#I fucking love this story I’m so honored/grateful/happy that it came from my au it means so much

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Paladin Rose (An Other Magic AU Substory written by CartoonAddict564 from the comment section)

Part 1 (Faerie Arc)

(This is a hodgepodge of all of the story comments for the Paladin Rose Substory from the There’s More Magic Out There fic, the commenter gave me permission to post it on tumblr, but please do check the original comments out, there’s a lot of funny shit I left out)

Mr. Lavaillant: Rose, sit down. We have something very important to tell you. Mrs. Lavaillant: You know how we've been patrolling the city with our Detect Magic abilities to find evil monsters? We found one... and you know her. Rose: *pales* Mrs. Lavaillant: It's your classmate Sabrina. We've determined she's actually a fey spirit, brought by evil Sidhe--fairy lords--to replace the real Sabrina. Rose: *slightly relieved that they still don't know about Juleka* Oh! Uh, that sounds bad. Why don't you let me deal with her? *wondering if maybe they can hide her for a few days until her parents move on* Mr. Lavaillant: No, dear. You see, if it were just a matter of catching and killing this changeling, we're sure you could handle it. But this is a much more difficult job. Mrs. Lavaillant: It's not enough to kill the fake Sabrina. We need to rescue the real one. To do that, we'll have to force them to take the false Sabrina back. Rose: Uh... what do you mean? Mr. Lavaillant: Fey are incapable of taking a gift without giving something of equal value in exchange. That's why they leave one of their own behind when they abduct humans; they literally can't take a child without giving up a child of their own in order to make the trade equal. But it works both ways. If we compel them to accept our 'gift' of the changeling Sabrina, the fey will be forced to return the real one to us. Mrs. Lavaillant: There's a fey hill a few miles outside of town. We'll bring the false Sabrina there, summon the Sidhe lords, and fight them with our holy powers until they yield and agree to retake the changeling. Then they will be compelled to recover the human Sabrina from wherever she is and bring her here. Rose: And, um, how are you going to get Sabrina to the hill? Mr. Lavaillant: We talked with Roger Raincomprix--who was so excited that he might be getting his real, genuine daughter back that he almost cried on the phone--and he's going to help us. We gave him a special herb which he'll mix into her food; any fey that eats it will fall asleep for at least twelve hours. We'll just pick her up, meet with a few of our paladin friends, and then all head out to the fey hill. Mrs. Lavaillant: Just think, dear, in only a few hours that evil monster who stole the real Sabrina from us will be banished to the fey world, never again to threaten decent people like us! *beat* Anyways, that's where your father and I are going tonight. We'll see you in the morning. *The Lavaillant parents leave; 30 seconds pass* Rose: (Already putting on her armor and sword, and also calling Juleka on the phone): HEY JULES GET THE GANG TOGETHER WE HAVE TO STOP MY CRAZY PARENTS

---

Juleka: ...so that's what's happening. Luka did a scrying spell and found that Sabrina's already missing from her home, so we need to get to the fairy hill first and stop the paladins. We can meet up with Rose at this rest stop and-- Alya: Um. Do we actually know Rose will help us? Juleka: Of course. She helped us sabotage all those other things her parents did. Alya: Yeah, she helped us with some pranks. That doesn't mean she'll help us fight her parents. I mean, if Chloe wolfs-out and tries to bite them, do you really think Rose will just let it happen? Alix: Alya has a point. Rose was raised her whole life to think Sabrina and the rest of us are evil. She might have been willing to rebel when the stakes were low, but actually fighting for 'evil' in front of her parents and everyone? Publicly betraying them? I don't know if she'll do that. For all we know this whole thing is a set up from her parents. Maybe they got her to lure us out of town, away from anyone they don't want watching a paladin vs monster fight, and get us to a place where they have lots of backup from their crazy zealot friends to help them kill us? Chloe: Or worse. What if Rose was a plant from the beginning? They figured out there was magic around because of all the Miraculous stuff and Hawkmoth, so they send in their daughter, have her act nice so we tell her all about us, and then use that knowledge to kill us? Juleka: But... she said she'd help us. She promised! I mean, she swore she loved me even though I'm a vampire, and... Juleka, thinking to herself: What if I was just a little side fling for her? What if I was just her opportunity to be a rebel, or what if she really was a plant from the beginning? Now that the chips are down, what if she fight for what she really believes, which is that I'm a monster and so are my friends? Juleka: ...well, either way, we have to rescue Sabrina. So let's go and hope Rose is loyal to us. Juleka, thinking to herself: And if she's not, maybe I'll just let the paladins cut off my head

——

Then commotion came to a halt as the bushes rustled. The changeling girl looked up with fear as she saw a familiar green.

The figure quietly exited out of the woods. Her hair was longer, untamed, but despite the roots and dirt curling around her skin, and the dark green coat fluttering around her shoulders. She still had a feeling of humanness.

Sabrina met her own face.

The fey adopted child looked at Sabrina, then her eyes moved to an ecstatic Roger, then the Lavillants, and the finally she sees the Mystery gang.

However she says nothing, only continuing to slowly move forward. The grass followed after her trail, and the large group saw eyes from the forest, staring curiously at them.

“Come and take the true fey child home and bring me back my daughter!” Roger commanded, but was met with silence. Only the quiet brushing of wind against the tall grass, the city bumbling quietly so far away,

Sabrina held her breath- and after what felt like years.. the Human girl spoke-

“Wow, this is really fucked” She said evenly, she gave a Sabrina a soft pat on the back.

They all blinked with surprise at her bluntness as she looked to the rest of them

“I’ve lived with the fey for more than fifteen years, I give not even two shits about the human world or my human family.” She said “I am more fae than human, and there is no benefit for me nor this Sabrina that is worth trading.”

Roger and the lavillant’s jaws dropped- and a look of disbelief, shock, and elation slowly grew on Sabrina’s face. The stolen child smiled softly at her, teeth too sharp, eyes too bright, and hair too red. Their species didn’t match but they knew who was human and who was not.

The Once Huma Sabrina slowly walked backwards into the woods, giving a small curt bow “You all owe me for stealing my time” She says, a mischievous smile curling on her lips as wild magic rushed by them, a chill going down each of their spines. She gave Roger a quiet look before shrugging his heart broken expression off. “Bye fuckers” she said-

-And then disapeared into the darkness.

For a moment, complete and utter silence filled the hillside.

Then Chloe leaned in very close to the others and begin to whisper. "Listen up," she hissed. "I've seen most of these assholes at my father's political rallies--these guys are from half the prominent families in Paris--and I know how they think. They--"

"How can you tell?" hissed Alya. "They're all wearing armor!"

"The heraldry," Chloe growled. She gestured at the paladins, whose armor was emblazoned with various crests and sigils. "I've seen those pictures on the rings, the lapel pins, the shitty handkerchiefs in their pockets. No reason the knights would have them if they weren't the same people. Now shut up and let me talk." She took a breath. "One possibility is they realize how much of an idiot they've been and they slink off home. But that almost never happens."

"So what's the other possibility?" whispered Juleka.

"They blame whoever's nearby and isn't them for screwing things up. Then they double down and attack us, so they can try again once they get rid of 'the problem.'" Chloe's face was tight. "And if they do that, we have to be ready."

Then Roger seemed to shake himself. He looked around wildly before his eyes settled on the mystery gang. "There!" he yelled. "They messed this up! We would have been able to get my daughter back if not for them!"

"Get them!" roared Mr. Lavaillant. "For God and the Light!"

