans that I have to get back at Caliban later, I need to focus on the task at hand.

Now, Robin said earlier that in order for the green man ritual to go through is that they need a virgin. But we can’t let them take any of my friends away so that’s not going to happen. Maybe if we had a decoy or something to use as bait then we’ll be able to foil their plans.

Caliban and I spent about an hour or so in the library, trying to absorb all the information that could be of help to them. Then suddenly, I was looking down at the time on my watch and told Caliban that we need to regroup back with everyone at the Spellman house. The flames were igniting around me and Caliban which then teleported us away back to my house. As Caliban and I were walking to the house, we saw Aunt Zelda burying something in the ground with a shovel.

I was walking up to Aunt Zee and asked her, “Aunt Zee what are you doing? Who is that?”

“Your Aunt Hilda here turned into a spider and ended up killing Dr. Cee and a random stranger who was visiting from out of town. She asked me to kill her but she’ll be able to resurrect back up again, don’t worry. Now let’s gather round back inside.”

Both Caliban and I then followed Aunt Zee back inside the house after she was finishing burying up Aunt Hilda. After we got inside, Aunt Zee asked us if we had found anything useful to help with the fight. But before we could answer her, there was a knock at the door.

“Sabrina, see you were worrying for nothing. That must be your Aunt Hilda right now at the door. Let me get the door first then continue with your explanation afterwards.” After Aunt Zee said that, she rushed to the door and opened it. Suddenly a huge bang can be heard throughout the house.

Caliban murmured, “somno mulier recedemus.”

There at the door was Mary Wardwell, who then fell face flat on the floor. I was so busy looking to see who it was that I didn’t realize something happened to Aunt Zee. I ran over to where Aunt Zee was and placed her on my lap. I’m trying to stop the bleeding because there's too much going on.

“Ambrose! Come quickly! Aunt Zee just got shot by Mary Wardwell. Caliban, come over here to help me stop the bleeding.”

I felt Caliban right beside me and took over holding the cloth, trying to provide pressure in hopes of stopping the bleeding.

“Ambrose she barely has a pulse.”

“Stay with her! I’ll gather reinforcements.” After Ambrose left, I tried to gather my thoughts.

“Aunt Zee, I’m not done driving you crazy yet. Please stay with me, just hold on. Help is coming.” Trying to get her to stay awake still.

Ambrose came back hurrying down the stairs with Mambo Marie and Prudence in tow.

“Cousin! I’ve brought reinforcements.”

“The bleeding won’t stop even after I applied pressure to it. Caliban had to take over for me cause I couldn’t gather my wits together. And her heartbeat is so faint”

“It’s gonna be alright. Mambo Marie said she can help.” Prudence put her hand on my shoulder to reassure me.

“I can try cheries. Where in this house can I operate?” “The basement! We can bring her down there.” Ambrose stammered.

I tried to get up to help everyone bring Aunt Zee down to the basement but someone’s hand stopped me from moving. I looked up and saw Caliban there.

“Caliban what are you doing? We need to get down there to help Aunt Zee.”

“Princess, you need to calm down. I’m sure Mambo Marie knows what she’s doing but I need to get you to relax. You’ve just been dealt with some heavy trauma right now. We’ll reconvene with them later. Now where should I take us to gather up your thoughts?” Caliban grabbed my hand and I took us over by the dining room so we’ll be able to sit down properly.

“Wait what happened to Mrs. Wardwell, Caliban? Wasn’t she at the front door earlier?”

“I was able to cast a spell put her to sleep and managed to tie her up so she won’t be able to move. She’s actually sleeping on the couch in your living room right now.” He pointed to the direction of the woman in question sleeping on my couch.

“Wait how were you able to do that? I’m so confused since I thought you aren’t able to cast any spells.” I looked at him defiantly. But him doing this is helping me calm down just a bit and provide a good distraction.

“Being the Prince of Hell does have its perks. I was feigning about not being able to cast spells but my Queen, I do have to apologize. This was before our alignment when we were still fighting each other for the Holy Regalia. My powers are seeded from the pits of hell and you know how I am made of clay. I was born from the pits and was able to grow forth my powers even more.” Caliban explained.

“I might consider your apology but you’re threading very carefully. May, I ask how old are you though?” Suddenly curious about his age and makes me wonder if I want to learn more about him.

“I was in a deep slumber for a long time until you came about Princess. I may be a few months old chronologically, but biologically I am 20. Just don’t tease me about my age.”

“Whatever you say Caliban. I also wanted to thank you for comforting me about what happened with Aunt Zee. And also taking care of Mrs. Wardwell for me.” I was looking down at my hands while I said that since I didn’t want to see his reaction.

Suddenly, his hand was on my chin and made me look up back at him.

“Remember the vows, I’ve spoken to you earlier? I promise to be patient, and to remember that all things between us are rooted in each other. And to realize your interests, desires & needs are no less important than my own. I promised to uphold these vows to you and be there in your time of need. I’m here to reaffirm those affirmations that we said to each other.”

While Caliban said that, his grip on my chin loosen and his hand went towards mine and clasped together with his. My blush went exactly tenfold on my face. Woah there mister hot stuff, stop trying to distract me. But on the hand, this feels extremely calming and maybe different than what I was used to.

“I appreciate you for being here for me. And doing all of this, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to repay for everything that you’ve done for me. But I do know that I want to get to know you better. Maybe we should continue this conversation after defeating the pagans and the third challenge is finished?”

“Anything you asked for my Queen, it shall be done. I think you looked more level headed now so we should probably head down and check what happened.”

Both Caliban and I stood up from our seats and made our descent towards the basement. Walking side by side together, our hands neared each other. Fingers meeting but barely within touching distance. We arrived in front of the basement and walked right inside. Candles were lit, Aunt Zee was on the table while Ambrose, Prudence and Madam Mambo were surrounding her.

“Ambrose what did we missed?” I questioned him as me and Caliban were within hearing distance from everyone.

“Mambo Marie was able to get the bullet out of her wound. But Aunt Zee still hasn’t awakened.”

“Is there anything more that we could do Mambo Marie?” Prudence asked.

“Zelda will need the greatest strength to be woken up. You three are not able to do that, possibly Caliban can but I’m not sure if he could. There is life here but she is lost between the land of the dead and the living. Her espirit has wandered down deep into the “in-between”, the Nether Realm of the Gede Lwa.” Mambo Marie explained to the young witches, warlock and demon prince.

“Wait so she’s basically in Limbo then?” I asked her.

“Different words but same meaning for the same place. And now we wait. We burn the violet candles. For that is the best way for Zelda to be leading back to us, here in this life.” Ambrose looked crushed and Prudence was silently comforting him. I felt Caliban’s hand near mine secretly, giving me comfort.

There was a loud screeching noise making the room alert. Mambo Marie shooed us away to go check what’s going on outside as she tended to Aunt Zelda.

Ambrose, Prudence, Caliban and I made our way up the stairs and headed straight to the front porch. There outside was a woman in a black outfit and wearing a black hat with a veil.

“What is that?” I wondered aloud staring at the figure in the distance.

“That dear Spellman, is a banshee. It’s a bad omen, meaning that someone will die soon in the Spellman family. Maybe more than one.” Prudence gravely announced to us.

“No, Prudence. I don’t care what she is. No one is dying in this house.” I nodded my head to Caliban to follow me back inside as we left Prudence and Ambrose outside.

Eventually everyone gathered towards the drawing room to come up with a plan. There was a sudden knock at the door and in came, Dorcas with Elsepth in tow. Prudence concerned about what happened with Dorcas moved feverently to her.

“Dorcas what happened? Why were you and Elsepth outside and why are you covered in blood?”

“It’s Faustaus and Agatha. Apparently, the Dark Lord and Faustaus were able to split apart from each other. But Faustaus was given the Mark of Cain and is with Agatha, plus a couple of pagans in search of an egg. They’re actually on their way to this house right now on the hunt for it. We don’t have much time before they get here.” Dorcas explained everything in a rush.

“Okay, everyone don’t panic. First we need to get everyone here into safety. Let’s head back downstairs to inform Mambo Marie and then teleport ourselves back to the academy.” I ordered everyone in a calm fashion.

We all rushed downstairs to Mambo Marie and Aunt Zee to explain the situation that was brought upon us. I told everyone to gather around and hold each other’s hands. Caliban’s hand gripped mine fiercely but in a determined way.

I heard the front door burst open from upstairs and heard Faustaus shouting,” kill every spellman, that you can find.”

“Lunuae Magicae!” I shouted as we teleported back to the academy. We arrived in the main corridor and everyone was still intact.

“Mambo Marie stay by Aunt Zee and make sure she’ll be safe. Now we need to gather everyone in the academy and put up protection spells around the perimeter.”

“Voce mea nunc.” I murmured.

“Attention warlocks and witches, now I need everyone to put up protection spells surrounding the academy. This is not a drill but please come back inside quickly and I’ll tell everyone the rest of the plan.”

I saw the rest of the students rushed outside and began to put up protection spells around the academy. I saw Caliban gave me his usual smirk impressed with my leadership. He had his arms folded in and leaned against the stairway. I walked over to his direction and my hands were placed on my hips.

“Now wonderboy. I have a question I’d like to ask you, how good are you at protection spells?”

“Princess, I admire your leadership. You know if you’d like to give me orders, I’d gladly follow them for something else.”

“Not now Caliban, now please answer my question.”

“I’m pretty good at making protection sigils. Would that please you my Queen?”

“Thank you. Now please let’s hurry before anything else starts to cause havoc around here.”

Everyone was finishing up casting the protection spells and heard someone shouted I got it. I looked over and saw Aunt Zelda was awake!

“Aunt Zee you’re finally awake! What happened?” I exclaimed to her.

“Sabrina dear, I finally have the answer that we’ve been waiting for. We’ll be able to get our powers back. Now where’s your Aunt Hilda? I was just with her a moment ago in the Nether Realm and I don’t see her here.”

Ambrose came in bursting to the hallway with Prudence right behind him. “Aunt Zee, you’re finally awake. Thank Satan for that and to answer your question, unfortunately Aunt Hilda did not make it.” Ambrose told her while Prudence wrapped her arm around him.

“What do you mean she did not make it? I was just with her a second ago and now she’s not here?!”

I placed my hand on top of Aunt Zee’s, “She didn’t rise back up from the Cain Pit Aunt Zee. She’s dead.”

“Nonsense. I’m gonna go bring her back alive myself if I have to. I’ll use what I’ve learned from the next life and dragged her back here.”

She continued on, “Now who’s with me on going back to the Spellman household to bring back our Sister Hilda from the dead!”

“Wait, Aunt Zee. Maybe one of us should astral project to see if the coast is clear back at home. Remember Faustaus, Agatha & their gang were on the hunt for us and that egg.” I told Aunt Zee, who was fiercely determined to bring back Aunt Hilda back. But we need to be cautious of everything.

“Sabrina, I volunteer. It shouldn’t take me that long but I’ll let you all know when everything is in the clear.” Prudence volunteered herself before I was able to say anything.

She does have a vendetta against her father and I know she has a bone or two to pick with him. So I’m pretty much okay with her taking this instead. Seeing as we have other pressing matters later.

While Ambrose and Prudence were busy checking out if our house is cleared. Everyone else was separated into small groups. Now that I think about it, I realised the fright club isn’t here or Nick. And Faustaus is probably on the hunt for them too. Before I decided to make my way over to them, I felt my hand being grabbed back. Low and behold, it’s Cal.

“Where are you running off to Princess? Might I, be of assistance in this quest you’ve partaken?”

“You’re never letting me out of your sight, are you?” I gave him a little smirk.

“If I said yes, I would be lying to myself. And you might need help on this little adventure, so I decided to tag along as well.”

“Oh alright Cal. Well, I’m very worried about my friends and I suspect that Faustaus and his gang are probably after them. Let’s just call it my gut intuition.”

“Then what are we waiting for, we should go. We should let everyone know that we have something to take care of and I like the nickname Princess.”

“Don’t get used to it. I’ll inform Ambrose and Prudence. I’ll ask Ambrose to let me know if the house is cleared then we’ll meet them over there. Let’s leave now before anything else happens.”

