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goldenmagnolias · 7 months

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lost in the labyrinth of my mind

pairing: OC High Lord of Dusk x Archeron!Sister

summary: Reverie Archeron has always been different. Different in a good or bad way depends on who you asked. Now a High Fae, and with another war approaching she tries to be as helpful as she can around Velaris and with her baby nephew, but at a High Lord meeting, the countless dreams she has as a child and the feelings that are not quite hers suddenly make sense and things become something that she never could have seen coming.

masterlist / ao3

CHAPTER IX: HELIOTROPE

Reverie wondered if Ophiuchus could feel her anxiety.

She wondered how far reaching was the bond even if they hadn’t accepted it yet and part of her reprimanded herself once again for not ever asking her sisters more about mating bonds.

Surely she had read countless books, some on High Fae Culture and Customs and all kind of those things, as to not thread blindly into a new word, into this new society that she now belonged. But she barely had really come across anything relating to mating bonds. And she absolutely hated that it had never crossed her mind to look for it or even ask (And then was the whole tangent of Dusk Court being a mystery and not know off until a few hours ago and her having no idea of how it’s culture and customs worked).

She knew basics of what her sisters had commented and sprinkled in conversation. And yet nothing, nothing her sisters had said, nothing she had heard could encompass what she was feeling, nor tell her what he could be possibly tracking of those feelings.

It was warm. A warmth that very much the feeling of late dusk. Of when the daylight begins to give out into the darkness, when the world is held into a limbo. The warmth when the temperature begins to drop. Of walking barefoot on marble floors. Of reading a book while bundled up in wool blankets. That cozy warm feeling.

It was Opium poppies mixed with strawberries and sandalwood, all mixed up.

It was a soft song, a melody that soothed her bones and her mind, all the same.

It was the male that sat beside her, nothing but polite, sweet and kind to her. Who’s patient to listen to her and mindful enough to ask.

Still, all that didn’t change the fact that she could feel her heart hammering away. As her mind rushed around overthinking, as it often did.

Thoughts of the customs she didn’t know and would have to learn as to not offend him or his court.

Of what expectations and rules would be placed upon her.

Of what he would expect from her

Of what dusk probably looked like.

Of if was to leave with him to dusk now.

Of wondering if he would be kind like he’s being now or if he would change. if they’d have a companionship and friendship like her sisters had with their mates or if she would be fated for a relationship like mother and father.

“Reverie?” She hears her voice and blinks turning her head and finding silver eyes looking at her. Eyes that are definitely worried.

“Forgive me… I got lost in my head.” Reverie says, her cheeks flushing.

Damn it, Reverie. First impressions matter and you’re making a fool of yourself.

“No one will blame you if you’re overwhelmed.” Ophiuchus says, and his eyes seem to be tracing her face, searching.

Reverie merely nods her head, her hands moving back to her lap, clasping them together. “I-…” she trails off before breathing in, gathering her thoughts, “I assume you wish for me to accompany you back to Dusk.”

“Yes…” Ophiuchus says, nodding slightly, and Reverie can hear the caution on his tone, even though her eyes focus on the way a stray curl of midnight black hair, moves falling on his forehead, “yet even though I do wish that. It is your choice.”

Choice.

That’s not something she’s that used to having, to yielding. Her life has been more of a series of things falling into place and her getting comfortable with the circumstances, her adapting herself to wherever she was and what she felt it was needed.

“Oh…” she can’t help but letting out, in fact she doesn’t even notices she does so until she is hearing herself verbally reacting.

And her mind… her treacherous mind, and the thoughts of doubt and wariness that her old hag of a mother instilled in her of course make an appearance.

He probably finds you a nuisance and doesn’t want you. He thinks you silly and childish. He’s a lord and you’re just someone who was made and-.

She forces herself to tune it all out.

“You are more then welcome at Dusk. Whenever you wish to be there.” Ophiuchus adds, probably somehow having an inkling of what possible thoughts are on her mind.