"And restrain her!" Mrs. Lavaillant swept her sword at the still-woozy changeling Sabrina. The redhead squeaked and tried to take a step, but the magic herb was still in her system and she couldn't do much more than shuffle a few paces before staggering to a halt. Mrs. Lavaillant went on: "We have to keep her here, and we have to keep her alive! We'll kill the other monsters, summon the Sidhe again, and this time we forcethem--with cold steel, if necessary--to take the changeling and leave the real Sabrina here!"

Roger looked pained. "But if my daughter doesn't want to come home--"

"Of course she wants to come home," said Mrs. Lavaillant in the stern, unyielding voice of a fanatic who would rather die than consider the possibility of being wrong. "In her heart, that's the only things she wants. You can't trust what she's saying now, because the fey confused her. But I assure you, it's nothing we can't handle."

"We have, after all, done this before," added Mr. Lavaillant as two other paladins dragged the unsteady Sabrina down with chains and staked her to ground previously cleared of all grass and shrubs in order to stop her from drawing on her powers to escape. "Your daughter won't be the first human we rescue from the fey. Nor the first one whom the fey brainwashed into wanting to stay among them."

"But you don't have to worry," said Mrs. Lavaillant, her tone now something that would have been compassionate if it hadn't had the bright, sharp edge of bloodlust to it. "We will see that your daughter has the best of care. Therapy for as many months as she needs it, and if necessary, something more extreme. We do have facilities just for that purpose."

Roger's face had somehow gone even paler. "You mean that room in the Catacombs you showed me. The one with the manacles."

"Yes, that one, if necessary," said Mr. Lavaillant in an almost gentle tone. "I won't lie to you; your daughter may require strenuous, ah, correction. The fey are masters at ensnaring humans; no doubt they have spent her life teaching her unholy powers, cultivating her cruelty and teaching her to apply it towards humans and animals who aren't strong enough to resist her, doing all they could to ensure she would never want to return to the Light and the human world. As a result it may take several months to break through this cold shell the fey formed around your daughter's soul and make her understand once more that the human world is the right and proper place for her--and within that world, the sturdy home built by her loving father. It may take techniques which others, who do not know the whole story, would find brutal. But rest assured. She will come back to you, in both body and soul, in the end."

Mrs. Lavaillant took a step towards the mystery gang, as did several of the paladins. Rose, Juleka noted, was still being restrained by one of the larger knights, from back when she'd tried to stop the ritual and been overwhelmed. That meant Rose was on the monsters' side, didn't it? The paladins wouldn't have restrained her if she had chosen her family and had just been trying to lure them here? Unless, of course, this was just a trap, unless Rose was their ace in the hole who would only betray Juleka at the last minute, because of course she would, Juleka was just a blood drinking vampire living in the shadows and it wasn't like anyone as amazing and lovely as Rose could *really* love her, was it?

Juleka tried to push those thoughts aside as the paladins advanced. "So what do we do?" she asked, knowing the answer.

Chloe had already shifted, as had Alya. Luka had already brought up his hands to cast the most powerful hexes he knew; as Juleka watched, Alix did the same. "We fight," the pink-haired girl growled. "And we save our friend."

——

(And of course...)

Juleka let out a roar of pure rage as she jumped on top of Mrs. Lavaillant, throwing her off of Chloe. The silver crucifix went tumbling away as Mrs. Lavaillant fell to the side and Chloe's shriek of agony, along with the sizzle of burning flesh and fur, ended. The werewolf roared, and Juleka turned to her--

Only for Rose's mom to grab her and roll over, so that she was on top and Juleka was being pressed into the ground. Juleka drew on her vampire strength as she fought back, but the armored knight still managed to hold her down--though Juleka could hear her labored breath and sense the pounding of her blood, and knew that Mrs. Lavaillant wasn't nearly as much stronger than her as the knight wanted to let on. But it didn't matter; as long as she was armored than Juleka couldn't really do much to her.

Ok, she thought. Then I deal with the armor.

Juleka abruptly swung her arms out, no longer pushing away at the knight, and Mrs. Lavaillant almost fell on top of her before taking advantage and slamming a fist into her ribcage. Juleka heard something break but tried to ignore it as she forced her hands to the side of Mrs. Lavaillant's helmet, then pulled with all her might. The older woman understood just a second too late and tried to block, but Juleka had already heaved, and--drawing on all her vampire strength--managed to rip the helmet clean off the armor, leaving herself staring at Mrs. Lavaillant's exposed face, head, and neck.

The older woman's face twisted into an expression of rage. "Scum," she hissed. "It's not enough for you to stalk the night and drink the blood of innocents, is it? Now you interfere to trap a human child with the fey--and for no reason!"

"The human Sabrina is happy where she is!" gasped Juleka. "And you were trying to abduct and banish my friend back to some world she's never known! She doesn't deserve that!"

"She's a monster!"

Juleka shook her head, trying and failing to shove Mrs. Lavaillant off her. "No, she's not! She's a good person! She helps people when they have trouble in school, and when I was sick she let me copy her notes, and I know sometimes she goes to people's gardens and helps them to bloom better, and--"

Mrs. Lavaillant reached behind her back and pulled a short, sharp dagger from a concealed compartment of her armor. 

"She is a monster whose only purpose here is to ensnare and corrupt humans!" She thrust forwards, but Juleka just barely managed to grab her hand and stop it. Then, seeing an opportunity, she reached up with her other hand and snaked it around Mrs. Lavaillant's head before pulling inwards. The older woman yelled but couldn't stop her head and neck from being shoved down, right in range of Juleka's fangs--just as the tip of her dagger touched Juleka's chest, directly over her heart.

For a second the two froze, each having the other at her mercy, neither able to act.

And then they heard footsteps and both twisted their heads just enough to see...

..Rose.

She had gotten away, Juleka realized. She had escaped from the big paladin, and now she was here, wearing shining armor and holding a holy sword. But she wasn't moving. "Juleka," she whispered as her gaze swept between then. "Mom. Please... please don't..."

"Help me, dear!" Mrs. Lavaillant yelled. "Help me slay the vampire and save the real Sabrina!"

"Rose," whispered Juleka, in a voice that was almost begging. "Rose, please. Help me."

The young paladin looked between the two, almost shaking.

"Please, Rose, you said you love me," said Juleka in too fast of a voice. "And I--I know sometimes I'm creepy, and I'm a monster, and I'm not anywhere near as pretty or smart or anything as you, but I don't want to die. I don't deserve to die here. Please don't let her kill me."

"Rose!" yelled Mrs. Lavaillant. "Don't listen to her! She's a vampire, you know hurting people is what they do! It's her nature! It doesn't matter if she says she's good, or even if she truly believes it! Sooner or later, she won't be able to deny her nature and she'll kill people!" Her voice dropped. "We showed you pictures, Rose. Pictures of whole families, whole villages drained dry by vampires. You can stop the next tragedy, but you have to be strong! Do what you know is right!"

"Rose!" cried out Juleka, straining at Mrs. Lavaillant. "Rose please! Please!"

Slowly, as if in a trance, Rose raised her sword up and...

...she dropped it. She fell to her knees and began to sob.“I-I can’t.. I cant help you both.. I can’t.. I don’t know what to do..” She sputtered through her words “Mom I love Juleka more than anything.. I’ve loved her longer than I’ve known her she was a vampire.. b-but I cant kill anyone I can’t do this..”

Juleka was silent, still frozen as she watched the love of her life cry— but Ms Lavillant still didn’t move, and neither did she.They didn’t know what to do.So Juleka moved first. She let her head rest on the ground, leaving her body exposed as she left her perfect spot near Ms Lavillant’s exposed throat. She looked past her, staring up at the stars. Who knew this would be the perfect place to see such beauty. Juleka had never seen so many before. She drowned herself in the sounds of Rose’s sobs as Ms Lavillant didn’t move a muscle, in fact, maybe she got closer. “Then I’ll make the choice for you Rose..” She murmured, looking back to Ms Lavillant’s face “Kill me then. The monsters still win either way- metaphorically I guess.”

