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whatudottu · 3 months

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If I thought the Transformers (Aligned) timeline was convoluted, god the Trollhunters timeline is fucked beyond all hell, and worse of all because they use Merlin - bloody MERLIN - as a character that created the amulet there's an upper limit of time Trollhunters have existed before, heck even Myrddin Wyllt his welsh name (and canonical alternate name in the show), Merlin stops being the Merlin from human myth and starts becoming Merlin a similarly named folkloric character in troll myth-

I wonder if I, a fan coming in at minimum 2023, am arriving to this a little late but- if this isn't going to be a timeline rewrite then let me complain about how specific canonical details contradict with one another, including the glaringly obvious issue of Wizard's addition to the timeline, making Deya the Deliverer the first Trollhunter and thus practically erasing most of the historical Trollhunters or conforming to fit them all in a timeline of 900ish years.

I'll address the elephant in the room when we get to it, but let's set up the basics, both for me and any viewer not already in the know (given that my audience is mostly from transformers and ben 10, I'd say it's a lot of you).

Trolls and humans got off to a bad start, humans living on the surface and trolls having originated from a realm called the Darklands, accessible from a bridge (a gateway) Kilahead bridge. Like with any civilisation there are good and bad trolls, the baddest being Orlagk the Oppressor, leader of the Gumm-Gumms. Having been introduced to the surface, trolls fought with the humans who already lived on it creating the War for the Surface Lands, and their fighting lead the first Heartstone (a gigantic magical gem that serves as the centre of troll caverns, healing them and providing power) to corrupt and birth Gunmar. This war lasted for millennia, Gunmar taking over leadership of the Gumm-Gumms after slaying Orlagk at some vague point, up until the Battle of Kilahead Bridge where the Gumm-Gumms were sealed away in the Darklands again thanks to the Trollhunter Deya the Deliverer.

Okay, sure, that doesn't sound very bad at first, up until you realise that the Battle of Kilahead Bridge was 900 years prior to the series (2016 was it's release date) and thus in the year 1116 AD give or take; the legend of Merlin as a magician, a wizard, was in the 12th century which would've been instead at minimum 1300 AD that's 200 years of difference. Not to mention Angor Rot - a character and antagonist in the show - came begging for magic to stop Gunmar's armies from destroying more and more independant troll tribes, like his own, in 1200 AD at least. Why in the fucking hell would Angor Rot bother to risk his own soul asking for magic, from a sorcerer known as (among many things) the Eldritch Queen, if Gunmar and his Gumm-Gumms were already kept within the Darklands. Gunmar's son Bular, the one Gumm-Gumm to not be banished, is surely not that much of a threat to not one but multiple villages it would send someone to the doorstep of the Pale Lady. In addition, Angor Rot was responsible for killing at least a few Trollhunters, one known and named being Voltar the Voracious, who was the only Trollhunter given an exact year of choosing in 1578. And the fucker is listed BEFORE Deya on the wiki but that alone doesn't mean anything, however she does die in 1620 to Bular, 396 years before the show.

Alright then, so you look at Merlin's mythological existence and go 'now what about the whole thing about millenia' because 12th century doesn't allow the War for the Surface Lands to have a Trollhunter, even with 11 named Trollhunters that come presumably before Deya (Unkar the Unfortunate, despite being trained by Blinky who in human standards - assuming his human body tells us his age - is probably about middle age give or take, fought in the time Gumm-Gumms were still around even if slain by Bular). Given that Trollhunters itself references Merlin's original Welsh name Myrddin (and his in show last name is Ambrosius, which would be Emyrs in the original Welsh, as opposed to Wyllt for 'of the wild), I thought that potentially looking into when Myrddin first came around I would be able to get a better timeline; Myrddin Wyllt was said to have been born - and not just the legend - in 540 AD, which gives between that and 2016 1476 years to work with, allowing the 400ish years ago that Deya died (and the 438 years from when Voltar had the amulet) and the millenia's worth of war the War for the Surface Lands took.

Done deal, right?

Well guess what, some fucker named Spar the Spiteful (not even the first Trollhunter like Deya so proclaims to be) died 5200 years before Jim, our protagonist and first HUMAN Trollhunter, ever picked up the mantle. 5200 years before 2016 is the bloody fucking 4th millenium BC. This period included the beginnings of the Bronze Age, and was the bloody time WRITING was invented! And in Spar's time, there was no DOMESTIC HORSES! HORSE RIDING DIDN'T BLOODY EXIST WHEN SPAR DIED HOW FUCKED IT THAT!?

