#have I mentioned it gave some inspiration for The West Wing?

[kbade]

This movie was so good! I highly recommend giving it a watch, preferably on a rainy night with lots of blankets wrapped around you and maybe some chocolate to snack on.

#Michael Douglas is in it #and Michael J. Fox #there’s also a really great scene where the president tries to order flowers #actually two scenes #there’s also some really great patriotic scenes too really great stuff #have I mentioned it gave some inspiration for The West Wing? #The American President movie #romantic comedy #political movie #1995 movies #kbadesposts #Youtube

[rxgueone]

DRIFT

Pairing: Austin Butler x OC

Word count: 11,887

Summary: Just a group of friends spending their free time together at the town fair.

Warnings: angst, drugs, violence, smoking, cursing, fluff (?), smut is implied (oral), toxic relationships, bout all I can think of.

Tags: none.

Note: It is currently 3:33 AM as I am writing this, I have been listening to Rebel Radio in GTA 5 on loop since 11PM, I have a doctors appointment in a few hours due to the fact I need surgery for something, my inspiration actually sucks dick, spare me. The part with the Vette is based off of something I’ve been through. I’m over 6’3” and I sat in the back of a C7 Corvette with 4 other people, and it sucked balls I won’t even lie. I hated it. And sorry for how long this chapter is, couldn’t stop writing ig.

MASTERLIST — WEST COAST

—

Lana slid her hands in her pockets, she had been wearing the flannel that Austin gave her about a week ago since the drug deal. It smelled like fruit loops so she often wore it since it smelt nice. She hadn’t seen him at school either for the whole week, for some reason. Although from what she was told, he wasn’t missing any school, so he was probably just hiding. For what? God knows, and God only cared. Not like she was going to ask.

She was heading towards Tori’s place, she had been at home, got bored, and left so she could go hang out with one of her friends. She figured Tori would entertain her a good deal, so she dropped by her place. Plus, the town fair was tonight, maybe they could’ve went together. When she had headed to the driveway, she could see the black 1985 C4 Corvette parked by the sidewalk. Which told her that Austin was with Tori. In the driveway, was Tori’s firebird, and her father’s work truck. Which a Ford F150 crew cab. The garage door was left open, and she could see that there was a tool box with some motor oil on the top of it. With a pan beside it, meaning that one of the vehicles were having an oil change. Considering how Austin told Lana that he would often come to Tori’s place to fix the work truck, she assumed that Austin was changing the oil of the Ford.

She raised her brows curiously, and when she approached the front door. She gave three hard knocks, then stepped back, her hands behind her back. She could hear shouting from the inside. “Could you please get that?!” It sounded like Tori.

“Yeah no problem, Sanchez.” A hoarse voice answered, then she heard the door unlock, and with the twist. The door as pulled back, her suspicion was confirmed. There was Austin, wearing a white tank top that was stained with grease, the tank top was tucked in with the denim jeans he was wearing.

“Austin-“ Lana blinked.

“Hey,” he tilted his head as if he were a Labrador, confused as to why Lana was there. Lana could see Tori walk to Austin, and her brows raised when she saw Lana. Austin stepped to the side for Tori so she could stand beside him. Lana’s eyes were as big as eggs. She was taking in the image of both of them. Tori stood to Austin’s elbow, she was tiny.

Tori was wearing heavy makeup, but she looked beautiful. Her wings were sharp, and on point as always. And they were purple, which was her favorite color. She was wearing a purple crop top that looked like a sports bra, with purple sweatpants that were slightly sagged on the right side. It showed her panty line, which appeared to be purple laced panties.

They both had messy hair though. Austin was sweating, and Tori looked like she was sweating a bit too. What wasn’t helping was the fact that Lana could see Tori’s panties with ease. Not to mention, Austin’s lips looked red and raw, as if he had been just making out with someone.

Honestly, if Lana didn’t know any better. She would’ve assumed that Tori and Austin were hooking up. But she knew this wasn’t the case. Tori was dating Ashton, too dedicated and too loyal, for some reason. Austin, well- she didn’t know, he was just the mechanic.

“Hey Lana,” Tori smiled, “what’re you doing here?”

“Oh- I was just, bored at home y’know? Wanted to go out and hang.” She shrugged, her hands still in her pockets. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Hm?” Austin tilted his head. Lana pointed her index finger towards the Ford F150 that was out in the driveway. “Mr. Sanchez wanted an oil change, Tori called me over to help out with it.” He explained.

“We can hang out after Austin has changed the oil though.” Tori said excitedly.

“Are you gonna bring Ashton?” Lana asked.

“Nah, we got into a fight again.” Tori shook her head, waving it off.

“Shocker, huh.” Austin shrugged before wiping his lips, leaving a bit of grease on his face. Tori elbowed Austin before inviting Lana to come in, and she smiled, walking in the house. Austin shut the door, then left to go to the garage without saying a word to them.

Lana watched him enter the garage, looked over at Tori. “He comes here often right?” She asked, recalling how Austin told her he’d come by pretty much every day.

“Oh yeah, every day.” Tori laughed as the two of them walked over to the couch to sit down. “Sometimes sleeps here too.”

“Really? Doesn’t your mother or father mind?”

“No, they both like him.” She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails that looked like talons. Lana always wondered how women could always have those long fake nails. She was curious how they could do anything. They couldn’t even close their hand into a fist, or pick out their cards in those card readers at the gas station.

When Tori would take Lana with her to the gas station to obviously get gas for the Firebird. Lana would sit on the passengers side and watch Tori struggling to get the card out of the card reader due to her long nails, so Lana would have to get out of the car and get the card for Tori. Then Tori would do the rest while Lana would sit and watched, intrigued.

Lana was curious about Tori’s parents relationship with Ashton. “Do they like Ashton?”

“Obviously not.” Tori answered without any hesitation, but there was a smile on her face. A friendly smile, and Lana nodded her head. “They think Aus is a better man. My dad says he’s the best, but then again, I don’t listen to my dad since he never does shit around the house.”

Lana shrugged, leaning back on the couch. She half turned to look at Tori fully. “Tori, I ain’t gonna lie to you.” She began. “But Austin looked like he just made out with you, when he opened the door.”

“He was playing with my lipstick.” She said on the dime. “See,” reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants, she held out some lipstick. Took the cap off and the wax on the lipstick looked completely fucked, like someone had just eaten it for the shits and giggles. Her face distorted into a face of amusement, as if she was recalling the events, “Austin put it on, then ate it, for shits and giggles.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.” Lana murmured. Austin was always so serious. At the drug deal, he barely even said a word. When Alice was doing heroin beside him, he didn’t even protest, simply looked up, trying to ignore it. Austin just never fucked around, it seemed completely out of character for him to randomly eat lipstick for shits and giggles. But then again, he also slammed a bottle of vodka against Ashton’s head randomly. And also ate ice cream and drank milk and milkshakes even though he was lactose intolerant. So, maybe it wasn’t.

“Anyways, I was wondering.” Tori put the lipstick back in her pocket. “We should go to Jade and Jules house.” She suggested.

Jade and Jules were twins. Jules’ full name was actually Juliette, and Lana knew Jade well, but not Jules all that well in comparison. Lana would talk to Jules occasionally in the girls bathroom at school, whenever Lana would walk in on her smoking a cigarette. Usually Jules would be in the bathroom for a good five minutes, then throw the cigarette away and go back to class.

Jules was dating a football player named Randy, who was good friends with Ashton. He owned a Honda Civic, a 2022 Honda Civic to be exact. His mother or father bought it for him or something, Lana didn’t care much to find out. But what Lana did know, was that Randy’s car smelled nice as hell. Then again, the smell of a new car was heavenly, at least to Lana it was.

Jules and Randy were sex craved as well from what Lana knew. She caught the pair doing the old devil’s tango at a party, didn’t even say a word. Just opened the door to the bathroom, saw them both doing the deed, then shut the door and went to go pee in a bush. Why? Cause she was not going to pee with those two doing the deed, nor was she going to wait outside the bathroom for the both of them. Plus, Lana was high out of her mind when she walked in on the pair.

Jade, was the opposite. Lana had known Jade since she was a child actually. Lana wouldn’t call Jade her best friend, but they were close friends. Lana and Jade would roller-skate together for fun a lot, and would always go to each other’s birthdays. When Jade had found out about Lana’s overdose, she had cried for two days, Jules cried too, but not as much as Jade did.

Jade worried over Lana a lot, like- a lot a lot. But that was fine with Lana. Jade would often nag Lana as well about if she was doing any drugs or whatever, and Lana didn’t mind that as well. She knew Jade was doing it because she cared.

Jade was a quiet girl, real quiet, she was more of an observer. The way she handled things was different than Jules. Jules, in spite of her way, was never single, she felt lonely, craved love and attention. Jade however, would prefer to be alone, loved the feeling of not being loved, and loved not having attention on her, made her feel free.

Jade, due to her clean ways, would also make fun of the group quite a bit when she had the chance. Lana, Tori, Beth, and Alex didn’t mind. They all thought she had a point, she made a good point to make fun of them for taking drugs. Lana could remember full well when Jade had stood there eating ice cream while Lana was rolling around on the ground at a park, yelling about how she was a unicorn, then proceeded to eat shit by running straight into a pole and falling over. So yeah, Jade had the right to make fun of them.

Lana figured, she missed both of them. “Yeah, sure, we could go see them after Austin fixes the truck.”

“Cool! I heard there’s a theme park, Ashton’s gonna be there so…”

Lana thinned her lips into a bitter a line. She knew what Tori was hinting at. Hated the idea, but in spite of that, she had been wanting to go to the city fair, so she agreed. “Yeah sure, I’ll go.” She got off the couch after, wanting to go see what Austin was doing to the truck. Tori got up after her.

When Lana had walked in the garage, she was greeted with the image of Austin laying underneath the F150. There as a torque wrench laying beside him with an oil pan, and then she saw him grab the filter wrench. She watched as he screwed the oil filter off, groaned in annoyance when some of the oil go onto his face. But got the torque wrench again, grabbed the pan, then screwed off the oil screw.

She watched him adjust the oil pan underneath quickly. He crawled out from underneath the truck, looking up to see Tori and Lana both staring down at him with curious eyes. His eyes fluttered obliviously, before he sat up to put the old oil filter of the truck away. “What the hell are you guys doing here.” He asked, grabbing a rag from the ground to wipe the oil off his face.

“Watching you,” Tori answered with a kindhearted smile on her face, “you’re interesting.” Austin got up as she spoke those words, and stood in front of Tori. He leaned down, his face a few inches away from hers. Lana stood in the middle of them, looking back and forth between them.

Austin smirked. “You are too.” He pulled his face away from hers, walking back in the garage to get the new oil filter. Lana stood there, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed while Tori kept a mischievous smile on her face when she watched Austin get the box for the new oil filter, ripping it open.

Was that just me or was that awkward…? Lana asked herself, before shaking her head. “Well, anyways,” she changed the subject, not wanting to focus or think about what just happened, “Tori says she wants to go to Jade and Jules’ house when you’re done with everything.”

“Who’s Jade and Jules?” Austin asked when he got the filter out, walking back to them.

Right, Austin was still new to town. He hadn’t made many friends. In spite of his looks, being a heartthrob and everything, the dude still didn’t know jack shit. “Right- you don’t know them. They’re our good friends, twins actually.” Tori explained. “Jules’ real name is Juliette… y’know Jade Stravinsky and Juliette Stravinsky.” Tori figured she had to tell Austin their last names, since he usually called people by their last names. She wondered how that would work for twins.

Lana already knew that Austin wouldn’t call Jade or Jules by their last names since they were twins. Since Dal and Tray were twins, he didn’t call them by their last names either. Austin perked up a brow, leaning on the F150 as he looked at the pair. “What’s their middle names. I can’t go by last since they’re twins.” He grabbed the rag off the ground to wipe his hands again, which seemed to get greasier the more he rubbed.

Tori looked over at Lana. “Jade’s is Wulfheim.” Then Lana paused, bringing her hand up to her jawline to think to herself. She had tilted her head to the side, thinking about Jules. “Juliette’s is… Spencer, I believe. Jade Wulfheim Stravinsky, Juliette Spencer Stravinsky.”

“Those are some fancy names.” Austin answered without missing a beat.

“Austin Butler sounds even fancier.” Tori commented, and Austin shot her a glare before laying back down on the ground. “I’m just sayin’ it sounds pretty fancy.”

“Butler is just a fancy word, I think.” Lana said, siding with Tori.

“Oh yeah, for sure.” She agreed, nodding her head with Lana. Austin smirked, rolling his eyes before half of his body was hidden underneath the truck. Tori and Lana both watched him and all they could see was his body moving as he reached for the torque wrench, screwing something in.

“Yeah well, say that to my parents.” He said to the both of them.

“What happened to them anyways? There’s no way that your mom kicked you out for arguing with her boyfriend.” Tori sounded unconvinced. Practically everyone in town knew that Austin got kicked out of his mom’s house for that petty reason. He never hid it from anyone, didn’t bother to.

“Ever since my mom divorced my dad, she got petty as hell.” He started. “My mom is a notorious sleeper, y’know.” Lana and Tori could hear him laugh. His laugh was high pitched and giddy, which was odd considering how he sounded like a 50 year old man half the time. The other half he sounded like a man who smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day.

“How so?” Lana crouched down and hugged her knees close to her chest. Austin always told interesting stories, since he was such an honest guy. Never hid anything, never filtered his words. Tori did the same, intrigued now.

They watched as he put the torque wrench down, grabbing the oil pan. “My mom has always brought guys over to the house, whenever my father was out at work.” He explained for her, crawling out from the truck, then leaned down to grab the oil pan to drag out. “I never told my dad, because I thought he’d never believe me. But, my mother brought guys over, so often that my siblings and I would always bet the days she would bring a guy over to the guest house.” Huffing, he sat in front of the duo with a pan in front of him.

Lana and Tori were silent now, completely invested in the story of his life.

“Alan, my older brother would always guess correctly.” He chuckled to himself, looking down at his hands. He was quiet for a few moments, his eyes narrowed towards his hands, as if he was frustrated. “My dad was absent most of my life, never had a good relationship with him… my mother was never really a mother. If anything the maid was more of a mother to me than my actual biological mother.”

“Oh?” Lana tilted her head.

“Yeah,” Austin smirked, “so if you ever meet Ms. Randle, and you lot are mean to her, I’ll beat your ass.” He warned, walking past them to open the hood of the truck. They both watched him get the oil.

“So, she raised you?” Tori asked.

“My siblings and I yeah.” He unscrewed the bottle, standing in front of the hood as Lana and Tori remained sitting. “She was there at my brothers funeral.” Leaning forward to pour the oil in the truck. “She and my sister are all I got.”

“Your mom slept with a lot of people before the divorce right? So, why did the divorce happen?” Lana asked.

“The yoga instructor was hot.” He shrugged, grabbing the other bottle of oil to pour it into the truck. “Bout it.”

Both Lana and Tori were silent for a few heartbeats, trying to process what they had just heard. They rarely ever heard of a woman leaving their really rich husband for a yoga instructor. For a lawyer or whatever, sure, but for a yoga instructor? For Lana that was cringe worthy. “Your mom’s boyfriend… is her yoga instructor?” Lana asked him, invested into the plot now.

“Yeah, he’s twenty-one or whatever.”

“And your mom is…”

“Forty-six.”

“Oh shit.” Tori blinked, and Lana felt herself cringe even more when she realized the age difference.

“He proposed to her and I argued with him about it, thought it was stupid, and yeah, got kicked out.” He chuckled when he finished pouring the oil in. “Ever since the divorce, my mom got a new boob job, got a new nose, new lips, new everything y’know? My dad gave her most of his money, and I hate it cause she doesn’t deserve it.”

“I can tell.” Lana murmured. “Her rack is fake?” She asked, focusing on the irrelevant stuff.

“Please,” Austin scoffed, “her rack is faker than a stripper telling you that you’re their best customer.”

“That’s oddly specific.” Lana couldn’t help but smile at how specific it was. She was trying her best to hold back her laughter, but even Tori let out a little giggle from how specific Austin was being.

Austin had finished giving the F150 an oil change, and took it out for a quick test drive to make sure he hadn’t fucked anything up. When he was finished, he was paid 400 bucks by Tori’s dad. Who had been sitting on the recliner the entire time drinking his days away. Lana hadn’t even noticed him the until Austin was paid.

Lana and Tori were waiting for Austin by the front door of the house. Tori was leaning on Lana’s shoulder as Austin was standing in front of the recliner. “You’re gonna be taking my daughter out boy?” Tori’s father spoke.

“Yes sir, I am.” He nodded his head, keeping his arms clasped in front of him. He stood stiff, in a manner that made him look like a bouncer.

“Well I trust you boy, but you better not do anythin’ to her, you hear?”



“Yes sir, I hear.” He nodded once more.

“Alright, get.” With a wave of his hand, Austin was dismissed. He walked back over to the pair, opening the door for them. Tori was the first to walk out, then Lana.

Lana was sitting in the back of the Corvette, she was completely squished. Tori wanted to sit in the front and Lana didn’t bother to put up an argument. The problem was, was that Lana was 5’10” or 5’11” one of those two heights, she didn’t know. While Tori was small as shits, she was 5’3” for fucks sakes. Lana could barely fit in the back of the Corvette.

Austin was 6’1” and the dude already looked squished as is in the drivers seat, let alone a chic who was almost his height in the back seat of a C4 1980s Corvette. But, even though she was squished in the back of the Corvette. Austin’s taste in music was questionable. Not that it was bad or anything, but it was just odd that he was listening to the music he was listening to.

The guy was blaring country songs from the 90s and below. Lana recognized some of the songs too. The song that was currently playing was Johnny Paycheck - I’ll Be Hating You, which talked about a man who dedicated his whole entire life to his girl, started hating himself, and knew it wouldn’t be long till he started hating her either. Lana had to admit, it was a damn good song even in spite of it being country.

When Austin had stopped by a red light, a white Integra had pulled up beside Austin. Tori immediately recognized who it was, and panicked. “Oh my god that’s Ashton- fuck if he sees me with you Austin, I’m dead.”

“I don’t think he’ll see you, Sanchez.” He muttered, looking over at her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “What- what are you doing-“ his eyes widened when he saw her get up. “Aye- Sanchez!”

“Switch, switch with me Lana, c’mon!” She ordered as she stepped on the car seat.

“Don’t put your damn shoes on the car seats, Sanchez! You’ll ruin the leather!” He exclaimed in annoyance.

Lana leaned away from Tori, “Tori- I’m too big-“ Tori grabbed Lana’s shoulders to shove her over the glovebox of the car. “Aye god dammit Tori, I’m too fuckin’ big!” Lana felt her head slam into the seat of the Corvette.

While all of this was happening, the radio was blasting Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, which seemed ironic. Since Tori was trying to hide so she wouldn’t break Ashton’s heart in case they were spotted.

“What the fuck are you doing, Sanchez?!” Austin watched her.

“Oh my god Lana just switch.” Tori whined, shoving Lana out of the way again so she could sit in the back of the Corvette.

“Okay okay, fuck dude-“ Lana quickly unbuckled her seatbelt then the two of them switched places. Lana yelped when her head hit the window of the car, and she felt the car lurch forward when Austin shifted into first gear and slammed on the gas. She had rolled over and her head hit the bottom of the car, her shoes in Austin’s face now.

“Move your shoes, god dammit!” He pushed her legs away from his face.

“Shit Austin, I’d love to but as you can see, I’m upside down!” Lana said in an overly enthusiastic tone. Tori watched the chaos that she had created with a small smile on her face, amused. She could see Austin look out the window, exchanging a quick glance with Ashton who was sitting in the Integra. Tori could see Austin downshift into second gear, then suddenly slammed on the gas which caused the car to shoot forward.

The car was filled with the sound of the exhaust screaming for its life, and Tori poked her head out a bit. She could see the white Integra falling behind Austin’s car, gapping Ashton’s Integra. Lana was still struggling to even sit up right. A cop car which had been resting inside an empty parking lot had been spotted, causing Austin to slam on the breaks. As a result, Lana who still wasn’t upright had lurched out of her seat, her head once again hitting the ground. “God dammit, Austin!”

—

Tori hopped out of the Corvette, and Austin closed the door for her. Lana had crawled out of the Corvette, she had managed to sit upright after a good solid ten minutes of struggling. The whole struggle made her hair become a mess, but that was fine cause it was usually a mess.

Austin said nothing as Lana and Tori both walked to the front door of Jade and Jules place, knocking on the door. The trio waited in silence, with Austin standing behind Tori, she was leaning back against his chest, comfortable with his presence. While he kept his hands in his pockets, and Lana was zoning out while staring at the door.

At least 30 seconds later, the door opened up, and Lana was greeted with Jade. “It’s Tori and Lana!” Jade yelled, and she smiled at the both of them. “Hey,” she looked at Austin, her eyes widening.

“Tori wants to hang out. Go to the town fair.” Lana said calmly.

“Yeah sure, Jules and I were just about to go.” Jade responded, “just come in, let me get changed.” She flicked her head inside, opening the door wider so the three of them could walk in. Austin flashed a charming smile across his face before following Tori to the living room.

“Lana!” Lana could hear a familiar voice call her name, it was Juliette. When she had turned around, she saw Jules jump up and hug her tightly. Lana embraced her, patting her back awkwardly before Jules pulled away, then looked at Tori excitedly, hugging her as well. “Hey Tori!”

“Hey.” Tori smiled, looking back Austin who had been standing in front of Jade and Jules’ mother, introducing himself. Jade and Jules’ mother was a woman who was kind, very kind, in fact too kind in Lana’s mind. Jade and Jules’ mother had always been intimidated by others, she had a weak personality, could be pushed around easily, which Jules or Jade didn’t like. And quite often, their mother would break down crying. But at the same time their mother was unpredictable as hell.

This was also due to the fact that she was a drunk, would always be drinking a can of beer. She had maybe 18 DUIs or something. What didn’t help was that their father was also an addict, a heroin addict. Lana never knew what happened to their father, neither did Jade or Jules, but, it was whatever.

“Jack wrote to me. He wanted to tell you girls hi.” Jules started, seeming to not notice Austin.

Jack, or Jackal, was Jade and Jules’ older brother who was currently in the Marines. Lana could always remember his full name because to her it always seemed so cool and unique, which was Jackal Leonard Stravinsky. Which to others sounded weird as well, cause who named their child after a dog? But aye, to Lana it sounded dope as hell.

Jules, unlike Jade, already looked dressed to go out. Jules was wearing a baby blue hoodie with some gray shorts, she had her makeup done, which was very little. Her blonde hair was curled up a bit to make it look slightly wavy, and her mascara complimented her doe eyes. Lana couldn’t deny that Jules was indeed a beautiful girl.

“I haven’t seen you around here, you must be new.” Lana heard their mother say.

“Ah, yes Ms. Stravinsky, I’m new.” Austin smiled, before shaking her hand.

“Oh well, don’t do anything inappropriate to them.”

“No ma’am, of course not.” He assured Ms. Stravinsky, before looking back at Tori, Jules, and Lana. His eyes fell towards Jules, and he was silent, seeming enthralled with her. And honestly, if he was enthralled with her, Lana couldn’t blame him. If Lana was gay, she would for sure go after Jules, no doubt. But, Jules was too busy talking with Tori. The both of them were holding each others hands, talking to each other excitedly.

Which made sense to Lana, they were both apart of the cheerleading team or whatever. From what Lana remembered, Tori was the captain, and Jules was… well… whatever she was.

Jade came walking down the stairs during the commotion. She dressed similarly to Jules, but in spite of them being twins, they didn’t share the same beauty. No doubt Jade was also a pretty girl, however she was never noticed much. Usually brushed to the side, while Jules got most of the attention.

Jade had dark orange hair, it actually kind of looked crimson at times. But it was dark orange no doubt, and she had brown doe eyes, while Jules had blue doe eyes. Jade’s hair was tied back in a bun, she wore a baggy unzipped jacket with some joggers, finished with a pair of Converse. But, she also wore no makeup, unlike Jules.

“Yeah! Jade and I were just about to go to the fair with Randy!” Lana diverted her attention towards Austin to see how he’d react once he heard Randy. She expected him to look away, and he did. His eyes went to the ground, and his expression which showed curiosity was now blank, unreadable. “He’s on his way to pick us up right now.” Jules finished, her hands behind her back as she was standing in front of Tori, who had an excited look upon her face.

“Oh? No way, you can probably ride with us if you like! We’re taking Austin’s car.” Tori offered.

Austin shook his head in disagreement, knowing full well that the Corvette didn’t have any space. Lana did a motion of sweeping her hand around her throat, shaking her head to tell Jules not to agree.

Jules let out a kind hearted laugh, waving her hand. “No thank you, I’m gonna take a ride with Randy.” She smiled at Tori. “I mean, maybe Jade wants to take a ride with you guys?” She looked over at Jade, who had remained quiet while watching them banter.

Jade stood there quietly for a few moments before looking at Austin. Who had a blank expression, his hands in his pockets, waiting for the girls to make up their minds. “Sure.” Jade came to the conclusion. She didn’t want to be with Jules and Randy, she knew that the couple would be all over each other, and she was not willing to deal with that.

Jules reached into her back pocket and held out her phone. “Oh, Randy’s here.” She read the notification that she got, then looked at all of them. “I gotta go, cya.” She opened the door quickly, and just as she was about to leave, Ms. Stravinsky got up to walk after Jules.

A crowd formed behind Ms. Stravinsky, where Austin stood all the way in the back. Leaning against the door, while Jade stood beside Lana, and Tori was to Lana’s left. As they watched Jules approach Randy’s Honda, they saw the windows roll down. “Randy!!” Ms. Stravinsky called to the jock, and his attention which was on Jules was now on Ms. Stravinsky.

“Yes Helen?” He replied.

“You better not do anything inappropriate with her!” Ms. Stravinsky warned, and the moment she said that. Tori, Jade, and Lana all started to make gestures from behind Ms. Stravinsky. With Lana putting two fingers towards her mouth, sticking her tongue out. Tori being the bold one and making the gesture of Jules deep throating by stroking the air, and Jade aggressively pointing her index finger towards the circle that she made with her other hand. All three of them mouthing the words, ‘USE PROTECTION!’

Jules saw all of that and couldn’t help but scoff at how immature the three girls were being before entering Randy’s car. Randy, who kept staring at Ms. Stravinsky was trying his best to hold his tongue. He didn’t want to randomly bust a lung while talking to her. “I won’t do anything to her Helen! I promise!” He crossed his heart before rolling the window up.

“And if you do, please wear protection.” Ms. Stravinsky murmured underneath her breath, turning around to look at the group who had fallen completely still. Then she turned back around to watch Randy drive off with Jules in the car. Ms. Stravinsky looked at her driveway, noticing the black 1985 C4 Corvette that was parked beside her car, which was an Acura. “Is that your car blonde?” She asked, looking back at Austin.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you guys have anyone else to pick up or is Jade the last one?” She asked.

“Beth and Alex.” Tori answered for Austin, who blinked in confusion. Not like he would protest though, whatever Tori wanted, he’d do.

Ms. Stravinsky scoffed as she looked back at the blacked out Corvette. Without any hesitation, she came up with a sly remark. “Good luck fitting in that, Jade.”

Good luck fitting in that, Jade. Definitely the best words. By this time, Lana had been completely squished up against the Corvette. The girl was struggling to breathe, with Jade sitting by her side, and Beth sitting on the far left. Alex was able to squeeze herself between Beth and Jade, but this caused Lana to be squished against the small sliver of a window that the Corvette had.

Lana who was struggling to breathe, knew damn well that Jade was most likely wishing she had taken the Civic. Enduring Jules cheesy banter with Randy was far better than this, at least to Lana it was. “Jesus Christ, this Corvette is cramped as hell.” Beth gasped for air, and Alex, who was squished was breathing heavily as well.

“Bradley, why don’t you just sit on someones lap?” Austin asked, glancing back Alex who kept gasping for air.

“There’s no fuckin’ space, god dammit!” Alex snapped at Austin. “If I sit on Jade’s lap, my head will hit the ceiling and then I’ll be in an awkward position.” She explained.

“Alright, fine.” When Austin saw the light turn green, he shifted into first gear, merged into the right lane, then slowly pulled over. Shifting in neutral, and he looked back at all four of them. “Sanchez, you’re five three, right?”

“Yeah.”



“Clark, you’re five ten?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Lana murmured against the glass.

“Okay, here’s the plan then, all of you get out.” He opened the door of the Corvette, then pulled his seat back. As if it was an opening for freedom, Alex desperately crawled out, pushing Lana’s face against the glass again, then Lana followed behind, Jade, then Beth. Tori as well got out from the passengers side, and all five of them stared up at Austin, who was glaring at them.

“As God is my witness, I hate your Corvette.” Alex complained, wiping sweat off her brow. It became hot as hell in the Vette because of how cramped it was in the back seats. Beth was sitting on the side walk, with Jade standing beside her arms crossed, Tori had her hands on her hips, Lana had hers in her pockets.

“Yeah, cause Corvette’s aren’t meant for six people.” Austin remarked as he stared at all of them blankly. “Listen, Sanchez, you’re the shortest so you’re gonna be sitting on my lap.”

“What?!” She exclaimed.

Before she could protest, Austin continued. “You don’t have a choice, you’re short, you can fit on my lap plus your head won’t hit the ceiling. Clark, you’ll get the passenger seat since you’re the second tallest. Wulfheim, Bradley, and Williams, you’ll sit in the back. You three are about the same height, so you three should be fine.”

“Bet you’d wish you took that offer with Jules huh, Jade?” Lana looked over at her friend.

“No,” Jade shook her head confidently, “I like Austin, the way he does things is entertaining. Everything is chaotic as hell, more entertaining than Jules and Randy being lovey dovey.” She smiled.

“Oh,” Lana blinked, “I stand corrected then…” She looked away before looking back at Austin who opened the doors.

Lana was the first to enter the car, sitting on the passengers side, then shut the door. Austin kept the seat of the Corvette rolled forward, Alex, Beth, and Jade all dove into the car. After maybe two minutes, they were able to get comfortable. Alex was 5’5” the shortest, so she sat in the middle. Even in spite of her height, she was hugging her knees close to her chest. Jade and Beth were both 5’7”-5’8” so they sat on the sides for more leg room.

When Austin finally made the seat roll backwards, he hopped in on his seat, then looked up at Tori who stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m not sitting on your lap, Austin.”

“That’s fine.” He shrugged. “Do you want to sit on Clark’s?”

“No.”

“Cool. So shut the fuck up and get on my lap.” He ordered, glaring up at her. Alex, Beth, and Jade all poked their heads out from behind the seats, watching.

“I-“

“Come here, Tori!” Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her down onto his thigh, then close to his chest. Slammed the door shut, and leaned back against the seat to make some room for her. “See? It’s not that hard. Why can’t you just be listen to me.” He growled in annoyance, shifting the car back into first gear, then flicked the turn signal to show he was going to merge back into traffic.

Alex, Beth, Jade, and Lana all sat in silence, amazed by Austin. “Woah.” Lana thought outloud as she watched them. “Tori, you’re a difficult lady.”

“Oh shut up, Lana!”

By the time they had arrived to the town fair, it was already 8PM. All of them had to get home by 11PM, except for Austin, who didn’t have a curfew because he lived with Dal and Tray.

Dal and Tray were at the fair as well, they were in a food truck selling crepes, and inside the crepes had baggies of cocaine or some sort of acid, just some hardcore drug. Dal would be the one who was out in the park, handing out these photo cards that had a smiley face on it. If someone had gotten one of those photo cards, that meant that they talked with Dal, and could get one of those said drugs that they were selling.

However, to get those photo cards, they’d have to pay Dal maybe 5 or 10 bucks, it depended on the drug that the person wanted. But, if someone didn’t have said photo card, then they’d just get a regular crepe with no drugs, no nothing.

Austin knew the whole plan and told the girls about it in case they wanted to get high, he also knew that if they did get high, he’d have to drive them home. In fact, he’d probably have to drive all of them home, which was something he was dreading the most.

The group had split up, Tori was with Alex and Beth. Jade was with Austin and Lana. They had planned to meet up at the time of 10:30PM in the parking lot so he could drive them back home on time.

Austin had parked in an area where the drift cars parked, why? Because apparently he knew how to drift, and had bought tickets to go out and drift in the track at the fair. But before parking there, he had to kick everyone out of Corvette first so it could be inspected. Which led to the group splitting up in the first place since they didn’t want to wait for Austin to get back, and just go on the rides, have fun, and do whatever.

Lana and Jade were willing to wait though. While walking from the parking lot to the fair, Beth had asked Tori how it felt to sit on Austin’s lap. Her answer? She simply said that he was comfortable, which led to all the other girls being curious.

Tori didn’t even sit on Ashton’s lap because she found him to be uncomfortable. If Tori wasn’t willing to sit on her own boyfriends lap because it was uncomfortable, but said her friends lap was comfortable, that must’ve meant something. At least- that’s what Beth said.

Lana and Jade had been sitting on the bleachers at the track, watching down below to see if Austin was going to appear in his Corvette. But, he didn’t. He did appear, but his Corvette wasn’t with him. Lana noticed that he wasn’t wearing his white grease stained tank top, he seemed to have changed into a black button up. He was ruffling up his messy blonde hair, leaned down towards someone to say something to them. To which they pointed to another car that was out in the track.

The car was a black and pink BRZ, and the person handed Austin the keys to the car plus the steering wheel. Austin gave a nod, then pointed to the bleachers towards Lana and Jade, saying something to the person while leaned down. He looked at the person for an answer, and they nodded their head. “Aye Clark! Wulfheim! C’mere!” He called to them. Lana and Jade both gave each other a bemused look.

Tori could see Ashton in the crowd, he was buying cotton candy, and he looked to be alone. She looked at Alex and Beth, then at Ashton, finally glancing at Alex and Beth once more. “Hey, I’m gonna go get cotton candy.” She said eagerly, they gave her a nod, telling her they’d wait before she left the duo.

When she went to go get the cotton candy, of course Ashton had noticed her, he walked to her side. “What the hell are you doing here?” Was the first thing he said as she gave two tickets to get a bag of cotton candy.

“What’s it look like, Ash? I’m getting cotton candy.” She smiled up at him, carefully opening the bag.

He stood still, staring down at her. His eyes checked her out, looking at the outfit she wore. “You look like a slut.” He said, glaring at her. “Looked like you just got fucked senseless by someone else.” His head flicked towards her laced panties.

“Maybe I did.” She kept that same snarky smile on her face.

“Why you-“ and without any hesitation he grabbed her wrist, dragging her away from the crowd.

Alex and Beth had been watching from a distance before seeing Tori and Ashton both disappeared into the crowd of people. “Cool, she ditched us for Ashton.” Alex grumbled in annoyance.

“Does that mean he’s taking her home?” Beth asked, looking at Alex.

Jade and Lana had walked down the bleachers towards Austin, who had a smile on his face. He grabbed another full face helmet and held it out to them. “Which one of you wants to go drift with me first?” He asked, and Lana looked at Jade. Who snatched the helmet without any hesitation. There was a gleeful smile on her face, showing her excitement for what was to come. Austin looked at Lana. “Your turn is next Clark, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m not. Jade can be a test subject.” She shrugged, brushing it off as she went back to the first row of the bleachers to watch. She could see Jade and Austin walk side by side. When they both reached the BRZ, Austin was leaning down to help Jade put the helmet on, the steering wheel on the roof of the car. He gently pressed his hand against the bottom of her chin to lift her face up so he could help her with the D strap that came with the helmet. When he helped her with that, he put his hand on top of her head, aggressively shaking it to make sure the helmet was secure. Nodded his head, handed her a pair of 100% gloves, which she gladly took.

Jade looked up at Austin. “Y’know, you’re actually way nicer than I anticipated.” She complimented, watching him slide his Icon Variant on with ease. “I thought you’d be some sort of dickhead like Randy or Ashton, but you’re actually super nice.”

“Oh?” Austin chuckled when he did the D strap to his own helmet. “Thanks, Wulfheim.” Sliding his gloves on, he leaned down to grab the door of the BRZ, opening it for Jade. “The BRZ has a roll cage, so lift up your leg, and duck your head when getting in, alright darling?” His voice was gentle, as if he was talking to a small child.

“Yessir.” She nodded her head, doing as she was told, Ducking her head, then lifting up her leg, she was able to get into the BRZ. She looked up, seeing Austin shut the door for her. She looked at the interior of the BRZ. It was pretty much empty, but the car had a hand break, something to adjust the nitro, a microphone, a fire extinguisher, a net window, no steering wheel, but it also had race seats. That tucked the person in to make sure when they crashed, the person wouldn’t go flying. She also noticed how the car still had cup holders, which she found cute.

Even in spite of the cars color schemes, which was black and pink, the inside wasn’t that pinkish. She heard the drivers side door open, and saw Austin holding the steering wheel. She watched as he was able to easily get into the car, grabbed the steering wheel off the roof, and with ease, clipped it onto the holder. There was a pink line in the middle of the wheel to show if it was in center. “You ready darling?” He asked in a gentle voice, slipping the key inside the ignition.

“Yep!” Her smile was audible.

Lana kept watching curiously, then she heard the car roar to life. The car was loud, and she could hear it quickly shift into first gear. It shot forward onto the track, its wheels spinning from underneath as if the car was trying to adjust to its own torque and speed. Lana watched the black and pink BRZ that was covered in sponsorships race down the track.

The exhaust roaring loudly, Lana saw the tires lock up, which caused car to go crooked. The car tires spun against the asphalt, smoke flying behind it, with the squeals of tires filling her ears. Lana could faintly hear a, “HOLY SHIT!” From the inside of the car due to the fact that it had net windows.

Lana was impressed, she thought Austin was bluffing when he said he knew how to drift, but he wasn’t. The dude knew how, and he was completely legit.

Ashton dragged Tori around until he finally reached the end of the fair, where the portapotties were. He grabbed her throat, tightly squeezing it to prevent her from breathing as he turned his body. Throwing her to the side of the portapotty. He slammed her so hard against the portapotty that it had moved a bit when she hit it.

“You really wanna be a bitch to me, right now?” He asked, glaring down at her. “Randy told me, about your little adventure with Butler.” He murmured, his nose was pressed against hers. Her hand weakly clawed at his, but he kept the same firm grip. “We got into a fight and you’re already out with another guy?!” He slapped the right side of her face, and she yelped from fear.

“Ashton, I didn’t hook up with him.” She mewled out weakly, her eyes stinging with tears.

“Oh? Then what the hell were you doing hanging out with him? Randy told me he drove you here. You weren’t hooking up with them then what? What?!” He demanded.

“My dad likes him, and asked him to change the trucks oil, that’s all.” She cried out, sobbing now. Ashton gently let go of her neck, stepping away from her. His hands were balled up into fists, and his brown eyes were glaring down at her, focused.

“Is that the truth?”



“Yes, it is. You can even ask my dad, Ashton.” She sucked in some air to calm herself down, her hands were trembling already. She was use to this type of treatment but for some reason she always had the same reaction to it.

Ashton kept staring at her, frowning when he realized how badly he hurt her. He walked towards the bench that was sat right next to the portapotty, turned to her with his hand held out. “Come here Tori, come here.” His voice was gentle, and she was quiet for a few moments. Hesitant, but she accepted his hand. She felt him gently pull him towards her, embracing her, he had wrapped his arms around her hips. Digging his head into her chest, her cupped his head, fingers fiddling with his hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, Tori. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She leaned down to kiss his head softly. “Just don’t hurt me again, please.”

“I won’t, I promise.” He murmured against her chest. But like every promise, Ashton would break this one as well.

Alex and Beth had met Veronica at the fair. She was telling them about Dal, while the pair was telling Veronica about how they were cramped in Austin’s C4 Corvette. Veronica found the situation hysterical and laughed about it with them, then she had told them where to find Dal and Tray. Although, Alex and Beth didn’t want to leave Veronica alone, they had known that she was high. Alex decided to stay with Veronica, and Beth would go off to go get some drugs from Dal and Tray. At least, that was what they agreed upon.

But, before they could even go get the drugs. Veronica had revealed to them that she was already with a group, but she got lost in the mirror maze, because of that she was alone. Which was fine, so the duo decided to just forget about the drugs and hang out with Veronica. They knew about Austin having to most likely take them home even if they weren’t high, and didn’t want him to deal with them being high.

Veronica told the duo that she had given some 20 year old head in the mirror maze. Alex found that to be weird, the image of a girl giving some college kid head in the middle of maze was just downright weird to her. Veronica begged to differ, she said that it was amazing seeing herself give this random guy that she had just met 15 seconds ago head in 50 different angles. Veronica had been able to see how deep his dick could go in her throat, due to this, she was able to confirm that she could indeed deep throat.

“You gave some dude head in a mirror maze to see if you could deep throat?” Alex asked, her jaw dropped.

“Well yeah,” Veronica giggled, “I’ve always been told I give good head, and with a mirror? I can finally see why.” She said with an excited smile on her face.

“You seem proud of it, and y’know what, if you are. Good for you, dude.” Alex smiled at Veronica.

“Yeah honestly good for you.” Beth agreed, and Veronica squealed in happiness, she was happy that the pair wasn’t judgmental over it.

