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therealvinelle · 3 years

Note

How do you believe Carlisle feels about Esme? How would their break up go? Would he ever cheat on her? I mean like emotionally?

He loves her.

I don’t doubt that his feelings for Esme are genuine, that he respects and cherishes her and wishes to spend his life with her. Esme, too, worships the man.

My complete lack of faith in this ship comes from the fact that they’re together for the wrong reasons and not compatible.

The Bad Beginning

Carlisle had spent centuries searching for likeminded, he never did. In the end he succumbs and starts creating his own, first Edward and then Esme, and to his joy they both agree to do the diet.

Esme’s transformation was entirely an impulse on his end. He saw this delightful, vivacious young woman he’d known ten years ago lie broken and dying in the morgue, a Jane Doe declared dead, she was all too easy to steal. She was too far gone for him to have time to think it over, and so he went «alright let’s do this. I imagine it seemed rather like God had sent her to that morgue specifically. We learn from Midnight Sun that romance wasn’t on his mind at all (even if it was, that wouldn’t make their marriage more functional) and he expected nothing of her. He bit her because he didn’t want Esme Platt to die.

Esme, of course, wakes up into this new life under surreal, heavenly circumstances. Her child is still dead - but here is the mythic, pedestaled Dr. Cullen, now her savior and more wonderful than ever. To back myself up with the books:

Esme had already been in love with Carlisle—much to his shock—but not through any mystical, magical means. She’d met Carlisle as a girl and, drawn to his gentleness, wit, and otherworldly beauty, formed an attachment that had haunted her for the rest of her human years. Life had not been kind to Esme, and so it was not surprising that this golden memory of a good man had never been supplanted in her heart. After the burning torment of transformation, when she’d awakened to the face of her long-cherished dream, her affections were entirely his. (Midnight Sun, chapter Bloodtype)

Carlisle, on his end, hadn’t had the idea at all until Edward said “Dude, she’s into you, go for it.”

I’d been on hand to caution Carlisle about her unforeseen reaction. He’d expected that she would be shocked by her transformation, traumatized by the pain, horrified by what she’d become, much as I had been. He’d expected to have to explain and apologize, to soothe and to atone. He knew there was a good chance that she would have preferred death, that she would despise him for the choice made without her knowledge or consent. So the fact that she had been immediately prepared to join this life—not really the life, but to join him—was not something he was ready for.

He’d never seen himself as a possible object of romantic love before that moment. It seemed contrary to what he was—a vampire, a monster. The knowledge I gave him changed the way he looked at Esme, the way he looked at himself.

More than that, it was very a powerful thing, choosing to save someone. It was not a decision any sane individual made lightly. (sic)

I’m not entirely void of authorial intent - I get that this was supposed to be romcom where the cute nerdy guy has no idea the girl is interested.

But, what I see is that after centuries of being alone, never finding anybody who shared his values, Carlisle finally has these two people who share his ideals, the only two in the world. He’s had countless friends, but it never worked out because of that damn diet. But, now he has these two people, and one of them is a beautiful, kind, wonderful woman who’s in love with him.

I imagine falling for Esme was easy. It was just so perfect, simply by being Carlisle Cullen he could make her happier than any other man, and given their shared diet, he wanted her by his side always, just as he did Edward. And this was it for him, really, to Carlisle Cullen Esme might as well be the only woman in the world because she’s the only one who'll share his lifestyle. He also felt responsible for her.

I don’t at all doubt their sincerity or affection for one another.

However, they did not fall for each other for each other’s sakes. Esme fell for the ideal since childhood, and Carlisle fell because she was perfect. Stick them in an AU and it won’t happen.

The Slippery Slope

Where they run into trouble is firstly that Esme doesn’t share these ideals, nor value human life for its own sake. Now, I’m not asking her to be a saint - but over the course of these books we had some lapses that I find pretty damning.

She wanted Edward back in Forks, when this would almost certainly mean the death of Bella Swan, simply because to Esme having Edward nearby > a person’s life. This wasn’t the case for Carlisle, he made it extremely clear he wanted Edward to leave.

During the “Kill Bella?” vote, she was in favor of whatever meant Edward would stay.

Carlisle, having failed to get anywhere with talking sense into Edward, sends him home to his mother for an intervention. What happens next is that Esme gives Edward her blessing to eat the delicious girl if he wants to. Now, we can’t know specifically the talk Carlisle and Esme had before this, but I can’t imagine it was this. Also, damn, what a miscommunication.

Esme simply doesn’t have a problem with the deaths of individual humans, and she will put her loved ones above all other things, even if it’s a minor inconvenience. Keeping Bella alive only becomes her priority after Edward makes it clear he wants this.

Now, Carlisle’s standards have been worn down over the centuries, he just wants his family to try not to eat people on purpose, that’s how low the bar is. Tragically for his marriage, Esme is stumbling over said bar.

The further trouble they run into is that I don’t think they’re very compatible people.

Esme means well, but she’s peculiar, to put it extremely nicely. Her ambition in life is to LARP the human life, right down to being a master chef of something her species can’t eat, which could be sweet if she did other things. She doesn’t, the closest she gets is designing homes for her family. There’s being single-minded, and then there’s Esme, who appears to have honed herself into someone who exists only to be the housewife.

This leads to bizarre behavior - for instance in Midnight Sun when Edward has realized he’s in love, he sits around laughing to himself like a lunatic while playing the piano. Something happens with Rosalie, who runs out of the house in humiliation. Esme, responding to all this, gives her infamous “the best and brightest of us all” pep talk.

It’s just such a weird scene, even accounting for the inhumanity of Twilight vampires this is weird.

Mostly, thought, it is Esme’s interests and desires in life that I find so at odds with Carlisle’s. She wants to be an improved human, living the shinier, better, life without actually embracing the inhumanity of vampirism, while Carlisle is doing the human thing because he wants to be a doctor and save lives. Before that, he was travelling the world, living with normal vampires, using his eternity to study and pursue meaning in life. Now, they end up in the same place, with similar goals - wanting to blend in with humans - but the motivation is the polar opposite.

Which in turn means that as the world turns and their lives inevitably change, the way they live will have to change. This will spell trouble.

There’s also me having a strong suspicion these two don’t have much of a physical relationship, if any. Meyer specifically referred to their relationship as spiritual, and that fits the vibe we get from them in the books. Quite notably, Rosalie and Emmett were impossible to be around when they were newlyweds, while Carlisle and Esme weren’t a problem at all.

Not to mention what Esme longed for all those years was very much an ideal of a man, which to me doesn’t immediately point to a very physical attraction.

The Penultimate Peril

Would he cheat on her, you ask. Answer is yes, they’re both cheating emotionally with Edward. No.

He’s with her because he wants to be, and feels responsible for her. More, developing the kinds of feelings necessary for an emotional affair isn’t really on the table for him, since everyone else in the world is either a. one of his kids or the Denali, b. an unrepentant man-eating demon. So, unless Tanya’s feeling frisky, Carlisle doesn’t have anybody to cheat with.

(I’m here defining an emotional affair, which as I understand it is a bit hard to define, as a romantic, but non-physical entanglement. The cheating party has to know their partner wouldn’t be cool with it for it to count in my eyes.)

As for physically cheating on her, nope. God no, not ever. Unless something really convoluted like the plot of Blue Moon unfolded, but that’s really more a case of Esme pimping out her husband to her daughter-in-law, so everyone’s to blame here.

The end

I think the breakup can happen in any number of ways, but I think either way it will be sudden.

These two aren’t going to go “you know, I think we’ve grown apart” because Esme would never acknowledge that nevermind walk up to Carlisle and say it, and if Carlisle realized things aren’t working he’d still want to stick it out for her sake.

I think it’ll be sudden, it’ll happen as the immovable object that is them is hit by an unstoppable force. One will go someplace the other can’t follow. Maybe when the Cullen coven splits down the middle, and they’re on each their own side of the chasm, or maybe some other cause entirely.

It’ll devastate them both, but given the people these two are, I think it’s inevitable.

#carlisle cullen #esme cullen #carlisle/esme #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #hope you all think the header theme was as funny as i did #a series of unfortunate events aka-#Anonymous #ask

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zzinvolterra · 3 years

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I’ve read your post about the downsides of having powers and I loved it cause I always thought it couldn’t be that easy. Now I want to know the others!

I have a couple of ideas but I’d love to read your headcannons for Aro, Marcus, Edward, Alice, Jasper... I mean... everyone with a power.

Have a splendid day and be safe!

[previous post]

Thank you so much, you too!!

// mentions of panic attacks, anxiety attacks, sensory overload //

Aro

When he touches someone, he can read every though the person has ever had.

