#i fr kept thinking the last death would be the last death | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eleganzadellarosa · 7 months

Text

pairing: vampire!au, kyungsoo x fem!reader, dom!kyungsoo x sub!reader, kyungsoo x virgin!reader, Prince!Jongin x reader

genres: smut, angst

words: 14.8K

warnings: EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT, MINORS DNI [masturbation, slight spit play, face sitting, squirting, unprotected sex (wrap it up fr), biting kink, pet names (darling, princess, love, baby),choking, oral (m and f receiving), fingering…etc.],cheating, blood (this should make sense)

author's note: I got tired of there not being enough Kyungsoo smut (to my knowledge anyway. If you have some recs, please do share) so I decided to write my own. Plus the teaser pics for cream soda did something to me and I needed to express it through writing lol. There's some plot but we're all here for the smut, and trust me it's smutty. So please enjoy, tell me what you think and thank you for reading <3

part 2 can be found here

Tomorrow was a special day, a day that you longed so earnestly for. Prince Jongin would be visiting again and with the amount of times he’s come over, a proposal was definitely underway. Jongin was a dream come true, the epitome of the “perfect husband". He possessed qualities that one could only ask for while on their knees. From his looks to his status, he was desired by many, yet his heart only yearned for you. It made you blush just to think about everything and how much of a blessing it truly was. The man was gorgeous, from his sun kissed tanned skin, to his tall frame and toned body.

But his physical appearance had nothing to do with why you fell head over heels for him. He was kind, sweet and gentle, something that most suitors only faked while courting their potential spouse. You’ve heard the stories and how many women lost the love for their husbands within the first couple months of marriage only to be stuck with bearing their children until death did them part. That wouldn’t be you though because that wasn’t Jongin--he was different. His personality was genuine and it was apparent from head to toe.

3 months in total counted for the amount of days that he’s visited which was considered standard courting practice for your time period. Your parents loved him and your heart skipped a beat whenever he was close. You wanted no one but him and you knew he felt the same about you. The time drifted by way too slowly and as you lay awake on your bed, your mind ran at 100 miles per minute. Scenario after scenario about how tomorrow would go kept you occupied until your mind finally relaxed enough for you to drift off to sleep.

“Wake up...wake up! It’s half past eleven!”

The sun shined brightly through the window across from you, violently pulling your heavy lids open. Your body tries to coast back into its peaceful slumber, but the person shaking you vetoed your plans. Your eyes once again opening to find said person extremely close to your face, making you immediately sit up as if you were already fully awake. It was Vivian, your servant, but you didn’t like to call her that because she was much closer to you than someone who would do whatever because of your superiority over them.

You were an only child, so she has been the only one around your age for as long as you could remember. She’s the daughter of a previous servant that once lived here but she died before you or Vivian were older than newborns and your parents were kind enough to let her stay instead of leaving her in the hands of an orphanage. You pitied her but she hated when you did so you tried not to show it, but you knew how hard it must have been without a mother. She never admitted it but your family is the only she’s ever really known so she didn’t know what to miss.

“Hurry, you have about 30 minutes before he gets here and you still haven’t bathed!” she says as she tugs at your arm, slightly pulling you off the bed. As much as you thought about him last night, you almost forgot who was coming today. You rushed off into the bathroom, where Vivian already had your bath set. She made sure to add some rose petals to your water, ensuring that your smell would linger every time you passed the prince by.

She left the bathroom after making sure everything was just right to give you some privacy. The bath relaxed you, maybe a little too much and the moment you stumbled into dreamland for the second time this morning, there was a knock at the door. Vivian came rushing in, towels in hand.

“He’s here! Get out right now, you still have to get dressed! And why are you so tired?!”

"I stayed up all night thinking about today, I couldn't help it!" you pouted as you reluctantly stepped out of the tub.

She shook her head while chuckling and pushed you out the bathroom door.

Your heart beat so fast it felt as though it would break through your rib cage at any moment. You both quickly rushed into your room, ready to choose the perfect outfit for today. Being aware of his love for soft colors, you opted for a powder blue peasant cut dress and white corset. You styled your long black tresses in a half up half down style with curtain bangs. The accessories were simple; dangling pearl earrings and a pearl hairpin to match. You weren’t one to wear makeup, but today being the special day that it is, powder set your face and a rose balm on your lips complimented your slightly tanned skin. You stood from your place at your marble vanity and did a small twirl for Vivian to assess the final look. Before she could speak, there was a knock on your door.

“Princess, please come down to the main hall and greet Prince Jongin, he has arrived.” The familiar voice of the butler spoke on the other end of the door. The anxiety began to swell when everything set in but you couldn’t let your emotions get the best of you. Feeling anxious was pointless anyway because you’ve met with Prince Jongin multiple times, but for some reason there was suddenly a heaviness in the air that made your stomach churn. She gives you a nod of approval and you both make your way out the door to head downstairs to greet your guest.

As you walk down the imperial staircase, you see two faces; one familiar and the other not so much. You curtsy in front of Jongin and he takes your hand in his, placing a small kiss on the back.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again Princess. You look gorgeous as always.” he says smiling.

You return his smile and compliments but can’t help letting your gaze fall on the unfamiliar man standing feet apart from him. There was something in the way he stood, something in the way he looked, something you couldn’t put your finger on, but there was something off about him.

“Oh yes, please excuse my manners. Allow me to introduce you to my servant, Kyungsoo. A man of few words, but loyal nonetheless. You shall be seeing him a lot more often I hope?” he says insinuating that you accept his proposal; one which you’d be stupid to refuse.

Kyungsoo bows and makes his way over. Studying the man in front of you, he’s clad in a white blouse, the first three buttons unsecured so a small amount of the skin on his chest shone like the moon peaking out from the clouds. Black slacks, black dress shoes and then three dainty gold necklaces don his neck. His hair was also black, tousled perfectly in an elegant manner. A handsome man indeed, you had to admit, and the sense of mystery surrounding him had you staring for a lot longer than you’d have liked.

He stared back awaiting your move so he may properly greet you, yet here you were stuck, trapped and falling into his deep black orbs. There was a feeling there, something different from when you looked at Jongin. Like the pair whose love was forbidden yet the two couldn’t stay apart. The love could not be portrayed in plain sight but the tension between the two created a impenetrable force field.

Vivian clears her throat next to you which snaps you out of your thoughts. You curtsy and offer your hand to him who gently takes your hand in his. He also places a small kiss on the back, yet he doesn’t break eye contact. The small action making your breath get caught in the back of your throat.

With him being so close, you could smell the fragrance that wafted your way. It was breathtaking, like nothing you’ve ever smelled before. It was so perfect that it seemed to come from his pores, pheromones clouding and intoxicating your judgement.

“The king said he would be waiting for us. We should not keep him any longer.”

The statement from Jongin makes you avert your eyes from Kyungsoo and he removes his lips from your hand. He made your knees like jelly and your heart race a marathon. Your guard was down and you allowed yourself to fall prey to the subtle seduction.

Lunch in the banquet went quite well. Laughs, clinking wine glasses and cutlery colliding with the china filled the large space. Every once in a while those sounds were replaced with sips, breaths and sighs. You caught Jongin stealing a few glances your way when you moved to tuck your bangs behind your ear, making you blush every time. In the meantime, this is what kept your head on straight and you had almost forgot he brought his servant along, until he came in with Vivian to announce that dessert would be served shortly.

Having Kyungsoo in your presence made your posture straighter, if that was even possible. Everything about him made the hairs on the back of your neck erect. You shakily reach for the wine glass in front of you and knock it over, the red liquid spilling onto your dress. You gasp and quickly stand up from your chair and dab the area with the spare cloth from the table. You look up to see all eyes on you and you mentally slap yourself for the embarrassing act.

"Are you okay Princess?" Jongin asks, walking up to you with a fresh cloth.

“Yes, thank you. I must excuse myself, I would hate for my suitor to see me in such a messy manner.”

“Please, do not worry about such trivial things. I will be here when you return so please take your time.”

You smiled and bowed your head before heading toward the exit, Kyungsoo’s eyes never leaving your form. It made your body shudder. For what reason did Jongin bring him along? He was usually by himself but this time he brought his plus one. Was he to act as a test for your loyalty? You would have to keep your eyes on any tricks that he may try to play, you would hate for the prince to back out on the proposal because you couldn’t contain your newfound lust for his servant.

By the time you finished changing into something that wasn’t stained with wine, it was announced that lunch would be ending early. It felt like your fault even though you knew there must have been another reason. Dessert was the only part of the meal that would be missed so it was not that big of a deal.

You searched around for Jongin only to find that he was with your father in his study. A guard blocked the door and informed you that their conversation was important and the king ordered they were to not be disturbed. You thanked him for the information and tried to contain the giddiness you felt rising in your chest. They could only be talking about one thing and you hoped you were right. As you turned on your heels to leave, the guard cleared his throat.

“You did not hear this from me, but Prince Jongin will be staying with us until Sunday.”

Although surprising, it was a logical decision since the journey back for him was quite long and the day was almost over. By the time dinner came around, he had excused himself and settled for a nap instead, further confirming the trip was taxing. You wanted to bring up their conversation over the meal but you knew your impatience would only irritate your father, so finding out would have to wait. If only waiting wasn't so hard.

After dinner, you made up your mind to get ready for bed early so you would have all your energy for a full day with Jongin tomorrow. You enter the bathroom and undress in front of the tub, throwing your worn clothes to the side not caring where they landed. The water was warm yet kissing the temperature of being too hot, but it relaxed your muscles which was much needed after feeling so tense for most of the day. You cup your hand to gather water and run it down your body, taking deep breaths and closing your eyes, the scent of lavender floating through your nostrils.

"Princess..." an unfamiliar voice making you jolt, your eyes shooting open. There was no knock on the door or sound of the door opening. You turn around and see Kyungsoo standing not far from where you were. You quickly sink further down into the tub in hopes that the water would cover your breasts.

"Sir Kyungsoo…what are you doing here?" He walks closer to the tub which ultimately causes you to try and back up, only resulting in your top half being exposed. You quickly cover your chest with your arms and your heart rate flies through the roof.

"Prince Jongin told me to come and check on you and to also see if you needed assistance with anything. Miss Vivian was very kind and told me where you were, although I suspect she didn't think I would be entering. And please, no need for formalities, I’m but a mere servant.” He ends his sentence as he sits on the edge of the large tub. He runs his fingers through your bath water and scoops some up in his hand, your eyes following his every movement.

“You don’t have to be so tense around me darling, I won’t hurt you. I give you my word.” As you look up at him ready to deny his claims, the water he stored in his hand cascades down your back making you gasp. He repeats the action, this time letting his hand run down the damp skin. “I thought your beauty had limits”, he gently grabs your chin with the same hand and leans in closer to your face, “but here you are proving me wrong”.

Not trusting your voice you stayed silent, mentally punishing yourself for letting him get away with this. If he hadn’t been holding onto your chin, your jaw would’ve fallen slack. Your arms were already at your sides when his gaze travels down your body and land on your chest and hard nipples. His tongue peeks out from inside his mouth to wet his lips, and it immediately sent tingles straight to your core. He looks back up at you and smirks before standing and exiting the bathroom.

On the outside of the door, his chest heaved. He suddenly felt restricted in his loose clothing. He leaned his head back against the door and ran a hand through his hair. “What in God’s name am I doing?” he thought. He was unlike his normal self, reserved and respectful. You were doing things to him, taking his control away from him. You were the puppeteer manipulating his movements. You were the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on and don't get him started on how lovely you smelled. He cursed his heightened sense, only making it harder to resist you. He knew of the intensity of your relationship with Jongin; yet he wanted to snatch the man's happiness away.

He didn’t believe you could be as perfect as Jongin described you in his many stories but seeing you today made him realize they did you no justice. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. The way you moved, the way you spoke, the way you dressed. Each and every thing about you had been perfectly molded by God himself, the only reasonable answer for such a beautiful being. He wanted you, and seeing you in your most vulnerable form in the bathtub made his pants a little tighter.

He knew what he was doing to you, how his actions had heavy consequences on your body. He wanted you enamored, wanted you within his grasp. He fell for you as soon as his eyes met yours and he knew he would do whatever it took to have you. However, he knew of the possibility of that never happening especially since he held onto a secret that only a small few had knowledge of, and that included Jongin.

You hadn’t noticed you were holding your breath until the door shut and the air filling your lungs makes you cough. This man was unpredictable, risky and for your own sake, it would be best to avoid him as much as you could. Your plan to stay grounded against any foul play went down the drain when he got close to you. You hoped everything you felt was all in your head and the consequences weren’t a heavy burden to bear.

For the rest of the evening, any thought of what happened earlier you tried to shove to the back of your mind. It was becoming hard to not think of the man the more you would occasionally pass Jongin in the halls. He still had your heart but whenever you crossed paths, your mind was never on the man in front of you. Instead you seemed to look through and around him wondering if his shadow would be following closely behind. This disappointed you as he was never to be found and you couldn’t help but wonder why. Alas, you were too nervous to ask and truthfully you had no reason to, especially when the man passing you by in the corridors would claim you as his any day now.

“I hope you sleep well Princess. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to see you again in the morning.” Jongin bows and walks past you, down the hall and into his room for the night.

You offered him a small and respectful smile and couldn't deny the warm and tingly feeling you felt when he spoke to you. You sighed deeply knowing that the next few days would be hell with both men in your home.

Midnight soon came and you went into your room to change into your pajamas. You opened the armoire, one that matched the marble pattern on your vanity. An ivory, satin nightgown would be perfect for tonight's weather and also with how warm your body felt. You flopped onto the bed and covered your face with your hands before letting them drop to the sides of your head. Today had put a lot of stress on your mind and rightfully so. Having this strange and beautiful man around had your mind doing mental olympics. "I thought your beauty had limits, but here you are proving me wrong" that line played in your mind over and over and never failed to confuse your heart more each time.

Memory of the way he touched you replayed on loop. The words to stop him were stuck on the tip of your tongue but deep down you wanted him to continue and that's what made it scary. You loved Prince Jongin and your answer to whatever question he had would always be an immediate yes, still you couldn't take your mind off of Kyungsoo. The way he licked his lips as he scanned your body, his touch making you gasp, just everything about his entire being was starting to make you feral even though you only met the man today. Your hormones were getting the best of you and you blamed it on your period possibly arriving soon. The more you thought about him the more the throb between your legs became increasingly obvious and it begged to be touched.

Jumping up and carefully locking the door, you returned to your bed to get comfortable under your blanket and remove your panties. This was so unlike you, but the thought of him sent fire through your veins and there was no other option to satisfy the agonizing thump. Starting with larger circles, they quickly turned into smaller, concentrated ones as you settled into the new feeling. You continued to rub your clit and the slick from in between your folds coated your finger. You wanted more, no, you needed more and the only way to ease your arousal was to insert a finger. The feeling was definitely foreign but it helped alleviate some of the pressure that didn't seem to go away with your earlier actions. The image of Kyungsoo licking his beautiful plump lips popped into your head once more and a small whimper slipped past your lips.

Slightly startled, you quickly sat up and looked around as if there would be an audience watching you touch yourself. You've never once worried about the sound travelling throughout the castle but even if you did it would be useless. The castle wasn't small and with the old stone walls, no sound would penetrate its forces. You settle back into your spot and finish what you started. Knowing no one would hear you, Kyungsoo's name rolled off your tongue as you moaned. You added another finger and began to thrust into yourself faster, back arching off the bed. It didn't take long before the knot building in your stomach snapped and you released your juices all over your fingers.

You lay there in awe of the new sensation, a sheen of sweat dancing across your chest and forehead. Whatever control you believed you had over yourself was snatched away from you in the last 15 minutes and it would be safe to think you'd never get it back. You reach for the handkerchief on your bedside table to clean the mess on your fingers and between your legs. The guilt washed over you when you finally laid your head on your pillow. Your loyalty knew no bounds but now you questioned if it was ever one of your qualities. The thought of Jongin finding out what you did tonight made you cover your face in embarrassment and curl your body into a ball. What if he didn't want you anymore, what if he could tell that your mind hasn't been on him since you laid eyes on Kyungsoo? What would he think of you?

Kyungsoo also had no luck with getting you off his mind. He stood with his hands gripping the sink, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, wondering if the man on the other side was still him. It was becoming too difficult to keep his urge of releasing all the pent up feelings while he was all alone. He thought of how the droplets of water glimmered against your soft and supple skin. He imagined you moaning his name when you gasped at his touch. Every thought sent blood right to his lower organ. It was painful, the way it pressed against the fabric of his pants as if it would break through any second.

He reached down and palmed his erection through his clothes, grip on the sink getting tighter. His breath quickened as he moved his hand faster. It felt good but still wasn't enough to shake the thought of you. He pulled the zipper down along with the waistband of his briefs just enough so his dick popped free. Concentration deep within his brows as he focused stroking his length as if he was within your velvety walls. He felt it, the feeling of ecstasy building up waiting to explode. A few more pumps and he came in his hand, moans hidden behind the lip caught between his teeth. It wasn’t until his lip fell free that he noticed the drops of blood coming from it.