*You don’t want me, you have no idea how broken I am.*

“I believe you’d like the court,” he says quietly, “if the thing with the so called Death God weren’t here. I wouldn’t think twice before offering you for us to go from city to city.”

“Maybe when he’s gone we can do that,” Reverie offers, something warming in her chest at the prospect.

“Anything you wish, My Lady.” Ophiuchus says.

“And…” she exhales, “if I wished to accompany you back to Dusk?”

“Then you can do so,” Ophiuchus says, a small grin blooming on his lips.

“And the catch?” She can’t help but asking, as trepidation fills her.

“Catch?” Ophiuchus frowns slightly, and it takes everything in Reverie not to move and smooth it with her fingers.

“What do you wish from me?”

“I-“ Ophiuchus blinks, and a thousand and one emotions seem to flicker in his face. “There’s no catch, My Sweet-Eyed girl. You’re my mate and I’m yours. Simple as that. As I said, I just wish to know you.”

“I’m sorry for assuming.” Reverie replies quietly, he probably feels offended by such assumptions.

Repeating his previous actions, Ophiuchus delicately takes her hands — both of them, now — and brings them to his lips, softly kissing her knuckles. “You’re allowed to feel wary, to be overwhelmed, to make assumptions. Just also know that you can ask me whatever you wish, alright? Whatever troubles you, if I can bring you some sort of ease I will do such. I don’t mind answering questions, even though you assume are silly.”

Reverie nods, giving him a smile, a more carefree one than those she previously had given him, and her hands clutch his that are still holding hers.

“Okay.”

And apparently maybe, just maybe, the Mother decided to be kind to her.

….

taglist: @imma-too-many-fandoms

#acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #archeron sisters #dusk court #acotar

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offscriptif · 9 months

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Can the Villain have funky colored hair and eyes options like sometimes happens in these type stories? Please? [You know red eyes and black hair = tortured childhood, purple eyes = secret royal, silver hair = freak, etc] 😁😁😁

This I CAN answer! I am hoping to add a lot to character creation choices to the Villain's appearance because I love that you can do it in @zorlok-if but I am also absolutely PANTS in coding so it might not have as varied the options as I would wish if I had the money to pay someone to code the game for me. However, these options will all be non-natural AKA there is going to be a choice in the prologue to describe the Villain with regular human-range hair colors and eye colors and then an option in chapter 1 which shows that the Villain used magic to change or augment their appearance. This is because the Villain shares eye color with Andromeda Navis and Orion's hair and eye color is the same as the ones you choose in the prologue. Instead, like Carmen, the Villain can choose to use magic to dye their hair color and their eyes. This is because as a ducal noble in Ophiuchus Kingdom, the Villain is fully human. Rowan's eyes do weird things with the light because faer is a descendant of the High Fae and a demon, and Blake's eyes are cat-like because he has non-human ancestry but for the most part most of the ROs in the story are fully human.

#ori speaks #kingdom inquiries #grapecaseschoices

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tabsters · 3 months

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SOMEONE LIKE ME (CHAP. 10) - A STARGLASS ZODIAC X ZODIAC EXPERIMENT CROSSOVER

aaaaaaand chapter ten!! wow, can't believe i've actually been keeping this up for two months already!

previous chapter is here

next chapter is here

masterpost is here

tagging @mythicalmagical-monkeyman @hyperfixation-tangentopia @maiawhimsicalt and @sweet-star-cookie!

“Mom!” Gemini shouted, cutting Cassie off. “Bye, Capricorn, I’m gonna go see Virgo!”

And with that, she took off. Ophiuchus and Capricorn sighed in unison, Capricorn making a hand movement that said ‘follow her’. Ophiuchus nodded in agreement, and she gestured for Cassie to come along.

They found Gemini in animated conversation with a green-haired woman, dressed in a silver evening gown. Virgo.

"Cassie, meet my mom!" Gemini grabbed Cassie's hands and spun her around to look Virgo in the eye.

"Hi!" Cassie said first this time, sticking out her hand. Virgo smiled warmly, shaking her hand.