The possibilities. I think the primary concern would be losing or mixing up his own memories with others’ thoughts. He’s come into contact with vampires with millions of their own thoughts many times, and because of his memory, they’re all locked in there, perfectly preserved forever. (Also, the criminals that he would be reading would likely have quite gruesome memories.) So forgetting who he is, experiencing constant déjà vu and horrific flashbacks (that aren’t his... or are they?), and becoming overwhelmed to the point where he can’t function are all very possible.

Marcus

He sees the relationships or connections people have to one another.

I suppose Marcus could occasionally be overwhelmed, perhaps experiencing headaches when looking at a large coven. (Also, there’s so much honesty in his gift, meaning in nearly every relationship he has, he knows exactly how they feel about him. Which could be painful at times.)

Didyme

Aura of happiness, I guess. [not a quote]

Didyme emits an aura of happiness that seems unconscious and may have occurred to a lesser degree as a human. Like I mentioned before with Chelsea, every relationship she’s had could have been affected by that. (...including Didyme/Marcus - would their love be the same if she didn’t have her Ability?) And depending on how much her gift affects a person, she could be sobbing (vampirically) and everyone else in the room would still be grinning and laughing euphorically.

Everyone else is under the cut!

Edward

Edward can read the thoughts of anyone in close proximity to him...

I just started MS, so I’m not quite sure how this is in canon, but I imagine it would be quite easy for Edward to become overwhelmed, especially as a newborn when he didn’t know how to block out voices. He could also experience migraines. Plus, in terms of how much he’s got bouncing around in his head, he’s like Aro Jr. Not Good.

Alice

She can see into the future, although what she sees is based on decisions being made; thus, she must wait for a decision to be firmly rooted in the mind or acted upon, before she can see the end result.

Her visions send her into an almost catatonic state, and she sees them often enough that there must be quite a few of them preserved in her mind. She exists on a different plane of reality, really, that must make it harder for her to connect with others. Could definitely see her experiencing constant déjà vu (she’s just living to catch up to her next vision) as well as anxiety attacks from trying to avert every single possible disaster.

Jasper

Jasper has the ability to both feel and manipulate the emotions of those around him.

It seems like Jasper is constantly inundated with the emotions of others, including their thirst, so him experiencing sensory overload is definitely possible. He’s also able to manipulate others with his gift, so unconsciously influencing someone could be a concern of his.

Bella

Her mind is impenetrable; no one can read her thoughts unless she allows it. She can shield herself from all types of psychic attacks and learns to shield those around her.

I like to think that Bella feels a dampened down version of whatever she’s blocking, especially when she’s expanded her shield. For example, she could feel a stinging sensation when Jane attempted to Pain™ them in BD.

Resume

She can show people her thoughts by touching their skin. So far, no one has been able to block her talent.

Sounds scary, but okay. Maybe showing other people her thoughts drains her energy? (While we’re talking about her, I support the headcanon that Resume is like an immortal child in the way that she draws people in and encourages them to die for protect her. Her Ability could increase that effect.) There are also some weird parallels between her and Aro.

Zafrina

Zafrina has a strong illusory talent. She can make her target see any illusion she wants, or see nothing at all.

Hmm. I suppose for Zafrina, she could perhaps experience a diluted form of her own Ability when using it on others for an extended period of time. I’m assuming that she has to concentrate on what she wants them to see, and maybe after a while, she starts seeing bits of it herself. Or, her own vision could start growing dimmer as she exerts more energy.

Eleazar

He has the ability to sense the type and strength of gifted vampires’ talents.

Eleazar is like a gift metal detector. Consequences could be that being around powerful gifts, or many at the same time, could overwhelm him. For example, getting headaches when he was part of the Volturi or during the army witness gathering in BD. (And I’m assuming Aro visits him semi-regularly, which is not an enviable position to be in.)

Kate

She has the power to cause a painful, electric shock-like jolt in anyone she touches.

I think with Kate, she could become drained, especially if she’s touching more than one person or using her Ability for an extended period of time. And until she fine-tuned her control over her gift, she was probably shocking everybody and was afraid to touch those she loved in fear of hurting them.

Benjamin

He can influence the elements – water, earth, fire, and air. He is able to physically manipulate the world around him with his will, similar to telekinetic.

Because of his power, Benjamin wasn’t allowed to leave the house for years, so yeah. Downside of being the Avatar is everybody wants you. Also, it seemed, at least in my opinion, that he doesn’t have the greatest control over his gift - meaning every time he uses it, it’s large and powerful. In the BD (movie) vision, he creates a chasm... that’s deep enough to reach magma? (Fault lines!!) So if he were to ever lose that bit of control over his Ability, he would do a lot of damage.

Maggie

She is able to tell if a person is lying.

Maggie is compelled to point out lies, to the point where she can’t stop even when people become uncomfortable and punish her for needing to state the truth. Therefore, hearing lies could hurt her, mentally or emotionally. It could also be sort-of an obsession of hers to have everything be the “truth”. (Do with this what you will - basically what I’m trying to say is that Maggie is unable to not point out lies.)

Siobhan?

Some suspect she can affect the outcome of a situation through willpower alone.

If she does have an Ability, I suppose it could be that the outcomes she causes have unintended side effects - a bit like how Alice attempts to manipulate events, but those new events bring new potential disasters.

James

He was a skilled tracker, able to sense in advance the most likely moves of his prey.

Demetri-ish? Hyper-aware of his surroundings.

Victoria

She was exceptionally good at evading enemies.

She’s canonically good at hide-and-seek...? To me, it seems like an Ability that was invented to explain why nobody could find her, but all right. Perhaps a mix of Afton, hiding-wise (though she doesn’t turn invisible-ish), and Bella, evading-Demetri-wise.

Fred

He has the ability to make anyone feel physically repulsed. He can use this ability to make someone unable to think of him for a period of time.

In “The Second Life of Bree Tanner”, it seems like Fred’s Ability is always active. Perhaps gaining control of that power could be difficult because, until he does, he pushes everyone away...(Reneta-ish?) Also, he’s called “Freaky Fred”. Rude.

Raoul

He had a limited ability to make others view him as their leader. It worked best on those who were directionless.

This is hard because it almost seems like Raoul is just exceptionally charismatic. Potential scenario: if his directionless followers somehow found direction, he would have to deal with an uprising.

Alistair

Alistair can track both people and things. He can sense the general direction of whatever he is looking for, but it takes him a long time to narrow this feeling down to a specific location.

(He’s very good at finding those car keys.) He would be aware of his surroundings, similar to Demetri but to a lesser degree. Not sure if he’d be as overwhelmed as often since it seems like he needs to focus on something specifically to find it, but I imagine his first few years weren’t fun.

Charles

Charles can sense when someone is lying to him.

Maggie 2.0? Or perhaps more accurately, Maggie 0.5? Sounds like he’s essentially Maggie, but less affected by lies.

Mele

Could take Abilities and transfer them to other people. However, she couldn’t use the gifts herself. [Also not a quote]

Gift snatched. Her power on its own is not very helpful to her survival, since she can’t harness the gifts she takes, nor is it beneficial to her existence. In my opinion, Mele, due to her Ability, will always be stuck in the position of serving someone (like Sulpicia in Life and Death) or be killed because she’s a threat (Aro).

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alienslikedmyfantasy · 4 years

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Okay, so I haven’t seen a show that I related to legit every character like, ever, and The Owl House hit me like a truck.

As I watched (and rewatched) how each character acts and develops, I look at them and feel a connection.

Luz, the ‘weird’ girl, the outsider, the overly positive, interested, distractible, oblivious, and big hearted character. I utterly love Luz Noceda. Like holy crap. We both find oddly specific things interesting be it a specific topic or the immersion into a fandom. We both make weird jokes and get into pun wars with people (I had one go on for about an hour once...it was glorious). For a person who’s pretty negative about myself, when other people are involved, I lift them up as high as possible, even with weak nerd arms. We both get distracted easily, or are at least oblivious. I didn’t know half of the things happening around me during school, and I honestly still don’t. I’ve watched movies 50 times and realized the actual point/blatantly obvious event during the 51st. I’ve had people like me before and I never noticed until someone told me then I struggled to believe it (”What is it she sees, in this cluster clump of me?”). (Honestly the entirety of ‘Ordinary’ called me out super hard). Luz also does crazy things for her friends with the best of intentions (even if it isn’t well thought out). Her heart is so big and she sees the best in everyone, it’s just amazing. Little things she does and has said, I’ve done too (especially the ‘cool’ scene).