Another look in the mirror and he saw just how much of himself he let go. Piercing red eyes and fangs to match. This was dangerous, you were dangerous. He would never be able to keep his secret to himself with you around, but he craved you. He so badly wanted to have his dick buried deep inside you and his teeth sunk into your skin. It would be euphoric and if he didn't get it, he might just wish for death.

Breakfast the next morning was quite large given that there were extra guests but sometimes you thought it a waste since the abundance of food left over could feed a whole village. As you entered the great hall, you scanned the grand area in search of Jongin. He wasn’t here and you wanted to be courteous and wait for him before you touched your food. You spot Vivian on the other side talking to Kyungsoo and your curiosity got the best of you. Jealous wouldn’t be the right word to use but you felt the need to go over and cut their conversation short no matter how important.

You wave to Vivian as you close in on the pair and her eyes light up when she sees you, making Kyungsoo turn around. He bows and you extend a curtsy.

“Prince Jongin will be here shortly, he’s just having a slow morning so please do excuse him.” Kyungsoo looks at you as if to watch your face for any changes.

“That’s quite alright, you both must be tired from your long journey yesterday. I have no problem with waiting for him.”

He smiles softly and excuses himself, walking toward the exit.

Vivian nudges you and leans in when he's no longer in sight. "Is it just me or is something really weird about him? Or...maybe it's just because he fancies you." her voice being a mere whisper, inaudible if you hadn't been so close to her.

Your head whips in her direction, "Nonsense! He does not! But yes something is very different about him and I'm not sure how one would describe it."

"You may not think so, but I definitely do. He watches you every time you're around. He pays no mind to anything else going on around him and he looks at you like you're rations on harvest day."

You wanted to call her delusional but you knew of the interactions you had with him yesterday and you could never muster up enough courage to tell her about your conflict. As the hopeless romantic she is, the situation would excite her but she would tell you to think logically and remember how much you love and waited for Jongin. Maybe that's what you needed, someone to tell you that it was stupid to even think about someone else. Not now though, you would do everything in your power to deny the feelings budding for the new man and focus solely on your suitor.

Breakfast was served and your stomach grumbled the second the variety of aromas caressed your nose.

"Good morning Princess, I hope I did not make you wait too long. I would have rushed here sooner if I knew you were already present."

You turn to look in the direction of the voice. Jongin stands before you and you offer him your hand. He kisses it and you give his a light squeeze. "Please do not worry about such things my prince. I did not wait long but would have waited longer if you needed.

He smiled brightly hearing you call him "your prince" for the first time and admittedly it felt weird to you even though it left your mouth with ease.

After the meal, everyone returned to their rooms to await the next. You laid on your bed while indulging in your favorite book. There was a soft knock on your door.

"Please come in" you say, shifting your weight from your stomach to your elbows to gain leverage and look in the direction of the door.

To your pleasant surprise, Jongin enters with a bow. You quickly stand up from your bed and run your hands down your dress to straighten it out.

"Oh! Prince Jongin, what brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk in the garden with me? I love to take walks around noon, the sun is at its highest then."

Perfect timing. This is what you needed, some time completely alone with him so you had no other distractions. "I would love to, I will be right down."

A big smile paints his face and he releases a breath that was anxiously waiting in his chest. "Take your time, I will meet you outside when you are ready."

To say the garden was huge was an understatement but it was the perfect place to relax and unwind. Jongin offers you his arm to hold while you two take the stroll.

"Is the sun too bright? I can ask Kyungsoo to bring an umbrella if you'd li-"

You tighten your grip on his arm slightly startling him, "No no, it's perfectly fine! The rays from the sun are healthy in small amounts and it feels great on the skin." The excuse was corny but it was the best you could come up with.

He offers you a warm smile and extends his hand in front of you as a way to say "lead the way". The last thing you needed was for Kyungsoo to come and ruin this time with Jongin. If the man you had your arms locked with right now knew of the exchanges with his servant, he would probably look at you in disgust. You were going to pass this test one way or another.

Thankfully Kyungsoo was the last person on your mind the entire time. The prince lead most of the conversations but you didn't mind, his voice was just as attractive as the rest of him and seeing him laugh so freely was like a breath of fresh air.

He gave you butterflies and to think that he wanted to marry you and no one else, made you feel like you were on cloud 9. You didn't give much thought to what your husband would look or be like when you were younger, but if you did, you know he would fit the description perfectly.

"We must head back now, it will be time for lunch soon and we wouldn't want everyone looking for us. But before we go-" he pauses as he brings a hand from around his back to reveal a pink rose.

You gasp in delight and grab it, fingers brushing against his. Courageously, you stand on the tips of your toes and place a small kiss on his cheek. "I love it so much, it's beautiful! Thank you."

Although he tried to hide it, the obvious blush on his cheeks told you just how much the kiss excited him. If you wanted to keep the other one off your brain, things like this would have to be more frequent. You didn't want to come on too strongly but there was no denying how much he loved you and you had to do whatever it took to keep your feelings in order.

Now you were curious what he spoke about with your father since he still hadn't proposed. Was he rethinking his decision? The thought made you nervous and wondered if everything Kyungsoo did was simply a test and Jongin knew about it all. It would be futile to ask him now especially if it meant opening a can of worms; you definitely weren't ready for that conversation.

After lunch, Vivian dragged you to her room to interrogate you.

"How was your date with Jongin? Did you hold hands? Did you kiss him? Tell me everything!"

You chuckled at her straightforwardness. "It was amazing! He's such a lovely person, I could hear him talk all day. And...maybe I did kiss him." You had to quickly add more to your sentence before she screamed "But only on the cheek, nothing serious!"

"Oh how great it must feel to have two men longing for you at once." She clasped her hands at her chest and looked up as if she were imagining it.

Your smile dropped. "Vivian again with this? He doesn't like me, I'm just new to him."

"If you saw him today, you wouldn't be saying that." She tilted her head and looked off to the side.

Suddenly your interest was piqued. "W-what do you mean?"

"I mean, he looked like a dog who lost its master. The entire time you were out with Jongin, he walked around aimlessly like he counted down the minutes until you returned. I have seen my fair share of people in love and he's definitely one of them. He wishes he was Prince Jongin, I can see it in his eyes."

You had thought about it and on multiple occasions within the past two days. What would it be like to have Kyungsoo wanting to spend the rest of his life with you? Would you want the other instead? It felt selfish thinking about something like this when Jongin was so nice to you. It felt inconsiderate to think that the thought of Kyungsoo was the one to send you over the edge when you pleasured yourself at night.

You would talk to him tomorrow you decided. You needed to know the intent behind his actions and would politely ask him to keep the relationship platonic.

After bathing, you returned to your quarters. Tonight's attire was a white, sheer, long nightgown that was maybe a bit too sheer to even be considered clothing. You hop into bed and lay on your back, relishing the way the silk sheets felt against your skin. The feeling sent shivers down your spine and memories of your orgasm coaxed you into wanting another. You tried to compel the idea to the back of your mind, but unsuccessfully so when you remembered what Vivian said about Kyungsoo. You spending most of the day with Jongin equating to nothing in this moment. Remembering how disappointed he looked when you waited patiently for Jongin at breakfast. And his voice. It was so deep and sultry, every word laced with passion and you wondered what it’d be like to have him whisper in your ear. He was too intoxicating.

Succumbing to the growing feeling between your legs, you reach under your nightgown and start to rub your clit through the thin fabric of your panties. The initial feeling makes you squirm in place, closing your legs to add to the friction. One finger, then two gets inserted and it quickly turns into you riding the palm of your hand when you curl your fingers upwards to hit the gummy spot that shortens your breath. Whimpers turn into moans and before you know it, Kyungsoo's name is rolling off your tongue again like it's the only name you know. You speed up and right before you can reach your climax, there's a knock on your door. Quickly sitting up and adjusting your appearance, you rush over to the door to open it. You peek around the door, shielding your body as best as you can from whoever awaited on the other side.

It was him. The man whose name you were just moaning like crazy. Your face instantly turns a shade of red when you realize that he could have heard you before he knocked on the door. Angling your body further away from the door, you stare at the man a bit longer before he decides to speak up instead.

"May I come in?" He waits for your response which felt like an eternity. “You seem…busy? I promise it will be quick.” He says slightly pushing the door to allow himself in, becoming impatient with waiting for you to speak up and afraid someone would catch him.

It was the embarrassment and the way you had no strength to debate that made you back away and allow him to step past the barrier of your door. He closed it behind him and leaned against it. It was then that he took the time to realize your almost naked frame in front of him.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to attack you then and there but there were more important things at hand. You noticed how his eyes traveled down your body and you finally became conscious of your scantily clad figure, quickly covering your chest with your arms, forgetting that left your bottom half exposed under the sheer gown.

"What is it that you need Kyungsoo? Perhaps we can discuss this in the morning?"

“No! No…it can’t wait. I have to tell you how I feel now before I go insane.” You look at him confused, heart racing the more he spoke. “You’ve been driving me mad since I’ve first laid eyes on you. You’re more perfect than words can describe. I hate myself for not believing Jongin when he would come home and brag about just how pretty you were. I know you understand how I’m feeling too because even now you look at me with an indescribable want in your eyes.”

He walks closer to you and lets his hands rest atop the arms that cover your breasts. He moves them away from your body and lets his hand travel down your right arm, stopping at your wrist. He brings the hand up to his mouth and sucks on the two middle fingers. His eyes close and he lets out a low sigh.

“And with the way you moaned my name while riding these fingers, there’s no denying my existence ignites you from within.”

He looks to you expecting you to prove him wrong, to tell him he had no business confessing his feelings for you when Jongin lay his head a few rooms away, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t acknowledge that his feelings were invalid and not mutual. So when he leaned in closer, you met him halfway and allowed him to connect his lips to yours.

The kiss was needy and filled with hunger. His tongue swiped your lips asking permission and you opened your mouth giving him access to explore you. He wraps a hand around your neck, squeezing the sides lightly and drags his teeth over your bottom lip making you whimper. He begins to pepper light and gentle kisses across your law line and down to your neck where he nips and sucks on the skin. Tongue sliding across your jugular, a moan escapes your lips. He continues his abuse on your neck and brings his hands up to cup your boobs. He massages the flesh, hands dancing across the skin in search for your nipples, pinching them when he finds them. He suddenly halts his movements, cupping your chin in his hand looking at you for what felt like a millennium.

“My love if you want me to stop now, tell me. Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll stop.”

You grabbed his hand and looked at him with hooded lids, eyes filled with lust.

“I don’t wish for you to stop and I don’t wish to regret this moment.”

His lips are back on yours, this time more passionate and filled with love. He kisses his way past your neck and down to your chest. He goes to suck on your nipple through the thin fabric, massaging the other between his fingers. There was nothing you could do to hold back your moans and he loved every second. Just as you were about to lock your fingers in his hair, he stops and pulls you in the direction of the bed. He sits down on the edge and pats his lap.

"Come here." he says pulling you forward to straddle him. His hands travel up your thighs and settle on your ass, massaging it as he looks back up at you. "Would it make me selfish if I said I was jealous of Jongin even though I have you here like this?" he says pecking your lips after every couple of words. "You were on my mind all day, I couldn't contain myself. I had to come taste you, I wouldn't be satisfied any other way." He moves your hips to grind on his lap and your head falls back as you moan.

You couldn't let him take over just yet, you wanted a clear mind but with the way he had you feeling, you would bet he cast a spell on you.

"If I said you were, then I'd have to call myself something much harsher." You say through broken and choked moans.

Leaning back, he pulls you up so that you now sit on his chest. "I want you to sit on my face, I need to taste you now before I lose my mind."

Hesitant at first, you couldn't shake the thought of suffocating him. He had gained your trust in the short amount of time though and everything else has felt great so far, so you expected he had already weighed the pros and cons.

As if reading your mind, he pulls you up higher on his chest, “I’ll be okay and you'll feel good if you listen, I promise."

You hover over his face for a few more seconds before you lower yourself onto his mouth, your thighs resting on either side of his head. His licks a long stripe from your entrance to your clit and your hips buck involuntarily. A low breathy moan comes from the both of you. He wraps his hands around your upper thighs to stop you from moving. He laps away at you like a parched dog, making your toes curl. You tangle your fingers in his hair to try and regain your control only to fail miserably when he dips his tongue inside. A loud moan escapes you and you can feel him smile against your heat.

"Kyungsoo p-please, it's too much!"

Of course he doesn't stop and instead rubs circles on your clit with the pad of his thumb. At this point your brain was fuzzy, no thoughts running through it. A few more licks and sucks on your clit and you become undone, cumming all over his tongue as you scream his name. He continues to lick to let you come down from your high and then quickly flips you so that your back is against the bed, his chin glistening with your juices.

"Open your mouth, see how fucking good you taste." Not caring about your image anymore, you open your mouth to allow him to dribble the mixture of his own saliva and your essence down your throat. "Swallow."

Not giving you time to process, he dips down to kiss you, the rest of your fluids spreading over your lips. He brings his hand back to your pussy and uses his fingers to tease your folds.

"You're so wet for me baby, is this how badly you wanted me?" You nod as he brings you back into a kiss, easing one of his fingers in. You felt so good around his fingers and he could only imagine how you would feel once he finally got his dick inside. For now, he wanted to take his time and feel every inch of you. "Come here. I want to feel your mouth on me, see how good your throat feels."

You sit up on your knees and see that he's already removed most of his clothing except for his shirt. You look down and see his dick hard, tip touching his belly button. He was big, bigger than you expected but you've also never been with a man like this so there was nothing to go off of as reference. He positions himself back at the edge of your bed and you sit on your knees in front of him.

He tapped on your left cheek, "Open. Tongue out."

Following instructions, he tapped his length on your tongue, precum leaking from the tip. Everything about this felt sinful and in truth it was, but it was exhilarating and you craved the adrenaline rush. Maybe it was the way he looked at you or the way he handled you, whatever it was, it was becoming poisonous. He sat back on the palms of his hands and you took it as a sign to do whatever you wanted. You've only seen things like this in the books that the maids kept hidden in their belongings; you and Vivian sneaking to read them when no one was looking. You had no idea what you were doing but you knew you wanted to make him feel good.

You lick from the base to the head, seemingly doing something right because he hisses and bites on his bottom lip. You kitten lick and place a light kiss on the head before taking his length in your mouth as far as you can go. He hits the back of your throat, making you gag.

"Good girl. Fuuuck...just like that." he reaches down to grab a handful of your hair but not to force you back down. He so badly wanted to buck up into your mouth but didn't want to hurt you or cum too quickly.

You bob your head and hollow your cheeks, sucking as much as you can before easing your way back down. His eyes are closed and his head is back, veins straining in his neck. You brought a hand up to stroke whatever didn't fit in your mouth and the grip in your hair got tighter. Seeing him like this boosted your confidence and also made you wetter. You were testing his self control and if you kept this up he wouldn't be able to stop himself from going too far.

The muscles in his thighs were starting to tighten and he knew he was close. "I don't want to come just yet, I want to be inside of you." You let go of his dick with a pop, eyes watering and saliva trickling out the side of your mouth.

He pulls you back into his lap and into another heated kiss. Without the barrier from the clothing, the skin to skin sent your mind into a frenzy and it made you throb in anticipation. You mimic what he did to you and dragged your teeth across his bottom lip, earning a deep groan from him. He breaks the kiss and once again lets his lips travel to your neck. He trails the kisses up your jaw and bites your earlobe.

"Would you like for me to fuck you so hard you forget your own name?", his breath is warm against your ear and you were sure you made a wet spot in his lap.

"Please, I need you. I can't take this anymore." You could feel him grow harder beneath you when your begging came out more like whines. He roughly pulls back on your hair, exposing your neck to him and he doesn't miss the chance to suck harshly and almost leave hickeys behind. You moan and grind your hips on him, making him curse under his breath. "Please Kyungsoo, I need you. You make me feel so good, I want you so badly."

He stops his attacks and lifts you off his lap to throw you back onto the bed. He hovers over you staring into your eyes deeply. "Are you sure you want to continue? We don't have to."

You were past the point of questioning if you wanted him anymore and you weren't going to pass up the opportunity after getting this far. You wanted your first time to be with someone you chose and right now that was him. "My heart would never forgive me if I said no and I'm not one to not give it what it wants."

He smiles and kisses you once more, "I'll go slow my love, I'll take care of you." He eases his way inch by inch, making sure to give you time to adjust to his size; constantly watching your face for any signs of discomfort.

He was stagnant, not minding that you took your time to get comfortable. You were thankful it didn’t hurt as much as everyone made it seem but knowing the circumstances in which you were doing it, only made it feel like the punishment would be stronger.

You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. "Kyungsoo...I want to feel you now."

His pace started slow and steady, ensuring you didn't feel any pain even though you gave him the okay. When you lifted your hips to meet his thrusts, that was all it took for him to speed up. His rhythm is relentless, but you didn't want it any other way. The feeling was beyond words and if there was a way to pause time in this moment you would have done so.