So both Caliban and I walked over to Prudence and Ambrose. I informed them about needing to check on the gang before they get fried from Faustaus and company. And Ambrose to text me if the house is cleared. Then Caliban’s flames ignited around us and we promptly arrived at Harvey’s garage.

“Sabrina, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be competing for the final regalia?” Nick questioned me with hidden anger in his voice.

“Wait what is Caliban doing here?” Harvey said behind Nick.

Before I could utter a word, Caliban interrupted me.

“We’re not competing yet for the final regalia due to some unexpected circumstances that appeared. Also we came to save your sorry asses since in a few minutes, Faustaus and his gang are out to hunt you guys. So thank us for being here.”

“As I was about to say that before Caliban here interrupted me. We all need to go now before they get here. I just got a text from Ambrose that the house is clear. So, we should head over there now before it’s too late.”

Since everyone has agreed to the plan, we all gathered around in a circle. Caliban’s flames engulfed around us as we slowly teleported off to the Spellman house. Right in time because eventually, Faustaus and his gang arrived at the scene.

“Those mangey brats aren’t here.” Faustaus exclaimed in frustration.

_______________________________________________________________

Caliban’s flames disappeared quickly and we finally arrived back at the house. Everyone was gathered by the Cain Pit. The guys decided to stand by and sit at the side as Aunt Zee wanted all the women to gather around by her. The hedge witches, Roz, Prudence, Dorcas, Elsepth, and the rest of the Academy girls and I were all holding hands. While Aunt Zelda was by Aunt Hilda’s grave and began to chant her spell.

“It is said that whenever you call on The Triple Goddess, she comes to you. As much as I ignored her, put my faith in lesser gods, signed my name in other books, she still came to me when I needed her most. When I wandered, lost in the Nether Realm, it was she who led me back to the material world. We call you, Hecate. We call you on now, Maiden, in your unbounded potential. We call on you, Divine Mother, in all your divine power. We call on you, Crone, in your arcane wisdom. We are descended from all maidens, mothers, and crones. And so, when we call on the three-in-one, we call on all witches stretching back from the beginning of time to the end of days. We call on… ourselves, the powers that have been denied to us. Imbue us with them, Hecate, and we shall pray to you morning, noon and night. And we shall live to honor the thy three faces, thy three forms.”

Aunt Zee continued as she kneeled on the ground, “Dark Mother, the keeper of the key to the door between worlds, we… summon thee. Return our Sister Hilda, to the realm of the living, and we will never forget you again!”

I opened my eyes and felt the wind all around me. Thunder came bursting through the clouds, and we waited with bated breath to see if Hecate would answer our calling. Then the wind subsided.

“Hilda?” Aunt Zelda asked, wondering where she was.

“Hildy are you there?” Then Aunt Zee went down on her knees stumped. Ambrose was trembling in tears and I felt droplets filling up in my eyes. This should have worked so why wasn’t this working at all?

Then all of a sudden, Aunt Hilda’s hand popped out from the ground. Aunt Zee grabbed her hand and pulled her out from the ground.

“So, what have I missed?” Aunt Hilda asked everyone.

“A lot, Aunt Hilda. The pagans still need to be stopped.” I answered her.

“Bloody pagans. What trouble are they causing now?”

We told her that in order for the pagans to be stopped, we need to get rid of the green man ritual. How they’re planning to use the green man’s seed and put them inside the caramel apples to everyone in town. Aunt Hilda suggested a lullaby to sing so everyone in town will go to sleep and not go to the carnival.

Aunt Hilda, Prudence, Aunt Zelda and Ambrose were casting the lullaby back at the house. Caliban and I decided to put glamours on ourselves to trick the pagans. I glamoured as Robin, while Caliban glamoured as Mrs. Wardwell since they needed a virgin for the ritual.

As I brought fake “Mrs. Wardwell” to the carnival, Caliban had to say something to me.

“Princess, easy on the manhandling. You have precious cargo here.”

“Stick with the plan Cal. We just need to get through them and then we can finally attack.” I shushed him as I presented Mrs. Wardwell to the pagans. The pagans were convinced that “Robin” didn’t betray them.

Now the pagans were gathered by the Green Man and started to worship and pray for him.

“Mrs. Wardwell” was trapped inside in the middle of the big plant man structure. Mrs. Wardwell was yelling at them to stop. The branches & vines around the Green Man began to wrap around the arms of “Mrs. Warwell” and the branches/vines started to break. The pagans thinking they had victory rejoiced until suddenly the Green Man started to deteriorate. Flames started to spread all over the structure and began to burn. And low and behold, revealed to be Caliban with a smirk on his face. The pagans were shocked by these turn of events.

“Who did you bring us Robin?” Nagaina exclaimed.

“That’s Caliban, Prince of Hell. He’s born from the pits and has pretty good flames. So your structure didn’t last that long.” As I revealed myself from this Robin glamour to the pagans.

“You and your devilment. What have you done?” Carcosa yelled in frustration.

* Remember earlier, Caliban was able to subdue Mrs. Wardwell and I made her forget that the Spellmans were witches.*

“I destroyed your lame little plant god. Now I think it’s time for you and your carnival to leave Greendale.” Everyone was gathered behind me, prepared for battle. The pagans began to run for their lives.

“Coven, do not stop until every last pagan is driven from our home.” Aunt Zelda commanded everyone.

*Everyone was defeated. Fight was finished.*

Back at the Spellman household all was well.

“And so Greendale was saved once again.” Ambrose said with a toast in hand.

“And tomorrow morning, the town will wake up nice and rested.” Aunt Hilda added.

“And none the wiser sister.” Aunt Zelda agreed with her.

“Thank you Sabrina. When the coven and your family needed you most, you were there.” Aunt Zee said to me.

“It was nothing, Aunt Zee. It was never a question.” I told her truthfully.

“I suppose you’ll be running back to Hell to finish the third and final challenge, Cousin?” Ambrose asked me with curiosity.

“Yes, I still need to go back down there to handle some unfinished business. Before I go, I need to have a chat with you Ambrose. Aunties, I’ll see you guys soon. Don’t worry I’ll be back for dinner tomorrow.” I gave a wave to both Aunt Zee and Aunt Hilda as I motioned my head for Ambrose to follow me back to the other room.

When we were finally out of hearing distance from the Aunties, Ambrose looked at me with concerned eyes.

“Cousin, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Please keep my secret about me and Caliban until we finally tell everyone. Also I want you to bring the Aunties, Dr. Cee, the Fright Club, Nick, Prudence, Dorcas and Dorian for my coronation. Since I need all the support I can get after the challenge is done.” “Don’t worry cousin, your secret is safe with me and I’ll make sure to bring everyone to your coronation.”

“Thanks Ambrose! I’ll send you a text after everything has been dealt with. Surprisingly, they have Wifi down in Hell. Who would have thought that it would be there? But I got to run!” I gave Ambrose a hug then teleported down to Hell.

I appeared in a somewhat familiar room and when I opened my eyes, I saw Caliban on his bed reading a book. He glanced up from his book and gave me his cheeky jerk of a smile.

“Welcome back Princess. Shall we discuss the plan on how we should work together for the final challenge?”

I walked over to him and sat on the right side of his bed.

“Well, we should still keep up with pretenses and make everyone think that we still hate each other.”

Caliban added, “I’ll give you a tell which is me messing with my ring. That means we should meet up after we have met up with our respective teams.”

“Okay, but where should we meet?”

“We can meet back at the library and then proceed with getting Judas’ pieces of silver afterwards.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I should probably leave your room before anyone spots me.” As I was about to get out of his bed, he pulled my arm back down towards him. And suddenly Caliban’s right on top of me.

“Caliban stop distracting me. I need to go before anyone else wants to head to your room.” I said as I was trying to get out of his grip.

“Before you leave, I wanted to give a token of my appreciation towards you. Until we reunite, later on again.” After he said that, his face slowly met mine. I closed my eyes since I was so nervous and wasn’t sure what he was planning. I felt his lips traced mine but eventually his mouth moved towards my forehead.

‘I honestly thought we were gonna have a makeout session over here. Bad Sabrina, get your mind out of the gutter.’ Slightly frustrated at myself and I finally opened my eyes while Caliban was smirking at me, probably knew what I was thinking about.

“Don’t worry my Queen, be patient. Now let’s get you out of here undetected before someone barges in on us.” Caliban said while he got off from the bed and helped me get down. We walked together towards his door and he gave a kiss on my hand.

Checking the hallway to see if the coast is clear, I silently left Caliban’s room.

_____________________________________________________________________

*A few hours later*

Everyone was gathered in the infernal court as Daddy dearest here, was announcing his speech.

“My lords and ladies of Disrule, rejoice. For I am returned. Kneel before me, and let’s get back to business.” The Dark Lord proclaimed.

“Kneel before you? Weren’t you dethroned and imprisoned by your own witches?” Purson challenged him back.

The Dark Lord snapped his neck and killed him. Everyone gasped in shock at what happened.

“Any more questions?” The Dark Lord asked everyone in the crowd.

Suddenly, Caliban stepped forward and said, “Lord Morningstar?”

Lilith rolled her eyes, “Oh this should be good.” “Yes, and you are?” Lucifer questioned the man in front of him.

“Caliban, Prince of Hell.”

“How can you be Prince of Hell when I, who am Hell itself, know nothing of you?”

Beezlebub piped into their conversation, “Respectfully, my lord Lucifer, we are in the middle of a quest for the three objects of the Unholy Regalia.”

“Yes, I am quite aware, Beezlebub.”

“Infernal protocol must be followed. The contest must be seen to the end. Caliban and Sabrina have each found one item. Whoever finds the third, Judas Iscariot’s 30 pieces of silver, will sit upon the throne of Hell. And not even you can interfere with that quest.”

“Where, then, is my daughter?”

“She’ll turn up. She usually does.” Lilith mentioned this to Lucifer.

________________________________________________________

“I am ready to start the last challenge of the Unholy Regalia.” I announced loudly for all to hear.

“Sabrina, you must secure Judas Iscariot’s 30 pieces of silver and reclaim victory for the House of Morningstar.” Lucifer said to me.

I saw Caliban conferring with the three kings as me, Lilith and Lucifer were also in our own little corner.

“That Prince of Clay will never find Judas’ silver.” He whispered to both Lilith and I. I gave a backwards glance at Caliban and saw he was giving his tell, which is fiddling with his ring. I gave him a look to let him know we’ll meet soon. Not letting Lucifer or Lilith raise them of suspicion, I continued on listening.

“What makes you so sure?” I questioned Lucifer.

“Because Judas himself was the only person who knows where it is. And I am the one person who can take you to Judas.”

“Careful, Dark Lord. Sabrina must complete this task on her own. Any help from you in front of the Kings of Hell, and the challenge could be deemed a forfeit.” Lilith warned Lucifer on if he helped me with the challenge.

Beezlebub walked towards the middle of the room and announced, “Let the final challenge for the coins of the great betrayer, Judas Iscariot, begin!”

I saw Caliban walked out of the room and was heading towards the library. But before I could leave, Lucifer sent me a telepathic message.

‘Go to the Ninth Circle, the hottest in Hell. There, in a volcanic cave, embedded in the walls, you will find the three worst betrayals in history, Cassius, Brutus and Judas Iscariot.’ I gave Lucifer a nod and left the main room of Pandemonium.

I continued walking far away from everyone until the hallways looked cleared and sneaked over towards the library. There I saw Caliban sitting at our table where we were researching for the Pygmalion Spell. Caliban looked up from the book he was reading and gave me a smile. Man, every time this guy smiles it makes me melt. But I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves with my feelings here.

“Well, hello there Princess. What took you so long?” Caliban said to me right off the bat.

“I was checking to see if anyone was in the hallways and making sure no one spotted me coming down over here. Take a chill pill, Caliban.” I told him as I rolled my eyes at him.

“Woah, easy there Princess. Let’s not argue please. Now we don’t have much time but what can you tell me about the location of where Judas Iscariot might be located.” Caliban crossed his arms and looked at me in a serious way.

“According to the Dark Lord, we have to go to the Ninth Circle, the hottest in Hell. There’s a volcanic cave and there we’ll find the three worst betrayers. From there we’ll be able to find Judas Iscariot.”

“That sounds pretty vague from him Princess. But I’m sure we’ll be able to find him.”