Looking to the side, Alya was clutching Sabrina in her arms as they mounted on top of Chloe’s wolf turned body, Alix was screaming obscenities at everything while Luka kept them away, still she laid, underneath the woman’s body, far far away.

“Come on..” She hissed through her teeth, staring up at Ms Lavillant as she felt the end of the woman’s blade meet the but centimeters away from her skin. She couldn’t hear Rose’s sobs anymore from the pounding in her ears “..I know you won’t.”

Distantly, softly, she heard the paladin speak.

"I know what you're trying to do," Mrs. Lavaillant said, and now there was an edge to her voice. It was almost, but not quite, fear. "You know you can't beat me. Your scheme to corrupt my daughter failed. Now you're trying to corrupt me. You think if you act innocent, helpless, that I'll spare you. That I'll let you go free to kill again."

Juleka said nothing.

"I've hunted hundreds of you monsters," went on Lavaillant, and now Juleka knew what it was she was hearing in the old fanatic's voice. It was uncertainty. Perhaps even doubt. "I've seen what you do to humans. I've seen how you treat us. As your prey, your food, your slaves! I know that none of you are innocent!"

She was scared, Juleka realized. Scared that she might have made mistakes. Scared to think, for the first time, that maybe some of the monsters she'd murdered hadn't deserved it. After all, she'd raised her daughter to be a zealot for the cause, and once upon a time--before meeting Juleka, before learning that half her classmates were technically inhuman--Rose had truly believed that monsters were nothing more than a bunch of creatures who spent their time planning to eat, enslave, or torment humans. Juleka knew this because Rose had confessed it to her, assuring her all the while that if Juleka hated her because of the things she'd used to believe, she would understand.

(Of course, Juleka knew Rose wasn't responsible for being indoctrinated. And even beyond that, she would never hate Rose. She could never hate Rose. She would sooner die than hate Rose...)

But while Rose had believed those things, she had changed. She'd come to see that those anti-monster views were themselves wrong and evil. And Rose was no dummy; Juleka was acutely aware that Rose was smarter than her in so many ways, and surely her own mother knew how bright the girl was. So if Rose--who had seen all the evidence presented by the paladins, who had been raised since birth to know that monsters were evil, who had cheered on her mother and father as they went on hunts to track down all manner of 'evil' monsters--now rejected those views, maybe that was because those views were wrong.

Maybe some monsters didn't deserve to be killed.

And maybe Mr. and Mrs. Lavaillant had killed some of those monsters who didn't deserve to be killed.

"You're wrong," whispered Juleka. "Some of us are innocent. And I think you know that, Mrs. Lavailllant."

The woman froze as the words hit home, and for a second Juleka allowed herself to hope that it was over. That the woman would stop.

But then Mrs. Lavaillant hissed, in a voice almost frantic with the struggle to push away doubt, "No. You did something to Rose, you bewitched her, you ensnared her. It doesn't matter! I have a holy duty to put an end to your evil!" The point of her dagger began to push at Juleka's battered body. "Even if you corrupted my daughter, I will cure her, and--"

"No," said Juleka. "I didn't corrupt her. I would rather die."

"Anyone can say that," growled Mrs. Lavaillant. Now the dagger was piercing Juleka's body; it would slide into her heart in a second or two. "But you're a monster. You might say you rather die than corrupt her, but--"

"What is it," Juleka asked, "That you think I'm doing?"

Mrs. Lavaillant met her gaze, and Juleka could tell the exact moment she understood.

Juleka and Mrs. Lavaillant had both begged Rose to take their side in good conscience. Rose had refused, saying she would never kill either of them, not under any circumstances. That was her decision, and Juleka would accept it. But what if she didn't? If Juleka hammed it up, screaming in pain and yelling that Rose would help her if she truly loved her, maybe Rose would change her mind. Maybe she could pressure Rose into attacking or killing her mother just to keep Juleka alive. It would break Rose in body and spirit, it would leave the girl a battered wreck who would never again know happiness, but if Juleka were willing to do that--to corrupt Rose to save her own life--she could certainly try.

But she wouldn't. Because she loved Rose, and if the price of keeping Rose sane and whole was dying, Juleka would pay it.

And Mrs. Lavaillant knew that, Juleka could tell. Rose's mother knew, in that moment, that Juleka cared for her daughter more than she herself did. Because after all, if Mrs. Lavaillant were the one on the ground and Juleka were about to kill her? Mrs. Lavaillant would say anything she could think of to force her daughter to kill Juleka. To sacrifice her daughter's sanity to keep herself alive. No, not quite. To keep her crusade alive.

Something seemed to break behind Mrs. Lavaillant's eyes, and Juleka knew that the woman would never be able to think of herself without drowning in self-loathing and hate.

But that wouldn't save her, so Juleka again leaned back and waited for the crazy woman on top of her to act. The knife wriggled deeper, towards her heart, and--

"HOLD PERSON!"

Mrs. Lavaillant's body suddenly went perfectly still as a strange light, so holy it felt like it was burning at Juleka's eyes, enveloped it.

Juleka froze, unbelieving. That voice had sounded like Rose, but it couldn't be. Luka had been keeping track as they got to the hill and saw Rose trying to resist the other paladins. Rose had used up all of her magic. And even if Rose had truly kept one spell in reserve, why wait until now? Why not cast it when Juleka had first asked for help?

Slowly, gingerly, she carefully lifted the immobilized paladin off of her, wincing as the blade withdrew from her chest. Then she turned, and gasped.

Rose had, indeed, cast the spell. She was down on the ground, with one hand extended, still glowing with bright holy magic. But that hand... it was pinned to the ground, Juleka saw, by Rose's dagger. Which she was holding with her other hand.

And then she couldn't help but think back to that lecture Jalil had given the mystery gang on holy magic, the one Alix had insisted he give back when they'd first learned Rose's secret, and when the ever-wary Chloe had insisted they learn how to fight paladins just in case.

"Paladins are so zealous," Jalil said as he leaned back in his chair, "That they'll even sacrifice their own flesh and blood if needed to defeat their targets. In fact, some very devout paladins have what's called a 'Spirit Cast' ability. Sort of a 'cast from hit points' mechanic for real life. By injuring themselves, they can draw from their own life force to cast a spell they wouldn't otherwise have the magic to cast. Of course, then they die sooner, but hey, if that means killing Count Chocula or whoever they're fighting this week, they don't mind." He shut the book. "Crazy, huh?"

"Rose, no," whispered Juleka as the girl stiffened and then gave a hacking cough which sprayed drops of blood on the grass. But then Rose seemed to steel herself, withdrew her dagger from her hand, and then walked to them. She helped Juleka up. "Rose..." Juleka whispered. "You shouldn't--"

"It's done," said Rose in a tiny voice.

"But how much of your life...?"

Rose shrugged and then spoke in a voice which attempted to sound disinterested but failed to hide her horror. "Hard to tell, but... I'm young, it's not a very big spell... not too much. Maybe."

Maybe wasn't good enough, and Juleka was already thinking of how she would threaten Jalil into telling her how they could reverse the effects. Maybe there was some kind of spirit transfusion? Juleka had eternal life, if there was some way to give some to Rose... well, besides the obvious and unacceptable method of turning her...

Then she heard Rose looking at her mother. "I love you," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. But I... I'm not coming home, Mom. And if you attack my friends again, if you attack anyone else who doesn't deserve it, I'll help them." She touched her free hand to the horrible wound in her other hand. "The exact same way I did this time. With Spirit Cast. So if you love me... leave us alone."