"Wonderful to finally meet you, Cassie." Virgo smoothed out a crease in Cassie's cape. "I hope you enjoy this simple soirée Capricorn has put together."

Gemini snorted at that. "Simple? This is probably one of her biggest ones yet."

"Ah, you know Capricorn," Virgo said, waving her hand. "She's always trying to outdo herself."

"Mother, Gemini," A new voice said, coming nearer. "Got us some pastries, the really good ones—oh. The newcomer."

Cassie turned around hesitantly, coming face-to-face with a tall, muscled man with curly brown hair, wearing a dark red suit. His eyes were partially obscured by dark sunglasses, and they were scrunched up in what looked like disdain.

Gemini laughed nervously. "Cassie, this is my big brother...Aries. Say hi, Ari."

Aries stared at Cassie for a moment, then huffed and gave her a terse nod.

Cassie was reminded of her own Aries, and how different he and this Aries seemed to be. Her Aries was a bit more...twitchy, a bit more aggressive. This one was more silent, more judgemental.

"Not a lot of people came this time," Gemini said, taking one of the pastries that Aries had brought over. "Less than half of us came. I thought Libra was going to attend, though?"

"She had to cancel on short notice. The demons in the realm are becoming restless." Virgo sipped at her wine glass. "It's an unfortunate happenstance for all of us."

"Nobody interesting came to this ball," Aries grumbled. "Not even Father or Scorpio."

Gemini elbowed her brother. "You're just salty that Sagittarius didn't come. Somebody misses their crush?" This question was accompanied with smooching sound effects.

Aries grunted. "Shut it."

"Oh, this is a really good piece," Ophiuchus said as the orchestra began once more, shifting into a slower, deeper musical tone. She reached her hand out to Gemini. "C'mon, let's dance!"

"I've played this piece too many times on the piano already," Gemini whined, but smiled. "You gonna join us, Cassie?"

"Oh, I don't have much practice dancing." Cassie smiled sheepishly.

"Watch us, then you can try. C'mon!" Gemini ran off with Ophiuchus, towards the dance floor.

"Okay! I'm coming!" Gemini waved goodbye to Aries and Virgo before running after Gemini and Ophiuchus.

Gemini and Ophiuchus stepped carefully around on the dancefloor, spinning in a circle with barely any steps; it could've been performed on a pie plate. Other pairs nearby were doing the same small, delicate dance.

"This is shit," Gemini whispered out of the corner out of her mouth, causing Cassie to giggle a bit. "So slow."

"Just wait..." Ophiuchus murmured back. "Wait for the crescendo."

And then the music began to swell, began to surge, began to rise. Ophiuchus' and Gemini's movements started to spread out more, they began to step faster and step farther apart. Ophiuchus twirled Gemini in a circle, Gemini leaned close to Ophiuchus' body and then pulled away, both of them in time to the music.

Cassie watched them in awe, watched them how the two of them worked together in tandem, watched how for every movement Ophiuchus made, Gemini made another.

The piece ended with a flourish, and Ophiuchus dipped Gemini down low. The two of them remained there for a moment before Gemini leaned up and pecked Ophiuchus on the lips.

"That was so cool!" Cassie said. "Could you teach me how to dance?"

"Of course." Ophiuchus placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder and another on her back. The orchestra began another piece, this one faster and a bit more lively.

"This is how to do a simple waltz," Ophiuchus said over the music. "Just follow my lead, okay?"

Cassie nodded, letting Ophiuchus guide her across the dancefloor.

"Step back with your right foot. Now, move your left foot sideways to the left, yes, that's exactly it." Ophiuchus said gently as the two of them stepped back and forth. "Take your right foot to your left foot, then take a step forward with your left foot. Move back a bit, to the right. Then, you close your left foot to your right foot."

Cassie and Ophiuchus repeated these steps for a bit, and Cassie smiled up at the constellation. "Hey, it's not that bad!"

"Rather easy, once you get the hang of it, isn't it?"