Amity is often misread and quiet, struggling to talk to others. She also doesn’t like others to see her emotions very much, she bottles them up and has a need to be seen in a certain way. She has to be ‘perfect’ (a song which also called me out pretty hard). I feel that deep down in my soul my dudes. I always had to have perfect grades and I still have to be perfect at everything I do on the first try (I’m working on not doing that). I was always quiet, and honestly still am. I definitely bottle up my emotions rather than let others see what’s up and I have a hard time forming coherent sentences around crushes...well...around people in general. I always felt the need to be the straight A student and the rock in my loved one’s lives (which they never expected of me so I don’t know where that came from haha) and I still kinda do. Amity also sacrifices herself for her friends (Grom...sports....must I say more?). And though I may not have sacrificed my body, I’ve protected my friends hard core. No one messes with my buds.

Eda. Oh Eda. The wild witch who ran off to live in the woods because she didn’t like school and didn’t want to commit to one coven in life. The witch who is slow to pick up on things, is chaotic, and completely weird in the best possible way. I always liked school until I was about to graduate, then I realized how it can really mess with people (see Eda running around the school pointing out the strangeness of it all). All I feel that I really learned from school was to take a test. Creativity killer sadly. Eda has a strange sense of humor and is slow to get sarcasm or that it was a joke. Same Eda, same. I also cannot commit to one coven, well, career or job for the rest of my life. I like keeping my options open. Plus I would love to build a house out in the woods nearby and be a witch. I’ve always been weird and chaotic too, but I think Eda’s weird is way more fun than my own.

King is a goofy little dude who usually has weird jokes or points of view, but sometimes is super wise. I know that I have a strange sense of humor that it seems like most of my people don’t understand, and I have been known to be wise when I’m not thinking about it...on the other hand, when I try to be wise, I stumble and say something extremely weird. He struggles with public speaking/putting himself out there (Grom) and is nervous a while before getting comfortable with it. (I hate public speaking says the kid who did musicals for 13 years, writes songs, and thinks she wants to be an author, artist, actress, or musician). I also connect with King with the fact that I freakin’ love rubber ducky stuff. I legit have a rubber ducky bathrobe (of which one of my best friends gave me as a birthday gift...it’s a bit small but it’s sososo soft I love it), I made a ducky pillowcase today to practice sewing (it’s so cute I almost cried), I have a bunch of duckies stashed away throughout the house, and my Grandma made me a ducky baby quilt for the future. Ducks! Am I right? (I’m right.)

Willow is the shy, not-so-confident plant girl. I am too a shy, not-so-confident plant girl. I legit have about 14 or 15 plants (each have a name) that I care about a lot. I don’t really remember being bullied (I know I was at least once), but I’ve definitely had my heart hurt (honestly pretty badly) by people I considered friends at that time (I won’t get into that here). I’m also a shy person who’s been working on being more confident with themselves. Plus: plants!

Gus is fascinated by specific topics and is younger than everyone else, which may make him feel a bit childish. I feel this on a personal level. I’m the youngest child on my Mom’s side and the second youngest on my Dad’s. I was the baby and I don’t think I got to do much with the older kids (you’re too young so we don’t wanna play with you kinda thing, etc. [which is totally fine and I get 100%]) Though I may be older than all of my friends, I still feel like a child compared to nearly all of them. They’re all so smart and put together, and I’m not. I’m also fascinated by specific topics that others may not know or care to know much about (for Gus, it’s humans, for me, it’s a lot of things).

Edric and Emira are pretty similar to my sister and I. We aren’t twins, we didn’t always get along, and we rarely had shenanigans or pranked like these two do, but as we got older, we understood each other better and our relationship is basically being there for one another and really bad puns.

Hooty...well...I suppose we share the fact that we both make up songs and are bored a lot...definitely not that we’re both owl tubes.....*nervous laughter*

Owlbert and I share the quiet helpfulness trait...plus we’re both adorable.

(Some of these go deeper than others but the point is there’s still a connection).

Goodness gracious I love this show.

I haven’t laughed at a show this hard since Good Omens last year.

I love when I can connect with characters. It makes me happy.

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bard-llama · 4 years

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The Witcher Fic Masterlist

Masterlist of all of my Witcher fics, updated as of June 5, 2021.

If you like my writing, consider donating to my ko-fi! I am writing gift fics for all donors.

Here is a masterlist of all completed multi-chapter fics.

Series:

Families of Choice

Geraskefer Canon Divergent AU

Summary: The best families are those you choose. Jaskier realized that early in life, but his family continues to expand over the years.

Series Masterlist

Cintra Happily Ever After Series:

AU from the Families of Choice Series (as of the end of 5 Dinners with the Lioness chapter 5)

Summary: A series in which I pretend everything is fine and nobody dies, and Geralt makes Cintra his home base after the feast in episode 4.

Series Masterlist

Chronic Pain Series

Summary: Unconnected shorts in which I vent my pain onto fictional characters.

At Her Back

Summary: Yennefer was born with a twisted spine. Her transformation had cured her, but she still felt the pain as if nothing had changed. Geralt offers Jaskier's services as a masseuse.

Coming to a Head

Summary: During a confrontation gone wrong, Jaskier gets hit with a spell that is supposed to cause unimaginable pain. So why does Jaskier seems mostly unaffected?

When Pigs Talk

Summary: When seeking pain relief, Yennefer takes something that makes the pigs in her pig pen start talking. It’s the start of an interesting evening.

Your eyes aren’t rivers there to weep

Rated E

Summary: Geralt’s eyes burn and ache like he’s undergoing the trials again, so Jaskier does his best to help distract from the pain.

Don’t Cry for Me, Temeria

Iorveth/Roche Witcher 2 Different First Meeting AU

Summary: A Witcher 2 Canon AU in which Iorveth and Roche meet before either of them know who the other is. Somehow, this changes absolutely everything.

Series Masterlist

Fish Out of Water

Iorveth/Roche MerMay AU

Summary: Once upon a time, all elves lived in the sea and had mer forms. Now, Iorveth is something of a novelty, one of the last true elves.

Series Masterlist

For You, My Love, I Bleed

Iorveth/Roche angsty AU

Summary: Iorveth and Roche had been happy, or so Iorveth had thought. Then King Foltest recalls Roche to the capital, and suddenly Iorveth is left alone as Roche returns to Foltest. Roche made his choice, clearly, and Iorveth just has to deal with that. But all is not as it seems, and Roche considers everything worth sacrificing if it protects the man he loves.

Series Masterlist

A Hard Day’s Night

Iorveth/Roche interrogation AU

Summary: Iorveth ends up imprisoned, with Vernon Roche as his interrogator. From there it only gets worse - or better, depending on your point of view.

Series Masterlist

If You’re Good to Mama

Iorveth/Roche Outsider POV

Summary: The Clarabelle is the finest brothel in town and its located in the shittiest part of town. Follow the adventures of the Madame, Eliza, and the brothel workers as they start working to supply food to the terrorist elves in the Scoia'tael.

Series Masterlist

Keep Me

Iorveth/Roche fanart AU

Summary: All Vernon Roche wants in life is someone to keep him and appreciate him. Surprisingly, he may find exactly that - in the form of his enemy, no less. Based on this art.

Series Masterlist

King and Country

Iorveth/Roche divergent AU

Summary: When Foltest rejects Vernon Roche, he sets into motion a series of events that have consequences he never could've expected. A universe in which Roche's anger and hurt at Foltest remove the rose colored glasses.

Series Masterlist (NEW ADDITIONS!)

Love Shack

Iorveth/Roche Secret Relationship AU

Summary: The Love Shack: a ramshackle cabin in the forest that happens to be Iorveth and Roche's only respite from a reality full of violence, war, and hate. In the Love Shack, all that matters is each other.

Series Masterlist

The Lovestruck Fox

Iorveth/Roche Schoolgirl Crush AU

Summary: It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that the Scoia’tael Commander holds his opposite in the highest esteem.

Series Masterlist

Petals and Stripes

Iorveth/Roche Hanahaki AU

Summary: Those that felt the deepest of deep loves could develop a condition known as the wasting disease. Those afflicted slowly suffocate as their lungs fill with fruit representing the one they love. Well, it's supposed to be fruit. So why is Commander Roche coughing up flowers?

Series Masterlist

With A Look I May Not Meet

Iorveth/Roche capture AU

Summary: When Iorveth is captured using his relationship with Vernon Roche, Roche is forced to make a decision. Stand with King Foltest and Temeria as he has always done - or choose Iorveth and go on the run.

Series Masterlist

The Woodland Fox and The Temerian Hound

Iorveth/Roche animal transformation AU

Summary: Roche usually didn’t mind Triss’s magic much. Sure, she poked at him with it all the time, but it was always playful, inviting him in on the fun. This time, however, something had gone very, very wrong and he was quite sure that it would take him a long time to trust her magic again. Because somehow a rebound spell had hit him, and now he had a tail. A dog’s tail. Well, he was always getting called Foltest’s attack dog. Now it was just a bit more literal.