And that was that. She moved to Juleka's side, and the two began heading away into the darkness.

——

The others were gone, but that didn't surprise or upset Juleka. By all appearances she had looked trapped, and if anyone had stayed to save her, that person could have gotten killed too. They'd all agreed going in not to risk the whole party for one of them--that none of them would want the guilt of knowing the others had gotten killed in a doomed rescue attempt--and Juleka was glad they'd agreed.

But that didn't mean they hadn't left something for her. Juleka soon noticed the paper charm pinned to a tree, and the note on it. "Attach to door," she read. "I think there's a cabin about half a mile that way. Come on, Rose."

Rose followed, silently, and Juleka draped an arm over the girl. Her broken rib and other wounds still hurt--that stupid spell Mr. Lavaillant had cast which prevented her vampire regeneration still hadn't worn off, apparently--but she could walk, and that was all that mattered. More than he could say, anyways; last she'd seen of him, Chloe had snapped his lower leg in her jaws.

They reached the cabin. Juleka slapped Alix's portal charm on the door, then smashed it open, and they walked right through to Alix's house. "We're here," said Juleka, removing the charm and shutting the door behind them. "Rose, you--"

And then Rose burst into wailing tears as she fell into Juleka's arms.

Juleka froze for a moment. But then she gently sat down with Rose and held her while she cried.

When Juleka came back to herself, she wasn't sure how much time had passed.

She was still lying on the couch in the Kubdel family's comfortable, homey living room, and Rose Lavaillant was still next to her, embracing Juleka so tightly that not even Nora Cesaire could have pried them apart. Of course, Juleka was hugging Rose just as tightly herself. After the night they'd had, Juleka decided, they deserved hugs.

Someone had draped a warm, thick blanket over them and tucked pillows under their heads. Juleka sniffed the pillows and blanket, and her eyes widened slightly as she detected a hint of Chloe's perfume. So the werewolf was the one who had seen them and bustled over to tuck them in, she thought. That was somehow fitting.

From the kitchen came the familiar smell of molokhia, that Egyptian stew Alix and Jalil were always eating which was said to have been the favored food of the Pharaohs and which Jalil claimed boosted his 'vast magical prowess to even greater heights.' The smell was hours old; whoever had fixed dinner had already eaten and left without disturbing the girls. 

But there were two large bowls of the stew on the coffee table next to the couch, and affixed to the rim of each bowl was a little paper charm which Juleka knew would magically keep the meals hot and fresh for as long as needed until the girls woke. Besides the bowls were a few pages written in Alya's neat script, presumably any important information the girls had missed while they were unconscious. And surrounding the couch and table were Luka's wards, of such complexity and power it must have taken him over an hour to craft them, but which would keep the two safe from almost any conceivable hostile force which might want to smash in and hurt them.

The vampire let the faintest of smiles touch her lips. It was good to have friends.

"Juleka?" she heard. She looked down to see Rose lifting her head a little. "You're still here." She sounded relieved. Like she'd really been worried Juleka would have abandoned her after seeing the true monstrosity of her parents.

"I'll always be here," said Juleka, and now it was her that was starting to cry. "For as long as you want me."

"Oh, Juleka!" Rose squeezed her. "I am so, so sorry..."

Juleka shook her head. "No," she whispered. "Rose, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're not responsible for what your parents did."

Rose shook her head sadly. "I thought... when I heard what they were going to do to Sabrina, that was the first thing I thought. That when I told you, then you'd know how evil my whole family was, and you'd hate us..."

"I could never hate you," insisted Juleka, the words rough with emotion. "Rose, you went against your family to save Sabrina... and me, when your mother knocked me down. Even though I don't deserve it. I--"

"Don't say that!" said Rose, and Juleka jolted, because she hadn't thought the exhausted girl had so much strength and force in her. "Don't ever say that! Juleka, you are beautiful and precious and perfect, and you deserve anything I can give you!" She squeezed the goth tighter. "And you're not creepy or dumb or those other things you said during the fight either. You're wonderful, Juleka."

Juleka couldn't explain why, but the words were warmer and more soothing than the thick blanket on top of them. "I... thank you, Rose."

Rose wriggled a bit so that she could lift her head and meet Juleka's eyes. "But I wasn't just apologizing for my parents," she said. "I was kind of a jerk when I first told you about me, I know..."

-

Juleka strained futilely against the thick vines and cursed whatever demonic thought had convinced her to bring Rose to the distant corner of the Bois de Vincennes park just to confess her love. Everything had gone perfectly--the picnicking, the swimming, the birdwatching--but right when Juleka had been about to say the magic words, the forest sprite had popped up and began ranting about being disturbed. And now they were both being strung up by vines while the sprite talked about eating them.

"I'll start with the tall one," the sprite giggled as she hauled a thick cooking pot out of the ground. "And then the blond one for dessert! Hee! Trespassers make the best meal!"

"Rose, shut your eyes," whispered Juleka. If she used her vampire strength she might be able to break free and--

But then she heard Rose say, in a bright, powerful voice that radiated even more confidence than usual, "No, Juleka. I can do this."

And then, to her astonishment, she heard Rose yell "Smite evil!"

And the sprite...

Was smited.

A bright light burst from nowhere, hot enough to burn at Juleka, and the sprite went tumbling away. Then Rose was ripping free of the vines and taking some kind of sigil out of her pocket. "Summon sword!" she called, and a gigantic sword that vibrated with holy energy appeared in her hand. "Bind spirit!" Magical chains of light appeared around the sprite's limbs. "You will never harm another innocent human, fiend!"

"No!" the sprite pleaded as she thrashed. "Please, holy paladin, I didn't know!"

Rose kept approaching the sprite, sword point aimed squarely at her nose. A sharp, thick root suddenly sprang up towards Rose, tip sharp and glistening with what had to be poison, but Rose easily chopped it off with a single sweep of her sword. "Please!" the sprite yelled. "Mercy, o paladin!"

Juleka was gaping as Rose reached the monster and seemed to hesitate. "I will not kill you," she said at last. "I... I don't like killing."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" the sprite yelled.

"But I will banish you back to your realm. No more will you lie in wait to eat humans." Rose sketched some kind of sigil in the ground with her holy sword, then chanted something in Latin. That bizarre, hot light flashed again, and then the spirit was gone, teleported back to the fairy world.

The vines surrounding Juleka unraveled and the vampire dropped to the ground. "Rose," she managed. "What are..."

But she trailed off, because the blond had turned and was smiling brightly. "Juleka! You're okay! Yay!" And then she was flinging aside her sword to hug the goth.

Normally, Rose felt warm to Juleka. But now everything felt cold.

Distantly she heard Rose telling her everything: that the Lavaillants were a family of paladins tracing all the way back to Ancient Rome, that she'd been trained since birth to fight evil monsters, that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone but she was happy Juleka had found out because she hated keeping secrets from her best friend, and so on. And at the end she'd said something which had chilled Juleka to the core.

"Don't worry about this ever happening again," she had said sweetly. "I'll protect you. I'll smite any monsters that get anywhere near our class."

-

"You didn't know any better," Juleka insisted. "You thought all monsters were evil. Your parents filled your head with that garbage. Even then, you made a point of never killing anything! And as soon as you learned otherwise you changed your mind."

"But--"

"No buts!" insisted Juleka. "Rose. I judged you worse than you judged me. I was terrified you'd learn the truth and that you'd hate me, want to kill me for being an unholy monster." She sighed. "I was a real idiot when you learned about me."

—

"Stupid fucking sentimonster!" Juleka shouted in rage. "Go away already!"