Nearby, Gemini and Pegasus were doing what looked like a highly exaggerated version of the tango, both of them laughing.

"Peggy, you stepped on my foot!"

"Sorry! This would be easier if you weren't so short!"

"Wha—hey! I'm not that short!"

Cassie giggled at their bickering, and soon Ophiuchus joined in as well. Gemini made a pouty face at the two of them, which caused them to laugh even more.

The group's laughter was abruptly cut short when two women approached them. One of them had black hair tied back in a severe bun, and strikingly orange eyes. The other had long dark brown hair tumbling around her shoulders, and warm brown eyes. This one also had two bear ears poking out of the top of her head.

"Ara. Ursa Major." Pegasus nodded her head towards them. "How are you this evening?"

"Advisors to Aries and Virgo," Ophiuchus whispered to Cassie for the girl's benefit. "Two of the most powerful ones, too."

"Fine," Ara said bluntly. She had on a black face mask with gray markings like that of a tiger's. Her black and red lace dress swished around her as she talked. "There's a problem. We need your assistance."

"Shadows are gathering at the palace gates," Ursa Major said. She had a dark pink veil covering the lower half of her face, and her silk dress was dripping with jewels and beads. "We need every hand on deck to help...drive them out, before they break in and cause havoc."

Pegasus nodded curtly. "Understood. I didn't bring my rifle though—?"

Ara removed a small pistol from a pocket within her dress and tossed it to Pegasus. "This should suffice. Ammo is located in the downstairs lockers."

Pegasus caught it with one hand. "Very well. And your own weapons?"

"Already taken care of." Ursa Major whipped out two curved swords from the folds of her dress. Ara threw out four tiny throwing knives, which snapped out into four larger, floating blades.

"Why are you bringing weapons into a ball?" Gemini asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just in case the wrong person brings weapons into the ball," Ara responded cryptically, and then gestured for Pegasus to follow them. "Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. The other advisors present are also helping to dispatch the shadows."

Pegasus' brows furrowed, and Ara picked up on her unease. "Please put aside your grudge with your brother—"

"Half-brother." Pegasus interrupted.

"Half brother, for the duration of this fight. You know as well as I that you two make a phenomenal team when in combat. When it is over, you may go back to hating him in peace."

Pegasus' fist clenched around the pistol, and Cassie was afraid for a split second that the Constellation would turn violent, but then the woman's grip relaxed. "Alright. Fine."

"I should go too," Ophiuchus said suddenly, and Asclepius wriggled up and down her shoulders in anticipation. "I have a talent with shadow demons."

"And me!" Gemini shouted, hand grabbing at the necklace around her neck. She ripped the bar-shaped pendant off its cord, and it began to grow into a tall, gilded staff. "I'm not letting you get hurt—not again."

"No. You stay here." Ophiuchus rested her hand on top of Gemini's. "The people will start to panic if a Zodiac goes missing without warning."

"Agreed." Pegasus wrenched the staff out of Gemini's hands and it shrank back to its original pendant size. "And if this is a serious threat, we need you out of harm's way."

Gemini took the offered pendant back, attaching it back to her necklace. She looked at her advisor, then her lover, and then sighed. "Okay. Go."

Ara nodded. "Very well. Both of you, follow me."

The women departed, and Cassie was left with a very dejected Gemini. The Zodiac made her way to the floor-to-ceiling windows, peering down at the sights below.

The windows offered a perfect view of the courtyard, where the two of them could see exactly what was going on. Tall, wispy black figures began lumbering into the palace grounds. Each of them had a bright purple core somewhere on their bodies. They also didn't seem to have arms, but long tendrils that grew and grew, grabbing at anything they could.

"What are they...?" Cassie asked, her voice a bare whisper.

"Shadow demons." If looks could kill, all of the creatures in the courtyard could have been obliterated by Gemini's gaze. "Little bastards. There's a higher concentration of them in Capricorn's kingdom, but they've never been bold enough to do this."