God FUCKING DAMN IT!

Fine, I can work with this.

Merlin in the show is all the old man we think of him as in myth, but he's also still old when we go back in time to when the Battle of Kilahead Bridge takes place, albeit it without a full head of grey hairs (how does the old man age more than his teen/young adult apprentice) potentially as a young sorcerer/wizard/whatever they use these terms interchangeably, Merlin or Myrddin created the Amulet of Daylight. You could even give more wriggle room between whenever trolls came to the surface and when Merlin made the amulet, because although Orlagk was a figure explicitly older than Gunmar, there is no mention of an amulet without Gunmar simply a time when he was still not a leader. In fact, given that Merlin's original name - Myrddin - came from a riddle designed with the intent to kill Gunmar, a piece informing the Trollhunter teams how to kill Gunmar rather than Orlagk the original leader, perhaps it's befitting to make Myrddin technically younger than the trolls; given that the original purpose of the Amulet of Daylight was not to kill Gunmar but to protect trolls, seeing as how one of the keys to Gunmar's destruction is a Triumbric Stone (one of 3) that resulted in the death of Orlagk, the amulet can date to before Gunmar and have been made after the Gumm-Gumms took out their rage on other trolls instead of humans alone.

The Trollhunter after Spar the Spiteful was Boraz the Bold, named that specifically for taking on 1000 Gumm-Gumms, was killed by Bular who was - as I said - Gunmar's son. While that does not mean that Spar the previous Trollhunter existed before Bular did, it does mean that by the time Boraz was selected after Spar's position Bular was competent enough to slay a Trollhunter, especially one as 'Bold' as Boraz who felled a thousand Gumm-Gumms before falling to 1001. It would mean that his father Gunmar would be much older, potentially tracking further and further back in time and putting Orlagk's death deeper and deeper into the War for the Surface Lands, potentially even aligned Orlagk's death and the Triumbric Stone's creation to a period humans heard of Myrddin, the death of Orlagk potentially landing in 540 AD, perhaps even in 573 AD where an actual battle took place, the Battle of Arfderydd; this details a Riderch Hael, King of Alt Clut (Stratclyde, a Brittonic kingdom in northern... well... Britain, which got annexed in the 11th century AKA 1000 AD to become part of the emerging Kingdom of Scotland) slaughtering the forces of a Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, Myrddin having gone mad watching that defeat.

The remaining named Trollhunters, ones that weren't explicitly dated and timed, are in a bullshit order on the Wiki that I just have to piece together what is being said to put together a timeline.

Maddrux the Many, he/him in the show and she/her in the comics, was canonically an active Trollhunter before another, Araknak the Agile, was either born or an actual functioning adult; Araknak is the ancestor of the previously mentioned (and assumed to be) middle aged Blinkous Galadrigal and his brother (an older brother or twin depending on who you quote) Dictatious Maximus Galadrigal, the pair being present for the Battle of Kilahead Bridge and still alive by 2016 and idk about Tatious but Blinky appears in 2017 or at least whenever RoTT takes place. To use the term ancestor instead of grandparent or even parent, which technically ancestor can be used on either anyway, means that the exact family history is undetermined. However, we can place Maddrux at the very least on the timeline where Orlagk was still active in, seeing as that was her major enemy in the comics.

At the end of her service instead of going directly to Araknak, a Trollhunter preceded him in Magmar the Molten, the only known mountain troll to be a wielder of Daylight. Interesting to note, Araknak learnt from Magmar a certain combat move so, even before his selection by the amulet Araknak was already preferring the lifestyle of a warrior in comparison to his scholar parents; a trait that outlasted the warrior spirit and descended to the Galadrigals however many years later. Mentioned specifically as preceding not only Araknak but Tellad-Urr, we have another date to place as Tellad-Urr the Triumphant - very soon to be Tellad-Urr the Terrible - was active until 501 CE where Orlagk was still alive; how convientient. It helps that Gogun the Gentle - his immediate successor - would be the only Trollhunter to die of old age, potentially because Gunmar was too busy killing Orlagk and Orlagk too busy being dead for either of them to do anything.