But the sentimonster, a sort of zombie-bear like thing half again as tall as Juleka, didn't go away. And Ladybug and Chat Noir were off fighting an Akuma; they probably didn't even know about the sentimonster that had gotten split off and stuck in the school. Which meant that it was up to an already-exasperated Juleka to keep it away from her classmates.

"Help!" Alya pleaded as she limped away; the monster had twisted her ankle. "Help, it--"

Juleka saw the bear rear up and slash Alya, claws raking bloody lines across the journalist's back, and something in the vampire snapped.

She rocketed forwards, using all her vampire strength and speed to slam into the bear and drive it back despite its massive size. Then she began pounding and biting at it, aware her eyes were red and her fangs were showing but not caring about anything besides shutting down yet another of that idiot Hawkmoth's attempts to traumatize the city into surrender. "Die!" yelled Juleka as she punched the sentimonster so hard one of its arms flew off. It staggered backwards into a classroom window, head bonking on the glass. "Die already!"

And then it did. Juleka dealt it a massive hit that knocked off its head, and it crumbled. Juleka was left standing there, red eyes flashing, fangs out...

And she slowly realized that Rose was on the other side of the glass window. Rose, who had been so happy recently because now she had someone to talk to about her weird paladin training, all the hours of sword practice, and armor-polishing, and chanting rituals. Rose, who hadn't seemed to notice the twinges of fear Juleka suffered every time she thought Rose might learn of her monstrous nature. Sweet Rose, whom Juleka wanted only to love her even if their natures made it impossible.

Rose, who was now gaping at her.

"No," whispered Juleka. "No, no, no..."

A wave of ladybugs swept over them. The damage the Sentimonster created was gone. But Rose was still staring, and Juleka was still vampiric.

The goth turned and fled even as Rose called out behind her.

-

"It wasn't your fault," whispered Rose. "I'd said I fought monsters. It was my fault you were scared."

"Then you being scared of me, of vampires, wasn't yours," said Juleka. "It was your parents. And, okay, maybe me looking a little... feral... when you saw me that time."

Rose giggled at that, and Juleka somehow felt herself laughing too. Despite everything, they were alive, they were together, and they were in love. That was worth some joy.

"I guess we must have looked pretty silly when we met after that sentimonster," Rose said at last. "In the street."

Juleka nodded. She'd fled from school that day and taken roads at random, not knowing where to go or if Rose would be there. Unknown to her, Rose had been doing the same, horrified not at having revealed her identity to a vampire, but of having given Juleka reason to fear her. They'd run into each other, almost literally, on the bank of the Seine. And Juleka had prepared to flee again--until Rose had dropped down and begged forgiveness for the horrible things she'd said about hunting monsters. "I know you're not evil, Juleka," she had said. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please don't hate me."

And Juleka had made herself approach. "Hate?" she'd whispered. "I couldn't hate you. Even if you stabbed me I couldn't hate you. I thought you'd be scared of me now."

"I can't," Rose had said. "I know you too well. Whatever my parents say. You... you're not evil."

And so they'd talked, for a long time, slowly opening up... but Juleka hadn't been able to hide that cold little nugget of fear. That this was a paladin trap, or worse, pity, a few scraps of affection for a monster that didn't really merit them but was just so pathetic, so wretched, that Rose couldn't help but engage in a little emotional charity. Rose, Juleka now knew, had felt similarly towards Juleka's love for her, wondering how it was the vampire could love the paladin who had grown up hating all magical creatures. They'd been terrified, each hoping that the other loved her despite their inherent natures, and each fearing it wouldn't be the case.

In the weeks that followed they'd cautiously extended their alliance, slowly growing more comfortable with each other. Juleka had already told the mystery gang of Rose's secret hobby; when she told them that she was friends with Rose again, they'd reacted with varying degrees of astonishment, ranging from Luka's mild warning to let him know if she needed help or support, to Chloe swearing that she'd be ready to wolf out and eat Rose's face off if Rose did anything wrong. Rose had even helped Juleka foil a couple of her parents' plans to hurt magical creatures who didn't deserve it. And then there was that final call, Rose's tear-laden voice explaining what was about to happen to Sabrina, swearing she hadn't known, preemptively apologizing in case they didn't believe her, and begging for help in saving their friend...

"I love you," said Rose, interrupting Juleka's reverie. "You're smart, and sensitive, and pretty, and an amazing friend... I mean, you fought an army of paladins to save Sabrina and me. And more than that you trusted me." Juleka could feel the tears pooling in Rose's eyes and spilling down onto her shirt. "Once I knew what my parents were doing I wasn't sure if you'd ever trust me again. Most people wouldn't. They'd have abandoned me just in case I was on their side, to be safe. But you knew my heart... and you risked your life to save me. So don't call yourself monstrous or stupid or anything like that again, Juleka! You're not any of those things!"

Juleka was taken aback, and to her own surprise she found that she was starting to believe Rose. Maybe her mistakes, her fears... maybe if Rose thought they were insignificant, if they weren't really her, then maybe they truly didn't matter. "Okay," she said at last. "But on one condition."

"What?"

"You don't blame yourself for your mistakes either," said Juleka. "Rose, you abandoned your family, the people who raised you, to save my life. You sacrificed everything you ever had for me. You literally cut out some of your own life force to save me, a person you'd been taught your whole life was only fit to be destroyed... and you did it out of love." She gently stroked a few strands of hair off of Rose's cheek. "And that's on top of how you're kind to everyone, you cheer everyone up, you work so hard on everything you put your mind to... and you're the most beautiful girl in the world. So don't you ever, ever think I could hate you. There's too much good in you, Rose." She cuddled her girlfriend closer. "Deal?"

"Deal," said Rose.

The two fell silent again. Eventually, Juleka knew, they'd have to get up and figure out their next steps. Rose would need to live somewhere, and Juleka probably wouldn't be able to go home until the paladins were known to no longer be a threat--she couldn't risk them storming the boat and attacking her mother. They'd also have to figure out what to do with poor Sabrina, the changeling one--the one they knew and cared about--who surely couldn't go home to her father now.

But for the moment, that didn't matter.

It was enough to just savor each other's love.

#paladin rose au #they said when they finished I could spot the story to tumblr #so I’m splitting this up into bits #you can read the entire story here with the paladin rose tag #I fucking love this story I’m so honored/grateful/happy that it came from my au it means so much #so yeah #now you guys can read it too it’s pretty fuckin dope

[whump-tr0pes]

The end of the Vera Series

So... I didn’t exactly expect to finish the series this week, but... holy shit. It’s done.

It feels like being done with an ordeal, honestly. When I started out I thought ‘this will be so easy to write, it’s nothing but whump and torture, yay!!!’ Turns out it was the hardest thing I’ve written to date. I put down line after line for myself that I swore I wouldn’t cross, and yet I crossed them. I thought there was no way I could go to the depths of evil that I reached with Vera. In a way it’s been cathartic. I exorcised quite a few demons through her. In other ways, it just hurt.

I’m so glad I wrote out Vera’s captivity. Not only did I get to know her more as a person, I also had the opportunity to coordinate a reveal in two separate story lines. (The Ryan Reveal will remain one of the coolest events of my life, no one can change my mind.) I got the opportunity to figure out how to effectively retcon a character into a narrative that was very straightforward and had little room for artistic liberties. I got to know Joseph in a way I never wanted to. I’m so fucking glad Vera killed him that way.

I’ve never killed a non-villain in a story before, and for the sake of spoilers I’m not going to say whether I’m ever going to do it again. Killing Ryan (even though he was literally made to be killed) was so fucking hard and I actually considered figuring out a way to keep him alive. Cue @sableflynn‘s Road Trip AU, and Ryan and Vera live happily ever after as weird friends. It was a great challenge and I loved to hate every minute of it.

