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tru-ho · 2 years

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so i’m rereading acowar and it’s at the part where feyre sees elain and az and wondering if the cauldren could make mistakes in putting people who don’t belong together as mates. disregarding the can of worms w elain’s mate, i had thought of another fanfic idea that i will never fully flesh out and write.

but basically it’s a nessian angst. where nesta still thinks about the concepts of mates and essentially not having any choice and regardless of how she really feels about cassian, she’ll still choose him bc of the bond. anyway, w that in mind, she comes across this witch while out across illyria to save this other women who had requested their highlord’s help. she and az go on behalf of rhys. nesta doesnt know she’s a witch, but the witch basically gets nes to talk about something she really desires. at this point nesta has everything. elain and feyre are happy and she’s happy with cas. gwyn and emerie are also content and the valkyries are growing in both size and strength. sometimes though she just has that anxiety over the fact that she didn’t choose cassian and neither he chose her. they were chosen for each other. so then after making sure the witch is safe, she reconvenes with cassian but she feels dizzy and lightheaded and she blacks out.

then she feels cold, darkness, and the void. she’s back in the cauldren. she thinks it’s a nightmare, she stills her mind, she hears muffled sounds, but she focuses on her body, on her senses. she thinks that everything feels too real, too detailed, to be a dream. she’s then pulled out. out of the cauldren and she sees the scene back when she was made. back to the worst days of her life. but it felt different. felt like something was missing. she has this terrible feeling in her gut. she sees elain on the ground, lucien hovering. feyre crying out. the horrible, wretched, mortal queens watching with wicked smiles. she sees cassian, his wings. her heart lurches but it feels feint. like it only lurches in memory. she calls out to him and he tries to go to her. he can’t. something is wrong. something has gone terribly wrong.

this isn’t a dream. this is real. this is reality. she was too focused to trying to get out of the “nightmare”, too focused on calming herself that she didn’t take from the cauldren. she didn’t have her death powers. her silver flames were still inside the cauldren. as if sensing what she realized, the cauldren did something, she passed out.

she wakes up in the house of wind, in her room. she tries to talk to the house, no answer. rhys and mor visit, saying there’s food. reluctantly she goes if only to see cassian. cassian, who’s wings had been badly hurt, cassian her mate, cassian who had always been her friend, the one who would help her through whatever this is. something is different, she is different, and not just that she’d recently been turned fae. she helps him recover, to everyone’s utter surprise. she actually becomes helpful. she seeks goes to the library, seeks out gwynn but in increments as to not freak her out. she also find emerie. she just wants her friends. even though at this point they weren’t. she didn’t even have the house. while cassian recovers, she trains with him. she helps elain. who is also different this time around. nesta thinks elain knows that this isn’t where nesta is supposed to be.

one of the more important part though is that despite his flirtatious advances, nesta doesn’t feel the bond. they are not mates. they werent chosen for each other. she is less mean to him this time around though. occasionally flirting back, to his utter surprise, but still having that banter. she has her memories of them being mates. she thinks this time they are not, but she’s okay being with him despite it. when feyre gets back from destroying the spring court, and they go to the high lord meeting. nesta meets eris.

and oh boy she definitely felt that mating bond. she wasn’t as oblivious this time around. wasn’t as avoidant in the original timeline. he feels it too but is reluctant, not thinking too much of it, knows not to hope. she ignores him regardless because she knows him. knows how horrible and wretched he is. she thinks it is better to avoid and hope to never see him again. until rhys and feyre need eris. elain mentions her dancing abilities, and her ability to woo and make any guy fall for her through the dance floor. they persuade nesta to get eris to fold. she really doesn’t want to but knows how the story will unfold. they do need him.

she meets eris again. there’s no denying of the bond. her body yearns for him and it makes her sick. why tf is she mated to this fucker. she gets not having the death powers bc she was preoccupied while in the cauldren, but it had chosen nesta and cassian first. it was cas and nes, not nesta and eris, how is it that mates can change? in their first dance, eris has decided she is going back with him to the autumn court. one way or another, today or next year. he doesn’t care how long it’s going to take, whatever it’s going to take but he will do whatever to be with his mate. even if that includes betraying his father and teaming up with the night court losers.

in the sidelines, cassian is having a panic attack. he watches them dancing. everyone else had stopped to watch them. noticing how perfectly they seemed to fit together, how her blue flames swirl with his red, how the way he looks at her as if she was the sun moon and stars. how she doesn’t seem to hate him despite telling her what cas knows. he wants to stop them, he’s not thinking and his body takes him to them. he hears rhys, ordering him to stop. cassian doesn’t. but seconds later, a few feet before them, his body stops walking. rhys is using his powers to physically stop cassian from reaching them. the music stops and cassian can move. he goes to interrupt the two. despite not wanting to, eris gives her to him.

eris talks to rhys. nesta and cassian talk. he’s nervous. super fucking nervous. he makes small talk. something about the hor d’oeuvres. she gives him this one last dance. cassian barely keeping up. afterwards, she takes him someplace not too crowded but still in the room.

she tells cassian, eris is his mate. she can feel it. and so can he. cassian’s face is solid, but his eyes well up.

yeah so angst central right. things happen. nesta feels obligated to stay with eris. despite wanting a choice. against her better judgement. against her instincts. she gives eris a chance. only bc he lets her stay in the house of wind for a while. eris fucking hates cassian and vice versa, but eris knows if he picks a fight, he’ll lose her. so he plays good guy. he tells nesta of his plan to get rid of his father so the autumn highlord title goes to him. but he needs help. even wo her death powers nesta’s pretty powerful. instead of the silver freezing and deathly flames. the cauldron had originally granted her blue flames that burn hotter than ever. she helps him because honestly fuck the autumn court and also she sees how genuine he is. how his walls came down just for her. how vulnerable he is with her. she’s mean but she isn’t evil. this eris is quite different from the other eris. she think she could be okay with this new reality. things are working out. she feels contented. eris crowns her higady of autumn. but she goes back to the house of wind one last time. and she sees cassian.

her world as she knew it just falls apart. he’s wearing his illyrian fighting armor. his siphons seem to glow, calling out for her. his hands into fists at his sides. his eyes filled with yearning. he cocks a smirk, “hello nes”.

and basically then and there she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to the autumn court. apparently rhys had been ordering him to be scarce when nesta was still wondering if she should choose eris. cassian had been temporarily stationed in windhaven until nesta is officially with the autumn court.

so long story short though, despite eris having this kind of redemption. nesta still chooses cassian. despite the bond, despite what the cauldren decided, she chose cassian. she sees the witch again. and the witch brings her back to the original timeline.

she’s back to being mates with cassian and is content. but then she sees eris still waiting for beron to die and notices something that she had never seen before. something that if she hadn’t gone through what the witch put her through, she would not have seen or even looked for. a feint glimer of a bond. not a broken bond. but a bond that should have been made but was not. nesta considers that while she was in the cauldren, thrashing and pulling and biting, grabbing whatever she could. she may have also erased her original bond with eris and wrote the one with cassian. essentially going back to the idea that before she was even made, she had chosen cassian. and cassian, with his declaration to protect her and her people, had equally chosen her.

#nessian #acosf #nesta #nesta archeron #cassian #eris vanserra #neris #or is it #erista #nessian angst #nessian au #eris x nesta #nesta x eris #acosf au

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goforth-ladymidnight · 1 year

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Hi, this is your secret santa again! I hope you are well 💕 I'm gravitating towards brilin for your gift over elucien, and I'm curious to hear you talk more about them as a ship. It's obviously not a canon ship so interpretations may vary, buy how do you imagine their relationship? Their lives? What do they enjoy to do together? In your interpretation, does Briar somehow become fae or does Tamlin give up his immortality to be with her? Why do they like each other? Etc

I am well, thank you! 💖 Thanksgiving preparations are in full swing at my house. I don’t know whether you celebrate or not, but regardless, I hope that you are doing well, also. 😊

I'm so excited to hear that you're considering writing for Brilin!!

Even though it's been a while since I've written on my own Brilin WIP (I'm so sorry to the readers who have been waiting so long for an update!!), I have given a lot of thought to their relationship, not just their story.

I apologize in advance if I went overboard, but hopefully there’s something in my answer below that inspires you. I do not know how to give short and concise answers, it seems. 😅

It is canon that Briar is a former member of the Children of the Blessed, who worshiped the Fae like gods. After being kidnapped and tortured by Hybern, she was rescued and taken to the Winter Court to recover. I think it’s natural to assume that she has become disillusioned by her experience, and is reluctant to trust again.

Tamlin, as we know, is still the High Lord of the Spring Court, but he doesn't act like it. He tends to lash out at those who would help him (Lucien), and he cowers from those who would hurt him (like Nesta in ACOSF). He stays in his beastly form at all times, day or night, at least until a certain human appears on his doorstep (or so I like to think).

I've seen some people suggest that Tamlin should leave the Spring Court to become the wandering minstrel he wanted to be from the beginning, and give his title to Lucien. Honestly, I'm not too crazy about the idea. If that's what you're angling for, far be it from me to criticize. I could fall in love with that story! If it were up to me, though, I would prefer to see him rebuild the Spring Court and allow other people into his life to help him instead of shouldering the burden alone or giving up entirely.

On that note, it would certainly be a twist in the ACOTAR universe to see an immortal being give it all up so that they can grow old and die with their loved one, rather than the other way around. (Side note: the song “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen will never not make me emotional.) At the same time, though, I don’t want it to seem like a punishment, as if Tamlin’s only redemption can happen through his death. As for making Briar immortal, I have not yet figured out the when and how, but I’m more inclined towards that idea.

In a way, I’d like to see Briar stay human for a while, to let her grow up a little as their relationship grows. (Of course, that could just be me wanting to see older women portrayed as viable love interests, not just the eighteen, nineteen, and young twenty-somethings, especially when the male love interests are perceived to be in their late twenties/early thirties. As a single thirty-something myself, the joke that men like Leonardo DiCaprio break up with women once they turn twenty-five becomes less funny and more icky over time. But that’s another rant for another day.)

Anyway, I love the idea of Briar and Tamlin realizing together that they want this relationship to last, and to last a long, long time. Let them decide together how they can make this happen, etc. Not that I mind what happened in canon with the Archeron sisters being turned Fae, but I think Briar and Tamlin have both been through enough that they don’t need Briar to be turned immortal in this intense, dramatic, death-defying way. (@/separatist_apologist wrote a version of Brilin where she is a sort of Sleeping Beauty transformed through an old magical tree in the Spring Lands, for example.)

One thing I appreciate about Tamlin’s character in Book 1 is that he fell in love with a human despite the nature of the curse: Feyre was the one who had to fall in love, not him, but he did anyway. It doesn’t seem so unreasonable to me that he would fall for another human. He has a protective instinct (often to his detriment, as we saw with how he treated Feyre later on), but I think that comes from the fear that he’s going to lose everything he cares about. Despite his “best” efforts, his worst fears have come true: he’s lost his family, his fiancee, his best friend, his Court, and his self-respect. I’d like to think that there’s some small shred of something left inside of him that wants to protect this woman that has suddenly come into his life. Perhaps it started in a begrudging sort of way, because to him she’s just another fragile human, but she is tied to the Winter Court and he doesn’t want Viviane and Kallias freezing his roses in retaliation, so he might as well look after this one to keep them off his back. But the first time Briar smiles at him, it’s not a pitying smile, and he realizes he would do anything to have someone smile at him like that again.

Meanwhile, Briar is wary of this big, growling monster who somehow isn’t like the monsters who tortured her and killed her fellow Children of the Blessed. And to be honest, this beast is kind of a mess and his house and his garden are, too, so while she’s staying there she might as well clean things up a bit, you know? And she gradually learns that beneath the dirt and the fur and the fangs is someone who has a wicked sense of humor, who cares about his mother’s rose garden, who likes poetry and takes notice of the little things.

And that’s just as they’re getting to know each other. 🥰 Part of this process involves them understanding and accepting that she's not like Feyre just because she's human, and he's not like the King of Hybern just because he's a High Lord and High Fae. As they begin to trust each other and, yes, love each other, touch becomes vital to their relationship. It's accidental at first. Shoulder touches. Playful nudges. Then it becomes more personal, especially when he starts staying in his High Fae form full-time. His hand at her waist when he stands next to her. Her hand on his arm when she wants to get his attention, and lingering there afterwards. He brushes stray hairs from her face as she’s trying to prune the roses or weeding even though he insists he has plant magic and can take care of it, but she says she likes getting her hands dirty. And speaking of hands, hand kisses. I melt into a puddle for hand kisses. Fingertips, palms, the inside of the wrist... *swoon*

I believe it was @/isterofimias whose version of Briar is self-conscious about the scars on her hands from being tortured, and I just fell in love with the idea, and not in a sadistic way. (I’m actually jealous that I didn’t think of it!) I imagine that Tamlin makes more of an effort to keep his claws hidden because he doesn’t want to hurt her or scare her away after what she experienced. So little touches mean that much more. You can write a version of Briar with or without physical scars, by the way, but both she and Tamlin do still carry the scars of what happened during the War with Hybern, and more.

In my Brilin WIP, Briar is nervous around fire because of what Hybern did to her, so she keeps her distance from open hearths and hot stoves. So, until Tamlin hires servants again, he does all the cooking. @/bookishfeylin wrote a one-shot where Tamlin cooks breakfast, and it seemed so fitting for his character. If Brilin cooks together, she chops the vegetables, and he handles the cooking itself. She starts singing while she chops. They slow-dance around the kitchen. He thinks her eyes are the color of cinnamon, but when they kiss, she tastes like honey.