“I think he ate cotton candy, his cum tasted like it-“

“Okay, that we don’t need to know, Onica.” Alex held up her hand, not wanting to know anymore of the details.

Beth blinked in confusion, tilting her head. “Wait, what you eat, your cum tastes like?” And Alex shot her a glare, wanting her to shut up.

“Yeah!” Veronica answered excitedly. “That’s why people say when you eat pineapple, your cum tastes better. If you eat cotton candy your cum tastes like cotton candy. If you eat strawberries your cum will taste like that.” She answered, nodding her head as she was thinking to herself. “I’ve given enough head to know.” She proclaimed.

“How much head?” Beth asked, eating the caramel apple that Alex bought for her.

“Ten… twenty… thirty, I dunno, I lost count!” Veronica laughed, clapping her hands.

“Cool.” Alex bobbed her head.

Lana had put her full face helmet on, and was sitting in the same spot that Jade had just been sitting in. She could hear the snap of the wheel against the holder, looking at Austin. “You ready?” He asked her.

“For sure.”

“Make sure to record!” Jade reminded Lana.

“Oh yeah.” Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she held it out in landscape mode, leaned back in her chair, then gave Austin a thumbs up. She could see him turn the car on, and the BRZ roared loudly. Austin shifted into first gear, launching forward. The wheels spun from underneath as the BRZ was accelerating quickly.

Austin slammed on the foot break, pulled back on the hand break quickly. He kept a foot on the gas pedal, a cloud of smoke surrounded both of them and Lana couldn’t help but scream from the adrenaline rush that hit her like a rocket. Her body lunged to the side with the car, then Austin made the car straighten out again.

Jade sat in the bleachers wide eyed, holding her phone out to record the whole situation. Knowing how Lana was, in spite of the girl recording, it was probably filmed in the messiest way possible. As Jade watched, she could see the BRZ spinning in a circle with a cloud of smoke enveloping the car. Lana’s voice, which was usually deep, was now sounding that of a 2 year.

Austin kept the steering wheel pointed to the left, making the car spin and spin. Lana had kept her eyes opened the whole time, tucked against the race seat. She couldn’t stop laughing like a child who had just seen the greatest movie of all time, she was genuinely excited. Never in her life had she been in a car with such an erratic driver. All she could see was smoke surrounding her, the smell of burning tires filled her head. The car then straightened out again, growling loudly as it rolled out of the smoke, dropping down a gear, only for it to slowly start zig zagging across the track, the tires screeching from underneath, before it was launched forward again.

Lana’s head slammed against the head seat of the car. She wasn’t ready for the sudden torque to kick in as hard as it did. Austin was laughing like a school boy, then slammed on the break, which made Lana’s head hit the dash of the car. She shook her head before looking at Austin, who lifted up the visor of his helmet. He looked over at her, one hand on the wheel, a smile visible on his face. “How was that, Clark?” His tone was filled with adrenaline and excitement.

“Fuckin’ crazy.” Lana laughed, looking at Austin with a wide grin plastered on her face. “Where the hell did you even learn how to do that?” She asked, leaning back in the seat.

“Oh y’know,” he shrugged, “I lived in the West Coast.”

Dal was leaning on the wall, a cigarette popped into his mouth. He inhaled deeply, exhaling from his nostrils and mouth. He looked up from the ground, seeing Jules in front of him. He raised a brow, confused as to what she was doing. He assumed she came to the fair with Randy, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Jules had gotten into an argument with Randy. Something about how she considered flirting with another girl to be cheating. While Randy disagreed and said that it wasn’t cheating. The topic only came up because when Jules left Randy alone, she had saw him flirting with some other girl, and had heard a bit of their conversation. Randy had left her alone after that, deciding that arguing with her was a waste of time.

Dal frowned when he listened to Jules complaining to him. But he knew why she was there, she was seeking drugs. He had given her a ticket then a photo card, telling her it was alright and that Tray will treat her fair when she asks for the drugs. She was happy when she got the photo card, thanked Dal for being understanding, then dipped. Dal too, would get high whenever he felt down, but then again- Dal never took hardcore drugs. He’d usually just smoke some pot when he felt down. But, everyone had different ways of coping.

When Jules had left, about a good ten minutes later, Lana, Jade, and Austin had appeared. They didn’t want to get any drugs, but in fact had gotten Dal some cotton candy. Actually, Austin was the one who got Dal the cotton candy. When they met, Dal could smell the scent of burning tires. “Were you by the track causing all that ruckus?” Dal asked, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, his eyes focused on Austin who handed him the cotton candy bag.

“Yeah, why?” Austin asked when Dal dropped the cigarette on the ground. Squeezing it underneath his Vans, he looked up at Austin lazily.

Blinking his dazed eyes, he smiled fondly as his friend. “Nothin’ it was just some damn good driving.”

Tray had leaned over the counter when he saw Jules outside, handing him the photo card Dal had given her. Tray noticed that Jules’ face was puffy, swollen, and red, as if she had just been crying her eyes out. Even her mascara was all ruined, and Tray felt a wad of sympathy for her. So, he gave her three crepes in total, but only one bag of acid. The bag had two pills inside, that were stamped with smiley faces.

Tray knew she was alone, and when a pretty girl like Jules was out alone, high? A man could take advantage of her. So Tray had given her the weakest drug he could, it would affect her no doubt, but not so much where she could be taken advantage of- or, so Tray hoped. “Thanks Tray!” Jules grinned up at him.

“No problem twig.” He shook his head. Twig was Jules’ nickname that Tray had given her. He called her twig because she was thin. Real thin. “You gonna go anywhere?” He asked her gently.

“Yeah, maybe to the mirror maze. Wanna see how it feels when you’re tripping balls.” She said in a giddy tone, excited for what was to come.

Tray frowned sadly. “You ought to be careful.” He said in a brotherly like tone.

“I know, I know.” She stepped away from him, glancing back. “Oh yeah- Jack says hi!” And with that, she had left Tray alone.

Dal was looking at the trio. “Why isn’t Jules with you?” He asked, looking at Jade.

“What? She’s with Randy.” Jade answered in a puzzled tone, she was confused as to why Dal was concerned about Jules.

“She didn’t tell you?” Dal blinked. “Randy and her got into a fight and he left her alone.” His eyes glanced over all three of them, Jade was wide eyed, Austin looked worried, while Lana was enjoying the cotton candy that was being shared. Worry had washed over Jade like those waves at the beaches that take those little kids from beneath.

Jade gulped her worry down, “Do- do you know where she went?” She stammered, not doing a good job at hiding her worry.

“If she went to see you, she’s with Tray right?” Lana piped up, finished the cotton candy.

“Yeah, he’s at the food truck.”

“Thanks.” Jade gave him two bucks for tips, and when she was about to leave, Austin had already been ahead of them. He was heading for the food truck.

When they went to the food truck, Tray told them that Jules was at the mirror maze, she wanted to go there and trip balls. Thought it would help her, and they thanked him. While they were walking towards the maze, Austin had began talking. “Listen,” he started, “I should probably get her.” He looked over at Jade.

“You barely even know her!” Jade protested, disagreeing with the idea. Lana agreed though, the fact that Austin barely knew Jules was actually a huge benefit. This was due to the fact that Jules had a habit of retaliating with her family members every time they tried to help her, or so… Jade told Lana.

“Yeah but she knows that I’m the reason you’re here right? Plus, she has no ride.” Austin countered, half turning to Jade.

“Actually, considering how Jules is. I think it’d be great if Austin went in.” Lana piped up from behind Austin. Jade glared at Lana, who had simply shrugged then grabbed some cotton candy from the bag Austin was holding to eat.

“You better not hurt her.” Jade threatened, and Austin smirked in response. He saluted to Jade jokingly, before handing in 4 tickets to go into the mirror maze.

“You don’t gotta worry, Jade.” Lana began, leaning down when she saw a can of Orange Fanta that was spilled on the ground. She picked it up, and took a sip out of it. “Austin wouldn’t hurt a fly if his life depended on it.” And Jade groaned, slightly annoyed with Lana. “Want some? It’ll cheer you up.” She held out the Fanta to Jade.

“Dude.” She sneered in disgust. “I am not going to drink that off the floor.”

“Aye man, as long as it has flavor, I think it’s still good.” Lana shrugged it off, taking another sip from the Fanta.

Jade squinted her eyes at Lana. She’s not even high and she’s acting like this. She thought to herself, looking back in the maze.

Austin had been staring down at the ground, which was also made of mirrors. But the difference was that he knew where he was stepping, and that there were lines and shoe prints the mirrors, which had basically showed him a trail so he wouldn’t get confused.

He could hear crying echoing throughout the maze as he kept walking, and he figured it was Jules. He kept his calm, listening to her sobbing in the maze. He couldn’t lie to himself, he was slightly excited to meet Jules. He didn’t say much to her, but she was rather beautiful. She looked sweet and cute. “Randy’s one lucky dude.” He whispered to himself, as he continued to carefully walk on the mirrors.

Before he had known that he even reached the center, he could finally hear the cries die down. Which caused him to look up, and he saw her. Juliette. She was standing in the middle of the maze of mirrors. Her face was covered in smudged mascara, face red, eyes swollen from crying too much. She noticed Austin walking in the maze, he had been staring at the ground the whole time, clearly having no trouble walking towards her.

Austin stood still, staring at her. He looked entranced, and for some reason this made Jules giggle at him since he looked a bit clueless. He looked like he had just seen the most beautiful woman, he looked starstruck, like his heart was stolen. He was in awe. Trying to process what he was looking at.

Jules could see that his arms looked dirty, as if he had been messing with yet another car. Tori had told her about how he would fix cars often, which was why he always looked so dirty. “What’re are you doing here?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“Your sister wanted me to come get you.” He said, walking towards her. He had his hands in his pockets when he stopped in front of her. Leaning down close to her face to examine her, without thinking he gently grabbed her chin. Took out a napkin from the depths of his pockets to wipe the mascara that was smudged all over her face. It was awkward, at least to Jules. But Austin seemed to focus on wiping her face clean to even notice. When he was finished, he put the napkin away, then walked passed her cooly. “C’mon, we gotta get outta here.”

“But—“ She began, whining already. He stopped walking to look back at her, then took her hand in his. Their fingers intertwining, without even saying a word to her, he led her towards the exit.

“Is Randy going to take you home?” He asked without looking at her.

“Nuh uh,” she replied like a toddler.

“Then I will.”

—

The ride back home was cramped, a little Corvette with 7 people was not at all ideal. In fact, Austin had gotten into a bickering session with Tori. Who had inherently refused to sit on his lap, more or less look at him, which made him grow frustrated.

“Listen Sanchez, I gotta take you, Bradley, Williams, Wulfheim, Spencer, Clark, and my ass back home! I understand that the driving conditions aren’t really ideal but we don’t really have a god damn choice now do we?!” He snapped in a tone that showed his annoyance. “Unless you wanna get Ash-“


“No!” She shouted at him, almost looking up at Austin but then looked down at his boots.

He sighed, then leaned down. His voice was as gentle as the morning dew. “Can you please just work with me here? Please?” He murmured, pleading with her. She looked at him now, their eyes locked. “If you’re not gonna come, I will leave you here. I have to take Clark home.” He flicked his head towards Lana, who had been staring up at a light pole, watching the moths fly towards the light.

Jade and Jules were standing side by side, watching Lana with a sneer on their faces. They were genuinely confused with what Lana was even doing. She looked high, truly, and utterly high. “That girl has one short attention span…” Jules murmured as they both watched.

“You said it…” Jade agreed, nodding her head slowly.

Alex slowly approached Lana, poking her on the shoulder. “Huh?” She turned around to face Alex.

“Get in the car, Austin and Tori have came to an agreement.” She ordered, and Lana gave a nod. She opened the passenger side, sat down and kept the door open in case someone would need to sit on her lap. With Austin pushing the seat down, Beth was the first to come in, then Jade, and lastly Jules. Just like Lana had predicted, someone would have to sit on her lap, and that someone was Alex. When Austin sat down in the drivers side, Tori had sat on his lap.

“It’s really cramped in this car…” Beth murmured with her head pressed against the glass.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Alex agreed, her head was tilted to the side because of how big she was. Her cheek was practically pressing against the ceiling of the Corvette.

“I’m gonna sell this god damn car and get a motorcycle if I keep hearing you guys complain.” Austin growled from underneath his breath. He was annoyed, mainly because there was 7 people in a car that was basically meant for only 2 people. Not only that but everyone was staining the seats as well.

Austin had dropped almost everyone off, except for Tori. The reason was because she asked him if he could stay over at her place, which he gladly agreed to. He hadn’t noticed the bruise that formed on her neck when Ashton had choked her at the fair. It was too dark in the Corvette and outside to even notice.

When Tori got home with Austin behind her, she had told him to change into a tank top and shorts after he got out of the shower. He obliged, nodding his head along to her words before he disappeared in the bathroom. Once she heard the shower head turn on, she looked in the mirror, staring at herself.

The bruise was of a crimson color, the handprint that belonged to Ashton. Austin was sure to see it, and she knew he’d freak out when he did. She didn’t know how Austin felt for her exactly, but she knew he felt somewhat protective over her. When Austin was finished with the shower, Tori braced herself in case he freaked out, but he didn’t.

Austin approached Tori quietly, looming over her. He had his hands in his pockets, staring at her figure in the mirror, before his eyes went to her neck. Tori noticed how his face slowly distorted into a glare. “Ashton?” He asked, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around so Tori could face him.

“Yeah,” she looked up at him, seeing him lean down to bring his hand to her neck. His finger traced the outline of Ashton’s hand.

“Damn him.” He said in a hushed tone underneath his breath. “I could kill him you know.” Looking at her eyes, he pulled away.

“No, don’t, I don’t want you to hurt him. I love him.” Like usual, Tori was defending Ashton for his behavior. Austin gave a her a solemn nod, telling her that he wouldn’t hurt Ashton, or even snitch him out. Turning his back on her, he walked over to her bed, laying down underneath the blankets. Tori was quietly for a few moments, noticing how he hadn’t said anything to her. “You won’t hurt him right Aus?” She asked, crawling into bed with him.

“No, I ain’t gonna hurt him, you don’t want me to right?”

“Yes, I don’t. I don’t want you saying a word either.” She murmured, seeing his arm stretch out for her to use as a pillow.

“Then I won’t.” His voice was soft, reassuring her that he would listen to her, and she laid her head on his chest, her arm around his chest. With his arm lazily wrapped around her torso, he let out an annoyed sigh. “I won’t do shit.”

#austin butler #austin butler fanfiction #austin butler fic #austin butler imagine #austin butler angst #austin butler x oc #austin butler fanfic #austin butler fluff #austin butler series #tw

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which you’re prince harry’s personal bodyguard.

a/n: hi angels! i’m SO EXCITED to be finally sharing this story, and i’m really proud of this piece! like it’s genuinely one of my favorites i’ve ever written and one of my babies, so i can’t wait to hear what you all think! this story is inspired by gold rush by taylor swift, and this story immediately came to me once i heard the song. so, enjoy and please reblog and leave feedback! 

thank you to my best beta and friend tina @sunflowers-styles​ and miss zoey @serendipitystyles​ who screamed with me when i just started writing it, ily both! 

WORD COUNT: 24.7k of prince!harry x guard!yn (it’s gonna be a rollercoaster <3) 

WARNINGS: ANGST (genuinely a lot of it), smut, mentions of death and disease 

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALK ABOUT ‘SINKING SHIPS’ i’d love to know your thoughts! 

pls rb to share! <3

.・。.・゜

‘Eyes like sinking ships

On waters so inviting

I almost jump in.’ 

With a slight groan, you were taken out of your slumber by the sunlight that was seeping through your curtains. The birds were chirping away quite loudly this morning—acting like there weren’t people who were sleeping at seven in the morning, but early birds get the worm, right?

You sat up, stretching your arms towards the ceiling as you let out an inhumane sound that was very ‘unladylike’ before freshening up in the restroom. After putting on your regular and daily uniform: black slacks, white crisp shirt with a black tie, and black formal shoes—you opted out on wearing a blazer since you were going to be out for most of the day—before you headed towards the kitchen that felt like miles away because the Royal House was huge. 

The chefs were already up, bright and early, ready to feed the Royal family. The aroma of French toast and sautéed vegetables filled your senses, making your mouth water. 

“Morning, everyone!” You greeted happily once you entered the kitchen. 

“Goodmorning, Y/N!” The chefs welcomed you into their kitchen in sync. You softly smiled, walking over to the fruit basket at the edge of the marble counter, grabbing a banana and orange before walking over to the island and leaning your elbows on it as you watched the chefs cook. 

You always loved watching them work on their art, it was quite mesmerizing—the way they sautéed the vegetables, tossing the contents into the air was always something you loved ever since you were young. They were always so proud and humble about their work, presenting it with a satisfied smile as satiated empty stomachs. 

Suddenly, the side door opened, revealing Maria tugging on the wagon that carried basketfuls of fresh vegetables and fruits. You quickly walked towards her, grabbing the basket from the wagon to set it down on the counter. The baskets were always quite heavy, and you always made sure to help her out every morning since she wakes up at sunrise to pick out and wash the produce for the day. 

“Thank you, my dear,” Maria said, smiling. 

“Of course, Maria. These are beautiful.” You handpicked vegetables and fruits. “One day, I’ll wake up earlier to help you out in the morning, so you’re not all by yourself,” you suggested. Maria was like a mother to you, and you truly looked up to her ever since you started to remember things. You never really knew who your real mom was because she had passed away when you were just a year old, so you saw Maria as a motherly figure. 

You remembered when you first visited the Royal House; your father, Josiah, used to be a stableman and would bring you to work with him every day, occasionally letting you ride on the horses with him if it was allowed. Josiah and Maria had a mutual liking towards one another, but neither of them had acted upon it. They had just simply acknowledged the fact they had feelings for one another. So, you were around Maria a lot, and it wasn’t forced because you genuinely took a liking towards her and she started becoming a female figure in your life that you never really had. 

“Oh, you’re so sweet, but that’s not needed. I know how exhausting your day is, so get those few extra hours of sleep, okay?” She raised her brows at you, and you chuckled, nodding your head at her. “And besides, I’ve actually got some help…” she trailed off in suspense. 

It was your turn to raise your brows at her. “Really? And who might that be?” A tint of pinkness hit Maria’s cheeks as she looked down, occupying herself by taking the produce out of the basket. 

“Just…Nathaniel.” 

“Nathaniel, really?” 

“Yeah, he’s nice, yeah? Handsome. Funny. Kind,” she started to sound like she was convincing you, but you really didn’t need all that much convincing because you actually knew him.

“I know Nathaniel, but thanks for the little recap,” you joked, chuckling as Maria blushed. “So, do you like him?” You asked. 

“I mean…I don’t know. Maybe,” she admitted shyly. You gave her an encouraging smile because you knew that she was only shy to confess the truth because she had been in love with your father. 

“Good—that’s good. Well, if you are taking a liking towards him, don’t run away from your feelings,” you told her sternly as if you were the mother now. “You deserve to be happy and in love!” 

“Suppose you’re right. I just feel…bad.” 

“Don’t be. He would want you to be happy, I promise,” you reminded Maria. 

You could definitely understand why she felt bad about the fact that she was interested in Nathaniel. Maria and Josiah were in love, once upon a time, but ever since your father passed away two years ago, due to his heart condition, it was difficult for Maria to move on from the love of her life. With regret wilting down on her face, she asked herself why she didn’t bother to do anything about her love for him, and she didn’t know if it was the right thing to do to be interested in someone else. However, you constantly reminded her that Josiah wanted you two to have a great life, containing a lot of love and laughter. 

Looking at the wall clock above the chocolate brown cabinets, you realized that it was a bit past seven, so duties for the day were calling. You kissed Maria on the cheek, telling her that you’ll see her during lunch before bidding the rest of the staff goodbye as you headed out of the kitchen

Your clad black shoes clicked against the shiny and polished tiled floor, echoing the corridor of the Royal House as you walked towards the West Wing of the house; the staff and employees all lived on the East Wing, and it was quite a walk from one end to the other. 

Knocking on the tall and heavy door, you heard absolute silence on the other side, which wasn’t abnormal. So, you knocked once more, hearing no movement before you allowed yourself inside of the bedroom of the Prince. 

As you expected, he was sprawled out onto his large bed, too large for one person, with his curls covering his forehead. His mouth was slightly agape with puffs of breaths coming out as he was in deep sleep. You opened the long curtains, letting the sunshine enter his room before walking over to the side of his bed, placing the two fruits on his bedside table so he could fuel himself as he’s getting ready; you gently tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Your Highness, It’s time to wake up,” you softly said. With no response, you shook his shoulder a bit harder to get him out of his deep slumber. “Your Highness, it’s past seven.” 

The Prince groaned, eyes still closed as he began to writhe around the bed. You took a step back from the bed, waiting for him to wake up fully before greeting him. He buried his face into the pillow, refusing to budge, as an exhausted muffled groan came out of his mouth. 

Once his eyes were fully open and he was aware of his surroundings and consciousness, he turned his head towards you, giving you a look as if to momentarily remember who you were; you gave him a smile to start off his day. 

“Good Morning—agh!” You let out an unexpected squeal, cut off by the Prince’s large arms wrapped around your waist, bringing you down onto the bed with him. His lips immediately attacked your neck and face, peppering your skin with his affection. You laughed softly, trying to keep your voice down in case anyone heard you, but you couldn’t help it because it tickled. “Your Highness!” You pushed his body away from yours, and you knew he only pulled back because of the name you had called him. 

He pouted, looking at you with puppy eyes. “I told you to stop calling me that, Princess,” he joked slightly. 

You raised your brows, mouth slightly open as you playfully patted his chest. “And I told you to stop calling me that, Harry.” 

“Then I’ll stop calling you that once you stop calling me ‘Your Highness,’” he said in a mocking tone before he raised his brows to see what you were going to respond with because he knew that you loved being called ‘Princess’ even if you were far from actually becoming one. You two would have these playful arguments on which nicknames to call one another, and ‘Princess’ and ‘Your Highness’ were both a bit of an inside joke now. 

You simply just rolled your eyes. “Not fit to be a Princess.” Harry’s arms wrapped tighter around your waist as both of your heads rested against the same pillow. You loved mornings like these, and although it was unusual to be sleeping in different rooms, it had to happen under certain circumstances. 

“You definitely are fit enough to be a Princess because you’ll be mine…soon…one day,” he lightened up the air, pressing a kiss to your cheek and forehead. “Perfect for me, I swear.” You smiled admiringly at the Prince, feeling incredibly grateful for him and his presence. 

For five years, your love for him had only increased when you thought that your heart couldn’t get any bigger. But Harry somehow made it happen; he filled your beating organ with so much love and devotion, making you feel so overwhelmed with happiness that you felt like you could burst any minute. You’ve known Harry since you were a little girl, but you didn’t play with him much since you had to stay close to Josiah. But when you did, you two would always go riding together; it was an innocent and pure friendship, and even when you were younger, you would find yourself missing your friend, who just so happened to be the Prince of the country. 

Five-year-old Y/N simply understood that he was a Prince, but you understood it just like the Disney movies. So, you and seven-year-old Harry would play Prince and Princess for fun. Every morning you would tell Josiah to dress you up in a pretty dress because your “Prince was waiting on the West Wing,” as you said. 

As the years went by and you two played less of Prince and Princess, but you and Harry were still inseparable. He was your best friend—still is, and you couldn’t be more happy that you two had never drifted off into the fog that vanishes every afternoon. 

With how close you were to Prince Harry, you realized you had feelings for him when you were thirteen, and it wasn’t until you were twenty when you two got together. Harry had told you that he’s liked you since he was seven, and fifteen years later, he finally had the balls to tell you. Typically for some, it wouldn’t be the most ideal relationship since your blood didn’t bleed royalty, but you’d rather have him in private rather than displaying your relationship to the entire world, especially his family. 

The bubble that was his room, was your hideout. The sanctuary where you felt most comfortable because it was where he slept in, as his scent roamed around the room, making it feel like home. You loved how you immediately felt safe and calm when you opened his bedroom room door, especially when you saw him peacefully sleeping; it was your favorite thing to do. 

Harry didn’t mind, either. He knew how brutal his family could be if they ever found out about your relationship with him, and no matter how much he wanted to shout his love for you from the top of his lungs to the world, they truly didn’t need that because the only people who were the most important in this relationship were you and Harry. As long as the two of you knew that you were in love with one another, that’s all that mattered. 

He was there for you for most of your life, and with a clueless mind, you didn’t know where you would be without him when your father had died. Since Josiah was working for the Royal Family with your occasional help, you had thought the Queen and King were going to kick you out because you had no place or purpose staying in the Royal House. But luckily, Harry quickly proposed the idea of you being his personal bodyguard. Someone who just followed him around while making him seem less lonely because the other men that were his guards before rarely said a word to him when he was out. 

The Dutch and Duchess, and especially the Queen, were a bit skeptical, but let him have his way to avoid any sort of resentment in the future. You were ecstatic and thanked him profusely for letting you stay at the Royal House, but he brushed it off, telling you that he would’ve asked a million times more until they said yes.

 So, for two years now, you’d been Harry’s personal bodyguard, and you thought it was the easiest job. One, because even if you weren’t his bodyguard, you’d protect him with your life, putting yourself in front of him when chaos would come his way. Two, he made the job seem fun and it didn’t even seem like a job because you two laughed and messed around from time to time, not actually doing work. And three, who doesn’t love working with their partner?

“Is that a promise?” You tested him, seeing if he was willing to promise you that he was going to marry you. It didn’t seem possible if you were honest. Either he would have to run away from home or you two wouldn’t get married at all, and just stay together, which you wouldn’t mind either. 

“That’s definitely a promise. You know me—don’t say shit just to say it,” he said, a smug smile on his face. 

“Okay, well. Whenever that day comes, I’ll be waiting to become Mrs. Styles.” 

“Princess Styles,” he corrected, and you breathed out a chuckle, shaking your head a tad bit as you surrendered your argument on him calling you that. 

You snuggled closer to him, enjoying his presence and warmth; and for a moment, you had forgotten yours and Harry’s responsibilities for the day; you just enjoyed this small and quiet moment you two had together that only usually happened in the mornings. But you cherished them nonetheless. 

Nearly drifting off to sleep, you jolted to stay awake. You looked at Harry to see him looking at you with a small but fond smile on his face, eyes gleaming ever so brightly as the sun gently cast its light through his window from above his bed. 

You gave him a quick kiss to his lips and nose before getting out of his hold, earning a groan from him. You stood beside the bed, smoothing out any wrinkles that creased on your clothing. 

“C’mon, we have so much to do today! Plus, we’ve already exceeded morning bedtime hours.” You grabbed his arm, tugging him towards the edge of the bed. He sighed, resisting as he pulled back. 

“Don’t wanna do anything today. Just wanna lay in bed all day with my Princess.” His words came out muffled as he spoke into the pillow. Your cheeks heated up as you held his arm; you wished that you’d get the chance to spend the entire day with him, doing nothing instead of keeping a distance from him throughout the day. But alas, being with him for most of the day was still what you considered a wonderful day. 

“Let’s go,” you softly insisted. You kneeled down onto the floor beside him, pecking his face all over. The left side of his face was smashed against the mattress, but you could see the smile forming onto his face as you kissed his cheeks. “Get up, dreamy.” You used your nickname on him, and you realized that was a bad idea since you were trying to get him out of bed. 

Harry suddenly perked up, smirking before he turned around to lay on his back. He pulled your arm, hauling you to lay on top of him; you giggled once you landed on him, and he connected his lips with yours, kissing you passionately and sensually. Your legs were straddling him, and you unconsciously ground against his sleep pants, feeling his bulge grow harder and bigger. Harry softly moaned into your mouth, slightly bucking his hips upward towards your center. 

You pulled away, about to tell him that you couldn’t do this right now, but once you saw his flushed face and swollen pink lips, not to mention his aching hard-on that was rubbing against your thigh, you decided against it. 

And Harry knew you all too well to know that you were going to say something but held back. So, instead, he grimaced and wrapped his arms around your waist before trailing them down to your ass, giving it a squeeze over your pants. 

“Think we got time for this?” He raised his brows teasingly at you, and you bit your lip. 

Grinding your hips against him was your way of giving him your answer, your mouth met his ear as you whispered, “All the time in the world for you to fuck me.” You nibbled on his earlobe before moving your lips down to the spot under his ear, resulting in a moan slipping out of his mouth. 

He flipped you two over, now his turn to hover over you. The Prince gave you a certain look that you knew all too well; it was a look of certainty like he had all the time in the world to have his way with you, and he definitely wasn’t going to shy away from it. 

“Wanna feel me? Think you could handle me?” He challenged teasingly. His voice was low, raspy, and deep—much deeper now since it was morning and he’d just woken up. But the way he spoke sent a shiver down your neck, making you jerk, causing a mess in your panties. 

“Know I could handle you. I’ve been handling you for years now,” you smirked. A flushed tint rose onto Harry’s cheeks; he always seemed to feel himself get giddy over the fact that you two had been together for years, and hearing it come out of your mouth made it much better. 

“Let’s see about that.” He began to kiss down your neck and body as you relaxed into the pillow, completely enjoying his lips and body on you. 

And just like all the other days, it was going to be a long morning. But the early birds get the worm, right? 

Harry headed towards the dining room where his family was eating breakfast. They all looked up at him suspiciously, like they knew about his morning escapade with his Princess, and he was nearly gutted because they had gotten caught, but they simply just looked at him and continued eating. 

“Morning everyone,” he relaxed, clearing his throat as he took his seat, unbuttoning his black suit jacket; a light pink button-down shirt clad on his tattooed torso. The servers that had been serving them for decades, Mariah and Deborah, poured him a tall glass of water and set down his mug of coffee. He thanked them, and they gave him a smile, always surprised to receive a ‘thank you’ in the Royal House. But Harry wasn’t snobby or arrogant, he had manners and was polite. 

“A bit late to breakfast, Harry, and you didn’t show for morning tea,” the Queen herself had pointed out. Elaine hadn’t even made eye contact with him, she just continued eating as she sat at the head of the table. 

Harry froze for a moment to look at his sister to see if she’ll help, but Gemma just raised her brows, not knowing how to back him up. 

“Sorry, Nan. Couldn’t sleep last night, so I slept in a little bit,” Harry lied. 

“Hmm, and where was that bodyguard of yours to wake you up? Isn’t she supposed to wake you?” She wondered, but by her tone, it was like she knew already; and Harry really hoped that wasn’t the case. 

“Uh, yeah. She did, actually, and I told her to give me a moment. Guess that turned into forty-five…” he curled his lips in, containing the smirk that was begging to show through. His cheeks formed a tint, and he quickly grabbed his glass of water to cool down and to cover his flustered face. 

The two of you had stayed in bed longer than anticipated, and when it was only supposed to be a quickie, Harry took his time with you the first round but decided to go two more rounds, fucking you hard until your teeth were biting the sheets and screaming into the pillow. You had to cover all of the marks that littered his neck, but the others that only you were able to see were casually resting under his clothes. 

Harry shifted in his seat, remembering how your eyes looked up at him as you kissed down his body to wrap your lips around his cock. His mind was spiraling, immediately thinking filthy things your mouth and body could do to him; that was until Gemma had kicked his foot under the table that got him out of his head. 

He looked at her, flicked his head at her, a way to ask ‘what was that for?’ She tilted her head towards the Queen as Elaine was still talking to Harry. 

“Okay, just wanted to make sure she’s doing something right. If not, you let me know, and we’ll have her removed from the House,” she advised quite sternly. 

“There’s no need for that, Nan. There hasn’t been a problem for the last two years she’s been my guard, so there certainly won’t be,” Harry explained quickly. He didn’t know if his eagerness sold his disagreement, or if it helped his case with his secret relationship with you. But he didn’t want you to leave his side, let alone, leave the House. He wanted you here, and if having you in private was the only way, where you two had to sneak around and kiss behind closed doors, then he didn’t mind that.

Elaine nodded, letting go of the subject before talking to the Dutch, Harry’s father, about some of the duties that needed to be completed today. Harry let out a sigh of relief once the Queen’s attention wasn’t on him anymore. He ate his breakfast in silence, thankful that the conversation he had with his grandmother didn’t go any further than a bit of scolding; he would say it was going to be a good day if they went a morning without Harry marching off early from breakfast. 

Breakfast went on quickly after that, thankfully. Mariah and Deborah began to clean the table before setting up a few cups of coffee for his mother, father, and the Queen. Harry and Gemma excused themselves, saying they had a few things to do for the day before they quickly walked out of the kitchen. 

The siblings rounded the corner and walked until they were far enough before Gemma spoke, not wanting their family to hear their conversation from the echo because of how large their home was. 

“You really need to be careful, H—the both of you, I mean it. Staying in with Y/N can’t happen consistently—I feel like she’s starting to get suspicious. ” Gemma started. She had a concerned expression as the part in between her brows creased. 

Harry sighed, nodding his head. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. We’ll try to be more careful. It’s just hard, y’know.” 

“I understand. I get it, I really do,” Gemma sighed before chuckling as if a realization had popped into her head. “Hell, I’m doing the same thing, but I’m just better at hiding it,” she chuckled.” It was true; Gemma was in a relationship with one of the servers—Sebastian. 

They’d been together for seven years, ever since she was twenty-three. She kept it a secret for three years until she decided to tell Harry, which of course, Harry was ecstatic to hear the news—only because he had just told his sister about his own relationship, which you two had only been together for a year at that time. 

Gemma and Harry were supportive of one another, looking out and covering up for each other because at the end of the day, they were on the same side and in the same situation; neither of them wanted the other to get caught because there would be worse consequences coming from the Queen, and the two tried to avoid those said consequences as much as possible. 

Naturally, Gemma loved you. You’d grown closer to her and seen her as a best friend, someone you could always go to and count on. The appreciation you had for her was vast, and you thanked her almost every day for how grateful you were that she was so supportive in your relationship with Harry. 

“Thanks for kicking me back there, though. Didn’t need another morning where Nan flames my ass,” he scoffed, shaking his head slightly. 

Gemma laughed. “Yeah, don’t know why she’s picking fights with you. She used to love you, wonder what changed,” she wondered, genuinely thinking what the cause may be. 

“Don’t know what it is, but if you know, tell me because I can’t always eat my meals stressed because she’s always onto me.” Gemma giggled. “Anyways, gotta go. I’ll be at the charity event until late afternoon, and I gotta find my girl. I’ll see you later?” 

“Yeah, I’ll see you. I’ll wait for you to eat dinner, so you’re not alone. Have a good day, little brother, be safe.” The Styles siblings hugged, a nice and warm embrace that showed much appreciation and respect they had for the other. 

“You as well, big sister.” 

Harry walked in the opposite direction as Gemma, smiling to himself as his heart felt so full. He was lucky to have a sister that was so encouraging and caring, and he always made sure to give the same love back to her because she needed it. Their parents were always a bit strict on them, but he was sure they had to have gotten that attitude from the Queen—well, at least his father. His mother, Anne, was a sweetheart. For some odd reason, she didn’t show much love to her kids because of Elaine. When they were kids, Nan would always get on Anne’s case about how she shouldn’t show them much affection or treat them like babies because they needed to learn discipline and from their own mistakes. 

Walking over to the East Wing and past the kitchen, Harry headed towards the living area, where some of the staff, including you, were hanging out, waiting for the Royal Family to finish their breakfast. One of his father’s guards immediately stood up, making the rest hastily stand up to greet the Prince. 

“Your Highness…” The staff greeted in sync; the men bowed as the women curtsied as Harry stood in the doorway of the living room. His eyes found yours, watching you curtsy; and on your way up, your head perked up, shyly smirking at him. Harry’s heart flipped as he puckered his lips to the side, containing his smile; you two would always laugh about these kinds of greetings, and sometimes Harry would greet you the same way because after all, were his Princess. He wasn’t one to be formal with greetings, and if it were up to him, he would tell the entire staff to stop greeting him like that, but he didn’t make the rules around here. 

“Goodmorning, everyone,” he greeted back. “Hope everyone has a great day. I should get going, though. Y/N?” He looked at you and slightly raised his brows. You walked across the living room and past him, standing before him before making sure to give him a smile. He bid everyone goodbye before you two walked alongside one another. 

The two of you headed towards the large front door in silence. You occasionally glanced up, but quickly averted your eyes towards the path, and Harry was also looking at you through his peripheral vision, smiling to himself as he saw how many times you glanced up at him. The silver Rolls Royce was waiting for the both of you at the end of the steps with the back door open with his driver, Benjamin, holding the door open. Harry gestured for you to get into the car first like the gentleman that he was. 

“Hi, Benjamin,” you greeted the middle-aged man with a smile. 

“Hello, Y/N,” he responded, tilting his hat down. 

“Thank you, Benjamin,” Harry shook his hand appreciatively. Benjamin had been Harry’s driver for the past ten years. He used to be his father’s driver, but when Harry grew older and was able to go to events and out on his own, they assigned Benjamin to be Harry’s driver. 

“You’re welcome, Prince Harry,” he slightly bowed before closing the door after Harry slipped into the car. 

Benjamin drove to the facility where the charity event was held. The privacy compartment screen between the driver and back seat was up; the fancy car seemed more like a movie theater with so much leg space and a middle console between the seats with a blank privacy screen in front of you. It screamed expensive, and Rolls Royce was the company that helped the Royal Family get from point A to point B as their entire underground garage was filled with these types of vehicles. 

You and Harry had about half an hour to chat and touch one another, so you unclicked your seatbelt, quickly moving towards his seat. He smiled, unclicked his seatbelt before letting you half-sit on his lap, your legs rested on his thighs, and he pulled the seatbelt over the both of you and clicked the metal buckle before pulling the seat belt strap behind him so it wouldn’t get in your way. 

A sigh came out of both of your mouths, enjoying this moment that felt short, but was cherished. You cuddle into his side, resting your head against his shoulder as his arms were tightly wrapped around you. You could feel his heart pounding through his chest, and you enjoyed the sound, knowing it was maintaining a steady heartbeat for you. 

Harry kissed your forehead, lips delicately brushing across your skin, making you flustered. You looked up at him as he smiled down at you, the two of you smiling like idiots before he took his lips in with yours. 

“What’s it like to grow up always being so beautiful?” He suddenly asked, very charmingly, might you add. He couldn’t get enough of you and how stunning you looked every single day; no matter how much you disagreed with him, he always thought you were the most gorgeous person on this Earth.

You smiled, looking, and studying his face. Some strands of his hair had fallen into place against his forehead; you pushed them back, softly kissing his forehead. 

“Could say the same for you. You always have a beautiful heart and a lovely face.” You grazed his jaw with your thumb, his stubble scratching against your finger. 

A breathy chuckle fell from his lips. “Love you, my Princess. Dream girl, I swear.”

“And I love you, Your Highness. Love you like crazy,” you softly giggled, kissing his jaw. “How was breakfast, by the way?” 

“The usual. Gemma said Nan is starting to get suspicious, so we have to be careful, can’t have too many mornings in,” he explained sadly. You slightly pouted, but quickly covered up your sad expression with a neutral face, not wanting to make him feel bad because he had no control over his grandmother. 

“Okay…” you agreed, nodding your head. 

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said genuinely. “Know this is hard, but we’ll figure it out, alright?” His hand cupped your cheek, gently caressing your soft skin as he looked deeply into your eyes. His green eyes held an immense amount of care and love, just like his heart, and just being in his view of vision was an honor enough. 

You nodded, blinking back the tears that had quickly formed. “I know we will. Don’t mind having you to myself, though,” you chuckled. The corners of his lips turned up as his dimple popped out. You took your finger and poked his dimple, something you had been doing ever since you were younger. 

“I don’t mind it either, but sometimes the sneaking around sucks, doesn’t it?” His brows slightly furrowed, clear frustration expressed on his face. You took your thumb and smoothed out his stressed and wrinkled forehead, and he immediately relaxed. 

“It does, but if that’s what it takes for me to be with you, then that’s how it’s gonna be.”

Harry deeply sighed, resting his head against your neck. You lifted your head up, so he had more room to perfectly fit against you as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. Butterflies soared in your stomach once you felt his lips against your neck, pressing soft and gentle kisses to your skin. After all these years, his touch still made you giddy while goosebumps rose on your skin. His kisses didn’t lead to anything more as they simply spoke the words of admiration and gratitude. 

“Hmm, don’t deserve you,” he mumbled against your skin. 

“Yeah, you do. Deserve love and happiness more than anything, and if I’m the one to provide it to you, then that’s all I need in life.” He pulled his head back, coming face-to-face with you now as your words had really meant something. Your hand grazed his cheek, feeling his soft but yet somewhat stubbled skin. 

“I love you so much. Genuinely think my heart is going to explode full with my love for you.” He took your hand that was on his face in his, giving the back of your hand a kiss before placing your palm against his heart. You felt his heart beating fast, hard, and it was all for you. “You have my heart in the palm of your hand.” His actions were literal, and you loved how he always had a way with his words. “Full of love for and from you.” 

You smiled, leaning forward to kiss him as your hand was still against his chest. For the rest of the car ride, you two relished in one another’s touch; it felt nice to be with one another outside of the Royal House where you didn’t have to hide behind corners or in secret passageways. 