Series Masterlist

Under the cut:

New! Gen fics (22)

Yennefer fics (4)

Geraskier/Geraskefer fics (25)

Geralt getting railed fics (4)

Cintra fics (Calanthe/Eist and others) (9)

Lambert/Aiden fics (6)

Lambert/Jaskier fic (1)

Wolf Witcher fics (2)

New! Iorveth/Roche fics (45)

New! Saskia fics (3)

Gen Fics:

(They came after me) With Masterful Deceit

Summary: When Jaskier discovers that Yennefer has Elven blood, he is forced to confront his prejudices.

Beauty and Imperfections

Summary: Jaskier signs up to be a nude model. He's expecting it to be a fun, sexy time. It goes a lot differently than he expected.

The Blood of the Covenant is Thicker Than the Water of the Womb

Summary: Found Family prompt fills, focusing mostly on Iorveth and Roche. Chapter 1: Geralt invited all of his family to join him in Corvo Bianco, which is great, but has the downside that finding a moment alone is near impossible.

Cards Out For Your Country

WiP

Summary: In which a great number of people are convinced or coerced into posing for a Gwent Pinup Calendar.

Greg the Demon Horse

Summary: Jaskier tries to make a stuffed toy for Ciri. If only he knew how to sew properly.

Gwent, The Good Old Game (NEW!)

WiP

Summary: Zoltan, Dandelion, and Priscilla decide to go all in on a new money-making scheme involving gwent. This time, they are going to sell stories and dolls of the characters that appear on gwent cards. It's guaranteed to make a killing.

History is Written by the Victors

Summary: “Dara said grandmother’s men laughed as they raped women and killed babies by - by swinging them by their legs, bashing their heads in.” Fuck. Tentatively, Jaskier wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug when she didn’t flinch away. In his head, he could hear Filavandrel’s voice, the humans proudly watch these very fields grow... our babies fertilizer for their grain. He swallowed against rising bile. Against his neck, he could feel Ciri finally succumb to tears. “How could grandmother order that? I know her, that wasn’t what she was like! But Dara wouldn’t have lied.”

Wherein our characters struggle with knowing that good people can do awful things, and that everything you think you know is probably wrong.

How to Train Your Roach

Summary: The story of how Jaskier's stupid ditties on the road accidentally trained Roach.

Inspired by Her Fire

Warning: Spoilers for Witcher 2, specifically something from the end of Iorveth’s Path.

Summary: Saskia's POV during the Council Meeting where Saskia introduces Iorveth.

It’s the Little Things

Summary: A collection of fills for various prompts! Chapter 1: “You. Rest. Now.”

jaws that crack the bones the lion leaves

Summary: Jaskier writes a song about the Slaughter of Cintra.

Life is a Cabaret

Witcher 3 Canon/Spoilers

Summary: Set during the Cabaret quest, after Geralt helps Dandelion with his staged fight, he decides that Dandelion's big comfy bed at the Rosemary & Thyme is perfect for a bit of rest. Dandelion doesn't exactly mind.

The Lion That Haunts My Dreams

Rated M

Summary: Calanthe does what is needed to protect her kingdom. Dara just wants to forget. Two perspectives on a genocide.

Marilka

Summary: Geralt knew he couldn’t claim his Child of Surprise. Destiny had punished him harshly the one time he’d thought about raising a child. He could not risk its wrath again.

Power

Summary: Yennefer had been forced to fight for every bit of power she had. So why does the power to make people see her seem so unattainable? An introspective look at Yenn during the Dragon Hunt (but ignoring the break up because I can)

Sentenced to Write

Summary: A collection of fics from 1 sentence prompts. Chapter One: Thief!Ciri Chapter Two: Kid!Calanthe

Soft Words and Kind Hearts

Summary: A collection of fills for Geralt Fluff Week 2020. Day 1: First times. Geralt gets a tattoo and becomes part of the Blue Stripes Commandos

Sweat and Blood and Tears: A Geralt Whump Collection

Summary: Collected shorts for Geralt Whump Week

What Makes a Family

Summary: Ciri spends her first birthday since the Fall of Cintra at Kaer Morhen.

What You Meme to Me

Summary: A collection of Witcher fics inspired by memes. Just because. Second chapter: Jaskier doesn't understand why people are so obsessed with gender. Why would what's in their pants matter?

The White Wolf

Summary: Geralt always gets named the White Wolf in fight clubs, even before Jaskier gave him the name. Sometimes he even hid his medallion and gave a fake name, and still, he was always called the White Wolf.

Your Voice is Your Life

Summary: “Your voice is your life.” His old teacher used to tell him. Jaskier largely disagreed, but then a djinn steals his voice. Bottled Appetites from Jaskier's point of view

Yennefer Fics

To Be...

Summary: Collection of shorts for Yennefer Appreciation Week on Tumblr!

A Tribute to the Fae

Rated E

Summary: When Yennefer accidentally trespasses on fae land, she must pay the price.

Viscount Pankratz and Wife

WiP

Summary: When Jaskier receives an invitation to a fancy party addressed to him and his wife, he decided he deserved a night of fun causing problems for people. Who better to help than Yennefer of Vengerberg?

Yenn & Djinn

WiP

Summary: Bottled Appetites AU Jaskier’s last wish is for Geralt to appear. This manages to change everything.

Geraskier/Geraskefer Fics:

(I would not wish) Any Companion But You

Summary: I’m not your friend, Geralt always insists whenever Jaskier calls them such.

100 Ways to Love You

Rated E

Summary: A drabble collection for Witcher OT3 sex Okay, it might be more double drabbles than drabbles, but shhh

Awaken in Pleasure

Rated E

Summary: Geralt dreams of having Jaskier waking him up with sex. He finally manages to ask for it.

Bounce a Coin Off Your Witcher

Rated E

Summary: Jaskier has lots of thoughts about Geralt's arse in leather pants. And then they get stuck in a small room together.

Butter That Biscuit

Rated E

Summary: Bottled Appetites Ep 5 AU – When Jaskier awakes in Yennefer’s room, he does, in fact, butter that biscuit.

Five Almost Kisses and One Happily Ever After

WiP

Rated E

Summary: What it says on the tin. Geralt knows he wants Jaskier, but why would the bard ever be interested in a witcher? Five times Geralt ALMOST figures it out and one time he actually makes a move.

Five Times Geralt Frotted Against Jaskier’s Ass and One Time He Fucked It

Rated E

Summary: Based on this tumblr post about Geralt frotting against Jaskier's ass in his sleep.

Fulfilling a Need

Rated E

Summary: Geralt has been twitchy and restless lately. When Jaskier confronts him, he discovers that what Geralt needs is for Jaskier to take control and fuck his face. So he does.

Gestures of Affection

Rated M

Summary: A collection of shorts featuring any configuration of the relationship between Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennefer and the ways they show affection to each other. With bonus Ciri, because she’s their family.

Hit Me Baby (One More Time)

Rated E

Summary: Jaskier desperately wants physical evidence of Geralt’s love for him.

How to Spoil Your Pet

Rated E

Summary: Yennefer and Jaskier team up to give Geralt everything he wants. He wants a lot. Good thing they're amenable.

Howling Swirling Storm

Summary: Jaskier is a winter spirit who has always been shit at hiding his powers. But somehow Geralt still never figured it out?

Jaskier’s Words are Horseshit

Summary: The thing about Jaskier is, he never shuts up. Literally, ever. That was the first thing Geralt noticed about the bard, but he was not prepared for all that entailed. Jaskier was, quite literally, always making noise of some sort. If he wasn’t singing, he was humming, muttering, strumming at his lute. Even in his sleep, the bard hmm’d and sighed and mumbled and snored continuously.

A Kiss With a Lash

Rated E

Summary: Geralt asks Jaskier to punish him for the Break Up (TM)

Making Amends

WiP

Rated E

Summary: Jaskier is putting his life back together after the Mountain™. So what is he supposed to do when Geralt arrives at his doorstep?

Pamper Your Witcher

Rated E

Summary: Geralt doesn't let himself have the finer things in life. So Jaskier decides to pamper him.

That Wild Blue Yonder

Summary: Jaskier lives in the modern world as Julian Alfred Pancratz. When his family vacations at an old castle his cousin owns, he discovers an old wardrobe that leads to the Continent. Specifically, it leads to a wardrobe belonging to Madeline de Stael.

The Pleasure of a Good Bath

Rated E

Summary: Geralt had always enjoyed baths. Since Jaskier had joined him, they'd gotten even better - and it was making it difficult to hide that he wanted more.