Hopefully Gogun was already an old fart because the oldest recorded troll Chokeenamaga lived to 5352 years and I have no idea if that's slightly above average, notably old, or specific to a troll type (like for example, mountain trolls may have the longest average lifespan of all trollkin), and it's not like I can look at the show for any reference because Draal the Deadly, son of Kanjigar the Couragous and the previous Trollhunter did not age between 900 years yet there are no troll whelps in modern Trollmarket, let alone the fact that the Battle of Kilahead Bridge according to our established Trollhunters could not have happened before 1578 but must have happened between then and 1620. And Draal is an adult in modern day but is rather impulsive and I do not know if that is simply a troll trait or the trait of a twenty something year old that should've had a different design in the past but couldn't because of the limitations of 3D show animation (Prime fans would know or at least see visually that you can't just design a cybertronian version of a bot's root mode without things getting expensive, it's why Skyquake couldn't fly despite looking the same before and after alt mode acquisition).

Speaking of age, this is also the time where Aaarrrgghh!!! was a teenager, which either means that Blinky is actually much younger than Aaarrrgghh!!! or there is another Trollhunter or few between Araknak the Agile and Tellad-Urr the Terrible; 5200 years is a lot of grounds to cover, especially with a Trollhunter dying of age between it. Tellad-Urr has an appearance similar to Kanjigar, and given that it's a book cover rather than a 3D model there may be grounds for him being of the same tribe as Kanjigar if not an ancestor like Araknak to Blinky. It could work give or take, especially since 'ancestor' is less of an official word and more of a footnote for someone's opinion, but it isn't word of god nor anything found in any media.

And keeping with age (last one I promise) Gorgus the Gorgeous, referenced in terms used by modern trolls 'By Gorgus' or 'Great Gorgus', was one of the youngest Trollhunters to be chosen. Whether he was younger than Jim Lake Jr, 16 years old at his time of getting the amulet, depends on what the hell the age of 24 fucking means to a troll. Is it the equivalent of 24 years in troll years? If so then why the hell does he begin training 32 troll years later at age 56 if he wasn't chosen to have the amulet at 24 human years old. What is 24 human years to a troll. NotEnrique, a changeling (troll whelp cursed to change into a human, can do so at will) is canonically a few centuries old, and he is fresh from the Darklands after replacing a human baby Enrique. He at a few centuries old is able to throw and host a troll party at his age, and maybe changeling's age differently and a changeling hosting a troll party would be very new because haha discrimination, but no troll flinches at the concept. And a few centuries could be considered more than 2 (being a few it's already more than 1) so the more centuries you tack on to this college type frat party host the more and more Gorgus' age becomes terrifyingly young like exorbitantly so.

If a few centuries means 'ability to host a party where full grown trolls do keg stands' then 24 probably means whelp, baby, a fucking toddler by troll standards, assuming changelings follow troll aging standards against their human mimicking physical development standards. If a 24 year old Trollhunter is only ONE OF the youngest Trollhunters, who was the youngest? Predestined at bloody birth!? Gorgus started training at age 56, presumably when he was old enough to wield a sword, being trained by none other than Kanjigar himself; Gorgus died during training when a group of Gumm-Gumms attacked, an arrow hitting him in the head. If NotEnrique was an adult, or at the very least on the cusp of it, at a few centuries old - more than 1, probably more than 2 - then what of someone at age 56, less than a few centuries, less than one. Whether Kanjigar was a father at the time or not, loosing a kid under his guidance - to death no less - would've stuck with anyone. Why was this child sentenced to death, and so young too. One can argue all the Trollhunters to failed to live up to legacy, who became their own version of Unkar the Unfortunate, were sentenced to death and fated to die young. Gogun may have defied fate and beat the ticking clock, but Gorgus the Gorgeous - a gorgeous child, a son to parents that will never see their little boy again - proved that there is no outrunning the clock for the bells toll for thee.