He understands that it will be a while before she's no longer afraid of open flames, but he admires her for not being afraid of him.

They go on long walks together, hand-in-hand. She likes the way her hand fits in his; that though his hands are larger, he is always gentle with her. They read together. Their relationship is not loud or flashy or particularly adventurous, but it’s peaceful and comfortable. Perhaps one day, he feels confident enough to take her to the Pool of Starlight, because he has many fond memories of that place, despite having shown it to Feyre and the fallout that happened afterwards.

And speaking of fallout... Whether directly or indirectly, Tamlin did save Briar when he intervened to save Feyre, Elain, and Azriel from Hybern’s naga-hounds in ACOWAR. I personally haven’t decided on how significant that incident is in the nature of Brilin’s relationship. @/readingwritingwatching wrote about it in her fic and interpreted it as Tamlin sensing his mate was in danger and therefore needed to intervene. You can interpret it however you like. 😊

Side note: I did not tag any of my fellow writers in this answer because I didn’t want to make anyone feel pressured to respond in any way, but I wanted to give credit for those creative ideas I admired. ❤️ And if I have missed any other Brilin fics, I apologize. I haven't stopped to read anything new on AO3 lately.

Whew! This took a while, but I’m satisfied with my answer. If you have further questions, my inbox is open! 💞

P.S. I don’t know how much research you’ve done for Briar, but the current fandom theory is that she is the same Child of the Blessed that the Archeron sisters met early on in ACOTAR Book 1. That particular character was not named, but was described with black hair and brown eyes. Canonically, Briar in ACOWAR is described as pale with black hair, but her eye color is never mentioned. Just thought I’d mention it in case you were curious. 😘

#acotar secret santa #anon asks #i know this is a long answer #but it was so much fun to think about #brilin #tamlin x briar

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elucienschild · 3 years

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petition for lucien vanserra to be happy before the end of the acotar series

i miss how sassy and funny lucien was in acotar pls, now he’s all the time sad and all, i feel like he’s not even the same character, everything that he’s been through destroyed him, and EVERYONE IGNORE HIS TRAUMA I AM SO MAD

Please:

- his “father” and brothers (except maybe eris) hates him.

- when he found love and a place in the autumn court, his brothers killed the one he loved in front of his eyes!!!!

- he had to escape to the spring court, where he lived with tamlin for years, and for most of the time he was under a curse

- he lost an eye, i feel like it’s important because we know lucien lost his eye just before amarantha’s curse with the fox mask, so he never got used to his scar before the end of the curse, and we don’t know what he think about it, maybe it’s a big insecurity to him

- under the mountain!!!!!!! he got beat so hard by tamlin (bc of amarantha) that he couldn’t walk for DAYS. also during feyre’s second trial he almost die. and we only know that, but amarantha probably did horrible things to him

- when he went back from there, he didn’t even had a minute to recover that ianthe started to pursue him. moreover, he didn’t have 1 minute for himself bc he had to work

- after feyre leave, i can guarantee you all you want that tamlin was horrible to him, not especially on purpose but bc he was sad and mad. besides, feyre was also his friend, he was probably feeling bad for not seeing her trauma and he should have miss her a lot...

- during the time she was gone, he was forced to accomplish the calanmai rite with ianthe, that we all know he hates more than anything

- he had to watch his mate getting forced i to the cauldron, he break the hybern’s king to help her (the power pls) and when he reached to her he was rejected (i mean i understand nesta push him away but u see my point aha)

- also he thought his whole life jesminda died before the bond could hit, so imagine how shook he was when he feel the bond with elain

- he was sexually assaulted, almsot r*ped, by ianthe

- his mate his ignoring him constantly, and he, as a sweetheart, literally gave her all the space she needs by going away (don’t argue with me but even rhys and cassian couldn’t do that). also i’m not saying elain owe him anything, but she could have at least the kindness to refuse the bond if she really isn’t interested.

- ho and his father isnt his father, also lol, and he doesn’t know his real father or anything

and i’m pretty sure i missed a few things, but: lucien vanserra deserves the world, and i could pay for him to be happy

#lucien vanserra #elucien #eris vanserra #autumn court #day court #beron vanserra #helion #elain archeron #feyre archeron #lucien #acotar #acomaf #acowar

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sjmsstuff · 3 years

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Light and Dark

Hi there, so this is a little Gwynriel thing that I wrote. Initially it was going to be a oneshot but now I don’t know. It’s going to be ages until we see these characters again so I sort of wrote this to keep myself company. Anyway it’s semi canon compliant. Bit of fluff? Bit of angst?

Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6,

Warnings: spoilers for acosf, references to sexual abuse and child abuse (not loads in this piece but if I continue there may be more)

Gwyn didn’t really know what made her travel up to the House that night. Maybe it was the storm outside. Maybe it was the cool air that swept through the library as she worked. Maybe it was the knowledge that Nesta and her mate were staying in Windhaven after a day of training.

More likely however it was the fact that the Shadowsinger was alone in the house.

Gwyn didn’t really know why it mattered. Why that thought had occupied her head all day. Causing Merril to shout at her thrice before sending her away, crowing about lazy nymphs and distracted girls.

Gwyn was going upstairs to keep him company. That was it.

On this cold night, everyone should have someone to talk to. Azriel always seemed occupied and maybe he just needed someone to sit and talk to.

Just sit.

Just talk.

To be completely honest with herself she wasn’t sure if she could handle anything else. But something about Azriel made her want to try.

Something that probably had to do with the softness of his shadows, that juxtaposed the sharpness of his cheekbones so wonderfully.

Something about the way his voice soothed her while simultaneously causing her heart to ricochet in her chest.

Something about the way his shadows whispered to him, made her want to whisper things too. The way they wrapped around his shoulders made her want to wrap around-

Woah. Maybe she had been reading too many of Emerie’s novels.

All they were doing was talking.

It was that promise that spurred her up the final few steps and into the hall of the House.

Should she call out?

Would that be weird?

Should she turn around and pray to the mother that she hadn’t been heard and maybe-

A door opened a floor above and a second later footsteps echoed through the hall, and he appeared, bringing a soothing darkness with him.

“Gwyn” Azriel said, not surprised by her appearance in the stormy night. Perhaps those shadows told him.

They curled around his shoulders now, reaching towards her, like they wanted to play. She wanted to play with them. She wanted to play with him.

Woah- definitely too many novels

Azriel looked at her and she realised she hadn’t responded.

“Azriel. Hi. I- eh” Mother why was she so awkward? “I was just wondering if you wanted company”

He did look surprised at that. Gwyn felt a sort of pride, she’d bet not many things surprised him anymore.

He hadn’t responded though.

Oh no why hadn’t he responded?

He probably didn’t want her there. She’d just walked in. Why did she just do that?

“I can go if-“

“No!” He started. “No please” he motioned to the door he had just come through, inviting her upstairs.

A thrill ran through her as she started to climb. Glancing back down at him, she saw him look away quickly and realised- he had been staring at her ass.

Heat flooded through her, but she quickly stifled it as they reached the top of the stairs and he overtook her to open the door to a sitting room.

Part of Gwyn was disappointed it wasn’t his bedroom. But that would be insane, yes they’d known each other for months but it would be insane for him to just-

Gwyn sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire and Az sank into the other.

He was always so graceful, it was almost unfair.

The silence crowded in and Gwyn beat it back with a stick.

“How’s the whole spying thing going?”

Az snorted, “the spying thing?”

“Ya, the whole I’m a shadowsinger, spymaster thing”

“You mean my job?”

“Is that not what I said?”

Azriel look amused, “I wouldn’t be a very good spymaster if I told you, now would I?”

Gwyn paused, “That actually makes sense.”

Undeterred she forged onwards “So if you can’t tell me about your job, tell me about yourself”

Az flexed his hands and crossed his arms, then immediately uncrossed them, “What do you want to know?”

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“My favourite colour?”

“Yes, Azriel, what is your favourite colour?”

A shiver seemed to run through him when she said his name, but that might have been her imagination.

“Blue”

“Really?”

“Is that not a sufficient answer for you, Ms. Berdara?”

“Its perfectly boring, is what it is”

Azriel let out a low chuckle, “So what’s yours?”

“Every colour, of course, if I chose a favourite the others would get jealous”

“You sound like Feyre,” he laughed “She decided she couldn’t chose one either, but Rhys insisted she pick violet for his eyes”

Gwyn smiled, “They seem really happy together”

Az sobered up at that, “They saved each other, in every single way. And now they have Nyx it’s ... I will forever be grateful to Feyre for bringing my brother back. Back home to us, but also back to life.”

Even the storm seemed to pause at the agony in his voice.

“Was Under The Mountain as awful as they say?”

“Worse.” He clenched his hands again, “My shadows could penetrate some of Amarantha’s wards. I saw and felt some of the horrors. Not enough to form a plan, not enough to help, but enough to know Rhys wouldn’t have recovered if not for Feyre. And I’m sure Feyre wouldn’t have healed if she was left in the Spring court.”

Gwyn’s heart broke at the pain in his words, “The others, they don’t know you saw, do they?”

“No, and I can never tell them, Rhys would be upset I disobeyed him, by sending the shadows. Cass and Mor would be hurt I didn’t tell them at the time. but it’s also not my place to say anything. Rhys and Feyre have only told us some of the horrors they endured, and I won’t let them know I’m aware of others. Not until they’re willing to speak about it themselves.”

Once again he seemed surprised, this time at himself for revealing that much.

But Gwyn realised he was completely solemn, he wouldn’t say a word until they were ready. Yet he trusted her enough to know she wouldn’t say a word either.

She reached out her hand and gently touched his knee. He looked up and met her gaze. Cauldron, he was beautiful.

How many secrets weighed down those broad shoulders? How many horrible thoughts swirled behind those hazel eyes?

“It’s getting late,” his voice seemed lower than usual, rougher. “You should probably get some sleep, we’re training again tomorrow”

Gwyn removed her hand and rose. Az also got to his feet, walking her out.

As she descended the stairs back to the library, a shadow wrapped around her arm before quickly darting away.

She glanced back at him but he had turned and disappeared down the hall.

Tagging: @bookstantrash @perseusannabeth @champanheandluxxury

Chapter 2

Please let me know if you want to see more like maybe make this a fic? Also comment or send an ask if you want to be added or removed from my writing tag list or just this fic tag list

#acosf spoilers #gwynriel #sjm fanfic #sjmsstuff writes #gwynriel fanfiction

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rayonfrozenwings · 3 years

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Elain Market Gardener/Researcher/Explorer Headcanon

Elain can do so much more with her Gardening knowledge. We know that she wanted to visit the continent to see the flowers there, that she can grow almost everything in her garden and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She can easily learn recipes and people enjoy her food. She is a capable reader and follower of instructions. During her time in the human world she was seen to be intelligent and a worthy match for any lord.

So using these things and inspiration from a picture - I give you Elain the Market Gardener/Researcher/Explorer who is just trying to rebuild the earth one plant at a time.

❀

- After the destruction of the War with Hybern, the lands are still recovering. The people of Prythian are most concerned with food but Elain is slowly finding in her travels that other plants are being destroyed to make crops and feed the people.

- She then Makes it her mission to research and preserve all the plants she can - even the ones people don't love.

- This research and gathering of plants takes her around Prythian, But she quickly learns that she cannot take them all back with her to the Night Court due to climate differences as they don't survive very long there.

- So she she gathers other like minded people and finds ways to set up nurseries and gardens in each Court.

- Her "little research job" quickly expands to managing other people and collaborating with them to learn as much as they can about all the plants - magical or otherwise.

- Lucien introduces her to his friend Nuan, whose knowledge quickly comes in handy.

- Nuan becomes her chief science officer making sure that temperatures are kept even and experimenting with ways to create new climates in other courts allowing cross-breeding between vastly different plants.

- Nuan remains based in Dawn. Close to the Night Court but also surrounded by other like minded tinkering people.

- Nuan and Elain become close friends, working together for the betterment of all of Prythian. They have their own team of people that Source the plants, others that save them, and then ones with knowledge slowly realise that this is a good thing happening.

- It takes time for the sprites and forest dwelling lesser fae to trust the high fae walking through their lands but once they start seeing the high fae saving plants from being destroyed they start to open up and share knowledge.

❀

- Elain still loves to get her fingers dirty, to feel one with the soil, so each garden that she travels to has a small plot of land just for her.

- She plants her favourite varieties in each of these small gardens located around Prythian. She always feels at home in each place as long as she gets to spend time in her garden.

- These small gardens become her home, each a reflection of a different part of herself. She doesn't always invite people to see her gardens and often will have another garden for the public to see.

- The secret gardens allow her to continue her own research without anyone else.

- She has Nuala and Ceridwen often visiting her and while they probably know of the secret gardens they have never asked her about them and Elain likes this about them. They know when she does and doesn't want to talk.

❀

- The Spring Court was the first Court she went to. To help the farmers and the local populace but also to make sure that things grew without growing wild. Spring seemed to grow without any help from her so a taming was needed. A pruning of thorns and roses to let smaller, slower growing plants thrive. She had some of the Inner Circle at her disposal for the exercise and even the Band of Exiles helped her. Vassa's fire powers were helpful in that she could burn invasive plants and the ash could be used to fertilise the fields.