When the car came to a smooth stop, you quickly unclicked the seat belt and got off of Harry, giving him a peck to his lips before situating yourself in your own seat. Benjamin opened Harry’s door and you let yourself out on your own side, quickly jogging around the car to stand next to Harry. 

A line of Rolls Royces were parked behind the vehicle you were in previously, and five guards, including you, were surrounding Harry as you all walked inside of the banquet room. You were standing in front of Harry, between two guards, while the other two were slightly behind the Prince, making sure he was safely boxed in between you all. 

Quite a few gasps were let out once people saw who had just walked in, and the volume in the room had increased. People were starting to walk towards you all, bowing and curtsying to the Prince as he said his hellos to everyone. Straight ahead, you noticed a woman running towards you, and you knew that wasn’t safe at all, considering this was a children’s charity event and you had the Prince right behind you. 

“Prince Harry-” her arms reached forward and she gained a little air, jumping a tad bit, but you had immediately stopped her, making sure she did no harm to the royalty. 

“Ma’am, please step back,” you stood in front of her like a brick wall, pushing her slightly as she stumbled back a bit. Her face had gone red, stepping aside; Harry softly smiled at her, waving his hand. You turned around briefly to see if Harry was okay, and a small smile appeared on his face, nodding at you to proceed. 

The group of guards walked Harry to one of the tables a group of kids were sat at. Harry told the guards that he was okay and that they could stand back until he was ready to leave. The four guards, including you, separated along the wall behind the Prince. 

You observed the room, noticing that there were a few photographers, clicking away at the charity event, making sure they get Prince Harry in their shot, along with volunteer workers and some parents at the event with their phones out, snapping pictures of him. You watched Harry interact with the children, helping them build legos with an enthusiastic smile on his face; he would high-five them, telling them that they did an amazing job building the ship before taking his phone out and snapping a picture of the wonderful sets the kids had built. 

Your heart warmed at the sight, and you couldn’t help but think about Harry being the father of your children because he would be the best dad; he would treat them so sweetly, spoil them rotten, and support them in letting them be whoever they’d like to be. A sudden warmth hit your face as you curled your lips into your mouth, hiding your smile—you suddenly thought about being pregnant and how Harry would be so gentle with you as he touched and kissed your stomach. 

With your leg shaking as you stood, you were getting jitters as you daydreamed. One of the guards noticed that you couldn’t stand still, so he slightly nudged your shoulder with his, bringing you out of your pleasant daydream. You looked up at Earl, raising your brows before he asked if you were okay. You nodded your head, standing straighter and placing your arms behind your back, interlocking your hands as you continued to watch how Harry’s smile brightened up while playing with the children. 

Harry absolutely loved charity events, not because they gave him good press but because every time he had gone to one, he would forget that there were cameras around him. Being and spending time with the kids had made him so happy, and the children seemed to enjoy their time with him as well, so that’s all that mattered to him. 

The charity event was being hosted by a foundation that helped kids who lacked a certain connection with their youthfulness because their parents didn’t have the money to get their kids toys or bring them to amusement parks. The foundation was a non-profit organization that simply organized donations to be used towards the children. They hosted toy drives every month, picnics every other Saturday, and sometimes Disney trips every six months if they reached their donation goal. 

Harry was all for donating to them, and this foundation was one of the five organizations for children that he was a member of and was very active with them throughout. He was very passionate about helping the children out, and he wanted them to have a nice childhood, helping them outweigh the good from the bad. His natural liking towards kids in general very much helped him easily bond with them. 

After a few hours, making sure every child got his attention, he was ready to leave. He didn’t leave without saying a small speech because it was expected; thanking everyone for donating and supporting this foundation, and he also thanked the kids for playing with him, which he earned many cheers from the young ones. 

Once he got off stage, he made eye contact with you, telling you that he was ready, and you headed towards him, the other guards followed after you. Just like you arrived, the guards boxed Harry in safely as he bid everyone goodbye. Everyone waved as a series of farewells were scattered across the room, sad to see the Prince go. Once you all were outside the venue, Benjamin was waiting by the passenger door. From the three hours Harry had been at the event, news had spread out like wildfire that the Prince was attending the event, so there was a swarm of paparazzi waiting outside the venue. 

The box of guards that were surrounding Harry closed in tighter since you had to get through the crowds. Harry, being the polite prince that he was, said hi to everyone as they reached out to hold his hand. But he rarely let anyone touch him because of an incident he had six months ago when he had reached over to shake someone��s hand, but they had taken advantage of the opportunity and harshly yanked him forward, making him stumble. Being frightened by that, he informed his guards to not let anyone touch him after that. He wasn’t being obnoxious or a typical ‘no one can touch me because I’m the Prince’ kind of guy, it was simply for his safety. You absolutely hated that someone was out to hurt him, and it pained you to see how shaken up he was that day. If the Prince had actually gotten hurt that day, there would be massive consequences for that person, but anyone would risk their lives to feel his touch. 

Once you were close to Benjamin, Harry let you get into the car first, but Benjamin stopped you. With a confused look on your face, you asked if everything was okay while Harry asked if there was something wrong. Benjamin leaned down to whisper in Harry’s ear, and you furrowed your brows, suddenly becoming suspicious as you watched them. Benjamin pulled back and Harry deeply sighed, shaking his head. 

“Y/N is my personal guard, though,” Harry mentioned. 

“Yes, but this was a direct message from the Queen herself. I’m only delivering the message, Your Highness. I don’t want to lose my job if I don’t comply,” Benjamin explains sadly. There was clear stress on his face, saddening him that he has to go against the Prince’s orders, but he couldn’t afford to lose his job when he has a family. And besides, it’s the Queen—everyone follows her orders. 

“Okay. Thank you, Benjamin,” Harry said, and Benjamin bowed. 

Harry turned towards you, leaning down to whisper into your ear just as Benjamin did to him. “Nan said that I have to take one of the other guards to ride back to the House with me. Specifically said, ‘Have the other guard come back with Harry, don’t care who it is.’ She told Benjamin that she wouldn’t be happy if he’d let us ride together. Fuckin’ ridiculous.” Harry pulled back, rolling his eyes. You simply nodded, knowing you couldn’t comfort him in any way since you were still in public, so you moved out of the way and stepped aside. 

Harry gave you a quick smile before turning his head to one of the guards, asking if he could join him. They quickly said yes, and safely got into the car. The rest of the guards waited until the car door was closed before walking towards the cars they arrived in. You slipped into the car, the one you didn’t arrive in, as you watched the one with your Prince inside drive away and towards the Royal House. 

Sighing, you looked out the window and watched the road and houses pass by. The Queen had never really taken a liking to you—never really made the effort to talk to you. You were the closest person to Harry, physically, since you were his bodyguard, but all she had ever done was question your actions when you’d been doing your job correctly, according to the instructions and demands from Prince Harry. 

But the worry and anxieties had increased because Elaine had become more suspicious than she was last year. Had she found out about your relationship with the Prince? You two had been doing well at hiding it besides this morning. And you had been good, denying Harry’s wishes to stay in up until this morning. But every day, it got more difficult hiding your love and affection towards the Prince. The word ‘no’ coming from his beautiful mouth as he would stare at you with those captivating emerald green eyes as he would plead to spend more time with him in his comfortable bed; the word completely vanished from your head. 

You wished the situation was different, but for now, you only hoped that things would get better from here. 

Once the car was parked in front of the large cemented steps that led up to the front door of the Royal House, Harry sighed, thanking Benjamin for driving him as well as Nico for accompanying him on the ride back. They both bowed, saying ‘you’re welcome’ before Harry let himself out and up those steps. Benjamin quickly reminded him that the Queen would like to see him when he arrived home, making Harry dread the conversation. 

He walked slowly towards the front door that was opened by two of the front gate guards. Saying a quick ‘hello’ to them, he walked towards the Queen’s lair, where she always prevailed when she said she needed to have a conversation with someone. 

The hallway leading to the double doors always made Harry anxious, ever since he was a little boy. He hated how dimly lit the hallway always was, and he never understood why she never wanted to put lights in this hallway. Probably to match her heart, Harry thought, but immediately took back the thought because he shouldn’t think that way about his grandmother, better yet, the Queen. 

Taking a deep breath, his shaky hand knocked on the door, hearing ‘Enter’ from the Queen from inside, and Harry opened the door. His grandmother was sitting at her large desk chair that was lined like a gold antique frame and was drinking tea out of her teacup that was passed down from generations. 

“Your Majesty,” Harry bowed, greeting his Nan. She placed her teacup down onto the small plate, placing her hand out to indicate him to sit down in the chair on the other side of the desk. There were no greetings, not a word out of her when he had entered, and now, she was staring at her grandson with snake eyes, ready to attack. 

Harry gulped, hands fidgeting in his lap as he sat straight up so she didn’t point out any more of the things he was doing wrong. 

“How was the charity event, Harry?” She suddenly asked, breaking her silence. 

“Uh, good. Had a lot of fun with the children.”

“Good, good. Anyways, I should get to the point with this, hmm?” She raised her brows as she asked her question as a genuine one. Harry’s face remained neutral, slightly nodding. “I called you in here because I wanted to tell you a bit of news that I found out earlier this week…” she trailed, taking a deep breath before she revealed her news. “I found out that I’m dying. I have a tumor in my brain, and the doctors have found it too late. They gave me the option to have surgery where they would try to take it out, but that would lead to very risky complications that I can’t afford. So, I told them that I would hold out.” 

Harry was shocked. His mouth was open, eyes wide, and speechless. Not knowing how to process this new information, he couldn’t believe how casual her tone was when she told him, even her face remained calm like she expected this to happen. 

“I, uh…Nan…” 

“I’ve been preparing for this—I’m getting older, so this was bound to happen already. I’m making sure the kingdom and our country are safe, and I’m making sure your parents are ready for the job they are about to accept.” 

Harry nodded, eyes welling up. “H-How much longer do you have?” 

She shrugged her shoulders. “Doctors said six months to a year, but that could change anytime. We just don’t know.” Harry exhaled deeply, looking down at his lap. He felt as if his heart was heavy as he listened to her talk about her disease—how okay she was with dying. Sure, now, he and Nan don’t get along very well, but once upon a time, they were closer than ever. The Queen absolutely loved her grandson and was always so sweet and gentle with him, but things quickly changed when he turned twenty-two. The older you get, the more distant they become, he thinks. He sighed, wishing it wasn’t like that. 

“I do have a wish from you…before I go.” 

“Anything,” he answered immediately, and he had wished he hadn’t answered so soon because the words that came out of her mouth next was his worst nightmare. 

“I would like to see you get married while I’m still alive. I’m arranging a gala this weekend and I’d like you to meet some people, you know, you can take your pick or whatnot,” she said with an emotionless face. He always disliked how much she lacked enthusiasm or emotion, and how she talked about things so casually. 

Elaine picked up her pen, writing out Thank You cards that she was sending to some people in the village. 

“I…what?” 

“Might I need to repeat that again?” She raised her brows annoyingly, hating when she needed to repeat herself. 

“I can’t do that…” 

“And why not?” She asked sternly, her change of voice had surprised Harry as she slapped her pen down onto the wooden desk. 

“Because…” This was it; he could easily out his relationship with you, tell her the truth, and it would be over with, but he didn’t because he knew that you weren’t ready for what was to happen after. Besides, you would have to know if he was going to tell her the truth, so Harry couldn’t go behind your back. “I don’t wanna meet someone at the gala just to get married right away. What happened to falling in love?” He questioned. 

Elaine scoffed, waving her hand. “Falling in love, that’ll happen when? Never? I’m gonna be gone, Harry. You’d rather fall in love in a year’s time rather than fulfill your grandmother’s wish?” Her voice started to increase, echoing, and bouncing off the walls of her office. Harry started to shake his legs anxiously from the volume of her voice and the idea that she proposed, absolutely hating it. 

The Queen had guilt-tripped him into marrying someone; she had used her disease and lifetime time limit so she could get what she wanted. Elaine knew full well he was going to obey her wishes because that’s how Harry was—he didn’t want anyone to feel bad and he certainly didn’t want it to come from him. She would ask Gemma, but she had much thicker skin than her brother, so she would turn the idea down faster than Elaine would be able to get it out. But Harry, on the other hand, was much easier to get to. 

“Harry, I’m only asking for one thing. When have I ever asked you for anything major?” She crossed her arms, resting them down on the desk. “This is my dying wish. Wouldn’t you want your wish to be-”

“Okay,” he interrupted. His voice was soft as he didn’t dare to look her in the eye as he spoke. 

“Great, it’s settled. Make sure to get your fittings done before the weekend. You have to look your best.” Harry didn’t have to look at her to know that she was absolutely beaming, knowing that she got what she wanted and didn't try hiding her excitement. “Please close the door on your way out.” 

Harry stood up slowly as he was in disbelief. Walking out of her office and closing the door, he started to breathe heavily. Tears were in his eyes and his chest felt heavy as his hands started to shake. He picked at his fingers to calm the shakiness down, but it didn’t work. Walking down the hallway, he rushed towards his room, not even checking to see if you had arrived yet, but he couldn’t face you, not yet. He had just agreed to marry someone that wasn’t you, and you were bound to be upset—he would be suspicious if you weren’t. How was he going to break this news to you? Hell, he didn’t even know how to process this himself. 

All he knew was that this was not going to end well. 

Hours later, you were wandering around the house, wondering where your Prince could be. You hadn’t seen him since you left the banquet hall earlier this afternoon; and Benjamin had told you he was to meet with the Queen once he had gotten home, but as the hours went by, you hadn’t heard or seen him. 

Quickly walking over to the West Wing, you headed towards his room because that was the last place you hadn’t checked. You walked by some of the guards and maids, saying a quick ‘hello’ to them as you passed by; it wasn’t odd for any of the staff to see you heading towards the Prince’s room because you had done it many times and Harry had instructed you, in front of the staff, that if you ever needed to see him, you could knock on his door. 

So, that’s what you did; you knocked on his door, waiting for a word from the other side, but you heard no movement whatsoever. You had checked the entire Royal House from top to bottom, but he was nowhere to be found, so he had to be in his room. You took a look around if anyone was near and once you saw the second floor was empty, you slowly opened the bedroom door of the Prince’s room. And what you saw was as if a tornado had hit his room; a mess was what described his room perfectly as objects were thrown all across the floor, the bed was unmade, chairs and sofa were flipped upside down, and the mirror was cracked in half, leaving shards of glasses on the dresser. 

You slowly walked in, afraid that someone other than Harry might be in his room, and had purposefully trashed it. There was light coming from his bathroom, so you walked towards the light, slowing your steps so your shoes wouldn’t squeak against the polished and shiny tiles. 

“Harry?” You softly called out. By now, he would have come out because you were the only one allowed in his room without permission, so you were starting to get worried. 

Once you were close to the restroom, you started to hear sobs echoing the bathroom, filling the room with soft and quiet heartbreaking sounds, making your heart drop because you knew those cries and you knew exactly who they came from. When you were inside the bathroom, you saw Harry sitting against the wall, arms leaning on his knees as his face was resting on his arms as Harry cried and sobbed. 

Seeing the love of your life in pain and in such anguish, it genuinely felt as if your heart was tearing into pieces or if someone had ripped your heart out and stomped on it. The pain that Harry endured was also felt through your heart as well because he was your soulmate, you both felt everything the other felt. 

You kneeled beside him, gently calling out for his name once more so he knew that you were right beside him before you placed your hand on his shoulder. Harry didn’t have to look up to know that it was you—your touch, your voice, and your presence before leaning to the side and into your arms, sobbing into your chest uncontrollably. You quickly wrapped your arms around his shoulders, comforting him in the best way that you knew how, and that was to simply hold him. 

He liked being held and it made him feel at ease, made his mind shut out the noise. You would simply hold him for the rest of your life if your life depended on it, and if that meant keeping him calm and at peace, then you didn’t mind. 

You ran your hand through the locks of his hair, scratching his scalp and pushing his hair out of his face. You kissed his forehead, giving him many pecks in a way to comfort him. Harry roughly coughed and sniffled; you could feel his heart beating radically, so you smoothed your hand down his back, somewhat rocking him in your arms. You knew he wasn’t a baby, you knew that, but if it worked with crying babies, then it must work with adults too. And besides, who didn’t like to be held while crying? 

To your credit, it had worked; Harry was calming down and his heartbeat wasn’t out of control. He looked up at you through his glassy eyes, sniffling; he looked defeated, and you hated that you weren’t there when he was breaking down because it must have gone on for hours.  There were visible tears that stopped against the crevice of his nose, so you took your hand and wiped his tears away before kissing his nose. 

Harry sat up, sitting against the wall as he was before you came in. Propping his knees up, you moved to sit in front of him, in between his legs, so he could know that you were there for him and that he had your full attention. He grabbed your hands, sadly kissing them but in a way, saying ‘thank you’ for comforting him and making him feel better just by your hold. You rubbed his hands with your thumb, gently caressing his skin as you patiently waited for him to talk to you. 

He took a very deep breath as if it physically pained him to breathe before he spoke, wishing the words that came out of his mouth were a sick joke, but it wasn’t—nothing that came out of the Queen’s mouth was a joke. 

“I spoke with my grandmother earlier…” he began to tell you that she had brain cancer and that she wasn’t going to do anything about it, just live the rest of her life until she couldn’t anymore. Your face saddened as Harry explained, simply just listening to him as he spoke. You placed one of your hands around his neck, playing with the curls that sat on the back of his neck. 

“Bub, I’m so sorry to hear that.” You leaned forward, kissing his cheek before giving you a hug. He wrapped his arms tightly around you, taking in your scent and comfort; he felt better for the time being—before he had to tell you the other part. A new set of tears streamed down his face, unable to hide his emotion now. 

Once you pulled away, you softly wiped his face with your hand before he spoke again. “Sadly, that’s not the news that I’m crying over.” 

Raising your brows, you looked at Harry with a surprised expression, wondering what got him so sad to trash his room and breakdown in the corner of the bathroom. 

“Oh…W-What is it?” You hesitated. 

You listened, watching his mouth as he spoke. Every ounce of hope had disappeared from your body as Harry explained the situation that he was in, that you were in. He cried, unable to be coherent as possible as his sobs won over his ability to speak a full and proper sentence. It genuinely felt like you were asleep like this was a dream, more of a nightmare. As if all of the plans and dreams you had patiently waited for was thrown out the window in a world record time of a minute, maybe less. The color from your face had completely drained, leaving you shocked, appalled, and hurt. Every word was just another twist of the knife that went straight to your heart as you wished his words would get better to relieve the strong and harsh ache in your chest, but they didn’t. 

Wake up, please, wake up, you told yourself, but this was reality. It was real.  

Silence had washed over you two after Harry was done explaining the horrible news. The silence was louder than glass shattering, loud and pitchy. Contrasting to the silence outside of your head that laid between you and Harry, the inside of your mind, your world, was similar to the glass, breaking and crumbling into pieces with one hard hit of the enemy.

“I-I’m sorry, baby. I should’ve said something, anything. But instead, I said yes,” Harry bawled through his words. 

“Are we…over?” You asked nervously. The lack of eye contact you were giving him only pained him, but he knew how difficult it was to say that. He took your face into his hands, tenderly cradling your sad but beautiful face. 

“No,” he immediately disagreed. “I mean, not if you don’t want it to be. I understand why you would, though—didn’t even fight for you. Please, let me fix this. I’ll talk to her, tell her everything. She can’t make me do this, I have a right to my own words and decisions, right?” You stayed silent. Harry understood why you were quiet as you were still taking in this information and how to process that your boyfriend was to be married in the next few months, but he really needed to hear your voice. He needed the reassurance from you because you always seemed to know the right words, but he knew you needed him more. “Princess, please look at me.” His voice was shaky, and you glanced up at him through your lashes. “I’m gonna fix this, okay? Not gonna let her walk all over me again. I love you, and it’s time for her to know that.” 

You nodded briefly, not able to get the right words out. Harry didn’t mind; he took you into his arms, wrapping his strong and tattooed arms around your shaking and frightful body. 

He held you tight as you both sat on the floor of his bathroom, pretending that everything was going to be okay. But in reality, neither of you knew if it really would be. 

The weekend had come by too quickly for Harry’s liking. He didn’t get the chance to have a moment with the Queen because she was busy with handling errands for the gala; from talking to event coordinators, caterers, and floral arrangements, so she hadn’t gotten a moment to sit down unless it was nighttime. Harry practically felt her negligence towards him, always telling him she’d talk to him later, which left Harry feeling defeated because the more she ignored him, the quicker the days had gone by—closer to the gala. 

And to his dislike, it was the morning of the gala, something he had been dreading ever since Elaine had told him she was hosting one. It felt like his world was crumbling; he noticed your demeanor change—how could it not. Things weren’t the same, and they weren’t going to be the same again until he got himself out of the unwanted arranged marriage that the Queen was putting him upon. 

You didn’t mean to act differently around Harry, your boyfriend, or whatever this meant for your relationship, but it was difficult to act like your normal self. You sought comfort from Maria as she told you that this wouldn’t be the last of you two; she had a gut feeling it wouldn’t be. 

You had always imagined getting married to him as you two would excitedly talk about marriage and how life would be when you were husband and wife. But Harry was soon to be meeting his wife, and you had to be in the same room as him, possibly feet away from him when he did so. Your heart ached, dropping to your stomach as you felt sick to your gut every time you thought about it.

You were wearing your usual attire but you added a black corset over your white shirt and a black blazer since the gala was a more formal event. Standing in front of the large bedroom doors, you closed your eyes for a mere second, taking a deep breath before knocking, entering right after. 

Upon your eyes was Harry standing on the block square step in front of the mirror that was placed in the corner of his bedroom. His seamstress sewing the crystals that were loose on his embellished jacket that he paired with white trousers. The gold buttons on the front of his jacket were engraved with his initials, adding a touch of personalization to his attire; along with his white lace gloves, white pearl necklace, and cross pendant. 

He looked absolutely marvelous, rightfully so, and you couldn’t take your eyes off him no matter how heartbroken you were. 

His eyes caught yours in the mirror, widening before turning around to face the seamstress. “Jaylin, I think we’re good, yeah?” He asked, hoping she wouldn’t find any more flaws in his suit. 

“Yes, we are. Have a great time at the gala, Your Highness,” she curtsied, grabbing her supplies before heading out the door. You greeted her on her way out, and you earned a smile from her. 

The click of the door was heard, indicating that it was just the two of you in his room. Usually, you would take advantage of being alone with him, but again, things were different this time around. 

Harry stepped off the step, slowly walking towards you. His eyes never left yours, piercing through you like fire, and you were going to melt. 

“Hi, beautiful,” he greeted softly, looking you up and down. You slightly grinned, looking down at your feet. 

“Hi, Your Highness.” 

He placed two fingers under your chin, lifting your head up. You looked at him with doe eyes, and he couldn’t help but fall in love with you even more with just your stare. 

“You look gorgeous,” he complimented. Leaning forward, he was about to place a kiss on your lips, but you felt his hesitancy as he pulled away. He hadn’t felt your touch, your lips in what seemed like years; completely deprived of your touch, but it’d only been a few days. 

“Thank you. You look wonderful as always.” You grabbed the edge of his jacket, tugging on it to straighten out the material before smoothing your hand over his shoulder and down his arms. Harry sucked in a breath; that was the most you’d ever touched him in days, and he was cherishing every second of it because reality had hit him, and this could possibly be the last time you were ever going to touch him. 

You sighed, pulling back as you crossed your arms behind you. Harry could tell that you had a million thoughts racing in your head and you were wary of saying them, but nothing you could say would scare him; he was already faced with his biggest nightmare. 

He walked towards you, taking your hands in his. The softness of your hands juxtaposed to the slight roughness of his that carried multiple heavy rings on his slender fingers. 

“Hey, I’m gonna fix this, alright? I’m telling her tonight, and I promise that I’m gonna be yours forever, no matter what happens,” he reassured, looking ever so deeply into your eyes so you would get the message. His eyes had captured yours, putting you under his spell, so you nodded and believed him. Harry sighed in relief, thankful that you trusted him. “I actually got you something.” He let go of your hands, walking over to his dresser before pulling out a square box from the drawers. 

Harry was always one to give, always the giver and he loved giving without expecting anything in return. Throughout your relationship, he would always buy you random but sentimental things that he saw at the shop simply because it reminded them of you. The thought was incredibly sweet and you loved the fact that even when you weren’t around him, he was still thinking of you. 

He opened the box, revealing a pearl necklace that had a gold anchor in the middle. It was a necklace that you had thought of getting to match the tattoo that was inked next to your right breast. You and Harry had gotten complimentary tattoos the second year of your relationship, and he proudly got a ship tattoo on his left arm as well as an anchor on his wrist to match with you. Harry was your anchor; he kept you upright. He was the backbone of your ship, helping you slow down whenever you needed a break. 

“You were secretly eyeing this when we visited that farmer’s market a few months ago. And since I couldn’t go and get this by myself since you’re always with me, I asked Gemma if she could get it for me. Hope this was the one you were talking about,” he explained shyly as he held the box open for you. 

You were speechless as your heart fluttered. “Harry…” Your fingers delicately grazed the necklace, studying and feeling his gold chain; it was the exact same one you saw at the market. 

“Do you like it?” 

“Yes, I do—I love it.” You softly smiled up at him. “D-Do you mind putting it on me?” He immediately nodded, taking the necklace out of his case, and you turned around, slowly pulling your hair to the side. 

Harry unclasped the necklace; the small skin on the back of your neck was exposed to him, so he leaned down, placing a small kiss on your skin. The action sent shivers down your spine, but you took the touch that you’d been starved of. He put the necklace on as it sat perfectly against your collarbone; and Harry wrapped his arms around your waist, taking in your delicious scent. You felt extremely warm as if you were standing in the courtyard and the sun was casting its light right down your spine, providing you warmth. You placed your arms on top of his, hugging him to yourself as he rested his face against the crook of your neck, tenderly kissing your skin. 

A deep sigh of relief was released from your lips as you let loose in his hold. His arms were a place you wanted to be in forever; it was a place where you found security and comfort, and the thought of leaving, a chance to never be in his arms, had never once crossed your mind. 

You turned around in his arms, facing him as you wrapped your arms around his neck, mindlessly playing with the small curls that sat so effortlessly on his neck. 

“Thank you for the necklace, I truly love it,” you sincerely said, reaching up to place a small chaste kiss on his lips. Your lips against his had made Harry’s stomach flip, and he couldn’t bear to hide the smile that made you fall so hard for him. 

“You’re welcome, my love.” 

“Do you mind…fixing my corset? It’s a bit loose.” You offered him a smile, and he nodded. You took off your blazer before he reached behind you to untie the knot that you had tried to make look decent. 

“I love you, you know that, right?” You suddenly asked as Harry pulled the strings tighter, making you take a big breath in before he started to tie them smoothly without the need to look if he’s doing it correctly; he’s tied your corset for you so many times already that it was all muscle memory. 

“Yeah, I do know that,” he nodded, looking deeply into your eyes. You had practically felt Harry’s doubts and insecurities of your love deep through because of the news that he broke to you the other day. And you figured you weren’t being a good enough girlfriend to him and failing to remind him that you loved him and it wasn’t his fault for everything that’s happening. “You know I love you as well, yes?” 

You raised your brows at him, nodding. “Mhm. Just wanted to see if you knew.”

He chuckled, finishing up the knot. “Yeah, I know.” 

He placed his hands on your hips, and you leaned to give him a kiss to thank him as well as just to kiss him lovingly, something you two hadn’t done in days. Giving you a smile, he was going to go in for another one, but a knock was heard on the door, making you two pull away quickly. 

That knock on the door only meant that the car was ready and that Harry should be heading to the gala now. That knock only meant that it was time to face his future—the future that was going to fight for, the one that he wanted and not the Queen. 

That knock only indicated that it would be determined if he was to live with or without you, and there’s no way in hell he was living without you. 

Elaine had definitely gone all out with this gala, Harry thought. It was held in a museum that was closed due to the Queen’s personal favors and demands. 

When a guest entered the gala, they were immediately caught with the gold antique lining on every end of the wall; the high crystal chandeliers reflected off the gold and illuminated the room even further, bouncing off the shiny and polished floors. Long champagne color curtains were draped in front of each window with a historical gold statue pushed up against the window. The dome-shaped ceiling was high, painted to tell the story of the Renaissance. When a guest entered the gala, they were welcomed with elegance, grace, and exquisiteness, prepared to have a gold evening that would only end in secret affairs and tragic events. 

You led Harry through the room, many guests greeting him with such poise as they tried to get his very best impression. With suits looking sharp and dresses were extra flowy, they bowed and curtsied as Harry politely said his greetings to them. 

Many of the guests had been mentally and physically prepared to have a proper conversation with Prince Harry, and hopefully get a chance with him on the dance floor, if he allowed it. Everybody wondered what it would be like to walk into the building with Prince Harry on their arm, how they would flaunt and brag about how they arrived with him. 

During galas and balls like these, the guards were instructed to be present, to be aware, so they didn’t need to always be close to the Royal Family. Once you got an approving nod and smile from Harry, you left him be; guests surrounded him, the men were shaking his hand as the women gave him a kiss on the cheek. He was completely soaked up in the attention, everyone praising him for the recent work that he’s done for different foundations and events that he attended recently. He’d been offered too many invites to grab a drink, or to the dance floor later in the evening, or even to their bedroom when everyone was asleep. 

Politely and respectfully, he told all of them that he’d see where the night would take him, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to reject them fully because the only one he wanted to have a drink with was you. The only one he wanted to invite and take on the dance floor, dancing and spinning the night away to classical and soft music was you. The only one he wanted to go to bed with, to make love under the sheets, and wake up in the early hours of the morning to admire how you slept was you. 

The Queen was sitting on her throne, crown sitting perfectly on her head as she watched Harry for over an hour, interacting with her guests. She could practically hear the conversations that the many women whispered to in his ear, inviting him for a night in their presence, but she noticed how uninterested Harry was—the look on his face said it all and how he would politely brush off their question without giving them an answer. She observed how he, quite often, looked over at you, standing against the wall, watching him as well. 

You were nervously watching him, observing the way he acted around the guests, seeing if his demeanor would suddenly change since you weren’t right by his side anymore. It wasn’t as if you were jealous—you were never one to be jealous; it was your own insecurities that made you constantly worry about how Harry could just pack up and find someone else that was much better for him. Everyone always wondered what it would be like to love Prince Harry, and you were the lucky one to know what his love felt like, and you would hold onto that love for as long as you possibly could. 

Elaine had made her rounds and chatted with several people who were eager to talk to her, and they were lucky enough to get a chuckle out of her. It was difficult impressing the Queen, her own family even struggled to get her approval, so it was a rare sight to see Elaine walk up to someone and initiate a conversation. 

But that person wasn’t just ‘anyone,’ they were that person the Queen had specifically picked out to wed her grandson, someone who was worthy of hers and the Prince’s time. Elaine had asked the woman to follow her, which she immediately complied as Elaine walked through the room, nodding her head at everyone who greeted her, for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

Harry was in conversation with one of the Dukes when his grandmother had walked up to him, the first time tonight, with someone, who he had never met before, trailing behind her. 

“Harry,” The Queen made herself known. 

“Your Majesty.” Harry bowed. 

“I would like you to meet Venus. She’s the daughter of one of the board members for the Water and Power Organization,” Elaine introduced the dark-haired girl. 

Venus curtsied. “Your Highness.” She smiled, flashing him her gorgeous smile. Venus was pretty, anyone knew that from just a glance. She wore a champagne silk dress that had crystals embedded on her waist, cinching her figure. She added white silk gloves and diamond earrings to top off the look. 

“Pleasure,” Harry simply said behind a smile, masking his anxious and nervous attitude. He knew this was the moment where the Queen would tell him who Venus was and what he was to do while you were standing in the back watching the entire interaction, holding in your tears as your heart broke a little more. 

“My dear, Harry,” Elaine started. Harry looked at his grandmother weirdly; she hadn’t called him that since he was younger. “Shall you accompany her to the dance floor? Get to know each other, hmm?” She suggested, brows raised. 

Harry was all too polite to reject the poor girl as Venus looked at him with hopeful eyes. He simply cleared his throat and nodded, hesitantly offering her hand to the dance floor. Venus gladly took his hand, and Harry led them under the high crystal chandelier before she put her hand on his shoulder while the other still held his hand. Harry respectfully placed his hand on the small of her back--his actions unsure. Sure, he had danced with many people throughout the years, even while being with you, but this was completely different; this was the woman who he was to be wedded to, and he was sure Venus knew that as well. 

“The Queen is very kind. I thought she disliked a lot of people, so I was shocked when she started up a conversation with me.” Venus made conversation to fill the void of silence between her and the Prince as they swayed to the classical music. 

Harry lightly scoffed to himself. “She’s the Queen, could do anything she wants.” 

“She told me the plan, and I will happily be your wife, Your Highness, an honor really.” Her voice was light and hopeful. Harry knew that she was a kind woman and anyone would jump at the chance to marry into royalty, but he couldn’t deal with this, not right now. Not when you’re standing feet away, containing your pain. Harry pulled away swiftly from Venus’ hold, leaving her confused. “Your Highness?” 

“I’m sorry, I-I can’t do this,” he told her before walking away and leaving her on the dance floor. 

The Queen had watched the entire interaction, anger, and disappointment present on her face as she watched Harry walk away and out of the main ballroom. You were about to follow him out once you saw him frantically walk out, but you noticed the Queen quickly trailing behind him. Holding tightly onto your thumbs to contain the shakiness, you stayed put as your mind had begun to wonder if your boyfriend was okay or not. 

You understood why he seemed upset and stormed off; dancing with someone who wasn’t your partner hurt just the same as watching it right in front of you. All you wanted to do was hide away with him, in each other’s arms forever, but that wasn’t reality. 

Harry’s footsteps clicked against the tiled floor, walking in pure frustration as he tugged on his hair. Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes, a groan slipped from his mouth. He heard footsteps following behind him, and he already knew who those particular steps belonged to. Turning around to face what seemed like the devil itself, he inhaled deeply, holding his breath. 

“What in God’s name are you doing? You left the poor girl hanging!” Elaine scolded, eyes piercing through him. 

“Nan, I can’t do this. You can’t make me do this.” His eyes and voice pleaded, begged for mercy as he was asking for a favor as her grandson, not the Prince. 

“And why may that be?” She tested. Harry’s mouth opened but quickly closed, refraining himself to say anything. The words were right at the tip of his tongue and he had told you that he would tell her everything, but when it came to the moment, anxiety and nerves got in the way. But it seemed like the Queen knew exactly what he was going to say because she spoke for him, saying, “Is it because of that girl out there who happens to be your personal guard? Y/N, is it?” Her voice had a hint of sarcasm, and that’s when Harry knew. 

She knows, she knows everything. 

“H-How did-” 

“Oh, for god sake, Harry. Do you think I’m naive? Oblivious? It’s painfully obvious--the way you two look at each other, how you walk so closely next to each other, not to mention, the mornings in. You can’t tell me that every time you sleep in, she’s nowhere to be found too? Hmm?” Crossing her arms, she knew she defeated Harry. There was no way around it and no room for lying because she knew everything.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“I thought it was a one time thing, the first time I noticed it--that it wouldn’t last long. But I’ve watched it happen for five years, and now that I’ve had limited time on this Earth, I didn’t want to see it anymore.” She shook her head in disappointment. “So, you will marry Venus,” she instructed sternly. 

“I will not,” Harry bit back, holding his ground. 

“You will do as I say-” 

“Your Majesty!” Harry interrupted, his lip wobbling involuntarily. For a moment, Elaine had seen the seven-year-old Prince as he gave her big puppy eyes, pushing his bottom lip out as he begged. For a moment, she was about to give in to his wishes, disagreeing to be wedded to a woman he had never met before tonight. If it were twenty years ago, she would have, but twenty-seven-year-old Harry didn’t have the same effect on her as he did two decades ago. 

She loved her grandson, she did. As cruel and heartless as it was, her love for him had begun to slowly dissipate ever since he started dating you, making her a bit more harsh with him as it was a complete switch up from how she acted around him when he was younger. 

“You are to be married to Venus next Saturday, and that is final,” she said in an unrelenting tone before she walked away, heading back into the main room without another look back at her heartbroken grandson. 

Harry was left in the empty hallway on the verge of a full breakdown. His knees felt weak, about to give out from holding him up. Luckily, you entered the hallway, quickly walking towards Harry who looked completely stunned. The bottom of your shoes clicked loudly against the quiet hallway. 

You placed your hands on the side of his face, frantically worrying. “Harry, baby? What’s wrong? What happened?” 

He finally exhaled the deep and big breath that he had been holding in since his conversation with the Queen. The absence of your presence had made his breath shudder as he quite frankly couldn’t breathe properly when you weren’t around. 

His legs gave out as he couldn’t properly stand, and without warning, he collapsed, but you had caught him as you quickly placed your arms under his underarms, trying your best to pull him up. But his deadweight had won, bringing you both to the floor. You caught his fall, somehow maneuvering yourself to be placed behind him, so he wouldn’t completely fall on his back. Sitting in between your legs, he turned himself in your hold, burying his head in your neck as he began to sob. Tears soaked your skin as they slid smoothly down to your shirt, dampening the piece of clothing. His hot breath hit your skin as he bawled his eyes out, holding your top tightly between his fist, wrinkling your perfectly ironed white shirt. 

His wails broke your heart, and you had no clue as to what happened prior to getting this reaction out of him, but it must have been something horrible; something the Queen had said to him as you saw her walk into the ballroom just before you walked out. You only assumed it had something to do with the arranged marriage that she mentioned earlier this week. 

“Baby…please, you’re scaring me,” your voice was shaky, anxious as to what the reasoning for his breakdown was. Your fingers threaded through his chestnut curls, comforting him in a way you only knew how to do. 

Harry’s breath stuttered as he sniffled, catching his breath as he calmed down a bit before he spoke. “S-She knows.” Your breath had hitched in your throat, heart dropping to your stomach. The Queen knows everything, constantly replayed over in your mind like a broken record. “She knew from the very start of o-our relationship that’s why she started to become so harsh and short with me.” Your heart broke for Harry as he spoke about his grandmother, and you couldn’t help but think that you were the one that caused the Queen’s unpleasant tone with the Prince. “But I am to still be married to the woman in the ballroom. She scheduled it for next Saturday,” he added as his voice cracked towards the end. 

His words were echoing in your head, and it only added fuel to your terrible nightmare. You thought you had time, time to convince Elaine that your relationship with Harry was serious and that you loved him. But you’re starting to think that Elaine didn’t care if he was happy or in love, that she was doing this completely out of spite. 

“W-What are we gonna do, Y/N?” Harry needed your words—he needed your console, your reassurance that everything was going to be alright. 

But this time, you didn’t have an answer. 

Your footsteps were the only thing that were heard as you walked through the dark and quiet hallway, leading up to the Queen’s office. She had asked one of her guards to tell you that she requested to see you after breakfast, and your thoughts had been running ever since. This had been the first time the Queen would speak a word to you; the other times had been full of her ignoring your greetings as you curtsied politely. 

You asked Harry if she knew if he knew what she was going to say to him, but he just shook his head no. Rightfully so, he’s been in quite a gloomy mood, but he’d been more clingy than ever since this was most likely your last week together. You tried not to think about how Harry was to be married to another woman at the end of the week, and that only led to crying into your pillow until the early hours of the morning; Harry’s been the same, maybe even worse. 

With a shaky hand, you knocked on the door; not too hard but not too soft either. You gulped as you heard Elaine say ‘Enter’ from the other side of the door. Nervously opening the door, you were faced with the Queen sitting in her chair with her hands linked together as she rested them against her desk. 

“Your Majesty.” You curtsied, anxiously looking at her for some sort of approval, but all she did was gesture for you to sit down. 

Once you were sitting rather uncomfortably on the edge of the seat, she stared at you for a moment, looking at you up and down as her glare was rather deadly. You tried not to fidget or anxiously bounce your leg, but her eyes were probing into your soul, and you were afraid of how she may react if you disconnected your eyes from her. 

“I assume you know why you’re here?” She started. You nodded lightly, not saying a word. “I don’t appreciate you and my grandson going behind my back to have this…affair of yours, especially for years. First, did you think nobody would find out? You’re in the Royal House, everyone reports things back to me when they see something suspicious, so don’t think you were all that sneaky. Second, Harry’s a Prince, you’re a…guard.” She said with much emphasis on your title. “Did you think it was going to work out? I mean, he’s a Prince.” She added a bit of a scoff at the end, but her tone was stern. 

“My apologies for going behind your back, Your Majesty.��� You hadn’t a clue on what to say to her other than to apologize because there was no reason for lying only to make the situation worse. 

“Hmm. You see, Prince Harry is to be married in four days. That means you are no longer in relations with him, and since you’ve disrespected me and my family, you are no longer needed in the Royal House. You are to be packed by Saturday, and you’ll never go close to my family ever again—more importantly, the Prince. Understood?” She instructed unsympathetically. 

Your breath was stuck in your throat, your stomach in knots, and your heart didn’t feel like it was beating anymore. You were absolutely crushed. The thought of not seeing Harry anymore frightened you; you didn’t want to do life without him. You needed him, and unknowing to the Queen, he needed you too. 

“I asked if you understood,” she said, wanting a vocal answer to seal the deal. 

Slowly, you nodded your head. “Yes, I understand, Your Majesty.” 