If Unkar was before Gorgus, then it is to be presumed that by dying on his first night - after 6 hours of training - that Gorgus the Gorgeous was failed by Blinkous in the same way Unkar had been. The next Trollhunter in line was summoned too soon, so because of Blinky's failure the trolls against Gumm-Gumms were without a defender, potentially reducing the remaining candidates for better trainers by slaughtering them before the Trollhunter was of age. If Unkar was after Gorgus, then Kanjigar needed to step away from training, even as it was his task given to the aging elder Rundle, potentially a younger but very busy Vendel, an elder by proxy of everyone else dying on the edges of Gumm-Gumm blades. He couldn't sacrifice another child to death, and as the amulet falls onto the arrogant overconfident Unkar, Kanjigar could not bare to have stone dust on his hands again. Blinkous Galadrigal (there is no mention of Dictatious despite the presence of Gumm-Gumms in Unkar's time) is tasked to train Unkar, to teach him the tennants of Trollhunter and put to good use his scholarly teachings and pray that the soul of his Trollhunter ancestor guides him. Unfortunately - as Unkar will be enshrined in by title - you cannot let a scholar do a warrior's duty.

However way it plays out, Blinky was young (or at least younger), and his failure marked his reputation for centuries.

There is a Grimbald the Grave, trained with Kanjigar AND Deya, which would definitely place that before 1620 and potentially before 1578; Voltar wasn't mentioned to have been trained by either, but given that he was the last Trollhunter before Deya (at the very least in close proximity), Grimbald most likely came before. Now this seems like a non-issue, if you consider Grimbald against our timeline nothing seems to be wrong, potentially Kanjigar's age since he's been around for a while but his son's an adult in the modern day so he could potentially be older than Blinky who knows. But I have an elephant to address and since it's been so long since I brought it up it's been drinking tea this whole time.

Wizards, the third installment of the Tales of Arcadia series, sequel to Trollhunters, introduces to audiences that Deya the Deliverer was originally Callista the Calamity, a troll who's tribe had been wiped out by humans and had been living in human custody since she was a whelp (or of an age that she had forgotten her name). Deya makes the timeline such a mess, because her first appearance in the comics, she was of an age where Rundle - Vendel's father - was the elder of Glastonbury Tor Trollmarket at the time of Deya, the Trollmarket before Dwoza which is the Trollmarket before Arcadia. Rundle was around in 501 AD, but it was his father Kilfred who was the elder and his son Vendel was of age enough to help in consulting, however old that is. In Wizards however, Vendel was the elder of Dwoza before Deya was Deya and when Callista was still an outcast, and even then he was only the elder by proxy, signs of his father Rundle or of Kilfred missing. Of course however Rundle could have been elder of Dwoza, as his father before him was elder of Glastonbury Tor, simply that he was potentially slain potentially died of old age and that Vendel being one of the few older than most of the Dwozan trolls took over in his father's stead.

The issue with Deya is that I really like the Callista part of her backstory, of being an outsider, an outcast, in the world of trolls that still hated humanity but held a deeper fear of the Gumm-Gumms. Diaspora for trolls, Callista the Calamity is seen as a human pet despite her wanting to find her way home, a home she can never go back to because it had been destroyed long ago; the one place that she could be accepted don't because they see her as too human, a far cry to being called a monster by humans but certainly not relieving. But she had become Deya, and found her footing as the Deliverer, by turning the Trollhunter from a single force to fighting alone to rallying a bunch of... gravellors? (Whatever, I like to think of Dwoza as essentially a refugee tribe given it's diversity in comparison to the Krubera tribe who are only krubera and the Quagawump tribe who are only - save for the generic troll king Angor killed - quagawumps) to fight one last fight against the Gumm-Gumms and ending the War for the Surface Lands.

...SO... that probably means that Grimbald was trained exclusively by Kanjigar after the whole Unkar and/or Gorgus ordeal and eventually got the Trollhunter's amulet himself when Deya was slain, her sacrifice delivering the migrating trolls of Dwoza a chance to get to the New World (or the Americas). Oh and their migration was after Vendel and some king wrote a truce called 'The Pact', which - I mean - it's described as a feeble truce and with a name like that I don't blame it, where they promise to stop eating humans and limited their diet to cats and used clothes which well- they might've broke on the journey to the New World because hiding in the cramped ballast of a 1600s era boat isn't fun nor is it fast. But regardless-

I think for a sense of cohesion, let me pull out an almost timeline for this post.

Trolls who had previously been in the Darklands somehow get to the surface

Tensions between trolls and the already present humans grows beginning the War for the Surface Lands

The intensity of the war corrupts the first Heartstone, giving birth to Gunmar

A young wizard Myrddin creates the Amulet of Daylight and gifts it to the good trolls

Spar the Spiteful gets the amulet. He dies 5200 years ago

Boraz the Bold gets the amulet. He dies to Bular, Gunmar's son.