“Let’s go now before we get caught by anyone.” I said to him as I waited for him to get up from his seat. We then quickly teleported ourselves to the Ninth Circle. The cave was spooky and pretty dark. I produced a light of blue fire to guide us the way to where Judas Iscariot might be hiding.While Caliban and I were walking, apparently I wasn’t watching where I was going and I almost fell. Then I felt 2 strong arms reach for my waist and helped me back up. Caliban had his hands on my shoulders and looked at me to see if I had any minor injuries at all.

“Cal, I’m okay. I’m fine, I just wasn’t watching where I was going. I’m not hurt at all.” I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze , letting him know that I was alright.

“You gave me a fright and luckily I was right behind you or something terrible would have happened. But I’m glad that you’re alright, my Queen. I’m not letting you out of my sight so we’re going to be holding hands for awhile.” As he said this, he immediately grabbed my hand and gave me his devilish grin again.

“Fine, whatever you say. Let’s continue on with the challenge please.” I gave him a huff but my heart was palpitating so fast on what just occurred. Every time Caliban does something for me, I feel something stirring inside me. But I need to focus if I want to win this.

Eventually me and Caliban finally reached the location on where Judas was located. I told Caliban to stay behind me since I’m thinking something might happened. I walked to where the stoned face of Judas was at.

“Judas Iscariot.” I announced it to him.

“Who is that?” He whispered slowly to me.

“I am Sabrina Morningstar, daughter of Lucifer Morningstar.”

[Judas coughs]

“He himself put me here.” Judas explained to us.

“I’ve come to ask you, Judas, where are the 30 pieces of silver you were paid to betray the Nazarene?”

“What will you give me to tell you the secret of their location?” Of course there would be a catch with this guy. Not making my job any easier at all.

I turned the flame into a circle of fresh water.

“Water. The taste of cold water on your lips. What say you, Judas? Tell me how to get the pieces of silver, and it’s yours.” Hopefully this will convince him to tell me their location.

“There is an easy way, in which the silver simply appears to you. And a harder way, in which you must seek it out.”

“For once, let’s go with what’s easy.”

“All you need to do is betray someone you love with a kiss, as I did.” Yeah not sure, if that’s gonna happen buddy.

I gave him a huge sigh. “Just one kiss and the silver appears to me?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right back.” I told Judas.

I turned around and motioned for Caliban to follow me out of the cave section. Once we were out of hearing distance from Judas, I can finally take a breath of air. Caliban was in his usual stance and had his arms firmly crossed over his chest.

“I’m not sure if I want to go the easy way Cal. I think I should go the harder way, what do you think?”

“I think the harder way should work. And we’ll be in this together, it shouldn’t be that complicated right. The sooner we get the coins, the closer we are to the throne.”

“I like the way you think. Okay, we should go back before we lose any more time on this.” As we were walking back to the cave, I felt Caliban’s hand clasped into mine and he gave me a hand kiss. Ohhhhh Mr. Romantic over here. I stood back at my position in front of Judas’ headstone.

“Well, that didn’t work. So tell me, Judas.. What’s the hard way?” I questioned him.

“Are you familiar with the Field of Blood?”

“Just that it’s a burial ground.” I think.

“My silver is buried in a crypt with the first vampire, deep beneath the Field of Blood.” Judas explained.

“Okay, if you tell me I’m about to meet Dracula --” I heard Caliban snickering at me in the background.

Judas answered, “His name is Vlad the Impaler.”

“Vlad the Impaler? But he’s.. He’s dead right? ” I told him confused.

“Yes. The pieces are in a bag at his side. Count them to be sure that they’re all there.” “Copy. How do I get to his tomb?” Hopefully it won’t be that complicated to get there.

“You open a portal. I can tell you the words, but first.. Give me my water.”

I gave Judas’ his water and in turn he told me the directions on how to get to Vlad the Impaler’s crypt. After getting the directions, both me and Caliban went to the tomb to find Vlad. The tomb was abandoned and there were candles that were lit on top of it. Caliban told me, he was gonna check out the perimeter in case something happened. I told him we should meet back at the entrance after I got the bag of silver. I grabbed the bag of silver from the skeleton’s hands and put it away for safekeeping. I then walked away from the tomb and began to count the pieces of silver.

I was too busy counting the coins, that I did not realize that something was after me. Unbeknownst to me, Caliban was walking back to the main entrance and saw that Vlad the Impaler was about to attack me. Caliban set Vlad the Impaler on fire and gave a huge shout. I turned around and saw that Caliban took care of Vlad and was indisposed of.

“Next time, watch your surroundings here Princess.”

“At least I have you by my side. Thank you again for saving me and now we should head on back to the headstones.”

“As you wish, my Queen. Let’s hurry!”

Caliban and I both left the tomb and teleported our way back to where Judas & the betrayers headstones were at. Gave him the okay that we got the coins and immediately headed back to Pandemonium. Before we went through the doors, I told Caliban to put on a glamour so no one would recognize him. He went ahead first so he could blend into the crowd.

I opened the doors and walked to the main floor of Pandemonium.

“The challenge has been won. The final item of the Unholy Regalia is mine.” I announced loudly to everyone in the vicinity. The entire audience gasped in shock at what had occurred.

“And Prince Caliban is stone-cold dead.” Even though he’s hiding in a glamour, jk to everyone else.

“Congratulations, daughter. You bring honor to your house. It is time, once again, for your coronation. Are you at last ready?” The Dark Lord asked of me.

“I am ready, Father, to be married to Hell.” I gave him a fake smile.

#calbrina #calbrina fics #caos #caos part 3 #what if this happened au #caliban x sabrina #sabrina x caliban #prince caliban #sabrina spellman #caliban #sabrina #stardust-22 #stardust 22 #prince cal #chilling adventures of sabrina

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bluehairedlordwrites · 4 years

Text

NIGHTMARE AT GARREG MACH: PART 1

Prompt: After Claude tells a scary story during a heavy storm to the students, Edelgard lectures him on his behavior, leading Claude to challenge her bravery after things take a turn for the worse, once they discover someone to be missing.

/—————————————————————/

The rain beat down on the cathedral ceilings and walls. All the students were gathered together for safety. Catherine, Cyril, Shamir, and Alois were passing blankets out to as many of the students as they could.

“Attention, students of Garreg Mach Monastery!” Seteth yelled over the chattering students and pounding rain. Everyone went silent and turned to look at him.

“As you all are aware, there is a heavy storm going on right now.”

“Oh really?” a sarcastic voice spouted from the crowd.

Seteth nodded and turned to the voice. “Thank you Claude.” He turned back to the crowd as a whole. “Now, please do not be alarmed. This is simply a blessing from the goddess for our crops.”

Just as he said this, a large flash of lighting and boom of thunder rattled the cathedral. Several students screamed in response.

“Well don’t I just feel blessed?” the same sarcastic voice heckled.

“Thank you Claude.” Seteth repeated, annunciating harder this time to show his frustration. “Anyway, because of the storm, we’re cancelling classes for today and keeping all students in here for tonight. As you may have noticed, blankets are being passed out, but we do not have enough for everyone, so please share with your peers. Also, make sure you always stay in groups in order to assure no one goes missing. Furthermore, if any of you must leave for any reason, please notify one of the faculty first and take someone with you. Bandits thrive off of loud storms like these, and I don’t want any of you in danger.”

“Yeah, bandits are one thing.” Claude heckled again. “But what we REALLY should be scared about... is the ghooooAAAAooosts!”

Lysithea, who sat next to him, planted her fist onto his arm.

“D-don’t say stuff like that!” she demanded. Other students began to mutter in panic after Claudes warning.

“Claude!” Seteth yelled. “Please do not fill the students heads with your fairy tales!”

“Hey, I’m just trying to warn them of all the dangers just like you are!”

“Claude, I-“

“Thats enough.”

A gentle and benevolent voice spoke from behind them.

“Ah... Lady Rhea... my apologies.” Seteth responded with a bow.

“Everyone, please remain calm.” Rheas soothing voice seemed to calm most of the students down. “The storm will not last long. I am going to pray to the goddess for our safety. In the meantime, everyone please remain calm and stay together.”

With that, the archbishop turned around and began her prayer. Seteth and the other officers began to patrol the cathedral to ensure all students were accounted for. On his patrol, Seteth felt a tug at his sleeve. He turned to see who it was.

“Ah, Flayn.” Seteth said, putting on a warm smile for her, despite the headache he was currently enduring. “How can I help you?”

“Um... Brother.” his sister spoke softly, bringing her voice to a whisper. “I... I must use the bathroom.”

“Now?” Seteth responded, followed by a sigh. “The nearest restroom is in the professors wing, and that’s all the way across the bridge.”

“That is no problem. You can take me, can you not?”

“Flayn, I’m very busy. You’re just going to have to hold it until the storm passes.”

“U-until the storm passes?” Flayn responded, perplexed by her brothers answer. “I will surely not make it until then! If you are busy, then I will look for another buddy to go with, like...”

Flayn quickly scanned the people around her, hoping a volunteer would step up. Someone quickly caught her eye.

“Alois!” Flayn exclaimed, grabbing onto the knight as he attempted to pass by.

“Gah!” Alois yelped in shock.

“Alois will escort me to the restroom, won’t you Alois?”

Flayn finished her sentence then looked up at the knight with a bright smile and pleading eyes.

“Um... well...” Alois stuttered, as Flayns eyes grew wider. “I... Yes! I will escort young Flayn to the... restroom? Yes!”

Seteth let out a heavy sigh. He turned to Alois who looked back with a confident yet confused grin.

“You have five minutes. Straight there, straight back. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” Alois responded, patting his fist to his chest.

“Oh thank you so much Brother!” Flayn responded excitedly. “And thank you as well Alois!”

“Not a problem!” Alois responded. “Come along little one!”

The pair walked towards the entrance of the cathedral. Alois put on a helmet to protect himself from the rain, while Flayn seemed completely unfazed by the water pelting her face, hair, and clothes. Seteth watched every step they took until they were out of sight.

“Don’t let me down Alois.”

/————————————————————————/

The students all huddled together for warmth. Gathered around Claude sat Lysithea, Linhardt, Ashe, and Annette. Lysithea sat looking at her fidgeting hands. She turned to Claude.

“You know, it’s really not nice to make jokes about ghosts Claude.” she lectured.

“Oh I’m afraid I’m not joking around there kiddo.” Claude responded slyly. “There’s definitely been ghosts around here before.”

“Th-thats not true!” she argued. “R-right Linhardt?”

“Hm?” Lindhardt responded lazily, one eye half open. “Well, I suppose there’s no studies against it, but I certainly haven’t heard any for it. Believe me, if I did, I wouldn’t be attending this school.”

“Oh, I have.” Claude replied. “In fact... theres one particular ghost I’ve heard of... that haunts this very monastery.”

“Th-that isn’t true, is it?” Ashe chimed in nervously.

“Oh yeah... gather around everyone, and I’ll tell you the story of...” Claude trailed off, then quickly grabbed a candle and held it under his face for dramatic effect. “The Vengeful Woodcutter!”

Everyone around him widened their eyes at the sound of that name. An evil grin sprawled over Claudes face.

“Many years ago...” he began, his eyes darting between each member of his captive audience. “There was a member of the church who was a renowned woodcutter. He alone was responsible for collecting a majority of the logs for the church. He was beloved by the students, villagers, and faculty alike. But one day... there was... an accident.”

Annette huddled up by Ashe, who was slightly shaking. Lysithea’s eyes were locked onto Claude. Lindhardt, on the other hand, kept his eyes concealed behind his eye lids. Claude continued his story.

“The church was working him hard, day and night, and he was beginning to tire out. He begged them for a day off, but alas, the church needed more wood. So he was sent back out into the woods. He began hacking away, log after log... chop... chop.... and then... CHOP!”

He shouted the last ‘chop’, causing everyone around him to jump up in shock. Annette let out a small squeal, causing Lindhardts eyes to shoot open.

“A sudden burst of pain came seemingly out of nowhere from that last chop. He looked down to see his work, and it was then that he realized... instead of cutting a piece of wood... he instead discovered that he had actually... CUT OFF HIS OWN HAND!”

“NO!” Ashe yelped in fear.