Elaine leaned back in her chair. “Very well. You may leave now.” 

You got up, making your way out of her office, closing the heavy door before you let out a wracking sob, chest heaving up and down. You quickly made your way to your room, covering your mouth to contain the volume of your cries. The fee staff that you passed by had called out for you, asking what was wrong, but you ignored their calls, heading straight to your room where you locked the door and cried into your pillow, just as you had for the past few days. Your heart broke into a million pieces for yourself and for Harry, and you didn’t know how you would ever recover. 

As you were talking with the Queen. The Duchess had found Harry lingering around Elaine’s office, pacing back and forth as well as pressing his ear up against the door. 

“Harry? What are you doing?” Anne asked worriedly. 

“Mum, please. I need you.” Tears streamed down his face, and Anne’s heart broke as she saw her son so heartbroken. All of the rules Elaine had instructed Anne to do on how to raise her children, like completely stop showing her kids affection, had completely torn in half. And just like that, her child needed her.

Anne quickly took Harry into her arms, and Harry sobbed into her shoulder, hugging her tightly. “There, there, my darling. You’re alright.” She rubbed his back soothingly. “What’s wrong?” 

Harry pulled back. “Uh, Y/N—she's in there with Nan. Mum, she knows everything.” Anne’s eyes widened. “We’ve kept it in for so long, why now?” Harry choked in between his words as his cries had heightened. 

Anne looked at Harry with a defeated face. She’s always known about his relationship with you ever since the beginning. A quite fresh six months into the relationship, Anne had caught you two running around in the courtyard under the moonlight, past curfew hours. Harry suggested sneaking out because that was the only time you two had alone, so you hesitantly said yes without thinking about getting caught. Sure enough, you two did get caught by the Duchess. You relentlessly apologized to his mum, saying you won’t pass curfew hours anymore, but Anne simply just smiled, telling you two to be more careful next time because it could’ve been the Queen who had caught you. 

As Harry’s mother, she understood the importance of wanting him to live his life the way he wanted to. She always encouraged that he could be whoever he wanted to be, and she would always be there to support it. She didn’t want to tell him who to love or who to marry because that decision should be completely up to him. And throughout the years, she’d seen how much love he has for you while that same love was also being reciprocated. That’s all she wanted for him—someone who would love and cherish him. 

“I don’t know what to say, darling. Maybe you could talk to her?” Anne suggested, caressing Harry’s arms. 

“I-I tried before, but she just brushed past me. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” Frustration was clearly going through Harry’s body as he pulled on his hair, something he does when he’s anxious and frustrated because he was somewhat in control over it. 

“C’mon, let’s go into the living room.” She grabbed his arm, leading him out of the hallway, but he pulled back. 

“But…” 

“She’ll go to you when she needs to. The last thing you need is getting caught lingering around when I’m sure the Queen doesn’t want you two being around one another.” 

Anne was right; a mother does know best. Following her wishes, he nodded, trailing behind his mother and out of the hallway, away from his poor girl who was being confronted by the Queen. 

It was Friday night, and you had just zipped up the last of your luggage. Your room was empty, and it pained your heart that it was your last night at the Royal House, the last time you would ever see Harry. 

You were due to be out of the Royal House by seven a.m and off Royal grounds at nine in the morning; there was a boat scheduled for everyone visiting the grounds to departure at nine, and you would be on your way to God knows where, but far away from the one person who had your heart. 

Harry’s wedding was to be scheduled quite early in the morning, around eight-thirty, or so you’d heard from the staff. The entire staff had no clue of your leave, except a few of the guards that were going to escort you out of the Royal House and to the docks. The Queen had bumped into you in the hallways and specifically instructed you to not tell anyone that you were leaving because she was going to tell them that you resigned if they asked. You simply had no energy to argue, to disagree with her choice, so you nodded, not saying a word. 

You sat on the edge of your bed, completely drained physically and emotionally, and the one thing on your mind was to go to sleep—sleep and Harry, your dearest Harry who you hoped was okay. You got ready for bed mindlessly as a numbness fell throughout your body. You couldn’t feel anything but pain, and the suffering you’d endured for the past week had overwhelmed your mind and body, leaving you dazed. 

Your heart pounded through your ears with every movement as it started to make you feel dizzy, so you laid down on your side, facing the wall while you hugged your pillow tightly while your hand was wrapped around your gold necklace Harry had gifted you. Shutting your eyes, you forced your mind to go to sleep. 

A few moments passed by, and due to your ears ringing, you didn’t hear your bedroom door open and close. But you did feel the edge of your twin bed dip down, making you open your eyes in startelement as the figure behind you engulfed you into their arms, and you immediately relaxed. 

Sighing deeply, a few tears shed from your eyes, feeling relief from the pair of arms around you; you hadn’t felt his arms around you since Tuesday, the day you talked to the Queen. You also hadn’t seen him since Tuesday because after your meeting with Elaine, she had found Harry, telling him to stay away from you. Many arguments had come out of his mouth, but Elaine immediately shut him down after that, sternly telling him that he was to never speak to her that way again. Knowing that Harry would break the rule of not seeing you, Elaine ordered for you to not cross the boundary of the West and East Wing as she knew you wouldn’t break her rules. 

The feeling of being this close to one another after three days was such a relief, and it almost felt wrong because of the Queen’s wishes, but you simply couldn’t care less because you were in the arms of the person you adored. 

Turning around to face him, you were immediately greeted with a loving ‘I missed you so damn much’ kiss. His lips glided over yours smoothly, but rushed, desperate to feel your touch as his arms never loosened around your frame, needing your body close. 

“Hi, Princess,” he said breathlessly once he pulled away. 

You kissed the tip of his nose, making him blush. “Your Highness, how are you?” You asked concerningly. 

“Was doing horrible without you, but right now, I’m just happy to see you, happy to be in your bed.” You softly smiled, pecking his lips. 

You were also happy to have him in your bed. He’d only snuck out of his room to sleep in your bed a handful of times, but he could easily say that it’s the best bed he’s ever slept on because your scent was all over the sheets as well as your body being pressed up against his due to the lack of space you two had. You’d tease him, saying that you were baffled he would rather leave his king-size bed for your small one, but he would charm your pants off and come back with how he liked your small bed better because that meant you would be closer to him the entire night. A charmer, he is. 

A silence fell over you both, simply just looking and taking one another’s presence in. You had both memorized every inch of each other’s face throughout the entirety of your friendship and relationship—every mark, mole, crease, and wrinkle was ingrained into your mind as it was your fear that you would forget how your handsome Prince looked like—but this time, it was different. You two were looking at one another, so neither of you would actually forget what the other looked liked because you wouldn’t be able to see him again. 

You lowered your eyes to your neck, stopping yourself from crying, but it seemed like your tears and emotion for the best of you. A small sniffle came out of you and Harry pouted, bringing you into his chest and holding you tightly. 

“I’m gonna miss you,” you said against his skin. 

“C’mon…” Harry said with slight annoyance, lightly scoffing as he was in disbelief of what you were saying. 

“I mean it, I’m really gonna miss you.” You pulled your head out of his chest, looking up at him. 

He shook his head as tears formed in his eyes. His heart was breaking more than it already had, and it upset him how much you were letting all of this happen—accepting it, more like. 

“Don’t do this.” He looked deeply into your eyes, brows furrowed; you could tell that he looked frustrated and offended, but you didn’t know what you could do to make your situation better, so you shrugged your shoulders in defeat. 

“There’s nothing else for me to do, Harry. I don’t know what you want me to do. I don’t want you to resent me for not being close to your grandmother when she’s practically on her deathbed.” He pulled away from you, laying on his back as he looked up at the ceiling fan, hoping if he looked long enough, he would be hypnotized into another life—a life where it involved just the two of you. But he was still in your room and his realities were still coming true. “I don’t know what you want me to do,” you added. 

“Don’t accept the fact that we’re not gonna see each other again!” He whisper-yelled, trying to keep his voice down, still not making eye contact with you. How could he ever resent you? For most of his life, you’d made him the happiest—ever since you two were kids, you would always find a reason to put a smile on his face and get out of bed in the morning. 

You sighed deeply, closing your eyes. This wasn’t how you wanted your last night to go, and you could understand why he was frustrated, but you really didn’t know what he wanted you to do because there wasn’t anything you could do. 

He turned his head towards you, seeing that you were closing your eyes, exhaling through your nose deeply. He turned his whole body to lay on his side, facing you before bringing his hand to your cheek, caressing your skin with his thumb. You opened your eyes once you felt his cold touch, chills rose onto your skin as you looked at him through your glassy and sad eyes; a look that broke his heart. 

“I’m sorry for raising my voice, my Princess. I’m just…angry and sad.” He lowered his eyes, feeling subdued. 

“It’s okay, I understand. I just don’t know what to do to make this situation any better, but we have to accept that this is our ending. And it may not be ‘happily ever after’ for the two of us, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop loving you.” He nodded as he took in your words. 

“Just…hold me, yeah? Until you have to l-leave.” His voice cracked at the end of his sentence, finding it rather difficult to accept the fact that you won’t be on the same grounds as him anymore. 

You nodded, closing the inch of space, and wrapping your arms around him. As your face was pressed against his chest, Harry’s chin rested on the top of your head as you two held one another. It was a surreal but heartbreaking moment, but the two of you cherished the last several hours you had with one another. 

You lifted your head up, only to be met with his chin, and you pressed a kiss along with the sharpness of his stubble jaw; Harry sighed in relief. You hooked your leg around his waist, pulling him closer than he already was, and trailed your lips to his neck, sucking and licking his soft skin. Harry groaned, involuntarily bucking his hips into yours as the feel of your lips had that much of an effect on him. 

Shifting upwards so you were face-to-face, you looked in his eyes momentarily, taken back by his beauty. He was so immensely beautiful that he quite literally took your breath away. He almost didn’t seem real, so tangible, but he was definitely a sight. You’ve had a crush on him for more than a decade, and not once had it minimized into something frivolous or vanished; you hadn’t doubted your love for him and you never would. You were always going to have a crush on the Prince until the day you took your last breath when you would think about giving him one last kiss goodbye. 

Connecting your lips together, you felt like you were home. The peace his lips provided made you melt with every kiss, every single time his tongue glided over yours, or when he bit your bottom lip and pulled back a bit—just being connected to Harry physically and emotionally made you feel secure, and you couldn’t ask for anything more in life because you would be too greedy. 

In the midst of moving your lips in sync with his, he traced his tongue against your bottom lip, making you open your mouth, a moan leaving your lips. His tongue met yours, swirling and tasting one another as the grip you had on one another had stiffened, pulling each other closer. With your hips slightly grinding against his, the breathy moans that left his mouth, and Harry’s lips perfectly and gracefully kissing yours, the electrifying feeling was more powerful than ever. The spark ran down your back, making you want more as chills ran down the course of your body. You would always want more when it came to Harry; he had that appeal where he would leave everyone wanting for more, but luckily, you were the only one he would be giving it to. 

You pulled away, completely breathless by his soft and pink lips before you whispered, “Want you, please.” Your eyes were pleading with him to do anything to your body as you just wanted to feel his touch, his body against yours. 

“Sure?” He asked as he always did before you two ever had sex, and you appreciated the thought because it really showed how true of a gentleman that he was before he fucked you relentlessly into the mattress. 

“Mhm. Give it to me…one last time,” you sighed, curling your lips into your mouth as your fingers pushed away the curl that fell onto his forehead. 

He shook his head softly, disapproving of your choice of words. “Okay,” he responded, brushing off your statement as he gave you another kiss, unable to get enough of your sweet, cherry-flavored lips. 

Soft kisses were pressed against your cheek, trailing down your neck as he gave you a love bite; you threw your head back into the pillow, allowing him more access to your neck. His hands found the hem of your baby pink silk nightgown, bunching the soft fabric up to your waist as he held your thigh up to his waist, softly grinding his pelvis into yours. 

You sat up and raised your arms straight up before Harry took the chance to peel your nightgown off of your body and on the floor. You laid back down, completely naked, besides the necklace that rested perfectly on your skin, as his eyes bored into you, admiring your figure and being quite mesmerized by you as he always was. Your room was dark besides the soft glow of the moonlight that peeked through the window and casted down at your body, giving Harry a clear and beautiful vision of you. 

“So beautiful, my love. Take my breath away every single time I look at you,” he said softly. You shyly smiled under his state, finding it quite intimidating for a moment. 

Harry raised his arms and reached behind his head to take off his shirt, showcasing his tattoos that you’ve traced, counted, and kissed plenty of times throughout the years. His inked skin was something you loved most about him because despite being Royal blood, he still wanted to be himself—not someone people assumed he was as if they’d figured out his entire life and personality. Just Harry.

He was outright the most stunning man you’d ever laid your eyes on. You were sure there would be no one like him because there was only one Harry that you loved, only one person that you loved. 

You reached your hands out for him, and Harry slowly placed his weight on you. His lips sucked and licked the swell of your breasts and nipples, giving each the same amount of attention. You grabbed his face, bringing it up to your lips as you missed them. 

He molded his lips with yours for a few moments, enjoying your touch before you briskly flipped the two of you over so you were on top now. 

Harry smirked, hands immediately finding their way to your waist. “My girl wants to be on top, hmm?” You nodded as you began to take his striped pajama pants off; his cock was hard, sitting against his lower abdomen. You leaned down, licking one long stripe from the base to the tip, earning a raspy moan from your Prince before kissing up his body, making sure to leave a few love bites so he had something to remember you by in the morning on his wedding day. Call it petty if his new wife would see them tomorrow on their night as newlyweds, but rightfully so, he was yours and you had his heart first. 

You reached his neck, littering his skin as you sucked and licked. “Wanna feel you deep. Can you sit up, please?” 

“Always so polite. Of course, I can.” He sat up against the headboard, and you pressed your body against his as his cock laid perfectly between your folds. You could practically feel your arousal dripping onto his hard-on, so you slowly started to grind against his hard length as you feverishly kissed him. 

A throaty moan came out of both of you as your hands desperately held onto one another, grabbing whatever you both can to really feel each other. 

“Please,” he whimpered. “Need to feel you.” 

“Look who’s being so polite now, huh,” you teased, and Harry giggled. He loved being able to giggle and tease one another during the intimate times you two had together; it made things fun and less serious as you two were able to be yourselves around each other. 

You sat on your knees to raise your hips before you licked your hand and grabbed a hold of his cock, giving him a few pumps before you lined him up with your entrance. Slowly sinking down on him, your walls hugged him tightly as he graciously filled you up. After five years, he still filled your walls and stretched you out as his thick and long size was something you still had to adjust to. A soft moan left both of your lips once you were fully on him, keeping yourself there for a moment. 

“Fuck, you feel so good. Could stay like this for as long as possible,” he breathed out. 

You softly smiled. “Give me a moment. Always gonna need to adjust to you, just so big.” You praised him for endeavors, knowing he liked being praised; and he smirked. 

“All for you,” he breathed out, making you smile. 

After a minute or two, you started to move up and down on him, raising your hips until only his tip was inside of you before sinking back down, taking him in fully. He always hit that special spot in this position; with just one thrust, it had you moaning his name out like there was no tomorrow. 

You squeezed around him, making him throw his head back onto the headboard as he started to guide your hips that were working on grinding and bouncing onto him. Your movements began to pick up, finding a rhythm as you swiveled and grinded on his cock, feeling on edge already. 

His mouth attacked your tits as his hands squeezed and slapped your ass, leaving a red mark onto your skin, but you loved it, you always did. You wrapped your arms around your neck, hugging his face to your chest as he hugged your waist, keeping you close while kissing the valley of your breasts. 

His hands gripped your hips, pushing you down so you would stop your movements. You looked down in confusion as big doe eyes looked up at you. Pushing his hair back and scratching his scalp, you gave him a small smile, kissing his lips fully. 

“W-What’s wrong?” You asked once you pulled back from his lips, your voice soft and tender. 

“Just…wanna make this last longer.” 

You nodded, agreeing. “Okay.” You didn’t continue your movements after that, just simply staying seated on him, keeping him warm as he was tucked in away with your softness and warmth of your velvety walls. 

“I’ll love you forever, y’know that, right? Not gonna love another soul again,” he confessed sadly. 

“I know that, and I love you more than life itself. But baby, you’re getting married—spending the rest of your life with someone. You’ve ought to love her someday.” As hard as it was for you to tell him that he could love someone else, you knew that it was inevitable for him to catch feelings, especially for his new wife. 

He shook his head in disagreement. “No, no. I can’t do that, even if you’re telling me to love someone else, I physically and emotionally cannot open up my heart to someone who isn’t you.” His eyes were glassy; the moonlight still made his gorgeous green eyes sparkle. 

“I know, I know.” You lovingly placed a kiss onto his forehead, lingering your lips onto his skin for a moment as his fingers trailed down your spine. “Just know that I’m gonna love you forever, too.” 

“Yeah?” He asked, smiling slightly; you nodded. “Please do. Need your love,” he sniffled, a tear slowly streaming down the side of his face. 

You wiped it away, leaning down to kiss his nose and lips. “Need your love too. Can you feel mine? Can you feel my love?” You asked as you began to start moving your hips. 

A throaty moan left Harry’s lips as he nodded. “Yeah, I can feel it all over. Feel it everywhere—never want to not feel it.” He gripped your hips hard, squeezing the flesh as you whimpered. 

Slowly bouncing on him, you started to revive your orgasm as you started to whine and mewl, desperate to get there. Your thighs were shaking and burning from being on top and grinding on him for so long, and Harry started to see that as your movements slowed down and you had to take a few breaks. 

“Tired?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Okay, I got you, baby. Let me love you.” He shifted down so he was on his back and your body was pressed up against his. “Let me take care of you.” You nodded softly, burying your face into his neck, hiding away from him as you whispered from the movement. 

Harry planted his feet on the bed, bucking his hips and fucking up into you; it wasn’t fast, no, it was slow but his thrusts were hard. He was so deep that you felt the electrifying shock run down to your toes, making you curl them in. Hot breath hit his skin as you moaned out his name before he felt your lips continuously kissing, sucking, and licking his neck. 

“My Princess. My dream girl. Gonna love you forever. Gonna miss you, gonna miss this.” His voice cracked, hugging you tightly to his chest as he continued to thrust up into you. “Please, let me feel you,” he pleaded for your release. 

His cock was hitting your special spot as you were very close. After a few more thrusts, a few more moans, and a few more words that effortlessly slipped out of Harry’s mouth as he encouraged you to find your pleasure, you let go. Your beautiful sounds were muffled from the pillow and the way you buried your face into the crook of his neck. You were quite overwhelmed as you began to sob, a quarter of your distress was because of how powerful your orgasm was, but most of it was because of how empty you would feel when you had left the Royal Grounds tomorrow morning, and how you wouldn’t see Harry anymore. 

Harry continued to fuck you, riding your high out before he spilled into you, loud and raspy moans slipped filled your ear as he moaned your name and how much he loved you. 

Once he calmed down, the room was in absolute silence beside the sounds of the gut-wrenching sobs that came from you. You were incredibly sensitive and emotional as you held onto him tight, Harry still inside of you. His heart was breaking as he started to quietly cry with you, which caught your attention, so you lifted your head up to face him. Witnessing Harry crying wasn’t your favorite sight to see; it pained you to see him so upset, and you wanted to take his pain away and keep it to yourself so he would be happy. 

“No matter what…” you started, stroking his cheek tenderly. “I’m gonna love you. And even though I’m not going to be physically next to you, you’re still gonna have my heart and you’ll feel how much I love you. Just…remember that, please?” 

Harry nodded. “And you’ll have my heart,” he reciprocated. 

“Mhm, and I’ll guard your heart for the rest of my life.” 

He pecked your lips sweetly. “I know you know this, but you’re my ship. You’re the thing that brings me home safely and securely while I lay out in the sun for hours and be completely content and happy with life. And no matter what storm you, or we, encounter, you’re always able to guide us to a brighter part of the Earth. And for that, I will love you forever. Got you inked on my skin permanently and I will cherish the memories and the love you have given me for the past twenty years.” 

His proclamations had you in tears, sniffling throughout his words. You knew how difficult it was for him to say those words because it meant that he was accepting his reality. 

You captured his lips in with yours, sobbing and shaking against them as you cried, holding onto one another for dear life as you two only existed in each other’s arms—forgetting about the outside world. Your heart had sunk so far into your stomach, making your insides feel like they were in knots. Harry had been your safety net for so long, your source of happiness and love. But now, he was going to be added to the list of people that you had lost; the first two being your parents. 

The three most important people in your life had sailed a ship far away from you and you weren’t able to see them anymore. Maybe in another lifetime, but right now, you needed them.

It was quite ironic how Harry thought you were his ship, something that kept him afloat and content when all you felt was the numbness, the pain, and the sinking of your heart, making the depth of the ocean feel so inviting. 

A shake on his shoulder had woken an exhausted Harry up. Inhaling deeply before letting out a groan, he opened his eyes to be met with the day ahead of him. If it were any other day, he would be met with his love, looking at him so lovingly and sweetly as you would beg him to get out of bed, but he would pull you to get in the covers with him before spending half an hour of making giggly and sweet love in the morning. 

But today wasn’t any other ordinary day…it was his wedding day, and the person waking him was Anne, sadly smiling down at him as she wore a rather beautiful lilac gown. He looked at her confusingly before taking a look around the room; he was in your room and that’s when he recalled the night prior. You two fell asleep holding onto one another, whispering lovely words into one each other’s ear, pretending that the next wasn’t happening so you two could be Y/N and Harry. 

“Morning, darling. I see you’ve made your way in here last night.” 

Harry sat up, looking down at his body; he was fully clothed, and he smiled to himself at how thoughtful you were to put his clothes back on. But his smile quickly disappeared when he took a clear look around the room. Your belongings were gone and the luggage that was packed wasn’t there anymore. A piece of him felt like it was ripped out of his chest, leaving him to suffer and sleep through the nightmare. 

He sighed deeply, chin meeting his chest. “She’s really gone, Mum.” 

Anne didn’t say anything but nod. She rubbed Harry back comfortingly as she kissed his forehead. She’s never seen her son so heartbroken before; sure, she’s had to distance herself from him, but she was always observant of Harry. She noticed that whenever he walked into every room, he had a smile on his face and that was because he was laughing at something you had said or blew him a kiss that made him flustered. So, Harry being so sad and heartbroken was a new kind of Harry that she will have to encounter because for most of his life, he was always happy, never had a complaint in his life, and that was because he had you. 

“She left you this.” Anne presented a white envelope, which made his eyes widen, but he immediately took it from her hands. The front of the envelope wrote Your Highness with a heart at the end, making his heart flutter. He looked up at his mother and she smiled at him, caressing his face before planting a kiss on his cheek. “Be quick to read that. The Queen is still expecting you to be married today,” she sighed. “You have to be ready soon—the ceremony starts in an hour. Be out of this room before anyone else catches you.” Anne walked towards the door, and before she walked out, she called out for him, making Harry lift his head up. “Everything’s going to be fine. Trust me.” 

With that being said, she left your empty room, leaving him with the letter in his hands and your scent that swirled around the room, making him miss your presence even more. 

His hands shook as he carefully opened the envelope—you even spritzed some of your perfume that he loves so much as he brought the paper to his nose. Unfolding it, the letter was quite long—the entire page—and Harry could feel himself already getting emotional over it, but he read it anyway. 

My sweetest Harry, 

I am writing this in the early hours of the morning as you’re sleeping peacefully in my bed, hugging my pillow. You look so peaceful when you sleep, did you know that? Besides the occasional snoring, which I don’t mind because you know that I’m a snorer myself, you have this sense of calmness to you when you sleep. It makes me not want to wake you up in the mornings sometimes because you look like you’re at complete peace. But then I miss you too much and want your kisses so eventually, I do wake you up. 

I’m going to miss that, waking you up, and having a morning to ourselves where we get to be us. But I’m also going to miss all the other times we get to spend together. In the car on our way to events, in the courtyard running around like we’re kids, midnight strolls under the moonlight, and sneaky makeout sessions when you would pull me into a random room in the Royal House. 

I’m going to miss every single moment. 

It pains me that I am no longer by your side and we had to part this way. I’ve never felt so heartbroken in my life before, and I thought I wouldn’t ever get to feel this type of agony because I was with you. And we promised to not hurt each other, no matter what. But I’m proud of us because we kept our promise until the very end. We never hurt each other—we always talked it out and never left one another to fight one’s own battles. We were such a great team. The best team. 

You’re everything to me, Harry. My whole entire heart belongs to you, and it will always be yours as long as you hold onto it and keep it safe. Thank you for protecting my heart since we were kids. Thank you for always being there for me in a blink of an eye. You’ve truly helped me get me back on my feet when my father passed, and for that, I don’t know how to thank you enough. I felt like I'd lost the fight when he passed and I didn’t know what I was going to do, but then you reminded me that you were by my side, and for that, we won. 

It has truly been an honor to know you. To be in your presence. But to be in your heart is the greatest gift that I’ve ever received because you love like no other. There will be no other that’ll compete against you. It will always be you. 

My lips will remember the way you love, the way you taste. Your lips are my favorite, and I smile every single time I feel your touch because it’s quite unforgettable. 

You are my heart, my sun, my lover, my best friend, my dream boy, and my forever Prince that I will love for the rest of eternity. 

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for letting me into your heart, Your Highness. 

Yours forever, 

Y/N. 

With his face slightly damped from the tears that streamed down his cheeks while his eyes were swollen and red, he cried into his hands once he finished reading your letter a third time in a row. The feeling in his chest felt like it was physically tearing him apart as it was difficult to catch his breath, gasping for air through his sobs. 

All he wanted to do was to hug you, hold onto you for the rest of his life, and he would be completely satisfied with everything. But you were soon to be on a boat, sailing away from Royal Grounds, further away from him. 

He looked down at the piece of paper, making sure to not wrinkle the last physical piece he had of you. You signed your name off with a heart at the end, admiring your handwriting that he never failed to compliment every time you would handwrite him a note. Bringing the paper to his lips, he kissed your name briefly, exhaling heavy breaths through his nose before pulling away and safely putting it back into the envelope. 

His heart grieved for you two because neither of you deserved this consequential punishment that broke you two apart. 

Standing at the altar in front of hundreds of people wasn’t something Harry imagined his wedding to be like. He pictured his guest list to be quite small, only the people he truly loved and appreciated. It definitely wouldn’t have been in a large venue that held six figures worth of art. And it wouldn’t have been Venus walking down the aisle, meeting him in a white long gown with a veil covering her face. 

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he felt slightly guilty. Harry knew it wasn’t his fault as to why he’s standing here, but he would have never thought he would ever be standing at the altar without you walking towards him. You two had talked about getting married and the wedding itself so many times that, naturally, it was the norm. Neither of you were scared of getting married to one another, so there was no need to worry about the other running away from the idea or the relationship. 

You always talked about wanting to get married in a garden where there would be bushes of flowers surrounding the area, giving the scene a pop of color. You two agreed on only wanting about fifteen to twenty people, most of the guests would come from Harry’s family and friends, and you would invite some of the staff that you had gotten quite close to throughout your life of living in the Royal House. You would ask Maria to walk you down the aisle as you wore a light champagne dress with hints of gold embedded into the dress; you always told Harry you didn’t want to wear a traditional white wedding dress because you would be too afraid to stain it, especially if you were going to walk on the grass. Harry didn’t mind one bit as long as you were the one walking down the aisle towards him; he would be the happiest man on Earth. 

But now as he watched Venus make her way towards him, this wasn’t the magical night he dreamed of ever since you two got together, and he wished this was a dream so you could wake him up as soon as possible. But you didn’t because it wasn’t a dream, and he realized that when he shook Venus’ father’s hand, giving her daughter away to marry the Prince as she was soon to become a Princess.

Harry and Venus stood in front of each other as she held his hands tightly, feeling that she needed to hold up his hands because he wasn’t holding onto her at all. Venus nervously gulped as she looked at the Prince; he wasn’t making eye contact with her nor the Priest. He was looking down at his shoes and the doors that she had entered as if he was impatiently waiting for someone to burst through those doors as he didn’t listen to a word of what the Priest had said. 

“Harry, do you take thee, Venus, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do you part?” 

The moment was finally here as Harry blinked his tears away, knowing two words were going to change his whole entire life. 

Your heart was beating fast as you struggled to hold onto your belongings with your two arms. You rolled two suitcases that sunk their wheels through every crack of the wooden and old dock as you walked; your duffel bags took every other bump, struggling to remain on your luggage, making you stop once again to place it back in its rightful spot. Towards the side of the dock was a schedule on what time the faerie was arriving for departure, and you had about twenty minutes to spare if there were no delays. 

It was a quite gloomy day—unfortunate that Harry had to have this kind of weather on his wedding day, but maybe that was Mother Nature’s way of expressing her sadness with you. 

You looked at your small gold watch on your left wrist—an accessory your father had given you when you turned eighteen as he told you it was your mother’s and that she used to wear it all the time. The small watch made her feel powerful, independent, and a grown woman who had grown up from the beaded bracelets she used to make when she was younger. It was a piece of your mother that you got to keep with you wherever you went, so you cherished it with your whole heart. 

When it was nearing T-minus 5 minutes, you gathered your bags and headed towards the boat where every passenger crowded around. There were quite a few people and you hoped that the boat ride off the Royal Grounds was a quiet and smooth sailing ride because with the headache you’re enduring from crying and your heartbreak, you needed silence. 

One of the members of the faerie stood on the edge of the boat with a megaphone raised to his lips. “Attention! People who are boarding for the nine o’clock departure heading West of the Royal Grounds. We seem to have noticed a last-minute complication with the engine, which will delay us for about another thirty minutes. We will update you all if we need to switch boats, but for now, hang tight and hang around. Visit the Royal gift shop and get yourself a crown!” He finished his announcement as everyone groaned as you chuckled at everyone’s reaction. You didn’t mind the delay because it meant that you got to stay on the same ground as Harry for a bit longer, even though you weren’t able to see him. 

You headed towards a bench that overlooked the ocean and set your bags close by you as you grabbed an apple from your tote that you snatched from the kitchen on your way out of the Royal House. There were little kids running around with balloons in their hands while their parents tried to chase them, telling them to be careful or they’ll fall off the dock. 

Suddenly, a little boy jogged towards you, nearly startling you. “Hello, are you Y/N?” 

You raised your brows, leaning your arms on your thighs as you wondered how he knew your name. “Why, yes, I am. And who might you be?” You asked in a friendly tone. 

“I’m Russell. This is for you.” He handed you a bouquet of a gorgeous arrangement of daisies. 

“These are lovely, thank you! Did you pick these out yourself?” 

“No, I didn’t. I was told to give them to you. Your husband wanted me to give it to you!” He exclaimed excitedly. 

“Really? And who might my husband be?” You amused him, not thinking seriously about his statement. But he suddenly pointed behind you, making you turn around in suspense. 

There he was, your Prince, smiling down at you as you looked up at him in pure disbelief. He looked dashingly handsome in a silk hot pink blouse and a floral embroidered black suit that suited him very well. You took a moment to observe him, trailing your eyes down to his hands, only to find his left ring finger bare. His face looked too happy to be married to someone who wasn’t you, but his smile looked as if it was relieved as if his worst nightmare had come to an end. He was relaxed, the complete opposite of the trepidation that he held for weeks. 

Your observation was coming to a conclusion, and once you realized what was happening, you matched his smile as you stood up. 

“Your Highness,” you curtsied, making him giggle. 

Before he could explain to you why he was standing in front of you with no security, he turned to the little boy who had helped him. “Russell, thank you for delivering the flowers to my wife.” 

“Your welcome, Prince Harry!” The little boy bowed excitedly before running off to his mother who was waiting and watching on the sidelines. 

Once Russell was safe with his mother, you turned back towards Harry. “Your wife, huh?” You raised your brows, teasing him as you masked your giddiness. You intertwined your hands behind yourself, containing yourself from reaching out and grabbing him. 

“Yeah, my actual wife—someday—not the one that was walking towards me earlier.” 

You smiled softly, still lost on why he’s in front of you. “What are you doing here?” 

“I left. I ran away from the altar. I couldn’t do it, Princess. No matter how mad the Queen would be, I couldn’t marry that woman,” he explained. You exhaled in relief, tears pricking your eyes. “I felt guilty, y’know? Never have I imagined standing at the altar without you. It was…weird and I didn’t like it.” 

“How did you even manage to do that? To run away?” 

Harry slightly chuckled. “Mum helped me.” 

“Really?” Your eyes widened as you were in shock. 

“Yeah,” he answered, explaining to you what happened thirty minutes prior to him racing to the dock to find you. 

When the Priest was reciting the vows, he waited on Harry’s promise to marry Venus. But Harry had turned his head to look at his mum before earning a nod of approval. He turned his head back to Venus, and she had some sort of look of understanding like she knew Harry clearly hadn’t signed up for this wedding—to marry her. Harry gave Venus a small smile that apologized for what he was about to do before turning to the Priest and telling him that he couldn’t do any of what he had said. The guests’ chatter had increased, some softly gasping as they wondered why the Prince wasn’t complying with the marriage. 

He let go of Venus’ hands, heading towards Anne to give her a kiss on the cheek. Anne had sneakily handed him a pair of keys to one of the Rolls Royce cars, and he smiled in appreciation. He glanced at Elaine, not even bothering to say goodbye to his Nan, but Elaine had a few words herself, so she grabbed Harry’s wrists before he walked down the aisle. 

“Walk out those doors, and you wouldn’t even be considered a Prince anymore, you are not allowed back on Royal Grounds if you walk out, and you are no longer going to be part of this family,” she warned, eyes piercing with such disappointment.

He gave Elaine one last look before yanking his arm out of her hold, which earned a loud gasp from the guests. Elaine looked around at the people who had watched the two, and she felt embarrassment heat up in her cheeks. 

Once Harry walked out the doors, he jogged to the front of the Royal House where Gemma had closed the trunk. He took his sister into his arms, hugging her tightly and gratefully. 

“Thank you, Gemma. For everything,” he said, giving her an extra squeeze. She patted his back before pulling away, giving him a smile. 

“I’m proud of you, H. Now, go and get her. I’ve already flagged down the captain and told him to delay the boat for thirty minutes, so you should hurry before the other passengers start to fret. And the boat you two are going on should be ready by the time you’re there.” 

He smiled. “Thank you, again. I’ll see you soon? I’ll call you from wherever I am.” She nodded, telling him to reach out soon. “You take care of yourself, alright? Don’t take shit from her. You and Sebastian deserve to be with each other.” 

“I will. I won’t. And yes, we do,” she answered in the order Harry said, making him chuckle. “Now, go. You’re making her wait.” She patted his back once more before he got into the car. 

With one last wave, he was off to the docks where the love of his life was waiting for him. 

“So, here I am,” Harry said with a smile, arms opening as he presented himself. You smiled widely, giggling. You were still in shock how he simply gave up his family and his position to once rule the country for you. You knew he would do anything for you, but this was more than anything—this was leaving his family for good, walking away from being connected to royalty. And he left it all behind. For you. 

“Here you are,” you breathed out a chuckle. “I can't believe you’re here. That you didn’t marry that woman.” 

“You know I couldn’t do that. You’re the only one I want to marry, the only one I wanna see walk down the aisle, wearing a beautiful champagne gown.” You were slightly taken back, tears glazing your eyes; he remembered the small detail you had told him about not wanting to wear a traditional white dress to your wedding. “So, you’re not the Prince anymore, hmm?” 

Harry shook his head. “Nope. Not gonna leave me to find another Prince, are you?” He joked, raising his brows. You playfully slapped his chest, but he caught your hand, bringing it up to his lips as he placed a chaste kiss on the back of your hand. 

“Course not. I’ve had a Prince of my own for the past five years.” You unconsciously reached towards him to straighten his jacket. He pulled you forward by the hand that he was already holding, and your chest was pressed together against his with your faces inches away from one another as you looked up at him. 

“Our six-year anniversary is coming up soon. How should we celebrate?” 

“Hmm, now that we have all the time in the world, wanna go on vacation? I’ve been dying to go to Italy,” you suggested, and Harry’s eyes lightened up as if you had suggested the greatest idea ever. 

“I would love that. Where in Italy are you thinking about? Because I’ve been thinking of the Amalfi Coast. Think about it…driving along the coast, cliff diving, swimming in the ocean. Sounds nice, huh?” You nodded your head at his plans. 

“Sounds amazing. Maybe we could…get married there?” You suggested another plan hesitantly, testing the waters to see how he felt about it. 

“You wanna get married? Next month?” You nodded your head. “Are you proposing?” 

“Only if you say yes.” You wrapped your arms around his waist, kissing his chin. 

“You know I will.” A tint of pink hit his cheeks as he smiled down at you. 

He leaned down to place a tender kiss on the tip of your nose, and when he pulled back, your eyes sparkled with such love and happiness—a gleam that he’s missed seeing in your eyes, and a gleam he would make sure was always there as long as you two were together. 

“Well, in that case…Your Highness, my love, will you do the honor of becoming my husband in one month?” You asked with a hopeful and playful tone as you couldn’t contain your smile. 

“Of course, my Princess. Wouldn't wanna be by anyone else,” he answered as you softly squealed. 

Harry placed his hands on your jaw, gently bringing your face to his. His forehead rested against you as the tip of your noses touched, giving one another an Eskimo kiss. Your lips merely brushed together so delicately as you smiled once you felt his touch. With one last small touch, Harry kissed you with such passion and devotion as you two moved your lips in sync. The kiss spoke every beautiful and exquisite word in the dictionary that it wouldn’t be enough to describe how tenderly and passionate he kissed you, and how much love your heart held for him. 

 Neither of you cared if there were bystanders, wondering why the Prince was kissing someone in the middle of the Royal Grounds, in public. But there was not one hint of care because you two were together, and this kiss indicated what’s to come for the rest of your lifetime. 

He pulled away, and you were so caught up in the sensation and the feeling that you didn’t realize that he had stopped kissing you. When you opened your eyes, you were met by your favorite green eyes that stared at you with a big smile on his face, dimple indenting his face. 

“I love you so much, Princess, you have no idea.” His words were slow, hoping to engrave them into your mind so you wouldn’t forget it. 

“And I love you, too, Your Highness.” He smiled, pressing a quick kiss to your lips, too quick for your liking. 

“Now, c’mon, we have a ship to catch.” Harry grabbed one of your bags as he held one of the duffle bags on his shoulder. He informed you that you two were going to take the family ship and that his belongings were already loaded on the ship. 

You nodded, grabbing the other luggage and duffle bag. You turned around, taking a look back at the Royal House that peeked behind many buildings and trees. This was the end of the story, and it was time to start a new one. You were able to close the book and set it down while you reflect on the memories you had made in one house with the one person who had your heart. 

Sure, you don’t know where you and Harry would be settling down; maybe you two would constantly move around and travel the world since neither of you got the chance to do so, but whatever the universe had in store for you both, you were glad to do it with Harry by your side. 

“Hey, are you coming with or what?” Harry called out, making you turn around. A smile that was brighter than the sun was plastered on his face as his arm reached out in front of him, palm facing up, telling you that it was time to leave. That it was time to start a new life together. 

You smiled, walking towards him as your eyes were glossy. Taking his hand and intertwining your fingers with his, he held your hand tight as you two crossed the ramp that was securely resting on the edge of the dock and the edge of the boat. 

You leaned against the railing of the boat, looking out at the deep ocean that you once felt like you were drowning in. But once Harry’s arms wrapped around your waist, chest pressed up against your back while his lips attached to the skin behind your ear, you no longer felt like your ship was sinking. It was smooth sailing and immensely happy. 

please come into my inbox and tell me all of your thoughts, feelings, and favorite moments! thank you for reading <3

#harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles au #prince!harry #harry styles ff #harry styles one shot #harry styles writing #royal au #harry styles prince #boyfriend!harry #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles x yn #harry styles x y/n #harry #harry styles #solo harry

[annarendellsa]

my heathers headcanons

it's the way i see them and draw them, you don't have to agree! this is based on both the musical and the movie

CW: mention of suic*de and e*ting disorders (bulimia) as well as various mental illnesses

Heather Duke

• heather duke is aromantic and yes its because she wears green, have you seen her socks in the off broadway musical? /hj

• more seriously, she IS aromantic but it took some time for her to figure out. she is allo but she doesn't label her sexuality, and she was always confused and frustrated to experience sexual attraction but never romantic attraction; she had a hard time accepting this part of herself.

• post heathers: maybe she discovers about non binary identities and asks her girlfriends to test out they/them pronouns on her? idk? aro-agender duke?