Maddrux the Many gets the amulet

Magmar the Molten, the first mountain troll Trollhunter, gets the amulet

Araknak the Agile, ancestor to Blinkous and Dictatious Galadrigal, gets the amulet

Tellad-Urr the Triumphant, turned Tellad-Urr the Terrible, gets the amulet. He is killed in 501 AD

Gogun the Gentle gets the amulet.

Orlagk the Oppressor is slain by Gunmar. Gunmar loses an eye

Gogun dies of old age.

Angor Rot makes a pact with the Pale Lady, trading his soul for her magic

Unkar the Unfortunate gets the amulet. He dies 6 hours later

Gorgus the Gorgeous, one of the youngest Trollhunters, gets the amulet. He dies at age 56

Grimbald gets the amulet

Voltar the Voracious, born of two minds, gets the amulet in 1578. He dies to Angor Rot and his soul is stolen

Deya the Deliverer, previously Callista the Calamity, gets the amulet

The Battle of Kilahead Bridge is fought. Gunmar is defeated and the Gumm-Gumms (+ Dictatious Galadrigal) are trapped in the Darklands

Deya dies against Bular, last remaining Gumm-Gumm on the surface, in 1620

Kanjigar the Couragous, trainer of many Trollhunters, gets the amulet. He dies to Bular in 2016

James Lake Junior gets the amulet, and the events of the series take place

So, members of the Trollhunter fandom, how'd I do? If you stuck around this long, welcome to my gimmick, long posts :)

Hoo boy how should I tag this?

#trollhunters #toa #rambling #headcanon #idk this is a timeline rewrite but not a rewrite yaknow #like i'm interested in what the book timeline might have to offer #but idk #this took me several hours to write #give or take 4 hours maybe #not every trollhunter in the history of trollhunting is named because not every trollhunter has been listed #and kanjigar is only noted as the trainer of trollhunters because he's the one trollhunter to have experience with trollhunting i suppose #also- its one thing to have longevity as a species (i come from the transformers fandom those robots are fucking old)#it's another to have fathers and ancestors and dying of old age without considering how that shit works #like the oldest lived troll is in the 5 thousands right? is it the equivalent of 100 years old for humans?#like is the typical age of an elder troll 4000? is it just as likely they might cark it at 3000?#that's 80 and 60 in human terms- maybe the common age of an elder troll is 3500 at a human 70 equivalent #24 years in comparison to 5000 years is like a 6 month old human baby #56 compared to 5000 is 1 year old but surely that is not the case #trolls are apparently born egg-like... as egg-like taking a piece of each other literally and putting them together as one object #that eventually hatches into a troll whelp is egg-like... the parts i mean are heartstones which i think are hearts #draal is described to have hatched this way with ballustra and kanjigar splitting their heartstones #what the hell are gronknuts then meta answer kicking people between the legs is integral to kid comedy #okay i'm going to stop looking at my screen i don't have a mirror but my eyes feel like they're red

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liviusofpella · 2 years

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ONE SHOT: Princeling

Pairing: Tyril x (MC) Selene AU

Word count: 2800

Warnings: It's a smut, ok? Minors pls dni

A/n: Kinda enemies to lovers to enemies, kinda the result of a kinky thought at 2am. Fantasy politics. Don't read too much into it. Embrace the horny.

Tag list: @cashweasel @brycesgirl @watatsumi-island @sophie-summer @lilyoffandoms (if I forgot about someone I'm really sorry, keeping my taglist up-to-date proved to be impossible with my goldfish memory and the belief that "I'LL REMEMBER I DON'T HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN) @choicesficwriterscreations

He tapped his fingers on the desk nervously, glancing at the clock every few seconds. She was running late. She was never late. His heart pounded at the very thought that the guards caught her, but he immediately reassured himself, thinking that she was a master charmer and a family member of the King's advisor—nobody should question her presence in the palace. Selene knew how to manipulate like nobody else.

Unable to stay in one place, Tyril opened the balcony door, trying to get as much fresh air into the room as possible despite the high humidity. The palace was located in the Valley of the Rhine, overgrown with ever blooming greenery, which only added to the feeble air circulation caused by the tropical climate of the kingdom. He ran a hand through his long hair, wet at the base, and took a deep breath. No use, the air outside was just as still as inside.