Muffled shouts were barely audible from the glass, and Cassie could see the advisors of the Zodiacs rush out of the palace doors to take on the shadow demons.

Corvus was flying over the taller demons, diving down and dropping something—a golden crown?—over their cores. As soon as the gold touched the cores, the demons immediately calmed. The crow constellation then flew back and forth, herding the pacified demons to another location.

Nearby her, Pegasus was firing bullets into smaller demons' cores, slowing them down. The cores flickered, and the demons screamed in what was presumably pain. Then vines erupted from the dirt beneath them and crushed the life out of the demons, their cores breaking and their nebulous bodies dissipating. Taurus' advisor—Pavo—snapped his fingers and the vines retreated back into the ground.

Pegasus, apparently, was not pleased with Pavo's handiwork and began shouting at him. Pavo began shouting back, their words completely muted by the glass. Neither of them noticed the shadow demon beginning to creep up on them—and for a second, Cassie's heart twisted with worry.

And then Ara vaulted over the both of them, her floating blades slicing the demon's core cleanly in half. The two core halves fell to the ground, and now she began shouting at both of them, probably telling them to stop infighting and pay attention.

"Wow," A small voice said from somewhere near Cassie's midsection. "They're so cool."

Cassie looked around. Gemini had left. Over at her side, there was a small boy watching the scene outside the window intently. He smiled up at her. "Hello! I'm Ursa Minor, what's your name?"

"I'm Cassie," Cassie said, looking at the child, wondering why such a young kid was allowed to wander around a crowded ball. Where are his parents?

Ursa Minor pointed to a small figure in the fray. "That's my big sister! Ursa Major! She's so cool. She kicks all the demons' butts!"

Ah. That explains it. Cassie could see the sibling resemblance, in the kid's eyes and hair and bear ears. Her Ursa Major and Ursa Minor were actual bears. In fact, they were some of the first spirits she had ever encountered.

"Yeah, she is really cool," Cassie said as the two of them watched Ursa Major hack through shadow demons with ease. Beside her, Asclepius had grown to an enormous size and Ophiuchus was riding on their back. The snake bit down on shadow demons' cores, shattering them.

"Minora!" Someone shouted, running towards them.

The someone was a short, green haired person with a turtle shell on their back. Behind them, a man with long, navy hair and a silver suit was awkwardly speed walking after them, trying to not spill his cocktail.

"Minora, there you are!" The green haired person said, scolding Ursa Minor. "What have I told you about bothering strangers?"

"But she's watching api fight!" Ursa Minor protested as the person picked him up. "She thinks that api's cool too!"

The person sighed, and looked up at Cassie. "Sorry about him. He's a handful. I'm Scutum, by the way. And you must be..." They peered at the bright blue star inside Cassie's eye. "The stranger that everyone is talking about."

"Aha. Yep. That's me." Cassie awkwardly rubbed at the eye containing the Starglass. So this is the Scutum in Ciara's Astral Plane? They're...a turtle. Well, I guess it makes sense that they're a turtle—turtles do have shells like a shield.

"Jesus, Scutum, chill out," The man said, finally catching up to Scutum. "It's not like the kid's gonna cause any damage.

“He was bothering Gemini’s guest,” Scutum huffed. “Wanted to watch his big sister fight.”

“He wasn’t a bother,” Cassie quickly said. “He’s very cute.”

“See? No problems caused.” The man turned to Cassie. “I’m Indus. This twitchy guy over here is my partner.

“I’m twitchy because we both should be down there.” Scutum rolled their eyes. “You know both of us are the most skilled at taking out shadows.”

“You need to rest.” Indus placed his hand on Scutum’s shoulder, sipping at his cocktail. “You broke five ribs trying to take on ten shadows at once.”

“I got the job done, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point—“

“You two are experts in shadow demons?” Cassie asked. “Could you maybe explain to me what they are and why they’re so dangerous?”

"Of course," Scutum said, hefting Ursa Minor in their arms. "In this world, 'demon' refers to any entity fully created from nature and the elements. They are not necessarily good or evil—rather function as any force of nature."