"Look at me while I fuck you. Close your eyes and I'll stop" he says, holding the back of your head so you could look at him. Keeping your eyes open was easier said than done when they closed every time he thrust back in. Every moan you tried to hold back, forced its way past your lips. "Let me hear them, let me hear how I make you feel."

He tried to keep it together, but the way you were clenching around him, he wasn't going to last much longer. It all felt like a dream and it started when he walked through your door. He didn't plan on this but hearing you moan his name before he knocked and seeing the way your fingers glistened when they wrapped around the door only corrupted his thoughts.

"This pussy is mine, tell me it's mine. Tell me you want me to fuck you like this forever."

The combination of him fucking you so deeply and the way he spoke to you made your head spin and you knew your orgasm was approaching for the second time tonight.

"It’s all yours Kyungsoo! Fuck me like this forever, make me yours forever!"

You didn't think it was possible, but his thrusts felt deeper and harder. His head went down to your chest and he sucked a red spot in a place that only he’d know. The blood rushing to that area had him thirsting for more and before he let his teeth break the threshold, your walls fluttered around him violently.

You were sure you saw stars, your legs shaking. It took a few more thrusts from him before he pulled out and finished on your stomach.

Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

It was a close call at most or perhaps it was a sign that he was letting his guard down too much. You were pushing him to the edge of insanity so much so that the side of him he spent so much of his life trying to hide was easing its way to the forefront. If he wanted you to trust him, he could never let you know of the real him.

"That was the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life." It came out almost monotonously but you had no strength to put more feeling behind it.

He smiles and reaches to your bedside table for anything to clean the both of you off. In contrast to how he was a few minutes ago, he was extremely gentle as he wiped the mess you created. Watching him made your heart flutter, more than it did when you were with Jongin. Oh no, Jongin. He hadn't crossed your mind since your walk in the garden with him earlier. The guilt came flooding in and it made you feel sick to your stomach. You were supposed to be marrying Jongin, not Kyungsoo and now with what you've done, you feel like you've ruined your chances of that ever happening.

Kyungsoo notices the shift in your mood and pulls you into a hug. "What's wrong my love? What is weighing heavily on your mind?" he asks, placing a kiss to the crown of your head and small strokes to your back.

"What about Jongin? How will I ever marry him after what we've done tonight?"

He stops rubbing your back, making you look up at him. "I will not be informing him of what happened tonight. It doesn't matter who you marry, you're mine for as long as we live."

You push yourself off of him, "How would that even be possible? I cannot have these relationships coincide."

"He doesn't have to know, and he won't. I can't let you go now that I have you. I want you and I will always want you till the day I die." He cups your face in his hands. "Even if I have to wait 100 years, I will never stop loving you."

Spending this night with Kyungsoo made you unsure of what you wanted, but you definitely weren't sure if what you wanted was Jongin anymore. You wanted to marry him but thinking of being able to have Kyungsoo whenever you wanted him made your heart beat with excitement. The thought made you feel like a whore, but you never meant for any of this to happen. Kyungsoo was irresistible and thinking back on it, he was also very sweet and caring. There was no way you could marry Jongin and be with Kyungsoo, without him or anyone else in your castle finding out about it. All of it was too confusing but for now you wanted Kyungsoo as much as you wanted to marry Jongin, you just wish there was a way to make both things work.

The following day Jongin was stuck to you like velcro which you didn't hate but him being around meant that Kyungsoo was around too. You couldn't help but feel guilty and now there was no reversing it. You didn't regret your night with Kyungsoo but it only complicated things more. Every touch or glance in your direction from Jongin never went unnoticed by him, and he watched you like an animal would stalk its prey. The eye contact was another thing. Each time your eyes met his, it was like reliving your moments with him in your bedroom. You felt your face and body heat up and you prayed the blush didn't show on your cheeks.

It also didn’t help that he looked extra good today. Instead of a blouse, he wore a black vest over a white button down, a single chain accentuating the breast pocket. It fit him so nicely and complimented his wide shoulders.

Jongin sits up in his seat and leaned over the table, resting his head in his hand. "I'm going to go horseback riding, would you care to join me Princess?"

"Sure, I would love to. I haven't been riding in some time though so my skills may not be to your liking."

"Ah well, you can ride on my horse with me if that is best. I wouldn't want you to feel as though you're a burden, even though you truly wouldn't be."

You nod in agreement although you weren't really sure what you just agreed to with feeling Kyungsoo's eyes piercing the back of your skull. It drove him crazy to be this close to you and not be able to touch you. After last night he wasn't sure how he would live without you and tolerate seeing you with another man. Jongin didn't know how good he had it, he could walk around with you freely and not be judged. That's what Kyungsoo wanted, you all to himself. You were his, not the property of a prince. He reluctantly followed the both of you outside and awaited his next order.

“Kyungsoo, do you mind helping the Princess with her boots while I go get my things? I want her to be as comfortable as possible.”

He bows his head lightly and grabs the boots to put on your feet. You take a seat on the small bench between the tall, green hedges that lined most of the garden. He kneels on one knee in front of you and places your foot on top of his thigh. Jongin was barely out of eyesight when he lifts your dress high on your legs. You shoot him a shocked look when you feel him pepper kisses up your inner thigh.

“K-kyungsoo, w-what are you doing? Someone will see…” you try to push his head away before you lost yourself in the feeling. He didn’t take heed to your warning and nipped at the soft skin, letting a moan rip through you. He keeps his eyes on you the entire time. His dick can’t help but twitch watching the way you try to keep your composure and with knowing how easily you can both be caught at any second. He wastes no time to push your thighs further apart while dragging his nails down your other leg.

“P-please, not now. Not here.” was all you could manage to say while trying to stay coherent. You wanted to scold him for being so bold but every time you felt his mouth get closer and closer to your clothed heat, all thoughts of reprimanding him left your head.

You look down to see his eyes on you and seeing him so content between your legs did something to you. He hooks his fingers around the fabric of your panties and pulls them to the side to give himself better access. He licks long and achingly slow stripes through your folds. You had lost the battle of trying to keep yourself together and already had one hand tangled in his hair.

You bit down on your other fist to hush the sound of you moaning but the more he ate you out, the louder you became. As if he knew you wouldn’t be able to control your volume, he slips a finger inside and curls it upwards, hitting the spot that made you weak. At this point you were riding his mouth with the way your hips bucked up against his face. He added another finger and sped up the thrusts. He switched between sucking on your clit and fucking you with his fingers. You were so close now that you could taste it, however he suddenly halted his movements and quickly slipped on both of your boots. You open your mouth to protest but he gives you a look that kept your lips pressed together tightly. He fixed your dress and licked his lips to rid himself of any evidence that he just had his face nestled between your legs.

Jongin returns mere seconds later with a saddle nuzzled under his arm. “Are you okay Princess, you look a bit flushed? Are you feeling under the weather?”

Embarrassing was an understatement and knowing you were in a noticeably messy state, brightened the blush on your cheeks. “No no, I’m alright. Perhaps I should start wearing more sunscreen?”

Your answer seemed to satisfy him as he offered his hand to you to lead you toward the stables. You look back at Kyungsoo who bows as Jongin takes you further away.

Jongin had frequented the palace enough to have claimed one of the horses as his own. It was a beautiful black Friesian horse he named Trophy. When you entered the stable, the horse began to whinny seemingly knowing of Jongin’s presence. He offered it pats and rubs over its head and body before placing the saddle on its back. Making sure it’s secure before hopping on the horse and grabbing your hand, letting you sit in front of him so that he had complete control.

You were practically sitting in his lap with how close he was. You thought you would be behind him and find security in holding onto his waist, but the tables were turned and his arms rested on either side of you as he held onto the reins.

“Are you comfortable Princess?” he looks from around you, almost resting his head on your shoulder. It made your heart flutter and in the moment you wanted to turn your head and lock your lips with his.

“Yes, thank you. Are you comfortable as well?” You heard the smile in his voice when he agreed to your question.

“Please let me know if you need me to slow down or if you’re ready to return.” And with that he snapped the reins and the horse was off, slowly walking out of the stable.

For the remainder of the ride you couldn’t help but notice how good of a horseback rider Jongin was. Every move that he made was precise and calculated and it was like the horse was made just for him. The more the horse picked up speed the more Jongin would rut against you from the force of the gallop. The constant friction was starting to turn you on and you could only imagine what went through his mind behind you.

Although wanting to turn around and straddle him, you were having fun. Horseback riding used to be one of your favorite pastimes and now you wonder why you ever stopped. It was the adrenaline that came from the speed and the wind that blew through your hair that made you feel like you could do it all day. He made Trophy come to a halt and you took a look at your surroundings. It was an area that you’ve never seen before and you questioned whether you were still within the kingdom walls.

“Oh my, this is breathtaking! This doesn’t even feel like home.”

“But it is, it’s just very far away from the palace. I learned about this place while out on a ride and it’s been my favorite to visit ever since. I can bring you here often if you’d like?”

You nodded and he helped you off the horse. It was like a mini oasis within this small forest. The trees were all covered in fresh blooms, a waterfall flowed down into a midsized pond which held some of the clearest water you’ve ever seen.

“Do you like swimming Princess? We can take a quick dip before returning.”

You quickly nodded and a smile lit up his face. He took your hand and lead you closer to the edge of the pond. He began unbuttoning his sky blue blouse and pulled it over his head, revealing his toned abs. You knew he was fit but never knew just how sculpted his body was. Seeing him like this made your insides stir, not dismissing how you finished undressing him with your eyes. He guided you into the water slowly and never took his eyes off you. The water sloshed around you both as you moved further in, your dress already soaked from your waist down. He let go of your hand to give you more freedom and you immediately submerged yourself to drench your entire body.

When you came up, you playfully swatted some water on him causing him to chuckle and mimic the action. The splash fight continued for a few minutes before you both grew tired of clearing the dripping water from your faces. He swam closer to you and grabbed you by the waist. He looked down at you, a mixture of love and lust in his eyes. Looking at you for a few seconds more, he dipped down and placed his lips on yours. His lips were soft and he moved them in such a rhythmic manner, much more innocently than Kyungsoo. You bring your hands up to cup the back of his neck and deepen the kiss.

He pulled you into him some more and slid his tongue over yours, earning a moan from you. He kept one hand on the small of your back and the other rested on the back of your head as he kissed you hungrily. He broke the kiss, chest heaving and lips red.

“I love you” he says as if he couldn’t contain the words in his mouth. He looks at you scared as if he had made a mistake saying it to you.

“I-I love you too Jongin.” You didn’t lie when you said it back. You’ve known him for some time now and being on edge waiting for his proposal further proved just how much you cared for him. The problem now was you found yourself falling in love with Kyungsoo too which was for lack of better words, insensitive.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and I can’t wait to make you my wife.”

It was like an arrow shot through your heart as he finished his sentence. Here he was pouring his heart out to you and last night you tangled bodies with his servant whom he trusts. Your conscience scolded you and you wanted to clutch your chest to stop the pain.

“We should start heading back now, the sun will set soon.” he says already adjusting the equipment on the stallion.

Thankfully you sat in front of him so he wouldn't question the tears that streamed down your cheeks. Guilt was hitting you hard, wishing you never made the mistake but not regretting your time with his right hand man.

Kyungsoo is already waiting when you and Jongin return from the stables, his face stoic but his eyes told a different story.

“Please grab the Princess a towel so she may dry herself off, we wouldn’t want her to catch a cold. I shall be inside doing the same.” Jongin walks up to you and kisses your forehead. “I had a great time today and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

You exchange smiles before he walks away and turn your attention to Kyungsoo whose face is twisted.

“You smell like him. Too much like him.”

"What? How?" You looked down, grabbing the closest piece of your dress to see what he smelled on you, yet to your senses you only smelled wet.

Ignoring your question, he picks a towel up from the glass table and pulls you in by your waist. Your hands fall onto his chest and he begins by drying your hair. “Why are you so wet? What did you do with him? You can see right through your dress!”

He wasn’t lying, your dress stuck to you like paint so nothing was left to the imagination. Your nipples poked and prodded their way through the material.

“We went swimming…”

Visibly annoyed, he rolled his eyes and continued drying the rest of you. The sky was already beginning to get darker with the sun declining, but it seemed darker than it should have. Large drops of rain started to fall from above instantly darkening spots on the concrete path. You look up and open your hands to catch a few. You really should get inside before your immune system gave up on you.

“I’m going to go inside.” You go to walk away but he grabs your wrist and pulls you back toward him, catching you again by the waist.

“I'm sorry but I can't help being jealous. If you can’t handle being with me, at least don’t make it so hard for me to stay away from you. You’re driving me crazy, I can’t live without you.”

It was confusing. How could your heart love someone you’ve only known for less than a week? And it was starting to become more so than the person you’ve known for 3 months. How were you to solve this matter when there was no logical answer; always concluding with one or the other?

"I-I don't know what to say."

"Say you love me. Love me forever."

His lips brush gently against yours, once again weakening your knees. You gently shove him away.

"I want to...but you know I can't."

"Hm, I understand. It's best you go in now, you've been out here long enough." He bows slightly and walks away from you. His heart ached, all he wanted was to be able to love you without consequence. He's never hated his life so much than he did now.

"Oh to be reborn again as something other than a peasant" he thinks. Better yet, to be reborn as Jongin would satisfy him the most. All he wanted was you, all he needed was you and knowing he couldn't have you had him torn between anger and sadness. He was becoming desperate now, willing to do any and everything to split you two apart. He hated that he was so weak for you, for being so unlike himself. Tomorrow was the last day of their stay and he was aware of the plans Jongin had with you.

A proposal. A promise of a union between two parties. "In sickness and in health; till death do us part", he would have to hear you say those words and see you seal them with a kiss. It would be torture but he wasn't blessed with royalty nor in a different body and this would be his punishment for letting things get so far with you.

It was late and you have long since been dry. Having taken too many sips from the glass of water next to you, it was best to make a quick trip to the bathroom before you got too comfortable in bed. A single candle in its holder dimly lit your way, your feet slapping against the cold marble flooring. Someone clears their throat softly next to you making you almost drop the candle.

"I'm sorry if I startled you princess." Jongin walks up to you, face illuminating in the small light. "W-would you like to spend the night with me? Tomorrow is my last day with you and I would love if I at least got the chance to share my bed with my future wife."

Admittedly taken aback by his request, you would miss him when he was gone and didn't get much time with him with your mind so preoccupied.

"Everyone is asleep so they won't notice."

You followed him after using the bathroom. You had never been in his room before, let alone any of the guest rooms so seeing how different everything looked made you feel like you already lived together.

He grabbed your hand and guided you to the bed and let you climb in.

"Goodnight my love, tomorrow will be a great day" he says kissing your cheek before turning over with his back pressed against yours.

You laid awake too many thoughts going through your mind to settle into relaxation. Based off of what he said, he was sure to propose tomorrow. It excited you, the thought of being a wife but also his wife. You've waited long enough to get to this point and backing down because of some new feelings would not get in your way. This was a test, you thought, and although you've failed most of it, you were going to make the rest count.

There was a shift in weight behind you and now Jongin no longer had his back pressed against yours. There was something hard pressed against your ass, you knowing what it was almost immediately. He snakes an arm around your waist and pulls you closer making his hard on settle in the crevice of your behind. You grabbed his hand that draped over your midsection and gave it a squeeze, letting him know he could continue.

He kissed his way down from your ear to your shoulder. He rolled you onto your back and hovered above you. The moonlight lit the room just enough so he could see your expression. It felt different, being under him versus being under Kyungsoo. It was like darkness and light, Jongin being the latter.

His hand ran down the sides of your body, taking his time to admire every inch. The gentle touches leaving lingering tingles on your skin. He moved back up to caress your face and finally leaned down to put his lips on yours. After kissing you earlier, he knew he wanted another, not being able to wait for the wedding day. Your lips were soft and he loved how your nose would brush his ever so slightly.

You were like a painting in his eyes, each brushstroke carefully placed to form your very image. But something changed in the way you looked at him since his stay. He had his doubts but seeing his close companion look at you the way he did, he knew there was something there. Not something like he had with you, something so much more mature and unadulterated.

He wasn’t going to let his fear obstruct his goal, he was going to marry the love of his life even if your heart leaned more toward Kyungsoo. He took this opportunity to pour his feelings into his actions and he hoped they would properly relay the message.

His hand reached under your night dress and brushed between your folds through the fabric. You bit your lip as he watched your changing expressions.

“Feels good?” He pressed down a bit harder and quickly swiped over your clit.

You nodded and reached down to massage his dick. It felt thick and warm in your hand and his eyes threatened to close from your ministrations. He discarded you of your undergarments and playfully teased your pussy. He wanted to see just how far he could go before you begged him for more. You reached under his pajamas and released his achingly hard dick from its restraints. He hissed as the cold air kissed the tip making him leak more precum.