- On her way home she did the royal tour - a slow trip through the safer courts of Summer, Winter, Dawn and Day. They quickly moved through the middle not wanting to stop but Elain made sketches of the vines and night blooming flowers from the carriage.

- In each court she realised how many things she had yet to explore and discover. The beauty that was present in every place and how abundant life was.

- The first thing she realised was that her knowledge was lacking. Each court was a whole new place and experience.

- When she arrived in the Day court instead of heading to the hanging gardens by the river she quickly moved into the library with her sister. Nesta left her alone in the halls filled with botany books and went in search of her own book choices.

- The research was just the start but she was determined to use her new found purpose to help the people of prythian in the way she best knew how.

❀

- Over time this developed into greenhouses - plants for sale and user guides for how to take care of them.

- Elain becomes a household name, knowing how to grow anything and everything and. She receives fan mail - Her fans write to her to ask "how do I stop plant X from dying?", if she doesn't know then her team jumps into action and she learns it.

- They develop quarterly publications that talk about the best plants to grow in the court and season and tips for making more exotic plants grow in new climates. Elain loves collecting flowers for Feyre to paint and placing her art on the cover.

- Helion and Rhysand spent time developing a printing press for mass production, and while it is still a minority of Fae that will read the pamphlet, reading it being brought to the masses through Gardening.

- Her teams under Nuan have found medicinal properties for plants and the Dawn court now grows most of the medicinal plants making them more accessible.

- Elain found a sapling for an Ash tree on an excursion, and while she knows this can easily kill Fae she had to preserve the species. So in the middle there is a secret grove known only to her, where ash trees grow.

❀

#Elain #headcanon #acotar #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #sjm #elain archeron #hc #renee writes #i dunno what other tags there are

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f-cursebreaker · 3 years

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(3/3 feyre) finally, i just want to add that I'm not a feyre anti, and that i don't hate her, but rather I just see her character as wasted potential. she definitely isn't my favourite because of all these things, most of which are sjm's failings. one thing that i have noticed has stuck with feyre for most of the series though, is her dry humour/sarcasm, so credit where credit's due. sorry for the long ask (3 parts wow), I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this (as a feyre stan). thanks!

Hi anon! thank you for this question it’s something I never really thought about, I don’t agree with you on some parts but I'll try to explain without being too defensive 😂.

Feyre is not like her sisters she is not always angry, stubborn or sweet and quite all the time. As the story unfolds we see her responding differently to different situations, sometimes very stubborn and angry, sometimes dignified, calm and helpful. Since acosf is not from her pov, we haven't seen her true mood. Also, because her relationship with Nesta was not good, I think she purposely withdrew herself and behaved more calmly and understanding (we shouldn't forget the effect of being pregnant, of course). She was very stubborn to get Nesta out of her situation/depression, but she was supportive afterwards. She was calm, she gave her time for both self-destruct and later get out of that and recover. If she was more active in the story, we could see her stubborn and challenging side again. So I don't think her personality is inconsistent, we only see her from a different perspective, and I think if elain has a book, we'll see a completely different side of her again.

And for the Spring Court part, Tamlin had already endangered his people and villages, not Feyre. Hybern had already kind of occupied and Tamlin wasn't doing much to rule. Ianthe was playing him on her finger. And actually since there is no such thing as high lady in the spring court, it is not Feyre's job to protect them.

Soo, I think her character development was about her happiness and her real self-discovery, she didn't have try to be a better version of herself like Nesta. I mean, Feyre is generally as helpful as possible, even though we see her in different roles. I guess we just need to look from her perspective and understand her true intentions. but you're right about sarah could make her character development more obvious because some people really think she is purposely a bad person or even a villain

#feyre archeron #replies

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save-the-birds · 4 years

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analysis on nesta’s healing arc foreshadowing

As I was re-reading the sneak peek at the end of aCoFaS, I was quite taken with the treatment of Nesta and the events that were implied. For the sake of the argument, I am going to compare Nesta and Feyre’s “arcs” in the story.

Feyre was tortured, raped, sexually assualted, etc. Under the Mountain, and was ultimately forced out of her mortal body and into a Fairy one. She was then booted back into the Spring Court and stayed with Tamlin. I’m not even gonna begin to talk about Feyre’s treatment Under the Mountain. But I will say this, would Feyre have still survived if she wasn’t mated to Rhysand? Would she have faced death at the hands of Amarantha just like Claire Beddor? I digress.

Anyways, she’s back at the Spring Court with no outlet for her feelings and trauma. Tamlin did a nice 180 and became controlling and abusive towards Feyre, while Lucien did other stuff idk I don’t really care about Lucien. However, thanks to her bond with Rhysand, she was able to be rehabilitated and made a nice half-baked recovery with her found family.

As you can see, this is very similar to what happened to Nesta. She went through extreme trauma, and had to move to the other end of Fairyland to hang out with her sisters and the other white people. Now, some may say that Nesta deserves her emotional suffering because she was a lowkey B I, C T, H to Feyre while they were starving. Yeah that was pretty messed up, but I don’t think anyone deserves to endure something horrible and then be put off as an afterthought by her family. Elain did the same exact thing, except her only her actions were harmful. Nesta’s words and actions were both harmful. So, Nesta is stuck in a place she doesn’t want to be in, with people who have no interest in helping her, and she basically “belongs” to Cassian.

I put the “belongs” in quotes because it is a very nice Maas-ian word to use, and probably my least favorite way to refer to her relationship. It is repeatedly mentioned that Nesta is linked to Cassian in some sort of way, whether it be through her sexual partners, or just the society of Velaris. Sounds pretty similar to Feyre’s story, right? You might be thinking, “WTF! Cassian isn’t abusive or stinky like Tamlin! Nesta should realize that Cassian totally wants what is best for her and cares about her well-being!” That is somewhat correct. He does care about Nesta, and repeatedly mentions how “skinny” she is, and often mentions her huge tiddies in the same sentence. Nonetheless, Cassian seems to be obligated to care about her because she is a potential love interest to him.

This brings me to my next point, which is more about SJM in general. SJM is all about normalizing sexual relationships and making it seem normal to have a lot of sexual partners, and it is!!! She is also adamantly against slut-shaming, but she basically makes the brunette version of herself (Feyre) slut-shame Nesta for finding an outlet that wasn’t Cassian or Amren to deal with her trauma. Everything about Nesta screams, “I’m hurting and this is how I cope!” What is her family’s response? Feyre asks Nesta to move into a better apartment so she can... do something? I don’t really know how that is supposed to work. Rhysand does not give a shid about Nesta, despite being her brother-in-law. Elain...cares I guess? She gives her a scarf and some books? Nesta doesn’t seem ready to have a serious relationship with Cassian, they could be friends...I guess?

I suppose that she will magically recover in the Illyrian Campground and then have steamy sex with Cassian multiple times, ooh la la!

Sooooo...can we help Nesta get better in a healthy way and have her bond with her sisters again so that she can be happy? xoxo

#anti sjm #anti feyre #anti rhysand #anti acotar #acotar #nessian #nesta #cassian #acofas #sjm #amren

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sarah-bae-maas · 4 years

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Hey I just wanted know, what are your thought on how the inner circle is treating Nesta and Lucien in ACOFAS. To me it looked like Feyre was trying play therapist with nesta and I felt like she is shunning Lucien for being mates with her sister even though she knows his history with love

Do you know what genuinely confuses me the most, and something i think it will be hard to justify in the coming books, that Feyre hasn’t told Lucien that he isn’t Beron’s son? Like so much of his identity (and daddy/abandonment issues) has to do with the abuse he suffered at the hands of the Autumn Court, and here is a chance for him to be genuinely happy and FIND A HOME. Half of Lucien’s personality is his displacement and I love it but he also deserves the happy ending that the IC got. I feel like out of the main cast, Lucien genuinely has had the roughest go of it story wise. He’s been abused, sexually assaulted, had his friends repeatedly sacrificed to break the curse, was stuck in the Spring Court whilst the only stable relationship he’s had crumbled and said person (Tamlin) turned incredibly toxic and despondent, has the love of his life slaughtered in front of him, had his eye gauged out and that only SCRATCHES the service. Like damn Sarah. Give him a break.

As for Nesta I am... conflicted. In all honesty, I have never really liked her character or the way she was written, and acofas is the first time I’ve ever been intrigued by her (I think it’s because she finally feels real). I feel like people are helping her the way they know how, but she isn’t ready to be helped. She’s not ready to recover, and that's okay!! Do it at your own pace!! but also she needs to accept the consequences of pushing people away and being so hostile to them.

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houseofhurricane · 3 years

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ACOTAR Fic: Bloom & Bone (11/32) | Elain x Tamlin, Lucien x Vassa

Summary: Elain lies about a vision and winds up as the Night Court’s emissary to the Spring Court, trying to prevent the Dread Trove from falling into the wrong hands and wrestling with the gifts the Cauldron imparted when she was Made. Lucien, asked to join her, must contend with secrets about his mating bond. Meanwhile, Tamlin struggles to lead the Spring Court in the aftermath of the war with Hybern. And Vassa, the human queen in their midst, wrestles with the enchantment that turns her into a firebird by day, robbing her of the power of speech and human thought. Looming over all of them is uniquet peace in Prythian and the threat of Koschei, the death-god with unimaginable power. With powers both magical and monstrous, the quartet at the Spring Court will have to wrestle with their own natures and the evil that surrounds them. Will the struggle save their world, or doom it?

A/N: Lucien is brought to the Night Court rather forcibly, and quite a few secrets come to the surface. You can find all previous chapters here, or read Bloom & Bone on AO3. If you'd like to get an early peek at chapter 11 and all future chapters, follow me on Instagram at @house.of.hurricane. Thank you for reading! ❤️

Lucien thinks at first that Rhysand used the knife because he interrupted a dinner with Tamlin and didn’t want to give the impression that Lucien was too cozy with the Night Court. If he really intended to cause harm, Rhysand would have sent Azriel. But as soon as Rhys winnows, as soon as he feels the line of pain begin to tear at his neck, he knows that the fury is real. He can hear it in Rhys’ voice, see it in Elain’s widened eyes. He’s not sure if his lie is so ingrained in him, or if they’re genuinely friends, but either way his gaze goes straight to hers, the power and the fear that radiate from her.

When she nods at him, he tries not to show his relief.

“Elain has told you that I lied about the mating bond?” he asks, trying to make his tone calm but not flippant.

“I find I do not care for being lied to, particularly when those lies involve my family,” Rhysand says, and Lucien watches as Elain flinches despite the High Lord’s silky tone, files the gesture away for further contemplation, as soon as he’s escaped this knife. “I also realize you are not usually so monumentally stupid, so I’d like you to explain this situation.”

“Since I was a child, I have had a talent for detecting spells and determining their creation and unraveling,” he says, watches as, two paces behind Rhysand, Feyre perks up at the scent of a secret she thinks only she knows. “This talent only increased when I was given this new eye.”

“Please tell me that this is going somewhere.” Rhys presses the knife a little harder, so that Lucien can feel his blood, still warm, down his shirt and tunic.

“Any deeper and he won’t be able to talk,” Azriel says, and for a moment Lucien is actually afraid. Then, thinking of his childhood, he steels himself. He’s dealt with worse and still survived.

“Sometimes I can see a mating bond. When it’s new, or when it’s forming,” he says. “I have kept a few secrets from that day.”

He feels Feyre step forward, and the pain in his neck lessens. They’ve realized, Rhys and Feyre, that they weren’t quite as clever as they’d thought, that someone knew their secret, have quickly calculated the extent of Lucien’s cover.

“Tell me Elain doesn’t have the King of Hybern for a mate,” she says, half-incredulous.

Elain steps forward, her hand going out to Rhysand as if she means to pluck the knife from his grip.

“It’s Tamlin,” Elain says, and Lucien watches the quiet devastation on her face as she looks behind her, at what he imagines is Feyre’s face. Rhysand can kill him now, and Lucien will die knowing he prevented this moment until it could be borne.

Finally, the knife falls away from his neck, and as Lucien reaches up to staunch the blood, he watches the room erupt into a muted form of chaos, Feyre and Nesta darting to embrace their sister, each of them trying to muffle their own little cries.

He’d thought that Elain had been remarkably calm in the wake of this revelation, but now, watching her sag into her sisters’ arms, he realizes that she was putting a brave face on the situation. He thinks of Vassa, all those lessons which had seemed pointless when Vassa had first proposed them, but which seem to have blossomed in Elain just when the moment of crisis arrived.

“You see why I had to lie,” Lucien says, mostly to Rhys, when everyone is calmer, when the Archeron sisters are tangled together on the nearest sofa, arms entwined and heads resting on each other’s shoulders, sisterhood in a dreamscape. “I swear on my life that I never meant to harm Elain. I never laid a hand on her.”

Elain murmurs something from her couch which he assumes is positive from the grateful look Feyre aims his way, the fact that Nesta does not snarl.

“My apologies,” Rhys tells him, and somehow his tone is sincere.

“I kept your secrets,” Lucien says, giving the words a snarl around the past tense.

“You also kept your own counsel, even while acting on behalf of this Court,” the High Lord points out, looming over him.

“I was not aware your borders extended so far.”

Lucien knows, even saying this, that the words are a miscalculation, that he’s pushed Rhys hard enough to put himself at a disadvantage. Sure enough, Azriel and Cassian have risen and advanced, ready to put Lucien in his place. This is why he dreads being in the thick of court intrigue -- his mind is quick enough for it, but his desires are too outsized to contain his impulses. And Vassa is still in Koschei’s clutches.