• she also struggles with empathy as she is naturally apathic

• and she's putting this image of a cold mean girl because she believes she can only be that given she's aro and ND

• post musical: she had no idea mcnamara actually tried to commit suic*de and when veronica tells her she breaks down in tears and spend a few days writing an apology letter to mcnamara

• post musical: mcnamara helps her to develop her compassion, knowing it's not her fault she's incapable of empathy. she didn't have to forgive her, but they did, and it really motivates duke to become a better person and be as nice as her

• post musical: she sees a doctor! she eventually recovers from her bulimia. veronica and mac are 100% supportive of her recovery, and very proud

• she gets bigger as part of her recovery and learns to embrace it

• duke is very pale with really dark and thick hair and eyebrows, soft features and quite a lot of body hair

• you know the bootleg where duke has blonde hair? when she's on the tv she speaks german and i vibe with german duke now

• duke Cannot say fuck and if someone is prude/innocent/idk it's her. the why are you pulling my dick was just to fluster veronica i think

Heather McNamara

• they use she/they pronouns!! just because. she still identifies as a girl though

• mac is autistic of course, it's like semi canon in the musical

• since she's very tall (movie) she stims while standing like being on the tip of her toes or rocking back and forth and the others can be quite annoyed because she moves a lot but they never snap at her

• post musical: veronica finds her stimming endearing and they know it's safe to stim around her, especially since veronica stims herself

• post musical: mac hums as a stim too and you can often find macnamawyer snuggling on the floor while humming in harmonies together

• she used to mask a LOT and it played a big part in her depression. she knows they had to stop themselves from stimming when she was a heather, she had been the weird kid in middle school but now that chandler took her under her wing, she has to pretend to be NT in order to stay in the lifeboat (😭)

• she's a lesbian!! of course she is

• she knows it since she is in middle school and has been """gal pals"""" with chandler since them but she still struggles with it she has comphet yk, but still less than chandler

• chanamara definitely practiced kissing together "to be ready when we'll have to kiss boys" 👀👀👀

• chandler always had a soft spot for mac and tried to hide it by being cruel to duke

• post musical: it took mac some time to understand that duke had nothing against her personally. she was chill with them until chandler died. from that moment she had to prove herself as the new queen bee and mac was a collateral victim

• duke definetely gave her trauma though and mac is in the process of trusting her again

• mac themselves is not a cinnamon roll just yet and she still has to make up for what they've done to others

• mcnamara has nicknames like mcNcheese or macaroni (veronica came up with those)

• they're also a vegetarian and she loves yellow food

• like she ever only eats yellow food actually (autistic thing). that girl is deficient! part of why she looks that fragile and thin

• also i see mcnamara as mixed race with golden/light brown skin and they have this type of curly curly hair but she straightens it all the time so it's only just wavy (once again, to blend in with the heathers)

• her natural hair colour is actually a dark strawberry blonde? her dad is irish and he's a redhead that's why (stole this from @cam-eats-candles hehe) but she dyes it so it's lighter

• post musical: she starts wearing her natural hair!! and goes with her mom to the afro hairdresser to start to get her curls done right (cornrows mac!!)

• their parents divorced (movie) and it's for the best. mac has daddy issues and only goes to her dad to get cute jewellery for their girlfriends 💖 (he doesn't just sell engagement rings. a lot of regular expensive rings, really)

• she's not a baby, she's not weak nor completely innocent and pure!! the girl is a head cheerleader, she's strong and flexible as hell.

Heather Chandler

• heather chandler is Also a lesbian BUT she is on the ace spectrum like demisexual? so yeah she's double disgusted when she "sleeps" with men

• as a queen bee she's also convinced that the only way to exist is through male validation :(

• chandler is taller than duke and veronica but shorter than mac

• chandler's skin is like rosy and it freckles very easily. i see her with the same cloudylike hair she has in the movie, dark blonde, with the red scrunchie only holding back some of her hair

• she is Buff and is genuinely into sports (lesbian jock like regina george)

• she has a sharp hourglass shape her shoulders are broad and her legs long and strong. she could lift veronica against a wall easily. and she did

Veronica Sawyer

• ADHD!! she's been diagnosed for a while but only became medicated post musical

• bisexual!! so bisexual!! without a preference. she's always been open and proud about it and her parents are supportive

• for me veronica is brown, with thick and dark hair and dark brown eyes, midsize, average height

Martha Dunnstock

• that's canon i know, but she's fat, and not the socially acceptable-hourglass kind of fat. big arms! big tummy! double chin! (i see fanart of her just being chubby quite often and it's ANNOYING like that's a big part of her character)

• she's perfectly healthy like this as are many fat people :))

• i also like the hc that her attempt at sewer slide made her permanently disabled and that she keeps using a wheelchair! because it happens, it's important to show it, and it gives me a lot of ideas for cute kindergarten girlfriends prompts 💓💓

• of course realistically being fat AND physically disabled in the 80's was and is not an easy thing to go through but it's in my head so

• she's also a tiny bit taller than veronica

• i don't hate the outfit she wears in the off broadway show, but I like her west end outfit better!! it's a lot more 80's inspired and i totally see her in kidcore/clowncore etc, even if pastels are cool too

• in the current west end version, martha is played by a black woman and she looks amazing! however I've been drawing and imagining martha as east/south east asian, for no reason really?? also idk kinda rubs me the wrong way that in the more official versions of heathers it's always duke that is black, or martha? not the others? hmm

• i'm not comfortable with hcs that exclusively babyfy her or patronise her like a bunny rabbit just bc she's a fat outcast who likes unicorns!! she's not just cute and giggly! martha can and does swear and she Fucks, like mcnamara

• big round glasses + big nose + long brown hair

• taking inspiration from the princess bride line but she's a huge movie nerd. yes she loves happy endings but she also loves horror movies, as long as they have a happy ending

• she never gets a makeover omg y'all just hate people with glasses and a childish aesthetic istg

• she takes this aesthetic further though and

• post musical and high school: she doesn't just wear baggy clothes anymore as she only did that to prevent more bullying. she develops an unique style with a lot of pink and glitter and she's awesome

------

ok this is getting long ill probably do more!! tell me what you think <3

#heathers #heathers the musical #heathers the movie #heather chandler #heather mcnamara #heathers west end #heather duke #martha dunnstock #veronica sawyer #chanamara #heathers headcanons #heathercanons #autistic mac #lesbian chandler #bironica #aro duke #dawn speaks #heathers musical #heathers movie #bulimia tw #suicide mention

[sincerelyella]

Everything Has Changed - First Love Chapter 4

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Song inspiration: First Love by Adele

Pairings: past Liam x MC (Ella)

Characters belong to Pixelberry; MC Ella Brooks belongs to me

Summary: What if Liam was promised as a child to another kingdom’s princess?

Warnings: angst

Words: 838

“The Royal family is missing.”

Liam’s eyes widened but he wasn’t able to speak.

“They’re what?!” Constantine bellowed. He plucked the phone from Bastien’s hand and continued to bark out questions.

Bastien moved to stand in front of Liam and placed his hands on the young man’s shoulders. “Liam.”

“Missing … they’re missing,” Liam spoke in a whisper. “Missing?”

“Yes, they’re missing,” Bastien repeated cautiously. “We don’t have any answers yet, so I need you to focus, okay?”

Liam nodded and quickly sat down in a chair before he fainted.

Four years later

Drake and Maxwell walked through the palace towards the west wing where Liam’s room was.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Maxwell whispered as he nervously skipped next to his friend.

Drake nodded. “I think it is, he needs to get away from here.”

“To California here we come! There are just beaches there right?”

“There are cities there too, Beaumont,” Drake rolled his eyes as they approached Liam’s door.

“I’ll knock!” Maxwell banged his fist on the door and clapped his hands when the knob turned.

“Oh, hey guys,” Liam stepped aside to let his friends in. “What brings you here?”

Drake sighed.“Li, I’m worried about you” - Max elbowed Drake in the ribs - “I mean we are worried about you.”

Liam shook his head and wandered into the living room. “There’s no need to be worried about me. I’ve been looking for Ella for four years and there’s nothing. My brother abdicated and left me with the crown. So now, I have to participate in the Social Season and choose a wife that I don’t even want,” Liam sat on the couch and covered his face with his hands. “So you see? There’s nothing to be worried about.”

Maxwell and Drake turned to each other with widened eyes.

The Royal family had been looking for Ella and her family but there were no leads; it’s like they disappeared and never even existed. Liam did his digging outside of Bastien’s research and found out that the Philippines had been in turmoil for many years. King Danilo never mentioned to Constantine the issues, he was a proud man and didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. A man that worked for Danilo betrayed him and grouped many activists against the monarchy to carry out a coup d'é·tat.

Liam’s eyes watered as he read about how the royal family - how Ella - fled the country, and nobody knew whether they were still alive. Bastien found out that the group that overthrew the monarchy was called the Samahan ng Mga Nagkakaisang Palabang Filipino (United Filipinos Resistance Front); they were similar to a group in Cordonia called the Sons of Earth. Their bank accounts showed that they funded each other, and transferred large sums of money back and forth. Both groups hated the monarchy and wanted to either take over as King or establish democracy and become the President over the country.

Liam made it his life’s mission to find Ella and her family, but after four years of nothing, along with Leo abdicating, he couldn’t concentrate on trying to find her full time. He hardly spent time with Drake and Maxwell and threw himself into training to become the next King of Cordonia.

Max plopped onto the couch. “We’re taking you somewhere so you can relax, be the Liam you used to be!”

Liam turned to look at his happy friend with unshed tears in his eyes. “What?”

Drake stepped forward. “Pack a bag, we’re taking you somewhere.”

“Taking me where?”

“Somewhere you’ll forget all about your problems,” Max patted Liam on the thigh. “Let’s go!”

An hour later

The trio stood in the royal jet, Liam still in the dark about where they were headed. Drake gave the pilot some information about their destination, but only Liam could give the okay to fly.

“Tell me where we’re going or I won’t authorize this trip,” Liam’s arms were folded across his chest as he stared at his friends.

“You’re no fun,” Max whined.

Drake threw his arms in the air in frustration. “Alright, fine, we’re going to California. Everything else is a surprise so stop being a spoilsport.”

Liam nodded to the pilot and went to sit by the window.

“Hey,” Drake sat next to his best friend. “Just try to relax okay? I can’t even imagine losing someone as you did, but you’re going to be a king soon. You can’t rule your country effectively if you keep all your loved ones out.”

Liam continued to stare out the window as the jet lifted into the air. “I know, but it’s like I’m giving up on ... her,” his voice hitched and he cleared his throat.

“You did everything you possibly could, Li,” Drake squeezed Liam’s shoulder before he stood to grab some snacks. “Bastien is still looking, so let him do that while you become king, okay?”

Liam turned away from the window and gave Drake a small smile. “Okay.”

#Everything Has Changed #trr au #trr #trr fandom #trr fanfic #trr fanfiction #the royal romance #the royal romance fandom #the royal romance au #the royal romance fanfic #the royal romance fanfiction #Liam Rys #Liam x MC #Liam x Ella

[otagamerkorin]

Trial by Fire (including very little actual fire and honestly just a whole lot of snow)

Merry (very belated) Christmas @blasphemousfungus! I was your secret santa for @kibasniper‘s Psychonauts Secret Santa! Unfortunately, due to a lotta stuff going on in my life, your present isn’t completely done yet, but here’s the first (honestly kinda massive) chapter of it! I plan on putting it up on AO3 as well, so I’ll ping you then too! For reference, this was highly inspired by mystery_notebook (or I think they might be @tvguts on here?) fic Like It Used To Be, But Better, which is amazing and you should totally check it out. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy it!

Edit: Just realized I completely forgot to give it a title. Whoops.

When they had gone into the asylum, none of the members of Thorney Towers had expected to come back out not only dear friends with a 10 year old, but also under the close monitor of an organization of secret psychic agents.  Initially is had only been to ensure that being around Loboto while in such delicate condition hadn’t left any lasting damage. Luckily from what they’d been able to work out from the fours scattered memories of the time, the dentist hadn’t involved them in any of his experiments, but better safe than sorry. The surveillance really hadn’t gotten in the way of their new lives much. A few calls a week, the occasional in-person check in to see how they were doing, not much to write home about in the grand scheme of things.

After a time though, things had begun to get...interesting.

It was actually Boyd who kicked the whole thing off, so to say. It had been a day like any other, possibly even more quiet and domestic than usual considering they’d just hit the weekend. According to the other three, he’d simply been drying dishes after dinner that night when a wayward mug has slipped off the counter behind him. The resulting crash has two effects. 1.) The former nightguard jumped about three feet off the ground with a startled shriek. And 2.) The dishtowel in his hands promptly burst into flames. Luckily he’d dropped the flaming cloth into surprise and a bit of group panic and rapid stomping has quickly put out the blaze, leaving the four gathered in the small kitchen, staring down at its burnt remains.

The lot of them, Boyd especially, were dumbfounded by the whole event and immediately phoned up their new psychic associates, if only to make sure they weren’t all going crazy again. There had to be some mundane explanation for this, right? But after a few quick tests from Sasha, it was official: Boyd was most definitely a psychic.

Signs from the others quickly followed.  Fred would frequently find papers and pens floating in orbit around him whenever he got embroiled in his nursing reinstatement exams. Edgar would sometimes find those around him caught up in a sort of bewildering mental fog, leaving them staring around in confusion. And while Gloria had always had quite the green thumb, now the plants in her garden flourished with just the touch of her hand, the woman assaulted with a hundred whispered voices of delight whenever she appeared at the gate with her watering can. Lili was especially happy about the latter, having never met a fellow connoisseur of florakinesis until that point, let alone one who was so friendly.

To say everyone, both Psychonaut and otherwise, was baffled was an understatement. None of the four had shown an signs of psychic powers earlier in life. So why now?

It was Razputin of all people who offered a hypothesis.  They were all aware that the large amount of  Psitanium around the camp and asylum had been less that helpful for the fours delicate mental state, what with the whole “making the sane less sane” thing and all. Perhaps though, the other half of the phrase may also be in play. What if being around all that Psitanium has brought whatever deeply buried psychic powers the four shared to the surface?

Honestly, it was the best they had to go on. There were hardly any cases of spontaneous psychic manifestation in those beyond adolescence and the four weren’t showing any of the usual symptom relating to those sort of circumstances.

Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that the organization now had a whole mess of new psychics in the mix who needed training.

Which is what brought Milla to the front gates of the Von Gouten Arts Academy for Girls (formally Hagatha Home) bright and early one Wednesday morning. The former actress had bought the dilapidated old academy around a year ago using some of the wealth she’s amassed during her glory years. (It was amazing how much interest a saving account left to sit could accrue.) Since then she’d been fixing the place up, hiring teachers and generally getting the place running even better than before, eventually joined in her endeavors by the other three Thorney Towers residents when they moved onto the grounds with her.

Milla found herself smiling up at the stylized “VG” woven into the metal of the newly installed gate in the stone fence that surrounded the property. Gloria really was doing an excellent job with the place. Rolling her window down, the Mental Minx leaned out and pressed the button of the call box installed in the fence wall. For a moment there was silence and then a familiar voice crackled to life on the other end.

“Good morning! Do you have an appointment?”

“Well, I would certainly hope so Darling.” Milla teased and she could practically hear the smile in Boyd’s voice when he replied.

“Dang, is it really Wednesday already? Well, head right on up Mrs. Vodello! I’ll let the rest of the gang know you’re coming.”

There was a buzz and the whirring of mechanisms as the gate opened and allowed access to the road beyond. Continuing on down the path, she soon found herself pulling into the large round driveway in front of the building. A group of students tending to one of the flower beds out front waved as she parked and stepped out of the car, Boyd likewise stepping out of the guard shack nearby and making his way over.

“Good morning to you Ms. Vodello! You the only one here today?”

“Not quite.” She replied with a chuckle, just in time for the back door of the car to fly open and Raz to stick his grinning face out around it.

“Hi Boyd!”

“Hey, good to see you too Raz! Come on inside, the rest of the gang should be on their way.” He replied with a grin, reaching down to ruffle the boy’s hair as he led them inside.

For as horrid as the place had apparently originally been ran, the former owner had at least had good architectural sense, and the large oak front doors opened into a soaring foyer, complete with a grand spiral staircase. One that Gloria was already beginning to make her way down as the doors closed behind them.

“Well good morning Ms. Vodello! And to you too Raz dear!” The former actress beamed, taking Boyd’s offered arm as she stepped down the last few stairs.

“You came at just the right time. I just finished up with morning announcements. Please, feel free to head right over to the practice room, the rest of the boys should already be on their way. Oh, and I’ve also had some snacks from the dining hall sent on ahead. I hope you both like blueberry muffins!”

“That sounds just delightful darling!” Milla replied cheerfully, smiling wider when she saw the stars in Raz’s eyes at the mention of food. Milla sidled up beside the actress as they started down into one of the academy’s wings, one of Gloria’s arms still linked with Boyd’s.

“So how have the plants been treating you darling?”

“Oh, better everyday! My garden is thriving and I think I’m really starting to get a good hold of this whole telepathy thing! Getting it across to all my little lovelies that there’s really no need to shout every time I come in hasn’t been easy, but I think it’s finally starting to stick. The roses and lilies are still a horrible bunch of gossips, but I doubt there’s much I’ll ever be able to do about that.” She replied with a laugh.

“They do come in useful to make sure none of the students are pulling anything they shouldn’t though!”

“That’s wonderful to hear! How about you Boyd? Have you been making any process in your off-time?” Milla asked, the guard rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Yeah, a bit. It ain’t exactly been fast progress, but one step at a time you know? But hey! At least I haven’t accidentally lit up anything important again since you taught me those exercises. There’s only so many times I can almost burn down Edgar’s classroom before it starts to get ridiculous.”

Milla smiled softly, reaching over to pat the guard on the back.

“Well, learning to fully control one’s powers can be a long path. It took me years to master my own skillset. Like you said, it’s just one step at a time. I think you’ve made wonderful progress though, and I’m very proud of you darling.” She mused and the man flushed a bit at her praise and mumbled a word of thanks, tugging his hat low over his eyes bashfully as Gloria gave him a smile.

The group of four quickly found themselves at the extra dance studio in the buildings far west they’d assigned at their practice room, and upon stepping inside found Fred and Edgar already waiting for them.

“Oh, hey Ms. Milla. And you too Raz. Sorry, gimme just a sec to finish up some papers.” The tall school counselor called over distractedly, scribbling away on a clipboard from where he was sitting on a nearby bench.

“Apologies for my rather ruffled appearance as well, mi amigos.” Edgar chimed in, wiping his hands down with a long-since-stained painting cloth. Both his hands and the old shirt he wore were splattered with the stuff, having somehow even managed to get some on his face and hair.

“You caught me in the middle of a bit of early morning painting.”

“Just be sure to remember and get some rest dear. We can’t have our best art teacher burning the candle at both ends.” Gloria replied with a smile as she strode over, reaching up to stroke away a smudge of paint on his cheek. The artist gave a soft smile as he leaned into the touch.

“Oh course mi amour.”

“Good. And that goes for your too Fred. Don’t think I haven’t noticed a certain someone sneaking out of bed early the last few mornings.” She called over, and the counselor jumped a bit at being called out, flushing bashfully as he looked at her over the edge of the clipboard.

“Right, you’re right. So, what’s the plan for today Ms. Milla? Seeing as how Mr. Dark and Serious isn’t here, I assume we’re working on our levitation?” Fred asked, setting aside the clipboard as he pushed himself to his feet, the Brazilian woman giving a laugh at his joke.

“Oh come now, Sasha isn’t that bad. But you are correct! Today we’re going to be working more on your levitation!” She replied, settling back as though sitting upon an invisible chair and crossing her legs as she floated up a few feet above the ground.

“Now, last time you all managed to manifest a “Levitation Ball” as we like to call it. This time we’ll be taking the next step and practicing our ability to balance atop them. Razputin darling, if you would demonstrate?” The Mental Minx requested and the young psychic nodded, raising a hand above his head.  A large ball of swirling orange energy formed in his palm and he tossed it down, easily jumping up and balancing atop it.

“Now then, we aren’t all trained acrobats like Razputin here, so it might take a while to find your balance and get the hang of it. Consider it like balancing on a medicine ball. Remember, thinking lighter, rounder, happier thoughts can help in manifesting the ball more easily. Go ahead and give it a try! And please let me know if you need any help at all.”

Early on in these lessons the group had felt a bit silly to be using psychic instruction methods typically meant for children, but they’d gotten over it quickly enough. After all, most psychics got their powers much younger than the lot of them were, so starting at a lower level of instruction was only appropriate. It helped that the simple exercises really worked wonders too.

Though that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy. Forming the ball was one thing. Staying on was another.

A fact the group quickly discovered.

Fred gave a squeak as his light blue orb suddenly slid forward, taking the foot he’d just managed to plant atop it along with it, threatening to pull the man into a split as he hopped forward to follow it. In his defense, Edgar and Boyd didn’t seem to be doing much better. The latter had managed to get atop his off-white bubble, but was now swaying about wildly as he tried to keep balanced, arms windmilling in an attempt to steady himself. The former was having much the same troubles, quickly getting dumped back onto the floor each time he attempted to clamber up.

Gloria was the only one of the bunch who seemed to be making much progress. The woman had moved over to one of the practice room’s ballet bars and was gripping it for stability as she gingerly set one foot on her own ball. With a small grunt she hefted herself up, the orb wiggling worryingly beneath her for a moment before stilling.

“There you go! You’re doing wonderful darling!” Milla cheered her on, clapping encouragingly as the other woman smiled.

“Why thank you Milla dear. After some of the ridiculous shoes I’ve had to wear in my years on the stage, this isn’t so bad.” Gloria replied, putting her arms out to balance as her stance wavered a bit.

“Oof! Well, I’m glad one of us seems to be getting it, mi amor. This is far less easy than Señorita Vodello makes it look.” Edgar replied with a grunt, the wind getting knocked out of him as he fell to the ground once more. Milla let out a thoughtful hum, tapping her lips as she watched the struggling group. Suddenly her eyes flashed with inspiration and she snapped her fingers with a grin.

“Well, I think I may know a way to help.”

The whole group, including Raz, whom had rolled over to try and help Boyd stay upright, turned to look at her in interest.

“I’d like you all to form two, smaller levitation balls instead of one.” She directed, miming the shape of two basketball sized orbs.

“Uh, ok. But how is that gonna help?” Fred asked, already focusing on trying to reform his ball into two even as he tiled his head in confusion.

“Well, as you know, those like me, who’ve had a lot of practice, don’t require a physical representation of their levitation in order to float. Most of those who do tend to only create a singular orb to assist them, so they can don’t have to split their focus. I’ve found that others though, who have a nice grip on the psychic side of things, but are having a harder time managing the physical part, tend to prefer use two. Think of them a bit like ice or roller skates.”

“Oh, I think I see what you mean amiga!” Edgar replied in excitement, focusing till his deep red ball split into two smaller ones. Carefully, he stepped atop on, managing to balance one-footed long enough to successfully stabilize himself using the other. Cautiously, he rolled forward a few feet, face splitting into a smile as he managed to keep his balance.

“Well, well, this actually is easier.”

The others quickly followed his example, and the slight adjustment seemed to do wonders. Soon Gloria was twirling lazy loops around the room like a proper skater, Edgar trailing a bit more slowly, but no less enthusiastically, after her. Fred seemed to be doing a tad bit better than before, but was still gripping tight to a much more steady Boyd’s shoulders as the two slowly drifted in circles, Fred’s long legs doing their damnedest to keep him upright.

“Never been great at skating either, but this is a bit better I guess.” The counselor murmured, glancing up to find his partner giving him an encouraging smile.

“Hey, it just takes a little practice! I’m sure you’ll levitating like a pro in no time!” Raz encouraged, giving a whoop of delight as Gloria grabbed him and twirled him around as he glided past.

“Impressive, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut the class short for today.”

The whole group gave a jump at the sudden voice, Fred giving a yelp as the levitation bubbles below him popped and dropped him on his ass, and they all turned to see Sasha standing in the now open doorway.

“Sasha, darling! What are you doing here? Didn’t you have other business today?” Milla asked in confusion, drifting over to help Fred up, and the German sighed seriously.

“Yes, but I just got a call from the headquarters. It seems...that Agent Pandor has disappeared.”

Milla gave a gasp, pressing both hands to her mouth, and Raz cocked his head in confusion.

“Uhhh, who’s Agent Pandor?”

“Ms. Tanya Pandor. One of the Psychonauts junior agents and a specialist in subterfuge and information gathering. I’m afraid you haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet.”

“But isn’t Tanya on vacation right now?” Milla asked and Sasha nodded.

“Yes, she had gone skiing at a lodge up in Colorado. The HQ asked her to check in regularly for security reasons. According to what I was briefed with, reports dropped off a few days ago. After a few failed attempts to get ahold of her, eventually the HQ resorted to calling the lodge itself to check in on her, thinking maybe she’d fallen sick. When they checked her room however, the whole thing was empty. It’s as though she just vanished.”

“Oh my! That sounds troubling indeed!” Gloria gasped, mirroring Milla as she held a hand to her mouth dramatically, and the German nodded.

“It certainly is. While Ms. Pandor wasn’t one of our top agents, her skills are none the less important to the Psychonauts and her disappearing is far from ideal. Finding out what happened to her has been assigned as our team’s top priority.”

“Well, is there anything we could do to help?” Fred piped up and the two senior agents looked over at him in confusion.

“What do you mean darling?” Milla asked and the counselor fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt as he replied.

“Well, I mean we’re technically part of the Psychonauts to now, even if we’re just in training, right? So that means this agent is one of our buddies too. And it’s only right to try and help out our friends whenever we can right?”

“I agree!” Edgar exclaimed, clapping a hand down on his companion’s shoulder as he turned to face the assembled agents.

“If there’s anything we can do to help and find this missing girl, we’re more than happy to do so!”

Boyd and Gloria nodded along in agreement as Sasha’s gaze scanned over them, the German man’s head tilting in thought.

“Well, I suppose more eyes on the ground would certainly help. And since Mrs. Pandor wasn’t on a mission or anything, this could be a fairly safe environment for you all to get some field experience...”

“Well, I think it sounds like a great idea!” Raz chipped in, folding his arms and nodding wisely, earning an eye roll and a sigh from the older agent.

“...Very well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

“Excellent! Don’t you all worry, I’ll get all the arrangements handled! Just be ready to go in a few hours and remember to pack warmly!” Milla replied, clapping her hands together cheerfully, as Raz gave out a quiet cheer.

The three agents departed quickly after that, leaving the group to make arrangements. It took a bit of scrambling to get everything organized with the rest of the schools staff, but soon enough they found themselves packing.

“I sure hope that poor gal is ok. Hopefully we can find her quick.” Boyd mused, leaning hard onto his suitcase in order to try and get it to lock around the mound of sweaters and other winterwear inside.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just fine Boyd dear. Those Psychonauts are a tough bunch after all. No doubt she’ll appreciate your concern when we do find her though.” Gloria reassured him, folding up a thick woolen dress to tuck into one of her own bags.

“I must admit, I’m a bit excited. I’ve never been to a ski lodge before.” Edgar pipped up, an excited smile on his face as Fred let out an amused laugh.

“Can’t say I have either. Well, cept for this one time back in college. And with all the drinks that weekend, I can barely remember it. I’m sure it’s not gotta be anything tooooo over the top. Those places always talk themselves up.”

*

“Holy hell, they were not talking this place up.”  Fred muttered, his and the rest of the motley crews jaws dropping open in shock as they leaned out the windows of the truck to stare at the vista unfolding before them.

The place was really less of a lodge and more of a small village, what with the amount of connected buildings that made it up. The whole residence was constructed of pale wood, stone and brass, all woven together into a beautiful work of architectural engineering at the base of the snowy mountain. As they pulled into the parking lot at the place’s edge, they passed beneath a large ornate arch reading “Goldsmuth Lodge and Resort”.

“Yeah, Tanya does not mess around when it comes to her vacations. No really surprised, that girl barely gets any time off.” Oleander agreed, nodding in appreciating at the sight as the car slowed. When Milla and Sasha had announced their new plan to the other higher-up, the man had been assigned to the case as an additional supervisor, as well as another pair of eyes. Raz had tried to convince Lili to come along as well, but apparently there was few things the girl hated more than cold weather, not too much of a surprise coming from a florapath, so his requests had fallen on deaf ears.

Once their oversized vehicle had stopped, their collective group spilled out to stretch, several backs popping after the lengthy ride. They couldn’t very well retain their cover if they came flying in on a Psychonauts jet after all, so they’d been forced to stash it at one of the organizations safe houses and drive the rest of the way instead.

“Well then, let’s unpack and get checked in. The sooner we can find Ms. Pandor, the better.” Sasha announced, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the large plaza for the proper entrance.

There was suddenly a yelp and the sound of tumbling luggage from the rear of the vehicle. Glancing around the back of the truck, they found a mound of bags and suitcases that had no doubt tumbled free when the hatch had opened. A moment later a bag fell away as a familiar blue head popped up out of the pile and swiveled to look at them, the figure immediately giving them a sheepish smile, a hand also emerging from the pile to give them an awkward wave.

“I still can’t believe you convinced HQ to let us bring Loboto along.” Raz mused in amusement, Oleander shaking his head as he walked over to help extract the rehabilitated (in progress) criminal from his luggage prison.

“Well, Cagliosto is certainly in desperate need of some outside socialization. A relaxing place like this could be perfectly helpful with his recovery, darling!” Milla replied with a chuckle as she watched Morry lever the skinnier man up and almost fall over himself in the process. The former mad scientist quickly grabbed the agent by the front of his coat in a panic to keep him upright, the two flushing as the motion inadvertently tugged them chest to chest. Sasha gave as an amused eyeroll as the German could feasibly manage, while Milla and Raz gave a quiet giggle at his side. The two former villains had been dancing around each other for months now, much to the amusement, and occasionally frustration, of everyone watching.

“Well, like Sasha said, the sooner we get inside, the sooner we can really start enjoying ourselves. Here, let me help you there dear.” Gloria smiled, the rest of the group trailing after her as she stepped up to help retrieve the fallen luggage, Loboto giving her a thankful, if sheepish smile in return. While the four had long since forgiven Caligosto for all the asylum business (after all, he had been cursed at the time with, as he himself put it, the “insanity of a manatee”), things were still pretty awkward between them. Gloria though, every friendly, had doing her best to help bridge the gap in the meantime.

It took a bit to gather up all the luggage, and even longer to find the right entrance, but eventually they managed. The walk there had been interesting at least. Everywhere they looked, there was some new, interesting winter activity the place seemed to offer, from ice skating to toboggan rental. Their own rather modge-podge group was also getting a number of curious onlookers, which was far from ideal, but there wasn’t much they could do about it really.

The lodge’s lobby was wonderfully warm compared to the wintery chill outside, and they could already feel the scattered flakes of snow melting on their coats as they strode up to the main desk.

“Hello there! Can I help you ladies and gentlemen?” The brunette behind the desk asked with a smile, Sasha plucking his glasses off to wipe away the fog they’d accrued from the heat inside as he spoke.

“Reservations for Nein, Vodello and Gouten.”

“Alright then, just a moment!”

The young woman’s finger flew along the keyboard in a blur for several moment’s before she paused, biting her lip in concern.

“Oh, well there seems to be a small problem. You ladies and gentlemen called for a reservation rather last minute and it seems your rooms aren’t quite ready yet. My deepest apologies. You are all more than welcome to wait in the lodges lounge till they’re ready, free of charge.” She replied, giving an apologetic bow of her head as she gestured towards a pair of open doors nearby.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all darling!” Milla replied, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Apologies for the rather sudden reservations. Our little trip was a bit of a recent development.”

“Thank you for your understanding Ms. I’ll come and inform you once your rooms are ready.”

The lounge was somehow even more impressive than the grand lobby they’d just stepped out of. He place was lit in a dim but cozy manner, a long bar stretching along one wall. The rest of the space was filled with a number of comfortable tables, armchairs and couches that encircled a handful of square open-sided pillar fireplaces that dotted the room here and there. With an excited “ooo!”, Raz rushed off to look around with Loboto trailing after him, the bunch chuckling at his antics as Sasha glanced around.

“How about you all stay here for a bit? We need to ask around the staff and see if we can find anything regarding Ms. Pandor’s disappearance.” He proposed after a moment.

“Are you sure? Is there any way we can help?” Boyd asked, fidgeting nervously.

“No, it would be best if you aren’t seen with us too much while we’re actively investigating. To help avoid casting suspicion on you lot as well and all.”

“Keep your eyes and ears open while we’re gone soldiers! Always vigilant!” Oleander commanded, giving them a little salute as the trio went off. Shaking her head in amusement at their antics, Gloria gestured toward the bar.

“Care for some drinks while we wait boys?”

Despite the lodge’s rather bustling crowd, there were only a few people at the bar and they were easily able to find seats.

“Hello there folks, what can I get you?” The bartender, a man looking somewhere in his 30’s, asked.

“Hot Chocolate!”

Gloria’s yelp of surprise at the sudden shout quickly devolved into giggles as Raz and the former villain popped up beside her, clambering up onto the next stools.

“And a cider for me sir.”

As the bartender went to work assembling the groups drink orders, he glanced over at them with a smile.

“Don’t think I’ve seen you folks around before. Welcome. What’s the occasion for the visit?”

The group glanced at each other, all trying their best to hide their slight panic. They hadn’t exactly been properly prepped for people asking them about their motives yet after all.

“Oh, uh, we, uh, came to visit with a friend we heard was staying here.” Boyd stuttered nervously. Picking up on what he was trying, Gloria slipped straight into her old actress skills and gave a sigh.

“Yes, a Ms. Tanya Pandor. She’s one of our old students. Unfortunately, it seems that we may have just missed her.”

The bartender paused, tapping his chin in thought.

“Ms. Pandor you say? Actually, I do remember her. Very exuberant. And you heard right, she seems to have left already. Was the talk of the staff rumor mill for a day or two actually. Some of her coworkers called asking to speak with her on some matter, but when the staff went up to let her know about the call, she was nowhere to bee seen. Must have left damn late at night for nobody to notice her. Which is odd really...”

“Odd, how?” Loboto asked, the group jumping a moment at his voice, seemingly having forgotten he was there, before leaning towards the bartender in interest, the man glancing around before lowering his voice.

“Well, we’re really not supposed to divulge things about the other guests, so you didn’t hear this from me, but I may have been one of the last people to see her. You see, I was assigned as a ski slope guard that day, you know, to watch and make sure nobody got injured and needed medical attention. I was stationed on one of our more challenging hills, the Black Diamond one, when I saw Ms. Pandor go whipping by. I know it has her because she had a very distinctive ski jacket she always seemed to be wearing. This whole black, purple and gold affair. Plus she has been very kind and gracious to the staff. We tend to remember those sorts of things. Anyways, she gave me a wave as she went past and seemed to be having the time of her life. It seems so strange that she would leave so abruptly without saying anything. I do hope something didn’t upset her.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, dear.” Gloria replied with a smile, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Tanya has always been the spirited type, zipping from place to place. Just a little lightning bolt.”

“Yes, she certainly did seem like that type. I’m sure you’re right. Ah, that’s right, your drinks!”

The group was quickly presented with their fine beverages, including a healthy topping of whipped cream and sprinkles for Raz and Loboto’s chocolatey treats. Edgar and Gloria’s cider was just as delicious, rich and warm. (Fred and Boyd’s spiked eggnog was perhaps not the most professional thing to be drinking during a spy investigation, but nobody was about to call them out on it.) For a time they sat at the bar, chatting away to the bartender about the various activities around the lodge, before Raz suddenly caught the shape of their other companions watching them from a nearby doorway. Nudging Gloria, he nodded over towards them, and the woman took the hint, turning to the bartender with a smile.

“Well, I’m afraid we must be going now dear. We can’t spend all vacation here in the lounge after all. Thank you for the lovely time.”

“My pleasure Ms. I hope to see you all again soon.” He replied with a nod and smile as they stepped away from the bar, his eyes widening in surprise and delight when he noticed the generous tip the group had left tucked under one of the empty mugs.

Following their missing members lead, the group ducked over into a more private corner of the lounge to meet them.

“Did you guys find anything?” Raz asked quietly, Sasha giving a frustrated sigh in return.

“No, unfortunately not. None of the night staff noticed her leaving that day. Which leaves us back at square one.”

“Well, luckily for you, we just might have a clue.” Fred replied with a smile, the trio looking over at him in surprise.

“Wait, really?!” Oleander exclaimed and the counselor gave him an unamused look.

“Geez buddy, give us some credit. We’re not completely useless. But yeah, apparently somebody saw Tanya out on one of the ski slopes earlier that day. Whatcha wanna bet there might be some sort of clue somewhere out there?” He replied, Oleander reaching up to stroke his mustache in thought as he considered the other man’s words.

“I’d say you’d probably be right on the money. Maybe Pandor saw something out there that made her haul ass out of here, though I’ve never known her for the scaredy cat type. And that would still leave the question of where she went.  But it’s a lead.”

“How’s about this?” Sasha pipped up, waving a hand to get all their attention.

“The three of us have worked out with the management to take a look in Ms. Pandor’s room, see if she maybe left some sort of clue behind. While we’re doing that, you six could head out onto the slopes and take a look around. A group of casual vacation goers, including a child, would likely draw a lot less attention than the three of us for the time being.”

“Well, I think it sounds like a marvelous plan!” Loboto replied exuberantly, pausing and rubbing his neck sheepishly when they all turned to look at him.

“If that’s alright with you all of course.”

He was met with a chorus of headshakes and “no, that’d be fine”s, so he grinned once more and nodded in satisfaction.

“Sounds like a plan then!”

“Just please all be careful.” Milla replied, eyes full of concern, and Raz gave her a comforting smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be ok! Besides, whenever are we not careful?”

The 50-yard stare of no doubt Whispering Rock related war flashbacks that she gave him in return spoke volumes.

*

“Thank god for government provided tailoring. Trying to find snow wear for proportions like mine is hellish.” Fred sighed quietly in satisfaction, adjusting his perfectly fitting ski jacket to a chorus of chuckles. The 6 of them were currently waiting in line at the equipment rental shop. Once they’d gotten their luggage up to the rooms and finally unpacked, they’d found the new sets of winter gear amongst their belongings, perfectly tailored and clearly a gift from the Psychonauts organization. How said organization knew their measurements was a mystery they neither had, nor wanted, the answer to.

“I must admit, they are rather fetching, aren’t they?” Gloria replied with a smile, giving a little twirl to let the hem of her longer coat poof out for a moment like the skirt of a dress.

Eventually the line cleared out enough for them to enter the small store displaying the various types of equipment available for rental and purchase. Splitting up to look, they all quickly selected their preferred styles. It didn’t take long for most of them to reconvene near the counter, each carrying a fairly simple pair of skis. There was no need for the super high-grade stuff, none of them were professionals after all. When Raz came running back with a snowboard, none of them were really that surprised. Skis had seemed a bit boring for the boy’s exuberant personality to begin with. What did draw their shock however was when Fred came trotting up behind the young psychic, a long light blue board slung over his shoulder.

“Uh, mi amor, are you sure that’s what you meant to get?” Edgar asked, eyeing the board in equal parts confusion and concern, and Fred laughed in return.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. Never said I had been using skis when I went someplace like this back in college. Always been useless with them. Snowboards were a different story though. Used to skateboard a lot back in high school too. Now let’s go see if I’ve still got any of that old muscle memory still rattling around.”

As a group that was inexperienced, and in some of their cases completely unfamiliar, with the equipment, getting into their rented pieces ended up a tad more challenging than intended. Boyd nearly poked himself in the eye with one of his poles and Raz promptly fell backwards into a snowdrift after figuring out how hook his boots into the board, but eventually they managed to get their nonsense together enough to try and get in line for the ski-lift that would take them up to the Black Slope.

Try being the key word.

Just as they were in the process of settling themselves at the back of the line, a slightly nervous voice called out behind them.

“Hmm, now I don’t claim to be an expert on skiing, but something tells me this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

Turning to look back, they found Loboto had not only somehow managed to put both of his skis on backwards, but was now also slowly sliding away from them down the slight decline, ski poles digging into the snow in an attempt to stop himself. Boyd, being the closest to him, darted out to try and grab the man, but missed his hand by a hair, and he began to pick up speed.

“Whoa! Look out there!”

Someone suddenly darted behind the former mad scientist, catching him by the shoulders and stopping his uncontrolled journey. As the person carefully pushed the man back up towards the group, they got a better look at them. It was a young man in his early 20’s, with pale skin and messy sandy blonde hair.

“There ya go!” He announced, settling the dentist back in front of the rest of the group and crouching. down to look at his skis.

“Ah, here’s your problem! Here, this should help.”

With deft fingers, he unhooked Loboto from the skis, flipped them around and had him step back in, hooking him securely into place.

“Uh, thank you. I’m a bit of a beginner.” The blue skinned villain thanked him, cheeks flushing the tiniest bit of dark blue in embarrassment, the younger man glancing over at the sign announcing the coming hill at his words.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly recommend this hill to someone still getting their snow legs, but I can’t fault you for wanting to jump into the challenge head first!” He replied with a merry laugh.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be very careful. Thank you for your help, Mr...?” Gloria replied, the young man jumping to attention when he realized her pause was requesting and answer and reaching out a hand to shake.

“Oh, just call me Josh! A pleasure to meet you folks!”

He quickly exchanged handshakes with them all, Raz included, as the line to the chair lift drew shorter.

“You certainly seem to know your stuff.” Edgar complemented him, glancing over as Loboto turned his ankle this way and that to look at the ski mechanism in fascination.

“I would certainly hope so, considering all the years I’ve worked here! I know all the ins and outs like the back of my hand!”

“Well isn’t that wonderful. This seems like a splendid place to work.” Gloria replied with a smile.

“Oh it is, I couldn’t be luckier. Oh, looks like it’s you guys turn!”