He finally let a finger dip inside your cave and he quickly added another when he felt just how wet you were. His dick twitched in your hand. To think he would be able to fuck you whenever he wanted had him already making plans for babies.

You stroked him with both hands now, precum making it easier for your hands to glide over him. One hand reached down to cup his balls and gently roll them while the other fisted closer to the head. He was bucking into your hand, dick growing more sensitive by the second.

His fingers already started to speed up to get you closer to your climax as well. You were both breathing heavily and moaning, falling weak to the work you put into each other. His fingers curled up and hit your sweet spot making your back arch off the bed. Your hands sped up the more his did and your orgasms were approaching quickly.

“Fuck, I’m so close please don’t stop”, he pleaded with you adding his thumb on your clit to speed up the process.

Your words dissolved into the air above you as your vision started to close in. You writhed under his touch and chased your high.

“Oh fuck I’m gonna cum, please tell me you’re close” his fingers were thrusting sloppily but he felt your walls tighten, giving him the motivation he needed to push through.

Your stomach balled into a knot ready to snap and when he came down to suck on your collarbone, you moaned loudly as your climax spilled over. You squirted all over his already sensitive dick and he couldn’t hold back the cum that spurted out onto your chest and stomach.

You winced at the emptiness when he removed his fingers. His hair stuck to his forehead, face flushed red. He dropped down next to you, both of your chests heaving.

“Thank you for making this night special, I’m sorry if it didn’t live up to your expectations.”

You felt sad that he thought that way, not really knowing what made his self esteem so low. You look over at him excited to tell him how much you loved it but his eyes were already closed. You rolled over and pressed a kiss to his temple and rested your head on his chest, sleep coming to claim you as well.

You woke up in a daze, unable to tell how much time had passed. You had to get back to your room before morning came, not needing anyone to find you anywhere else. Jongin’s arm wrapped around your torso and his face nuzzled in your neck--you were stuck. You eased your way out of his grasp and tiptoed toward the door, looking back to make sure he didn't stir awake. You took a deep breath before twisting the knob as quietly as possible. The real mission would be getting to your room and not being spotted by anyone. The floor was cold and you wished you wore socks or at least something on your feet. You ran lightly and as quickly as possible with your arms being the only things that kept you warm.

You passed by a room and heard shuffling on the other side so you moved as fast as your feet would allow.

"What are you doing?"

You stopped in your tracks when you heard the voice. You knew who it belonged to and didn't have the confidence to face him. You slowly turned on your heels and saw Kyungsoo standing in the doorway of his room. He barely wore anything so his body was on full display.

"You frightened me, I'm just going back to my room."

He cocked an eyebrow upwards and stepped passed the threshold of the door.

"Going back?" He knew exactly what you meant but he didn't want to accept that Jongin would be ballsy enough to get you caught in the morning just because he wanted more time with you. Yet he knew he'd do the same especially since his heart was already starting to break into pieces knowing he wouldn't see you for a while after tomorrow. This was unacceptable and borderline unfair. “If you can enjoy getting wet with him, stay and get wet with me.”

Your mouth was dry and you truly had nothing to say. He had a way with his words that turned you into a puddle. You stared at him trying to think of something that would make him let you off the hook. He walked over and stared down at you. He leaned in to kiss you softly, conveying a different feeling than he usually does. His hand comes up to rest on the back of your head, tilting his to gain advantage. He pulls back and look at you.

"Don't leave me to deal with these feelings by myself. If I have to live with you being with him, then just for tonight let me be the only one you think of."

How could you say no? After tomorrow, you would have to act like your feelings for him didn't exist. As hard as that would be, unless you wanted to be executed for adultery, it was all you could do. He escorted you to his room and shut the door, being extra careful to lock it. You followed him to the edge of the bed, watching how he removed the rest of his clothing slowly, making sure your eyes never left him. Your eyes were everywhere, from his face, his chest, all the way down to his hardening length. He cupped your face and dragged his hands down to your neck, then to cup your breasts.

He slowly pulled the straps of your nightie down and left open mouthed kisses on any inch of skin that became exposed. Stopping at your nipples, he made sure to suck and massage them before continuing his journey down your body. Soon the gown reached your pelvic bones and he wasted no time in hooking a finger under the waistband of your panties to pull them down with the rest of the material. You were both now completely naked, skin basking in the candlelight. He pulled you onto the bed with him and sat against the headboard making you straddle his lap.

This time you didn't wait for him to make a move and kissed him with your hands linked behind his neck. His hands were all over you massaging circles into the flesh. Tongues wrapped around each other like a waltz, a work of team effort. Your body called for oxygen, the kiss becoming too intense but neither of you cared enough to let go. You took initiative to stop the kiss before it snatched the last breath in your lungs.

"Ride me." he pressed down on your hips as he ground up against your core.

You let out a shaky breath as you leaned forward on your knees and aligned your hole with the head of his dick. The stretch as you gradually eased your way down was magnificent and he bit his lip as he watched your face contort from the pleasure. The more you bounced on top of him the less he could control his sounds. The squelching noise that came from your bodies clashing only added to the vulgar sounds that filled the room. He ran a hand up your back and grabbed a handful of your hair. He tugged at it roughly and sucked and licked on the vulnerable skin on your neck. His other hand came around to grab your ass, digging his nails in and spreading it so your pussy opened more.

Your head was spinning, so much overstimulation, you knew you wouldn't last much longer. His strokes were getting sloppier indicating he was just as close.

"Fuck-I love you so much" he said through grunts. He knew what he wanted to do next based off of your response. If he were to get over you, he'd have to expose his true self even if that meant scaring you away.

"I love you too Kyungsoo~" your mouth hung open and you moaned his name, toes curling from your impending orgasm. You needed just a little more to push you over the edge.

He took that as a sign to carry out his plan. He let the lust consume him fully, baring his fangs, sinking them into your neck and not letting up on the animalistic pace he set. It was painful but it mixed so deliciously with how he rolled his hips into you. Your eyes rolled back and your body tensed up. It's what has your orgasm hitting you like a train, vision turning white. The feeling was incredible even though as you came down from your high, you can't tell what just happened.

Just the image of you in this moment could make him cum, but that combined with the taste of your blood was heaven sent. He had never had anything like it. So fresh, sweet and pure. He never thought living his fantasy would play out so soon but your reaction was even more surprising. He didn't count on you enjoying it and wanted to use it as an escape route, but here he was drowning in the sight of you cumming all over him which lead to his own orgasm. He sucked in a breath, abs contracting as he painted your walls white.

You looked down at him and couldn’t believe the astonishing sight. He looked beautiful, dashing red eyes and canines sharper than a knife. As the few drops of blood trickled from the side of his mouth, everything all made sense now. The strange man you've come to fall in love with these past few days was a vampire. It’s why he carried such a mysterious aura, why he smelled so ethereal, why his presence was so lethal.

He had you speechless and now he was even more scared awaiting your next words. He licked the remaining drops from his lips, eyes wide. “Please say something.” His eyes searched your face for anything but he couldn’t decipher your expression.

“Kyungsoo…you’re beautiful. I-I don’t know what else to say.”

Tears brimmed his eyes knowing you didn’t hate him for who he was. Though now, his ploy of using this to get over you fell through and he had nothing left to try. Truthfully he wasn’t going to try. He loved you deeply and if he had to live with you married to someone else, he would take whatever he could get. You were his forever, he would never allow himself to love anyone else. He hated that he fought for the top spot with Jongin but the heart wants what it wants and as you said to him before he wasn’t going to not give it what it wanted.

Lying to yourself wasn’t an option anymore. You thought you would be scared seeing him in his true form, but it added so much depth to his character that you couldn’t help but be attracted. You knew now that life without Kyungsoo would throw you into a deep depression. You needed him like your organs needed blood.

Morning came and you felt your eyes had only been closed for 5 minutes. When they finally opened you quickly processed that you weren’t where you were supposed to be. There was a loud knock on the door and you looked at Kyungsoo’s sleeping form next to you. Another knock woke him up and he quickly threw the blanket over you and told you to stay quiet and lay down. He put on whatever clothing he discarded last night and shuffled over to the door.

“Oh, sorry to wake you but I’m looking for the Princess, she’s not in her room and I wondered if you knew where she was but it looks like you haven’t left your room this morning.”

You heard Vivian’s voice from under the cover and cursed under your breath. You swore you would make it back to your room last night and ended up staying with the man you definitely shouldn’t be caught with.

“I will be out momentarily and I will help you look for her. Perhaps she is outside or in another area of the castle.” Kyungsoo made up an excuse as fast as his mind could conjure and shooed Vivian away. He returned to you after he closed the door and removed the blanket from your head. “They’re looking for you, you know what today is.”

You got up and gathered all your clothes before making your way to your bathroom unseen with Kyungsoo’s help. He left your room after kissing your forehead and going to tell Vivian that he “found you”.

What a way to start off your proposal day. You’re just glad that Jongin wasn’t the one running around the castle in search for you. Vivian came knocking on the bathroom door a few minutes later.

“Why didn’t I think to check here first?” She says tapping a finger to her lips when you opened the door. “Your father has requested you meet him downstairs in 10 minutes, so we need to hurry.”

After much preparation in so little time, you made your way down to the main hall to see both of your parents, Jongin and Kyungsoo standing there. You knew what this meant and it had your nerves jumping. After such a long wait, you were finally here at the end goal, something you thought to be so far away. Jongin and Kyungsoo bowed when you reached the bottom of the stairs, a big smile plastered over Jongin’s face.

“As you know, Prince Jongin has been coming to spend his hours with us over a long period of time in hopes that he would one day ask for your hand in marriage. Today he would like to go forward with that and make you his wife so long as you should accept.”

A lump formed in your throat as your father spoke. Tears fought to leave your eyes but you held them back as much as you could.

Jongin went and bowed slightly in front of your parents. “Your highness, if you would please allow me to take your daughter as my wife and protect her with my all as her husband.”

Your parents nodded their head, your mother also fighting the urge to cry. You quickly glance at Kyungsoo whose eyes were watching you. You both knew of what you had to do and would have to deal with it for the rest of your lives. So when Jongin stepped in front of you, you knew what came next.

“Princess…will you accept my proposal and spend the rest of your life with me as my wife?” He looks over at Kyungsoo before continuing. “You will have free reign to do whatever you please as long as you promise to never let your love fade.”

You gasped softly, no longer able to contain the tears. This whole time he knew of your feelings for Kyungsoo but wouldn’t let his feelings for you dissipate. You turned such a happy moment into something sorrowful unbeknownst to the onlookers.

“I accept your proposal Jongin and you have my word.”

Cheers erupted all around you and Jongin pulled you into a hug, him too letting tears fall onto his cheeks.

Your fate was sealed, destined to marry the man of your dreams while you got the dick wet of another. There was no turning back, especially not with the child brewing in your womb belonging to the man you snuck and spent your last night single with. You would have to face the burden of it all one day but as for now, you mentally crossed off today; the day you longed so earnestly for.

#kyungsoo #kyungsoo smut #vampire #exo kyungsoo #exo #exo do kyungsoo #exo do #exo smut #kyungsoo x reader #kyungsoo x you #jongin #exo jongin #exo kai #jongin smut #kai smut

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ultrone · 9 months

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─ ౨ৎ ‧˚ oldersister!nat who was kinda awkward when you were born, not knowing how to get along with you or how to act—until one day, she fell on her face tripping over one of your toys, and you burst your ass off laughing, staring down at her from your high chair.

“stupid baby,” she said with a frown, rubbing her forehead, but couldn't help joining in the laughter as she found your little giggles very cute and contagious.

that entire afternoon, she kept fake tripping just to make you laugh—by the time she realized it, her legs and arms were all bruised up from all the falling.

─ ౨ৎ ‧˚ sum random hcs

you’re the most important person in her life and she’d do anything for you. literally.

you’ve had fights before due to her drinking and drug addictions, but she promised you that she’d try her best to quit—or at least to do it less frequently. you try to go easy on her though, because you know it’s not easy for her after what happened to your dad. not only that, but since your mom isn’t really present either, she feels very responsible for you, which at times makes her feel stressed. she really is trying her best though, cuz she hates to feel like she’s disappointing you, it literally breaks her heart.

both of you take care of each other equally. she has no (stable) parental figure to rely on, unlike you, who have her as your older sister. so, even though you're younger than her, you always try to show her that you can take care of yourself and that you can always take care of her too whenever she needs it.

she often feels guilty about your dad's death, but you've always reassured her that it wasn't her fault. you've told her many times that no matter what anyone says or thinks, she's not responsible for his death, and that you've never ever doubted that.

she isn’t very verbally expressive but will show her love for you through actions or by randomly ruffling your hair or rubbing your arm/back.

type of person to say “if you need anything just give me a call and i’ll get there in a heartbeat,” and then proceeds to put her phone on night mode and goes straight to bed ☠️ she added a focus button for whenever you go out tho, so that way, if you text her late at night in case of an emergency, she’ll actually get a notification.

she gets mad when you call her natty in public—especially after you called her that in front of tai and she bullied the shit outta her 😭😭 being like “you tired, natty? 🥺🫶🏼” at practice.

she texts “:3” ironically ☠️☠️ also sends you lots of sigma and monkey memes on instagram.

“yo i found this restaurant the other day and they fr serve the best chicken in new jersey, you’ll love it” *takes you to jollibee*

you asked her for help on your homework once and literally failed the assignment ☠️ like, you straight up got a ZERO 😭😭 the worst part is that for the next assignment, you went over to van's trailer for help, and you failed once again 😭 it wasn't until tai came over to see van that you asked for her help as a last resort, and you finally got a B+.

not a morning person at all, she would wake up at least at 1 pm every day if she could. she gets very grumpy if you wake her up before that time on the weekends or when there's no school.

“there’s NO WAY your girl kisser ass is dating travis martinez wth 🤢😭 where’s lottie when you need her” *blocks you*

you gave her a leather jacket for her birthday, and it took you forever to save up enough money to buy it since it was an expensive one—but it was worth it, cuz she loved it so much that she literally wears it every single day.

#𓏲 📂 ⋮ my works .ᐟ #nat scatorccio x reader #nat scatorccio x you #nat scatorccio x y/n #nat scatorccio headcanons #yellowjackets #yellowjackets x reader #yellowjackets x you #yellowjackets x y/n #yellowjackets headcanons

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idyllic-affections · 1 year

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the dendro yaksha.

summary. xiao once had an older sibling.

trigger & content warnings. implied physical abuse, near-death, trauma, et cetera.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff, angst, hurt/comfort. xiao & dendro yaksha!reader. 0.6k words. they/them pronouns used for reader.

author's thoughts. this concept is one i plan on expanding upon a lot in the future. i'm sure one day i'll write a full-length oneshot of sorts based on the concept, but i think it'll just be brainrots, drabbles, and things of the like for now. xiao, my beloved, he deserves so many good things fr <3

bosacius was not the only yaksha who disappeared into the chasm 500 years ago.

a very long time ago, xiao once had what he liked to regard as an elder sibling. the two were by no means related by blood, but as as immortals, there was hardly any difference between blood and chosen family.

they always protected him, taking the worst of the wrath of that ancient god who'd kept both of them chained. sometimes they'd fall asleep for months on end just to recuperate from the awful injuries they would sustain. never once did they stop doing defending alatus, though, regardless of how much he had pleaded them to.

he appreciated their efforts in a way that couldn't possibly be described, but he didn't want to be alone.

"i'll always come back, dove, no matter how long i'm asleep for," they assured gently, lovingly, "so don't worry, okay? i'll always come back, alatus."

"promise?" he whispered, wide and teary golden eyes staring up into their own.

they smiled, pinching his cheek affectionately. "promise. just try not to anger him while i'm gone, 'kay? can't have you getting hurt."

when morax first liberated them, they were violent, refusing to let him or guizhong or cloud retainer or streetward rambler or marchosius or anyone touch them or their baby dove. no-one could get close. no, no, they were convinced that the gods were only out to get them and their brother.

(and it was only upon the reassurance of a winged, musically inclined—not to mention much younger—deity from a different nation that they calmed down, but that's a story for another time.)

inevitably, however, those doubts subsided. morax was... surprisingly gentle at times, they noted, and guizhong—goodness, did she even have the capacity to fight? she was brilliant, but not strong.

it was only a matter of time before they swore their loyalty to the lord of geo, signing a contract that would last as long as they lived.

it wasn't until the cataclysm that perhaps their contract would come to an end. after all, the situation they were in was terribly grim.

they wanted to live.

they wanted to live, but they were willing to die in defense of liyue harbor.

being trapped in the depths of the chasm wasn't so unbearable for the first while. bosacius may have lost his mind, but still... they liked to think there was a little glimmer of recognition in his eyes whenever he saw them.

that mortal man trapped with them was awfully good company too, but they feared he would succumb to their's and bosacius' combined karmic debt.

eventually, three became two, and two became one.

they were sure that all that was keeping them sane was studying the odd space they were trapped in (that and the fact that they still retained some sway over the dendro element and therefore could craft cute little flower crowns to kill time). it was fascinating, really. it occupied their mind, distracting them from the darkening of their vision and the malicious whispering in their ears.

repeatedly, though, they almost lost their never-ending battle.

they eventually stopped counting the years that passed. their sense of time was terribly skewed, anyway, so they doubted they'd been counting accurately in the first place.

xiao found the collection of flower crowns littered around a particular spot very, very nostalgic and even comforting. his dendro-aligned sibling always enjoyed making such things for him and the other yaksha.

he dared not get his hopes up, though. anyone could've made the crowns.

it was by following the faint trail of dendro energy (which was largely drowned out by familiar karma) that he found them, barely alive.

yet...

despite being so out of it, when they saw xiao, they smiled so, so sweetly. they soothingly squeezed his hands—they were trying to soothe him, he quickly realized. he must've looked frantic if they were so quick to reassure him rather than reassure themselves that he was really there.