Porny Prompt Pile

Rated E

Summary: Just porny fics based on prompts. First chapter: Geraskier - blow job while standing Second chapter: Geraskier - Jaskier riles Geralt into rough sex

Relationships Require Communication

Summary: Jaskier liked to joke about him being allergic to the word ‘friends’, but he wasn’t far off. Geralt was aware that he was not good at talking, not good at feelings, and definitely not good about combining the two. After Yennefer and Jaskier leave him on the mountain, Geralt does some thinking about what happened and how exactly he messed up. And how to fix it.

Rushing Thoughts and Pulsing Hearts

Rated E

Summary: Geralt knew he was in love with Jaskier, but what could he do about it? No one believed Witchers could love. Not even him, sometimes.

So hold me, lover, like you used to

Rated E

Summary: When Geralt brings Cirilla to Oxenfurt to search for Jaskier, he was not expecting to walk into a concert the bard and another were giving together. Songfic based on The Amazing Devil.

When Words Act As Phantoms on Horseback

Summary: Jaskier gets Geralt used to the lack of silence. Without him, the silence creeps up on him and itches at his mind until he must break it. AKA how Netflix!Geralt slowly becomes more like Game!Geralt.

With Knot But A Look

Rated E

Summary: Jaskier asks tamed werewolf!Geralt to fuck him in the forest under the full moon.

Worth 100 Words

Summary: This is a Witcher drabble collection, using prompts. Mostly OT3 and family fics with Ciri.

Geralt getting railed fics:

A Cintran Welcome

Rated E

Summary: Geralt’s Witcher stamina is too much for Jaskier to handle alone, but he wants Geralt to experience being fucked to exhaustion. So he arranges a gangbang in Cintra. Featuring Geralt’s self–loathing getting overwhelmed with pleasure.

Forest of Plenty

Rated E

Summary: Geralt goes to visit his friend Mousesack for some fun and discovers that Mousesack and Jaskier have already anticipated his arrival and prepared quite a surprise for him.

I’m Yours to Claim

Rated E

Summary: Geralt knew he would eventually agree to go to Cintra. It was Jaskier asking, after all. He hadn't expected to run into his old friend and fuckbuddy, Mousesack, but it was nice to see him again.

Size Matters: The Geralt Size Queen Chronicles

Rated E

Summary: Just porn about Geralt being a size queen.

Cintra Fics:

5 Gifts from Family, 1 Vision of the Future, and 1 New Start

Summary: Pavetta gets to know her family after the banquet.

Artistic Endeavors

Rated M

Summary: Calanthe discovers that her daughter has a habit of drawing rather explicit art. For the Banned Together Bingo prompt "Porn". Set before Episode 4: Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials

Falling Into the Lion’s Den

Rated E

Summary: Calanthe and Eist have slept together many times, but it was never about feelings. So why does Eist propose to her and insist on changing everything?

Her Mother’s Legacy

Summary: Ciri had always had trouble with schooling. So if Geralt wants to train her in monster lore, he's going to have to do some things for her. Featuring ways Pavetta helped Ciri figure out how to manage her ADHD.

Like a Punch to the Face

Summary: “Oh sweet Cintra, you were so promising, from your spoiled princess to your stupid old king! But when I arrived, the royals were dead! Tossed out a window or shot in the head!” Ciri forced herself to keep walking past the puppet show, feeling like a fist had reached into her chest and ripped out her heart.

The Lion in the Woods

Summary: Mousesack teaches Ciri about the importance of balance.

The Lioness and the Seahound

Rated E

Summary: A collection of Calanthe/Eist porn fics. Chapter One: Calanthe positions Eist so that she can ride him while giving the illusion that she was taking him. Eist loves it.

Mousesack’s Educational Retreat for Proper Young Nobles

WiP

Summary: 13 year old Calanthe gets sent to a “whip-your-heirs-into-shape” 6 weeks and she is not happy about it. She’s also not delighted by this kid Eist, who is determined to become her friend, and sharing her room with 2 other noblewomen was not fun. Featuring 13 year olds’ interpretations of cultures, some significant cultural misunderstandings, and some slow but sure developing friendships.

O war! Thou son of hell

Summary: In the aftermath of war, Calanthe waits to feel the way everyone said she was supposed to.

Lambert/Aiden Fics:

An Evening of Frippery

Rated E

Summary: When Lambert and Aiden get invited to a fancy party, it’s the perfect excuse to dress up, dance, and have some fun.

Fuck Me Properly (NEW!)

Rated E

Summary: Aiden stumbles upon Lambert getting fucked by a plant. With tentacles. Then his brain kind of shorts out.

One Way to Skin a Cat (NEW!)

Summary: A reflection on Aiden's thoughts in the aftermath of his near death, and a realization of what Lambert must be thinking.

pretty witcher (walking down the street)

Rated E

Summary: Lambert decides to finally make his move, dressing up in his prettiest dress to encourage Aiden to give in to temptation. Before he has a chance, though, bandits force them into an unexpected position.

Silk and Lace

Rated E

Summary: When Aiden and Lambert split up on the road to tackle separate contracts before meeting again, Lambert takes the opportunity to spoil himself with pretty clothes and slow, drawn out pleasure.

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (NEW!)

Rated M

Summary: Lambert wakes up when Aiden has a bad dream. Fortunately, he knows a good way to get Aiden's mind off of it.

Lambert/Jaskier Fics:

Desperate Affection

Rated E

Summary: Lambert didn't know when he'd fallen in love with the bard, but he could no longer imagine life at Kaer Morhen without him.

Wolf Witcher Fics:

Ensnared

Rated E

Summary: Lambert, Geralt, and Eskel have a long tradition where Eskel ties them up. This time, they've invited Aiden and Jaskier in on the fun.

The School of the Wolf

Summary: Vesemir is old, the oldest Witcher alive. Witchers don’t retire, they get slow and they die. He knows he's slowing down, but all he has left in this world is the boys he trained, and the legacy of the School of the Wolf.

Iorveth/Roche Fics:

A Kiss Can Mean A Thousand Things

Summary: Fills for kissing prompts based on the 50 Types of Kisses Writing Prompts

And Ghosts Did Shriek and Shrill

WiP

Rated M for violence/gore

Summary: After the unjust murder of his team, Vernon Roche is willing to do anything to get them back. Even if it means drawing on unspoken-of beliefs from a childhood in Velen.

Before All Else, Be Armed (NEW!)

Summary: Iorveth and Vernon Roche are finally getting together. But when it comes time to disrobe, they run into a few problems. Namely, the sheer number of concealed weapons each of them carry.

Brewing Romance and Dissent

WiP

Summary: When a spear to the eye means that Iorveth needs to take at least a year to recover, he decides to spend it undercover in a coffeeshop in Vizima's Royal Quarter. He's also not expecting his favorite customer to be a human.

Can’t We All Just Get Oolong?

WiP

Summary: In which Iorveth and Roche discover that Roche's mom Eliza works for both of them, drink lots of tea, and slowly get to know one another.

The Chase

WiP

Rated M

Summary: Iorveth likes making Roche chase him when the Blue Stripes and the Scoia'tael clash. When Roche manages to catch him one day, something entirely unexpected happens. And then it keeps happening.

Commander Roche’s Secret Lover (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: Commander Roche is very clearly hiding a lover. His team tries to figure out who it could be.

Deep Inside Me (NEW!)

Rated E

WiP

Summary: Iorveth longs for things he shouldn't want and his attempt to ignore that ends up making everything worse.

Devour What’s Truly Yours

Rated E

Summary: When Roche discovers Iorveth inside a magical circle of flowers with pollen that makes you feel good, he was not at all prepared to find out what they had to do before they could leave.

A Dh’oine’s Only Use (NEW!)

Rated E

Summary: Iorveth arranges for his Scoia'tael to make use of his new whore, Vernon Roche. After all, a dh'oine's only use is as a hole to be fucked.

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Rated E

Summary: It totally doesn’t mean anything that Roche dreams of Iorveth.

‘Ere Our Souls Are Ground To Dust

Summary: After Nilfgaard conquered the continent and deigned to let Temeria be self-governed, Roche finds himself drowning in work trying to build a new government and keep an economy afloat (well, more get it back there for some parts of Temeria). Meanwhile, he and Iorveth were managing to live a fairly domestic life together. It had only been a few months, but it was going well. Then they have their first fight. Over coffee, of all things.

Every Kiss Begins With Kayran (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: Every once in a while, there was a local brave enough to seek out the Kayran for a pleasant distraction. The Kayran was delighted to oblige. And sometimes, sometimes there were people who wanted a more regular experience. People like Iorveth, who had scheduled monthly fuck dates to work off the stresses of command. Neither of them expected to get discovered during one such session.