“YES!” Claude shot back. “He let out a scream in pain. He knew he had to get back to the church quick, but his injury slowed him down. And what he forgot to realize... was that there was a Demonic Beast lurking in those very woods... and it smelt blood, not far from it.”

Lindhardt cringed and swallowed at the mention of blood. Lysithea was gripping her legs, holding them close to her chest as she sat curled up in a ball, still locking her gaze on Claude.

“Out of the woods, the beast lunged out and attacked the woodcutter, tearing him apart... limb... from limb...”

“Oh no... thats awful!” Annette sympathized.

“It was. They say he was mauled for what could have been hours. He died in those woods, never to be seen again... however... rumors began to spread that his ghost still remains, and travelled here to Garreg Mach to enact his revenge on those who treated him poorly. He could be lurking these very halls as we speak... in fact...”

Claude paused, his eyes squinted, as the group of students watched him with bated breath, waiting for him to finish his sentence. A slight smile creeped over his face.

“He could even be.... RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!”

Right as he shouted, he pointed behind the students. Each and every one of their heads spun around at lightning speed, and in front of them was a dark figure, wielding an axe, who let out a brutish yell. Lysithea, Annette, Ashe, and Linhardt all screamed at the top of their lungs, causing several students around them to jump in shock.

Before their screams died down, the figure ripped a blanket off of itself, revealing a laughing pink haired student.

“H-Hilda!” Lysithea yelled.

“Oh wow, that was TOO good Claude!” Hilda said between laughs. Claude stood up and high fived her.

“Excellently pulled off Hilda. I knew I could count on you for the closing act.” Claude said, a mischievous victory grin stretching over his face.

“Very funny you two.”

A stern voice pierced Claudes ear. He turned to look at the source, and his smile faded slightly.

“Oh, hello Edelgard.”

The imperial princess walked up to the group, her arms folded, and a cold stare directed right at the heir to the Alliance. Behind her, as always, Hubert towered over, not exactly helping the scary ambiance that Claude had already set with his sinister gaze.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than further frighten these already scared, helpless students?” she lectured.

Claude rolled his eyes in response. “C’mon Princess, lighten up! There’s nothing wrong with a little harmless fun.”

“Harmless you say? I think Ashe may have wet himself after that story.”

“N-no I didn’t!” Ashe quickly denied. Annette patted him on his shoulder. Claude sighed, as Edelgard continued her lecture.

“There’s nothing funny about what you did. It was immature and childish, certainly not the qualities of a future leader.”

“Ohhh, I see what’s going on here.” Claude responded, his eyes lit up and his smile returned. “You’re just scared aren’t you?”

“Scared? Really? Surely you’re joking.”

“No, I bet that’s what it is. You’re just scared and don’t wanna hear my scary story during this scary storm.”

“Enough! I won’t hear one more word of your ridiculous-“

Before she could finish her sentence, a large flash of lighting, followed immediately with booming thunder roared across the cathedral. Students from all across the floor screamed in fear, as Catherine shouted to try and keep them all from panicking further.

Claude was quick to notice Edelgard twitch when the strike hit. His smile widened, but she retaliated with an even colder stare.

Just then, the cathedral doors were shoved open, then quickly shut right after. Panting and holding the door shut, Alois looked over at the students who’s attention he caught. Most notably, and unfortunately for him, Seteth quickly walked over to the sweating night.

“Alois? What in the goddesses name happened?” he asked sternly.

“O-oh, Seteth! Yes!” Alois began, still trying to catch his breath. “Right! Well, I was escorting Flayn to the restroom, as asked, when suddenly, BOOM! A huge lightning bolt! Normally, this wouldn’t frighten me too much, but right when the flash hit, I saw a figure! I couldn’t tell who it was, so I ran back to tell you about it!”

“And... where is Flayn?”

Alois stared blankly back for a few seconds. Then, he turned his head left, then to the right, then back at Seteth, as he lost all color in his face.

“Uh... well... she was... um...”

Before he could get a thought out, Seteth pointed his finger right in the knights face.

“YOU... are to go BACK OUT THERE. And FIND her. NOW!”

Alois quickly saluted, opened the door back up, and bolted back into the storm. Clearly, the scorn of the over protective brother is scarier than any potential ghost or storm Alois had encountered.

Claude, seeing this as a great opportunity to test his theory, decided to chime in.

“Y’know Seteth, it might be best if we send more people to find her. Say, why don’t me and the princess go looking for her?”

“Wh-what?” Edelgard responded, completely perplexed by the forced volunteering of her services.

“Oh.. well unless of course you’re too scared to go... I get it...”

“I-“

“Enough!” Seteth interrupted. “Please, just... any of you, please go find her! I... I need to go sit down.”

Seteth stumbled off, his head in his hand.

“Claude, you are as annoying as they come.” Edelgard said.

“Oh come now princess, young Flayn needs us!” Claude replied, putting on a faux grandiose voice. “Let us depart at once!”

Edelgard sighed. Knowing she had been backed into a corner, she had no choice but to follow the prankster.

“Lady Edelgard, I shall accompany you.” Hubert chimed in.

“Yes... That would make this much more bearable...”

“Hurry up!” Claude beckoned, while holding the large steel doors open. He looked over at the group he was sitting with earlier. “Hey, any of you coming?”

Every one of them shakes their head in unison. He sighs, as only Edelgard and Hubert walk through the door way. He then closes the door behind him, as the three make their way across the large bridge.

END OF PART 1

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chloefranco · 5 years

Text

Mortal Things

Nicholas Scratch x reader

Part 2!

Summary: Reader goes on a date with Nick and does mortal things with him lol. Fluff all around 😗

Your groaned in frustration as you figured out what to wear for your date. You twirled around your mirror, changing outfits with every twirl. But nothing seemed to be working with you. Usually you don't care for what you wear but the fact that Nick asked you out suddenly makes you a mess.

"Sabrina! Sabrina!" You yelled out for your cousin. She came to your room in a few seconds.

"What, why are you yelling?" She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't have anything to wear." You said as you moaned into a pile of clothes.

"Oh my Satan. First of all, you have a bazillion clothes and second, since when do you care about what Nick thinks? You used to reject him almost everyday and now you're freaking out over what you're gonna wear." Sabrina said rolling her eyes. She picked up a burgundy skirt, a white sweater,black tights and heeled boots. "There. There's your outfit. Besides, either you're blind or dumb, don't you have any idea what Nick feels for you? That boy can't even say his spells right whenever you're in the room. "

You charmed the outfit on yourself and looked in the mirror. "Thanks cousin." you said with a big smile. "I just wanna look nice." You defended yourself after her speech.

"Anyway, what's up? You're obviously in love with Nick." She teased you, laying down on your bed.

"I'm not in love with him." You said as you put on mascara.

"Yeah.... okay." Sabrina said, not convinced. "Why did you agree to go on a date with him? After so long, I mean."

"I just wanna give him a chance. He's trying. I appreciate that." You shrugged but your insides were filled with butterflies just thinking about him.

"Where are you guys gonna go later?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll bring him to watch The Conjuring. It just came out."

A few seconds later, your cousin Ambrose shouted for you. "Cousin!!! (Y/N)! Nick's here."

"Coming!"

You came down the stairs, your aunties and cousins all present which made you annoyed. Ambrose whistled as you reached the bottom. "Okay, bye." You quickly said to your relatives, embarrassed. Nick offered his arm and you grabbed a hold of it. Wanting to get out of there before your aunties could say anything more.

"You take care of her, young man." Auntie Zee said as she looked Nick up and down. "Her curfew is at the witching hour."

"Oh, Zelda. Relax. She's in good hands." Auntie Hilda said as she flashed a warm smile to you and Nick.

"Don't worry, Miss Spellmans. She'll be home safe." Nick said with that smile that could quite literally kill you.

"Okay, bye. Let's go." You said, bringing Nick along. You took the forest route.

You took in your surroundings, you liked the darkness. It gave you a sense of security. Not many people like to walk around the forest in the middle of the night but you were born into darkness so it doesn't matter to you. You almost forgot that you were with Nick.

"You look beautiful. As always." He looked at you, smiling. You knew he wasn't playing with you. He wouldn't do that to you. But you were just that insecure like most girls.

"Do you say this to all the girls, Nicholas Scratch?" You said teasingly. "Thank you."

He chuckled, and turned to you, shaking his head at how blind you are to why he likes you. "Just you." He said, looking forward smiling.

"Shut up." You laughed, hitting his chest playfully. "You look handsome too."

"Do you say this to all the mortal boys?" He teased. "Thank you, (Y/N).

"Jokes on you cause not many mortal boys are into me." You laughed.

"Well then, they're fools." He simply said. As if it was the truest thing in the world.

"Anyway, wanna watch a mortal movie, with a false God and demons, a witch and ghosts?" You said as you reached the streets.

"That sounds delightful." He said. "I don't watch too many movies. This is probably my second movie in my life."

"Well, I hope you're not a scaredy cat."

You bought the tickets for you and Nick and he offered to pay for the popcorn and drinks. You waited for him at the end of the room. He came excitedly to you. "Look, they have ghoul drinks. These mortals sure know how to mock us." You laughed.

"Well, Halloween is just around the corner." You explained. “Mortals love to get scared.”

During the movie, you could tell that Nick was staring at you. He’s trying to be subtle but you can feel him. There were moments when he wanted to hold your hand. You could feel his hand brushing yours a bit every now and then which made you smile a bit. You have no idea why he even likes you. You’re just a normal witch. Not many people like the Spellmans. The fact that he doesn’t care about your family drama shows that he’s that into you. You decided to move your hand closer to his and hold it when something scary happens. You don’t know this, but he didn’t even pay attention to the film. He was too busy freaking out over the fact that you held his hand first.

After the movie, you couldn’t stop talking about the film. You thought it was pretty scary but not as scary as the things you’ve seen at the Academy. Nick was just smiling at you, watching you talk. You linked your arm with his and walked down the streets. You were still talking about the movie when you realized you were the only one talking. You rolled your eyes and nudged him gently. “Hey, I get that you can hear me talking all day but you gotta say something.” You laughed.

“I can’t help it. I’ve got the most beautiful date in the world. That kind of thing can make a guy speechless you know.” He looked you in the eyes and you looked away in a flush.

“You’re a flirt, Nick. Anyway, where do you wanna go now?” You said not wanting to end your date yet.

“Where do you always go? When you’re not busy with the dark lord and curses.” He was genuinely interested in what you like and where you go for fun in the mortal world.

“Ha-ha very funny. Cerberus Books. I think you’ll like it there.” You said as you began to pull him to the direction of the bookstore.

After hanging out at Dr. Cerberus’ for a bit, Nick told you that it was time for him to get you home before your aunties send him to the hereafter. On the way to your home, Nick wanted to show you something. He said some sort of spell and blew into his hands. Soon after, hundreds of glowing butterflies erupted from his hand and you watched them light up the dark forest. “That’s so cool, Nick. You’re like the best warlock I’ve ever met.” you said as you touched a butterfly. Nick couldn’t believe what you said. This time, he felt what he never felt before, butterflies in his stomach.

“Do you mean that?”

“Yeah. Of course, I do. You’re so talented in almost everything. Okay, you gotta teach me how you did that and also how to astral project. I know it’s dangerous but you’ll be there with me.” You said as the butterflies started to disappear.

Soon, you reached the Spellman Mortuary. You turned to Nick and kissed his cheek. “I had a nice time, Nick. Thank you for everything.”

“Don’t I get a kiss, miss Spellman?” He said with that devilish smile.

You leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. He held the side of your face as he kissed you, combing your hair with his fingers a bit. Your heart was pounding. He didn’t have to know that. Your kissing session was interrupted by Ambrose whistling in the doorway.

“Well, well.” He teased the both of you before leaving.

“Sorry about that. My family is a little too much.” You said nervously.

“It’s okay. You up for a date tomorrow? I can teach you all the things you wanna know.” He said as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You tried not to let your emotions get a hold of you. You smiled and agreed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nicholas.” You said as you kissed his cheek one last time.

When you reached your bedroom, you looked out your window to see Nicholas walking away. You opened your window and called out to him. “Nick!” He turned around with that smile that drove you crazy.

“I like you.” You said before closing the curtains.

“You have no idea what you do to me, (Y/N) Spellman.” He murmured to himself, smiling.