"i would say something witty like, 'i told you i'd always come back,'" they giggled, "but it's you who came back for me this time, isn't it, alatus?"

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion brainrots 🌸#platonic genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin x reader #platonic xiao x reader #xiao x you #platonic #genshin impact xiao #xiao x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader

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rosie-b · 3 months

Text

Centuries Overdue

Chapter 4

Excerpt from the ninth journal of Adrien Agreste, written at the Agreste mansion in Paris, France, on the twenty-fourth of June, 1810.

I think this House is full of Ghosts. Around every corner I hear Laughter; through the Walls there comes a Sob; beneath my Bed the Darkness hides, ready to pull me out and slaughter me for its Revenge…

Did I write before that we never found the Mage responsible for the Darkness, even after we defeated it? There was no Body, no Spellbook, not one single Sign of who it was who betrayed us.

At the end of the Battle there was a great Cry, a loud Wailing which still haunts my dreams. Then the Darkness gathered into itself and exploded in a great display of power and Cowardice which left us no doubt that the Mage behind it was Dead.

I have told myself that I ought to be relieved, as the other Mages are, that at last the Darkness is vanquished. For a time, I fooled myself into thinking that I was!

But as all lies ever must do, this one I told Myself crumbled, leaving more Pain in its wake than it had initially hidden.

I cannot help but feel that I have failed. There was no moment when I saw the Face of my parents’ murderer, no time when I felt Closure for bringing safety to the rest of our Community.

The Mages are safe. The Talents are not; they have died, they have died in great numbers and no-one will answer for their deaths. Death chosen by one who finally sees that their loss is imminent brings no peace to the ones they have hurt. The Mage of Darkness was a Coward who faced no punishment despite committing very many crimes. Am I wrong to feel like that Mage won, and not the group who vanquished the Darkness?

I find myself flinching at every Shadow, and there are many in my parents’ house. It has been empty of their Presence for decades, but it searches for them, it waits on them to return. And it finds Me in their place, instead. I can only imagine it to be Angry.

I never lived in this House, but I came here and claimed it as mine with an old Deed given to me by M. Bourgeois, who kept the House from falling apart while my Parents and I were gone. I look like my Mother, and a little like my Father, and yet I am nothing like them. They will never live here again, but I, a reminder of their Existence, do presently. Were I this abandoned House, I would be angered, too, by the situation. A new Darkness lives in this place. I can feel it, and I cannot blame it for existing.

But I still find myself sensing Darkness elsewhere. Along my journey to my foreign home country, I felt It ever at my back, always reaching out for my shoulder as if to tap it, yet It vanished the moment I turned around. It is in the streets of Paris, on the rooftops, in the warm restaurants, in my Home.

There is something afoot in Paris, something sinister stirring yet again. I begin to believe that the Defeat we handed the Darkness in Blå Jungfrun was not as decisive as we had hoped, that the Darkness I feel now is the same as the One we had thought destroyed.

And yet…

I know that we defeated the Darkness. I saw it with my own eyes. This Feeling of mine is nothing more than Mischief and a passing fancy.

I will not write any more on the matter.

__*__*__*__*__

“Repeat after me,” Alya said, and Marinette immediately nodded.

It had been one week since she somewhat-accidentally infiltrated the Mage meeting, and now she was at another one, this time as an invited guest. And possibly, a new Mage, if this test proved that she had magic powers, that was.

“It’s just one spell. One tiny illusion, and we’re not going to throw you out if it doesn’t work.”

Marinette nodded again, blinking rapidly as her anxiety whispered a dozen ways this could go wrong in her ear.

“You don’t need to worry at all.”

Another nod, this one barely visible.

“What I’m trying to say is, relax , Marinette! The worst thing that could happen is you accidentally making a fake flower a few sizes too big! Illusions never hurt anyone, remember?”

From her perch on top of the new sofa the cafè had gotten, Alix leaned forward and grinned.

“Well, technically. They can be pretty deadly in battle. But only indirectly!” she backpedaled at Alya’s glare.

Marinette leaned her head back and groaned, “Ohh, Alya, do you really think I should do this?”

Alya folded the spellbook under her arm and reached out with the other to pat Marinette’s shoulder. “Of course, girl! There are literally no bad outcomes, and can you imagine how cool it would be if you turned out to be a Mage of Trixx, too? I’ve been hoping for this ever since I met you, even though I thought it was unrealistic at the time! Come on, Marinette. I’m not letting you leave this cafè until you at least try!”

Marinette smiled at Alya’s firm brand of encouragement. “Okay, okay! I’ll do my best,” she said, stretching out her fingers and wiggling them like she was warming up to draw a design for class. “I’m ready.”

Smiling approvingly, Alya opened the spellbook to the dog-eared page. “All right. First say, ‘mirage,’ and then picture a flower.”

“That’s it?” Marinette asked, astounded. None of Adrien’s spells looked this simple! And none of them were in French! “Let me see that.”

Standing on her tippy-toes, Marinette strained to look at the spellbook and scoured the page for the gibberish language from Adrien’s journals. There it was! But Alya wanted her to speak the spell in French anyway! How did that make sense?

“Trust me, Marinette,” Alya said, amused. “Just because a spell is recorded in a way that keeps it safe from enemy eyes doesn’t mean it has to be spoken in the same way. This code is protected by magic, but it represents all the same letters the normal French alphabet does. Spells can be spoken in any language, as long as they’re properly translated. Look, this one is in French; this symbol is ‘m,’ this one is ‘i,’ and if you put them all together, they make the word ‘mirage.’ Do you get it?”

Sinking back onto her feet, Marinette nodded, feeling a bit stupid. “Oh. So, it’s like there’s an eternal illusion spell cast on the letters?”

“Close! It was cast on the concept of the code itself, so that anything written in it can only be decoded by someone who was willingly taught the code by a Mage or, in the past, a Talent. I’m going to teach you how to decode it, too, and then you can read as many spells as you want.”

“Even the ones in Adrien’s journals?”

Alya nodded. “Even those ones. Although from what you’ve told me, deciphering his French will be your main problem!”

Marinette laughed. “It isn’t that bad once you get used to it!” she insisted, playfully defending Adrien’s abnormal writing habits.

“Whatever you say, girl. Okay, for real this time, say mirage!”

“Mirage!”

“Great! Now close your eyes and picture the flower. Doesn’t matter what type, just add as much detail as you can. When you’re done, say, ‘I call on Trixx’s power to create this flower’ and then you’re done.”

Marinette giggled as she followed Alya’s instructions, and her friend immediately protested.

“Wha— hey, don’t laugh! My spells don’t usually rhyme!”

Marinette nodded, keeping her eyes closed, and let out a deep breath as she prepared to try the spell.

“I call on Trixx’s power to create this flower,” Marinette said after a moment’s pause, and her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

Then she cracked open her eyes and looked for the flower.

“Nothing’s there,” she said, looking up at Alya dejectedly.

“You’re right,” Alya said, looking at the space between them where the flower should have been. “You could try again or just give up if you think you did it right. Being a Mage is pretty rare these days. And there are other spells to try, to test whether you’re a Mage of a different kwami than mine!”

“I tried as hard as I could,” Marinette said, rubbing her arm. “I don’t think I messed up, except for when I almost laughed. I just don’t think I’m a Mage, Alya.”

“Not Trixx’s, anyway,” Alix said as she hopped off the couch and landed on the floor with a thud, which scared Marinette. “But,” she said as she appeared behind Alya’s shoulder, reached around her, and flipped to a different page in the book, “You might still be Fluff’s. Repeat after me.”

Alya handed the spellbook to Alix and moved out of the way as she gave Marinette an encouraging smile.

“I promise to keep this short. Come on, just one more spell and we’re done! We only have Trixx’s and Fluff’s spells, so we can only test to see if you’re one of theirs. If not, who cares.” Alix raised one shoulder and dropped it back down.

Marinette sighed. “Okay, fine. What’s the spell?”

“Say burrow, then say the place and time you’d like to go to. So like, this same spot, five seconds from now.”

“Burrow, right here, five seconds from now?”

“Aaand you’re not one of Fluff’s Mages. Congrats!”

“That’s not— how do you know I didn’t mess up? I didn’t even say the same words as you did!”

“It doesn’t matter for that spell. Makes it pretty dangerous if you say something like outer space for your location, or if you go back before the Earth formed, but it’s the most basic spell we have.”

Marinette was briefly seized with an image of her accidentally falling into a black hole or falling into a star because she said the wrong thing by accident.

“Alya! Did you know that spell was so risky?”

“Well, no and yes. I’m not overly familiar with Alix’s spells, but all of Fluff’s magic is more immediately dangerous than Trixx’s. That’s why Fluff’s Mages get so much credit for helping defeat the Darkness with that Adrien of yours. Without their help, the battle could easily have gone in a very different direction.”

“It’s also theorized that one of us killed the Mage behind the Darkness,” Alix supplied. “And that whoever they were, the evil Mage is spiraling across the universe like a dead fish thanks to us. Maybe one day we’ll find their body,” she said, grinning evilly.

Marinette swallowed. “That’ll be fun.”

“Oh yeah, I’m so looking forward to it.”

“Uh-huh. Well, thanks for your help, Alix!” Alya took the book back from her and snapped it shut. “How are you feeling, girl? Worn out from the tests?”

Cocking her head, Marinette responded, “Not really. I’m kind of disappointed, but mostly relieved. Being anyone’s Mage doesn’t sound like the right fate for me. I’m just a normal girl with a normal life!”

Alya hummed. “Maybe you are. But you could still turn out to be a Mage, or even the first Talent in over a century! I’ll give up on tests,” she said at Marinette’s weary look, “But maybe you’d like to learn the Mages’ code, instead? Then you could really read all of Adrien’s journals.”

“My one true desire,” Marinette joked. “That does sound nice, actually! He records so many different spells, and it’s driving me nuts that I can’t read them. Like, there’s a spell for making ingredients hop into a pan and cook themselves! I need to know what it says, even if I can’t actually make the magic work.”

“Sounds like a universal spell to me,” Alya said thoughtfully. “No one’s tried one of those in forever! If it still works, any one of us Mages should be able to use it, even you, if you’re at all Gifted!”

“That would be pretty nice,” Marinette said as Alya led her over to a table and pulled out a chair.

“On to the lesson! Or, I guess it isn’t much of a lesson, exactly. I’m going to write down each of the code’s symbols next to their translation on a piece of paper for you. Once you have it, you can decode any spell you want with minimal work. And soon, you might even have the code memorized and not need the key anymore!”

“Thanks! That’s really cool, Alya,” Marinette said, watching as she quickly muttered a spell under her breath and pulled a paper from thin air.

Once the paper appeared, Alya grabbed it, making it glow golden orange, said another spell, and then set it down on the table once it stopped glowing.

“There. Once you have the key memorized, the paper will cease to exist. And if anyone but you sees it, it will look like a menu for the cafè. Sound good?”

Marinette nodded and Alya smiled.

“Great. Now, can I borrow a pen?”

“What, you can’t just summon one?” Marinette teased.

“I could, but that would be another complicated spell, and I just did three of those. You can’t normally touch illusions like this, or they fall apart. That’s part of why I wasn’t worried about the flower spell, because it just casts a basic illusion, nothing more. Anyway, the more complex a spell, the more tiring it is for the Mage casting it.”

“You mean, if you cast too many spells at once, you die?”

This was not good! Being a Mage sounded more dangerous with each new fact Marinette learned about them!

“No, there’s a safety built into the concept of spells. If you try too many at once, you might faint or go into a coma, but if it's a combination that would kill you, then you just can’t finish the spell. It becomes physically impossible.”

“Oh, that’s smart! Which Mage figured it out?”

“No one knows. In any event, while you don’t have to worry about me dying, I don’t feel like sleeping for twenty hours just to make up for summoning a pen.”

“That makes sense. Here,” Marinette fished around in her purse and pulled out a pink gel pen. “Will this work?”

“Perfectly. Thanks!”

Alya wrote out the code on the left side of the paper and then the translation on the right side.

“A last note: the symbols for numbers overlap with a few of the letter symbols. To show the difference, use the guide at the bottom. And that’s all there is to it!”

“Thank you so much!”

As she took the paper from Alya, Marinette hesitated.

“Hey, did I ever ask you what happened to Adrien? I mean, he’s dead, obviously, but when did he die? Did he ever write any other journals, aside from the lost ones? Was he happy?”

“Oh,” Alya said. “That’s… hard to answer, actually. We know more about how Adrien’s parents died than we know about how he died. It was in the catacombs, here in Paris. He told one of the Bourgeoises that he was going to visit them, illegally, I might add, and that was the last we ever heard about him. According to the Bourgeois family back when they still acknowledged our existence — although I’ve been promised a response to my email soon, at least — Adrien went a little crazy before his death.”

Marinette took a sharp breath. Adrien, crazy? Sure, she’d considered it, herself, back when she hadn’t known that magic was real, but now that she knew she could trust the stories he wrote in his journals, she didn’t think he was crazy. She thought he was very smart, in control of his thoughts and able to tell when his emotions were threatening to take over. His writing had become something of a constant in her life. What did the magic community think happened to him, that Adrien could be thought ‘crazy’?

Alya continued the story. “He thought the Darkness was coming back; that someone was killing off all the Talents; and towards the very end, he told his closest friends that the Mage of Darkness was hunting him down to get revenge. Revenge, of course, for that time when we ganged up and defeated that same Mage. We killed them, so like, what Adrien thought was happening was just impossible. It’s sad; he cared so much about keeping the Gifted community safe, and he contributed so much to our survival; but in the end, what he’d gone through for our lives cost him his own. He was a hero. But sometimes, being a hero means you don’t get a happy ending.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Alya said, covering her trembling hand with a warm, firm one. “I know you got attached because of those books. But it’s in the past. Adrien Agreste got lost in the catacombs at age twenty and died before he could find the way out. That’s all we know.”

Marinette was suddenly finding it really hard to see. At some point during Alya’s tale, she’d begun to silently cry for the Mage she’d begun to feel like she knew. He’d done so much for her, and she’d never get to thank him!

She licked her lips, tasting the salt there, and took a deep, rasping breath.

“Did you ever find his body? Is there a grave I could go visit?”

Alya shook her head and held Marinette’s hand tightly, offering the only comfort she could. “Nobody’s ever found his body. Plenty of Mages have tried, but they’ve had to turn back. The catacombs are dangerous if you go off the known trail, and it wouldn’t do us any good to find one body just to leave another one there with it. So because of that, we really can’t teleport straight to the spot, we can’t go back in time to stop it, nothing. According to Fluff, ‘everything is the way it should be’. The way it has to be. But it’s always hard to lose one of our own. I wish things were different, ‘Nette, I really do.”

Marinette’s hand shook in Alya’s as she fought off her tears. How could she be crying for a centuries-dead man? She’d known he was dead before she even asked what had happened to him! Crying about it didn’t make any sense!

“It hurts more than it should,” she whispered. “He gave up everything to protect his people, led them to victory, finally won and got to go home. And he went through all of that, just to die as soon as he got back to Paris? That’s completely unfair!”

“I know it is,” Alya said softly. “We all do. He will always have a place of honor in our histories, and a statue at Plagg’s cave. He is and always will be remembered. That’s more than most can say.”

Marinette wiped her eyes and nodded. “I guess it is,” she forced herself to say. Far more people's names are forgotten than remembered, in the grand scheme of things. Even detailed journals, like the ones Adrien had written, were lost or destroyed more often than they lived on even one century after their writer, let alone two.

How fortunate, then, that she’d gotten to read his journals at all. Even the best Mages couldn’t say they had done that, but finding them had been a blessing for them all, and soon, the Agreste journals would be back where they belonged. Their stories would live on.

Written for @mlbigbang

#adrien gets better I swear #don't worry about him :))#this chapter is really just the calm before the storm #ao3 links at the top #ml fanfic #rosie-b writing #miraculous ladybug #ml au #centuries overdue

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thranduilland · 10 months

Note

17 for the Soft™ fic prompt meme? 👀

17 - absently adjusting clothing Hob bites down on a sigh as Dream adjusts the collar of Hob’s shirt for the sixth time in half an hour. It had been amusing the first couple of times, just seeing Dream nervous, because until today, Hob had never seen his lover nervous. But, then the fidgeting hadn’t stopped. Hob’s not even sure Dream’s aware of it.