"There are many types of demons, but shadow demons are some of the most powerful." Indus said as Scutum paused in their talk to let Ursa Minor down to the ground. "And recently, they've become more restless, more aggressive. Demons reflect the state of nature, and their new behavior means that something in the natural forces has been thrown out of balance."

"Nothing good will come out of this," Indus finished quietly. "This is an omen. And all we can do is try and delay the inevitable."

Cassie looked down at the scene beneath her. There were only a few demons left, and the ones remaining began to flee the palace grounds.

She began to think that this world wasn't quite what she thought it was.

check out @sweet-star-cookie's starglass zodiac lore if you liked this!! questions about my lore are greatly appreciated!!

#oc #oc lore #zodiac #zodiacs #zodiac sign #zodiac signs #zodiac lore #zodiac oc #zodiac ocs

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skyfullofpods · 2 months

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94 is @ophiuchusradio!

Ophiuchus Radio is ‘the advice show you didn’t know you needed’, hosted by Bluejay Midnight and Coconut Silver. The two talk through a problem sent in by someone who doesn’t remember contacting the show.

One season of 11 episodes currently available.

#ophiuchus radio #random podcast recommendations #audio fiction #audio drama #podcasts #podcast recommendations #podcast recs

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psychic-echo · 2 years

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Kyuranger | "Silent Star! Hebitsukai Silver!"

#Uchu Sentai Kyuranger #Kyuranger #Super Sentai #キュウレンジャー #宇宙戦隊キュウレンジャー #Fanart #Psychic Echo's Art #Psychic-Echo #Naga(Kyuranger)#Naga #Naga Rei #Naga Ray #Hebitsukai Silver #Ophiuchus Silver #ナーガ　レイ #ヘビツカイシルバー #Silver Ranger #Power Rangers #(Sort of)

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yoan-le-grall · 6 months

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#gif #anime #saint seiya #anime 80s #old anime #ophiuchus shaina #shaina #silver cloth #saint cloth #cobra #cygnus #swan #vaporwave #synthwave #pinkcore #pink #80s aesthetic #80s

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rumbelleshowdown · 11 months

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Author: Rose Daughter

Prompts: Dark chocolate. Falling in the dark. Constellations.

Group: B

Ad Astra

They’re called freckles, apparently.

It had taken Belle some time to figure out what he meant when he said he liked her ‘little dots’. The word tickles him for some reason. It’s a fanciful-sounding thing. Freckles.

The first time he’d laid eyes on her – stretched out on the beach, the brim of her sunhat flopping into her eyes – he thought she might be made of alabaster. The same pearly gypsum as the statues he has found amongst the remnants of shipwrecks. He knows better now, having observed her so intimately. She is lovelier, far more fascinating than the unblemished stone of sculptures. There is such detail to her; the silvery streaks on her thighs and stomach, a few faded scars here and there, and all those gorgeous freckles.

She is the inverse of the night sky. If the sky is soot and coal with tiny pinpoints of light, she is cream and roses, stippled with ink stains. They form wee patterns on her skin like the stars overhead. Constellations, Belle called them. They’ve spent many afternoons lying in the sand, him dripping seawater onto the cover of her mythology book. The names bewitch him. Cassiopeia, Ophiuchus, Andromeda, Vulpecula. They’re prettier than the sort of human language his ears are accustomed to. Their lyrical quality resembles the sounds that his fellow Finfolk trill to one another beneath the waves.

Rumple likes to get her words right. He likes to get them wrong, too. He even does so on purpose, sometimes. Just to hear her darling giggle. Just to watch her plush, pink lips tenderly sound out each syllable as she corrects him. But his tongue takes quickly to the delicate names in her gilded book.

The constellations on Belle’s body don’t match the ones charted on the pages. They are entirely her own. It’s a game that he likes to play with himself on the sunniest, drowsiest afternoons. As Belle frolics in the surf and sunbathes on the low tide’s dense sand, he amuses himself by playing astronomer. It requires a great deal of imagination, but then, doesn’t all stargazing?