Explore That Which Sets Your Soul Aflame (NEW!)

Rated E

Summary: Iorveth very much was not expecting Vernon to ask about his ears. But if he's going to satisfy Vernon's curiosity, it's only right that Vernon satisfy his in return.

Eye on You

WiP

Rated E

Summary: 5 Times Iorveth Accidentally Watched Roche Come and 1 Time Roche Watched Him

False Positive (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: When Iorveth sneaks into Lobinden in disguise to enjoy the Imbolc festival, the last thing he expects is to deal with Vernon Roche - especially because Vernon doesn't know it's him.

The First Seeds of Trust

WiP

Rated E

Summary: As soon as Iorveth had started fighting vines rather than fighting him, Roche knew something was up. Still, nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

Great Eggspectations (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: In the aftermath of Temeria's fall, Vernon Roche is feeling unmoored. So it only makes sense to track down his once-enemy. Iorveth has always encouraged his mind to bring its best and right now, he dearly needs that. He's in for a slight surprise when he actually finds Iorveth, though.

A Heart’s Fire (NEW!)

Summary: Skellige is the only kingdom without a price on Iorveth's head, so it only makes sense to seek shelter there after the Scoia'tael are disbanded. The isles are nice, but what had been pleasantly cool in summer now turns freezing in winter and elves were not made for temperature extremes. So of course Iorveth manages to get caught in a blizzard.

How to Fluster an Elf

WiP

Summary: When Geralt, Dandelion, and Zoltan make a casual remark about never having seen Iorveth flustered, Roche decides to take it as a challenge. Featuring Nilfgaardian feasts, cultural differences, really fancy beds and baths, and a witcher, a dwarf, and a bard who are having the time of their lives watching Roche try to catch Iorveth off guard.

It’s the Little Things

Summary: A collection of fills for various prompts! Chapter 1: “You. Rest. Now.”

The language of friendship is not words but meanings

WiP

Summary: When Geralt is hired by the Blue Stripes and the Scoia'tael to find their missing commanders, he discovers that not only have said commanders somehow turned into children, but that the two groups managed to scare them away before introductions could be made. Fortunately, Roche and Iorveth both have their own ways of making themselves understood.

Leap of Faith

WiP

Summary: When Roche changes the rules of engagement in a skirmish with the Scoia'tael, Iorveth ends up captured.

Needs More Dragons

Summary: Frankly, 2 dragons in all the Witcher stories? Not enough. So have some fics with random dragons! Chapter 1: Honey, I Adopted A Dragon: Iorveth may have acquired a baby dragon while Roche was traveling. Roche is about to find out.

Never Have I Ever

Summary: The Blue Stripes have an evening off. What better way to spend it than by playing drinking games?

On Knife’s Edge

Rated E

Summary: After they assist in the Battle of Kaer Morhen, Iorveth and Roche end up traveling back to Temeria together. An injury to Roche’s arm leaves him unable to shave himself, so it’s only polite for Iorveth to offer his assistance… right?

Olfucktory Senses (NEW!)

Rated E

WiP

Summary: Iorveth typically found the smell of human exertion to be nauseating. But when it's Vernon Roche's sweat, somehow he finds himself responding entirely differently.

Orificial Business

Rated E

WiP

Summary: When Roche hears a rumor that the Scoia’tael might be frequenting a brothel on the edge of town, he decides it’s worth going undercover to see.

Pining and Poignards (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: Iorveth may spend a lot of time thinking about Vernon Roche, but it didn't mean anything. It couldn't mean anything. Doesn't stop him from contemplating the possibilities, though. Meanwhile, Roche attempts to teach himself Elder Speech to translate the carvings on a knife Iorveth stabbed him with.

The Portrait of Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (NEW UPDATE!)

WiP

Summary: Ciri hates the portrait from her childhood that Geralt displays openly and proudly and loudly. He shows it off to everyone he can and she wants to destroy it. Lucky for her, two fighting enemies present a prime opportunity to make the portrait's destruction look like an accident.

The Pride of Temeria

The Blue Stripes are Temeria's elite Special Forces Unit. Their mission is to hunt down the Scoia'tael, but in between fighting and drilling, they get up to an awful lot of shenanigans. “He looks like he’s dead,” Shorty said, poking the sleeping form of their commanding officer with a stick. “Shorty!” Silas hissed shrilly. The newbie was still scared of breaking rules and he fidgeted nervously. “What?” Shorty shrugged, “He sleeps like the dead, it’s fine. As long as he’s not actually dead, anyway.” “He’s not,” Ves, their erstwhile second in command, rolled her eyes. “He’s just fucking weird.” “Are you sure he’s okay? How can he possibly breathe like that?” Igo frowned in worry, which wasn’t surprising for the man who had accidentally become their de facto team therapist. “What he needs,” Thirteen pointed in what would have been a dramatic gesture if not for the drunken stumble, “is a goo’ pair o’ tits to bury his face in.”

Red is the Rose (Complete!)

When Roche gives Iorveth a rose of remembrance, Iorveth doesn't know what to think. Legend has it that if you give a rose to someone you love, then it’ll live forever, but surely that can't be true. After all, Roche is his enemy.

Run Away With Me

Summary: Iorveth and Roche spend a starlit night together. “Run away with me,” he murmured, only half aware of the words he was saying. But when Iorveth froze, they truly processed and suddenly cold fear gripped him. He stuttered a correction, “I mean – I know, obviously, you can’t just leave your people. It’s – I–” Iorveth cupped his face, cutting off the stream of words. “Vernon,” Iorveth said, voice soft and wondrous. “Vernon,” he said again, tugging Roche forward into a desperate kiss, full of wanting and longing and regret. Even though Roche already knew the answer – of course they couldn’t just run away together – he still had to close his eyes and brace himself against the words he knew were coming when Iorveth drew back again. “Cariad,” Iorveth whispered, stroking his face. “Were my life my own, I would go anywhere with you.”

Scenes from Another World

Summary: Standalone scenes based on different trope AUs, but set in the canon Witcher universe.

Sentiment and Condescension

Summary: Roche hadn’t been planning to go to the Vengelbud party, but as soon as Emhyr told him not to... Now if he could just get Iorveth to leave him alone, he could get wasted in peace.

Seven Seconds in Holding

Summary: Iorveth is very, very unclear on how his last fight with the Blue Stripes led to him here, spooning Roche in the Blue Stripes’ holding cell, both their wrists cuffed together.

Spousal Privilege

Summary: Stuck at a diplomatic conference, Roche is frustrated that none of the elves in the room will even acknowledge he exists. Then Iorveth enters and it's like seeing an old friend. And then somehow they end up pretending to be married.

A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion (NEW!)

WiP

Rated E

Summary: Roche wakes up in a different world, one where he and Iorveth are raising Foltest's children in the dwarven city of Vergen.

These Boots (are gonna walk all over you)

Rated E

Summary: Neither Iorveth nor Roche had expected their fight to go like this. Inspired by this gorgeous art.

Time is Cruel, To Rob Us from Ourselves

WiP

Summary: An AU of Don’t Cry for Me, Temeria/(Im)Perfect Strangers where a magical artifact sends everyone back through events of Iorveth’s past. Iorveth is less than pleased, but the insights into his character may be invaluable for more than one person present.

Under Pressure

WiP

Rated E

Summary: When Iorveth defeats Vernon Roche, he intends to take his time interrogating his enemy. Fortunately, an abandoned mage’s house nearby provides him with the perfect toys to make this fun.

The Value of a Man

WiP

Summary: When Iorveth finally defeats Roche, he decides that such a valuable prisoner is worth ransoming back to the King. After all, surely the King's Enforcer is worth a few concessions to elven rights. Right?

To Weave The Strands of Fate (NEW!)

WiP

Summary: There is a tradition in Velen. Whenever a child is born within Velen, a lock of their hair is cut off and gifted to the Ladies of the Wood. According to whispered legends, the Lady Weavess could add the hair to her loom and thereby change their Fate.

What Happens in the Cave-In Stays in the Cave-In

WiP

Summary: When Iorveth and Roche’s fight ends abruptly because of a cave in, they find themselves trapped together as they wait to be unburied. In the meantime, Roche is injured and Iorveth has herbs that could help - but all he knows about humans is “they need more”.

Wolves and Squirrels and Stripes

Rated E

Geralt/Iorveth/Roche

Summary: A collection of Witcher 2 short fics featuring Geralt, Iorveth, and Roche. Chapter 1: Iorveth had never expected this to happen when Geralt invited him to visit Kaer Morhen.