I will be publishing Vera. I need a break from it, and I won’t even start that process until after I’ve published Honor Bound 2. I decided it made more sense to publish the story with the mystery of what happened first, and then solve that mystery with the prequel. Vera will be offered more as a companion to the Honor Bound series than anything else. I’m hoping to have it out by winter of this year. 

I’m thinking about doing more stories of this nature. I think Vera’s is definitely the longest, but the next backstory I’d be interested in writing is Isaac’s, in three parts: his happy childhood until his father dies, his abusive life with his mother, and a look at his second family who maybe never loved him at all, and instead saw an orphan they could train to be their bodyguard. Might throw in some of the year he was alone, working on his own. I’m not sure if it’ll happen, but I’m thinking about it. Ellis is the other main option. That’s a bit more sticky due to the nature of their trauma, but I’ve hinted a few times at Ellis’s dark past and I might want to look at that a little more closely than in just the flashbacks that’ll come with HB3.

Speaking of Honor Bound 3...

I said a few days ago that I’ll be going out of town next week. I’m posting two chapters for Honor Bound 2 on Friday and Saturday before I have to take a week off. Next Saturday, I’ll be posting everyone’s predictions. Next Sunday is when the escape plan gets kicked off, and I’ll keep posting normally after that.

Just know that I’m not abandoning the story! Just taking some much-needed R&R in the mountains. 

Once Honor Bound 2 is done, I’ll be sending it to @kyliebean-editing (I cannot stop mentioning her or singing her praises, she is seriously amazing. Sorry, Kylie, for yet another mention XD). I’ll also be starting Honor Bound 3 at the same time. (I won’t be starting another story simultaneously this time. It was fun but something I don’t want to do again.) Editing Honor Bound 1 while writing Honor Bound 2 was honestly so helpful in crafting the story and guiding the narrative, as well as refamiliarizing myself with the material. I think it’ll do the same thing again. 

Thank you so much for staying with me through this story. I know it got rough at times, but I’m so grateful for those of you who came on this journey with Vera and experienced her captivity with her. 

#honor bound #honor bound 2 #honor bound 3 #Vera series #holy fucking shitballs #the Ryan Reveal

[deliverydefresas]

masters of the scene

I know this is super shocking bc this is probs the soonest (?) ive posted between parts lmao 

I did want to hurry things up before saturday, tho, so here we have it, friendsss. if you’ve missed a part: 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

AU: Matteo Balsano is a famous singer who has been crushing on this one girl he saw every day behind a window many years ago, back when he first started recording his debut album and inspired his first big hit, “Princesa”. Luna Valente, professional Olympic skater turned actress is at a local (and very popular) talk show to promote her breakout movie. This is where it all starts.

BREAKING: OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST SAYS GOODBYE TO SKATING 

SOL BENSON, 24, recently known for her role as skating legend Marissa Mint in “SHATTERED WINGS”, announced this morning she wouldn’t return to training, or to any competition as a participant again. The announcement was posted on all her social media accounts, reading: “I can proudly say it’s time. Today, a new chapter in my life begins. I’m officially retiring from professional skating.”

Benson also took the chance to thanks her fans, saying: “The last ten years have been an unforgettable experience. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to thank everyone who has been by my side helping, supporting, and cheering on me on this journey. I’ve done everything I could and wanted, and I hope you’re all as proud of me as I am of myself and the accomplishments we’ve done. I love you all very much.” The now ex-skater didn’t specify why she was leaving, but she affirmed it wasn’t anything but a personal choice: “I know many of you are shocked, or confused as to why I’m doing this now, that’s the reason I want to point out it’s not because of my health or a change of careers, as I know some might be thinking. Simply, this is me acknowledging my heart’s desires.”

Opinions and critics were instantaneous from the fans.

@ Sol_Benson: Thank you. pic.tw.com/3747829

          @ solnation: @ Sol_Benson please tell me this is an early april fools joke I’m crying

          @ sol_fan73937: @ Sol_Benson THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT, THIS IS NOT WHAT I PLANNED, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY I DO NOT UNDERSTAND

          @ SolMiReina56: @ Sol_Benson on one hand I’m happy you’re doing this in your terms but on the other I just want to scream whAT THE FORK BENSON

Benson’s famous friends, however, showed nothing but support for her.

@ Simon_RB: today the sun goes down and the moon rises! So proud of you @ Sol_Benson

@ JimM: Working with you, one of the greatest skaters of our time, was a privilege. Being your friend, and share all these memories, is an honor. Your talent will shine bright like your soul no matter what ♥ @ Sol_Benson  

@ TheAmbarSmith: An absolute star. @ Sol_Benson

The news broke amid rumors of the skating star dating Italian heartthrob, Matteo Balsano, leading some fans and theorist that her new relationship was linked to her decision.

@ SolecitoDeMadrugada: I don’t wanna start sh*t here, folks, but Sol said she’s acknowledging ‘her heart’s desires’…. What if Balsano convinced her to quit????

@ SolBonita: If Matteo Balsano had anything to do with this I will cut that bitch in half just sayin’

@ soltteoforever: omg what if sol quit to form a duet with matteo???!!! #relationshipgoals

@ elbalsanito: if y’all really think MATTEO BALSANO would make his two minute long girlfriend quit her career for him y’all are batsh*t crazy don’t even look at me

So far Benson and her team have offered no comment to the critics, choosing silence over explanations, and only time will tell what she’s planned for herself next.

Is this really her end in skating? Will she approach a musical career with her beau? For more Sol Benson, click here!

He was a coward.

And an idiot.

An idiotic coward, really, because he hung up on her as fast as his brain and hand could do it. He could’ve lied, told her it was only a guessing. Or he could’ve come clean about his stalker-ish ways and freak her out. Or come clean and skip the stalker-ish ways. But, no, he’d hung up and now when she saw him she’d demand an explanation and probably give him crap for hanging up on her and then creating a lame excuse as to why.

Because so far, he could only come up with his phone dying in that exact moment and him forgetting to call her back. For two weeks.

Again, an idiotic coward he was.  

“Are you listening to me, Matteo?” he’d been lost in his thoughts again, unsurprisingly. It was something he’d been repeating lately, and usually blamed it on him ‘mentally’ writing his songs. Sometimes, it was the truth; but most of the time it was an excuse to get Gastón and his mom off his back. Today was Delfi’s turn at enduring this lost lapse. “Matteo! This is a serious matter, you dick!” he’d laugh at the insult if it weren’t for her aggravated look. He was used to the annoyed, yet knowing look of his friend and his birther, but Delfi looked nothing but stressed. “Can you focus on what I’m telling you?”

Matteo threw her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Delfi. I was just-”

“I don’t even want to hear it! I just need to listen to me and tell me what the fuck is happening between you and Sol Benson!” Well, shit. She was even cursing now.

“What do you mean?” he asked, genuinely confused now. Delfi knew better than anyone that he wasn’t dating, and even if he was, she never cared about it before. His manager sighed exasperated, throwing a newspaper across the table, pointing to him to read it.

The sole headline was enough to make his blood run cold.

“Read it till the end.”

“She’s retiring?” Matteo couldn’t believe it. A million questions came to his head as he read the article, ‘why’ being the loudest. “I just- what?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care about her, Matteo.” She sighed again, passing her fingers through her head. “What I do care about is that they’re mentioning you as the responsible.” Delfi raised her hand when he opened his mouth to protest. “I know you aren’t. And I’d like to think a woman like her is strong enough to not let an idiot like you convince her to give up her career. However, this is bad because you’ll be crossed as a chauvinistic pig, and could seriously hurt the image the older fans have of you. We need to counterattack, fast, and I need you to tell me just exactly how close you are to Sol.”