Lunaris; the cluster on her inner forearm that bears a striking resemblance to a crescent moon. Then there is Florens Rosa; a speckling that contours the back of her neck, each dot falling into place to create the illusion of a rose in bloom. And his very favorite, Saltatio Delphinus; the abstract likeness of a leaping dolphin on her upper thigh.

Every night, long after she’s returned to her cottage, Rumple peers through the mouth of his little grotto. He scans the stars to see if the Gods have plagiarized from Belle’s canvas. To see if they are brave enough to try to replicate one of her designs.

They never are.

(+++)

As a young boy, no larger than a seal pup, Rumple used to thrill-chase by diving into the seemingly bottomless trenches that cut into the seafloor. The blue of the water would get darker and darker as he plunged down, until he was floating in an empty, inky blackness. It was like being swallowed up by the maw of some ravenous predator. His vision would swim as he sank away from the surface, his small body too fragile to handle the pressures of such deep water. Yet, he would push on.

It was exhilarating. To free fall through the darkness, to do something he wasn’t built for.

Finfolk aren’t meant to dive so deep, but he did. They aren’t meant to liberate and hoard human trinkets. They aren’t meant to steal pretty human lasses.

But is that truly what he’s done? Stolen her? It certainly doesn’t feel like stealing. How can you steal what is so freely and happily given? How can you steal what is served on a silver platter, garnished with shortbread crumbs and cheeky smiles?

She was there throughout the summer, when the sunlight made her auburn hair burn like the bonfires the villagers build on the beach. And she is still here amid winter’s grasp, when the heavy clouds cast her in soft focus and the rain extinguishes the embers in her hair.

Every time he lays eyes on her, it is like diving into those trenches again. The disorientation, the vertigo, the intoxicating thrill. To be thoroughly overwhelmed and still want more.

Belle is an abundance of more, always willing to provide and spoil. Butterscotch and blackberries. Jokes, chats, and out-of-tune songs. Early morning breakfasts and late afternoon lunches. Stories of all sorts, bound in leather and paperboard.

And Rumple always takes without hesitation, for fear that there will come a day when there is nothing left to give.

(+++)

Most days, Rumple awaits her arrival in his grotto, tucked into the shadows, impishly giddy at the thought of taking her by surprise. On quieter days, when there is no traffic on the beach, he instead lounges in the tide pools, his eyes trained on the bluff’s coastal trail.

He has waited long past sunset today, which is a rarity. Belle finally trots into view over the uplands’ crest, her knapsack heaved over one shoulder, its bulging mouth threatening to spit its contents in exasperation. Her silhouette is otherworldly, the green tartan skirt of her frock looking flimsy as the moonlight passes through it.

Rumple doesn’t have to question if she comes bearing treats. She clambers onto the rocky outcrop to reach him. A small rectangle robed in silver foil is pressed into his wet hands.

He adores the foil, marveling at how it reflects the water’s shimmering surface in its ripples and wrinkles. He does not adore what the foil is wrapped around.

Belle claims it’s chocolate, but he has his doubts.

“It’s dark chocolate,” she explains, nibbling on a square. “It has less sugar and no milk, so it’s sharper. There’s a bitter bite to it.”

“It’s re-volt-ing.”

“You eat raw trout.”

She rolls her eyes, muttering disparaging comments about his palate. Despite her grousing, she is more than happy to polish off half of the chocolate bar by herself. It makes sense to him. Belle likes sharp things; teeth, and claws, and wits.

Rumple doesn’t mind sharp, but he prefers soft; round jawlines, and button noses, and fond scolding. What he can’t stomach is bitterness. It agonizes him that the stories in Belle’s mythology book all start so whimsically and end so brutally. And that no matter how sweet their days are together, it doesn’t change the fact that she’ll always leave him at the end.

She allows the hefty book to continue its slumber in the caverns of her bag. It’s too dark for her deficient human eyes to make out the fancy lettering. Besides, she looks far too tired for narration duty. Her cheeks are stained with a lingering flush of exertion, her eyes dim with sleepy contentment.