Hob understands this is an important meeting. He’d be nervous too, if he were in Dream’s place. But this seems incredibly excessive. He has to bite his tongue to not say anything as Dream smooths down Hob’s tie. There was nothing wrong with the tie, Hob had already checked after the first and second times Dream had done it. There was nothing wrong with the collar of his shirt either and-“

“Dream,” he finally says, with a little sigh as he turns his hand to capture Dream’s own as his lover is about to fiddle with Hob’s cufflink. “What’s wrong? Why are you so nervous about this, love?”

“I am not nervous,” Dream answers without any hesitation, Hob merely raises an eyebrow.

“We agreed we wouldn’t lie if we could help it.”

“Right, we did agree that,” Dream answers, letting out a very soft sigh. “It is… it is irrational.”

“What is, duck? Talk to me.”

“I-I want them to like you. I do not wish to have to choose between you,” Dream says, Hob sighs, squeezing his hand.

“I wouldn’t make you choose, Dream. If they don’t like me then they don’t like me, that’s just how it is. But I wouldn’t force you to choose,” Hob says, lifting Dream’s hand to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles. “I promise. It’s not the end of the world, my sweet.”

“Calliope had to choose,” Dream says, barely more than a whisper.

“Because she was forced to,” Hob points out, frowning. “Do you think they’d make you choose?”

“No,” Dream answers after a very long pause. “I do not think so.”

“Then let’s see what happens, okay?” Hob asks, giving Dream’s hand another squeeze. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“You cannot promise that,” Dream points out, but he does seem to relax some, so Hob will take it.

“I just did, so tough,” he says, with a grin.

The bell above the door dings and he turns towards it in curiosity. Immediately, Dream is tense again and Hob mourns the small gain he’d made even as one of his students and her little brother come into the Inn, chatting intensely about something he cannot hear. His student glances up, sees him and Dream and she raises an eyebrow as she all but bounds towards them, her brother trailing behind her.

“Hey, Uncle Dream!” she says, shooting Dream a giant smile as she turns to Hob, that eyebrow still raised. “Hey, Prof G, didn’t know you guys knew each other?” she asks, Hob blinks, then bursts out laughing as beside him Dream stares in shock.

“You have met before?” Dream asks, while Hob is too busy giggling to be of any help.

“Yeah, course! Prof G’s my mentor. He helped me get into that internship program I was telling you about last week,” Rose says, as she sits herself down at the table, Jed claiming the chair beside her.

“I told you it would be fine, Dream,” Hob says, wiping tears from his eyes. “Will you stop adjusting my clothes, now?”

“What?”

“Oh, he does that when he’s nervous. He introduced us to Aunty Death last month, and the whole time he kept obsessing over straightening up our clothes. I don’t even think Aunty Death noticed!” Rose says with a smile.

“Made me dress up all nice and everything and she didn’t even care!” Jed grumbles, glaring at the table.

“I thought it was sweet!” Rose exclaims, shaking her head. “Uncle Dream just wanted us to make a good first impression, because you only get one of them!”

“Right. Well, considering I called Death stupid in her hearing before I ever met her, I made a very bad first impression,” Hob says, as Dream starts to relax beside him, obviously trusting now that things aren’t about to fall apart as he’d been expecting. “Anyway, how-“ Hob pauses, turning to give his lover a look when he reaches up with his free hand to adjust the collar of Hob’s shirt. “Dream.”

“It was crooked!” Dream defends, but there is a smile playing on his lips and Hob huffs, as Rose and Jed laugh.

“I’m sure it was, my love. I’m sure it was.”

#Dreamling #Dream of the Endless #Hob Gadling #Rose Walker #Jed Walker #The Sandman #my fics #ask prompts

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star-burst365 · 1 year

Text

We’re all sleeping on the gem that is Matthias Helvar: an essay

Crooked Kingdom spoilers!!

We’re all in denial about Matthias’s death in ck but also he had some bangers lines and scenes even before chapter 40 such as:

finding out his full name was Matthias Benedik Helvar omg why are we sleeping on this

“how about i bite your lip”

“don’t eat the snow” i dont think they were planning to 💀

YOU ARE EVERY BLOSSOM BLOOMING AT ONCE?? HELLO??

his constant feud with kaz

kaz could breathe and matthias would already be fetching the holy water

any demjin moment ever

“you’re all horrible”

“they all seem like practical choices 😀”

the grandpa energy

nothing but respect and admiration for inej “the little bronze girl” ghafa

MY GHOST WONT ASSOCIATE WITH YOUR GHOST

the big brooding yellow tulip

nina handed him a gun during the ambush of soc and he fr would’ve killed her if they weren’t being shot at

“I can drink your poison no longer” was so powerful. he went from extreme prejudices against grisha after being raised and literally brainwashed by hatred to bashing his ex-commander in the head to free Nina omg

friendly reminder his entire family was killed by inferni but he still moves past it

something nobody talks about: he combined his hateful past of serving as a drukelle, something made to hunt grisha to lead two of them (Jesper and Kuwei) out of a corner and get them back to the rest of the crows in ck.

he used military tactics made to kill grisha to save grisha

this was so important for his development i swear

and don’t forget Nina either

“little red bird” please im not okay

MY LOVE AS A PET NAME THATS SO PURE MY GOD

him and nina squeezing in the littlest places just to cuddle together and rest together is so dvfnjkvsfnks

him just wanting to be there for Nina for every step of the way as she recovers from parem

his wet dreams consist of three things:

her “glorious thighs”

a traditional fjerdan life and the domestic lifestyle Fr

literally just vibing in a field of flowers

he saw a nameless husband help a nameless wife with her hair in ketterdam and wished that could be him and nina that’s too sweet help

all he wants is a domestic little life filled with love

but then there’s “he considered brushing it off with his lips, then told himself he should take a walk”

he just told himself to touch grass my god

but also the enemies to lovers lingers, my one of my favorite quotes being:

”you’d flirt with a date palm if it paid you any attention” the shade

also his family? the way he still has memories? so much so he foot massages a pregnant woman?

friendly reminder this man is built like a giant and looks the most threatening out of the group

and he fr lets a girl sing her heart out AND OFFERS TO TAKE HER ON A WALK BY THE LAKE HES SO PRECIOUS

”sing. by all means, sing” famous last words

him complimenting nina on her hair and how she styles it??

the toffee on the boat in soc

constantly regretting his life decisions in soc but willing to die for the crows in ck

the found family trope is killing me

“trickery isn’t my native tongue but I can still learn to speak it” the demjin and crows influence

his lil commander voice to silence the prisoners when they were getting in the truck made inej, someone with the posture of a knifes edge, stand straighter like wtf

HE HAD A WOLF WHY ARE WE SLEEPING ON THIS

HE IS 100% A DOG PERSON

HE AND KAZ WOULDVE PETTED THOSE DOGS FOR HOURS ON THAT ONE CK MISSION

he went from saying meaningful and encouraging things to nina and then when she said she wanted to cry in a corner he switched in 0.2 seconds and said “but…this room is round” oh my god

made out with nina in front of two thirds of the grisha triumvirate

HE PERKS UP WHEN NINA LAUGHS THATS SO ADORABLE

nina and him being twin soldiers sdnnnojnididoskc

him and Jesper’s scenes are honestly amazing, we were robbed

THE DELETED HELNIK SCENE I WANT TO DIE I WISH LEIGH KEPT THAT

he’s literally kaz’s bodyguard when trading for inej

learned a language while in prison I mean that’s pretty impressive

eats honor for breakfast lunch and dinner

”i. Should. Let. You. Die.” He says while trying to desperately save kaz

ran to nina with a bullet in his stomach for one last kiss, for one final goodbye

”save some mercy for my people” that hurts oh my god

the grisha are the favored and children of Djel was so important because that’s him connecting both his past and his much better present together in an actuslly good way

he doesn’t associate his religion with witches and tree handshakes anymore, now he considers those witches blessed by his tree god

in conclusion: I sobbed for weeks over his death and will never recover. thank you for coming to my Ted talk

#matthias helvar #six of crows #nina zenik #jesper #inej supremacy #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #the crows #shadow and bone #matthias x nina #helnik #demjin #the dregs #crooked kingdom #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wylan hendriks #i miss them so much #ive been crying all day

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jaqobis · 7 months

Text

ok fr though as we discuss depictions of assault on this show...i have enormous concerns with the choices made for adapting the rand/selene relationship. cut for talk of sexual assault.

i have no inherent issue with randfear having been a sexual relationship now! but lanfear lied about her identity, knowing rand would reject her if he had full knowledge of who she is. we have ample evidence she invaded his dreams, where she threatened him with physical harm and death for making harmless decisions she didn't like. where she also manipulated his opinions of her and their relationship! we know she manipulated him in the waking world, didn't allow him to set boundaries, and did not take no for an answer. kept him isolated. literally found him at his most vulnerable and took advantage of him. she may or may not have used compulsion on him.

all of which is fine, insofar that i don't inherently mind a sexual assault storyline being used for rand. what i do mind is the complete lack of narrative acknowledgment and fallout for it.

how does rand feel about this violation? how does it affect his ability to interact with lanfear after discovering the truth? how does he feel when she continues to physically expose him, touch him, stalk his dreams? we're left with crumbs at best. and it really troubles me given common societal dismissive attitudes likely to be at play in interpretations of this situation — about whether a young, handsome, powerful, sexually active man can be assaulted at all, let alone by a woman. i really think the narrative has a responsibility to spend some time this season on the the aftermath, after spending half the season on their relationship. even a single scene acknowledging what happened here would be a vast improvement. limited time isn't an excuse — we wouldn't have parsed moiraine's pathos this season any more poorly for one less strained scene with her family. and if the writers made the choice to incorporate this element in the show, they had damned well better budget time for the fallout.

maybe the last episode will surprise me, though how given all the ground it has to cover i'm not optimistic. at this point the writers have given me no reason to believe they're even aware of the violation they put rand through.

#i do not want to hear about “maybe next season” shunting off the fallout is irresponsible at ABSOLUTE BEST #wot show spoilers #rand al'thor #wheel of time #lanfear #wot show

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ae-neon · 1 year

Text

Reading Throne of Glass (4-9)

Again. I'm nitpicking, it's just how I enjoy a lot of my media. Overall I'm still giving the story a fair chance. (Except the Nehemia plotline)

Chapter 4

Really great opening paragraph, like honestly so good.

Proof sjm once understood that starvation would decrease breast size. Also proof that misogyny rots the brain cause god forbid Nesta didn't look hot enough for Cassian to fuck during her depressive breakdown.

Sorry, back to tog.

This chapter is great, amazing even.

Everything from Celaena falling asleep on the floor cause the bed feels too different after her horrible year in the mines

-> her reaction to sunlight and the small bits of hope she has

-> her figuring out a way to kill Chaol every 15 minutes.

-> her solemn reaction to the fact that no one else would be leaving the mines in anyway except death.

The scene with the dogs was nice. I like the interaction and characterization going on between these 3 main characters.

The scenery and worldbuilding is good too. We have Ellwye, the West, Wendlyn, The Witch Kingdom, the East, Endovier, Ardalan and Rifthold all mentioned and somewhat defined within narrative context. No info dumping, just small relevant tidbits.

Okay so Celaena is 18, Dorian is 20, Chaol is 22.

It's almost shocking how reasonable sjm used to be.

Celaena's a little crazy but it's fun sometimes. She says she's trying to get under Chaol's skin but she's the one saying he's not very nice and being bothered when he doesn't engage with her.

22 is much better than I thought. But he honestly has to be not only the best swordsman in the country but also a very high up, well connected young lord to be Captain of the Royal Guard.

Me and Celaena locked in, fr. She clocked him as a Lord.

Also characters with a strong sense of justice >>>>> another 5 points for Chaol.

Top tier chapter overall.

Chapter 5

The forest scene is cool. King Brannon. 2000 years ago. Fae. Hope this plays a big role.

If the Fae are just gonna be dudes who run around the same as humans (with pointy ears and magic) why make them immortal? I don't think sjm really comprehends the concept or how otherworldly it really is.

She knew plenty about this forest, knew that the denizens of this place had once been faeries: gnomes, sprites, nymphs, goblins, more names than anyone could count or remember. All ruled by their larger, human-like cousins, the immortal Fae—the original inhabitants and settlers of the continent, and the oldest beings in Erilea.

Just say Elves, I beg of you

Okay but surely the King of Ardalan, aka Dorian Senior, banning magic and making it disappear is an act of magic itself? Like unless bro is god, the simple act of banning magic would not erase its existence.

The King of Adarlan had outlawed it all—magic, Fae, faeries—and removed any trace so thoroughly that even those who had magic in their blood almost believed it had never really existed, Celaena herself being one of them.

This all just happened within the last maximum 30 years. She herself just told us Fae are immortal. How the fuck would they forget they ever had magic? There are humans old enough to still remember.

"It had been a while since she’d contemplated the gifts she’d lost, though the memory of her abilities haunted her dreams." okay so it's happened only in the last 10 years??? That means everyone still remembers. Why not just write that Celaena could barely remember instead of implying it was a common thing.

Still really like her descriptions of the forest and of the faeries.

I'm guessing gnomes left her flowers. We'll probably never see them again.

Chapter 6

Icy rain kept them company for four days, during which time Celaena was so miserably cold that she contemplated throwing herself into a ravine, hopefully dragging Chaol with her.

Her dedication to murdering him is quite endearing, I fear

The weather hits for me rn because it's autumn here too.

...the Crown Prince pulled out of line and came trotting toward them, his dark hair bouncing. His red cape rose and fell in a crimson wave. Above his unadorned white shirt was a fine cobalt-blue jerkin trimmed with gold. She would have snorted, but he did look rather good in his knee-high brown boots. And his leather belt did go nicely—even though the hunting knife seemed a bit too bejeweled.

Dorian the fashionista

Okay wait. The castle is half stone half glass... Can you just see into the castle? How did they even build that. If this was wheel of time or something I'd assume it was a modern skyscraper being seen through the eyes of people who didn't understand that. But there haven't been any other clues to suggest post apocalyptic fantasy stuff... Idk how I feel about this

The writing continues to be good. Celaena's dreams are pretty disturbing and her moment of quiet contemplation while staring at the greenish glow of the glass castle was really solemn and grounding. I think her thoughts about putting kingdoms behind her would have really hit if sjm revealed her identity and still had her refuse to rule.

"She wasn’t fated for anything. Not anymore"

During this scene the weight of her life experiences so far - running from her burning home at 8, losing her magic, being taken in by a man she couldn't trust, being made to murder for a living, being betrayed (most likely by that same man) and ending up in a slave mine - feels real, feels like it's made her truly lonely.

Still, the image haunted his dreams throughout the night: a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.

Okay so why didn't sjm give Feyre a moment like this if we're supposed to believe Rhysand is her destined true love.

Chapter 7

There's a sense of life in this story thats really missing from acotar. Rifthold has flags and sigils and trumpets announcing the Prince's return. The horses smell, the city smells, the spices from the market smell, the river smells. Like there's a world here and it's tangible.

Acomaf really is the grave. And stans act like it's her magnum opus. No wonder sjm doesn't talk to them.

From bearded peddlers to servant girls carrying armfuls of hatboxes, everyone paused as the flag-bearers trotted proudly ahead, and Dorian Havilliard waved. They followed the Crown Prince, who, like Chaol, was swathed in a red cape, pinned over the left breast with a brooch fashioned after the royal seal. The prince wore a golden crown upon his neat hair, and she had to concede that he looked rather regal. Young women flocked to them, waving. Dorian winked and grinned.

Nobody in Velaris or the Hewn City or Illyria gives a fuck about Rhysand like this lmaooo

Now that she noticed, there were countless chained slaves working the docks, lifting and sweating, holding parasols and pouring water, eyes on the ground or the sky—never on what was before them. She wanted to leap from her horse and run to them, or to simply scream that she wasn’t a part of this prince’s court, that she had no hand in bringing them here, chained and starved and beaten, that she had worked and bled with them, with their families and friends—she was not like these monsters that destroyed everything. That she had done something, nearly two years ago, when she had freed almost two hundred slaves from the Pirate Lord.

I get what sjm was trying to do but the White Woman Energy™ is off the charts. It's not about you and you being seen as bad. Decentre yourself from the slavery narrative, please and thank you.

Kinda disappointed Celaena didn't spot any other spies or assassins lurking about. She was strangely unobservant for once.

Spears erect, they held rectangular shields, and their eyes were dark beneath bronze helmets. Each wore a red cape. Their armor, while tarnished, was well crafted from copper and leather.

Actual description of uniform and weapons rather than just "Illyrian leathers" "Illyrian knives/swords" BUT why does the description sound like Roman soldiers when we're clearly in a renaissance-esque fantasy time period

No, okay, I don't like the literal glass castle on top of a stone castle. Celaena agrees.