Turning to look, they found the couple behind them settling into their chair on the lift, the next one incoming. As they stepped up to wait on it, Josh stepped away, giving them a wave as he turned to leave.

“Hopefully I see you guys around! If you’ve got any questions, just let me know. If want to know anything about the lodge or hills, I’m your guy!”

“We definitely will!” Fred called after him, the group raising their arms to wave back, before prepping to climb aboard the lift.

The benches ended up only being able to fit 3 people, so they ended up separated into two groups, Fred, Boyd and Edgar in the first chair, with Raz, Gloria and Caligosto grabbing the second. For the former, the ride up was honestly pretty pleasant and peaceful, the view from up so high showing them a beautiful vista.

“Wow, we really are up high huh?” Boyd, wondered out loud, glancing down over the side of the chair at the forest spread out below them.

“Si, we certainly are. Hmm, I wonder, is this the sort of view you normally have mi amor?” Edgar asked, looking at the lanky man between them with a cheeky smirk. Fred gave the painter an unamused look as on his other side Boyd let out a snorted laugh, breaking into giggles.

“Seriously? Your pulling out the tall guy jokes?”

With a grin and chuckle, the Hispanic man leaned up to give the taller man a peck on the cheek as their other partner leaned against his shoulder in a giggling fit.

“Apologies mi amor, I couldn’t resist.”

In the other chair however, things were going...less pleasantly.

Raz gazed down at the trees below as they rode along, humming some song the piano player in the lobby had been playing. Feeling something bump his leg, he glanced over, seeing Loboto’s legs jittering back and forth enough to jostle against him. Now that he thought about it, the whole man was shaking. Glancing up at the dentist’s face, he found the older man’s gaze fixed straight down at the ground. His hands were fisted in and tugging nervously at the strings of his ski hat (they’d all agreed the shower cap might be a bit too conspicuous), causing the large pop pom on top to bounce rhythmically. And judging by his harsh breathing, the guy was probably about 2 steps away from hyperventilating.

“Um, Loboto?” The young boy asked, seeming to snap the dentist out of his daze, at least partially, both he and Gloria looking over at him.

“Are you ok?”

“Now that I notice, you do seem a bit...tense, dear. Are you feeling alright?” Gloria added gently

“Oh, just fine! Happy as a clam! No reason at all to feel nervous!” He replied exuberantly, the smile on his face horribly forced, eyes darting to the drop below them every few seconds.

Raz stared at him, mind puzzling over the info. The slightly loony man was usually fairly fearless, sometimes to the point of his own peril. So what could have gotten him so stirred up?

Glancing down at the ground far below them, something suddenly clicked in the boy’s head. A memory rose to the front of his mind, one of a night at an asylum what seemed so long ago, and a certain dentist’s supposed demise at the hands of a turtle powered tank. Raz felt the pit of his stomach drop, guilt sweeping over him at the realization.

“Uh, hey, is there any way this about the time you...you know?” Raz asked gently, hand gestures miming the image of a person falling off something, and flinched when the man’s head snapped around to look at him, smile wide.

“What?! No, no, of course not!...Maybe...probably...” He replied, his vibrato visibly deflating as he tried his best not to look down.

“Oh, Loboto dear, it’s alright. There’s nothing to worry about.” Gloria fretted, catching onto the issue and reaching out to pat the blue man’s back.

“Yeah, these ski lifts are like, totally safe!” Raz exclaimed, in an attempt to help.

As though mocking them, the lift jerked for a moment, sending them swinging a bit. Loboto sucked in a sharp breath at the motion, hand instinctively tightening where it had been wrapped lightly around Raz’s forearm in a grip that would definitely be leaving bruises the next day. Gloria grimaced when she saw Raz wince, raising a hand to tap her chin in thought.

“Oh dear, well this isn’t good.”

After a moment an idea hit her, and she leaned over to catch the mad dentist’s gaze smiling gently.

“Loboto dear, have I ever told you about the first time I ever took to the stage?”

The man paused in his panicking, seeming to calm slightly as he gave her a confused look, Raz looking at her in equal confusion but seeming to roll with it.

“Um, not that I’m aware of?”

“Well, let me tell you. I’ve preformed on hundreds of stages of the years, all over the world. The theater was my lifeblood. But the first time I performed in front of people, oh, I was terrified.”

“R-Really?” The man replied, eyes widening.

“Oh, absolutely. It was the worst case of stage fright I ever felt. I was absolutely petrified. My palms were sweaty, my head was spinning. I completely froze up on stage. And that wasn’t the only time. No no, I’ve had stage fright hundreds of times in my career. I almost refused to go on stage for my own awards ceremony, I was so nervous. But let me tell you something very important I’ve learned.”

She leaned in close, taking the man’s hands gently in her own, both he and Raz leaning in in fascination.

“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. Everyone fears something. I’m scared of messing up on stage, overwhelmingly so. Young Raz here has his own fears, as do you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Being brave doesn’t mean the absence of fear. Anyone who says so is an idiot. No, to be brave is to look fear in the face and still continue on in spite of it.”

Leaning back, she looked out at the forest surrounding them.

“This really is a lovely view, isn’t it?”

“Yes...Yes I suppose it is.” The dentist replied quietly, gazing out at the landscape around them seemingly with new eyes. He still seemed nervous certainly, gaze fixed firmly on the horizon in an attempt not to look down, but his shaking had stopped and his breathing had steadied. From behind his back, Raz gave the actress two big thumbs up and a grin.

As they neared the peak of the hill, they could the others laughing about something in the chair ahead of them, quickly hurrying off of it to make room as they reached the landing. As soon as it was their turn, Loboto practically threw himself off the ski lift, clearly trying to reach Terra Firma as quickly as possible. Gloria and Raz followed at a more normal rate behind him, pausing for a moment when the boy looked up at her.

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda awesome.”

“Why thank you my dear.” She replied sweetly, before giving him a little grin and leaning in closer as she lowered her voice.

“I’ve had a lot of practice at that speech. You’d be amazed how many new actors and actresses get opening night jitters. Still works like a charm.”

Leaving the boy to sputter in surprise for a moment, she skied on to where the others were waiting at the hills peak.

“So, what’s the plan?” Fred asked, adjusting his feet in the snowboard as Raz caught back up with them.

“Keep together and keep our eyes out for anything suspicious I guess?” The boy replied with a shrug, earning a nod from the rest of the group.

“Sounds like a plan bud.”

After some quick adjustment of clothing, equipment and whatever else, they set off.

It became quickly apparent that none of them were even close to professional skiers, though some were faring better than others. Fred’s muscle memory did seem to be kicking in, handling his snowboard with surprisingly few complications, while Gloria’s seemingly natural graceful-ness was doing her skis well. Raz took a spill every now and them, but likewise, his acrobat training seemed to be translating pretty well to snow-sports.

The others weren’t faring quite as well. Edgar seemed to be developing a habit of falling over onto his back pretty often, his large upper body pulling him over whenever he began to lose his balance, while Boyd seemed to be having the opposite problem, having taken more than a few headers face first into the snow already. Loboto was surprisingly staying up pretty well, perhaps his long legs were to blame for his better balance, but every few second he would begin to weave wildly back and forth on the slope before correcting himself, only for the cycle to repeat again shortly thereafter. The whole lot of them were certainly getting a lot of curious looks from the more advanced skiers that would occasionally pass them, the occasional trail guard they passed seeming even more concerned.

With all the chaos, it’s a wonder any of them ever saw anything.

“Whoa, wait everybody!” Raz suddenly cried about halfway down the trail, skidding to a sudden stop. He was nearly bowled over by the others in their attempts to stop, Edgar managing to fall onto his back once more and slid a few feet past him with an exasperated sigh.

“Dios mio, this is becoming tiring. What’s the matter mi amigo?”

“Look at those trees over there.” He replied, pointing to part of the forest that lined either side of the path. Glancing to where he pointed, they spotted what he seemed to be gesturing to. A swath of low branches in a certain area were snapped and bent, as though something had run into them or pulled them out of the way.

“Yeah, that definitely looks like it could be something.” Boyd replied with the critical eye of a security guard, the whole group moving off the path and towards the woodland to examine them. Upon closer inspection, there was most definitely something amiss. While the branches closer to the path broke inwards towards the forest, others further in seemed to break outwards.

“Hey, what’s that?” Raz asked, squinting further into the woodland. Unhooking himself from the snowboard, he darted further into the trees, moving to the edge of the breakage, and crouching down, seemingly digging around near one large trees roots. After a moment he seemed to free whatever he was holding and started back in the others direction.

“Look at this guys.”

He held it up for them to see, the group leaning in for a closer look. It seemed to be a long scrap of torn fabric, patterned in thick, alternating purple and black stripes, with a flash of gold along one edge.

“What do you guys think it is?” Boyd asked in bewilderment, squinting at the piece. Beside him, Edgar gave a sudden small gasp.

“Wait, didn’t that bartender say that Señorita Pandor wore a jacket in these colors?”

The group gapped at him for a moment before turning back to the scrap with renewed interest.

“Holy hell guys, I think we just found an actual clue.” Fred sputtered in amazement, Raz’s eyes lighting up.

“Hey maybe there’s more stuff to find back there! Come on, let’s go look!” the boy crowed, moving to run back into the trees.

He didn’t get very far though, as the wind suddenly kicked up, nearly knocking him over as it ripped through the trees with a swirl of snow.

“Geeze, I though trees were good for avoiding wind. Come on!”

He tried to take a few more steps forwards, only to get knocked back by another gust, being forced to take a few steps back to the group this time. Quickly the wind began to build, howling around the lot of them and kicking up the snow into near white out conditions.

“Damn, they’ve got some crazy weather in these parts!” Boyd called over the noise, Fred replying as he threw up his arms as much as he could to block his face.

“Not the sort I’ve ever seen before!”

“Wait.”

They all quieted, turning to look over Loboto, who was currently looking around in confusion.

“Now, I may have been called crazy one or twice in the past, but does anyone else hear something odd?”

The group stilled, listening hard over the wind. All at the same time, they seemed to catch it, Fred glancing around the group in sudden nervousness.

“Does that sound like growling to anyone else?”

Indeed, the sound mixed in amongst the howling of the wind was much deeper and guttural, rumbling through the air.

Crack

They all froze at the loud sound of splintering wood, all slowly turning in unison to look deeper into the woods. A shape appeared through the blur of snow, the growling growing louder and the shape becoming clearer as it drew towards them. Eventually it stopped at the edge of the broken branches and their hearts all collectively stopped as they made out what it was.

A massive beast, easily 8 or 9 feet tall, bipedal, and clothed in long white hair, only it’s slightly darker face and palms peeking out through the thick fur. For a long, drawn-out moment, there was nothing but the howling of the wind. The only thing to interrupt it was a tiny, likely instinctual whisper from Raz.

“Holy shit.”

The beast didn’t seem to like that very much and its growl deepened. With one massive hand, it reached up and tore a branch from the tree beside it with the sound of screeching wood, before reaching back and hurling it at the group. With a collective cry of surprise and panic they all managed to throw themselves out of the way of it, the large chunk of wood landing amongst the other broken branches nearby. Its failure seemed to enrage the beast even more and it reached down, clawing and tearing a truly gargantuan chunk of snow up out of the ground. It lifted it up and above its head, clearly reeling back to launch it at them, and Raz let out another, this time very foreign sounding, curse.

“Oh, that looks like a real bad time! Boyd! I’m gonna need some help!”

With that, the boy darted out in front of the rest of the group, the security guard seeming to pick up on his plan and following along behind him. Just as the beast hurled the massive snowball, Raz threw his hands up to conjure a psychic shield, Boyd’s own hands joining just beside his to release a spray of flame outside the barrier just as it contacted.

The snow clump exploded around them. Most of it dissolved into steam under the sudden onslaught of the fire, what remained splattering against the curved wall of psychic force in a spray of water and slush, flying off on either side of the group.

“Where is it?! Can anybody see what it’s doing?!” Raz called out, trying to squint through the cloud of steam now surrounding them.

“I don’t know, I can’t see!” Boyd replied, waving his hands to put out the small flames sparking on his gloves.

As the steam was cleared by the slowly calming wind, Raz blinked in surprise at the scene before him, shield disappearing as he lowered his hands.

The beast had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

For a moment they all simply sat there, most of the group having fallen to the ground in the scramble to get out of harm’s way, the air thick with unspoken disbelief. Till finally, Fred said what they’d all been thinking.

“Was that a goddamn yeti???”

“In my professional dentist opinion...yes.” Loboto replied, staring equally slack jawed at the spot.

“What?? Where did it go?? A beast that big does not simply disappear into thin air??” Edgar sputtered, clambering back to his feet as though a higher viewpoint would somehow reveal the 9 foot tall creatures hiding place.

“I...I don’t...-“

“Oi! What are you lot doing back there!?”

The whole group let out a collection of shrieks and yelps at the sudden shout, whipping around to look behind them.

An older man armed with a hefty walking stick stood at the edge of the ski trail, staring into the woods at them with a grumpy scowl on his face.

“Wha- who are you?!” Raz asked, at a loss for words, and the old man’s expression seemed to sour even further.

“Ambrose. I’m the grounds keeper here. And I should be asking you the same thing!”

“Did...Did you see...?” Boyd asked, dazed by his seeming unconcern for the fucking yeti that had been in front of them 20 seconds before. The old man leaned to glance at the place he was gesturing to, brow creasing.

“See? I don’t see anything. All I see is a bunch of troublemakers putzing about in the woods. Get out of there! You’re supposed to stay on the trail!”

Like a bunch of scolded children, they all quickly gathered themselves and scurried back out onto the path in front of the man, who pointed an angry finger at them.

“Now don’t let me go catchin you messing about in there again, understood?”

They all obediently nodded and, seemingly satisfied, he turned away with a nod, grumbling the likes of “people these days” as he slowly hiked further up the path.

“...Ok, so we’re all in agreement that we gotta tell the rest of the gang about that right?” Fred asked, seemingly still dumbfounded, and was answered by a chorus of nods.

The rest of the trip down the hill was largely uneventful. Somehow, an encounter with a mythical creature has seemingly improved their snow-sports skills, and they managed not to have any more major spills on the rest of the way down the mountain. The sun was setting by the time they reached the bottom and, after getting their equipment situated, the six ventured back through the main lodge in search of their three companions.

They did eventually find them back in the lounge, tucked away in a corner table with their drinks.

“Ah, hello everyone!” Milla greeted them with a smile and wave as they made their way over.

“Did you have a good day out on the slopes?”

“Uh, yeah, it was, uh, pretty, pretty good.” Fred replied, sharing a look with others.

“How’s about you guys?”

Sasha gestured for them to sit, voice lowered as he spoke.

“Well, we looked over Ms. Pandor’s room and it was just as empty as we’d been told. Not a trace of her. The only things we found was the Psychonauts bug she put in the rooms phone when she got here. Which means that she likely didn’t leave willingly, if she didn’t have the chance to remove it. That or she simply forgot it when she left.”

“Yeah, and that sort of absentminded-ness doesn’t sound like her. Girl might leave her workspace a mess, but I’ve been on missions with her before, and she’s a neat freak when it comes to hotels and stuff. All the tidying she does, she probably leaves them cleaner than it was when she got there. Gotta ask her if she’s got some sort of service industry trauma from college or something...” Oleander added, trailing off into rambling at the end.

“So did you six find anything out on the slopes?”

The group glanced at each other and eventually it was Gloria who haltingly began, realizing just how insane what she was about to say was going to sound.

“Well, there may have been a bit of an incident out on the trails...”

“We got attacked by a yeti!” Raz suddenly blurted, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. Sasha turned to look at him with a truly flummoxed expression, seemingly completely thrown for a loop at the boys’ words.

“...R...Run that by me again??”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.” Boyd replied with a sigh.

It took quite a while to explain the events that had befallen them all, added to by the fact that dinner arrived in the middle of it, but eventually they got the whole incident out in the open, the three senior agents staring at them in bewilderment by the end.

“Are you sure it wasn’t some sort of polar bear or something? Those things can get big as hell when they’re on their hind legs.” Oleander offered and Gloria shook her head.

“Now I know how this all sounds, Agent Oleander, but we know what we saw, and that was most definitely not a bear.”

“Plus, we found this!” Raz added, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the fabric scrap, handing it over to the trio.

“The bartender we talked to said he saw her wearing a coat like that!”

“Well, I’ll admit, this definitely looks like Tanny’s sorta style.” Oleander admitted with a shrug, handing it over to Sasha to look at.

“Regardless of what this beast you saw might be, there is most definitely more going on here than a simple wayward agent.” The german acquiesced.

“Well, how’s about we all get a good night sleep and continue the investigation tomorrow. You all must be exhausted.” Milla offered kindly and Edgar gave a groan as he stretched, back popping loudly.

“After the beating we took out there, you don’t know the half of it Ms. Milla.”

Luckily for them, their rooms at the lodge were, just like the rest of the property, amazing. They’d been separated across 4 adjacent, and connected, rooms, with the senior agents sharing one and the former asylum members another, leaving Loboto and Raz to bunk solitarily. Their mother organization had, knowing and being blessedly supportive all sorts of relationships, even been kind enough to book the four a California King, while Sasha, Milla and Oleander were more than happy to settle for a King.

“Ugh, we literally just started doing spy stuff and I already feel like an old man waiting for retirement.” Fred groaned, stretching and feeling some muscle in his back twinge.

“Hehe, implying you aren’t already an old man.” Edgar teased him with a chuckle from where he was kneeling in massage position over the lanky man’s hips, his own aching back already having been kindly tended to by Gloria before her bath.

“Hey, keep up that talk and I’ll have to revoke smooching privileges.” The counselor shot back, pointing a finger over his shoulder threateningly at the larger man, even as he melted blissfully beneath he ministrations of the artist’s talented hands. Edgar finally managed to work out the last knot at the base of the man’s spine and Fred gave a little groan of relief, going boneless on the mattress beneath him.

“You boys better not be having too much fun in there without me!” Gloria called from the bathroom and Edgar laughed, smoothing his hands lovingly up and down the thinner man’s back a few times before climbing off him.

“Alright, all done. Time to move mi amor.”

Fred gave a little grumble that sounded a lot like “Sleepy. Don’t wanna.” and the painter rolled his eyes fondly, grabbing him and, like an owner with a lazy puppy, simply dragged him out of the way, patting the spot that opened up.

“Your turn.” He called over to Boyd, who’d been looking out onto the rooms snow covered balcony that overlooked the lodge’s main square, and the guard abandoned his post with a grin.

“Oh thank goodness.” He replied, shucking his shirt off and flopping onto the bed with a sigh, sending the nearby Fred bouncing slightly. He gave another grateful sigh as he folded his arms beneath his head and Edgar set to work.

“Damn, today was a crazy day. The more I think about it the less it makes sense.” He mused, earning a snorted laugh from a slightly more awake Fred as the man reached out to run a sleepy hand through the guard’s hair.

“That’s an understatement.”

“Well, I must admit, I find it all a little bit exciting.”

The three men glanced back to find Gloria emerging from the large bathroom, dressed in a fluffy towel and currently braiding her long damp hair.

“Yes, there’s a been a bit of danger I suppose, but what adventure doesn’t have some danger?”

“Sure as hell beats grading papers at least.” Fred agreed, earning a collective laugh.

“Would you like one when I’m done, mi bella?” Edgar asked, gesturing to the massage in progress, and Gloria shook her head, stooping down to give him a kiss on the cheek regardless.

“No, but it’s sweet of you to ask.”

Soon enough they all found themselves properly prepared for bed, lights flipped off, and beneath the plush covers of the bed, tangling together in the warm heap they’d so quickly become accustomed to.

“Goodnight you guys. Love you.” Fred murmured sleepily, answered by a small chorus of similar sentiments.

Before long, the four found themselves drifting off, eager to see what new, and potentially yeti-related, adventures awaited them in the morning.

#psychonauts #psychonautssecretsanta2020 #you guys wanna split a cab #lobotoly #calimorry #sasha/milla/oleander #god knows what their actual ship name is #razputin aquato #sasha nein #milla vodello #morceau oleander #caligosto loboto #gloria von gouton #edgar teglee #boyd cooper #fred bonaparte #Plus a whole mess of OC's #secret santa #My writing

[sinsatmidnight]

A Gift from a Princess

Pairing - Lee Naeun x Male Reader

Words - 3370

Sins - Smut, oral, bath sex

So slightly late for Naeun’s birthday (May 5th), but I had a rush of inspiration and it was her birthday so I tried to hurry this out! It’s quite different from my usual stuff as I experimented with some things (particularly dialogue), but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

It is the waning hours of the day and the sun is about to set on the Alabaster Palace. There is a knock on the heavyset door of white wood to your chambers.

You pause in packing your belongings for the long journey ahead of you. “Yes, what is it?”

A young maiden’s voice emanates from behind the door. It sounds like Chaekyung, the handmaiden to the princess. She’s a few years older than the princess and serves as friend, caretaker, and servant. “Begging your pardon, my lord, but the princess is requesting your presence at her chambers. She would like to see you post-haste.”

The Princess? You wonder why she wants to see you. “I’ll be there shortly, thank you, Chaekyung.”

“I’ll be taking my leave then, my lord.”

“Yes, please do.”

The handmaiden’s footsteps echo off the polished white marble floor, fading away from your door. You stow away your travelling pack, sheath the sword you were planning to sharpen and adjust your sword belt before making your way through the palace you live and work in, to the princess.

The palace is grand and large, with white accent with gold being the predominant theme, hence the name of the Alabaster Palace. You walk for a good while through long and tall hallways, greeting some of the white-armoured guards as you pass them. The Princess lives in the Royal Wing, far removed from where your quarters are. As a knight to the king, your quarters are better than most others, but you do not compare to the Royal Family.

Princess Lee Naeun is both breathtakingly beautiful and beloved to her people and her father. Kind and sweet, her reputation precedes her everywhere. She has plenty of suitors, but none have come close to winning her heart. They certainly weren’t helped by her father being so protective of her. Noblemen of all stripes from many kingdoms near and far have tried to court her and win her hand in marriage. All have been rebuffed by Naeun’s father, or by the Princess herself.

Arriving at her chambers, you knock firmly on the gilded white door of wood three times. “My lady, it is I. You called for me?”

Her familiar voice comes from behind the door. “Please enter and lock the door behind you. I do not wish to be disturbed.”

You push the door open and enter, before gently closing it shut and locking it with the bolt behind you. In the large, high-ceilinged chamber of white and gold before you, Princess Lee Naeun sits upon her giant red four-poster bed of silky sheets and velvety cushions.

The Princess is a ravishing vision of beauty with her large doe eyes, smooth fair skin, long dark tresses, and thick lips of deep red pursed together. A small tiara of white gold, diamonds, opals, and pearls adorns the crown of her head. A silken choker with a gold clasp and pearls hanging from it sits around her sculpted neck. She is dressed in a resplendent large strapless gown of midnight black with silver threading inlaid and small opals adorning it.

That gown is also cut exceptionally low, revealing more of her chest than you’ve ever seen before. You’ve never seen the Princess wear this particular dress before in all your time guarding her person. As you stand before Princess Naeun, you try to keep your eyes stuck to her gorgeous face, and not on the exposed flesh of her chest. Despite her obvious beauty, it was hard to avoid not looking down without seeming overly stiff.

“My lady, you asked for me?” Your throat seems to be dry, but you get the words out.

Princess Naeun stands up from the bed and takes the couple of steps needed to close the distance to you. “Father says that you are to journey west across the Silvercap Peaks to the city of Snowgleam.”

“Yes, my lady. His Majesty has an urgent message to be sent to Snowgleam.”

“I’ve heard tales of travellers disappearing in the snow, ever to be seen again. The cliffs are treacherous, that journey is perilous.” Princess Naeun suddenly draws you into a tight hug, her chest pressed up against yours and her face inches away from yours.

“Which is why swords like mine are needed to protect the message.” You say carefully, unused to this sudden intimacy with the Princess. “My lady, I beg your pardon, but why did you request for my presence? I am but a humble knight and bodyguard.”

“I am just worried about you, that is all.” She whispers, her grey eyes boring into yours with their intense gaze.

“I will be gone but two weeks. A week to the city, and a week back. I’m flattered for the concern, Princess, but I will be fine and back before you know it.”

Princess Naeun releases you from the hug, taking a step back. “I would like to offer you a gift for your safe return. Something to motivate you to come back safe and alive.”

You say nothing, not completely sure of what the Princess might be referring to. Her behaviour tonight has been anything but usual and you cannot predict what she intends for you.

The Princess lifts one delicate finger to her lips and her tongue flicks out momentarily, wetting the tip of it. You follow with your eyes as Naeun traces a path from her lips, over her chin, her neck…down her chest and ending up in her cleavage, between her breasts. Her finger stays there.

“Do you like what you see?” Her voice is low and sultry.  

You swallow. There is no way to answer her that would fit proper decorum. As such you decide to answer with what you truly feel. You can already feel yourself getting hard in your pants. And how could you not have been attracted to such a beautiful woman? You merely had the sense not to act upon that attraction. Not before this.

“Yes.” Your reply is but a whispered breath, but it is loud enough in the otherwise-silent chambers for the Princess to hear. A smile of what almost looks like relief curves across her pretty face. “Good.”

Princess Naeun leans in and her red lips softly press against your own. With her lips against yours, she whispers. “Because I’m your gift.” You feel her hand caress the growing bugle in your pants. “Lay with me in my chambers tonight. Come back safe from your journey…and lay with me for many more nights thereafter.”

This is definitely plenty of motivation for you to come back safe from your journey.

Her other hand takes one of yours and places it squarely on her chest. “Touch me.” She breathes. You squeeze gently. Her large and fair breasts are soft, firm, supple and make a nice handful. They feel perfect to your touch.

“This is a most generous gift, Princess.” You finally manage to get some words out of your dry mouth. “You have rejected so many who have wanted you, and yet you give yourself so freely to me.”

“Will you not accept my gift?”

“When it is given so freely, I must humbly accept it. I do so with great honour and pleasure. Thank you for bestowing such a magnificent gift upon me. Thank you…for choosing me, Princess.”

“Please, call me Naeun when we are alone in my chambers. Your words are still that of a loyal knight…I wish for the words of a secret lover.” Naeun’s hands undo the clasps on your sword belt, which falls to the ground with a clang.

“And you shall have them, Naeun.” You whisper as your fingers slip into the top of the gown, seeking out her nipples and rubbing them. You feel them swiftly grow hard under your touch and Naeun groans softly. “Please, say my name again.”

“Naeun.” You breathe as you bury your face in her neck, nibbling, licking, and kissing, all drawing more sighs of pleasure from her. You inhale, she smells fantastic. “Again. Please.” She whimpers breathlessly.

“Naeun.” You say in a low growl as you stare at her face, your lust reflected in her. She shivers and moans as she stares at your desire for her, both of her hands sneaking inside your pants to rub and stroke your cock. And then you kiss her.

Passionately, your tongue plunders her mouth as she whines lustfully into your kiss. You keep a hand on the back of her head while the other continues to fondle her chest. You stop after a while to let both of yourselves breathe.

“Let me give you my gift.” Naeun says breathlessly as she lowers herself to her knees on the polished marble floor and her hands pull your silken pants down to your ankles. Your erection springs out in front of her and she immediately licks up your pre-cum into her mouth even as one hand wraps around your length and starts to stroke.

You run your hands through her dark hair, knocking her tiara off her head, and it clatters to the ground. Your hands rest there, although you are conscious not to put any pressure on Naeun’s head. She is, after all, both inexperienced at this and able to have you killed with a word.

“How do you know to do all this?” You ask quietly as you watch the erotic sight of Naeun jerking you off even as her head bobs along your cock. In this position, you can see down Naeun’s cleavage as she sucks and strokes you, and you make a mental note to strip her off and put your cock between her breasts later.

Naeun pulls her mouth off your cock for a few moments to answer. “Chaekyung gave me a few tips, but I’m practicing them for the first time on you.”

That makes sense. The busty and attractive handmaiden is older and more experienced with men, not to mention popular with the men in the palace. More importantly, she is the closest person to Naeun in the palace, bar her father. If there was anyone for Naeun to ask about sex, it would be Chaekyung.

And while Naeun may be inexperienced, she’s very eager. You groan as Naeun tries to deepthroat you and ends up gagging on your cock. The contractions of her throat muscles around your erection feel great and tight, but Naeun clearly can’t keep it up for long. She tries to deepthroat your length a couple more times before she has to pull off and cough after gagging again and again.

“I need your help, hold my head, move your hips, use my mouth.” Naeun can’t help but smile as you raise an eyebrow at her words. “You heard me. Use me. Use my mouth. I can’t force your length down my throat…but you can.”

Oh, if only her father could hear her now. Chaekyung must have been telling her some wild stuff. You nod and then slowly start to fuck Naeun’s face. You don’t put much speed in it, relishing in the warmth and wetness of her mouth instead. You go deep into her throat, but don’t stay long, slowly getting her used to your size.

Naeun’s hands hold onto your thighs for support as she tries to deepthroat you again, and this time you keep a bit of pressure on the back of her head, listening to her gag and choke on your cock and watching tears form in her eyes. But the moment she actively pushes against your thighs, you immediately release her head.

“Was that good?” Naeun asks even as she pants, her large eyes scanning your face for approval.

You brush her hair lovingly. “It was excellent. I’m so close to my release now.” Naeun’s face’s brightens up at this, she looks excited at the idea of seeing you climax. Both of her hands immediately start to stroke your slick, throbbing cock. “I want to see it, please, cover me with your cream.”

Naeun’s warm hands feel heavenly around your cock, and she pumps you with great speed and gusto, bringing you closer and closer to the edge. What sets you over the edge is watching Naeun’s face as she stares at you lustfully, licking her lips and watching her breasts jiggle and bounce a bit as she animatedly jerks you off and envisioning your sperm splattered all over them.

“Naeun, I’m going to-“

And you erupt, spraying cum all over the beautiful princess who continues to pump you for more. Some of it sprays on her neck, mingling with the pearls on her choker, you do your best to get most of your cum on her chest, where most of it ends up slowly sliding down her cleavage. And you get a bit on her face, her cheeks, her lips, and chin. You feel one final spurt coming and shove your cock past Naeun’s partially open lips and feed her the rest.

Naeun happily sucks on your cock and licks it clean for a while before finally pulling off you. She sticks a finger between her breasts and scoops out a little bit of your cum and licks it off.

You don’t know if it’s the sight of Naeun with your cum coating her face, neck and chest or something else, but your cock isn’t doing a particularly good job of coming down and softening. Instead, it’s still hard, throbbing, and ready for more.

“Let’s clean up…and get the rest of your cream out of you.” Naeun gets to her feet, and beckons for you to follow her. You step out of your pants and shoes and follow her past a set of side doors into her large bath area, where a heated pool of water sits. The setting sun’s rays pour into the room through open windows set into the wall, reflecting off the water. There is a golden basin set upon a stool that Naeun uses to wash her face and mouth while you wait at the side. You’ve never seen this place before.

Only one person attends to Naeun in her private chambers as well as during her baths. That person being Chaekyung. A lot of people are jealous of Chaekyung, but you’ve overheard some of the guards saying they were jealous of the princess. There was the occasional rumour that the two were lovers. You wouldn’t be surprised at this point if that were true.

Naeun then turns to you, her face clean, although her neck and chest are still adorned with white goo. She unclasps her choker, letting it fall to the marble ground. She reaches behind her gown, undoes a clasp, and it falls off her body to reveal her fully nude underneath.

Naeun’s flawless skin glimmers with a thin layer of sweat, from her long legs up to her slim stomach and heaving chest. She looks over at you as she waits to step into the pool. “Divest yourself of your clothing and join me.”

It was fortunate that she called you when you were dressed simply while off-duty. If you were in your armour, it would have taken ten minutes to remove. You pull your silken tunic off and toss it aside.

Naeun takes hold of your hand and guides it to her core, and you feel how sopping wet she is down there. “Every time you say my name, it gets me so wet. Chaekyung’s the only other person to make me feel like this.” So Chaekyung does bathe and sleep with her.

You slip a finger inside her. “So…does Chaekyung do this to you?” Naeun gasps and nods, her hands grabbing hold of your arm, as though almost wanting to stop you. You slide a second finger in and she closes her eyes while trembling. “Please…don’t stop.”

At that, you pull your fingers out and wink at Naeun before stepping into the water. She whines but follows and steps into the water after you.

The water is warm and the pool is shallow; while standing, the water reaches to just above your stomach. This place is meant for the princess to bathe in while attended to by handmaidens. You’re quite possibly the first man to step inside after the construction of the chamber.

Naeun shyly hands you a bar of soap. “Chaekyung is normally the one who cleans me up.”

“I’ll be happy to do it on her behalf today.” You rub your hands on the soap and get a lather going before running your hands all over Naeun’s neck and chest, getting it clean and slick while also enjoying the feeling of her large, warm, breasts under your fingers. You squeeze her boobs as you soap her up and then you move your hands down to her stomach, feeling her toned abdomen up.

And then you slide your hands over her body further down, between her legs. Your fingers tease her, rubbing circles around her clit. Naeun mewls and French kisses you, moaning into that kiss when you soap up the inside of her pussy with a finger.

Naeun grabs the bar of soap. “Let me clean your body now. I’ve cleaned Chaekyung’s before, but I’ve never done this for a man.”

“You’ll do fine, I’m sure.” She does more than fine, the electrifying touch of her slick hands on your chest and nipples has them hard like your cock swiftly and when her hands go past your stomach and reach your groin, you know that she could have you cumming like a fountain with just her hands if she wanted to.

Instead, Naeun strokes you up a few times to get you slick…and then kisses you. “Impale me on your shaft. Fill me. Take me.” She whispers against your lips.

You don’t need a second invitation. You wrap an arm around Naeun’s waist, brace her against the side of the pool and push yourself into her. You do it slowly and deliberately, because she’s probably only had fingers and tongues inside her before. She gets adjusted to your size quickly though.

“You’re so thick…so warm…” Naeun’s gaze is heavy-lidded and glazed over in pleasure.

You start to move around inside her and build up speed. She is tight, hot, and wet inside and you groan in pleasure. Naeun pulls you into a deep kiss as you fuck her, one hand curled up in your hair and the other holding onto your shoulder for support and you pound into her. You feel her legs wrap around your waist, locking you to her.

With one arm around her waist, you send the other to rub Naeun’s clit. Her wonderful breasts bounce with every stroke of your cock inside of her and you feel your second orgasm building up. He golden rays of the setting sun bouncing off the water give her a gorgeous glow.

Naeun seems to sense it too as you increase your pace and fuck her almost desperately at this point. “Inside me.” She pants between kisses. But she hits her climax first and her pussy muscles clench your shaft ever so tightly as she cries out in pleasure. And even though you are in a pool of heated water, you feel her hot pussy juices flow down and around your cock.

You slam into her a couple more times, fucking Naeun as she orgasms and then blow your load inside her. You keep your cock inside her as you rest your head against hers, the two of you sharing soft kisses as you both recover.

Naeun speaks first. “After we dry off, we lay together in my bed tonight, naked.” You nod your approval at that course of action. “But first, let’s just stay together like this for a while.” Naeun’s legs unwrap themselves from your waist and the two of you switch places so that you rest against the side of the pool and she rests her head on your chest…with your cock still inside her with your mixed cum, of course.

You have a long night ahead, and a long journey ahead after that. But you’re already looking forward to more long nights with Princess Naeun in the future. What a gift she’s given you.

#april smut #Lee Naeun smut #Naeun smut #april naeun smut #reader insert #male reader

[jadespeedster17]

So, I don’t post alot of my Lore Based stuff. But, I’ve hit a creative burst since watching Dream SMP. And given, I have a whole truck full of Minecraft Lore/World Building, thought I’d share some of it.

I’ve posted some on my Wattpad, but this post is going into the many species and races of my Minecraft World. Later I might post about how this fits into some made up Lore I did for the Dream SMP. 

I’ve always pulled inspiration from other creators, so I will be sure to mention them should I know who they are. 

Also also, this whole thing was made possible by my long time friends on wattpad. Bloxiegirl123 and @littlewolf651 They both gave me so much inspiration for this stuff through many talks and us just goofing off. 

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Netherains: These are the people of the Nether, under the rule and protection of Herobrine. They live in the inner cities of the Nether, when we the players spawn there it’s on the out skirts, and look like more taller and ‘humanish’ piglins. Who are there own species  They are a very isolated people, Netherains, having a demonic heritage, are destructive by nature. They prefer the company of themselves or close family over the company of many people. They also prefer their own kind over any other species and races of the realms. 

They have a equal mindset, both men and women are capable of being warriors, merchants, and so forth. Males typically have larger fangs, be them lower or upper jaw, and large scrunched up noses. While females have smaller noses that are flatter and tinier fangs (Think like orcs). Male ears tend to be longer and pointed, while females tend to have short ears that are also pointed. As for body builds, really that depends on parents, some are just bigger and able to gain muscles faster than others, while some are skinnier and take longer to build up. The only real difference between males and females is that the females can give birth and their physical looks.

Strangely females don’t have breasts, actually how their young feed is often from mushed up food as babies are both already with teeth in place and able to digest soft foods.  Young typically grow up fast, and by the time they reach 7 seasons of age, they are given their first weapon to train with. 

All members of the Netherain people are able to fight, regardless of their profession in life. Why do you think not many want to fight Hero’s army, it’s not just because of the mobs.  To know of a human/nether baby is in the eyes and skin tones and sometimes ears and teeth.

Netherains are of the dark/light browns and red skin tone, they are fire resistant, and their eye colors rang from common browns, blacks, to the slight less common golds and red, to the more uncommon silver and grays. Their eyes are narrowed and their color covers their whole eye with the only difference being in their pupil (should their eyes not be black). 

Their hair tends to be of the braided, with gems weaved into them. (The inner nether is very gem rich, there is a reason Hero is also considered the ‘Rich God’). Some even shave the sides for the middle to be in a pony tail. Others prefer the more wilder hair types or even dreads. 

Some facts about them. - They only use gold as a accessory or coin, but it’s considered to be of low value and do trading in gems and items. - They are a culture rich people, with many stories, superstitions, and foods. - They mostly eat spicy foods, to a normally person their ‘mild’ is very hot. - Mostly meat eaters, due to having more fanged filled mouths, babies teeth are duller until they reach 5 seasons old. - Some live in villages while some live in the city, each set of people has it’s own brand of fire magic used, from lava, lightening, and some even coat themselves in fire. However, they don’t see a difference, Village is just like saying ‘I come from the west and use lightening’.  - They used to be at war, until Hero united them.

Valkyries: These are the race of the Aether people, some call them Aetherains too but most prefer Valkyrie. They are under the rule of Notch and some even are his personal guards and fighters.  Their main job however is guiding souls to the afterlife and protecting their homeland , the Aether or Ether. 

Some call them ‘angels’ though this is just a preference really, and really just less of a mouthful for humans. Honestly, Valkyries don’t really care being called them.  Anywho, this race is very social with each other, relationships range from Platonic to Romantic. They help groom each other wings, share the news of the day like this, and they enjoy being touched, held, cuddled.

Valkyries can have relationship and kids with other Valkyries, though there isn’t much need for sex or reproductions due to them being near immortal. However, half babies are considered taboo after the last war with Herobrine. 

Typically ‘families’ have their own looks and styles. But all Valkyries have some form of light hair and eyes.  Wing types also are a family trait, some families have many wings, others have only one pair. Some have darker wing colors, some are speckled, some are just lighter, some are just one color. They range from Large, Medium, or Small in size.  Family trees tend to have their own types of magics, be it better healers, better fliers, or able to conjure weapons, some share these traits but not wing size and looks, or vice versa. (Basically some family can have the same wing look, but different magics, and the same is true in reverse.)

Valkyries have pale skin tones ranging to more yellowish hues or tanish hues. This is in their ‘human form’ in their Valkyrie form they are wind like creatures, made up of elements with vaguely ‘human’ like bodies, though some look more bird like.  Eye color ranges from the common golds, greens, to the less common teals, and the uncommon blues. Hari tends to be blond, dirty blond, or even silver and white. They like long hair, smooth, wavy sometimes, with many small things weaved into it. Some have pointed ears, some don’t, some even have feathers for ears. Some Facts: - They don’t really have a ‘gender’ concept. As they are able to turn themselves whatever gender. Though, unlike like Voidlings and Enders, they do tend to stick with one of the other after a while. Though it’s not uncommon to see some who are non-binary.  - Young grow up slowly, one of the downsides is due to their immortality slowly coming into place. This causes slow aging of the body and sometimes the mind. Unless they are hybrids of another species. - Though immortal, they can be killed through fatal wounds with weapons made by Voidlings or Netherains. But humans weapons, the only one that could remotely harm them, is the Netherite weapons. Due to being a crude recreation of Netherain weapons. 

Humans: Considered to be a pet project of Notch, that was somewhat of a disaster, and was the third creation to walk the Overworld, Villagers being the first, then Players or Spawns and Mobs being the Second.  Humans have a very short life span along with Villagers, confined to a 100 years to 150 years at best. Taking both the qualities of destruction and creation to make a race had them not be as long living.  However, humans come in ‘genders’, thought this is just because some are just born looking one way to the other or a mix. So they came up with ‘gender’s to tell them apart.  Females have breasts and give birth while males don’t. Different sex organs and such. Really this was just made for repopulation means, Notch didn’t really have ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ in mind. 