@ateliefloresdaprimavera @claudiamoscatoo @esclisa @ventusnonexpectat

well i don’t know if this was good hahaha sorry :(

#Caos #Nick Scratch #Nicholas Scratch #nicholas scratch imagine #nicholas scratch x reader #sabrina the teenage witch #the chilling tales of sabrina #the chilling adventures of sabrina imagines #CAOS IMAGINES #Gavin leatherwood #Gavin Leatherwood x reader #Netflix #sabrina spellman

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nicolewrites · 4 years

Text

your lot is with the ghosts of soldiers dead

More. Sylvain. Feels. This got more Sylvgrid that I intended, but hey, I just really love Sylvain and Ingrid. Do I have homework? Absolutely. Did I do this anyway? Absolutely.

The title is from Siegfried Sassoon's "To My Brother", for anyone who's curious.

Rating: T Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst Characters: [Sylvain Jose Gautier & Ingrid Brandl Galatea], Miklan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd Words: 3,771

The night after Miklan dies, no one can find Sylvain.

AO3 | FFN

1177

His father had sent him away on the day that Miklan had been disowned. Of course, Sylvain hadn’t known this at the time. He had been 17 and happy to escort his mother into town without a second thought. His father had said nothing of the situation when he had returned home and Sylvain hadn’t given it a second thought until that night when he woke to a weight pinning him down on his bed and the sharp prick of a knife against his throat.

Miklan had been more than angry as he snarled at Sylvain. He had called him a thief of everything he was owed and a snake that stole his place. Sylvain, running entirely on adrenaline, had bashed the decorative stone on his bedside temple against his brother’s temple and shoved him off. The brothers had struggled on the floor for the knife until Sylvain finally got a good enough grip to force it down against his brother’s face for all the years of torment he had withstood.

Guards had arrived then, apparently having expected such actions from the disinherited Gautier son. They hauled Miklan out as he spat and cursed through the blood oozing from the wound on his face. Sylvain had been left alone in his room with the knife and his hands covered in his brother’s blood.

He scrubbed his hands for an hour to try to wash the blood out as Miklan’s voice howled in his ears.

Count Galatea came to visit three days later with his daughter. Sylvain entertained Ingrid with a wide smile and hands stained with blood that only he could see.

- ~ -

1180

Ingrid is almost ready to turn in for the night when there’s a knock on her door. She blinks wearily and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Coming!” she calls out and then flinches reflexively for Marianne’s sake right next door.

She pulls open the door and sees Dimitri and Felix standing in front of her. Dimitri looks concerned and Felix looks more peeved than anything else. Ingrid frowns, but pulls her door open further so her friends can enter her room.

“What is it?” she asks them, once Dimitri stalks past her and Felix huffs follows him in more calmly.

“Sylvain hasn’t been back to his room since we got back,” Dimitri says.

Felix scoffs and shuffles his weight. “He’ll be in town, picking up some girl again.”

“Felix,” Ingrid scolds sharply. “He killed his brother today. The least you can do is have some compassion.”

Felix narrows his eyes at her. “He hated Miklan. We all know that.”

Dimitri shakes his head. “That doesn’t make what he had to do any easier.”

Felix folds his arms, but he doesn’t argue further. Ingrid picks up on the slightest hint of pain in the Fraldarius heir’s expression, but she doesn’t push it. She’s been thinking of Glenn all day too.

“Where would he go?” Ingrid questions the boys.

Dimitri shakes his head, clueless. Felix considers for a moment longer, before offering up their first real idea.

“We had thought here, but since that’s not true maybe he went to find the Professor.”

Dimitri hums in consideration. “Maybe,” he agrees. “I can go check if you two would like to check anywhere else.”

“No,” Felix mutters. “I’m going to bed. Sylvain will find himself in the morning.”

He stalks out of Ingrid’s room without any room for argument leaving Ingrid with the prince. Dimitri sighs slowly and turns to face her. Ingrid gives him a sympathetic smile.

“We’ll find him, Your Highness. If you go check with the professor, I can ask around up here and we can reconvene downstairs if neither of us finds anything,” she suggests.

Dimitri nods, looking more relaxed already. “Thank you, Ingrid. I appreciate this.”

“I’m worried about him too,” she reminds.

Ingrid grabs her jacket from the back of her chair and extinguishes the lamp on her desk. She nods to Dimitri and they head their separate ways as he makes for the stairs to the first floor. Ingrid turns and knocks tentatively against Marianne’s door. There’s brief shuffling noise before Marianne cracks the door open curiously.

“Hello Ingrid,” she greets softly.

Ingrid smiles gently. “You haven’t seen Sylvain, have you?”

Marianne’s brown eyes widen curiously. “No, I haven’t,” she says quietly.

Ingrid nods. “I figured. Thank you anyways.” She turns to walk away when Marianne’s slender hand reaches out and catches her wrist. Ingrid turns back and sees the shy girl watching her with a worried expression.

“Is he alright? I heard what happened today,” she mumbles.

Ingrid presses her lips together. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” she admits.

Marianne nods and retracts her hand. “I hope you find him.”

“Me too,” Ingrid agrees.

She quickly climbs the stairs and knocks on Hilda’s door next. Hilda swings open her door quickly and steps out into the hallway, shutting it behind her. Ingrid blinks in surprise at the quick action as well as Hilda’s state of undress. The Goneril noble has three buttons on her blouse undone and her skirt is pulled entirely too high and there’s a high flush along her fair cheekbones. Out of reflex, Ingrid feels herself redden as Hilda crosses her arms over her almost open shirt.

“I haven’t seen Sylvain, if that’s what you’re going to ask,” Hilda says.

Ingrid nods. “Ah, well thanks anyway.”

Hilda tips her head and studies Ingrid for a moment. “You didn’t hear this from me, but someone saw Sylvain walking toward the stables a few hours ago.” She doesn’t give Ingrid much chance to process before she opens her door and disappears back into her room.

“The stables?” Ingrid wonders aloud after Hilda’s gone. Sure, Sylvain liked horses well enough, but it doesn’t exactly seem like the type of place he would retreat to when he is upset. Even so, it’s better than knocking on every door on the 2nd floor and bothering everyone.

She hurries back towards the staircase and makes her way back to the first floor. In the evening gloom, she can see a few monks and knights roaming about, but it’s almost curfew so she doesn’t see any of her fellow students. Ingrid wants to get to the stable as fast as possible, but she also wants to tell Dimitri where she’s going, so she finds a sort of compromise as she knocks on Mercedes’s door.

“Hello, Ingrid,” the older girl greets kindly as she opens the door. “What can I help with?”

“His Highness went to go see the professor to ask about Sylvain. I think I know where he is, but I was hoping you would be able to go tell His Highness that while I go ahead to the stables,” Ingrid explains quickly. She feels oddly jittery as she rocks onto her toes while she’s talking.

Mercedes nods sagely. “Of course! You go on, I’ll go find Dimitri.”

Ingrid nods and turns and breaks for the stable. She cuts across the fishing hole area and around toward the front of the monastery. Just as she’s rounding the corner towards the main gate, she sees Alois speaking with the Gatekeeper and she grimaces. She keeps her head down and tries to stride past them, but Alois calls out to her.

“Hey! Ingrid, it is almost curfew. Where are you off to?”

She doesn’t particularly want to explain that Sylvain is missing because that would only start a monastery-wide panic. “Just forgot something at the stable,” she lies instead. “I’ll head right back to my dorm after.”

Alois buys the lie and he waves her on. Ingrid exhales in relief as she rounds the outside of the monastery towards the stables. When she arrives, two of the lanterns are still lit, but there don’t seem to be any people around. Ingrid frowns as she turns to look around to see if there’s anything she might have missed.

Sylvain’s horse is in its stall and the mare whinnies when he sees her. Ingrid walks over and gently brushes her hand along the horse’s face. “You’re here, but where’s your rider?” she wonders aloud.

She glances over her shoulder and pauses when she sees that one of the wyvern hutches is open and the wyvern that’s normally there is missing. She pulls away from the horse and runs over to inspect the hutch. Sure enough, it’s the hutch of the wyvern that Sylvain has been practicing on lately.

“Sylvain, you idiot,” she mutters.

Quickly Ingrid walks over to the pegasus stables and finds her own mount. He noses against her hand when she extends it and seems fully willing to go for a late-night flight despite the strenuous activities from earlier in the day. She manages to get saddled quickly and swings herself up onto her mount.

As she takes to the sky above the monastery, she shivers against the wind. She’s no longer dressed to withstand the heights anymore so she hunches against the warm neck of her pegasus. She flies blindly towards the north end of the monastery and keeps her eyes peeled for any signs of Sylvain in the sky.

She circles the cathedral’s highest point and is about the head back empty-handed when the setting sun catches a glint of red on the roof of the cathedral. She pulls her mount to a halt in the air as she stares. It certainly appears to be Sylvain lying on his back on the tiled roof of the cathedral.

Ingrid swoops down toward him, anger building in her throat as she gets closer. She hops off her pegasus and lands jarringly on the roof. She shakes off the pain in her knees and waves her pegasus off. He’ll come when she whistles for him and there’s no good place for him to be on top of a roof.

“Sylvain!” she calls out, her anger bubbling in her tone.

From his position lying on the roof, he lifts his head until they make eye contact. His expression deadpans and he drops his head back to the roof without replying. If she hadn’t been mad before, she certainly is now.

“Of all the stupid places to run off to, why would you choose the Cathedral roof!” she yells at him. She picks her way along the tiles towards him and only slips once, but she’s never in any real danger of falling. Sylvain doesn’t reply, even when she reaches his side and is standing directly above him, looking down at him. “How did you even get up here anyway?”

Sylvain lifts an arm and waves lazily towards the spire of the cathedral and Ingrid spots the snoozing form of his wyvern. She folds her arms and narrows her eyes.

“If you’re here for a lecture, I really don’t want to hear it,” Sylvain says dryly.

Ingrid feels a bit affronted that he thinks she’s only here to lecture him. Sure, she had intended on giving him a bit of a lashing for scaring his friends, but she had also been worried about him. She shifts her weight along the slanted tiles and considers her words carefully.

“We were worried when you didn’t go back to your room,” she says.

Sylvain sits half-up abruptly. “We?” he scans the roof behind her, but when he doesn’t see anyone else, the tension drains from him and he lies back down. “Right. Heights.” He drops his head back to the roof with an audible thunk that makes Ingrid wince instinctively.

She studies him briefly and sees that he’s definitely still wearing the armour he wore on the mission, but the gash on his cheekbone has already healed to a faint pink line. It means he had at least had the sense to get aid from a white magic-user before coming up here.

“Sylvain,” she starts and he lifts a hand, waving her off.

“You found me. Can’t you leave me be now?”

Ingrid adjusts her weight carefully as she lowers herself to the roof so she’s sitting next to him. “If you could see yourself you’d understand why I can’t.”

Sylvain huffs. “What’s a guy got to do to brood in peace?”

The question is rhetorical, but guilt wells up in Ingrid’s throat. “Maybe not run off after a very stressful day,” she suggests mildly.

Sylvain falls silent and stares up at the darkening sky. At first, Ingrid thinks that he’s really not going to say anything else to her, but she watches him swallow harshly and the Adam’s apple of his throat bobs with the motion.

“There’s a word for it, you know,” he says suddenly.

Ingrid tucks her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, suddenly feeling very sad and a bit out of her depth.

“Fratricide,” Sylvain mutters darkly, like he’s testing the word in his mouth. “The glorious act of killing one’s own brother.”

“Sylvain,” she argues gently. Hearing him say it with the bitterness sharp in her tone makes her all the more guilty.

He had put himself right on the front line in the fight. He had strived to get strikes in against Miklan. He had been reckless. Felix, Dimitri, and Ingrid had all seen it, even if their professor didn’t. The three of them had tried to push him away to save him the pain that the situation was causing; however, the Black Beast had gotten a lucky strike and had winded Ingrid’s pegasus, throwing her to the ground before it.

She had clutched her lance with a stifling fear and prepared for the heavy blow that would follow, but Sylvain cut in front of her on his horse, driving his lance through a weakness in the beast’s armour, protecting her and landing the last blow necessary to stave off the beast that Miklan had become.