Finally, Rhysand speaks, picking at his jacket, as if he’d allow a piece of lint to perch there even for a moment.

“Tell me this, Lucien. Can I still trust you to be my emissary? Or are you saving the truth for Tamlin and your human companions?”

“My loyalty is earned,” he says, knowing that he’s pushing, but Lucien hears Vassa’s screams, sees the fear in her eyes before she disappeared, and though Rhysand tells pretty stories about alliances between human and fae, he still has a tendency to see humans as chess pieces in his strategic calculations. To him, Vassa’s value may be limited. “Help me recover Vassa.”

“Tell me everything that happened in the Spring Court and we will recover your queen.”

The possessive is a barb, but Lucien ignores it, glances over at Elain instead. She meets his eye, and it occurs to him that her expression is remarkably serene, given that she was crying only moments ago. But as soon as Feyre reaches for her, Elain ducks her head against her sister’s shoulder, gives no signal.

Still, he turns away from Rhysand, towards Elain. Amidst all the tension and magic in the room, he can feel the power coiled inside her, bright and piercing, like light off a mirror. Something in these last days has unveiled her power, though still her magic has been kept on a tight leash. Whether it is her own will of the magic’s desire, something ancient and instinctive in Lucien bows.

“Is it all right with you if I tell him everything?” He pitches his voice to the epitome of courtly sincerity, revealing nothing but an earnest politeness. Even so, he can feel the eyes of the room on him, calculating his motives.

He’s always known that the Night Court would never be his home, but still the reminders of this fact sting. All the while, Elain stays curled up, held by her sisters. It’s all Lucien can do to keep from gnashing his teeth.

Finally, Elain raises her head and meets his eye. Again, her gaze is too clear-eyed, but she manages a wobble in her voice when she says, “You have my permission.”

So Lucien tells Rhysand about that first night, when Elain’s arms disappeared, about the days he spent with Vassa by the lake, then in the village with Tamlin, the distrustful gazes of the villagers. He mentions Vassa’s friendship with Elain, the nightly lessons. He does not leave out Tamlin’s suspicions, the rift between them as Tamlin decided Lucien’s loyalty was to Rhysand and the Night Court, that he held onto some powerful secret which, in fact, was true, but much differently than Tamlin then imagined. He describes, in as much detail as he can recall, the events of the night before, though it seems to have been much further in the past, perhaps because every moment since is laden with the absence of Vassa, the scrabbling of his own brain as he tries to form a plan to rescue her. Finally, he reaches today’s journey to the village, the halting conversations and the hopefulness he’d felt. When he glances at Elain, he sees that she is rapt, her cheeks flushed, though she leans back against the couch as soon as she catches the direction of his gaze.

“And that brings me to the point where you showed up and ruined both a perfectly good dinner and tunic with your knife to my neck,” he drawls, raising both his empty palms toward Rhysand.

“You say Elain’s arms disappeared?” Feyre asks, before Rhysand has a chance to speak. “How is this connected to her powers?”

“I don’t think that Elain needs that bone to travel between worlds,” he says. “It’s possible that the binding of the object to her imparted these powers, but I suspect they are inherent, a gift from the Cauldron when she was Made.”

Amren’s gaze on Elain is difficult to parse, equal parts rage and longing and rueful, the kind of expression only she can conjure. “You’ll need training, girl.”

Elain only looks a little terrified as she asks, “Are you volunteering to train me?”

“Few beings in our world have lived in any other. Most of them reside in the Prison, if you’d like to choose another instructor,” Rhysand says, as if he hasn’t been fooled by Elain’s tears, either. She has skill enough to fool most courtiers, but a skilled observer with centuries of practice can still outsmart her.

“Is it possible that this power could help me rescue Vassa?” Still she forces her voice to waver. And maybe the tears are real. The Mother only knows what she must’ve felt, finding out that Tamlin was her mate.

“Koschei was not born of this world.” Amren studies her nails, already bored of this line of questioning. “Let’s see if we can find another, with a weapon that will slay him. We’ll start tomorrow.”

“And in the meantime, we will gather another round of intelligence on Koschei. Azriel will send patrols.”

“The Valkyries--” Nesta begins, but Rhys silences her with a languid wave of his hand.

“Let’s not show our full hand at the first sign of trouble,” he says. “We’ll need you on the rescue mission, I suspect.”

There’s a look between Gwyn and Nesta that promises trouble, but Lucien decides to focus on his own battles. Rhysand turns back to him.

“I would like you to remain here a few more days, in order to strategize.”

“The Spring Court--” he begins, thinking of the progress they’ve made in one day, of the estate that’s empty of all but the most essential servants and Melis warded in her chamber, of Tamlin’s longing glances at the woods.

“The Spring Court cannot keep its guests safe from capture,” Rhysand says, careful not to emphasize any particular word. “You are needed here, Lucien.”

As he always does in these situations, Lucien only nods. When he looks up, he sees Elain’s eyes on him.

The knock on his door later that night is not a surprise, only the gown Elain is wearing, one of the simple dresses she favors for long days in the garden, covered with a floral embroidery. He’d thought she’d embrace the role of amateur spy and wear black.

“I was wondering if you’d come,” he says, happier than he ever expected himself to be at the sight of her.

“I was worried you’d left already,” she says, darting glances down the hallway. “Will you let me in? Anyone who sees us will think you were lying when you said I wasn’t your mate.”

He doesn’t tell her that she’s too nervous for this to look like a secret tryst, only opens the door a bit wider, so that she’s forced to brush up against him, leave her scent on his shirt. Whatever Elain thinks, a secret affair is the least dangerous of their reasons for meeting at this hour.

“Rhysand says I cannot return to the Spring Court.” Elain stands at the center of the room, away from the walls, murmuring the words in a low tone that forces him to duck his head toward her.

“Tamlin has ruled his court for centuries without your intervention.”

“Didn’t he have advisors and aristos surrounding him? And you for an emissary?”

He considers Elain, her flushed cheeks and the sound of her questions, the pleading tone. He thinks about how she would look, standing with Tamlin in the great hall of the High Lord’s estate, crowned with jewels and flowers, the Lady of Spring, all smiles for her people and fingers laced sweetly in Tamlin’s. The knot of her power, a beacon inside her, unused, all those worlds collapsed into a star in her chest.

“You want to go to him,” he says, crossing his arms.

“He needs someone,” she says, her eyes fierce but her voice a little sulky. And Lucien knows that tone, because it is similar to the one he used for years, only he’d sounded sheepish, aiding and abetting Tamlin even when he knew better. He thinks of the day he’d spent with Tamlin, only hours ago, when there had been real promise, when he’d felt the pride he used to feel in the High Lord of Spring, when their friendship felt like an honor. It hurts a space inside of him, to stay away. But there is a chance that Tamlin can be the leader Lucien sometimes saw, in his best moments, not the self-pitying male he’s become since Amarantha.

So Lucien takes a deep breath and tries to lead Elain down the path he wishes he’d taken sooner.

“He can’t train you to use your powers.”

“And Amren can? You saw the look she gave me when you described them. Like she’d jump inside my skin.”

“Rhysand will happily supervise your sessions.” He levels a smirk at her. Last night, she had forced him to stay grounded in the Spring Court. He owes her the same courtesy.

“Let him claim my power, then.” Her voice is very small within the room, now, as if it is disappearing inside of her, and Lucien begins to worry that Elain, steered away from the Spring Court, will vanish into some other place where no one can reach her. Luckily, he’s played this game before and won, brought her back to corporeality.

“I thought Vassa was training you to be a queen. That you didn’t want to be an ornament. This is what it means to have influence, to build a legacy. You do not have to be the plaything of a powerful male, no matter how irresistible you might find him.”

He’s rewarded with the rolling of her eyes.

“So you’d have me try and use these powers, even if they’re a distraction from Vassa?”

“Koschei was very interested in you. Like it or not, Elain, you will be his next target, and he will find a way to claim you, particularly if you cannot defend yourself.”

She’s silent for a moment, and then her eyes narrow, and suddenly she looks like Nesta, all frigid calculation.

“You’re not going to stay here, are you?”

“I’ll return by morning.” This much, he can trust her with.

“You cannot go to Koschei without a plan.”

“You cannot go to Tamlin without training.”

“Are you going to the Spring Court?” Her eyes are practically slitted, daring him to admit the truth.

“Can I trust you with a secret?”

“I’ve learned to guard my secrets from Feyre and Rhysand.”

“Rhysand is too honorable to look inside your mind.”

“And Feyre?”

“She has power but lacks the finesse of a daemati with centuries of training. Your sister can be fooled without realizing.”

“She went into your mind.” A statement that longs to be a question. Elain, he’s coming to realize, always wants to believe in a better world, in the kind of people who would make its perfect kings and queens. “I’m sorry, Lucien.”

He waves her apology aside, says only: “She wanted to protect you. She still wants to protect you.”

“I’m afraid she’ll see I’m not worth her protection.”

“Because of Tamlin?”

Elain’s features twist, but too quickly she reverts to a more pleasant expression, and then she says, “You’re trying to change the subject. Tell me your secret.”

“I think I’ve made some progress on Vassa’s enchantment. I’d like to run my findings past Helion.”

“And he’d receive you at this hour.”

“Of course.”

A second too late, Lucien realizes that Elain did not ask a question.

“What did your sister tell you?”

“She thought -- none of us thought you knew.” She’s flushed from the crown of her head to the neckline of her gown.

“You thought I couldn’t recognize my own father within the three centuries I’ve been alive? You and your sisters have an abundance of self-estimation.”

“You’re not the first person to say that,” she says, flushing deeper before she snaps back to the present moment. “But your own feelings on Beron are well known. Why not acknowledge your parentage?”

“My mother’s life is already as close to a hell as the High Lord of Autumn can make it. He knows all the places where a bruise can be hidden by a gown or a piece of jewelry, to say nothing of magic.”

“You could not rescue her?”

“The Autumn Court has rites and laws against such things. To bring my mother to the Day Court would be a declaration of war against Beron. My mother would have to leave of her own will.”

“Which is why you worry about ornamental females,” she says, her gaze not as soft as he imagined. But she steps toward him and rests her hand on his shoulder, then draws her to him in a hug. She smells of flowers, the crisp first bite of an apple, and dew at dawn, and in his arms she feels the way he always imagined a sister might, steady and kind, someone to whom he could always return.

Now that the truth has been revealed, he’s grateful to have found a friend in Elain Archeron.

But then, because no joy in Lucien’s life ever seems to stay complete for very long, she steps back and says:

“I wish you would take me with you.”

“Is it so unbearable to be around Azriel?”

The air in the room changes its texture, and Lucien knows he’s said the wrong thing, broken the moment, but Elain’s lips twist into a half-smile. “This court does not seem to share your feelings on the value of ornamental females.”

“You only need to look as far as your sisters to know that’s not true.” It seems that Lucien can no longer abide wallowing, no matter the moment they’ve just shared, or the fact that all Elain needs to do is scream and endanger them both. Vassa would kill him if he allowed her protégé to slide back into her old habits. “You could have tried to learn about your powers sooner if you’d wanted. Feyre would have ensured you had everything you wanted.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” she says, her voice already too correct, too distant, “but why is it that being at the Spring Court felt like waking after a long sleep?”

“It could be the mating bond,” he tells her, and she stiffens, and Lucien is reminded again, the extent that she must be wrestling with this new development. He meets her eyes and softens his tone. “But it could also be that we find homes in unexpected places, sometimes.”

“Do you think that if we rescue Vaasa, we can return there?”

He wants to say yes, because already he is imagining that arrangement, living with Vassa in the daytime and sleeping beside her in the mild flower-scented nights, his lips at her neck and his arm around her waist,, worn out from helping Tamlin to build his court, developing a repertoire of jokes and taunts with Elain that will cause her to laugh and seethe in equal measure. But as much as Lucien would like to offer her these pleasant visions, and despite his years of practice, he finds that he can no longer bring himself to lie to Elain.

“If Vaasa is freed from her enchantment, she will go straight to Scythia.”

“And you — will you go with her?”

“She says that she will have to marry a human man.”

“You’re the heir to the Day Court, a powerful High Fae. Surely she and her people could not reject you so easily.”

“How did you feel about faeries when you were a human?” He does not say that inheritance and power are rarely uncomplicated in Prythian, even with a parentage as complicated as his own.

“I didn’t know anything true.”

“We are just as vicious as the tales you grew up learning. Feyre was always quick to point this out to me. But even so, I will not let her rot with Koschei.”

She reaches forward and squeezes his hand. Elain has never voluntarily touched him so many times in their acquaintance.

“Rhysand has wards around this residence,” she says, glancing at the timepiece that ticks noisily across the room, “be careful not to trip them.”

“The person who crafted this spell also taught Rhysand to build these wards.” He summons enough resolve to wink at her, a flash of his old self. “But if he’s made any updates to the wards, tell him I went to the Spring Court.”

Elain only nods, her face going serene while her eyes brighten, the only signal that she’s thinking through this latest piece of information. All at once, the similarity between them strikes Lucien: they see too much.

But tonight he does not want to know what forced Elain to learn those tricks of observation that have kept him alive, and so instead, with a little nod to her, he pulls on the magic that will bring him to the Day Court, and vanishes.

Lucien is never sure how Helion manages to be awake and present as soon as he appears, but the High Lord enters his personal library only moments after Lucien appears.