To keep it brief, as they are pretty much the same as we are. They come in many skin tones of light to dark depending on climate and area born. They also have a very complicated history with other races. It’s gotten better over the years in the future though. And sometimes they fight with each other. Most of these problems are due to Notch trying to use Destruction in their making, then he’s a Creation God. Opps. 

However, they are a culture rich race as well, and in the recent years have done some great feats with the help of other races. But their past is complicated, luckily Hero did help his brother after the second war to curb any problems later, evolution! 

Players/Spawns: This race comes in all shapes, looks, and sizes. They are created by mostly Herobrine with some help from his ‘Father’ and ‘Grandfather’. As Mobs hadn’t turned out the best as he hoped.  Having the power the ‘Respawn’ in a place they made, and can live for a few 100 years. They don’t really have a set gender or look, as they can be any and everything. Some classify them as ‘Shapeshifters’ and that is about as close as we can get to a category for them. 

They can be half Ender, Zombie, Spider, Cat, to even stranger species. Some can even have Netherain or Valkyrie traits. As when they mate, they have a change of making a Player due to near immortal or magical beings mating with humans.  Really Player as a ‘race’ is complicated as genetics play a big factor. Should a human family have any non human blood in their line, it’s very possible to give birth to a Player.

Most tend to worship Herobrine, though some do worship other gods of the world.  Eventually, they do die, but they live for longer than most would think. And their live styles are very diverse, so it’s hard to pinpoint them. They all just go under this category is they are able to ‘Respawn’. 

Not much else is known about them though, and they are very secretive about their creation myths. At least ‘OG Spawns’ are, meaning they have no other genes or blood in them other than ‘Player’ 

Some facts: - The first Spawn ever was a man named Steve, who later became immortal and the husband of Hero.  - They are the second race we know the least about. - Some call them ‘Protectors’ as they are protective of any race who can not protect themselves. - OG Spawns live with Mobs in large cities away from non-player reach. Though, it’s rare for even some Players of today to find them. Due to conflicting feels about Mobs and their need to attack humans and villagers. 

Enders: These are the tall, mysterious people of the End, under the ruling of the Queen and King, Jean and Ignis.  They are lanky, the shortest they can be is 6 feet in height, and the tallest being 13 feet tall. Long arms with claw like fingers for some, and some have very boney appearances. They are naturally skinny looking with sharpen teeth in the front and more flatten teeth in the back.

They have a very scholarly society, putting the pursuit of magics and knowledge as the highest form of profession. Being there is only one way in and out of the End, they aren’t attacked the much, and have a decent relation with their Demonic cousins of the Void. 

Their society tends to be everyone looks after everyone. There are no real ‘families’ as the young are taken care of by everyone and taught by everyone. Expecting bearers are housed in a nursery, and take care of the child, until they are old enough to walk and talk, then the children are to live with chosen Parentals until they reach Apprenticeship age, 13, and choose a profession, and live with their mentor until they are 21. 

Like their cousins, they are very possessive of things, though capable of more empathy than them. ‘Mine’ in their langue has many meanings, often it’s considered a high honor for an Ender to claim you if you are not of their race. As it can mean ‘friend’ ‘family’ ‘brother/sister’ or ‘lover’ and among other means. 

They range from purple tones to greyish tones in skin color, some even have dragon like traits though it’s noted these are of the noble statues. Eye colors rang from common purple hues and some reds, the less common blue and green hues, and the uncommon blacks and white eyes.  Hairs tend of the dark purple, black, and sometimes white, they have shorter hair styles to sometimes no hair at all. Thought long hair isn’t uncommon, it’s just less seen.

Some Facts: - They tend to have a view of being a ‘perfect race’ at least the older generation those, the newer tends to be more open minded.  - Not may outsiders are allowed into the cities, those that are don’t leave that often much less talk about it.  - They are in close contact, allies, with OG Players and Valkyries, though they tend to dislike Netherains.  - They are also a type of Shapeshifter, more so than Valkyries and Players. - They have no gender, and are born without parts to reproduce. Reproduction is done by magic/science and the ‘baby’ placed into the ‘carrier’ to grow until they are ‘cut out’ of the body. - That is considered a big deal, and takes alot out of the carrier, they are treated very well by the whole society. To harm a child or carrier is considering an offense punishable by death.

Voidlings (Demons, Daemons, Dreamons, Pure Ones): These beings go by many names, some we don’t even know of. They are the first race of beings to have ever lived, just under the Gods.  Created by the OG Gods of Destruction and Creation, (Tristan and Terrance), and they live in the Void. 

There are many sub levels of the void, the one we see of the endless pit of blackness. To two more levels that aren’t the well known, it’s thought Voidlings live on this level.  They come in two categories, those of the Destructive and Chaotic nature and those of the Creative and Orderly nature. 

Demons are more inclined to be of the Destructive and Chaotic Nature under the rule and laws of Lord Tristan. They are playful beings, loving to cause trouble and bring chaos with them. Though, they seem to dislike killing their targets. Daemons are more inclined to be of the Creative and Orderly Nature, under the rules of laws of Lord Terrance. They are stubborn, cold hearted, and harsh beings. Some have been known to kill their targets should they be displeased with them.  Dreamons are a mixed bag, some are Destructive and just playful, Some are Creative and enjoy helping, some are Orderly and a little harsh to people they see beneath them, and some are Chaotic and care little for life. It’s unsure who you get until you meet them, so be careful.

They are called ‘Pure Ones’ due to the fact they were the first race to be created by the Gods.  They do not reproduce, they are created and there is a set number of them. They are also extremely hard to kill, most can only be banished back to the Void. They each represent something, with strange names. Example, (And I’m use Dream SMP here) Eater of Dreams or Truth Where Lies Meet. 

Size is everything, it’s indicates power, the bigger you are, wide or tall, the more powerful you are. And they can take many shapes and forms. 

Some facts: - They can’t feel empathy or sympathy, but they can be possessive of things they consider ‘theirs’. - They can look human like or something indescribable, however horns tend to be a common trait - They are true shapeshifters, meaning they can take any shape they please. - They possess people they find a ‘kinship’ with, to escape the void. - In their true form, they can’t walk anywhere but the Void, thus need a vessel to do so. - To fall into the void either results in death, or becoming a Voidling yourself. It’s unsure how this happens. - Some are born a ‘Natrual vessels’ with means they are prime targets for posession from a certain Voidling. - Void/Demonic Magic is the oldest living magic and can corrupt people easily

RACES I NEED TO DO LATER

Gods- Tristan, Terrance, Hero, Notch, Victor. Sub Gods  Villagers Mobs Socrerers/Mages

#minecraft #my minecraft lore #minecraft lore #minecraft races #herobrine #notch

[auntfinny]

a ref sheet/app for a GoG RP! still waiting to hear back abt it but i wanted to post it regardless and ill probably use him for something whether or not the RP works out!

large bio underneath readmore

Name: Yarrow Age: Adult Species: Blakiston’s Fish Owl (specifically; Bubo Blakistoni Doerriesi subspecies) Gender: male, he/him Sexuality: homosexual Height: 29 in. Weight: 11 lbs. Build: Tall and large, he says a lot of it is feathers. Yarrow is heavy and well muscled due to eating fish and traversing on the ground for food. Appearance: Yarrow is a large tawny owl with very messy feathers. He has white around his face and chest. His torso has lighter beige colored feathers, with many little streaks of black. His wings and tail feathers are barred with dark brown on both sides, lighter underneath.

Faction: Lone Owl Occupation: Blacksmith/artist Birthplace: Frost Forest, near the lakes Family: Kaverna (mother; deceased), Zhelty (father; unknown) Commonly found: at his smithing spot (a toppled fishing shack built by the Others) near Serenity delta, flying through nearby forests, at the beach, trading at Lone Owl island

Theme song: Bottomfeeder - Amanda Palmer Likes: fish, water/rivers/the sea, art, traveling, learning, music, trinquets, green filled landscapes, flowers Dislikes: heat, barren deserts, bugs, thunderstorms/heavy storms, theives

Personality: Yarrow is an eccentric, compassionate, open minded owl. He’s clear about his opinions when he’s passionate and loves to learn about all sorts of things he doesn’t know about. Being a fish owl, some of his lifestyle differs greatly from other owl species and he tends to embrace the feeling of being different. While often on his own, he does enjoy making friends and will gladly join other owls on trips. While his open mind is a good thing in most cases, it does make it easy for him to make up his mind and cut off contact with people he disagrees with- he may not give second changes. He can also be a bit distant, as he has a hard time handling emotions- he likes to stick to logic and often closes off emotional responses to stressful situations. When it comes to scenarios where others are in trouble, he will likely do what is logical and brings others to safety before making up his mind on what's “good” or “bad”. But in personal relations, he has a hard time facing his feelings or dealing with them appropraitely- leading to stubbornness, outbursts, or irrational choices. He may not come off as sensitive or easy to upset as he likes to consider logic and others’ views before reacting, but he is deeply disturbed by betrayal and losing trusted friends. He may be open to changing his opinions for simple things, but changing his emotions is a whole other thing. He is unlikely to act with violence though, unless provoked or in a scenario where it is needed.

Pre-Group History: Yarrow was born to a simple loving family- Kaverna, his mother and Zhelty, his father. They lived near the water in a large tree. There was a sister egg that failed to hatch before Yarrow did. His parents were kind and caring- raising him properly just as any owl should. However, he found himself orphaned one night, when lightning struck near his hollow and caused their tree to fall to the ground. He was at the age where he should fly, and while he managed to escape before getting hurt, his mother at the back of the hollow was killed. His father was out hunting, and due to the circumstances Yarrow had to find safety first and was unable to reunite with his father. While Yarrow faced grief in losing his parent’s, they taught him a lot about loving the world and the land, and he set out to form his own life.

He mostly stayed to the west, cooler and damper parts of the world as he travelled and tried to find inspiration of what to do with his life. On his flights, he acquainted many owls, one of whom was an apprentice blacksmith. This smith was still learning, but introduced him to his mentor. While these two were smithing up weapons and Yarrow didn't care much for that, it piqued Yarrows interest, and he stuck around with the older smith- a scraggly masked owl named Uhlava. Yarrow learned for months about smithing, metals, coals, etc. He did ask about not making weapons- to which Uhlava mentioned “art”. She said that she did not make art, it was not her specialty and she didn’t “get” it. She could teach him how smithing worked in general but he should seek outside knowledge on art. She informed him that she heard the Guardians had many books (said pre-burning of the tree) and that the Glauxian Brothers had a large library as well. He didn’t know how to read yet… and while she gave him a lead to maybe read about the Rogue Smith of Silverveil who stopped making weapons to make art, he knew it was leagues away from Uhlava’s home at the edge of Saint Aegolius Canyons. Yarrow eventually finished his basic training in smithing and moved to his own settlement, a small crumbled stone fishing shack built by the Others, in the Serenity Delta. While he dreamed to read and learn about art, he decided it was quite a lot to do, and would practice what he thought was “art” first. He quite loved living near the water and sea, it gave him inspiration. Yarrow experimented with materials aside from metal and eventually used sand to create glass objects. Nothing as magnificent as the stained glass from the Others, but little baubles strung up with string, little necklaces and charms.

In the present, Yarrow resides at this residence but often travels to trade and get materials for his work. He is not a known name, but has traded his work with a few owls before. His goal is to learn to read so he can learn about art history and improve his work. He also wishes to explore more of the world to fuel his ideas.

Group History: N/A

Relationships: N/A

Other:

Yarrow doesn’t know how to write, but if he did he’d write some good poetry.

He is not a fighter, it's not something he ever learned, but his size makes him incredibly capable of being destructive if he’s driven to it.

Yarrow was named after a bunch of yarrow flowers growing near their hollow, as his mother loved those flowers.

Yarrow thinks about his father, but is unsure if he should accept the possibility that he's dead.

Yarrow enjoys fish, and like many fish owls he spends a lot of time on the ground. He is very good at running around on his feet and hunting on the ground. He enjoys the forest floors more than a tree or hollow.

He does enjoy the few non-fish meals he's gotten in other forests and definitely likes the idea of trying out more.

He has insecurities about philosophy, often having a hard time grasping feelings with death, existence etc and doesn't think scrooms are real. He loves the world but doesnt like thinking about deep questions that may take “logic” away from his typical pattern of thinking. He likes to use logic to form opinions, not emotions.

While a logical thinker, this doesn't take away his compassion or empathy! He's very kind and understanding.

In terms of relationships, he is not a type for long term commitment, does not plan to make a family. He is the type for flings and very sensual/intimate friendships. Its likely he has a few owls he knows awfully well and many he doesn’t know well at all.

Design can be simplified to get rid of or lessen speckles.

#guardians of ga'hoole #owls of ga'hoole #Legend of the Guardians #gog #gogh #owl #blakiston's fish owl #my art #mine #Yarrow

[thesimpireblr]

Welcome to Bucksimgham Palace!! A private tour of the state apartments

Welcome to another, undergoing, building project for the Simpire simblr story :)

As I mentioned in the last post, The Imperial family is in Bucksimgham palace, the official residence of Her Highness Dowager Tsarina’s sister Queen Elisabeth II of United Simgdom, for the birthday celebrations.

This project wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing contents of numerous creators, many researches and photos but ,most importantly, the amazing Buckingham Palace project from @thesimquisition, the inspiration It gave me and the plans he shared (the rooms are almost the same size :) )

Thanks to all!!! 

Now let’s start the tour of my version of this Grand Palace, the closest I could get to reality, hope you enjoy the tour as much as I’m loving building it :)

Her Majesty, Queen Elisabeth II of United Simgdom Welcomes you into her official residence, the grand Bucksimgham Palace. Since her majesty and her guests are in residence for the birthday celebrations, our tour will be restricted to the state apartments of the Piano Nobile. (the rooms that are finished 😅)

As we pass through the main archway, under the front wing of the palace, we are greeted by the palace Inner courtyard, we can see the West Wing and the entrance portico, part of the oldest section of the palace, from the Victorian Age. 

For this special tour you are invited to enter the palace through the portico into the Grand Entrance of the palace, if you may follow me and climb the steps... 

Welcome inside the palace Grand Entrance. For centuries architecture has been used as a way to show power, in this case royal power, the intention of the architect when creating this amazing sunken space was to, on one side and as explained by @thesimquisition​, give a high ceiling effect but also to create an architectonic narrative, a symbolic promenade. 

From Darkness to Light... as we enter the palace we are greeted by a grand, but rather darker space, but, as we approach the sovereign (Throne room) the rooms gets lighter and lighter... The sovereign is the light...

From this room we can get access to the grand rooms on the ground floor (still in progress) and to the Piano Nobile through the Grand Staircase. But, before we continue to the upper floor, we can visit the Marble Hall...

This amazing hall, filled with portraits and sculptures from Her majesty collection, gives access to both the state apartments in the ground floor and some of the guest apartments. At the end of this hall we find the Ambassador’s Staircase.

As we make our way to the state apartments, we return to the Grand entrance...

...where we find the foot of the Grand Staircase, if you would like to follow me...

... Welcome to the Grand Staircase, this magnificent white and gold room filled with paintings gives access to the state apartments of the palace. From one side we can get access to the Throne Room and, through the other, we can get access to the East gallery and the Grand Ballroom..

Please follow me as we continue to climb the stairs into the state apartments...

As we get to the top of the Grand staircase, we are greeted by this small room where we can find the statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the royal couple that made Buckingham Palace what it is today, let’s continue our tour to the...

Green drawing room. This amazing room in green, white and gold is the first grand room of the state apartments and it distributes the visitor into the Picture Gallery and...

... to the next room in our tour...

... The Throne room...

This red and gold room is the most symbolic room in the palace and the last in the symbolic power promenade. The interior designed by John Nash, features a plaster frieze showing scenes from the Wars of the Roses.

Today this room is the symbol of the monarchy, many thrones of different monarchs are displayed here, all surrounding the baldacchino with the current monarch, and her consort, thrones. 

On the left side, we can see (my remake of) the portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II with Willow, Vulcan, Candy and Holly commissioned by the Royal Mail Group last 2013. Shall we continue the tour through the next room.

 On the main floor, right above the Marble Hall, we can find the Picture Gallery. An amazing and long gallery that connects all the state apartments and displays part of HM collection of 17th century Italian, Dutch and Flemish art works. Receptions usually happen in this room as well as smaller banquets.

Now shall we continue to the most famous enfilade of rooms, and the most recognizable in all the palace. The first room we will find is the...

...White Drawing Room, one of the most famous rooms of the State apartments. 

It is usually in this room where the queen greets guests, hosts small gatherings, audiences as well as grand family occasions. 

Now let us proceed to the next room on our tour.

Now we enter the Music room set of some state occasions, small events, many official portraits, tv appearances of the royal family and photos with foreign heads of state.

The next stop on our tour is (my favorite room of all) the Blue Drawing Room. Named by its decor featuring blue flock wallpaper and columns painted to resemble the onyx stone.

This long and really ornate room became very well known for HM young portraits with HRH Prince Philipe as well as from some state occasions. The next room in our tour, is the...

... State Dining Room. This red and gold room is usually reserved for smaller banquets and reception (larger events as well as State Banquets are held in The Grand Ballroom)

Now that we have seen all the grand state apartments...

we will continue our way into the Bucksimgham Palace grandest room. If you please follow me, we will...

... pass through  the West gallery, this gallery connects the state apartments with the Grand Ballroom, we will continue our tour and take the door on our left and we will find the...

... Cross Gallery, a smaller gallery that connects the West Gallery with the famous and well know East gallery...

This long gallery connects the State apartments, through the Silk Tapestry room and the Picture gallery, and the Grand Staircase with the Grand Ballroom. But just before we enter this great room we will turn left and enter the first door on our Right to discover...

...the Ball supper room. This room was created by Queen Victoria for, as the name indicates, small banquets before the grandiose balls (after Prince Albert death this events were canceled and the room lost his function). Today it is mainly used as a space for temporary exhibitions. Now let’s return into the East gallery to continue our tour. 

Now we welcome you into the...

...Grand ballroom. The largest and most grandiose room in the palace as well as set of grand events.

Presided by two thrones, this majestic room receives foreign leaders in extravagant state banquets as well as HM investitures. It is the face of Buckingham in the world...

On the opposite side of the thrones, a grand pipe organ was built to give music in the grandest occasions. Today the room is getting ready to receive HM Birthday banquet, a special occasion that will be attended by fellow monarchs, family, Nobility and friends (the table is prepared for 84 guests).

Now I Leave you with an exterior picture of the back side of the palace (the almost finished part 😅)

Hope you enjoyed your tour through the state apartments of HM official residence. This will be one of the palaces featuring in the story and another family to be followed (not as much as my beloved Simnov)

Her Majesty and her guests are getting ready for the birthday celebrations, to welcome the rest of the family and fellow royals for the grand banquet. Hope to see you soon :)

Sorry for another very long post, but I could not find a way to reduce the number of photos 😅.

 Thanks to all the cc creators that made the most amazing content!! to @felixandresims​ for the always amazing architectonic and decor objects, @harrie-cc​ for building inspiration and re-colors, @thejim07​ and @the-regal-sim​ for the amazing paintings, sculptures and furniture, and many others that created wonderful objects (sorry if I forgot someone) Thanks also to @thesimquisition​ for the building inspiration, the most amazing palace plans (from where I could calculate room sizes) and the interiors.

Hope you continue to enjoy the story and the many other buildings, still WIP, I’m working on (Sorry if I never show the full building, but I’m always working on so many projects at the same time and the first parts I finished are the ones needed for the Story, in this case the state apartments :), I really have to try to focus and complete the projects!!)

The imperial family is getting ready to greet the rest of the family and fellow monarchs!! the Banquet will be soon !!

#simpire #ts4 #monarchy #simnovdynasty #gen1 #sims royalty #sims 4 royal #sims 4 royal family #sims 4 royalty #simsroyalty #royalfamilychallenge #simblr #ts4 monarchy #united simgdom #FAMILY REUNION #Bucksimgham Palace #buckingham palace #the sims #the sims 4

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Break that Lesson!

Miraculous Ladybug edition

Known as “Broken Aesop” in TVTropes, this happens when the media where a lesson is given, then proceeds to break it by doing the contrary of that lesson and showing positive results. Example: “Violence is never the answer” in a show with a Monster of the week format, where they always defeat the baddy using violence.

SO!

Good People have to Stand Up Against Evil… unless is inconvenient for the plot.

The Origins Episode, we are shown how Marinette was before becoming Ladybug, and what motivated her to become a Hero: “All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing”. This is said by Alya, and later repeated by Marinette, not to mention is completely approved by the narrative

The we get to Chameleon… and Adrien…

Adrien: Are you going to tell everyone?

Marinette: 'Course I am. Lila is—

Adrien: (interrupting) A liar. Yes, I know. But do you really think exposing her will make things better? If you humiliate her, she'll just be hurt more. Making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy.

Marinette: So we just stand by and let her lie?

Adrien: As long as you and I both know the truth, does it really matter?

Marinette: You're right, maybe it's not such a big deal.

 You might try to explain this all you want, but the matter of the fact is that they’re going against their own lesson. Chloe’s actions are fought at every point, but Lila gets to go scot free because otherwise they would neutralize her only plot.

“But Lila can turn that against them” Maybe. Maybe they won’t believe Marinette, but they have no reason to doubt Adrien’s word. They have no reason to doubt Ladybug.

 Lying is Bad... For Marinette, anyway. 

This one is a prevalent lesson in the series, especially after Lila became more or less regular. Lying is Wrong and bad and evil and only wrong and bad and evil people do it… Except is part of Marinette’s (And Adrien’s) every day having a secret identity. She has to constantly lie to go out and save the world. But instead of “Some lies are necessary”, Marinette outright states she hates liars, and Tikki herself admonishes her when she lies, yet her lies to become Ladybug are never addressed.

A different part of this occurs in two different episodes. Alya is praised for her ability to take care of Manon when she tells her she is a princess unicorn in disguise (A lie, unless we’re not told something of Alya). In a later episode, Marinette is punished by the narrative when she tells Chris that she’s one of Santa’s helpers.  So again, is wrong for Marinette to lie, but everyone else can do it whenever they want.

 Take your job seriously!... If you want to.

Again, no particular episode, but the implicitly is that Marinette has to take her job seriously as Ladybug, as she’s the only one who can purify Akumas. Remember, she almost gave up in Origins when she failed to do so, and in Reflekdoll is explicitly said that Ladybug’s responsibility is much heavier than that on Chat Noir… And then Gamer 2.0 comes and says she should chill.

And It’s not broken by the narrative, but in Reflekdoll Adrien gains a new appreciation on how hard being the Ladybug Holder is… yet the episodes set after this he’s still his goofy self. (Yes, Oblivio is 90% his fault they got hit)

 Bullies feelings matters… more than the people being bullied.  

The general attitude of the show, especially with Adrien never being wrong, is that bullies feelings take precedence over the people they are bullying. He has seen first hand how mean she is… hell, he himself has been victim of her (When the whole school had to clean up when she made a fake call to the firefighters) yet when people are happy she will be gone, he acts as if they’re the ones being cruel. When Lila successfully gets Marinette expelled, instead of him calling her out, he manipulates her in a way that she will still be causing trouble… And doesn’t tell Marinette.

Miss Bustier also promotes this. When Chloe vandalizes the gift that Marinette gave her, she takes Marinette and tells her to set an example to Chloe.

SPECIAL META MENTIONS!

Do as I say, not as I do

Racism is bad.

Kung Food episode, which I think, breaks the record for breaking the lesson in the same episode it is brought up.

Chloe is called out for asking sushi (A Japanese dish) from a Chinese chef. She is rightfully called out when her answer is that she doesn’t care. Even Adrien is appalled by her attitude, even when he usually lets it slide as “Chloe being Chloe”.

The akuma of the Episode is, of course, called “Kung Food”. For starters, the civilian is a chef, not a martial artist, but ok, they gave him the name for the pun… but then decide to base his looks on Goku from Dragon Ball Z, a japanese anime (which to be fair, is inspired by Journey to the West, but very very loosely) . So conflating to Asian cultures is wrong when Chloe does it, but A-ok when they do it.  

Stealing designs is bad.

The whole point of “Mr. Pigeon” (besides the akuma) is the hat competition and how Chloe is a horrible human being for stealing the design from Marinette and then trying to make it seems like Marinette was the one who stole the design. And Marinette is able to prove is her design, so Chloe gets her comeuppance! YAY!

…

And then in the 2020 Toy Fair they show us a new doll with a design copied from a fan artist. Not even “inspired by” or “Somewhat similar”, but it’s literally the same oufit, just with wings and Ladybug’s hair down.

-

Of course, Alya’s “A good reporter always check her sources” while not checking her own sources deserve it’s own special mention, as it breaks the lesson even as she is speaking.  

Those are all of the top of my head. I’m pretty sure there are even more broken lessons scattered through the show. (Chat Noir harassing Ladybug Vs Felix harassing Ladybug is also one)

#miraculous ladybug #ml salt #Broken Lessons

[arofili]

Line of Elros Edit Series: Appendix B

Continued from Appendix A. This section will contain information on the House of Andúnië and the Royalty of Arnor.

~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A: Royalty of Númenor Appendix B: House of Andúnië, Royalty of Arnor (you are here!) Appendix C: Royalty of Gondor Appendix D: Princes of Dol Amroth, Chieftains of the Dúnedain Appendix E: Stewards of Gondor

~~~

HOUSE OF ANDÚNIË

Silmariën ft. Silmariën, Elatan, Valandil of Andúnië It is canonical that Silmariën was passed over for inheritance, that she received the Ring of Barahir, and that she had a mithril fillet (a kind of medieval headband); the story of her making the fillet herself with the aid of her cousin is an embellishment. Technically it was not Silmariën or Elatan who first led the House of Andúnië, but their son Valandil, but I altered the story to give it more feminist themes. The details of Elatan’s life are all headcanon.

Valandil of Andúnië ft. Valandil of Andúnië, Vairanatsë (OC), Ulmondil (OC) Save for the names and professions of his wife and son, Valandil’s story is canonical.

Ulmondil ft. Ulmondil (OC), Hyamindë (OC), Elvëanna (OC), Tintilárë (OC), Lilómëo (OC), Malwacilin (OC), Irmondil (OC), Lelyárë (OC), Moruinë (OC), Ortólorë (OC) Here we get to the long stretch of “unnamed lords.” Since we know nothing about these people or their spouses, I’ve had some fun with gender and sexuality here. Literally everything here is headcanon (except that Tar-Minastir did canonically build a tower on Oromet).

Vóreäla ft. Vóreäla (OC), Tyulussë (OC), Vilwarindo (OC), Rómandur (OC), Roquendië (OC), Vasaryamarto (OC), Failaher (OC), Pirucendëa (OC), Canyahondë (OC), Elwenára (OC), Ilcarion (OC), Morilindië (OC) All details about my OCs are pure headcanon. Check Appendix A for information on whether the details about the kings they interact with are canon or not. ETA 3/31/21: Fixed some minor timeline discrepancies.

Vóromir ft. Vóromir (OC), Arphazêl (OC), Aulendur (OC), Istimiel (OC), Lindórië, Eärendur of Andúnië Gimilzagar (and thus his hypothetical child) is canonically possibly the ancestor of Inzilbêth; I decided to go with that, and wrote a narrative around how the daughter of one of the King’s Men married into the House of Andúnië. Lindórië and Eärendur are both canon characters who are indeed siblings. Everything else is headcanon.

Lindórië ft. Lindórië, Tulcatio (OC), Inzilbêth, Eärendur of Andúnië, Aranyo (OC), Minasdil (OC) The politics of Andúnië and Gimilzôr are all headcanon, though it is canon that Gimilzôr married Inzilbêth. That’s pretty much the only canon part of this story, though. Eärendur is canonically the fifteenth Lord of Andúnië; I changed it so Lindórië was the leader instead. The Adûnaic versions of Lindórië and Eärendur’s names are my own translations, as is Inzilbêth’s Quenya name. ETA 3/31/21: Made some fairly significant changes in order to reconcile some timeline errors, though the core story remains.

Minasdil ft. Minasdil (OC), Tiristiel (OC), Númendil, Vailimion (OC), Narwalótë (OC) Everything here is headcanon, except that the Faithful did indeed move to Rómenna around this time. The leader of Andúnië between Eärendur and Númendil is unnamed, so I made them nonbinary because I could. Númendil is not mentioned to have any siblings, but I gave him some because I felt like it. ETA 3/31/21: Completely rewrote the last paragraph to reconcile it with the canon timeline. Apparently I originally had Minasdil getting married around the time that their grandson Elendil was supposed to be born!! ...except that doesn’t make sense at all either, so I changed things so it’s Amandil being born at that time. Still - I had Minasdil marrying too late, and that’s fixed now.

Númendil ft. Númendil, Lómiel (OC), Amandil, Elenyë (OC), Elentír, Elendil Númendil was canonically a friend of Tar-Palantír, and Amandil was canonically a friend of Ar-Pharazôn. For the canonicity of Pharazôn’s life details, see Appendix A. We know nothing about the wives of Númendil or Amandil; I made that all up. Elentír is a discarded character from drafts of the Akallabêth; he and Míriel were to be wed before Míriel fell in love with Pharazôn. I kept the published Silm version where Míriel married Pharazôn against her will, but I liked the detail of her having a boyfriend before him, so I kept it. (I definitely queercoded her though, she wasn’t in love with Elentír either in my mind...) Amandil’s fate and final journey west are canon, though Elentír didn’t stick around in Tolkien’s writings long enough for him to get an ending. I had him tag along with his brother. The Adûnaic names of Númendil and Elentír are my own translation; the Adûnaic names of Amandil and Elendil are both canon.

Elendil ft. Elendil, Lauriel (OC), Isildur, Anárion Everything about Elendil’s wife is headcanon. The story of Isildur stealing the fruit is canon, but has been embellished a bit for dramatic effect. The rest of this is canon, with a few minor details added here and there. Elendil’s Adûnaic name is canon; Isildur and Anárion’s Adûnaic names are my own translation.

~~~

ROYALTY OF ARNOR

Isildur ft. Isildur, Cemniel (OC), Elendur, Aratan, Círyon, Valandil of Arnor Almost everything here is canon, though Isildur overhearing his father about the White Tree is an embellishment, and we don’t know the exact reason there was such a long gap between the birth of Elendur and his next two sons. My guess is he knocked up his wife before they were married, and then didn’t want to have kids in the dangerous times of Númenor...though that didn’t stop them from having a son in the dangerous times of the Last Alliance.

Valandil of Arnor ft. Valandil of Arnor, Ahyarë (OC), Eldacar of Arnor, Culalmë (OC), Arantar, Vistariel (OC), Tarcil, Niëlinyë (OC), Tarondor of Arnor, Lossëa (OC), Valandur, Tasarwen (OC), Elendur of Arnor, Luinaivë (OC) Aside from the timing of Valandil’s inheritance, all of this is headcanon.

Eärendur of Arnor ft. Eärendur of Arnor, Quildaraumë (OC), Amlaith of Arthedain, Adanamarth of Cardolan (OC), Anorhír of Rhudaur (OC) The basic details of Arnor’s split into three kingdoms is canon, but everything else is headcanon, including the names of Amlaith’s brothers.

Amlaith ft. Amlaith, Linnoril (OC), Beleg of Arthedain, Ferieth (OC), Mallor, Cidinnor (OC), Celepharn, Glasdil (OC), Celebrindor, Sídhiel (OC), Malvegil, Hwinior (OC) Amlaith did indeed move the capital from Annúminas to Fornost, and his kingdom of Arthedain had border disputes with Cardolan and Rhudaur for as long as they all stood. Angmar canonically began to move against disunified Arnor during Malvegil’s reign. All other details are headcanon.

Argeleb I ft. Argeleb I, Edlenniel (OC), Arveleg I, Eithruin (OC), Araphor, Elweth (OC), Argeleb II, Lithuies (OC), Arvegil, Calaear (OC), Arveleg II, Tavoriel (OC), Araval, Halloth (OC) Save for his wife being a princess of Cardolan and that being the reason the people of Cardolan accepted his rule, Argeleb I’s story is canon. The story of Arveleg I’s brother being the last prince of Cardolan is entirely made up (even that he had a brother), though it is true that the last prince of Cardolan died in battle alongside Arveleg I. Araphor’s story is canon, save for the details about his OC wife. Argeleb II’s story is mostly canon, though I made up the bit about two of his children dying in the Great Plague. There is also an inconsistency around here: earlier the “last” prince of Cardolan died beside Arveleg I, but apparently the “last” prince of Cardolan died in the Plague? I picked the story I liked better and just emphasized Cardolan’s desolation in this time period. Arveleg II’s story is canon with a bit of embellishment. Araval’s story is canon, but everything with his spouse is made up (though the barrow-wights did scare the Dúnedain back to Arthedain in canon).

The Last Prince of Cardolan ft. Mallor (OC; the Last Prince of Cardolan), Gwileth (OC; the Lady of the Blue Brooch) I made this edit for OC week, and it wasn’t really intended to be a late addition to this series, but since I didn’t get to do much with Mallor in the edit featuring his brother I was happy to expand on him, and even more excited when I realized that I could tie in the Lady of the Blue Brooch to this story as well! The Last Prince of Cardolan is a real (unnamed) figure mentioned in the Legendarium; the Lady of the Blue Brooch was mentioned only by Tom Bombadil as someone “fair...long ago [who] wore this on her shoulder” when he took it for Goldberry to wear. We don’t know for sure how the prince knew the lady, but come on, that’s just a story begging to be told! The tie-in with Merry’s sword is a slight liberty from canon: we don’t know who the dagger originally belonged to, but given that Merry quiet possibly dreamed of the prince’s final moments, I think it would be poetic for his sword to be the one who helped to kill the Witch-king in the end. Overall, there’s a LOT of headcanon here that I had fun developing from the scraps Tolkien gave us in canon! Also, I didn’t mention it in the main post, but Mallor’s name means “golden,” and Gwileth’s is a contraction of “gwilwileth,” the Sindarin word for “butterfly.” Since Arveleg is a name taken from Ar+Beleg (meaning he was named for his ancestor King Beleg of Arthedain), I thought it would make sense for Arveleg’s brother to be named for King Beleg’s son, King Mallor. Gwileth’s brooch is described in canon as being “set with blue stones, many-shaded like flax-flowers or the wings of blue butterflies,” so I leaned on that for inspiration when it came to her name.