Saskia Fics:

Damned Be The Thoughts That Refuse To Leave (NEW!)

Rated E

Saskia/Iorveth/Roche

Summary: When Saskia gifted him a toy shaped like a large human penis, Iorveth had sworn he would never use it. After all, it wasn't as if there were any humans he desired... right?

Shared Custody (NEW!)

Rated E

Saskia/Iorveth/Roche

Summary: Iorveth wasn't sure how walking into Saskia's office to see her talking with Vernon Roche of all people led to the three of them jammed into a closet with him in the middle, but he supposed it could be worse.

What Goes Around Comes Around (NEW!)

Rated E

Saskia/Philippa

Summary: Philippa decides to give Saskia a little treat to wake up to. Saskia repays her in full.

157 notes · View notes

mor-beck-more-problems · 4 years

Text

Juice Box || Morgan & Cece

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @thebickedwitchoftherest & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Oh, right. The box. The box from Roy. The box stolen specifically from Roy. Roy’s box.

CONTAINS: ex-roomie shenanigans

Morgan would have gone to see Cece after she was out of the hospital anyway. She felt awful about what had happened at the morgue, and how it had probably cost her a friend, at least for a while. And then there was whatever weird pain and damage a banshee scream would have on human ears. Something like guilt twisted in her stomach as she adjusted in her old spot on the couch and set her water glass on Cece’s coffee table. This wasn’t anything directly to do with her, but she could probably afford to be a better friend than she had been lately. But maybe a little magic research would be a good distraction from the awfulness around them. They’d had enough adventures like this before, maybe Morgan was just feeling nostalgic for earlier times. “So,” she said, nodding at the box, which sat perched on a stack of books she’d brought over. “Any ideas?”

After the morgue incident, Cece was happy to relax at home with something to distract herself. She had felt a surprising amount of guilt following the incident in the hospital. In her less than 48 hour stay she had managed to piss off Grace and steal the memories from Janus the janitor. Both in an attempt to cover the tracks of a woman who refused to talk to her. Maybe Regan had been right, trying to build a friendship with a coworker or boss was a bad idea. It certainly seemed overrated at the moment. Morgan had enlisted Cece’s help to study this magic box. Cece didn’t have all the details yet, but was slowly pressing for more before attempting to open it herself. Before, when Morgan and Cece had discovered a magical artifact used when those lobsters were hanging about the artifact that drained magic. They had been able to quell it by working together and sharing the magic between the two. If this were a similar situation, Morgan didn’t have the same magical abilities she had before. “Well I’m sure it’s magically locked. Probably needs a spellcaster to open it. But I don’t know exactly how to open it. Or if it’s boobytrapped. What context can you give me about the box?”

Morgan laughed uneasily. “Uh, promise not to hate me?” She flashed Cece a sheepish look as she brought it onto her lap and ran her fingers over the markings on the surface again. “It belongs to a crime boss. Some undead asshole named Roy something or whatever. He’s after a friend of mine and she’s hoping to figure some stuff out so he can’t, you know, bump her off so easy. It’s important to him, enough that it was kinda hard to steal. This sigil here--” Morgan pointed to one and held it out for Cece to look at, “Gets used a lot in containment rituals, like when you’re trying to seal something up. It’s a little intense, so maybe whatever’s in here is volatile, or rare, or ephemeral somehow. Problem is, I can’t figure out these--” she pointed to the row of markings along the lid. “Are. Probably if I had done my homework a little more in grade school, I could read it. But I thought I’d ask my genius witchy friend instead of renting a time machine, you know?”

“A crime boss eh? I feel like I’m in a heist movie or something.” Cece wiggled her eyebrows and leaned around the box to study the sigils as Morgan pointed them out to her. She discarded the wine glass she had been holding, abandoning it on the coffee table as she studied the signs closer. “I guess I don’t want to know what a friend of yours is doing pissing off a crime boss?” Actually, Cece very much did want to know. As much as Cece had seen, a crime boss wasn’t something that she had spent a lot of time around. Cece loved trying new things. “They’re a mixture of things from the looks of it.” Cece slid off the couch and onto her knees on the floor, pressing her face close enough to the box that her breath fogged up the silver of the box. “Please, Morgan. Flattery will get you everywhere. Some of these are more containment spells, but some-” Cece pointed at the symbols as she described them, “Are hexes. I can’t tell exactly what they’re supposed to do. But my guess is that it’s a last ditch effort to keep the contents safe in case someone got it open.”

“Uuuuhhhh…” Morgan’s voice lilted up shrilly. Cece had enough mischief in her to pass for fae. It wasn’t hard to figure that she did want to know, but the whole criminal justice system thing was still...a lot for Morgan to wrap her head around. “I could tell you, but you definitely can’t tell your boss. I don’t think she’d be happy knowing I’m a corrupting influence. I’ve lost count of how much weird shit we’ve gotten up to together by this point. You’d think the whole me being dead thing would mean less trouble, but I think we’re getting worse.” She smirked as she spoke, and angled herself in as many weird ways as she needed to look at the hexes Cece had identified. “You ever wish people would just print out a nice label on these things? Like, beware, magic dynamite inside! Or, angry bloodclingers within! But, that looks kinda like some Irish curses I’ve seen in this book… Doesn’t it feel weird to you how light it is?”

Morgan set the box between them and reached over for the book in question, flipping through the pages too quickly to find what she was looking for.“Hey--” she said, turning the pages slowly now. You’d say if you weren’t okay, right?”

“Yeah, well. My boss and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now anyways.” And by that, Cece meant that Regan was not on speaking terms with Cece. Despite the repeated attempts on Cece’s part. The whole thing was bullshit. Especially considering that despite this, Cece had still gone out of her way to make sure that no one poked their heads around Regan’s business or questioned her abilities to do her job. “That being said, I love the idea that you’d be able to corrupt me. I for one cherish every moment we share getting dragged into some crazy shit.” Cece laughed. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Morgan had died. Especially since she hadn’t seen it for herself, “Well there’s nothing like the afterlife, am I right?” Cece had to admit that Morgan had a point. It would sure make things a hell of a lot easier. “Witches are way too dramatic to do anything as simple as that, unfortunately. They can never make anything easy.” Morgan pointed out how light it was and Cece had to agree, leaning in closer but not being able to tell anything further. “This whole thing feels weird to me. What would a crime boss need with a magically sealed box? There must be more than meets the eye with this guy. If I’m careful, I should be able to strip the hexes before I start working on getting the box itself open. But keep reading to see if you find anything I don’t know.”

The distraction wasn’t enough, since Morgan decided now was a good time to dive into the personal questions. “Me? Almost certainly not.” Cece laughed the question off. After a moment, she decided to not completely brush the question off, “If you’re asking about the morgue then I’m fine. I’ve had worse done to me than some exploding glass and an earache.” Cece hadn’t told anyone about her days with the coven but figured Morgan would be one of the few she would trust with the information. At least some of the information. Cece didn’t need all of her skeletons dancing around the house. “Nothing that a few glasses of wine and solving a mystery with you can’t solve.” As far as not talking about issues went, Cece wasn’t the only offender, “What about you?”

Morgan scrunched her face up in a way Cece was long familiar with. “I didn’t just mean that,” she said. “But that is good to know. I just… I mean as much as I can’t imagine leaving here anytime soon, I know it can be really cruel sometimes. And you’re all Miss Tough Gal with a smile, but you don’t have to be like that all the time, you know? I just don’t want you to slip through the cracks just because I’m not here so much anymore. I’ve been kinda swept up lately, but I do care about you, tough gal and all. And not just because you do so many nice favors. But if you’re good or you wanna say you’re good, then that’s…good. And, oh, you know me. Cursed or not cursed, apparently there’s always something. Lots of gory details we didn’t make it to sharing on the dash.”

It took Morgan a few more pages to find what she was looking for, but she hesitated before showing the witch, just in case there was more to say.

Cece supposed there was no better time than now to discuss this, though Cece usually preferred any serious conversation be prefaced with a lot of alcohol. More than Cece had drunk so far. More than Cece probably had in the house. “Honestly? I’ve always been like this. Full disclosure, I was in a coven before I came to town. Things didn’t end so well with them and it always keeps me a bit on edge. Even before joining the coven, I wasn’t really one to take life super seriously. I had a pretty laid back childhood with a surprising lack of trauma so I guess when I turned eighteen life decided I had to make up for it.” Cece talked with an airiness, trying to show Morgan that she was trying to be sincere without trying to sound too much like she was whining about her past. “I have plenty of things that should keep me up at night, but I promise the injuries from the morgue aren’t one of them. I’ll seriously be okay. But trust me, even living apart I know you’ve got my back. Same to you.” Gory details didn’t exactly inspire confidence. “Yeah, what the hell? I thought you were done with the whole curse and ghost bullshit? Because ‘gory details’” Cece made finger quotations to match with her tone, “doesn’t sound very fun.”