“I’ve been working on the spell,” Lucien says, by way of hello, falling into the nearest chair and summoning paper and pen with a flick of his wrist. In the Day Court, these are always close at hand.

Helion is quiet while Lucien maps out the architecture of the spell, his gaze a not-unpleasant weight.

“I was hoping I’d see you soon,” Helion says when Lucien pauses in his sketching. His voice is so unlike the arrogant mask he wears in formal assembly, the flirtatious tone he uses among friends. It’s the kind of voice Lucien, as a boy, would have imagined a father would use when speaking to his children, but once he learned who Helion was, the history at play, reality became too complicated for ease or warmth between them. This male left him to rot in the Autumn Court, didn’t acknowledge him for nearly a century. It’s hard to convince himself that a fatherly mien from Helion is anything more than a convincing mask.

“I’m playing emissary to two courts at once.” He does not look up from his notations, the geometry of Vassa’s bindings, the places on her body where she felt Koschei’s hold, where he’d seen the threads of the spell illuminate in darkened rooms, his golden eye whirring and eager.

“Tamlin needs all the assistance you can give. If he does not defend his borders, it’s only a matter of time before Beron takes advantage of the situation. Imagine the Autumn Court bordering the human lands.”

“There would be no human lands, soon enough,” Lucien says, unable to resist the comment, although he knows he cannot reveal too much.

“You know, I thought that Eris would have killed him by now.”

Lucien merely grunts, unwilling to say that Eris is just a bit more noble than everybody thinks, in part because he knows Helion will think him sentimental, and also because Eris will likely prove him wrong within the day. He concentrates on noting the elements which he thinks have shaped Koschei’s spell, their relations and connections, the components he cannot yet distinguish.

When he slides the paper over to Helion, filled with his writing and sketches, the room seems to still as the High Lord leans in to study the spell. The only sound is the sigh of his braids sliding to his shoulder, the beads at their ends sounding with little clinks.

Finally, Helion regards him with a little smile, his teeth flashing white against the deep plum of his lips.

“You’re making progress. I don’t think I could have done better. But if this were the magic that binds Vassa, I would have been able to break the spell already. There is some unfamiliar element that is missing.”

“There are stories that say Koschei is not of this world.” As he speaks, he tries to still his face, so that it does not betray the way his mind whirls. Relation or not, a High Lord’s thirst for power is legendary.

“If we could discover the workings of magic in the place of his origins… I will search my libraries.”

“Would it be better if we could discover the world where Koschei lived before he entered this one?”

“Of course. It would be invaluable to experience the workings of magic in that place.” Helion pauses, scanning Lucien. “You also know that there is no way to visit that realm. Unless you’ve found some unknown spell.”

“Something happened in the Spring Court,” he says, hoping it’s enough of a misdirect, leading to Tamlin or Vassa or the land itself. Rhysand will kill him if Helion shows up on his doorstep in search of Elain, or seeks to claim the bone.

But Helion quirks an eyebrow, a gesture that’s familiar enough to Lucien that he feels the expression forming on his own face.

“The last Archeron sister found her powers awakened?”

He could dither but there is no point. Not when he’s seeking a favor, a High Lord’s concentration and risk in order to rescue Vassa, who to the rest of Prythian may only be a human queen. He does not bother with the common story, that Elain has the gift of a seer. This gift would be of little assistance in their current circumstances, unless she saw the death of Koschei in vivid detail.

“She vanishes without the magic for invisibility,” he tells Helion. “And she spoke of passageways, doors between worlds. But she hasn’t learned to control her powers.”

“They’ve offered to train her at the Night Court.” Helion does not phrase this as a question, nor does he try to mask the disdain in his voice. Given his libraries and his skill with magic, he always feels that he should be consulted, court politics notwithstanding.

“You can imagine what it would mean if she could control her powers.”

“You know I will keep this secret,” Helion says, his voice solemn and his eyes intent on Lucien’s. “But I would also like to meet with the girl, if she’s willing. It would mean going against Rhysand, for one thing.”

Lucien doesn’t know how much of his ability to see spells and enchantments is inherited from this male, but he hazards a guess based on the rumors he’s overheard.

“What,” he drawls, “because Elain prefers to avoid her mate whenever possible?”

Based on the look Helion gives him, eyebrows stretching for his hairline, Lucien can tell that Helion knows this is a lie. But there’s only so much he’s willing to reveal.

“She came to care about Vassa in the Spring Court,” he says instead, careful to keep his voice even, to wear no comprehension or revelation on his features, “and I think she finally wants to learn to use her powers. I think she’ll be willing.”

Helion’s smile looks simple, an easy acceptance, but Lucien doesn’t trust it. Still, he lingers for another hour as they parse the spell, debating its workings between them, the missing elements and how they could be unraveled, and by the time he returns to the Night Court, he falls into a sleep that’s haunted by no sorcerers, no monsters, no court intrigue, where he forgets, for a few hours of oblivion, that Vassa isn’t there beside him.

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battlestar-royco · 6 years

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masterpost of fix-it headcanons for AC0TAR

the only day you can add onto this is e v e r y day

this blew up into a huge thing and it’s no longer just headcanons but more a reworked outline/embellishment of the first three books. feel free to add or change what you want if you make it through the whole thing :D

n/esta--a gray ace icon!--is the main character. the first book is told in n/esta and l/ucien’s alternating POVs.

some worldbuilding and character background for human lands because sj/m provides fuckity nothing: mama and papa arch raised their children on scary stories about the fae. the first story every human child hears is the one about the human-fae treaty and the ominously growing rip in the wall between human and fae lands. (as a young woman, n/esta remembers a time when a fae attack would happen once every few years, but now she hears of five to ten a year.) because humans are atheist, the arch sisters also learned many stories about secular historical figures and events such as j/urian and his legendary murder of c/lythia during the human-fae war, and f/eyre took an interest in famous painters from a young age.

mama arch died and papa arch’s leg was irreparably damaged while protecting their daughters from a fae creature attack. the girls developed growing resentment toward fae as they got older.

after their family’s fall into poverty, n/esta and e/lain grew up helping f/eyre learn to read. she'll never be at their level, but she knows enough to get by. n/esta always budgets and goes shopping. the harvest from e/lain’s little garden has saved them a few autumns, just like f/eyre’s hunting. their father loves them and wishes he could do more, but they're happy to care for him.

actual ac0tar timeline: (because the humans deserved a plotline and i’ll die mad that they never got one:) the human lands are deeply unsettled by the hole in the wall, and a few attacks have ravaged the northernmost villages. f/eyre is taken to p/rythian. n/esta and e/lain find the mercenary who helped f/eyre. the mercenary is an important mentor for them and she helps n/esta leave tomas. e/lain’s fiance g/raysen who is completely justified in his wariness against fae fiGHT ME sj/m is an advocate for human rights, and all his family’s resources are helping mend the wall, but they just can’t do it without magic. e/lain stays at home to take care of papa arch while n/esta heads north with the mercenary to save f/eyre and possibly find a magical solution to the wall. unsuccessful, n/esta returns home to find that her family has suddenly come upon fortune again, and she funnels some of that money into the human effort.

meanwhile in the sp/ring court, l/ucien watches as tom lane brings home a human girl, f/eyre, who may just be the key to defeating a/marantha’s curse. the curse forbids him from warning her about tom’s true nature, and his feelings toward tom are difficult because tom has provided him shelter from his family but has also been another source of abuse. l/ucien also resents f/eyre for murdering andras. both trapped and opposed to each other for different reasons, f/eyre and l/ucien begrudgingly become friends. they look out for each other and a/lis.

throughout book 1, l/ucien mourns andras and carries out his duties as tom’s emissary. he visits utm multiple times, discreetly conversing with all the imprisoned high lords and their spies (maybe a/zriel and/or n/uala and c/erridwen makes a cameo here) and spreading the news that the curse may soon end. every time he returns, the high lords inform him on their movements/preparations for a/marantha’s death and h/ybern’s rise.

f/eyre completes her third task, but her stab to tom’s heart is fatal. tom dies honorably, for the greater good of all the fae, but l/ucien and f/eyre will never forget the darker parts of him. because a/marantha deserved better as a villain, a/marantha disappears in a diversion created by the king of h/ybern (hereon known as “koh”). rice is a straight-up antagonist and kidnaps f/eyre into the night court. l/ucien is left to rule the s/pring court alone.

ac0maf timeline: the second book continues l/ucien and n/esta’s POVs but also introduces t/arquin, m/or, and a h/ybernian’s POVs.

the h/ybernian pov (perhaps a commoner, soldier, or advisor to the koh) gives us insight on the koh and a/marantha’s plans. both the koh and a/marantha are given thorough backstories that make them sympathetic and/or interesting villains. the latter is one of many lethal commanders in the h/ybern army, alongside d/agdan and b/rannagh. her bitterness against humans has been renewed upon her defeat by f/eyre. the h/ybernian perspective also allows us to see h/ybernian culture, history, and pro/anti-war factions so that h/ybern is no longer a monolith. at some point, we see the cauldron come together. its power is immense.

now, let’s add some semblance of conflict and flaws to the inner circle. (i tried to stick as close to the canon as possible here, but again, mess provided FUCKITY NOTHING.) they each have differing motives, but at the end of the day they all just want prythian to be safe. they’re actually morally ambiguous anti-heroes/villains as heroes instead of this “it was all an act” nonsense. i/llyrians are explicitly poc. rice kidnapped f/eyre not because they’re mates, but because he wants to use her newfound powers as an asset against h/ybern. a/zriel’s torture victims never recover, but he only ever resorts to such measures when he believes necessary. a/mren (agender; ace) hunts for their blood, and they have an insurmountable body count. m/or (power lesbian) is incredibly kind, but everyone in court knows not to get on her bad side or they’ll face her justice. c/assian is the most ruthless commander i/llyria has ever seen.

additionally, the inner circle is complicated. m0riel was never a thing. c/assian and m/or also never hooked up, but they are besties. a/zriel is the intuitive, emotional core of the group; everyone goes to him for advice on friends, relationships, and hard decisions. a/zriel (pan) and c/assian (bi) have been steadily falling in love since their time in the camps as boys but neither of the idiots will admit it to themselves or anyone else. a/mren is still known as “tiny ancient one” because they’re like millennia older than everyone else. they impart cryptic wisdom and brutally honest advice on their edgy^TM kids. the night court also know their time with a/mren is limited because they are searching for a way out of their fae form, so their company is cherished. the four of them have stood beside rice over the centuries, and they love him, but they’ve also watched him steadily become more corrupt and merciless. can he be saved or is it time for a change in leadership? this is a conversation everyone wants to have, but no one is brave enough to begin. everyone skirts around it throughout the book, tension slowly building to an inevitable confrontation.

moving on to the plot: in the night court, we follow m/or ruling v/elaris (she fucking f i n e s s e s k/eir in the process). she’s in a simmering, slow burn romance with an i/llyrian woman: an activist against wing-cutting and a mutual friend of a/zriel’s (he set them up). m/or’s strength in court is her kind nature. she has many loyalists in the court of ni/ghtmares who know of her past with e/ris and k/eir. meanwhile, a/mren and f/eyre's subplot takes them to the human lands to get in touch with the arch sisters.

after his time utm, t/arquin returns to the summer court to play his part in preparing for the war against h/ybern: translating his half of the book of breathings and gathering powerful allies (br/yaxis, the b/one carver, and the w/eaver) for the war. his emotional arc is all about his recovery from the trauma he underwent utm. meanwhile, c/resseida hears word that some night court members are headed to the human lands, so she initiates an alliance with them and tags along in hopes that she can retrieve the mortal queens’ half of the book.

in the spring court, i/anthe is introduced. l/ucien soon realizes she is a double agent for h/ybern. she feeds him info on recruitment and battle strategies. koh and a/marantha are depending on i/anthe’s priestess order to spread pro-war rhetoric across h/ybern (??? this is the best i could do with what sj/m gave). the human lands are the most at risk because koh plans on cutting his army directly through spring court to crush the laughably weak human resistance before taking over the south. (sources report the effort is headed by the cursebreaker’s older sisters....)

in the human lands, n/esta and el/ain are pleasantly surprised by a visit from their sister, and more than a little alarmed by the two fae who accompany her. f/eyre just missed papa arch, who recently set sail with some of g/raysen’s soldiers to recruit southern soldiers. human efforts to seal the wall have been mostly fruitless, and every victory pyrrhic. although neither sister is a fighter, n/esta and e/lain have both seen enough horrors to last a lifetime. n/esta has worked her way to the position of treasurer of g/raysen’s army, and it seems that the proximity of the wall has activated some magic in elain so she is now a seer (this is some bs but so is sj/m’s magic system smh i tried). therefore, both of them (plus the mercenary) always sit in on war councils, and they receive a formal invitation from the mortal queens to discuss their next movements. a/mren and c/resseida come along, and the queens agree to give their half of the book in exchange for some fae magic to mend the wall. only m/or is powerful enough to do such a thing (also bs but sj/m never explained her power!!), so they must go back to the night court. amidst all the suffering, one good thing boosts human morale: e/lain and g/raysen's marriage.

in the n/ight court, a/mren, c/resseida, and f/eyre return to merge the book and tell m/or of the deal with the queens. tensions have risen between m/or and rice’s ruling styles. the court of nig/htmares is also split between m/or and k/eir. too much is mounting for mor to even think of going to the human lands. she and a/zriel also recently received a request for help from l/ucien: one of the spring sentries reported that amarantha’s legion is on the move. meanwhile, the h/ybernian pov chronicles the legion traveling to spring. the best the n/ight court can do is send c/assian. l/ucien and c/assian do all they can, but a/marantha’s too powerful and she rips right through the hole in the wall. c/assian’s wings get fuCKING SHREDDED in the process.