“What for?” He was getting defensive, and Delfi could tell so, too. She softened her look.

“This is not about you being a heartthrob, Matt. This is about people judging you wrongly-”

“Are you listening to yourself? They already judge me wrongly!” Delfi pursed her lips.

“Okay, bad wording. Still, we can’t let them think you’re that kind of person either.”

“Can’t you talk to Gastón about it? Maybe he can-”

“We agreed to break the contract with most of the magazines and the heartthrob stories, but you can’t just sue someone for linking you as someone’s boyfriend. If this was an article solely about you, we could make an agreement with them but since it’s about her-”

Matteo frowned. “Can’t you talk about it with her team? You said you knew them, maybe you can work on something together-” Now she looked offended.

“What do you think I’m doing? This is why I citied you here, we’re meeting them in ten minutes to discuss it! And first I needed your stupid ass to explain your situation to me so we could have some ground but all you’ve done is daydream about God knows what!”

“Wait, what?!” he looked down at his sweatpants, and the semi-sweated t-shirt he’d worn to go to gym before the meeting, and he just knew his hair was a dishevel mess. He hadn’t even bothered with his contacts, so his glasses were stuck on his head unless he wanted to be as blind as a mole. He’d thought he’d only be meeting Delfi, and now- “she’s not coming, is she?”

“Who is ‘she’?” Delfi air-quoted, not getting why he was getting freaked out.

“Luna – Sol, she isn’t coming, right?”

Delfi scoffed. “Of course, she is! This is all about her, why wouldn’t she be here?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he almost whined, jumping out of his chair to get his gym bag, and spray the shit out of his deodorant on his body. He didn’t have any hair gel, so his hair had to stay the same. He was really regretting not taking the time to fully showering before coming.

“Oh, so now you care about how you look at meetings?” He didn’t answer her, still busy with his gym bag. He was sure he had mints buried somewhere. “I take that you like this girl?” Matteo said nothing, but nodded the slightest. “I know the rumors aren’t true right now, but I really need you to tell me if you think they will. The earliest Gastón and I can come up with counterattacks to protect your privacy and hers, the better. Especially since her contract with her team will drop soon.” Delfi asked, her tone a lot softer and less teasing. She’d taken his wishes seriously, and he was very grateful about it. He was in good hands if shit ever hit the fan.

Matteo dropped his bag, and sighed a quiet ‘yes’. And then turned to her, louder this time, “I don’t want anything hurtful, insulting or degrading to be said about her. The less she’s mentioned, the better. If it means we must re-sign with them, and have them write me off as a playboy, then so be it. But not a bad word about her, Delfi.”  

She smiled, her words comforting him a little. “If it’s in my hands both of you will be protected. Now, go tame your hair before your little star runs away from seeing it and turns into stone, medusa-boy.”

She was this close to picking up her phone.

The urge of checking her phone was eating her up but Luna was trying her best to avoid any type of interaction with social media in the last two nights, but it was proving to be harder than she imagined. After the news were out in the open she’d turned everything off; her phone, laptop, and tablet, burying them deep in one of Nina’s photography drawers so she wouldn’t be tempted to read her fan’s comments, or the articles magazines and newspapers were publishing on the web.

When her team called her early in the morning for a meeting, though, she knew something else had happened. They’d already discussed everything related to her retirement, and weren’t meant for another meeting for another three weeks, when she’d sign the remaining papers to break most of her commitments and contracts, with only the bigger ones left until she could find another lawyer outside of her management. Not that she didn’t trust them, but Mariano was more a “making business only” instead of “breaking business” type of lawyer.

“Still no news from Tamara?” She asked Nina beside her. Nina shook her head.

“She said she’d be meeting us there, to ask for Alzamendi and to not talk until Mariano and she were present.”

“Alzamendi?” She repeated, “does that sound familiar to you?”

“I think I might have an idea.” Nina admitted. Luna looked expectantly at her, urging her to tell her. “Pedro’s girlfriend, Delfina Alzamendi, is a head manager here.”

She frowned. “But she’s in the entertainment business, not in sports. Why would she cite us here?” Her eyes widened, “you don’t think…”

Nina shook her head rapidly. “No, no, no. Tamara’s better than that, she knows you don’t want to enter acting, she wouldn’t do that to you. I was thinking more that maybe one of Delfina’s clients could be involved.”

“But why would Ámbar contact me vía my manager? She has our house number, and Simón’s and yours.” Nina looked at her funny, confusing her. “What?”

“I’m not talking about Ámbar, L. I think this is about Matteo.”

His name made her scowl. She still hadn’t forgiven him for hanging up on her without an explanation, or a goodbye, and the guy had sent her to voice mail after she tried calling him back.

“He has my number too.” Not that he cared to use it again. Boys were stupid.

By now Nina looked amused, but grimaced after a moment. “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

“Seen what?”

Nina took her phone out of her purse, typed in her code and opened her phone’s browser. She was about to protest when she saw her type ‘sol benson matteo balsano’, but was quietened when Nina clicked on an article about Matteo being the reason she was retiring from skating.

“This. It started the morning you posted the news on Twitter and a fan replied saying you meant Matteo when you said you were following your heart. I think that’s why Delfina wants to talk to you and Tamara, because Matteo wasn’t left in the best position. People are crossing him as a controlling chauvinist.”

Luna was feeling dizzy. She had meant for the news to affect her only, but now she was dragging Matteo too. “People are saying this?”

“Mostly your fans, and uninvited activists, but yes.”

“He must hate me now, Nina.” She groaned, hiding her face with her hands. By now they were almost by the entrance desk, and a few of the people there stared her way.

“He couldn’t even if he tried, Luna, don’t worry.” Her friend cooed, squeezing her hand in comfort.

“His manager contacted mine, Nina. People don’t do that unless they’re strangers or you hate the other person.”

“I think you’re exaggerating a bit.”

“He at least has to be mad. If anyone said I’m the reason they’re quitting their career I’d be too.”

“Maybe, but not mad at you. The people saying this are mostly gossipers and fans you have no control over, Luna, don’t worry.” She nodded a couple times, trying to calm herself and the unnecessary guilt she was feeling in that moment.

When she finally felt calm enough, she dragged her feet to the lady behind the desk, asking her politely where she was supposed to go. The lady’s eyes shone with recognition, before asking her who she was meeting with; as soon as she said ‘Alzamendi’, the woman’s grin could have rivaled the Cheshire cat.

“Miss Alzamendi and Mr. Balsano are waiting in room 7. Go straight that hallway and turn left on the first corner, it should be easy to spot it, the numbers are big enough; they’re still waiting for Mr. Périda, and your team, though. Is there anything I can get you both to drink? We have black coffee – black, decaf, with milk, vanilla latte and moka, tea – chamomile, green, lemon ginger and berry sangria, hot chocolate – sweet, bitter, Spanish, Mexican, white and raw, lemonades – strawberry, mango and mint, sodas-”

Luna blinked a couple times, surprised that a) they had so many options and b) they made their receptionist learn all of them.

“Uh, do you have water?” Nina asked, interrupting the woman before she went on to list all their available sodas. The receptionist shut up immediately, pursing her lips at Nina for a second before nodding, then she looked at her, expectantly.

“A Mexican hot chocolate would be nice, thank you.”

“Anything to eat? We have a couple of restaurants delivered to us, if you’re hungry.” Before she could refuse, Tamara’s voice was heard behind them.