“I always knew he was a monster, but that was pretty literal,” Sylvain continues bitterly. “Of course, I can’t exactly talk about this stuff with Felix or Dimitri and even with you, it feels wrong. All your brothers are still alive after all.”

Ingrid presses her lips together as sympathy pinches her expression. “Felix has lost his brother too. Maybe he would be more sympathetic than you think.”

Sylvain laughs sharply. “Yeah, that’s not the same at all. We all loved Glenn, Ingrid, and the goddess knows we all hated Miklan.” Sylvain’s eyes shut. “I used to love when Glenn and Felix came to visit because Glenn took none of Miklan’s shit.”

It had been true. Miklan was a few years older than Glenn and Sylvain was just a year and a bit younger than the older Fraldarius brother. Glenn was notoriously prickly to anyone who picked on his friends and seemed to make it his personal mission to ensure that Miklan knew he crossed a line when he targeted Sylvain.

Ingrid recalls, in particular, the one time that Margrave Gautier had sent knights to scour the eastern Faerghus lands when Sylvain had gone missing. Glenn had been instructed to watch over Ingrid and Felix while the knights of Galatea and Fraldarius were dispatched to aid in the search, but as it ended up, Glenn had dragged his brother and fiancé north to Gautier where they had found Sylvain half-dead in a well after only a few hours of searching. Ingrid recalls the hour it took to rescue him from the well as one of the most terrifying things she had ever experienced.

“No one will be upset that you’re upset about this,” Ingrid assures Sylvain.

Sylvain lolls his head towards her and frowns. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? I should feel bad, but I don’t. I’ve never felt more relieved in my entire life than in that moment when he stopped moving. It was so vindicating.”

Ingrid’s chest tightens. Tentatively, she reaches for one of Sylvain’s hands. He lets her take it and lace their fingers together.

“He tried to kill me the night after he had been disowned,” Sylvain confesses quietly.

Ingrid stiffens in surprise and Sylvain notices, skimming a thumb along the back of her hand to coax her back into relaxing.

“I woke up to him pinning me down on my bed with a knife at my throat. I hit him with that rock that Glenn had given me. We fought for the knife and I won.” Sylvain tips his head back and inhales shakily.

Ingrid studies his profile and the barely noticeable scar where one of the beast’s talons had caught his face earlier that day. Sylvain is usually so pretty and perfect, it’s almost weird to see him with even the slightest imperfection on his handsome features. He’s not done explaining, so she waits quietly for him to finish.

“I got him good with his own knife.”

Sylvain lifts a hand and mimes cutting a scar across his own face in the same path that Miklan’s scar had followed. Ingrid’s breath catches. She hadn’t known the origin of the scar.

“It took me a few weeks before I finally got all the blood off of my hands,” Sylvain mutters. His eyes open and he pushes himself into a half-sitting position where he can stare at Ingrid and his entwined hands. “Still bloody,” he mumbles.

Something in the bitter tone of his voice cracks and betrays more emotion than before. Ingrid shifts closer to him and Sylvain sits up fully. With her free hand, she reaches for his face, brushing lightly against his fading scar. Sylvain leans into her touch unconsciously, closing his eyes.

He looks so young and vulnerable in the deep dusk lighting. The cocky, skirt-chasing, Felix-taunting friend she normally sees is absent right now and she’s left with the childhood friend whose scars of abuse are showing through. Sylvain opens his eyes and Ingrid’s breath catches unconsciously at their closeness. Sylvain, for once, doesn’t seem to notice or care about the flush on her cheeks and he leans forward and presses his face into the junction of her shoulder and neck.

Ingrid slips her fingers into his hair and brushes at it softly. It’s a mirror to how Sylvain had acted after Glenn died when he had been the only one able to coax her out of her room. Sylvain shivers lightly against her touch and he tilts his head just enough to press a careful, open-mouthed kiss to the base of her neck.

Ingrid exhales slowly and her fingers tighten in his hair. After a moment of silence between them, Sylvain leans back and she sees that his amber eyes are darkened with tears. She slides her hand back to his face and wipes her thumb across the top of his cheekbone. Not for the first time, Ingrid appreciates how pretty Sylvain looks when he’s being open and vulnerable.

“You’re too good to us, Ingrid,” Sylvain says, his voice much lighter than it had been. Sitting next to her, he’s tall enough that he can lean forward and kiss her forehead lightly. “I’ve always loved you,” Sylvain says next and Ingrid’s chest seizes.

It’s a heck of a line, one that’s usually reserved for the toughest of women that he tries to flirt with and she hasn’t the faintest idea if he’s being genuine. He says it like it’s the truth and Ingrid desperately wants to know what love means to him. Does he love her as a friend? Or is it in the same way that she had loved Glenn and the way that she used to dream of Sylvain’s charming smile as a little girl?

The moment is all wrong. They’re on the roof of the cathedral of the monastery and just hours ago they were fighting for their lives against Sylvain’s older brother. She swallows all the words welling up in her throat and just lets Sylvain lean his head against her shoulder and they are just quiet.

“We’ll stay alive,” Ingrid says firmly. The ‘we’ needs clarifying, but she doesn’t want to qualify it.

“Alive is better than dead,” Sylvain murmurs in response.

They linger for another moment before Sylvain pulls back, pushing up to his feet. The second his warmth moves away from her, Ingrid shivers, but she takes his hand when he extends it to her.

“We can just fly back together,” Sylvain says. “I’ve made enough people worry and I don’t want you to get sick because you came out here after me.”

“I can call Misha,” Ingrid protests and Sylvain shakes his head.

“Just call him back to the stables. We’ll take Natyu down.” He turns and waves to his wyvern. The beast swoops down towards them, leaving Ingrid no further room to argue.

She gets on behind him and wraps her arms around his waist tightly. She presses her forehead against his back as they take off, circling back through the sky toward the stables. They don’t say anything as they fly, and Ingrid gets off of the wyvern before Sylvain does, brushing imaginary dirt off her skirt and jacket so she doesn’t have to watch him get his wyvern put away. She whistles for Misha and her mount returns to her.

Sylvain approaches her once Misha’s back in his stall and he has closed Natyu’s hutch. He looks calmer now than he did when she found him. His bitterness seems to have receded appropriately. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he’s cut off by a familiar voice.

“Ingrid! Sylvain!”

They turn sharply and see Dimitri jogging towards them from the Knight’s Hall. Professor Byleth follows him a few paces back, her blue eyes curiously assessing the situation. Ingrid steps away from Sylvain reflexively, leaving a respectable distance between them.

“When you said stables, I didn’t realize you would be flying off,” Dimitri continues, addressing Ingrid as he reaches them.

She smiles sheepishly. “Followed a hunch.”

Dimitri turns to Sylvain and pulls him into a tight hug. Sylvain flails momentarily, not used to the affection from the prince. Dimitri releases him but keeps a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder.

“Are you alright? We were worried about you.”

Sylvain glances at Ingrid. She catches a lingering sadness in his gaze, but his lips quirk up at the edges. “Yeah, I’m good,” he assures the prince. “Ingrid got me sorted.”

She didn’t. She absolutely didn’t, but her tongue is glued to the bottom of her mouth by the way that Sylvain is looking at her so she can’t argue. He does seem better, though, so that’s a step in the right direction.

She’ll just have to keep a closer eye on him.

#the writing section #your lot is with the ghosts of soldiers dead #sylvgrid #sylvain x ingrid #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #f: fire emblem #fic: your lot is with the ghosts of soldiers dead #ship: sylvgrid #c: sylvain jose gautier #c: ingrid brandl galatea #c: miklan #g: hurt/comfort #g: romance #g: angst #r: t+#fe3h fic #white clouds spoilers

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the-hilda-librarians-wife · 4 years

Text

The Mistakes We Made - Chapter Ten

Summary: When her high school girlfriend comes back to town after two years with a baby and a terrible story she won’t tell, the Librarian has to deal with the feelings she had worked so hard to keep at bay.

Notes: Trigger warnings for this chapter: the d slur, descriptions of violence (light, but it’s there)

Also, for those who don’t know, Sabbats are the “holidays” celebrated by Wiccans/witches. Mabon is one of them

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6) (chpt7) (chpt8) (chpt9) (chpt10)

Her mother had been very right, Maven realized.

Not that it came as a surprise; her mother was right about things more often than not, a combination of wisdom gained by experience and the wisdom she had been born with, but as she had to leave her house barely minutes after arriving from college, she finally saw why her mother always insisted in planning ahead for the Sabbats.

She had no idea how, but she had completely missed that Mabon, the autumn equinox, was coming. Well, she supposed it wasn’t completely abnormal that it had slipped her mind - between her mother’s deteriorating health and trying to balance college with work, she had a lot on her mind.

She felt a sharp pain on her chest as she realized that her mother hadn’t remembered it either. Maven had visited her before taking the train to Ericsonberg, like she always did when her mother was bad enough that the doctors decided to keep her in the hospital, and she didn’t say anything about it. Her mother must really be feeling down if she forgot a Sabbat.

But Maven refused to spend the day without as much as acknowledging the date. Thus the late run for a red candle and apple incense. Ideally, she would have tried to spend some time in nature, meditate, maybe even call her cousin and ask him if he was up for a divination session. But this would have to do.

When she was walking to the store, however, she began hearing a commotion in the distance. It didn’t take her long to connect the dots and realize that it came from one of Trollberg’s only bars, a loud, usually dirty place that was known for gathering all the wrong sorts of people. The bar was on the way to the store, so the rumors only got louder and louder until she finally walked by it.

It was quite crowded for a weekday, so Maven made her steps quicker as she passed it by. As she left the place behind and its sounds began fading, however, she began hearing whispering behind her, and other steps echoed on the street beside her own.

She didn’t worry much about it. Crime in Trollberg was practically unheard of, but she tried to keep to the shadows nevertheless. It was when she was about to turn around the corner that she had the opportunity to take a look at the person who had been following her, and when she did, she thought she would rather it was a burglar.

He laughed when he noticed she saw him, leaning against a friend’s shoulder with two other men behind him, and her whole body tensed up. She knew the wise thing to do would be continue walking, refuse to just stay in an empty street with him, but her feet just wouldn’t move, despite her best efforts.

“Afraid of us, dyke?” Torrin mocked with laughter in his voice, making Maven stand up straighter.

“Of course not.” She should go. She really should go, but her body did not obey her, even as the man came closer, his step just a bit unsteady because of the alcohol he was reeking of.

“Do you have any news of Johanna?” As he approached her, she could see that his eyes looked wild, untamed, like an animal that could snap at any moment, and his smile had a cruel twist to it.

He laughed when she didn’t answer. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Don’t worry, though. She’s much better now.”

As he took a step forward, Maven thought that he wouldn’t actually dare to do what it looked like he would, but she was proven wrong when he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her hard, making her stagger backwards and very nearly fall to the ground.

She bared her teeth and stepped towards him, her heart beating on her ears, feeling hot despite the chilly night. She was not a fighter, but she’d be damned if she ran away without as much as giving him a piece of her mind. When she was close enough to grasp him, though, she looked at his smug grin, and had to draw back.

This would lead to nothing. She’d only get hurt, and he’d report the happening to the cops, who would obviously side with him. And even if they didn’t, his father would get him out of any punishment as easy as breathing.

She had no choice but to yield.

So she stepped back, still panting. “At least I didn’t have to use my parent’s influence to date her. Pathetic, really.”

Maven had barely a second to duck before his open hand came flying towards her face, only barely missing.

“She’s so much happier now. She didn’t know what she wanted!”

She took two more steps backwards, readying herself to break into a run if needed. “Oh, she didn’t know, but you did?”

Torrin’s friends looked like they wanted to laugh, and he seemed to be a second away from launching at her, when the man who ran the bar walked out of the door and looked at where they were in the end of the street.

“What’s going on in here?” He shouted at them, having been able to hear Torrin’s voice from the inside.

All the boys looked at him, and Maven took this opportunity to sprint away from them, turning into street after street until she was absolutely sure she’d lost them. She knew that come morning there would probably be a fresh batch of gossip about how she tried to assault the mayor’s son in a deserted street. She didn’t care. It wasn’t the first time something like this happened, and it wouldn’t be the last. She knew very well that the people who truly mattered wouldn’t believe the fake story.