acowar: we’re gonna pretend v/assa, m/iryam, and d/rakon don’t exist bc they did very little for the plot. pr/ythian is in all out fucking bloody-ass war. when war crimes are committed, characters are held accountable. spring fae are scattering, seeking refuge in other courts. we see true horrors and battles and loss throughout the book. it’s high time that the lords all convened to lay out a plan of action, but everyone’s had pretty big fish to fry in the post-curse era. the n/ight court is fracturing, t/arquin and l/ucien are adjusting to being high lords, the a/utumn court has always been infighting, etc. so now an effort is being made to call everyone to a council in dawn.

first, m/or can no longer ignore the call to the human lands. l/ucien joins her because of his lands’ proximity to the wall, leaving i/anthe in charge (they’ve become quite good companions and she’s cut off her ties to hybern). c/assian also comes because l/ucien has been harboring him in spring and providing the best possible (but insufficient) healers for his wings. finally, our human and fae plots come together. m/or and c/assian’s reunion is touching. c/assian’s banter with abrasive n/esta takes his mind off his damaged wings. they both enjoy each other’s pragmatism, sarcasm, and emotional empathy. (in another life, they might’ve made a good match ;).) m/or patches the wall because even though a/marantha is already through, it’ll stop reinforcements from joining her. in a historic event, humans (the queens, the arch sisters, and g/raysen) are invited to the council of high lords.

all our big players are at the council: all h/igh lords + partners and courts, plus terrified but dignified human squad. m/or is reunited with her old friend v/iviane, (they were DEFINITELY a thing once). k/eir, e/ris, and b/eron were invited by none other than rice, who also plans to use feyre’s powers to win multiple battles. the n/ight court can no longer deny that it’s time to talk about rice. all the rising tensions come to the surface here. rice wants to employ the [insert better name for keir’s soldiers than fucking d/arkbringers], but m/or’s i/llyrian gf has been raising an army and she thinks that’s the safer bet. in the end, all the high lords decide they need both, and no one is quite happy. no one knows wtf is in the future for n/ight court leadership.

human squad and fae recap each other. humans hope papa arch can come through with some southern support. amarantha is razing her way through human lands while a/driata and v/elaris have suffered attacks from koh. n/esta, e/lain, and f/eyre all share stolen conversations between meetings over the days. f/eyre misses her home and family, but she knows she’ll never belong there again. humans are given the d/arkbringers (yikes) and b/ryaxis.

as human squad + lucien make their way home, their caravan is attacked by a h/ybern commander--maybe d/agdan or b/rannagh. e/lain is kidnapped to the koh’s camp; she’ll be a good hostage to draw in the pr/ythian asset f/eyre and crush human spirit. the h/ybernian notes that the cauldron has amassed much more power than we last saw. however, koh’s power over the cauldron and his soldiers has been spiraling out of control ever since a/marantha left to attack humans. though she’s been successful against them so far, her obsessive desire to slaughter humans wastes a lot of soldiers & resources on lands that are of little use to h/ybern. the h/ybernian gradually becomes acquainted with e/lain and frees her from the camp. humans return home shaken, but without further incident. the diversion has given a/marantha enough time to secure g/raysen’s lands before they arrive.

in the night court, they realize that without b/ryaxis they’ll need to free a/mren from their body for once and for all to defeat koh. they all share one last night of drinking, games, and being silly and sad. a/zriel and c/assian ruminate on the possibility of losing other inner circle members, and realize their feelings for each other. when h/ybernian and p/rythian forces assemble for the final battle, rice dies an anti-hero’s death on the battlefield. c/assian commands i/llyrian infantry nobly and courageously while m/or’s gf commands from the skies. f/eyre uses her powers to the best of her ability, and with significant help from a/mren in their true form, wins the day for p/rythian. a/mren disappears into their original desired dimension, and f/eyre dies knowing that she neither belongs with humans nor fae. c/resseida, t/arquin, and some p/rythian court members survive, but not without suffering scars, limb loss, and casualties etc.

in the human lands, papa arch has returned from the south with a few thousand men, but not enough to face a/marantha. the d/arkbringers and b/ryaxis hold their own against her soldiers, but she herself still lives. echoing how f/eyre outsmarted a/marantha in book 1, the humans must utilize a/marantha’s own hubris to defeat her. a major human character dies: perhaps g/raysen, the mercenary, or a queen.

finally, the enemies are defeated. arch family and high lords are invited to a funeral for f/eyre cursebreaker in the night court. n/esta and e/lain mourn their sister, but the funeral as a whole serves as a commemoration of all the losses of the war. additionally, m/or and i/llyrian gf have a beautiful private wedding. in rice’s absence, the courtiers of dreams and nightmares flock to m/or. now that their power is secure, she and l/ucien hold long overdue but fair trials against e/ris, b/eron, and k/eir for what they did to m/or and j/esminda (l/ucien’s lover who was killed before his eyes). they are found guilty, and a/zriel uses his sword truthteller in the execution. after, everyone settles terms and plans for war reparations. all the courts vow to donate what they can to the human lands because they all bear the responsibility. the humans go home one last time. human and fae alike are deeply traumatized by the war, but there is hope of happiness and recovery in the future.

#anti acotar #anti acomaf #anti acowar #anti sjm #this was SOOOOO much harder than the t0g one because the ac0tar plot/world/characters are so much weaker than the t0g ones #and that's really saying something #there's almost nothing to the worldbuilding holy crap

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valamerys · 7 years

Text

Out of Feathers, Out of Bones [an elucien epistolary fic] part 1

Elain travels Prythian learning to accept her new life and powers, but better than any glittering court is her tentative correspondence with her mate. (rated g, set post-acowar so minor spoilers)

on ao3

Lady Elain,

I hope this letter finds you well. And I also hope it isn’t overly presumptuous of me to send this at all. I wrote to Feyre a month ago, telling her I’d be longer in the spring court than I planned; They need all the assistance they can get reorganizing after the war. Is it right to call it a war when it lasted less than a month? The extended skirmish. No, sorry, that makes it sound silly, and the death toll was

I’ve already restarted this letter four times, and Tamlin does not possess an unlimited supply of stationery, so I’m going to keep going. My apologies for that babbling and any in the rest.

Feyre mentioned in her reply that you’ve gone to the Winter Court with Mor, to visit Kallias’s new wife and her sister. She suggested I write to you; I told myself I wouldn’t, and managed to hold out for a whole two days. So, finally arriving at the purpose of this letter, I wanted to ask: I’ll be returning to Velaris in another three weeks. Will I see y When are you What about you? And how are you finding the Winter Court? It’s a bit too cold for my tastes, even with the fire powers.

Give my regards to Mor, and to Kallias.

Lucien

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

Lucien,

Feyre told me you might write! I’m glad you did. (She also told me you were worried about me. That’s very sweet of you. I know we didn’t get much time to talk after the battle, but I really am much better than I was when you left for the continent.)

I’m afraid I don’t know when I’ll be back from the Winter Court. Mor, as much as she adores Viviane, is eager to end her vacation and return to sort out the Court of Nightmares, but I’m here for a different purpose. Kallias and Viviane have a Seer in their court, a woman by the name of Orianna; she’s lovely, and very generously teaching me how to better handle the visions and hone my power. Did you know there are different kinds of crystals that help Seers with different kinds of visions? And ones that help with the side effects. The best Seers can even use them to project their visions for others to see!

I’m sorry, I must be boring you. I’m still not adjusted to how very old High Fae get to be; you must know everything by your age.

In any case, the Winter Court is also a great deal of fun; Viviane taught me how to ice skate! And if I thought it would be happy anywhere but Winter, there’s a very sweet little polar bear cub I’d bring back to Velaris with me, when I eventually go. (The grown polar bears are quite fierce. They rather remind me of Nesta. Don’t tell her I said that.)

I hope Spring is treating you well! I would like to see it some day, if only for the flowers.

Elain Archeron

P.S. Kallias says hello in return. (Although what he actually did, finding out we're writing to each other, was laugh until Viviane elbowed him in the ribs.)

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

Lady Elain,

I’m glad to hear you’re having a good time in the Winter Court, but I assure you, I am far from knowing everything, even at three hundred and fifty-seven. (If it’s any consolation, I’m not considered very old by High Fae standards. An old tutor of mine, the oldest Faerie I’ve ever met, was pushing six thousand, and High Fae may not physically age as humans do, but the male looked like he was a sneeze away from crumbling into dust.)

Spring is very much recovering from the War, in terms of both infrastructure and politics, but it’s fine. Not very long ago I would never have dreamed of leaving it, but now I have no desire to stay. The Night Court isn’t my first relocation choice, to be honest, but Rhys and Feyre are good rulers as well as friends, and I could do much worse than making myself useful to them for a while.

Speaking of Feyre, I have a confession to make. I am I was worried about you—not because of the way you were when I left for the Continent, but because of what Feyre told me happened with your former fiance while I was away. I wanted to tell you: I’m so, so sorry you had to go through that. And I’m sorry for the part I played in the conversation, however unwittingly. It’s terrible enough to lose someone you love; I can’t imagine what it’s like to experience cruelty like that from them as well.

Feyre also told me you like tending plants, and plan on starting a garden at the townhouse when you eventually return.

Before I leave the Spring Court, are there any seeds you’d like me to bring with me to Velaris for you to plant in it? You’re right about the flowers here being stunning, and i thought I could help you with the I don’t know what Velaris has in the way of foliage, so I thought you might want some of your own.

Lucien

P.S.

Don’t worry, I would never, ever dream of telling Nesta she in any way resembles a polar bear. I only have one eye left and I’d like it to stay in my head.

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

Lucien,

The joke about your eye made me laugh so loudly I startled a flock of icebirds out on the lawn. Should I return to the Night Court any time soon, I promise to defend you from Nesta’s sharp nails!

The offer to bring me seeds is very thoughtful, thank you. I was worried no Spring Court plant would grow in Velaris, chilly as it is, but Feyre has said she’ll find me access to a greenhouse, so the climate difference is no object—still, I hardly know what to ask for. Prythian has a much larger array of life than the human realm did! Why don’t you bring me a handful of seeds of whatever flower is your favorite?

I appreciate your sympathy, but please don’t apologize for anything Graysen said, none of it was your fault. And really, it was for the best; better to have gone through it and discovered his capacity for cruelty now rather than after I’d married him. Nesta always says this when we talk about it, and I know she’s right. But still hurts more than I could have imagined it would. And, maybe worst of all, it makes me feel like a terrible fool: how can I still be in love with him, when he said those things to me? But I am. And I know if he showed up tomorrow, apologized on his knees, and asked me to have him, I would, even knowing his father might kill me, even knowing he’s human and I’m not. I know it will pass, that I’ll eventually stop missing him, stop feeling like an impostor for going out and laughing with Mor and Viviane when part of me feels like a dead, heavy weight. I just wish it would pass faster. I still haven’t taken off his ring. It feels like if I do, I admit that he’s really never going to come back for me. And I know he’s not, I know that, but still, my heart can’t take it.

I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to hear any of this.

Please don’t feel obligated to respond if I’ve made you uncomfortable.

Elain

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

Elain,

I wish

I’m sorry

I’m glad you

Please, please don’t feel bad for talking about Graysen. I want nothing but to help you in any way I can. If that means you writing an entire book about Graysen and having me read it, I’d do it happily.

I don’t know if Feyre has told you, but I lost a fiance too, once. A very long time ago. Her name was She was The circumstances were different, of course, but—I understand some part of your pain. And again, I’m so sorry. No one should have to go through that.

For whatever it’s worth, it… really does get better. I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing that. Grief doesn’t ever really go away, but time lessens it, makes it bearable, makes it so that it’s light enough to carry around, and eventually, ignore. Don’t be hard on yourself if the process is slow, and tell me if there’s anything I can do to help you, ever.

Also, It turns out that under pressure I have no idea what my favorite flower is, and so in what is probably a lapse in decision-making, I brought you an entire suitcase of bags of different kinds of seeds. Rhys seems to wonder if I’ve left part of my sanity on the Continent.

Take care of yourself. And if you feel so inclined, let me know how your Seer studies are going; my knowledge of crystals is woefully deficient.

Lucien

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

Lucien,

You’re very kind. Thank you for your sympathies, and your offer to help. I’m really alright, usually, but some days are harder than others. And I’m sorry for your own loss— Feyre told me a little about it, but I was glad to hear it from you.

(And thank you also for the seeds! Although I hope poor Rhys doesn’t think I intend to completely overrun his court with flowers.)

My studies are going well! We’ve gone from merely managing my visions to increasing my temporal range; right now I can only see a few weeks into the future, at best, but Orianna says with my ability I should be able to look across decades once she’s done with me. Of course, everything is still very sporadic; Seeing is not an exact science to begin with, and I exhaust myself quickly when I try too hard to make it one. But in general, it’s exciting, to start to feel ownership of my power. For so many weeks all I wanted was to be rid of it, but I’ve seen the good Orianna does in her court, and it gives me a sense of purpose to know I can do the same.

How is Velaris treating you, now that you’re back? I hope Nesta hasn’t been too unkind.

Elain

P.S.