“Luna!” She smiled politely at her manager, nodding in greeting to Mariano. “I’ll have a latte and the sir will have black coffee, no sugar, please.” The older woman addressed the receptionist, who simply wrote it down on a little notepad. Tamara didn’t bother to thank her before she was dragging Luna – and Nina, who was grabbing her hand- towards the hallway the lady had pointed out before. “Okay, so; Matteo Balsano’s manager called me yesterday and requested to have a meeting as soon as we possibly could, that’s why I called you last minute, sorry. Are you aware of the rumors going around of you two?” Luna begrudgingly nodded, “good, I don’t have to explain it, then. Alzamendi didn’t specify why she was requesting us, but my bet is on the news hurting Balsano’s image of the perfect guy.”

“That’s what Nina told me, too.” Tamara’s eyes flickered to Nina’s.

“Good.” That’s all she said before going back to explaining. “More likely than not, they’re pissed. It could be the boy, it could be his manager, it could be the label. Or a mix of all. We already broke all magazine deals, so there’s not much we can offer to clean his name. We’re betting on his team acting up and choosing to clean it up themselves, while praying they don’t leave you dirty at all. Mariano can make up an agreement with his lawyer to even out and make it fair for both.”

“Do you think Matteo’s capable of going as far as dirtying up Luna’s name?” She could tell Nina was worried, and already feeling protective of her. Tamara shook her head.

“He doesn’t strike me as the type, but we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.” She told them honestly, finally stopped walking in front of a door. Before they entered, though, she looked at Luna straight on. “Listen, munchkin, when you enter that door you need to forget whatever relationship you have with the guy.” She was about to protest, but Tamara shook her head. “Just until we know where we stand. And who we stand against, okay?” She merely nodded. “Good. Are we ready?”

Matteo was sure those had been the longest – yet quickest, because he spent most of them rushing to make himself more presentable- ten minutes of his life.

The door opened, and the corner of his mouth went up at the knowing he’d see her in seconds. When she didn’t acknowledge him, the smile fell. When she sat down on one of the chairs and kept her eyes on the table, he frowned.

Was she mad at him, at the situation they were in? Was she sad? What if it hadn’t been her decision? Could that be why she looked so… not herself?

He was about to go to her when Delfi stopped him. Matteo looked at her, questioning why she’d done it, but she sent him a look that said ‘quiet’.  

“Delfina,” the woman – who was part of Luna’s team, if his guess was correct- greeted his manager, a tight smile on her face. Then she turned to him. “Mr. Balsano, nice to meet you.”

Delfi sent her a polite smile. “Tamara, Mariano, it’s always nice to see you again.” He could’ve sworn he heard the man say, ‘is it?’ under his breath. “Miss Benson, Miss Simonetti, long time no see.” Wait, she knew them?

Luna looked up from the table, throwing a quick ‘hello’ to her; her eyes flickering for the shortest time to his face, before turning down again. His frown deepened as Nina’s friend answered Delfi’s greeting, more enthusiast. “Hi, Delfi, it’s good to see you again, too. I wish it were under, uh, better circumstances, though.”

He could tell Delfina was amused at her words, if her mouth twitch was any indication. “Straight to the point, huh? Sadly, we’re waiting for Matteo’s lawyer to get here first.”

“Why isn’t he here yet?” the man asked rudely, disdain clear as water on his face. Matteo felt attacked by his tone, and jumped at Gaston’s defense.

“I’m not his only client, sorry not all of us can afford to have a clear schedule twenty-four-seven.”

Mariano raised his brows. “Ah, yes, you’re right. Real jobs keep you busy. My bad.”

Matteo scowled at him. “How would you know? You’re jobless now that your client is quitting her not so ‘real’ job, no?”

“Matteo.” Delfina warned him in a hiss, pinching his arm to keep him quiet. He noticed Luna’s blank look turning into a small grimace.

Mariano was about to retort when Luna’s manager grabbed his arm. “Don’t.” Then she turned to Delfi, “I think’s it’s for the better to start discussing the elephant in the room, sweetheart. You can always update your lawyer when he comes.”

Delfi pursed her lips at the nickname, but stood up with a nod. “Fine. I don’t think I have to explain why we’re here exactly.”

“You understand this is not Miss Benson’s fault, right? This was a matter taken out of context by their fans and the media.” The man’s tone wasn’t exactly condescending, but even Matteo felt like he was trying to teach Delfi how to do her job.

Still, Delfi remained as calm as she could. “We do, as I’m sure you understand your client’s choices shouldn’t taint my client’s image, no?”

“He’s as tainted as you can get them. Aren’t ‘playboy’, ‘heartthrob’, and ‘ladies man’ nice ways of saying man-whore?” Matteo heard small gasps around him, but he was too shocked at the insult to notice whose gasps were from. Mariano looked smug. “If anything, he is the reason they assume conclusions. If your client didn’t have the image he has, our client wouldn’t have linked to him in the first place.”

That was enough for his friend to snap. “If your client had been properly trained to do interviews without making a mess we wouldn’t be in this situation at all!”

“Those articles had died down until both your clients chose to approach ours at a public event knowing there would be photographers all over the place! How’s that for trained?”

“Enough, Mariano!” His partner shut him up. The woman had the decency of looking ashamed. Delfi and him, though? They were pissed. “I’m really sorry, guys. This is not at all what we came here for and I apologize for my-”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Tamara.” Delfi interrupted her, “he does.”

Mariano pursed his lips, but spit out the apology anyway. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved just now.” Matteo clenched his jaw, moving his gaze to Luna, who looked mad, too. At whom, though, he didn’t know.

“As you know, all our news deals are broken. We have no control, or stance to negotiate with them anymore. So-”

“So, you want us to fix it for you? Is that it? Why should we, after the stunt your team just pulled?” Matteo almost growled, his anger rolling in waves through his body.

Tamara grimaced. “I was hoping we could make an agreement. I know we-” she pointed to Mariano and herself, “-haven’t behaved as we should. But this isn’t about us only.” She looked at Luna, whose frown and pursed lips were more evident now than before.

At last, she fixated her eyes on his.

“I’m not asking you to do anything for me.”

Matteo sighed out, “Luna-”

“No. Listen, if your image-” she scowled at the word, “- is so important to you I can ask Jazmín or someone else to interview me and I’ll tell them the truth.” Matteo almost choked up. Where was she getting at?

“The truth?” Delfi repeated, expectant.

Luna’s friend looked worried, now. “Lu- Sol, please-”

She looked at him, her eyes not wavering for a moment. “Y’know, that you’re not the reason of my decision. I’m sure your fans will be shocked to hear you’re not the center of my universe.”

“Luna, plea-” Nina tried to gain her attention, but she still didn’t move her gaze from him.

“And I’m sure they’ll be glad to know we’re not dating, much less friends.”

Had he been punched? He felt himself getting his breath knocked out of him. He barely heard her friend warning her. “Luna, stop. This isn’t you talking.”  

“No, let her talk.” Matteo was proud he didn’t sound as hurt as he was feeling.

“Oh, so you’re talking to me now?” her sarcasm was throwing him off. Why was she mad about him not talking to her when she basically ignored him too? “Or do I have to wait another two weeks for you to answer me again?” Oh.

Oh.

“You’re mad abou-”

“Dude, no.” Was that…? When had Gastón arrived that he didn’t even notice? He felt his friend squeeze his shoulder, before palming it a couple times. “Don’t answer that, you’ll never win that argument.” He whispered, shaking his head in Luna’s direction. Then he turned to everyone in the room. “So, what did I miss?”

#soy luna #lutteo #luna valente #matteo balsano #my sl ff #my lutteo ff #soltteo #my sl au #queued bc uni