Tyril, with his back against the balcony’s pillar, rubbed his tired eyes. He was being ridiculous.

"Long day, Prince?"

His head perked up at the sound of her voice.

"Yes. However, we finally got to the pleasurable part," he responded, trying his best to contain the smile that tried to bloom on his face at her sight. “You’re late.”

Selene locked the door, taking her time with the answer, trying to determine the prince’s mood. Having grown up learning his behaviour, two words were enough to decipher what was happening in his mind. He was tired and perhaps still sore after the morning's sword fighting training which, according to a rumour, ended rather badly for the prince.

She made her way towards him, slowly, gracefully, never breaking eye contact. It was a game, a contest with no particular goal, one that originated almost a decade earlier when she was first officially introduced at the palace as the daughter of Lord Vinsant, a respected and esteemed royal advisor who has been performing his duty for over thirty years. Selene vividly remembered the young prince, standing next to the King, as stiff as a board but smiling impudently, holding her gaze as if looking away equalled death.

She wrapped her arms around his stomach, veiled by a silk robe. "Mal held me back."

Tyril nodded imperceptibly.

"Did he ask you to hurry up and give him an answer already?"

"Don't spoil the mood."

The corner of his lips raised slightly, against his will and to hide his discomfort, his palm cupped Selene's face. "You look decent tonight."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Decent? Decent is all I get for standing in the fitting room for three hours?"

"You know no humility."

"I know I deserve more than what you give me."

Tyril swallowed, his gaze slipping to her lips in a futile attempt to end the conversation. Although she meant it in a different context, she was right. She deserved more from him.

Selene shook her head, changing the subject.

"Let me take care of you, prince Tyril," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. A barely audible "please" left his lips, just seconds before her tongue slid across his lower lip.

Tyril would never admit what Selene's been aware of for years, the fact that she had him wrapped around her finger. She knew how to press his buttons, how to please him, how to make him believe her wishes and intentions were his own. The day he realised how she's played him, he gave her the best sex of her life. For the next week he was insufferable, bitter and twisted, making everyone's life unbearable, but it was worth it.

"That must've been painful," mumbling into his lips, she outlined the black bruise on his hip when his pants fell to the ground. Tyril ignored the remark, focusing on undoing the most intricate clasp he'd ever seen.

"You did that on purpose," he mumbled.

"I like to watch you struggle."

Exasperated, Tyril wasted no time once the dress pooled at their feet—holding her firmly, he lifted her up and slid inside her when her back touched the cold wall. She bit back a moan, and Tyril cursed under his breath. He's waited almost a month to hear a moan coming out of her mouth.

"I'm glad there's still a way to make you stop talking," he panted into her mouth, and his grip on her thighs tightened, making sure to leave a mark. "But that's the wrong moment."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"I won't move until those pretty lips make the sound I want to hear."

"Can you last that long?"

"Can you?"

His hand wandered around her stomach to finally land in the place she wanted him the most, pressing and stroking the swollen nub. Having lost her resolve within seconds, Selene moaned, ready to beg and promise sweet nothings just to make him move.

He smiled defiantly. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

His hand, the one that rested between her legs, moved to cup her chin, but she intercepted it, guiding it back there. "It's staying there."

Being a frequent presence at the royal court, Selene knew all the gossip and news, which was made her a dangerous enemy. There was one rumour going around, though, that she could confirm—the royal dick was exquisite, and she found herself lucky to be the only one to have tasted it.

She felt him leaving a love mark on hear collarbone but at that moment she could not care less, not when his hips did its wonders. The worrying could come later.

"Imagine the scandal if we were spotted," he gasped into her mouth, holding her tight against the wall, buried deep inside her warm core. Despite her best efforts to snap back, tease, anything really, all that left her throat were quiet whimpers. "You're trouble, my darling."

"Even if the news of our affair had spread, you wouldn't have suffered any consequences, Princeling."

"It's a bad fame all the same," he rasped before a particularly deep thrust. "The monarchy cannot be perceived as weak," another thrust. A quiet moan escaped his lips, and his left hand clasped around the base of Selene's throat, applying some pressure. "Do you understand?"