I’ve deliberated whether to say this in every letter I’ve sent you, and I finally have the courage to ask. Do you feel me? The way I feel you? There’s the strangest sensation in my chest, especially when I wake up and fall asleep, and I… think it’s you. I think I feel you on the other side of it.

I’m so sorry, having written it, that was a strange and inappropriate thing to say. I still don’t quite comprehend the idea of mates, or bonds. I must sound like a child to you, ignorant as I am about it. But this is all new to me, and a little frightening, and as much as I speak to Viviane and Feyre about it… the nature of this connection, I suppose, is that the only one who can really help me understand... is you.

Please write soon.

#acowar #elucien #elain #lucien #pen pals #mine

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thelittleloverofbooks · 7 years

Text

Certain as the Sun~ VI

My writer’s block suddenly left and I was finally able to get some work done. Hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think: likes are appreciated but reblogs, comments, and messages make my day and encourage me want to want to update faster!

P.S. After this, things in Prythian get VERY interesting.

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“I’m not sure when Lucien’s family are planning on making their move, so I need you to keep an especially watchful eye on them, Azriel.” The quiet Illyrian warrior nodded, I could have sworn I saw the shadows around him darken in response as if they were eager for the new challenge I had posed. “As I’d predicted, they’ve decided to affiliate themselves with Tamlin and the King of Hybern, which means that we now have another person aiming for the targets on our backs.”

“And,” Mor added, “it means that you’ll also have to take necessary precautions, Feyre. The Autumn Court are a sneaky group of bastards. And although they’ve denounced Lucien I wouldn’t put it past him to report any suspicions he has to his family.”

A devilish smirk spread across my lips. “Oh, I don’t think we’ll have Lucien to worry about, Mor, Rhys assured, “She’s already taken care of him.” Four pairs of eyes stared back at me, drowning in confusion.

“Ah,” Cassian finally grinned, understanding and more than a hint of amusement causing his eyes to glow like liquid amber. “You threatened him with Elain, didn’t you?” The look in my eyes was the only needed confirmation. “Well played, Feyre,” he appraised.

The mention of my sisters caused sudden fear and worry to strike my chest. I hadn’t seen Nesta or Elain since they had been forcibly dunked into that damned Cauldron and turned into Fae. The last image I had of them both was in the King of Hybern’s courtroom—Nesta, eyes burning with hatred and rebellion. And Elain, sweet, innocent Elain too had burned with a fiery inferno I hadn’t seen before.

Cassian, whom Rhysand had informed me had been in charge of training and helping my sisters adjust to their new bodies, seemed to become flustered and unsure of how to answer the question.

“They’re fine,” he finally answered. “Or rather...they’re adjusting. It hasn’t been an easy process, as you’re well aware of.” Just as I had expected. I thought back to my own experiences of the long process of which I had to go through to finally become adjusted to my Fae body.

Rhysand placed a gentle hand at the small of my back, the signal for my time of departure. Fear and longing held my heart in its icy grip. It suddenly dawned on me that this may be the last time in a very long time that I would see them. My family.

I met each of their gazes in turn. As if they, too, had sensed that it was now time for me to leave, all four members of my Court, my Family placed a fist to their hearts, heads bowed in reverence. This was not a time for goodbyes, there was no need. No matter what events would take place in the future I knew I had to hold on to the tiny glimmer of faith I had that I would see them all again.

Rhysand led me outside and before we even reached it I spotted the massive night wings and glistening beak that could only belong to the Eranaten. I held my hand out to the graceful creature, allowing her to become familiar with my scent before stroking an idle hand down her beak. She purred, leaning into my touch.

“Rajani will take you as far as the outskirts of the Summer Court. Tarquin has assured that no harm will come to you as you travel through,” Rhysand informed me. “The Day, Dawn, and Winter Courts, however, have still not outwardly pledged their allegiance to either side, so please be cautious.” I nodded, secretly amused with his doting.

“Has there been any progress on finding a way for us to communicate without Tamlin or anyone discovering it?” I asked, fingers lightly scratching behind Rajani’s ears.

Frustration, not directed towards me, but at our situation flickered in his eyes. “Azriel’s been searching for loopholes, but still hasn’t found a way for an undetectable correspondence.” I had known better than to get my hopes up, but still hearing those words caused my heart to unexpectedly plummet.

“We’ll find a way,” I said, more to reassure myself than anything. “The King of Hybern isn’t all-knowing. There must be somewhere his eyes are looking, his ears aren’t listening. We’ll find a way,” I repeated.

The violet in Rhysand’s eyes turned midnight black as he murmured, “Until then, Feyre, you cannot completely close yourself off to me. Although I cannot physically be there for you, I can be there for you mentally. I just have to have some...reassurance that you’re alright.”

“Are you worrying about me, Rhys?”

He offered a small, sad smile, stepping closer. A hand reached up and brushed back a strand of hair that had come loose at some point, a thumb gently caressing my cheek. “It would seem that worrying is a side effect of the Mating Bond. In fact, I’m almost positive I’ve seen more than a few grey hairs since you’ve left.” I reached a hand up, running my fingers running through his hair as I’d done so many times before. “I’ve waited hundreds of years for you, Feyre. I’ve been through what I’d thought was hell and back, but...you. Having them take you away from me...now that is one thing I’d never be able to recover from.” I was taken aback by the pain and fear in his eyes. Of the memories that still haunted him after all these years.

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken away from me.”

“I won’t shut you out this time, I promise,” I whispered, “Nothing will happen to me, Rhys.”

He said nothing for a while, his eyes slowly scanning over my face as if to memorize each and every small detail. Still holding my gaze he offered me his hand. “Dance with me.”

As if he had summoned it, the sweet melody of a violin, the feathery whispers piano, the steady beat of drums and angelic song of a harp circled around us. I smiled at him, gave him my hand, dared a step closer. I leaned in to the warmth of his hand at the small of my back, of his lips grazing the shell of my ear, the curve of my neck, pressing tender kisses to my shoulderblades.

Suddenly he spun me away from him before pulling me back, his lips a hairsbreadth away. A wicked smile was spread across them, and I couldn’t help laughing. Rhysand joined, and I rested my head on his chest.

Warm breath tickled my ear, sending delicious shivers dancing down my spine. “I love you,” he whispered. This may be the last time in a long time I would be held in his arms, lean into his touches, hear my name come off his tongue. I wanted to memorize all of it, to store it in my memories to relive in my dreams over and over again.

I was certain that no matter how many times he would whisper those words to me, they’d still cause my heart to sputter, fill my chest with an impossible need to be closer to him.

“I love you,” he said again. And when he said it this time he whispered the words as if I was his entire world.

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I couldn’t count the number of kisses Rhys and I exchanged before he, begrudgingly, let me go. As I sailed above the bright lights of Velaris I could have sworn I spotted a dark shadow darting in between the mountains around me, a certain pair of violet eyes watching from afar. The feeling stopped only once I’d crossed over into the Day Court.

Rajani flew swiftly and silently over the rolling green hills of the Day Court, through the long stretches of meadows and rivers of the Dawn Court, above the snow-capped mountains and frost-laden trees of the Winter Court. When we finally made it to the familiar crystal blue seas of the Summer Court, the sun was slowly beginning to rise. Panic clutched my heart in its icy grip as I wondered if I’d be able to winnow through the Spring Court and make it back to my rooms before anyone discovered my absence.

As if sensing my unease, Rajani suddenly lurched forward as if she had not been flying to her full potential before. I grinned, memories of great Illyrian wings, hair whipping at my face and warm hands clutching me against his chest rushing back at me.

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“Thank you, Rajani,” I whispered, stroking her beak. She let out a quiet screech before launching back into the sky with one mighty sweep of her wings. I blinked, and she was gone as if she had only been a figment of my imagination.

I felt those feelings clawing at me and instead decided to stretch out my own wings before shooting into the air, the early morning wind and sun kissing my face but there was no time to enjoy it. I raced towards the castle of the Spring Court, death at my back, anxiety digging its ugly claws.

Then I was at the outskirts of the woods, winnowing in between shadows so as not to be seen, silent as death. I raced up the stairs and to my bedroom, finding the veil I’d put in place just as it had been before I left.

I was just able to slide back into bed and rest my head on a pillow before a soft knock sounded at my door.

“Feyre? Are you awake?”

I made sure to wait a few seconds, deepening my voice like that of someone who had just awoken from sleep. “Yes, Alis. Come in.”

The small faerie shuffled inside, smiling broadly. “Master Tamlin wishes to see you,” she says. “I’ll draw your bath and send someone to fetch you breakfast before you go to meet him.”

I forced a grateful grin. “Thank you, Alis.”

I bathed and dressed in another ridiculous dress, missing the breezy, comfortable style of my home. Biscuits, tea, and bacon sat on my dresser, and I managed to leave the plate clean and the cup empty before going to meet Tamlin.

Odd didn’t fully convey the feeling I felt while walking through the halls of Tamlin’s home. I truly felt like a stranger, an invader, a spy within these walls.

I didn’t bother to knock on the door before bursting into Tamlin’s study. The sight that greeted me caused me to stumble back a few steps.

“Hello, Feyre,” greeted a light, lilting voice.

Ianthe.

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mardereads19 · 3 years

Text

Elriel Month 🌸🦇

Day 22:

“Hello,” Elain said as she opened the door. She reined in the urge to avert her gaze and furrow her brows, but she did not make her voice sound as friendly as she should have.

Lucien cleared his throat. “Hello.” His eyes had widened when she had been the one to open the door instead of her sister or a servant, but he had recovered quickly. Now he looked as unruffled as if he had always known it’d be Elain he’d been meeting here.

“Every person has give aways of emotions. Tells that reveal what they are feeling —if they’re lying, what their weakness is, and if they are about to attack,” Azriel had said to her during training a few days ago. “Your assignment for tomorrow is that you find give aways in the people you encounter today.”

“Do all of the tells mean the same thing in everyone? Does biting the lower lip, for instance, mean nervousness in everyone or is it an individual thing?” Elain had asked.

Azriel had smiled at her with approval shinning in his eyes. “That’s a very good question. Tells are individual. What might represent nervousness in you, might represent anger in someone else.”

“How will I know what the give away to the people I see mean for them individually?”

“You get better at that with practice. But for tomorrow you only need to note the tells, not what they may mean. Look out for tapping fingers, for roaming eyes, for biting a lip —anything that might reveal emotions.”

And Elain had gotten so good at it that she noticed Lucien’s quick twitch of his fingers. She was willing to bet he felt nervous, perhaps self-conscious, underneath the calm, collected air he was trying to pull-off.

Good, she could almost hear Azriel’s voice whisper in her ear. She held back a smile and opened the door wider, the heat of the mid-day sun hitting her with the warm breeze. Today was a hot day. “Come in.”

Lucien hesitated —another tell— before stepping inside the river house’s foyer. Once she had closed the door behind him, she let herself study him.

Even though Elain was not fond of being in the same room as him, or that this male was her cauldron-given mate, she could not deny he always looked pristine. Even with the heat, Lucien wore a white dress shirt with a pine-green vest and pants. The color brought out the red of his hair —which was elegantly tied at the nape of his neck— and the gold of his eye. She also thought that the scar across his other —metal— eye that others found gruesome and grotesque, made him even more handsome. Nothing like an imperfection to highlight the beauty.

He shifted on his feet and Elain almost asked him what made him so uncomfortable, except she already knew. She felt it, too. “Where are Feyre and Rhysand?”

Elain tilted her head. “Desperate to get away from my presence?”

Lucien whirled towards her, her tone that had been full of disdain, his eyes widening once more. “No, that’s not what I—” He frowned with worry before adding, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

She focused on his real eye, the one that would reveal his emotions, and found sincerity in his gaze. She nodded once. “Feyre and Rhys are gone on Court business, but they asked me to receive you.”

Feyre knew damn well what she had been doing when she left Elain at the river house with the task of receiving Lucien. She and Rhys had both urgently needed to visit the Hewn City to present Nyx and remind the Court of Nightmares who held the reins of their small kingdom. Apparently, the job could not wait one more day.

Lucien inclined his head in a nod. “How is the baby?”

Elain let her lips twist up in a genuine smile, the image of her small nephew coming up into her mind. “He’s healthy, thank the Cauldron.”

Lucien nodded, again. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Nyx had been a blessing. Having him here took her mind off of distracting thoughts. Taking care of him focused her —that is, until she studied his wings and her mind drifted off to another male with wings like that.

Elain shook her head to dispel the image of Azriel. She had to focus on the task at hand, of listening to her mate.

But as Lucien began to update Elain on the Spring Court’s and Tamlin’s current state, she couldn’t stop her mind from drifting off, again.

Mate. This male before her was her mate. What did that mean? Why did that matter? Elain knew the answers to those questions according to the Fae, but the answers were not the same to her. Now you are Fae, too, you know? she reminded herself. Yet as much as she tried to assimilate to their culture, their lifestyle, it was seemingly impossible.

“Reaching complete silence is imposible. It’s even harder here, in Prythian, to achieve stealth. The sharp hearing is an obstacle you must learn to overcome.” Azriel’s voice from one of their initial training sessions rang in her head.

“If it’s impossible, how do you do it? How do the Wraiths do it?”

Azriel had smiled. “The Wraiths are more silent than me —impressive, I know— but they are half shadows themselves.”

Elain had chuckled and raised her brows. “I hadn’t noticed any difference between your levels of stealth.”