“Today was the Cèilidh,” she says, by way of explanation.

Despite her sore legs and weary yawns, he rouses her to perform a final dance for an audience of one. She demonstrates a reel, her skirt flaring around her legs as her bare feet kick up golden puffs of sand.

Rumple doesn’t really need to know what it’s supposed to look like to know that she isn’t very good at it. Her footwork is clumsy and she wobbles as she pivots. She’s even off-time to her own humming.

“Not the most graceful sort, are you?”

Belle lurches to a stop mid-turn, her brows knitting together. “Excuse me?”

“You look rid-ic-ulous.”

“It’s a far cry better than you could do.”

He gives an exaggerated sneer of offense. “You think dancing requires legs? How horren-dous-ly ignorant.”

Her mouth perks into an amused smile. “Show me.”

“A proper dance begs a partner, does it not?” he says, beckoning to her with his talons.

Puckish delight eats up the sweet turn of her lips. She used to make such a fuss about swimsuits. Now, she just gathers the hem of her tartan frock in her fists and lifts it up over her head. She discards it in a careless heap on the rocks.

Next came the perplexing underthings, fiddly-looking clasps coming undone with a flick of her fingers. Rumple drinks her in like a marooned man at a pool of freshwater.

It fills him with pride to be the one allowed to stargaze at the lavish expanse of her pale, pretty sky. To behold the constellations that live beneath sweaters and sensible woolen tights.

She wades into the water, her skin pebbling in the brisk night air. He takes her hands in his own and guides her further into the sea, the waves lazily sloshing against his back. When her toes can barely touch the ocean floor, he winds his arms around her waist. He hauls her into an embrace, thinking of how sailors greet their sweethearts the first moment their boots hit dry land.

Then, with a twist of his fin, he sweeps her legs out from under her, tucking his tail beneath her bent knees. Belle’s squeak of surprise gets lost in a breathless giggle.

He supports her gently, their bare chests flush against one another. The lack of resistance in the water allows them to spin effortlessly, twirling in small, quick circles. There are no fancy steps – no steps of any sort – but Belle begins to absently hum that same Cèilidh melody.

“It sounds better on a fiddle,” she murmurs, as though embarrassed by her rendition.

“I sin-cere-ly doubt that,” he whispers back.

As they spin, weightless and languid, Rumple leans his forehead against hers; his customary vow of adoration. But then, Belle does something strange. She tilts her chin up and presses her mouth to his. As she captures his bottom lip between her own, Rumple lets out a choked gasp, like a human swallowing seawater.

And then it’s over. It was so fleeting, he could have whimpered from the loss.

“Mhm…what…what was that?”

“A kiss.”

So he does what he’s always done when Belle gives him something; he immediately asks for more.

One kiss turns into two, which melts into a third, and a subsequent stream of kisses that come so leisurely, there is no telling where they begin and end. And he’s falling again, into the darkness of the sea’s deepest trench. His head is spinning, his lungs are burning, and still his every thought is ‘more, more, more’.

“You’re very greedy,” she chastises, though there is little heat behind her words.

Rumple flashes his serrated teeth, heartened rather than discouraged. “You shouldn’t give so readily, dearie. A beast may become accus-tomed to taking more than you’re willing to part with.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t let you have.”

And he believes her, his generous Belle.

He is struck with a stroke of brilliance. A kiss could be planted just about anywhere, couldn’t it? What if he were to kiss every last constellation in her sky? He could even tell her all of their names as he goes.

He purrs this idea against her lips. Belle throws her head back, moonlight splashing over her porcelain face, and she sends a laugh up to the true stars above. And then her laughter is smothering him as she gives a greedy beast his fill.

Rumple realizes, huffing a small chuckle of his own, that he might like the flavor of dark chocolate after all. So long as he is tasting it on her tongue.

#rumbelle showdown #round three fics #author: Rose Daughter

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