In a pathetic act of desperation, she tightened the grip of her legs around the Prince's waist, forcing him to step even closer, get even deeper. Mewling and squirming, writhing in his embrace, she would agree to anything. He allowed her to try and regain control, with parted, swollen lips and a flush on his cheeks, graciously allowed her to think she had him in her grasp. Feeling the familiar clenching of her muscles around him, Tyril tightened the grasp on her throat, lifting her head with his index finger, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"I said, do you understand?"

She nodded profusely, wrapping a hand around his.

"You will not be the fall of me."

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"I know you, Lady Vinsant, you and your vindictive nature. Don't you dare try to destroy my legacy," he snapped. He felt her nails dig so deep into the skin of his back to draw blood.

"Your entire legacy is the foundation of an elite whorehouse, Prince Starfury. I'd be afraid to catch the clap by touching the door handle," she stuttered out, panting. "Rest assured, I won't come close."

"You're forgetting your place."

"You're talking too much."

Seizing the opportunity, Selene guided his hand from her throat to her chest, to the part of her that always made his anger evaporate, his favourite toys, or rather stress balls. Having spent so much time with them, he learned to treat them with expert care and what to do to make it the most pleasurable experience for the owner.

She allowed herself to rest, to let him do all the work, as her head rested against the wall and her embrace weakened slightly. For Tyril it was a sign that she was close, and thank heavens, because he's been trying his best to get her to finish first which was a massive fucking undertaking after a three-week-long abstinence.

He relished those sinful sounds she made. At that moment, he'd swear those were the best piece of music to have ever been produced. Sober, he'd admitted to himself that the best thing he's ever heard was "You make me feel funny things." She was drunk, and that sentence was the culmination of a long speech about her growing up thinking he was the enemy, in which she implied over and over that she had feelings for him. They never discussed it as she didn't remember, and he wouldn't dare bring it up, but it's been often on his mind.

He did love to make her look like utter mess. A panting, sweaty, flushed mess, begging him to do things no lady should ever say out loud. That he did admit to her. And she took his words to heart.

"That's new," Selene hummed, softly dragging her finger across a long, red scar on his abdomen. Tyril watched her with his head resting against the headboard, calmly taking in the sight of her pink cheeks and the slightly turned-up nose. Having reached over to the night stand, he handed her a glass jar with salve, which she took wordlessly. As she busied herself with applying the cold, sticky mixture on the angry looking skin, Tyril wrapped a streak of her blonde hair around his finger, the only curled one due to high humidity in the valley.

"A close encounter with a harpy."

"Why do you do that? Why go out into the unknown when you have an army ready to grub up the entire greenery surrounding the castle?"

"For the thrill, I suppose. The castle becomes dull after a while, let alone after almost thirty years," he responded with a shrug, letting go of her hair and taking a look around the spacious chamber.

Selene raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you let Círdan defeat you this morning?"

"Why do you find it so hard to believe I simply lost this time? Círdan is the teacher, after all—he is supposed to be better than me. Otherwise, he would have nothing to teach me."

Selene snorted. She leaned over him, placing the jar on the night stand, her knee accidentally touching his crotch.

An innocent smiled stretched on her lips as she saw him clench his jaw. "A harpy wasn't able to defeat you, but Círdan was?"

"Stop talking," he growled.

She knew. Perhaps she'd known for a long time, and it was him who was oblivious to the obvious. He put himself in dangerous positions just to get a boost of adrenaline, a dangerous tactic, especially practised by an overconfident and stuck up prince.

"Make me."

There was no foreplay in their case ever. They kept teasing each other, yes, but simply because that's how they preferred to get the deed done. That's why Tyril pushed her legs apart and placed himself between them, almost without a word. "I can go all night, love, but by midnight you'd lose your voice."

"I'm glad you still know your place, prince."

The way this man knew exactly how to please her made question his truthfulness—he swore she was his first, but his skills made him seem to be very much experienced, thus, he was either lying or just that talented. Whichever option it was, Selene was just glad she got to experience that before she died—she doubted anyone would ever make her feel that good again.

When his hands reached over towards her chest, she knew it was over for her, it always went down the exact same way. His tongue worked relentlessly and excellently, the affirmation of that could probably be heard even by the guards passing by that side of the palace. Infuriatingly enough, he made it a point of honour not to use his fingers, so Selene instructed him to at least be a bit rougher with her breasts. She held a spark of hope when suddenly her legs began to tremble and his hands went back to keep them from strangling him—yet the prince remained ignorant of her shameless pleas.