Dorian: you won't compete as yourself, we'll keep it a secret.

Dorian at the entrance to the castle while nobles and guards are welcoming him back: WELCOME CELAENA SARDOTHIEN

They were each armed with a sword, knife, and crossbow, and though they’d been alert while their captain passed by, she knew a crossbow wasn’t exactly a light weight to bear for hours on end. Celaena crept to her bedroom window, pressing herself against the marble wall, and glanced down. Sure enough, the guards had already strapped the crossbows across their backs. It would waste precious seconds to grab the weapon and load it—seconds when she could take their swords, cut their throats, and vanish into the gardens.

Smart, and even adding to her character weight and credibility. She surveys the room, makes a weapon and categorises what she could use to kill. Legit feels like a competent assassin.

Even the clothes are so much better than in acotar. What happened to sjm??

“He has a big heart, His Highness.” hahaha Dorian is apparently out here hoeing, I respect it.

Not the literal throne of glass.

And then there was the matter of Dorian’s sapphire eyes—not even his mother had his eyes. No one knew where they came from.

I hope this matters

The conversation between Dorian Snr and Dorian Jr is loaded with politics:

King Dorian I is a conqueror

Dorian II doesn't want to inherit the empire.

The younger brother isn't really a threat, neither of them take Hollin seriously.

Ardalan is in active war against Wendlyn

Why call Celaena a witch if the race of Witch exists. Why not just call her a snake or temptress or something

Dorian wants to kill his dad. He just like me fr.

Chapter 8

Okay. Chaol has an eagle shaped pommel on his sword. Dorian's sigil is a wyvern. The guy Celaena ends up with can turn into a bird I think. Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel have bat wings. The love interest in Ccity is an angel. SJM has a thing for wings, yes?

Tamlin not having wings is more proof of Feylin not being endgame than anything else you can point to in the text.

Chaol is giving the assassin a tour of the castle... Is he stupid??

The competition begins tomorrow??????

“I don’t understand why you refuse to enter the glass addition,” he went on. “There’s no difference between the interiors—you wouldn’t even know that you were inside it unless someone told you or you looked out the window.”

I lack the visual imagination to understand what the fuck is going on with this building. It really just sounds like a skyscraper

A clocktower made of black stone. Something like you'd see at the Gates of Wyrd. Hmmm. King built a spooky magic tower thing around the birth of his son. The same king magically made magic disappear.... The gargoyle on the tower points to a tile in the garden with a symbol on it. It's feeling very Da Vinci Code rn

A library... I miss Nesta.

The letter exchange between Celaena and Dorian is better than anything in acomaf. I said what I said. Including it for proof:

Your Highness—

It has come to my attention that your library isn’t a library, but rather a personal collection for only you and your esteemed father to enjoy. As many of your million books seem to be present and underused, I must beg you to grant me permission to borrow a few so that they might receive the attention they deserve. Since I am deprived of company and entertainment, this act of kindness is the least someone of your importance could deign to bestow upon a lowly, miserable wretch such as I.

Yours most truly,

Celaena Sardothien

Celaena beamed at her note and handed it to the nicest-looking servant she could find, with specific instructions to give it immediately to the Crown Prince. When the woman returned half an hour later with a stack of books piled in her arms, Celaena laughed as she swiped the note that crowned the column of leather.

My Most True Assassin,

Enclosed are seven books from my personal library that I have recently read and enjoyed immensely. You are, of course, free to read as many of the books in the castle library as you wish, but I command you to read these first so that we might discuss them. I promise they are not dull, for I am not one inclined to sit through pages of nonsense and bloated speech, though perhaps you enjoy works and authors who think very highly of themselves.

Most affectionately,

Dorian Havilliard

What happened to Sarah, when did she abandon romance?

Also. Again. This is supposed to be kept secret but she signed her name??? And Dorian responds "my assassin" any courier or spy would have had them by the balls before the day was done.

IS THAT KALTAIN??? Her ladies are idiots.

Ahhh, classic YA girlhate

Chapter 9

Super short chapter.

Aww, Chaol.

----

Overall I'm still enjoying this more than I expected.

Again what happened to sjm? This love triangle is building so well.

#ae read #throne of glass #sjm critical #celaena sardothien #dorian havilliard #chaol westfall #ae read throne of glass

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sithskywalkerr · 7 months

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haunted.

Summary: Anakin's condition continues to worsen, and he becomes increasingly concerned about the safety of his family. Padmé reassures him and tries to understand what triggers his episodes, but they must evacuate when the Empire locates Anakin. The Skywalkers and Obi-Wan have to evacuate to Tatooine, staying with Owen and Beru until it’s safe to return to Naboo. AKA: "GET YOUR FUCKING DOG BITCH!!!!" "It don't bite." "YES IT DO!!!!!!!" Series: The Flowers Never Bloom Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Beru Whitesun, Owen Lars, Wilhuff Tarkin, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, minor character death, blood, gore, cannibalism if u think about it fr... but zomboi is hunger Ships: Anidala Word Count: 6.3k words A/N: I asked a friend (@thegreatdaisydactyl) what she wanted to read for zomboi, and she said him suffering through feeding so whoopsies… slight plot spoilers for later on? A bit? Anyways, more crumbs of Zomboi. When I'm not posting actual chapters, I'm usually writing something still. Hope you enjoy! Read here on ao3

Years had passed since he was left behind - since the virus took him, and since Anakin died with Vader rising in his place. The gnarled body of Vader had twisted into a foul symbol of the Empire, his visage across holos as propaganda as his gaze bore into those who looked. His face was always half-hidden, a mask hiding the tear in his cheek and helping his weakened lungs during long battles. It also hid his identity from the public as they refused to look at the fiery eyes of the Sith.

Until Padmé had found him.

Then everything had changed.

His return was an uneasy acceptance of the remaining Jedi, seeing the now twisted body of the Hero with No Fear. How far he had fallen within ten years made their hearts ache, but they still were wary of him. If paths crossed, they kept their distance from the former knight. Even now, they struggled to accept his return.

Things were fine.

He seemed docile, even if Anakin still struggled to peek through the mask of Vader.

Things... were fine.

Until Obi-Wan had tried to speak with him about Geonosis.

"Anakin, I want to know what happened to you." Obi-Wan softly pleaded as he moved closer to his former padawan within the palace’s library.

Golden eyes lifted immediately as he squared his broad shoulders beneath black robes. "There is nothing to speak about. I was changed on Geonosis. I do not remember what happened before."

"Then how are you able to remember that Padmé is your wife? How else would you remember the Temple and Order? You must remember your legion on the obsidian plains of Sullust before our Geonosis mission."

Flashes of heat and sand resurfaced in his memory as he remembered leading the 501st through the lava rivers that threatened them as they tried to push the Diseased back. However, after that, he still could not resurface more memories. Even his memories with Palpatine were murky, but he at least recognized him enough as a trusted friend to stay with him.

Then Palpatine informed him that the Jedi had abandoned him, and not long after, he was told that Padmé had died. If she had died, the baby died, and he had nothing to hold onto, not after Mustafar. Then, the details of the last ten years became murky. Obscured. His eyes returned to his former Master, boring into him over the half mask that steadied his breath while he hid his features.

"I do not remember. Cease your probing," Anakin ordered as Obi-Wan watched him leave the library.

He did not hesitate this time to follow," Anakin, wait. I want to know why you fell to the Dark Side."

The fire returned to his chest as he turned abruptly to face Obi-Wan, seeming to bristle. "I wanted to save Padmé."

"Save her from what, Anakin?"

"I could not lose her." He didn’t answer him, mind starting to remember the night’s events. He had made a deal with the Devil to protect his wife, but the price was his humanity. However, the confession only made Obi-Wan’s eyes soften, even if he still didn’t fully understand the lack of detail. Still, he loved him through it all. "You should have told me what was happening. I could have helped, Anakin."

As the Jedi spoke, the fire within his chest burned brighter, and he curled his lip back to bare his teeth. "Liar," he hissed out, eyes burning as bright as the lava that scarred him.

The Force around him bristled in his anger, but even regions away, Sidious’s head turned out of curiosity. There you are, my young apprentice.

Obi-Wan took a step back as he watched Anakin closely, wary of his anger as he studied him. "Anakin, release your anger. It blinds you."

A whisper through the Force came, murmuring on the edge of the former Jedi’s mind.

Execute Order 66.

His pupils contracted then as an inhuman growl erupted from his chest. Obi-Wan’s heart sank as he slowly began to back away from his former padawan as his hand moved to detach the mask.

No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Obi-Wan jumped out of the way when he was lunged at, eyes widening as he nearly lost his balance. "Anakin, stop!"

The mask clattered to the ground as teeth barely missed his arm. The Jedi ignited his saber as he looked at Anakin and watched as yellow eyes with black sclera lifted to him. What the blazes had been done to the little boy he had raised? What cruel trick had twisted him into this undead killing machine? No doubt it was Palpatine, but Obi-Wan had more dire problems as he moved back when he was swiped at by Anakin. He didn’t want to cage his former padawan, but options were severely limited due to the intense alterations to his genetic code.

Moving back from another attempt from Vader, he lured him away from the library. Trying to get him out of the palace, Obi-Wan’s heart sank when he saw guards immediately making their way over. “No, do not come—” Vader’s attention went from Obi-Wan to the guards before he suddenly jumped onto one with an inhuman snarl as he tore the helmet off of one while the other started to try to help. Snapping the neck of the first guard, he dragged the other one down with fangs sinking into their throat when the helmet was torn off. A scream erupted but cut off from her as he tore her throat open, eyes brightening at the familiar taste of flesh.

Obi-Wan watched in horror as he was preoccupied with the need to feed, returning to call Padmé to let her know what was happening.

Worry blossomed within her chest at hearing Obi-Wan reporting to her, brows furrowing. He was doing so well; why the sudden change? Dismissing herself from the meeting, she alerted everyone to evacuate the palace, heels sharp on the granite flooring as she moved to find Obi-Wan.

Hands tore apart the sternum to expose the organs of a guard as he started to devour what he could, trying to satiate the hunger deep within his belly. Even in the haze, the little glimmer of his consciousness screamed at himself to stop, but the hunger kept him feeding even when he heard his wife shout his name.

Obi-Wan moved to pull her back, voice quiet," Are you this foolish, Padmé?"

"Feeding or not, he is still my husband. I made a vow to him that I intend to keep," she pulled from him to look back at Anakin only to see his eyes focused on the both of them. His gaze focused on the hand near Padmé as Obi-Wan stilled when he looked at Anakin again.

Padmé’s voice became quieter to Obi-Wan, taking another step away from the Jedi Master. "… That caught his interest."

“Indeed it did, but I fear I might be next on the meal plan.”

"No … Just … Stay here." She stepped closer to him as he watched, blood dripping from his lips as low chitters escaped his throat. Recognizing the curiosity in the sounds, she moved closer, voice soft," Ani, what’s going on? What happened?" Ignoring the carnage that dyed her heels red, she stood beside her husband as soon as her heart hammered against her ribcage. Her hand trembled as she softly brushed her soft fingertips against his shoulder," do you understand me?" Her voice was a soft plead, hoping that somehow the Force kept him in there even if he was feeling starved or threatened. She refused to accept the possibility that one day he could lose consciousness to the virus.

The shift was tangible in the Force as the tension and anger around him seemed to dissipate, softening back to his love for her as his eyes moved to watch her hand. Staying still, his gaze shifted back to her as she smiled weakly. Maker, her eyes reflected the heartbreak she felt at seeing how much the virus impacted his demeanor. Could he genuinely become violent and feral without warning? As she was pulled from her worry, she realized he was moving to stand up as he registered sensing her stress and panic. Her hand moved back to let him straighten up, his head tilting to the side curiously when she looked surprised at his sudden gentility despite the blood still coating his lips.

The little claws of Anakin moved through the haze of hunger, a bloodied hand moving up to gently hold her cheek as he looked her over. She realized he was looking for injuries, voice soft," I’m safe, Ani. I’m okay." The hunger still gnawed in his belly, and guards slowly blocked off the hallway to contain him to the area as he stepped back from her. His eyes moved to the guards, low growls erupting from him as Padmé reached to touch his arm to keep him back with her.

"Eyes on me, Ani. Look at me."

Breaking his gaze from the guards, his body was tensed again, ready to attack. He looked down at her curiously as she softly smiled at her husband. "Are you still hungry?"

He gave a slow nod, and she motioned to the guards to stop while looking to Panaka as she kept her voice even," Can you move the bodies to the lower level?" Sending her husband into the cells of the palace had been the last thing on her mind, but she couldn’t have him attacking others while keeping their children safe and away from the gore.

Panaka nodded as he motioned for her to get Anakin away from the bodies, and Padmé moved back as she gently moved Anakin to follow. He was aware some plan was happening, glancing around as he moved to her side before a low growl erupted as a corpse was wrapped in a bag for transport. Panaka hesitated then, eyes moving up to Anakin before Padmé moved to softly touch his uninjured cheek, voice sweet. "Ani, we’re moving them so the twins don’t see. Look at me."

He took a moment to slowly look at her, the yellow boring into her softened brown eyes as she let her thumb brush against his cheek. "No one is taking your meal away. Just relocating."

Melting into her touch, he leaned down more with low purrs as she slowly started to lead him through a more hidden path through the palace to the cells. Moving with her, more sounds of curiosity clicked and chirped from him as his eyes looked around the secret tunnels that were cool from the heat of the summer.

"Keep following me. I know you haven’t eaten properly since you came back," Padmé glanced back to him, the torches lit through the lower level, softly lighting his features as his eyes stayed on her. She got him to the hidden cells, one holding the bodies already open and ready. She motioned him in, voice soft," I promise when you can, you’ll come out. Tarkin has volunteered to stay with you."

That got his attention, but she quickly nudged him inside before getting the barrier up. He made a low sound, fingers tentatively touching the field as it hummed before looking back to the guards. "Eat, Ani. I’ll make sure the twins are safe."

Low sounds erupted from his throat at the field, making it shudder with another experimental poke before looking at her quietly. She could reassure him as much as she wanted, but the anger began to bubble up again. His eyes moved between the barrier and her, giving a low growl at being caged. The hunger still triumphed, aching deeply in his belly as he moved further in the dimly lit cell. Padmé’s eyes watched as he crouched; his fingers quickly broke bones and sinew to devour what he could.

She stood frozen. Her eyes watched as the horror set in of what had become of her husband, but a gentle hand on her shoulder made her look away. Tarkin gave her a grim smile, trying to reassure her as his gaze went to the former General he had served with in the Clone Wars.

Maker, what had been done to him?

His voice was steady as he looked back at her, nodding. "When he seems more stabilized, I will call you back, Senator."

"Thank you, Tarkin. If the worst happens, we will have a guard further down with a crystal blaster." She was still weary from his sudden abandonment of the Empire, but he had yet to prove his loyalty to the Rebels was part of something more sinister. Still, she preferred to keep him at arm’s length. However, she had to make sure the twins were okay.

Watching her duck back out to get to the main level, Tarkin’s blue-gray eyes returned to the field that separated him from the former right-hand man of the Emperor. His gaze soon met that of the former Jedi, and while he was used to the burning anger of Sith eyes, the sclera also being pitch black was what finally made the former Grand Moff feel dread creep up his spine. Seeing them with the blood smeared around his jaw and splattered across his face made it harder to tear his gaze from him. At one point in his life, this was General Skywalker. Hero of the Grand Republic, he often had to remind himself when faced with the familiar brutality of Vader.

The poster boy was now the face that haunted those under the Empire’s reign, striking anxiety into the public when his presence was announced through local channels. However, the reveal of Lord Vader was slow to the Empire’s ranks, and his face was mostly concealed by a mask he wore that showed his scarred scalp and burning eyes. The familiar shape of his eyes made Tarkin suspect early that the lack of information about the General’s disappearance was more than a mysterious death. It seemed unlikely that Skywalker would have just vanished when he learned he was the twins’ father.

Vader’s gaze never wavered from the former Grand Moff at seeing him comfort his wife, eating paused while he watched their interactions. Tarkin’s usually cold eyes seemed to soften, momentarily glancing at the bodies inside as he gestured to them. "Do not let my presence hinder your meal, Lord Vader."

His gaze lingered only a moment before hunger overtook his brain like a fever, extended canines easily breaking apart organs and flesh.

Tarkin warily watched, arms behind tucked himself as the cells held a steady hum from the mechanics of the lower levels of the palace. His eyes couldn’t break away as he watched the robotic fingers easily tear into the flesh; blood and flesh sunk into the floors beneath Vader. Tarkin couldn’t help but silently thank the construction of the field, holding back the smell, but his body momentarily stiffened as he realized the bodies were cleaned and he was being watched.

Fear started to crawl up his spine, stabbing its cold nails into him as his chest tightened, and Vader began to go for the mechanics near the door. Metal screamed and curled as he tore it back, growling as the hunger burned, but within a blink, it went away.

Pausing, his eyes looked over the wall he had started to destroy, pulling back before looking around the room as the sclera became white again.