Azriel had dipped his chin. “Well, I did train them regardless. Just how I am training you.” And the look he’d given her had made her shift on her feet. Azriel noted the tell and she’d gone still again.

“As I said, complete silence is imposible, but if the sound could be reduced enough to almost imperceivable, it will seem completely quiet. Let’s begin with your footwork.”

Elain slammed back to reality when Lucien mentioned Koschei. And she blinked a few times to remember she was in the river house foyer and not in the ceiling or garden training with—

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Lucien frowned slightly before saying, “Vassa doesn’t have much time here, before Koschei pulls on her reins. What is Feyre and Rhysand’s plan to find his location?” His eye held a shine and Elain could have sworn she saw fire dancing in his golden iris. His voice had also taken on a fierceness that Elain couldn’t help but admire.

“I don’t know the specifics of it, but Rhysand and Feyre have been trying to find a safe way to visit his lake.” Elain hesitated for a second, not knowing if this information was clear to share or not, but Lucien was their ally, and he was friends with Vassa, who might be the best source of intel they had at the moment. “Azriel and Cassian had an encounter with the death god at his lake already and it did not end well.”

“Bryallin had the crown, that’s how she had controlled Cassian,” Rhys had said in one of their meetings with the Inner Circle. Elain had been walking past the door in the hallway, but she had stopped and listened.

Azriel had spoken next, the sound of his voice making her heart skip. “My shadows warned me to run from there, Rhys. Even if Koschei had no controlling powers, those he does have are dangerous. I’m still not sure how Elain’s —and Feyre and Nesta’s— father could strike a deal with him.”

“Koschei also said he had been preparing for us or some other shit like that,” Cassian added. “I’m not sure if it’s wise to return there without learning more, finding a weakness or something.”

“We know he wants Vassa back,” Amren suggested.

Feyre spoke up, “We are not going to use Vassa as a bargaining ship, Amren.”

“I also don’t think Vassa could guarantee our safety.” Rhys’s comment was followed by a short silence.

A shadow had flowed out through the open door and glanced —or what Elain would interpret as a glance from a shadow— at her before quietly making its way back to Azriel. Elain had taken a step closer to the gap and looked inside the study to see it lift to his ear. The shadowsinger did not glance towards the door, but she saw him smile. Her heart ached with the sudden need to touch those slightly twisted lips.

“We’d be fools to try to taunt Koschei with Vassa, who is still enslaved to him. We need something else, something he wouldn’t venture to hurt us for. Something he wants or, as Cassian said, something that’s his weakness.”

Elain looked up at Lucien now. “Do you think Queen Vassa would agree to meet with Rhysand and Feyre? Now that Azriel and Cassian saw Koschei and his lake themselves, they might understand better any instruction Vassa gives. We need all the help we can get.”

Lucien began nodding even before she had finished her question, his eye filling with hope —for the human queen, Elain noted. “Anything you need, Vassa will be happy to provide as long as she knows about it or if she’s not enchanted against speaking of.”

“Enchanted?”

Lucien’s brow furrowed. “Sometimes Vassa finds it difficult to speak of certain things. She’d be speaking one moment and the next second she’d forget what she was about to say. She never understands it, but my eye,” he gestured to his metal eye, “picks spells up.” His gold eye darkened. “Koschei won’t let her speak of some things, I’m guessing they are vital to learning how to defeat him.”

Elain dipped her chin and tucked away the information for later, when she got to tell her sister and her mate what Lucien told Elain.

The male before her said a few things more regarding the human territory —Elain placing on her face the most neutral mask she could muster, Azriel’s impassive face as her guideline— before bidding her goodbye.

Elain was accompanying him to the door when she realized she should have had invited him into a parlor and offered tea or anything. He was outside before she could apologize, but he turned to her abruptly, like he had been fighting an impulse that won out in the end. Elain just blinked at him, waiting.

“I—” His face flushed. “It was nice seeing you.”

Elain bowed her head and told herself being polite was not the same thing as accepting their fated bond. “As was seeing you.”

Lucien opened his mouth like he might say more, but then he closed it and bowed. He turned swiftly and walked away from the estate.

Elain watched him go, wondering if she would have felt something for him if she had met him differently. He was noble, that much was true for her. But there was no spark of joy in her heart when she saw him. Instead, she couldn’t help but feeling disdain at being around him. It had more to do with the stupid mating bond than it did him. More to do with how everyone expected them to get together at one point or another. More to do with the fact that it was not up to her to decide. The mating bond with Lucien felt like she had no choice.

But if she had met him differently?

Hazel eyes flashed in her mind. A scarred hand extending towards her before guiding her to the garden. Wings sunning as she drank tea and plotted out in her head the next section of the terrain.

Elain shut the door, a sad smile appearing on her face. It would not have mattered if Lucien and Elain had met differently. She had met Azriel first, and it had been born out of him being with the good side. Him wanting to help the humans who had no way of defending themselves.

He had been the one to listen to her when her visions had her speaking in code. It had been him who had assured everyone she was not crazy, but special. That she was not lacking anything, but had gained something.

Elain had tried to ignore it, but this meeting with her mate, where she had not been able to push away memories of moments spent with Azriel from her mind... She could not deny it any longer.

Her feelings for Azriel were like weeds in her heart. The more she tried to cut them, the more they grew and spread. She was so far gone that not even a conversation with Lucien could stop her from thinking about her shadowsinger.

She was buried underneath it. The ivy of her emotions for him. The ivy of him.

It kept on growing.

#elrielmonth #elrielmonth21 #elriel #elain #azriel #elain archeron #elriel endgame #pro elriel #elriel fanfic #elriel oneshot #my writing

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royreadingco · 6 years

Text

Book Review #2: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This post is a long time coming. Let me give you a little run down of what's happening in this book review. I want to start by saying why I started reading this series, and what happened to me when I did. It wasn't pretty. And then I want to talk about my general overview of the series as a whole, and I want to end by doing a review of each individual book. There's a lot going on here.

As a senior in AP Literature, come the beginning of May, you don't want to look at a text written in Victorian English for at least thirty years. I think my teacher figured this out pretty quickly, because for our final project, she assigned us a simple task: "Pick any book that's not 'Hop on Pop' and come up with why you chose to read it, and something that stuck with you, whether it be a theme, character, symbol etc." Now, personally as someone who loves fun reading, this project was a dream. I had books on books on books that I had been wanting to read, that had just been waiting for me to tear through their covers and delve into all of their glory. But unfortunately, there are only twenty four hours a day, eight of which devoted to school, six devoted to work, three to homework, at least two for sustaining life and whatever is leftover for sleeping, there was no time for fun reading in my life. UNTIL NOW. So I sat on the edge of my bed, stared at my shelves and waited for something to call to me.

And then I looked at it. Nestled in my second to last shelf right next to Game of Thrones just waiting, perfect and pristine. Now I had purchased this book because I had suggested that my local Young Adult Literary Guild read it during the month of February, but if you see above you'll understand why I never read it. So I decided. The rest of my class could read profound works of literary merit. I would torture myself no more. This was the beginning of my liberation as a reader.

Let me first just say, that I loved this series. I started reading, and I thought to myself "Alas, this is another one of those series that you fall in love with so hard that it hurts to keep reading because you know has to end." As I read, I became...obsessed...unhealthily obsessed. Sarah J. Maas did something to me. I took this book with me everywhere, and when I finished the first one I was WORSE with the second. I brought the book to my sister's college graduation for Christ's sake. I was a starved, ravenous reader who could not be satiated no matter who many chapters she read each day. I stayed up until 3 am for days in a row reading by phone flashlight because I simply could not go to sleep

without knowing what was going to happen. Long story short, some kind of spirit took over me and left me obsessed with this series.

All in all, I think this series was spectacular. A smash hit in every right. Maas had such a unique and interesting concept, and really brought it to life. Written with such incredible detail, and intricate world building, this series took my breath away. My general rule of thumb is that any book with a map in the front, has to be good. My rule still stands. And for once in my life, I actually USED the map spread across those two pages at the beginning of each book. I looked and saw how far Feyre traveled between Courts. Not only did the first two books take classics stories and twist them slightly, but they were also in the world of Fae, with still another over-arching conflict spread throughout the series to create a truly epic tale.

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES: *Warning: this review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk*Let's set the mood with a little summary shall we...So one cold winters night, Feyre Archeron is hunting to save her starving, destitute family, and kills a wolf in the process. One problem: this wolf is actually a really good friend of Fae Lord, Tamlin who comes a-stormin' into her house saying that since she took his soldier's life, he's come to take hers, but instead of killing her, offers to let her live at his estate in Fae land, known as Prythian. Overtime, Feyre makes friends with the Fae she lives with, and falls in love with Tamlin, the handsome High Lord of the Spring Court. Though she falls in love with him, Tamlin's land is plagued by a spreading darkness due to him being cursed by an evil fae, Amarantha. But Feyre decides she is not going to sit by and let her loved ones be abused and oppressed and decides that she will challenge Amarantha herself, a mere mortal, even sacrificing her soul to save her beloved and his people.

What originally drew me to this series was I was told that it was a twisted telling of Beauty and the Beast, and it was. But I've read a lot of twisted tellings of fairytales, and I have never loved one as much as this series. The A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy was so unique in its telling. The allusions to Beauty and the Beast were so subtle, but they stood out because they were different. The beauty wasn't a bookworm this time, hell she couldn't even read. Instead painting was her passion (and as someone who has zero artistic talent, Maas descriptions of Feyre's ideas for paintings were exquisite). Yes, Tamlin could physically shift into a beast, but also his personality was beastly, and instead of being hidden away in a crumbling tower, this beast was forced to live out his life behind a cursed mask. Maas's use of Beauty and the Beast as the basis for the story made it a hit with BATB fans, but her unique and original spin on the tale are what makes this book truly spectacular.

I hated Nesta (in this book). She was an actual demon. To treat Feyre so terribly, to hate her so intensely, when Feyre is literally keeping her and the rest of their family alive is mind boggling, but then it may have been another of Maas's sneaky traps. By hating Nesta in the beginning (like Feyre intensely disliked her sister, but still fought to keep her alive) I would grow to truly appreciate her in later books.

I said it before, but I really want to emphasize how much care Maas took in building this world. She created a new universe with a history, laws, politics, a new language, an entire culture. I really and truly felt like I stepped through the pages into an entirely different world. The holidays that they celebrated were some of my favorite parts of this book. Though, when I was told what Calanmai was, I was little thrown but I recovered. That holiday stuck with me, despite its odd origins, because it was the first time she met Rhys. But really Summer Solstice was my favorite. At that time, she and I still loved Tamlin and Feyre drunk on faerie wine and smoldering Tamlin was highly enjoyable right down to them watching the sunrise on a hill in the valley together. And don't even get me started on that lake of starlight.

Another thing about this series, but also this book in particular, is that Maas throws all of the stereotypical Fae tropes to the wind and writes her own unique tale set in the world of Fae. For instance Tam and Lucien outright tease Feyre when she says that they can't lie to her, because that myth simply isn't true. Or the classic, the idea iron burns faeries isn't true, its really ash wood that is deadly. Maas finds way to be original in faerie fiction, and creates her own myths and legends from the start.

And though I loved Tamlin for much of the book, there were still parts of him that I didn't like. For example, he was pretty cowardly. When he realized that he was pretty much screwed and that Amarantha was coming for him, instead of rallying forces (like another High Lord we know) he sends her away and lets his estate get ransacked and himself kidnapped. Even as Feyre is getting tortured by Amarantha, Tamlin doesn't really do anything to help her but just kind of watches as it happens. At times Tamlin really could not control his anger, which really bud you can't whip out your claws every time something doesn't go your way. I really hated that when Tamlin and Feyre had a minute alone Under the Mountain, that Tam's only concern is having sex with Feyre not, I don't know, helping her escape? Even though Rhys was the "enemy" at this point he still had his redeeming moments Under the Mountain.

Why is sex slavery such a big thing? Honestly, as far as YA book go, sex slavery is pretty rare. But Maas proves she doesn't write a typical YA fic, because she tries to take not one but two sex slaves in a single book. First we have good old, Rhysand who actually agrees, and then we have Tam who refuses and opts to be cursed for fifty years instead. Amarantha, get it together.

But one thing that really killed me was Feyre's guilt at Tamlin being taken away because she didn't break the curse in time. I could understand feeling bad, but Feyre really beats herself up for not freeing him and his people because she didn't say "I love you" fast enough. First of all, that phrase should never be said just to be said. If Feyre wasn't ready to say it, then she shouldn't have said it. Secondly NO ONE told her about the curse. How was she supposed to know that they were all waiting on her to free them. Feyre darling, it's not your fault I promise.

I fell for it. I fell hopelessly into every trap Maas set up for me. Well played Maas, well played. Throughout this book I shipped Tamlin and Feyre with a vengeance, and hated Rhys with a...fury (get it?). Which is EXACTLY what she wanted to happen. As you progress through the series, you'll understand why and you'll feel just as silly as I did. But I think that in falling for every trap she laid out for me, I went through the story with Feyre, thinking along the same vein as her. She didn't see that Tamlin may not have been such a good guy, and neither did I, but we eventually learned together.

All in all, this book was an impressive introduction to an amazing series! This was the first Sarah J. Maas book I had ever ready and honestly I can't wait to dive into the Throne of Glass series! Overall this book was wonderfully written and a really good, mature YA read.

Overall, I rate this book 📚📚📚📚 out of 5! What did you think of A Court of Thorns and Roses? Let me know in the comments!

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Kayla

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