The climax was much more intense than they'd both expected, but as Selene lied spent in utter bliss, Tyril couldn't help but feel proud of himself. He left several wet kisses on the inside of her thighs and lazily rolled out of the embrace of her warmest part to lie next to her.

"The match has been made," Tyril spoke up once his breath evened out. Selene hummed against his neck, encouraging him to elaborate, as she took deep breaths, trying to calm down her pounding heart.

"It's your friend, Lady Ade—"

"Who made that call?"

He swallowed, rapidly thinking of all the possible outcomes of this conversation. Perhaps he made a mistake by bringing up that subject.

"The King."

She nodded. The most important task now was to convince herself it was better that way.

"What about you? Have you made the decision yet? You can't keep them waiting, Selene, unless your plan is for them to give you up," he murmured, tenderly stroking her back. "You have to accept a suitor."

"I'm good."

He sighed. Tyril knew she waited for him to take matters into his own hands and choose her, to stand up to his father, to rule the land in a way that would bring prosperity and calmness. Meanwhile, she was right, his only achievement was founding a high quality house of ill repute.

"I can't give you what you desire, my darling."

She propped her head on one hand, the other she rested on his cheek, stroking it tenderly. A smile stretched on her lips at the similarity of his eyes to the ocean she's seen recently. Calm, peaceful, yet hiding unbounded amounts of power, rage, and destruction. Instead of saying, "I know," she licked her lower lip and kissed him, slowly and tenderly, relishing in the feeling of his tongue against hers. "Be good to her, Tyril," she whispered instead, and untangled herself from his embrace.

Tyril suddenly felt overwhelmed by the spreading panic as he watched her dress herself and approach the door.

"It pains me to think of you with someone else, but it has to be done. You were never mine, I don't have the right to ask you to stay."

"I was yours over and over again," she mumbled. "All you had to do was speak up–"

"It wouldn't have changed anything, Selene. Your knowledge of the power relations in the palace is faulty. As long as the King reigns, no one in his family has the right to decide for themselves."

"And Adeline, of all people," she continued, fighting with the zip of her dress. Murmuring to herself, she collected her belongings, careful not to forget anything since she was probably never coming back there. She halted her actions when she'd realised Tyril became quiet a while ago. Suspiciously quiet. She came closer to him, searching for an answer in his profile. For the first time, he didn't dare look her in the eye, and that very fact made her feel a pit in her stomach. Thinking of all their encounters, of her audiences with the Royal Family, balls and trainings, she couldn't come up with the reason for his behaviour.

"Her father is a very influential man–"

"No," she snapped. "Don't you dare lie to me now. Look at me."

It was unusual to see the prince so uncomfortable. In a different situation, she'd gloat. Now she had to stop herself from clenching her hand on his jaw and crushing that spoilt pretty face.

"It was a decade ago. It was her mother who spread the rumours about you," he said low, his gaze dropping to her clenched jaw. "You've been out of the competition since then. That was the cost of your father retaining his position. A marriage with you would weaken us."

His hand itched to wipe the tear that rolled down her rosy cheek.

"You used me," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I've come here every week for a year. We've known each other since we were children," she blinked, trying to get rid of the tears gathering in her eyes. She felt her body shaking with rage and desperation. He betrayed her. "You've known and didn't think of telling me. Instead, you watched me abase myself before you and–"

"Don't pretend that you didn't come here out of your own volition to get properly fucked–”

Slap. Tyril snorted.

"I've never regretted not having a knife in my hand as much as I do right now."

"If you want to make me the villain, go ahead. You're in no position to actually hurt me."

Selene shook his head in disbelief. Was it a game for game since the very beginning? It certainly didn't feel so at the moment, but perhaps he was just that good of a manipulator. More than at him, she was angry with herself for actually believing he was different from what everyone around her said.

"Watch your back, Princeling."

#on the one hand there's no plot #on the other there is #for sure there's a lot of lore in my head #and i'd love for it to be 10k words longer but im lazy #it was very filthy #in my head apparent;y #the end product? something i had to get out of my head #i take no responsibility for this #i was possessed #that being said ill probably see you in 6 months #tyril starfury #tyril x mc #blades au #blades of light and shadow #choices blades #nsft #cfwc #choices fic writers creations

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