She walked back to the part of the town she was most familiar with, heading for the little house behind the cemetery. There would be no celebration that night.

_#_#_#_

Johanna hated feeling idle. Not that she had been lying around, doing nothing for days- she had a baby to take care of. That alone occupied most of her time. But she hated that it felt like she was helping with nothing.

She knew she’d need some more time at Maven’s house. Her life was the very definition of chaos, and she needed somewhere to stay while she gathered strength and sanity to put it back together. But she hated that it felt like she was relying completely on her friend, especially because it was very unfair to her. She had been struggling to make ends meet on her own, and now she had to provide for two extra people, and Johanna was truly afraid of the toll this could have in her.

So, even through Maven’s insistence that it wasn’t necessary, Johanna began helping as best as she could with a small child to care for. She cleaned the house and did the laundry, and cooked to the best of her ability. One day, Maven told her she wouldn’t be back at the house for lunch, explaining that one of their neighbors had asked her to do a small cleaning job for her; it wasn’t the first time she did that, Maven told her, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Johanna had looked down at her breakfast, thinking this through before objecting. “Let me go instead.”

Maven looked at her with a confused face, her head tilted sideways.

“You already work so much, and I know you need all the time to study as you can get. And you shouldn’t skip lunch, either. So let me do it for you. I’ll give you the money, or use it to do the groceries, of course.”

Her friend told her it wasn’t necessary, that she didn’t have to work before she had her life sorted out. That Maven could hang on and help them for a while longer. But Johanna brushed off her affirmations along with her concerns about Hilda, and said firmly.

“You’re helping me way more than you needed to. The least I can do is help you back where I can.”

So she had taken that job, and anytime someone called Maven for little helps around their house, Johanna went instead.

Thus the situation she currently found herself in.

Usually, when she left, she made sure Hilda was sleeping and took her with her, leaving the baby in her stroller while she worked. But this time, Hilda was wide awake and playing in her playpen, and Johanna couldn’t very well just leave.

She sighed, looking at her daughter happily picking her toys up and dropping them to the floor again, squealing excitedly as they hit it with a tud. She hated to bother Maven, but it was probably her best option.

Her friend was in the living room couch, sitting among her textbooks and notebooks with a posture so bad that it nearly gave Johanna back pain, an signthe she was focusing very hard. She had been there ever since she got home from work, an hour earlier. Maven worked the afternoon shift at Saturdays, Johanna learned.

She approached her friend slowly, not wanting to startle her out of her line of thought, and touched a hand to her shoulder. She took her eyes away from her books and looked at her, surprised.

“Maven, I’m so sorry to ask you this, but could you do something for me?”

“Sure, what is it?” She asked with a frown.

“I need to be at Mrs. Boyle’s in five minutes. Could you look over Hilda while I’m away? It shouldn’t be long, she didn’t ask for much.”

Maven tilted her head. “I’m really not sure I’m fit for this job.”

Johanna brought her head to the back of her neck, scratching it. “She’s just playing at the moment. You just need to watch over and make sure she doesn’t swallow anything or accidentally hurts herself. You can bring your books and continue studying at my room, if you want.”

She still looked uncertain, but at least it looked like she wasn’t going to downright object. “Well… I took care of a newborn cousin for a few days when I was a teen. I think I can manage not to traumatize her for life.”

Johanna smiled at her. “Thank you. Please call me if anything happens, okay? I’ll come right away.”

“Okay.” She answered, and just like that she was left alone in her own house with a baby to take care of.

_#_#_#_

“Hi, baby. I guess I’ll be taking care of you for a few hours.”

Hilda looked at her when she entered the room, blinking at her with her wide, round eyes, and breaking into a toothless smile after a few seconds. Maven couldn’t help but smile back at her.

She had brought one of her textbooks with her into the room, planning on reading through the chapter and writing down any doubts she had to research later, but now that she was actually near the child she should be watching over, she didn’t feel at all too comfortable with the idea of focusing on anything other than her. Johanna had trusted her with the most important person in her life, she could not let her down with this.

She sat down on the floor, leaving the book on the bed, and realized that Hilda was still looking at her, her brightly coloured toys forgotten in the floor around her. “Um… you have some nice things here. I guess.”

There was a red plastic rattle by the pillow in which Hilda was propped on, and Maven put her hand inside the playpen to pick it up. The baby’s eyes followed her hand, suddenly very interested in the toy even though she had been ignoring it the second before.

The librarian gave the rattle a shake, filling their ears with riotous sound. Hilda smiled once again (and how adorable, Maven though, how much this girl smiled) and brought her hands together with glee. She continued playing with the rattle, bringing it closer and further to Hilda and watching the baby’s expression change, unable not to giggle at her joy over such a simple thing. She had to admit, though this girl looked like her father, she was every inch her mother, and Maven hoped she would continue like this.

Maybe, with time, Maven could begin to associate cyan hair with good things.

_#_#_#_

It had taken some questions to the graphic design students she found on campus and a lot of luck, but she had found Johanna. She was talking to a girl Maven didn’t recognize as she left the classroom after a lecture, behind the stream of people who had been anxious to leave.

A nervous feeling settled in Maven’s stomach as she walked closer. Ever since they had broken up, she hadn’t heard from Johanna. Not a text, not a bump in the university’s corridors, not even a ride in the same wagon of the train, so it was abundantly clear to Maven that Johanna did not want to see her, and she thought the least she could do was respect that. But Johanna deserved to know.

The knowledge that Johanna and Torrin were dating had reached her not long after they broke up. She had overheard two of her old classmates talking at the library and picked that up from the conversation. On hindsight, she shouldn’t have been so shaken. She should have seen it coming, really, with the way that things had been going, but the moment she heard about it she very nearly dropped the heavy stack of books she had been carrying, and had to lock herself in the library’s bathroom for some minutes in order to put herself together.

It hadn’t surprised her too much that Johanna had chosen Torrin. Once Johanna decided someone was worth the effort, nothing could stop her. What had put her off at the time was that it had taken so little time for her to begin dating someone else. She probably had already been in love with him even when they were dating, and that hurt. But now it didn’t matter what they had been to each other before, now Maven needed to warn Johanna before she found herself in danger.

When Johanna noticed her, out of the corner of her eye, she said her goodbyes to the girl who had been talking to her, telling her she’d meet her later for tea, and the girl walked away. Maven watched her leave, and when she was out of earshot she turned to Johanna.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

Johanna frowned, her posture clearly speaking of unease and tension. “What is it?”

Maven looked around, making sure no one was listening to them. “Torrin tried to attack me on Friday. I was walking, and I passed by a bar where he was drinking with his friends.”

Johanna’s face was serious, but not startled. The librarian continued.

“He followed me, and when I turned back, he pushed me. Then he tried to slap me. He didn’t really hurt me, I think he was too drunk to properly have control over his limbs, but he wanted to, and I think you should know this about him.”

Maven had been expecting anger from her friend. This was the same Johanna who would never let anything happen to the people she cared about, she had been expecting her to feel betrayed, or at least concerned by her boyfriend’s actions. She had not been expecting her to look down at her feet and answer quietly.

“I’m sorry, Maven. I wish I could believe you, but Torrin warned that you’d tell me that”

Those words were like a bucket of cold water on Maven’s head. Of course he had said so. “Johanna, please believe me. You’ve already seen him do things like that before. You must remember the sort of pranks he liked to play on my mother.”

Johanna looked up sharply, looking angry at last. “That was before. He has changed, Maven. He just needed someone to give him support and show him he was wrong. He is a good person now.”

Her fierce defense of him left Maven gaping. “Then how do you explain what just happened?”

Johanna but her lip, taking a breath before answering. “You must be lying. I don’t want to believe you’d do this to me, but… it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Maven gasped. “What would I even get by lying to you?”

Johanna swallowed. Ever since her parents had found out about Maven and her and began warming her against her friend, she had been looking for proof. She wanted to see with her own eyes that what they were telling her was real, because it didn’t really feel like it was. But this was it: the proof she had been waiting for. Maven was trying to tear them apart.

When Torrin had told her about the confrontation he’d had with Maven on Friday, Johanna hadn’t blamed her. Gods knew Torrin had been a jerk to her in the past, so Johanna couldn’t blame her for yelling at her boyfriend. But when he told her that Maven would want to blow it out of proportion, she hadn’t thought that he was right. Maven was nothing if not discreet. But here it was now. He was right.

Johanna shrugged. “You want us to break up, don’t you? You never liked him.”

“Of course I want you to break up! Forgive me if I’m worried about my friend dating a violent drunk!”

“Maven, please. I know you’re lying. I know what you’re trying to do. I don’t want to fight with you.”

Maven blinked. She realized, with a lot of sadness, that Johanna would stick by Torrin. There was nothing she could do if she wouldn’t believe her. She swallowed past a lump in her throat.

“Very well. I see I won’t get anywhere with you.”

She turned on her heels and began walking away. Johanna breathed a sigh of relief. She had been right. Maven had all but admitted she had been lying. She was still staring at her back, watching her go away, when her friend turned back to her with sad eyes.

“Anna? If you ever need help…” she stopped, thinking about all the stories she heard on the news about women who misplaced their trust on their partners. “You can come to me. Goodbye.”

After that, she turned around again and walked away with a quick stride, as if she was afraid of being in Johanna’s presence for much longer, as if something bad would happen if she were. And maybe it would.

_#_#_#_

Johanna walked into the room to find herself looking into one of the most peaceful scenes she had seen all month. Sweet, classical music flooded the room while Hilda slept peacefully on her stroller, with Maven hunched over a book by her side on the bed.

The librarian looked up when she heard the door opening, her lips turning upwards in response to Johanna’s own smile. “So, I take it everything was okay?”

Maven nodded. “She’s a very good child. She wanted to play but she barely gave any trouble at all.”

The librarian closed her book and got up from the bed as quietly as she could, walking over to Johanna. “I changed her diaper but I don’t really have a lot of practice with this. Maybe later you should check if I did that right.”

Johanna snorted as Maven rubbed her neck sheepishly, and reached inside her pocket for the money she had been given for her work. “That’s okay. Thank you so much for taking care of her. Here.”

She tried to press the few bills into her friend’s hand, but she hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep it? You’re the one who earned it.”

Johanna closed Maven’s hand over the money, making her take it. “I still have some of my own. And you’re doing so much for us already, I can’t let you provide for us alone.”

Maven looked at the money, and then at her face. “Help should be freely given.”

Johanna tilted her head and smiled at her, glancing at her sleeping daughter and the children’s book that had been left on the bed, a clear sign that Maven had been reading to her. “It is being freely given. I’m just trying to help as well.”

Before she could think too much and stop herself from doing it, she bent her head forward and pressed a quick kiss to Maven’s cheek. As she drew back and looked at her friend’s wide, surprised eyes, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Just stop being so proud for a moment, okay?” She teased with good nature. “Thanks to you, we’re fine. And I want you to be fine as well.”

Maven’s face began to melt into something less like shock and more like contentment. “Okay. That’s something I can do.”

“You should go to sleep now.” Johanna said, moving past Maven to drop her coat on the bed. “It’s very late.”

Maven rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, Johanna. You get some sleep as well.”

“Goodnight, Maven.” She said as her friend left the room. “Thank you for everything.”

#fic: tmwm #sketchbook ship hilda #sketchbook ship fanfic #hilda librarian #hilda librarian fanfic #hilda johanna #hilda's mum #hilda johanna fanfic

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aonorunic · 5 years

Text

Armor, Fire Emblem Three Houses One Shot

Summary: Hilda teaches Byleth the importance of a nice outfit, much to Claude's pleasure.

Read on AO3.

“Is there something I can help you with, Hilda?”

The woman in question did not stop staring at Byleth. It was worse than when Claude first met her. She would catch him out of the corner of her eye staring at her, studying her like he would like to take her apart and figure out how to put her back together again. Byleth crossed her arms over her chest, fingers tapping out a silent rhythm against her skin as she waited for an answer.

Hilda took another long moment, eyes narrowing as she leaned forward to take in Byleth’s new posture. “Professor,” she finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence, “we need to do something about that outfit.”

Byleth, stunned, could only blink at the other woman. That was not what she expected at all. “What?”

“It’s terrible,” Hilda deadpanned. “We have to do something about it.”