Araphant ft. Araphant, Laerdil (OC), Arvedui, Fíriel This is mostly canon with some embellishments, such as Laerdil orchestrating Arvedui and Fíriel’s marriage. ETA 3/20/21: Tweaked this caption because of an inaccuracy I noticed.

~~~

CONTINUED IN APPENDIX C

#line of elros #headcanons #andunie #numenor #arnor #my meta #tefain nin #loe appendices #house of andunie #royalty of arnor #peoples of arda

[classylo]

red lights | bucky barnes

pairings: lawyer!bucky barnes x lawyer!female reader

summary: this is inspired by one of my favorite scenes in “The West Wing” and just a quick little fluffy story for your saturday <3

warnings: fluff!!! mentions of car accident, mentions of asshole ex, cuss words, two idiots who like each other but have poor communication skills

It was another long week. Bucky had been run thin the past few weeks and without you he surely would’ve lost his fucking head. You joined the law firm a few months after him. You were a few years younger but damn were you a whole lot smarter than him. 

You were feisty yet calm when needed. You were always organized and on time. You always had an idea or were the first person everyone would go to if they needed an answer. You were quick on your feet and he’ll never forget the first time he watched you in court. He had seen some talented lawyers in his time, hell, he thought he was one but watching you he knew you were out of league. 

On more levels than one.

So when his little crush developed into months long infatuations which developed into his inability to get you out of his head. He had to do something about it. 

Sam, his best friend, recommended he do the normal adult thing and just ask you out but Bucky refused. He didn’t know how you felt about him, he usually was such the ladies man but you, you didn’t seem to give him the time of day. 

Little did he know you were just as interested as him. You just knew that a man like him could never like a young junior associate like you. It didn’t help that he referred to you as ‘kiddo’ one time in a meeting and you quickly corrected him by saying you were only 4 years younger than him. 

Since then you two have just kept your distance. Exchanging niceties when necessary and polite smiles when in meetings. 

The distance seemed to be working until this past week when you two were assigned a case together. It was a big one requiring long hours and lots of communication between the two of you. You both kept it professional but you couldn’t help but feel the tension every time you walked into his office. He was technically your superior so you were trying your best to appease him, but damn was it hard to think about anything other than squirming underneath him when he looked that good in a suit. 

“Y/N! Have you found that file yet? I’m fucking exhausted and would like to go home at some point!” His voice carries from his offices to yours. 

You rolled your eyes and sighed as you continue to search for the file he claims he gave you. 

“Y/N!” He yells once more.

“No! I’m still looking, it’ll come up!”

“I gave it to you yesterday.” He says, his voice much closer than before. You turn around to see him leaning against your door. 

The sleeves of his white button down rolled up to his elbows and hair a mess did not help your attraction towards him. 

“No offense, Barnes, but I think you’re going crazy. You definitely didn’t give it to me.” You scoff.

“Yeah? You think I’m lying?” He questions, raising an eyebrow at you.

“No, I just think you’re really stressed and over looked the file on your desk.” You smile. 

“Well, be my guest then!” He motions for you to follow him.

You couldn’t help but check out his ass in his tight blue slacks. You almost tripped over your heels as stopped to open his door. Once you were inside you immediately went to his desk as he stood against the wall. 

Watching you in your pencil skirt and heels, the dirty thoughts flooded his mind but he pushed them away. No time for this now. 

“You’re going to waste the whole fucking nigh —“ 

You cut him off immediately by pulling the file from his desk. It was tucked underneath a stack of other papers and you chucked lightly when you saw his annoyed face.

He sighed and dropped his head, joining in with your laughter. 

“I guess I’m the probably the biggest asshole in your life huh?” He questions as he glances back up at you. You could tell by his ocean blue eyes how tired he was but he still looked as delicious as ever. 

“Not in the slightest, my ex boyfriend still has your beat on that one.” You smile. 

“Oh? Do tell.” 

You noticed he perked up from the wall, intrigued by the mention of you with an ex. You couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach, the thought of him being interested or even jealous made your stomach tingle. 

“Well, uh— a few weeks before I started here I got in an accident,” 

“What? I didn’t know you were in an accident!” He cuts you off, you notice the worry in his face and it fuels the zoo of animals in your stomach even more. 

“Yeah, I—I mean it was nothing serious just a little fender-bender and well anyways, I had to go to the hospital because the air bag busted my face and so I called my boyfriend at the time to come and pick me up and well, I ended up having to wait for him for like an hour cause he stopped for a beer with his friends —“ 

“He...what? You’re fucking kidding me?” He stops you, his New York accent comes out when he cusses and you can’t help but feel even more turned on. 

What the hell was wrong with you?

“It was fine, I mean it wasn’t but that was a good wake up call for me,” you chuckle. 

“I just can’t believe that holy shit, what a dick,” he shakes his head.

“Yeah? Cause you would’ve handled it so much better?” You tease, walking towards him. 

“I’m just saying if you were in an accident, I wouldn’t stop for a beer.” He mutters, his annoyance as clear as ever with his thickening accent.

You chuckle at his words as you hand him the file he’s been searching for all day.

“If you were in an accident, I wouldn’t stop for red lights.” You smile before turning around and leaving his office. 

He watches in awe as you shut the door quietly behind you. What did you mean by that? Surely not the same thing he meant? Surely, you didn’t have the same infatuation as he did. You’ve worked together for years. You’ve worked so many cases together, you practically saved him anytime you two were in court together. He had no idea that you could possibly feel the same way he did. 

He grips the file in his hand and begins reading through it, he tries to forget the exchange between the two of you but he can’t. He can’t push these feelings aside any longer. He slams the paper down on his desk and rushes out of his office towards your desk just a few feet down the hallway.

“Y/N—“ 

He stops himself when he notices you aren’t there. 

“She left just a few minutes ago, sir.” A voice says from behind him. 

“Fuck,” he whispers. 

Defeat sets in as he feels like he’s missed his chance, once again. That is until the ding from the elevator grab his attention. He feels his heart stop as he watches you walk out from them, you bring your eyes up to his and you smile. 

“Hey, sorry, I forgot my phone,” you say walking past him to your desk.

“Did you need something? You said I could go so I figured —“ 

“Get dinner with me.” He whispers. 

“What?” You question, unsure if you heard him correctly.

He fears he overstepped his boundaries and he quickly clears his throat. 

“Ask me again,” you say, taking a step closer to him.

“Uhm, can I take you to dinner? Will you get dinner with me?” He asks.

You bite down on your lip to conceal your eager smile.

“I thought you’d never ask,” you say. 

He laughs as he grabs the back of his head and then cocking it to the side, his victory tell-all. His arrogant smirk always gave you butterflies, especially now since he’s smiling because of you. 

a/n: <3 happy weekend!

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fluff #bucky fluff #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x yn #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x f!reader #bucky barnes x reader #lawyer!bucky barnes #bucky barnes one shot

[songtoyou]

Chapter One: West Bridgewater

Paring: Ransom Drysdale x Fabiola Rossi (OC)

Rating: This story will mostly be rated 18+ as it is revolves around a relationship that is Dominant/submissive. For each chapter, I will do my best to rate it accordingly, but please know that the overall story will have very adult themes.

Warnings: None for this chapter

Word Count: 2,305

Description: Huge “Ransom” Drysdale always thought of himself as a powerful man. With his family’s money and status, Ransom could get away with anything. He had the power and control others would envy. Ransom could get any woman he wanted with a snap of his fingers. He was always in charge. He commanded attention. And he hated it. Never having a job in his life (thanks to his mother, father, and grandfather always there to supplement his bank account) or any real-life goals, Ransom felt incomplete and directionless. That is until Fabiola Rossi entered his life and turned it completely upside down.

A/N: I have not seen Knives Out. This is an AU of that world. I do not own any of the characters created by Rian Johnson. I have always thought of Ransom as a sub rather than a Dominant and this idea has been on my mind constantly that I needed to write it down. Anything in italics are to represent Ransom’s thoughts. 

I do not permit any of my fics to be distributed on other sites without my permission.

Updated for grammar and punctuation edits.

What is a dominant-submissive relationship all about? As mentioned previously, there is an energy dynamic between the two partners. It is the Dominant’s duty to protect and guide his or her submissive. The submissive, also called “the bottom,” relinquishes some or all control to the Dominant. He or she is playing out their own kinds and fetishes through the guidance of a Dominant. No actions or scenes can be played out unless the submissive has consented to everything the Dominant plans to do during a play session. A D/s relationship is not solely about sexual activities but exploring new and interesting ways to connect beyond sex. For example, the Dominate can set up simple rules that the submissive must follow, such as asking permission to stay out late or have ice cream for dessert. A healthy D/s relationship can lead to a life of self-improvement. 

“You got some mouth on you…I bet a ball gag would fit nicely around those pretty lips of yours.”

For some reason, Ransom could not get that comment out of his head. It was so unexpected and out of leftfield. He never had a woman said anything so bold towards him. No stranger to bondage with the opposite sex, it was always Ransom who was the one in charge. Women were more than happy for him to lead the charge. It was the only time Ransom was ever put to work, so to speak. Fabiola Rossi had managed to not only mystify the spoiled playboy, but he was not determined to find out more about her. 

So, Ransom did one any person in their mid-30s did when trying to find information about another person, he stalked her social media. He came up short. No Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram that he could find of her unless they were private.

“This is Fabiola Rossi. She is an inspiring editor herself. I have taken her under my wing as a mentor.” Ransom remembered from the night before when creepy old Charlie Van Houten introduced his grandfather and him to Fabiola. 

Of course, Fabiola had a LinkedIn page as she was a young working professional. Ransom saw that she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Psychology at Boston University. He noticed it had only been five years since she graduated from the university, so he suspected she was in her late twenties. Most of the jobs Fabiola received were internships or part-time positions. Not unusual for graduates looking to enter into the workforce. There was not much to offer due to the Baby Boomers not wanting to retire or companies being stingy with providing decent living wages or health benefits. 

“Intern. Van Houten & Thompson Publishing. March 2019 to current. Performs proofreading and editing of manuscripts and additional documents before the final publication,” Ransom read out loud as he continued to look through Fabiola’s profile.

He got up to reach for his coat to pull out his wallet. Inside was a business card of Charlie’s that he gave Ransom before leaving his grandfather’s party. Charlie told Ransom to keep in touch and that they both could talk about possibly working together. 

“If you have been working on anything, send it over. In fact, send it over to Fabiola. She’d probably love to read it and give you feedback. Give him your email address, honey. Any work you send over to her will be in great hands,” Ransom remembered Charlie saying to him last night. He looked over the business card and traced his thumb over Fabiola’s handwriting of her email address. 

He could not understand why this particular woman intrigued him so, despite only meeting her briefly the night before. However, Ransom knew he had an itch to scratch, and it was better to get it taken care of now before things got too out of hand. Before he became too obsessed.

Turning on his laptop, he waited for it to boot up. Opening his email account, Ransom began composing a new email to Fabiola. He kept it short and simple by asking if she was still up looking over what he was currently working on. 

Hi Ms. Rossi,

It was a pleasure meeting you last night. Hope you are doing well. If you are not too busy, do you mind if I send over the story I am currently working on? I do not want to impose if your schedule is too busy, but Charlie had such high praise for you, and I would appreciate the feedback and insight from you.

Talk to you soon,

Ransom 

He clicked the ‘send’ button and waited. Thankfully, he did not have to wait too long for a response back.

Hi Ransom,

I am so glad you reached out. Please call me Fabiola. 

Yes, I would be more than happy to beta read anything you send over.

Sincerely,

Fabiola

“Hook, line, and sinker,” Ransom said to himself with a smirk plastering over his face. He knew exactly which of his work he would send over. It was one Ransom had finished a while back. A story about the measures of what a mother would do to prove her child’s innocence when they are accused of a crime. It was one of his more personal pieces of work. He was somewhat anxious to get feedback on it. He sent it over to Fabiola as an attachment. Now, Ransom was in wait and see mode. ‘Who knows how long until she gets to actually reading it,’ he thought to himself. 

Three long agonizing days later, Ransom finally heard back from Fabiola when he checked his email that afternoon. 

Ransom,

How are you? 

Sorry I have not gotten back to you sooner. Your story is amazing! I could not put it down. I actually read it twice. It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and had a lot of heart. You are such a good writer.

I do have some suggestions for you if you do not mind. However, I do not want to merely give them to you via email or comments in the document. Would it be okay if the two of us meet up for coffee sometime this week? It would be easier to talk to you about the recommendations face-to-face.

Any suggestions on where we could meet up? I don���t mind traveling to your neck of the woods if it is more convenient for you.

Fabiola

Ransom was thrilled that not only did she like his work but was willing to meet him in person. He quickly wrote her back suggesting a meeting at a little coffee shop in West Bridgewater. It would only be a 34-minute drive for Fabiola to get to him. Honestly, Ransom was a bit taken aback that she was willing to drive all the way out to the boonies to talk to him in person. 

The two decided to meet up on Saturday afternoon at The Bridge Coffee House, a new town establishment. A Starbucks it was not, thankfully.

When Saturday finally rolled around, Ransom dressed in his usual simple attire: gray cardigan, white long-sleeve shirt underneath, dark blue jeans, and Louis Vuitton black loafers. He gave himself a look over in the mirror one last time; he exited the house, got in his 1972 BMW 3.0 CSi, and headed to the coffee shop.

Once there, Ransom ordered an espresso and settled in a seat near the corner, but still visible for Fabiola to see him. As Ransom waited for Fabiola to arrive, his leg was shaking underneath the table. He was nervous, which was an unusual feeling for Ransom. Women hardly ever made Ransom nervous, but the woman he was meeting was for business, not pleasure. 

‘Note yet at least,” Ransom thought to himself as he sipped his espresso. 

The ding of the bell on the entrance door made Ransom lookup. There Fabiola was wearing a white long-sleeved fitted sweater with light blue jeans, white sneakers, and a light gray messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She looked around and noticed Ransom. Giving him a smile and wave, Fabiola made her way over to him. He stood up as she neared the table. 

“Hi. How are you?” she asked and stuck out her hand for Ransom to shake.

He reciprocated the gesture and replied, “I’m good. Do you want something to drink? My treat.”

Fabiola accepted Ransom’s offer with an iced tea. “Is there a restroom around that I could use?”

Ransom pointed to where the restrooms were, and Fabiola excused herself while he got her iced tea. Paying for the iced tea, Ransom went back to the table and proceeded to wait again. 

“That was quite a drive,” spoke Fabiola as she sat down in the seat across from Ransom, “Gorgeous scenery. I tend to not venture too far outside of Boston much.”

“Yeah, it is a nice quiet town. Not much goes on here.”

“I’m kind of surprised that you don’t choose to live in Boston. Figured you would want to be in a more urban area,” said Fabiola.

Ransom shifted in his seat to cross his legs, “I used to live in Boston during my 20s. Decided to move here a couple of years ago. Helped clear my head a little.”

Taking a sip of her iced tea, Fabiola asked, “Is that when you really began to write?”

Ransom let out a small laugh and cleared his throat, “Yeah…I just…needed a hobby to preoccupy my time.”

“Well, I have to tell you that it was a good idea,” said Fabiola as she began to rummage through her bag and pulled out a binder to place on the table.

“This story is outstanding,” she complimented.

Ransom felt the heat on his cheeks from her praise. It felt good to have someone appreciate his work, which was not a feeling he was used to. 

“I do have some questions if you don’t mind me asking? Nothing bad, just some clarifications.”

“Sure. Ask away,” Ransom responded casually. He was doing his best to not seem too eager. 

“What made you decide to have the main character a mother rather than a father? I ask that because, normally, male authors tend to write the protagonist as male. You don’t really see many male authors write crime novels with a main female character,” Fabiola pointed out and went on to tell him, “You also wrote the character really well. Like, she feels like a real person. She was fully developed and fleshed out. I was totally rooting for her throughout the whole story. And the side characters are nicely written as well. Each chapter kept the reader on its toes. You never knew what to expect. Nothing felt forced or out of place. Nothing dragged on. Here is a copy of my notes. Nothing too major. Only certain suggestions like clarification or more descriptive details for certain paragraphs.”

Ransom looked at her incredibly detailed notes. “I appreciate you doing this. Thank you,” Ransom said earnestly.  

“Do you plan on getting that published?” Fabiola asked him.

Letting out a light chuckle, Ransom told her that most likely he would not.

“Why?”

“I prefer to write for myself. Not for an audience. Plus, there is the likelihood that I’ll get compared to my grandfather or people thinking that nepotism is involved,” answered Ransom as he continued to flip through Fabiola’s notes.

Fabiola merely sat back and took the time to really look at the man before her. With dark hair and blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a somewhat crooked nose, Fabiola could not deny that he was handsome. Before the meeting, Fabiola asked Charlie about what he knew about Ransom. Boy, she got an honest earful from Charlie. While Charlie complimented Ransom, there was a hint of pity in his voice.

“He’s got so much potential, but he wastes it with booze and women. The poor boy did have a stint in rehab when he was younger. It’s so parents of his. Always giving him money instead of love and affection,” Charlie shared with Fabiola. 

 “You don’t want to fail at the one thing you believe you are actually good at,” Fabiola stated to Ransom and added, “So, it is easier to not put yourself out there in the first place.”

Scoffing, Ransom sat back and stared at Fabiola. Now it was his turn to really look at the woman before him. With her long dark hair, brown eyes, and slender figure, he had to admit to himself that she was beautiful. But he could tell that there was more to this woman than meets the eye.

“You like to think you have me all figured out, don’t you? You think I’m some poor little rich poor?” Ransom asked with a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

“Yes,” Fabiola simply said as she folded her arms to rest on the table and continued, “You’re not some riddle, Ransom. You are quite easy to figure out. Just as I mentioned to you at the party, you are bored. However, it is not the excitement that you seek. Instead, you want guidance. You want someone to look after you and care for you. You want to surrender control. Am I wrong? Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll shut up.”

With his silence, she had her answer.

“I can give you what you need, but to do that, we need to develop trust between one another,” Fabiola communicated and reached out to grip one of Ransom’s hands. She entwined her fingers within his.

“How much?” Ransom spoke up as they looked at their entangled hands. 

Fabiola shook her head and clarified, “Nothing. I’m not proposing you sex Ransom. I’m proposing to you something completely different. What do you know about BDSM or a D/s relationship?”

#chris evans #ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x ofc

[i-ghd]

Pembrokeshire, county of castles, coves and film star sands.

The eye was piercing. The gaze was imperious. The message an unspoken “Do you know who’s in control around here?” Eventually, of course, the human in boots, inching forward as quietly as he could along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, prevailed over the haughty feathered hunter perched on a fence post.

I was no more than 15 feet away, with the summit of nearby Carn Llidi as a backdrop, when the sparrowhawk very reluctantly gave way. It lifted off and, after a few grudging wing beats, alighted again about six posts along.

In the space of ten minutes, as I moved slowly forward, it repeated this procedure: lift off, lazy flutter of wings and perch again, about fives times, before cutting back in a wide arc across the field to roughly where I first met it.

The guidebooks tell you to look down from the cliffs for seals, porpoises, dolphins and to the windy space between land and sea for choughs, those comical blackbird-size birds with red legs. But not a word about this top predator, which had clearly dined so well on the local singbirds that it scarcely needed to move. (The birds sang on, despite the predations.) 

Approach this national trail as you might a long, detailed menu in a restaurant, one with a wide choice of starters, many of them a meal in itself. There are also some main courses, specialities of this county, and you will want to sample one or two of them. However you would need a giant’s appetite to consume the whole 186-miles, still less the entire 870 miles Wales Coast Path, of which this is only a section.

Let’s start with those appetizers. (The sparrow hawk would be in the “today’s specials” section.) I stayed at the county’s western end, on its final thrust towards Ireland. As the chough flies, Waterford is closer than Cardiff.

Hearabouts any three to five mile stretch contains many permutations. The trail twists, it lurches, it plunges, it turns severely back on itself then climbs steeply down into and up out of tiny coves. Little tumbling streams cross your path. Banks dense with foxgloves enclose your way. A flower strewn meadow ends in a sudden sheer drop down to waves boiling over jagged rocks. The view constantly changes. Nothing stays the same on this path for more than a few minutes.

I did an idle measurement on Google Maps afterwards. Made into a straight line the Pembrokeshire Path would stretch here roughly from London, 198 miles away. In 2010, duly impressed, National Geographic Magazine judged this the second best coastal destination in the world, just behind the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada.

Every three or four miles, over much of the western end at least, there is a convenient pause, in the shape of an attractive little harbour, and there’s a fair chance it is served by the coastal bus.

This part of the coast was bristling with unexpected, at least to me, industrial history. We think of the Welsh valleys studded with smokestacks and pit heads, but there is the evidence of long and serious industry in this quiet backwater. The clues that somewhere, such as Abereiddi, was once very busy is in the eroded remains of labourers’ cottages. In other places those that stood up long enough after the decline are now holiday cottages.

We dropped down into Porthgain, an industrial powerhouse  in its day. The roads of England were paved with crushed dolerite processed here. Now gentrification is complete. The main industrial building is now the Shed Fish and Chip Bistro. On our visit no fewer than ten Norwegian-registered vintage MG sportscars were neatly parked on the quayside.

The drivers and passengers were in the Shed, where they may well have been enjoying the exquisite if expensive fresh crab sandwiches, sold at prices Chiswick visitors would recognize. We ordered the same at the Sloop Inn opposite. We were perfectly positioned, some time later, to see the MGs set off in orderly convoy on the road to Fishguard.

The coast continues like this for miles, with a spot of strenuous striding, frequent heart-lifting views, tantalising glimpses of islands big and small just off the coast. Here and there an encounter with a profound religious past, in the ruined chapel and well of St David’s mother St Non, for example.

There are other, bigger harbours. In Solva the man in the car park handed out leaflets promoting all the little art craft shops, restaurants and guest houses. The Dutch and German cars underline the county’s appeal to a discerning international market – the drivers were not there for the weather.

And so to those landscape “main courses” I mentioned. On the path from the lifeboat station at St Justinians, heading north, I am suddenly above a wide, flat,  sandy beach where somebody had expertly drawn a vast jellyfish, so big it could only be seen to proper effect from 200 yards up, on the footpath.

Pembrokeshire’s beaches are now an international hot property.  Hollywood could have chosen some enchanted strand on Bali or Hawaii as the location where Kristen Stewart thunders through the surf with 80 muscular extras on horseback in the 2012 movie ”Snow White and the Huntsman”. Instead the studios chose the wide, flat, golden film-star sands, perfectly smoothed by the outgoing tide, of Marloes Sands, on southern Pembrokeshire, even if they did computer-generate an extravagant outburst of fairy-tale towers on the conveniently flat-topped Gateholm Island, which stands just yards off the headland.

Marloes first broke into the movies in 1967 when The  Lion in Winter was filmed here. Whitesands was used in the BBC4 Richard II. 

In 2010 Hollywood came to another Pembrokeshire beach, Freshwater West. Ridley Scott had filmed Robin Hood there, with Russell Crowe. The filmmakers built higgledy-piggledy Shell Cottage there for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The beach is clearly visible in the film. You will find no trace that the scrupulously tidy film makers were ever there. It’s the same at Marloes, left just as they found it.

You could easily construct a week or ten day holday around this sublime coastland, mixing up walks with boat trips to Skomer or Ramsey, dining out in the many harbour pubs on fresh local fish. The coast path has been conveniently cut up into 200 bite-size local walks, some of them circular.

One took us a few miles inland to St Davids, which is Britain’s smallest city, by virtue of the cathedral. We arrived early to benefit from its remoteness. Most day trippers, coming from afar, don’t get there until well on in the morning. We came across the intimate little cathedral, nestling in a green valley, well before the throng.

In the nave we had plently of room for some entry-level surveying, measuring the startling incline on the spirit level app on my daughter’s smartphone. It is almost two degrees.

St David’s has an understated nobility, because of its size and unusual position. On a scale of conspicuous cathedrals, Lincoln would be a 10. St David’s would be a 1. It was a steep climb up to the city, in reality a pleasant little town, where we gave in to the Italian charms of  the Bench cafe for coffee and ice cream.

Until the early 1800s Pembrokeshire would have been as remote by land as some European cities were for a traveler starting out from London. Railways opened the county up, and oil at Milford Haven and the Irish boat traffic through Fishguard Harbour ensured the rail links survived even in the bleak post-Beeching era.

The trains helped build Tenby into as gracious a Victorian resort as Whitby or Ilfracombe. Novelist George Eliot was inspired enough by her visit to this perfect little resort in 1856 to take up writing. It has been a destination of rare distinction ever since.

A cordon of high, narrow Georgian and Victorian town houses in delicate pastel colours still wraps around Tenby’s sea front. To dodge the wind you either head to the sandy beach on the town’s north flank, or, if it’s blowing from the other direction, seek out the little harbour to the south.

Praise, then, for frequent services direct from Manchester deep into Pembrokeshire, connecting with services from London and the west and south.

It’s still the case, of course, that most visitors drive here. They will find the car necessary for visiting the centre of the county where the excellent bus service doesn’t reach.

Pembroke, is technically on the coast. The tide probes almost under the walls of the castle where  Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII, was born in 1457, (It was restored to its formidable Norman pomp after a crumbly, ivy-covered interlude in the 1900s.) But it feels like an inland town.

The castle, proud and imposing above this ancient town, is just one the county’s rich crop of citadels, The list includes Manorbier, Cilgerran, Haverfordwest, Lamphey, Llawhaden, and Picton castles. There are over 50 all told, if you include forts and the reconstructed 600 BC Iron Age citadel Castell Henllys. Leading the list is Carew Castle. It overlooks a serene millpond, with a 11th century Celtic Cross and Wales’s only restored Tidal Mill. Narberth is another appealing little castle town. If you buy the Welshcakes in Waitrose, they come from here.

#pembrokeshire #west wales #walescoastpath #tenby

[im-fairly-whitty]

Free Wing: An Illustrated Dragon Western

A young Victorian Englishman decides to chase after his dream of being a dragon-riding cowboy in the American Wild West. Set in a world where everything is the same as ours, but instead of horses there are dragons.

[Read Chapter 1]

Chapter 2 - Arrival

“Mister?”

Louis made a muffled grunt as he opened his eyes. A small boy standing in front of him slowly came into focus.

“We’re real close to Cheyenne mister, you said to wake you up?” the boy said. 

Behind the boy the passing Wyoming mountains and foothills swaying slightly as they seemed to slide past them.

“Ah. Yes, of course, thank you,” Louis said, clearing his throat and rubbing his eyes as he sat up, having been leaned against Arthur’s flank as they both napped.

Louis dug a coin out of his pocket and gave it to the boy, who grinned. The boy scurried off across the roof of the strider carriage and down the ladder attached to the side, presumably descending to one of the two lower levels.

Louis stood and stretched, breathing in the hot summer morning air around him. Luckily the thrillingly swift leviathan voyage last week and the last six days of strider travel meant he didn’t have to struggle for balance atop the carriage roof as it swayed back and forth with each of the massive beast’s steps.

Arthur made a sleepy clicking noise as he shook his head, getting up and stretching long. The dragon’s tongue curled as he yawned before his jaws snapped shut.

“Good morning to you too.” Louis said, rubbing the small scales under Arthur’s chin as they surveyed the slowly moving landscape around them.

Ahead of them was the long neck and head of the strider, the massive drake the size of a building whose slow plodding steps ate up ground with deceptively fast speed. They’d been lucky to catch an over-land shipping caravan of them setting out from the east coast when they’d landed in New York, continuing their journey west.

The driver had said this shipping company’s striders had come straight from Africa. Louis had heard of the companies working hard to carve trails for strider caravans across the entire North American continent in recent years, but seeing the massive trails and beasts first hand was awe-inspiring.

Big enough to ward off most predators or even bandits, Louis could see why striders’ docile dependability that make them ideal for traders looking to transport tons of goods at a time with as little danger as possible during the summer months.

Or in Louis’ case, passengers.

And now finally, in the distance, Louis could just make out a smudge on the horizon.

Cheyenne, Wyoming. A town that he’d been assured by East coast residents was regularly overrun by cowboys.

Arthur nudged his snout under Louis’ arm, nearly making him fall over.

“No Art, I’m not nervous.” Louis said, pushing Arthur’s head back, “I just...I just can’t believe we’re finally here I guess.”

Arthur shook himself in response, making his loose saddle tack jingle as he stretched his wings out full, giving them an experimental sweep. With all the travel they hadn’t had the chance to do too much flying the last couple weeks, Louis couldn’t blame him for being anxious. At the rate the strider was going it might be another hour before they reached town are all disembarked and Louis was already feeling as itchy to get moving as Arthur.

Louis rubbed his chin, glancing around the carriage roof. Well...they’d already paid their ticket fare, and they didn’t actually have any luggage that needed unloading...

“What say you and I get a head start?” Louis said, smiling as he adjusted Arthur’s bridle and started pulling the buckles tight on his loose saddle.

Arthur flapped his wings again in excited response, nearly knocking Louis over as he stuffed a few things back into the saddlebags and strapped them shut tight.  

“Let’s get on with it then.” Louis said, climbing into the saddle and strapping his legs in, checking his top hat’s chin strap. “We could use a flight anyway. Hup!”

Arthur sprang off the carriage roof, gleefully flapping his wings as they soared into the air. Louis let him spiral and swoop for a moment before pulling the reigns to the side, sending them gliding down to the strider’s head where they hovered for a moment, wings beating the air.

“Hullo!” Louis called to the driver, who was seated behind the strider’s head. “We’re going on ahead, don’t look for us at unloading!”

The driver waved his acknowledgment and Louis nudged Arthur on ahead. The dragon happily complied, slicing through the air. Louis smiled and leaned down to streamline them. The sagebrushy land under them zipped by as they sped across the sky, Cheyenne growing quickly as they sped toward it.

As they got closer to the town Louis could see other dragons in the air. Some circling down to land on roof perches, some taking off with sweeping clouds of dust, others tethered in small flocks on the ground. They were huge; easily four times the size of Arthur, with fins on the sides of their heads and sharp claws on the tips of their wings. Spanish Razorwings.

As they got closer Louis couldn’t spot any of the familiar yellow no-landing striping he was used to seeing all over London’s rooftops. Not a clue to be seen about traffic regulations. The only clue was that all the Razorwings seemed to be landed and hitched in paddocks around the edge of town, not a dragon scale to be seen on the streets, only drake carriages pulling cargo being unloaded from the first strider that had already arrived from their caravan.

Which seemed about right, dragons that size would be dangerous on the streets, big enough to collapse the wooden buildings and storefronts that looked anything but sturdy compared to the stone buildings back home. Not to mention that there was not a chance that it was legal to ride Razorwings open bridle.

But Arthur was small enough that they’d always been allowed just about everywhere back home...even indoors some places...they couldn’t get in too much trouble for guessing could they?

“Well that platform seems good as any.” Louis called to Arthur, angling him down toward a wooden platform in the middle of town.

Arthur glided carefully down above the crowd, delicately landing on the platform with as little flapping as possible due to the surrounding crowds. Louis swung down out of the saddle as the sound and smells of the town swept over them. It smelled nothing like London, that was for sure.

“Ho there! You don’t look like the post.”

Louis turned to see a gruff man waving a wide-brimmed hat at them as he approached.

“This here platform’s for Wing Express riders only,” the man called crossly. “If you don’t got mail in those saddlebags of yours then clear off before I call the sheriff.”

“I’m terribly sor-sorry,” Louis stuttered, grabbing Arthur’s reigns and pulling off his hat as the man—he must be the postmaster—approached them. “I couldn’t tell where to land, could you direct us to some place more suitable?”

“A Brit, eh?” the postmaster said, his angry expression shifting to something a bit more patronizing if Louis wasn’t mistaken. “How far off course did you get blown to end up all the way out here?”

“Please, I'm looking for work as a cowboy, is there some kind of notice board I can apply to here in town?” Louis asked, trying to keep himself composed at the man’s rudeness.

The postmaster scoffed, adjusting his glasses, “I reckon you’ve gone and landed yourself in the wrong state for that. Cattle runs end in Cheyenne, everyone here’s busy frittering away their paychecks before flying back down to Texas for their next job. If you’re looking for a saloon or cheap women you’re in the right place, but the cattle barons are all down south.”

Louis’ grip on the reigns tightened painfully as panic shot through him. The wrong state? But the men back east he’d asked had told him...maybe he’d asked all the wrong questions...? He was missing how easy things had been when it was his secretary arranged his traveling.

“I do need you to get off the Wings Express platform, we’re expecting a mail delivery and they’ll be needing the landing space.” The postmaster said, pointing down the wooden steps. “You should also know there’s no wings or guns allowed in town, if the sheriff catches you you’ll be in for a nasty fine. We’ve got a hard enough time keeping tipsy cowboys off the streets with their blasted Razorwings, we don’t need any foreigners flying around giving them ideas.”

“Isn’t there anyone I can ta-ta-talk to?” Louis said, swallowing hard to keep his panic and stupid stutter under control. “I’ve come a very long way, there must be someone you can think of who’s looking for help.”

The postmaster sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes, “There is one new advertisement. Henry Washington came in an hour ago looking for an extra man on a short cattle run down to Denver. Breeding stock that needs delivering I guess.”

“Where can I find Mr. Washington?” Louis asked eagerly.

“He said he’d be down by the General store until noon,” the postmaster said. “Black man wearing a purple vest, ask around and you’ll find him. Now get off my platform.”

Louis quickly nodded in thanks before scrambling up into Arthur’s saddle again, sweeping up off the platform with a powerful push of Arthur’s wings.

It took much longer than Louis would have liked to find someplace on the edge of town to leave Arthur—a safe distance away from a trio of tethered Razorwings eyeing the much smaller dragon suspiciously—hike back into town on foot, manage to get directions from busy or drunk passers-by for directions to the general store, and finally be directed out back to a crate unloading area.

By the time he spotted an African-American man in a suitably cowboyish outfit unloading a crate, Louis thoroughly regretted not having left his too-warm coat back with Arthur.

“E-excuse me, but are you Henry Washington?” Louis asked as he approached, half expecting the cowboy on the other side of the crate not to hear him.

The man looked up with a wary smile, glancing over Louis’s clothes for a moment before dusting off his hands. “Maybe. Who’s asking?”

“I saw Mr. Washington’s advertisement for another rider on his next cattle run?” Louis said, carefully speaking just slowly enough to keep his stutter at bay while he gripped the edge of his hat, “My name is Louis Ainsley, I’ve come to apply to the position.” he swallowed. “If that’s alright.” he added.

The man squinted at Louis, as if convinced he’d misheard him.

“You?” he asked, glancing again at his clothes. Maybe Louis should have purchased new ones after all.

“Yes.” Louis said, squaring his shoulders, “I’m an excellent flier and I work hard and I’ve come all the way from England. I’d very much appreciate the opportunity to join you and your team for your next expedition, assuming of course that you are Mr. Washington.”

The man let out a guffaw that made Louis jump, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment as the man continued to laugh.

“Ammon, come over here.” the man called, waving over a young man, probably Irish by blood judging by the flaming orange hair, “This gentleman’s come all the way from England to join our expedition.”

Ammon looked at Louis with a skeptical smile, “Not in those soft shoes he ain’t.” he said, cocking his hat back as he looked at Louis’ feet. He looked back up and Louis realized Ammon looked even younger than he was, he’d guess as young as seventeen.

“What’s got you over on this side of the pond wanting to run around in the dirt with us for?” probably-Mr. Washington asked, scratching his neck, “Don’t you got high tea with the queen or something?”

“I can pay well, I promise.” Louis said, he had to convince them before they laughed themselves out of town without him, “I can give you eighty pounds up front and eighty more after the cattle run’s over.”

All laughter and smiles stopped abruptly and the two stared at him long enough to make Louis want to crawl into his hat. Had he accidentally offended them somehow?

“You serious mister?” Ammon asked, looking concerned, “You’re supposed to get paid from these things, not the other way arou-”

“I think we could make room on the crew with arraignments like that.” said the still identity unconfirmed man, rubbing his chin.

“Oh lay off, Henry,” Ammon said, shoving the identity confirmed man’s shoulder, “We can’t bring him just because it’ll settle your gambling debts, look at him. If snakes or sunburn don’t get him first Saul’s gonna eat him alive. We don’t even know if he’s got a set of wings.”

“I do!” Louis said quickly, eagerly grasping at this slightest shift in possibility, “He’s a twenty year old English Fieldracer, fastest dragon in England, we’ve flown together our whole lives.”

“A Fieldracer?” Ammon asked, giving a low whistle, “You really do got money then don’t you?”

“I’d say we’ve got our new recruit.” Henry said happily, reaching out to shake hands.

“Saul won’t like it.” Ammon said, pushing Henry’s hand down before Louis could shake it.

“Saul don’t like anything.” Henry rolled his eyes, but he folded his arms, “You let me worry about it alright? If we take mister Ainsley with us he gets to have the cowboy experience of his dreams, and the three of us get paid two year’s worth of wages to split. All we gotta do is keep him alive, it’s a win all around as far as I can reckon. We’d be fools to pass it up.”

“What makes you so sure you won’t die before we finish?” Ammon said, looking back to Louis, “I mean no offense mister, but I’d feel real bad leaving you and your fancy wings buried under sagebrush someplace because you didn’t know what you were in for. Cattle runs are long dirty business, there ain’t gonna be no little sandwiches or carriages or butlers out there on the plains, and if you wanna turn back we can’t leave to herd behind to bring you.”

“I promise I know what I’m getting into,” Louis said earnestly, “I know I don’t look like it, but coming out to be a cowboy has been my dream since I was a boy. I’ve read everything I can about the west, and taught myself how to handle a lasso, and when I fly Arthur through London I imagine we’re threading through slot canyons and over prairies.

“I’m here because I haven't done anything else in my life that I’m proud of and if I have to go back to the horrid bank my father left me I really think I’m going to die. I need to be out here Mr. Washington, I don’t care what chores you give me, I promise you’ll never hear a word of complaint from me, I really desperately would like to join you and finally see what it’s like out on the plains and this is the only way I know how to do it.”

Louis didn’t know what it was exactly about Henry’s expression that changed during his speech, but whatever it was it made the man look less amused, almost sad looking. More earnest.

“Look here son,” Henry said, putting a hand on Louis’s shoulder, “plenty of us are out here running from some thing or another, I can’t fault you for that. But is this really something you reckon you can handle or is it just the first dangerous thing that came to mind when you settled on running off? As much as I’d like your money, truth is I don’t want to bury you any more than Ammon does.”

“I promise I can do it.” Louis said firmly, “And even if I do decide to turn back early, which I won’t, I’ll still make sure you get your money. I can’t leave until I’ve at least tried.”

Henry sighed, looking at Ammon, who soberly shrugged back.

“Saul won’t like it.” Henry said.

“You said you’d take care of Saul, remember?” Ammon said with a smirk.

“Alright, alright.” Henry said, good naturedly shoving Ammon’s hat down over his eyes, “Go unpack your saddle already before we move out, I’ll take care of the kid.”

He waved Louis over to follow him to where Ammon was hauling a wooden crate away from a stack that had “H. Washington” stamped on the side of them.

“Here, first cowboy job for you is to help me get this crate open.” Henry said, tossing Louis a crowbar.

Louis barely managed to catch the length of metal, dropping his hat in excitement as he grinned like an idiot.

“You mean it? You’ll let me come?” Louis asked, almost wondering if he’d hallucinated the last fifteen minutes, having imagined this moment so many ways over and over again for years.

“Don’t look so surprised about it, kid,” Henry said, wedging his crowbar under the crate lid and jerking the corner up, “Have a bit of confidence.”

“I, uh, I’ll try.” Louis said, doing his best not to look like a fool as he struggled to replicate Henry’s quick work. “I haven't done very much physical labor before,”—any physical labor actually if you didn’t count playing cricket, which he very much doubted they did—“but I promise I’ll learn quickly.”

“That’s alright son, we’ve all got our faults.” Henry said cheerfully, leveraging the rest of the crate lid off, “Saul’s as friendly as a horned toad, I’ve got my gambling, and Ammon’s a Mormon.”

“You’re just sour you’ve never won a penny off me because of it.” Ammon called back with a grin from where he was wrestling a new dragon saddle out of his crate and hefting it onto a waiting drake cart.

“He don’t gamble and he don’t swear and you’ll never be able to borrow a drop of whisky off him.” Henry said with a resigned sigh, pushing his hat back a bit as he started loading brown paper-wrapped packages out of their crate and onto the wagon as well. “Makes him about useless on a cattle drive if he weren’t so handy with the actual cowboying parts. Come on, this is the last of it, let’s head back to our flock, Saul’s waiting for us.”

“Who’s Saul?” Louis asked, quickly climbing up onto the cart with the other two as Henry finished loading.

“Who’s the gringo?”

Louis swallowed as a large man climbed into the driver’s seat ahead of them, picking up the drake’s reigns and shooting a dark look back at them, “And what’s he doing in our supply wagon?”

“Ah! Saul, I thought you were going to meet us back at the flock tether?” Henry said, slapping the Mexican man on the shoulder as the wagon started to move. Louis couldn’t help noticing the raking scars across the man’s face and arm.

“Had to buy more lead,” Saul said shortly, nodding to the empty holster on his hip, “Now, who’s this and what’s he doing on our wagon?”

“His name’s Louis Ani-something.” Ammon said cheerfully, climbing onto the driver’s bench beside Saul, “Lou here’s going to pay us a hundred and sixty pounds to come on the Denver shieldhorn run with us! I dunno how many dollars that is but it sounds like a bunch.”  

“No he’s not.” Saul said flatly, “Get him off my wagon.”

“Come on Saul,” Henry said with a sigh, “He’s paying good and the run will only be a week. I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.”

“We’re not bringing a tourist with us,” Saul said, shaking his head. “He’ll get himself killed, or else he’s a rustler. Look at him.”

“If he is he’s the softest rustler I ever seen.” Ammon smirked. “What’re you so scared of? Let him come, my ma and pa could use the money and he’ll be good for laughs anyhow. Lou says he doesn’t even care if he dies, it’ll be alright having him along.”

“I s-sa-said I won’t be a bother to any of you and that I w-won’t trouble any of you for protection, I’ll take care of myself.” Louis quickly clarified. “I just want to come along and I’ll help however you want me to.”

Saul looked at him for a long moment, his icy gaze making Louis shiver.

“I say we bring him.” Henry said, “You don’t gotta look at him if you really hate it that much Saul, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“I think it’s a bad idea.” Saul said.

“I’m the one who invited you on this run, and now I’m inviting Lou,” Henry said sternly. “I’m the one who found the guy wanting us to move his breeding stock so it’s my run. Besides, pay like that’s enough to finally get my sister and her kids away from South Carolina and over to Kansas, so this conversation’s over.”

Soul growled a little bit at that, but looked ahead silently instead of pushing the issue.

“I’m sorry if this is inconveniencing,” Louis said timidly.

“Don’t worry about it too much.” Ammon said with a smile. “If Saul hasn’t shot you yet it means he likes you well enough.”

“Oh...good.” Louis said weakly.

“Does he at least have his own wings?” Saul grunted as he reigned the cart over toward the three Razorwings Louis had left Arthur near. The middle and biggest Razorwing—a large green one with yellow face and legs—eyed them sharply, no doubt the flock leader.

“Yes! I do, he’s right there actually, the Fieldracer there.” Louis said, jumping off the cart with the others as they pulled to a stop by the dragons. “Are these your Razorwings? What a coincidence!”

“Wooeee, look at that little guy!” Ammon said, pushing his hat back with a grin as he looked at Arthur, who folded his wings tightly against his side at the stares of the three strangers. “Don’t he get dirty real fast? And he’s so tiny, I bet he’d lose a fight with a shieldhorn no contest.”

“Well it hasn’t been an issue up until this point, our roostmasters have always kept Arthur sparkling.” Louis said. Arthur pushed his head nervously against Louis’ chest as he got closer, still eyeing the huge Razorwings. Louis wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck comfortingly, “I suppose we’ll have to get used to quite a bit more dirt now though.”

“I’ll say,” Ammon said with a laugh, walking over to the smallest of the Razorwings, who was still more than double the size of Arthur. This one was a darker green with red coloring.

“This is Rusty.” Ammon said, grabbing Rusty’s head spikes as the dragon nudged him. Louis’ breath caught in concern as the dragon lifted Ammon an easy ten feet in the air, playfully shaking his head back and forth as the boy hung onto Rusty’s snout. “He was my brother’s,” Ammon called, dropping back to the ground as Rusty lowered his head, much to Louis’ relief. “Still pretty young and he’ll give you trouble if you let him.”

There was a rattling hiss that made the ground vibrate and Arthur push his head closer to Louis. Louis looked up at the yellow patterned Razorwing in the middle as it raised its wings threateningly as Rusty’s antics, making the younger dragon crouch low to the ground in submission.

“That’s Cassidy,” Henry said, rolling his eyes as he carried an armload of packages over to the last dragon, a blue-green Razorwing with orange coloring who looked downright bored at Rusty and Cassidy’s altercation, “She’s even moodier than Saul and twice as pushy, but she’s the flock leader and Saul rides her open mouth—he only bridles her closed when we come into towns—so make sure to keep your pint-sized Fieldrunner out of biting range of her. And this is Major, he won’t give you any trouble at all.”

“O-open mouth?” Louis asked quietly, swallowing at the sudden hoarseness in his voice as he watched Cassidy shove against Rusty. Would Arthur be able to take that kind of roughness? Different breeds didn’t always mix safely. What if Ammon had already been in the saddle and gotten his leg crushed just now? “But she’s enormous, I didn’t think that was legal?”

“Don’t worry, she behaves when there’s riders.” Henry chuckled, starting to load Major’s saddlebags. “But she and Saul are good at what they do and they don’t allow nonsense from no one, so it’s probably just best to give them space, got it?”

Louis nodded mutely, watching Saul walk up to Cassidy with a sharp whistle and some barked words in Spanish. Cassidy huffed a last sharp breath at Rusty, then snapped her wings shut, lowering her head to Saul who continued to talk in softer Spanish as he scratched her chin.

“They seem close at least.” Louis observed quietly as he helped Henry pull things off the wagon.

“They should be, he raised her.” Henry said. “He’d be a fool to ride her open mouth if they weren't so close, that’s the only reason I ride with them. As it is, they’re the best in the cow punching business when they aren’t off hunting outlaws.”

“What do you mean by-”

“Say, I don’t suppose you’ve got any supplies of your own in those saddlebags?” Henry asked, glancing at Arthur.

“Well no, I suppose-”

“Alright, you and me, the general store. We’ll take the wagon back to return it.” Henry said with a sigh, strapping one of Major’s bags shut. “Ammon’s right when he says those shoes won’t last you three days and you’ll have to carry your own rations too. And you stay close to me, alright? We’re picking up the Shieldhorn breeding stock in an hour and you’re going to have to keep up, got it?”

“Yes sir.” Louis said, standing up straight. “And thank you again for letting me come along. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“Don’t thank me yet, son.” Henry said, climbing up onto the drake wagon. “Wait to see whether or not you and your dragon come out on the other side of this week in one piece.”

Louis didn’t quite know what to say in response to that and so he said nothing, instead pulling on his best cowboy face as he gave Arthur a last pat and climbed back into the wagon.

He was going to survive the week, and it was going to be great.

He was at least sixty five percent sure of it.

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If you haven’t already be sure to check the [#free wing] tag on my blog to see what other art and worldbuilding that I’ve made for the Free Wing world. Free Wing content takes some time to create since I use it to push my art skills, but I love sharing it with all y’all!

Asks about the world and other details as always are accepted, I love hearing your thoughts and questions, especially since they have a way of helping the story grow! Up next I’m putting together some breed profiles on the megafauna we’ve seen so far; milewings, leviathans, and striders. Also something for the South American Perchers since a very patient anon asked about them ages ago. See you then!

- Wit

#dnd #dragon #dragon rider #dragon riders #dragons #free wing #back at it again with the cowboy lizards #wit art #my ocs #louis #arthur #saul #henry #ammon #cassidy #major #rusty