A slow exhale came as he let his eyes move to Tarkin, as the realization came that it happened. Once again, couldn’t remember what he had done, just that his belly was full. Growling lowly at himself, he slammed the side of his fist into the wall, causing it to crumple beneath his strength.

"Is my family alright?"

The fear slowly dissipated as Tarkin watched the stark contrast happen before him, and he certainly did not know what to make of it either. How would someone explain what they had just witnessed?

"Yes, my Lord. They are safe. The twins were not close when it happened."

"And my wife?" His eyes looked over his bloody hands before slowly moving along the floor to the familiar carnage.

"She is also safe. You did not harm her when she was beside you." There was no need to mention he was like a giant Loth cat wanting her affection. "She has had to return to her meeting, but I have no doubt she will return to see you."

A slow inhale made his chest expand as he wiped the blood onto his clothes, briefly pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Request a cell cleaning."

"After she agrees to release you, my Lord," Tarkin said simply as he kept his distance from the door, and a low growl escaped Vader, knowing he was right.

Padmé's meeting had long since ended after her departure. Luckily, the parties agreed to meet at a later time to continue. After ensuring the twins were with Rabé and Sabé, she got to the gardens to sit while watching a fountain. Reflecting through the past week, he hadn't noticed that Obi-Wan had found her, making his way over to sit beside her.

"Is he okay?"

"… As best as he can be right now. He’s contained and with food last I know."

Food. Something strange to her as she thought about it: while humans had livestock or hunted for animals for her husband, it was so different. Humans were his livestock, yet he was tame most of the time. She moved her eyes to the former Jedi, voice soft," I wish I could make it easier for him. There must be an alternative to eating people so he doesn’t have this guilt… He might have started to eat less." Her eyes fell again, her brows furrowed, and her throat tightened at the idea. "I do not want him to think he has to starve himself to be here. We need him. The kids… they love him so much, and I can't lose him like that, Obi-Wan."

His eyes softened as he gently rested a hand over hers, voice soft," he will be okay. I could have been the cause this time. I pressed him too much."

Her eyes briefly moved to their hands while he spoke, thinking a moment,” You were there when it started?"

"I was asking him about what had happened to him. He still did not tell me a lot of details, but he was scared about something to do with you. He never fully explained when I asked what he was scared of." His eyes had moved to the fountain before them, watching the water ripple as it flowed smoothly.

"I was pregnant, and he was having nightmares that I would die. You saw their birth was not easy, so I don't hold his fear against him."

"Even then, I wanted to help him, Padmé. He never told me what was happening, but I did have suspicions. The two of you are terrible at hiding it," he teased as Padmé laughed softly, nodding.

"It was easier to be in our bubble than to remember the reality of what was happening outside the apartment… we still had our own issues, though." She softly sighed, shoulders relaxing as she thought back. "Anakin said that he had found a way to save me, but something was off about him ... very wrong."

"How long after that had he disappeared?"

"Hours … then I see him ten years later. He's infected and a Sith Lord. He's been through too much in his life, Obi-Wan. I was hoping being here would help him have peace."

Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan leaned back as he thought back to before the shift," right before the… change. I told him that I would have helped had I known. I could feel that darkness again from him through the Force. He was like a feral animal. I still cannot understand how fast the change was."

Her lips pursed as she softly sighed," I want him to be happy and safe, Obi-Wan. I had to cage him." A pause came while her holo pinged with an incoming message from Tarkin as he stood near the door so Anakin was visible behind him in the holo-door. "He’s stable once again, my Lady. Is visitation safe, or shall I let him out?"

"Go ahead and let him out, Tarkin. Thank you."

"Of course, Senator,” he nodded,” we also need a mechanic to repair the damage done to the door."

"I can repair it," Anakin said simply as the door vanished. "I will stay down here." He reached to end the communication before Padmé or Obi-Wan could react, making his way through the corridors to get a toolkit.

Tarkin watched, lingering back with pursed lips before his eyes moved to the com. Tucking it away, he had no doubt that Padmé would be on her way back.

She was with Obi-Wan in tow, brows furrowed," he began to damage the door, then stopped before he could escape. What is happening, Obi-Wan?"

"I wish I could answer you, Padmé, but I'm as lost as you." He followed her with his hand near his saber, still wary of the situation. "It’s not good that he tried to escape either. He could have caused more damage if he had."

"Can we focus on the actions he does?" She frowned," spending too much time on what could have happened won’t make him feel better and certainly won’t help me feel better about any of this."

His eyes softened as he followed," he did stop, and that is good… but you know just as well as I do that we need to keep his actions in mind for the safety of others. We've already lost a few guards."

"I know, and their families will be given full assistance if applicable… but my family needs help too. I want to know why he stopped," she stepped into the cell unit, going over to the door to peek inside as Tarkin looked over the damage himself.

"He returned to his senses," he said simply, blue-gray eyes briefly looking at her. "His episodes seem irregular with little pattern to them."

"How did he act, Tarkin? Did he try to harm you?"

"I believe the intent was there. Shortly after Lord--," He paused, pursing his lips. "Pardon ... After General Skywalker fed, he began to try to damage the circuits, and then his eyes whitened again. He became more aware, then asked of you and the children immediately after."

"Because they are all I have left of this forsaken life," Anakin growled as he returned, moving past everyone to get back into the cell with the bag and a replacement panel. It was good that he convinced her to hoard parts that had been replaced for his mechanic adventures. More often than either of them wanted to admit, they had to use the parts. Padmé’s eyes watched him as he placed a work light, looking over the damage with a scowl. "I should not be here."

"Where would you go?" Obi-Wan asked then, eyes soft to him as his former padawan seemed to scoff a little.

"I don’t know where I could go. I don’t belong with the Diseased, and don’t belong with humans."

"You belong here with us," Obi-Wan murmured softly as he moved towards the open door more. He knew he needed to see this differently, but seeing the damage done to the wall concerned him. "Do you remember, Anakin?"

"No. I just remember being hungry… and Padmé. I don’t know what was said or done, but I remember her there."

"Good, that's a good start,” he softly encouraged, making Anakin pause, removing the old panel.

Giving a glance to his former Master, his eyes were unreadable. "Is it?"

"I believe it is, my Lord," Tarkin said simply before Obi-Wan could speak," you seemed more responsive to her than others. That is something worth noting. You even seemed like a pleased, purring kitten in her touch."

Padmé softly smiled then," You were. You’re responsive to me. The simpler I say, the better you seem to understand … maybe these episodes are just regression into the virus's needs."

"No, not like this," he said while shaking his head, glancing between them. “Even the Diseased stop feeding when full and become lazy and uninterested in others. Reports from Imperial archives say I'm insatiable, unstable, and fight like a wild animal."

"Yes, you seem to be in a frenzy of destruction and chaos." Tarkin nodded, straightening as he recalled a few reports he had looked into. "It’s unpredictable. It’s very destructive, and there is little hope for anyone in your path — rebel or imperial."

Worry only buried more in Padmé’s chest, eyes widening as she listened, watching as Anakin only started to silently begin his work on the panel again. "Regardless, I should not be near anyone." It only seemed to further prove his point. Tarkin’s lips pursed before looking to the Senator.

"That won’t fix anything, Ani," Padmé said, moving closer to softly put a hand on his arm to make him look at her. "You belong with people who love you, even though there’s a risk. We know there is, but we still choose to be with you."

"I could not forgive myself should I bring harm to you or anyone else of importance," he looked down at her, frowning deeply as he paused his work. With the gash on his cheek, it seemed awkward for him to emote, and the expression faded to something more deadpan once again. Looking back to the panel, he grabbed her arm to move her into the cell more before glancing to see where Obi-Wan stood. He hit a few buttons as Tarkin and Obi-Wan watched curiously before tapping his fingers along a few buttons on the pane. "If I begin to harm our family, our friends, then I should be killed."

Before Tarkin or Obi-Wan could speak or move, the door of the cell appeared again, the red field holding a buzz as he looked it over with a slight hum. Padmé glanced at the door but moved closer to him. "I refuse to kill you. You clearly can stop yourself when needed and are more conscious than other infected people."

"And if I lose that?" His head tilted while his eyes moved back to her, shoulders squaring as she seemed unfazed. She knew better, even when he tried to intimidate her with body language. Her brows furrowed," why do you want to think about that?"

"Answer me," he demanded, lifting his chin up more to look down at her as his brow muscles raised slightly. "If I reach that point, will you kill me?"

"I can’t kill my husband." She said with a frown, brows scrunching softly as she shook her head, causing her dark curls to bounce. "I can't do that… but now, answer me. Why do you worry about this? You’ve shown you recognize people even when you’re not fully aware. You’re always pushing us away, even when you are conscious."

"We’re not talking about this in a cell."

He moved to open the door before she grabbed his wrist," Oh, yes, we are. You can't deflect this, Anakin. Why are you so frightened?"

"I believe that it's normal to worry about devouring my family," a frown ghosted on his lips as she grabbed him, glancing at her hand before returning to her. "You seem to be the only one that doesn’t want to worry about that possibility that I could turn at any moment as I did earlier or that you - or our children cou—""Because you’ve shown us that you see us. It makes you stop whatever is happening," she interrupted him, head tilting as her eyes got that spark of determination he fell for decades ago.

He knew she could be as stubborn as an Eopie, but that wouldn’t deter him. "That is too much of a risk, Padmé. You know it." He glanced at Tarkin and Obi-Wan, who curiously watched them through the door, looking back at her. "Can we talk about this without them watching?"

Keeping her hold on his arm, she only turned to motion for them to leave, and Obi-Wan didn’t waste any time as he moved past the former Grand Moff to head to the communications room for updates. Tarkin immediately moved after him, glancing back before he vanished into the hall.

"There. Now we're alone." Looking back up to him, she finally let go of his wrist, letting her hands softly cup his face instead. "I do not deny the possibility of it, Anakin. However, your previous behaviors and the constant change when you see me or the twins are enough evidence to tell me otherwise. You can’t deny that, but I want to understand what triggers this change."

Her softness relaxed his shoulders, and he leaned into her touch as he closed his eyes. "I wish I could make sense of it."

Watching him, she smiled at him, melting in her touch, leaning up to softly give a kiss to him. A soft noise of surprise escaped with the kiss, but it only made him pull her close while he deepened it. Breaking it shortly after, he leaned his uninjured cheek against her head as her arms wrapped around his broad frame. The smile lingered on her lips as she rested her head against his chest, voice soft,” We will figure it out… we were able to update our medical equipment, so perhaps a new scan can produce better results this time."

"We will think of that later." He reached over to get the doorway opened, gently pushing her through after giving a squeeze to her hip. "Out." She only laughed softly as she watched him duck through to look down at her, pausing as Tarkin returned to them.

"The Empire has located us. A fleet is on the way." His eyes bounce between them as dread fills Anakin’s chest as Padmé purses her lips

"We’ll have to go to Tatooine, my love. He wouldn't expect you to return there."

"Then we return to Tatooine." Moving past her, his shoulders straightened again as he headed to find the twins. His voice held little emotion, but she was right. Why would he want to return to Tatooine of all cursed places on this forsaken planet? Hadn’t he had enough grief? Sometimes, it felt like he was filled with enough for seven lifetimes. "Seems like those scans will have to wait until we can return."

"We can transport them when possible," she simply said as she followed him, grabbing his hand to guide him to their children. "I know you don’t enjoy them, but we need to understand how different you are compared to the others and see any biological condition causing the change. I find it hard to believe that behavior is solely from the virus."

"We can worry about that after evacuation. The Imperial fleet will not take long to make their way through … I expect more Diseased as well. Unfortunately, I will have to refrain from heroics for now."

Obi-Wan guided the twins, catching their parents in the hallway," You will not be fighting anyone today, Anakin. We need the Empire to at least be uncertain of your whereabouts."

"The Empire might be oblivious, but the Emperor is likely already aware and bidding time," he said simply as he glanced at the Jedi, hand lifting to softly grab Leia's hand when she held onto his. "Either way, we need to leave within ten minutes." He gave a soft, reassuring squeeze to her hand, glancing down at her before looking at Luke," Can the both of you follow Obi-Wan to your room to pack things you'd like to bring?"

They both nodded as Luke tilted his head to the side, and he arched a brow quizzically," Where are we going?"

“To be with my family."

"Family?" He echoed, eyes widening as he started to bounce on the balls of his feet," Who are we going to meet? What are they like?"

"My stepbrother and his wife — your aunt and uncle. They have a farm in the desert. We'll be safe there for now." He softened with Luke’s excitement, and Leia only grinned at him," Do they have kids?"

"No, as far as I am aware, they don’t. However, it has been a long time since I have seen them."

"Aw, okay… hopefully there’s someone we can play with."

"We’ll have to be careful about it, but I hope you can have that too, Leia." He gave another squeeze to her hand as Padmé only softened with his gentleness to them before he motioned to Obi-Wan. "Go pack. Bring what you wish to keep yourselves entertained."

They nodded before starting to trail after Obi-Wan as he smiled softly at them, but Luke looked up at him," Have you met our uncle?"

"No, haven’t yet, but I am eager to see him." He trailed down the hall with them as Padmé and Anakin watched a moment before he began to make his way to their room to get what was necessary.

Padmé followed, voice soft," It's been a while since we've seen them."

"I know. Beru and Owen might not let us stay there. Not with the state of everything."

Lips pursed a moment, voice soft," At least 3PO and R2 can aid in the farm operations if we can't."

"Ani, one step at a time instead of five. First, we'll get to Tatooine."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, sighing lowly. "I know." It felt like it was constantly just one step at a time, yet nothing still changed. Even when things had shifted and moved in the Force, within the systems. Returning to Tatooine wasn’t something he wanted to do, but he knew it was necessary. Getting to their room, he moved to stuff clothes into a bag and back to her while she paused to watch him for a moment.

Moving closer, she wrapped her arms around his waist, hands flatly laying against his torso as he paused to look back at her. She rested her cheek softly against his back, eyes soft as she let her fingers briefly press into his muscle beneath the robes more. "Everything will be okay."

Pausing, he turned to look at her with a slight tilt," I know it will be. Just a matter of leaving safely first."

"I know, but I also know going to Tatooine is not what you want to do," she murmured softly, pulling back to work on getting her already pre-made bag that Sabé had crafted.

"No, but it is what needs to happen to keep the kids safe."

Glancing back at him, she nodded," I know. We will be safe, and it will be okay. We’ll be able to do a better scan for you and see as much as we need to about your body now … hopefully, we can update your cybernetics."

"That would be good," he said, glancing down at the hidden metal as he zipped up the bag.

"It will be. Even if it’s just one day at a time." She reassured, getting her bag on her shoulder.

The heat of Tatooine was still unforgiving as it burned into his shoulders and back as soon as he had exited the speeder. To avoid shocking Owen and Beru as much as possible, he opted to wear his half mask, bright blue eyes scanning around the farm before Beru popped out at hearing them arrive.

"There you are! Come on, it's too hot to stay on the surface." She warmly smiled as Owen came out after, motions pausing as he saw the state of his stepbrother. Maker, what had happened to him in the twelve years since he had seen him?

Nodding, Anakin told the twins to grab their bags as Obi-Wan slid out, making a face of disgust at the familiar heat. It was too risky to stay in the palace, even if Anakin was sure he could defend it and his family.

Moving Padmé’s side, Anakin helped her out of the speeder, snatching the bag from her. "Inside out of this heat."

A soft smile graced her lips as she grinned at Beru and Owen. "It’s good to see you two again; I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Yeah," Owen began, taking in the sight of the twins and his stepbrother," we were worried about the urgent call … assumed it’s the Empire once again threatening Naboo."

"Unfortunately, it is. As well as the virus. We’ve done as much as possible to contain it, but it’s reached a point of evacuation."

"Come inside. We have some food ready," Owen nodded, motioning them in as he moved to follow Beru.

Anakin came at the end, following down into the cooler house with a low sigh. "I’m afraid I won’t be able to eat."

Owen looked back at him, brow arching up. "No?"

Luke took the opportunity to nod and interrupt," Yeah, he can only eat people." Oh, Maker. Anakin released a heavy sigh through the respiratory mask, eyes seeming blank as Owen tensed when he pulled the hood back.

“You’re infected."

"Yes, but it’s different than what we see with the common strain. Padmé has been able to get a more advanced scanner, so when possible, we will see how different I am compared to others."

Owen was still uneasy, looking over him slowly," How do you plan on eating while here?"

"I try things when they eat. So far, I can have caff … I will worry about my food; do not worry about me."

Beru’s heart softened up with the news, knowing it just seemed like one thing after another with him. "I’ll always have something for you to try then, Anakin. It’s no problem."

"Thank you. Where can we put our things?"

"The twins must share with Obi-Wan, but you and Padmé can get your own room." She motioned for them to follow, and the twins seemed more excited than anything as they bounced after her.

Padmé followed with a grin," Thank you, Beru. I’m sure they’ll behave with Obi-Wan."

"No promises," Leia quipped, glancing back at her with a grin.

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