“Why?” Byleth looked down at her clothes. No one had said anything about them until now. “What’s wrong with them?”

“Professor!” Hilda stepped closer and placed her hands on Byleth’s shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. “Think of it this way, your clothes are a type of armor. Your outfit creates a first impression. It can make a statement as soon as you walk into a room. Do you want to make people think you’re a kind and charismatic leader, or stoic and strict? Or do you want to give the impression of purity and innocence? You can use your clothes to make sure people don’t underestimate you, or get them to do just that when it is to your advantage.”

Byleth tilted her head, the only indication she was thinking over what Hilda had said. “That seems like a lot of work for a bit of fabric to pull off. So far my actions have spoken loudly enough for me.”

“True, but you weren’t Rhea’s heir until now,” Hilda pointed out. “You’ll be pulled into Fódlan’s politics now, more so when the war is actually over and you’re rebuilding society. You need to learn now how to use your clothes as another weapon in your arsenal.”

“I thought you said they were armor.”

Hilda rolled her eyes and grabbed Byleth’s hand. “Come on.”

Byleth was too startled to resist. She was not sure what Hilda had planned, but there was a part of her that was actually curious. And it wasn’t like she would be trapped if she became uncomfortable or this little excursion took too long...at least she hoped so.

Hilda marched her straight to Dorothea’s room, not even bothering to knock before throwing open the door. Dorothea and Petra did not look surprised at all when Hilda showed herself into the room. “Hello, Hilda,” Dorothea greeted cheerfully. “Oh, and Professor!” Her entire face lit up when she caught sight of Byleth behind Hilda, a brilliant smile crossing her face.

“Dorothea, we’re going to dress up the Professor.”

Byleth, for the second time that day, found herself simply blinking in surprise. She was pretty sure her ears were actually ringing from that shriek. How was it even possible for someone’s voice to get that high?

“Now, Hilda-” Byleth tried to protest, but was immediately cut off.

“She refuses to see the advantage of a nice outfit,” Hilda explained.

Byleth did not like the look the two women shared. The part of her that had stayed around Claude too often wondered if they had staged this whole set up.

“Think of it this way, Professor,” Dorothea said, her voice dripping with poisoned honey, “when Claude walks into a room, what happens?”

Byleth thought for a moment, more judging what answer would diffuse the situation than having to remember what happened whenever Claude made an entrance. Her eyes were always drawn to him...She cut herself off before she could fall too far down that rabbit hole. “It depends on what he wants. Sometimes he had everyone’s attention immediately, or else he goes completely unnoticed.”

“Exactly, but let’s focus on that first example. He uses his wit and charm to gain attention. Now, not that you aren’t charming, but that kind of entrance just isn’t you. But you can pull off that same thing with a simple outfit change.”

Seeing Byleth was still not convinced, Hilda once more joined in. “I know it’s hard, but imagine if Claude couldn’t talk. He is going to a meeting of the Alliance Lords, so he still needs to gain immediate respect. His appearance will be the first thing they notice.”

“Breaking out his nicest clothes is not necessary in this case,” Dorothea smoothly took over the explanation. “It would seem like he was trying too hard. But he’ll still wear formal clothes that show both wealth and position, something that walks the fine line between showing off and showing up.”

Byleth had no idea what that meant.

“Now, picture him at an event such as a, let’s say a ball. There is no way he can command the attention of the entire room in his usual way, not without making a social faux pas, and in most circumstances that won’t gain him anything. He is going to use his posture and his clothes to draw in everyone’s gaze. Especially if he is trying to gain the attention of a certain lady love.” Dorothea winked, that lovely smile not slipping from her lips.

Byleth blushed. She now had the image of an impeccably dressed Claude, his hair swept back, and green eyes sparkling as he looked at her while knowing that everyone else could not take their eyes off of him; knowing that Byleth would not take her eyes off of him. And if she could match him? She imagined Claude’s eyes going wide as he first saw her, his mouth opening in a soft ‘o’ of pleasant surprise.

She wanted to put that look on his face. Perhaps there was something to what Hilda and Dorothea were saying after all.

“Claude is a duke, so he would be knowing how to…” Petra hesitated, turning to Dorothea as she tried to remember the turn of phrase, “....make an impact.”

Dorothea smiled at her, soft and loving, and nodded proudly. “See? Petra agrees. Now, with so many new allies arriving, we really should show you just how impactful our little theory can be.”

“And it would just be a coincidence that we’re throwing a small party to welcome said new allies tonight?” Byleth pointed out.

“My,” Dorothea gasped, “I completely forgot about that! Hilda?”

Hilda shook her head, trying her best to look innocent. Byleth did not buy it for a second. The two were devious.

But the look she pictured on Claude’s face still held her mind. She wanted so badly to see him look at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. Byleth sighed deeply and nodded her consent.

Hands were immediately on her, and Byleth lost herself in the frenzy. She was still confused, but she found herself actually enjoying it all. By the time Petra was braiding her hair, telling stories about Brigid, she was smiling along with Hilda and Dorothea, offering her own quips and earning laughter from the other three women.

“There,” Hilda finally said. “You’re going to make his jaw drop.” She looked very pleased with herself.

“Him?” Byleth questioned, feeling strange with the long skirt of the dress caressing her legs. “I thought this was for our allies.”

“Oh please.” Hilda waved her off. “You’re not stupid, Professor.”

Byleth only smiled softly and shook her head again. She couldn’t be mad. She had wanted this for so long, and Hilda had gone out of her way to arrange the possibility of it becoming a reality.

Claude could not believe his eyes. Byleth was always lovely, but he had not expected this. The black dress hugged her torso and legs, only flaring out just under her knees. It created a soft effect, making her seem like she was gliding. The sleeves did the same thing, clinging tight to her arms only to flare out dramatically right above her elbows. When she moved, she sparkled, and Claude could see small beads woven into the cloth. Her hair was done in a dozen complicated braids, swept up to reveal the smooth skin of her neck A belt of silver in the shape of the ever changing phases of the moon completed the whole thing.

She was wearing the night sky.

When she turned to greet some minor noble, Claude could see the entire back of the dress was open, held together by black criss crossing ribbon.

A spark of jealousy shot through him. He wanted her attention on him.

“Claude, your jaw is on the ground,” Lorenz pointed out, sounding much too pleased.

Claude’s mouth shut with a sharp click, causing him to wince as his teeth knocked together. “Excuse me,” he mumbled, not even looking at the men sitting with him as he stood. He even ignored Lorenz’s not so quiet comment to Sylvain about Claude being completely love struck. It was true, but still something he would have to pay Lorzen back for. Just now right now. Right now there was something much more important to do.

Byleth looked up as Claude approached, her face lighting up at the sight of him. Her smile went straight to his heart like an arrow. “Claude.” And the happiness with which she said his name certainly did not help.

“My, my, what do we have here?” Claude teased. “You look lovely, Teach.”

Byleth flushed, Claude’s breath catching as a soft pink touched her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Hilda and Dorothea said I should try some new outfits.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

“Claude? The Margrave’s contingent is here.” To his credit, Lorenz sounded sorry for interrupting.

“Of course they are.” Claude sighed and shook his head. “Will you excuse me, Teach? Seems I’ve got some matters to attend to.”

Byleth nodded, but she could not hide the sorry he saw in her eyes. As soon as he could, he was going to be back at her side.

Byleth sighed as she finally escaped the light and heat of the crowd. Tables had been pushed aside and someone had arranged dancing. She was immediately pulled into dances with partner after partner, seeing Claude in the same situation as herself. They had tried to reach each other, but there was always another noble to appease.

Right now, she just wanted to breathe.

“Hey, good to see we had the same idea.”

Her head shot up, her heart still managing to leapt for joy despite its inability to beat. “Claude!”

Claude stepped out of the shadows, his green eyes sparkling as they looked her up and down brazenly. Byleth felt herself suppress a shiver under that gaze. “Careful, my friend, if you keep looking at me like that I’m going to get ideas.”

Byleth forced herself to meet his eyes, remembering Hilda’s words about these strange clothes being her armor. They most definitely were not, not in the traditional sense, but she had seen Claude’s face when she walked into the room. She had never before been able to disarm him so easily. And Hilda was right, that did give her a certain kind of strength.

“What kind of ideas would those be?”

For a moment, Claude was speechless. Byleth could practically see him thinking, his brain trying to process what she had just said. But just as he did with everything else, Claude adapted quickly. He stepped toward her, his carefree smile gone.

Claude reached up a hand and caressed her cheek, sending a jolt of want through Byleth. “Ideas about how much I want you by me always. Ideas like how I want to see you smile, or be there for you when you cry. Ideas about how much I want to kiss you.”

Byleth leaned into his touch, her hands reaching up to lay against Claude’s chest. She could feel his heartbeat against her palm. It was fast, faster than normal she suspected. “I wouldn’t mind that at all,” she admitted.

She had barely gotten the words out before Claude’s lips were on hers. It was desperate, like he was afraid she wouldn’t be there if he let go. Byleth kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him as close as she could.

When Claude broke away, it was all too soon. “By, I…” Was all he got out before he was kissing her again, trying to tell her everything he was failing to put into words, too overwhelmed to string his thoughts coherently. He pushed her up against the stone wall, Byleth moaning into his mouth as their bodies pressed together.

This time when Claude moved from her lips, it was to trail kisses down her jaw and neck. Byleth tilted her head, offering the long expanse of skin up to Claude’s eager mouth. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and when she pulled he nipped at her shoulder. “Claude,” she moaned, only to realize how loud her voice was in the quiet of the night.

Byleth brought a hand up to cover her mouth, but Claude caught it, kissing the tips of her fingers. “I want to hear every little noise you make,” Claude said, his voice heavy with desire.

“Then we should probably find someplace we won’t be interrupted.”

Claude straightened, taking a step back from her. Byleth’s fingers tightened on his shoulders, desperate to keep him close. What had she done wrong? “Claude?”

He took a deep breath, leaning down to press his forehead to hers. “Byleth, I want this, I really do, but I want more than a single night. I want you, and I don’t want to ruin this.”

Her fingers tightened in his hair again, and she tilted her head up to kiss him. It was much slower, as gentle as their first was desperate. “I have wanted you for so long now, Claude. I love you,” she finally admitted.

“I love you too, By,” was the answer, Claude doing his best not to let his emotions overwhelm him. “I want to show you how much.”

Byleth smiled, pulling him flush against her and relishing the feel of his desire against her hip. She rolled her hips, drawing forth a groan from her partner. “So, your room or mine?”

Claude burst out laughing, shaking his head as he grabbed her hand and began walking her toward the dorms. “Yours is closer, and I don’t want to wait any longer than I have to.”

She did not remember the trip to her room, only the quickly stolen kisses and the desperate caresses. Byleth was honestly surprised they made it to her room at all. As soon as the door closed behind her, Claude had her pushed up against the wooden barrier, kissing her so desperately Byleth felt her legs go weak. His hands explored her body with more confidence, drawing delightful little sounds from her.

Her own hands were busy with his clothes, undoing buttons and untying laces, shoving the fabric away from him as soon as she could get it out of the way. “Well this isn’t fair,” Claude joked between kisses. “You’re still fully clothed, and here I am in just my small clothes.”

Byleth grinned and shoved him back, using the movement to push herself off the door. “What are you going to do about that?”

Claude matched her grin. Grabbing her shoulders, he turned Byleth around and began to undo the black ribbon keeping her dress together. She sighed happily when she felt his lips worshiping every inch of skin he revealed, until the black fabric pooled around her feet.

Byleth stared down at the fabric, leaning back into Claude’s warm arms.

“By?”

She shook her head and turned in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as she brought him close for a quick kiss. “It’s nothing, just something Hilda said. She called my clothes my armor. I was just thinking how appropriate it is that the man who taught me love and joy is the one to remove them.”

Claude buried his face against her neck and moaned. “Do you have any idea what you do to me when you say things like that?”

“I’m hoping you’ll show me,” Byleth teased, shoving Claude back onto the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes: Yeah, I did that.

I was going to write more, but honestly those last lines were the entire reason I wrote the story, and after that nothing I added on really seemed to fit. So, no, not sorry at all.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem fanfiction #claudeth #claude x byleth #my fic #my writing

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