Morgan listened thoughtfully, smiling wistfully at the thought of a good or ‘before’ times that lasted longer than eight or twelve years. But how awful, still, to know exactly the stability you were losing. To never be able to exhale or relax. Well, that part Morgan knew too well. Maybe that had something to do with why they got along so easily. You had to keep things light when you had one eye on the present and one over your shoulder. “Those are some pretty ominous Sparknotes. I’m starting to take back all those times tiny me wished for a real coven besides just my parents. If any of them come knocking, you’ll holler though, yeah? Partial magic immunity makes for a great zombie perk in a pinch.” Morgan smirked at Cece’s question to her. Fun was...definitely not a word to use for this. “You’d be right,” she said. “I...honestly don’t know what the sparknotes version of that is. So maybe you’ll have to drag me into a sequel session just to find out.” She huffed and held out the book. “Found our guy. Check out the common uses. What does ‘source’ even mean? Like...power source? Is that a real thing?”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But fingers crossed I never see any of them again.” Cece laughed, although the idea of any of her former coven members finding Cece’s location and showing up in town was anything but a laughing matter. Something told her they wouldn’t want to catch up. And if they did, Morgan wasn’t who she would want to get involved although she made a good point about the magical immunities. Cece had always figured that her best bet if any of them were to show up in town would be to count her losses and cut and run. As the two had talked, Cece slowly worked on rubbing the hexes away from the box. It was more exhausting than it looked, a constant string of magic being poured into her fingertips in order to break the seals without cursing herself into oblivion. Whatever those hexes did, Cece didn’t want to find out. “You’ve got yourself a deal. You. Me. Pick another night and get drunk off our asses. You can give me the sparknotes version of your story and I can try to elaborate a bit on mine. It’ll be a good time.” Morgan found something in the book and leaned over to see what she had found. A power source? It didn’t mean much at first, until she remembered that Morgan had mentioned that he was undead. Cece still couldn’t be sure, but suddenly something started to make sense. “Holy shit.” Cece let go of the box for a moment. “You said undead, right? Do you know what kind?” If they didn’t then…. “I think this is a fext. And if I’m right- yikes.” Cece didn’t know how else to describe it. Cece had heard of fext from the coven. To witches, they were a sort of horror story or monster under the bed type. A monster whose special power was stealing the magic from witches. Was there any fate worse than that in the eyes of a coven? “If he is a fext- then I have a feeling that I know what’s in this box too. I think I have all the hexes cancelled out. Now I just have to pop the thing open. Give me a minute.”

“A--a what?” Morgan stammered. She hadn’t thought about fexts in a really long time. Some old witchy wives tales, stories her mother would tell her to scare her into behaving one day and dismiss as folklore the next. It was never anything to devote a lot of headspace to. “Those are--real? They’re like what...witchy-vampires?” She searched Cece’s expression. Her friend looked very serious and certain. “What’s the big yikes? Can he do weird creepy magic things to normal humans? I mean, I know he set her house on fire, but does this mean there’s worse things? Magic things? Wait--” She gaped, mouth dropping as the pieces aligned themselves in her mind. “Is that--does mean there’s just...raw magic in there?” That definitely explained why it was so light for something that was supposed to be important. “Are you sure you want to open that? Is it going to--- do something?”

“Exactly. Or something like that at least.” Cece couldn’t speak with any certainty. She had never seen one for herself. “The coven used to talk about them. Supposedly they can drain magic from spellcasters and then use their magic.” No word on whether the witch lost their magic completely or not, but all the horror stories claimed they did. Could just be a part of the chill factor, though. “Exactly. Chances are that fire was taken from another witch.” Cece nodded her head. Chances were that it was. The problem was, without seeing for themselves they had no idea what kind of magic it was. That wasn’t going to help Morgan’s friend. “I don’t know. Things could go bad. But knowing what kind of magic is stored in here might help your friend.” She couldn’t guarantee it. For all the things that didn’t scare Cece, this one at least made her a by apprehensive. “Moment of truth. Do we open it or not?”

“Shit.” Morgan took the box for herself, looking it over. “Why couldn’t I be a dead witchy vampire?” She grumbled. “I mean, obviously: very spooky. That is some dark, sketchy shit and a hard diet to work with sustainably. I’m just saying, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I could work some magic after death. Why do things like this have to happen to assholes who light funeral homes on fire and run underground organ trading rings? That’s just not fair, is all I’m saying.” She examined the markings and little groove the lid depended on. “I’m a little worried about what would happen if we did open it. Hypothetically, I have the least amount of risk of getting whammied by something, but what should I be on the lookout for?”

“You’d make the coolest dead witchy vampire.” Cece agreed, “And you’d definitely use your power for much better than Roy uses his for. What a prick.” Cece didn’t know the man but just from the bits and pieces she had learned she had to say that he didn’t seem like a stellar dude. In fact, he seemed like an ass. “You got the short end of the stick for sure.” It wasn’t surprising that Morgan was offering to open the box and take the brunt of the spell for the two. Morgan was selfless like that. And although Cece was worried about it’s contents, she had a list a bit of confidence that things would mostly be okay. “Well- what the coven explained to me once was that spellcasters and artifacts acted as a sort of conduit to magic. Without it, there’s no where for the magic to go. Using that same logic, it might be that raw magic is just that. If we open it it’s just a mass of magic until someone that can use magic channels it.” The logic wasn’t exact, but based off of what she did know about magic this at least seemed semi plausible. “On the flip side, if this is some sort of summoning spell, it could already be activated and take effect as soon as the box opens. Hypothetically opening it could literally summon a demon. But the chances of it being that are pretty low. Probably.”

“Probably?” Morgan squeaked. “Okay, come on, grab something powerful, we’re doing this outside.” She took the box, held out in front of her and pressed between the tips of her fingers like it was hazardous waste. “I really don’t want to punch a demon or chase one into the woods, but I think our evenings together have taken weirder turns, so--” Morgan opened the back door with her elbow and walked out into the yard. She couldn’t tell if she was overreacting (because who would seriously leave potent magic just in a booby-trapped box? There had to be other layers, right?) or if this was the most reckless thing she’d done yet. “Maybe, uh, stay back--?” She called, looking sidelong at Cece.

Come on. Waiting wasn’t going to change what’s inside. They had to know for sure if they wanted to correctly identify this asshole. One eye pinched shut, Morgan thumbed the lid open.

No flashing lights, no demon. Morgan finally risked a look inside. “Oh. That’s a little anticlimactic.”

“Well I can’t see the future Morgan!” Cece defended herself. She very rarely spoke in absolutes. She couldn’t be blamed or held responsible if shit went south if she told them probably or most likely. “Divination is not one of my skills.” Nor one of her interests. For all of the planning that Cece liked to do- her escape from the coven had taken more than a year to pull together- Cece had no interest in seeing her future. At Morgan’s request, Cece hopped onto her feet and began following her outside, only to spin back around and grab her wine glass and falling behind Morgan again. “You said grab something powerful.” She shrugged, taking a sip and standing with her former roommate out in the backyard. Now it was time to actually open the damned thing.

When Morgan did it was… well it was boring. Morgan was right, that had been anticlimactic. She stepped closer to Morgan and leaned in to get a look at the vial. “Can I squeeze in real quick?” Cece reached her arm in, running her hand over it without actually touching it. Magic was different. In some ways it felt alive or like an aura. And every aura was different. If someone was familiar enough with a certain branch of magic they may be able to pick it out just like someone could look at someone and see what color their aura was. “Well, bad news is that I’m pretty sure this actually was summoning magic. Whoopsies.” Cece sucked air through her teeth and slid away from the box again, “But on the plus side it didn’t summon whatever is in there! So another point for the former roommate dream team!”

Morgan’s stomach turned. There was no consciousness in the box, no traces of who the spellcaster had once been, but after what Roy had done to Erin’s home, she felt pretty confident that they were dead. She knew, on one level, that it was the same as the stock of brains she kept in the fridge. But thinking of his cruelty, the way he crushed people for nothing more original than gain, she felt disgusted. Morgan snapped the box shut and turned back to Cece. “Thank you for this. You’re a really good friend, you know?” She pulled her in a one armed hug. “I’ll make sure this guy get’s destroyed, okay? Do you want to hang onto this, in case you need it someday? I’d rather it be with a real witch than with Roy.” She squeezed her friend carefully. “But definitely, definitely another score in our dream team column. We are, without a doubt, the most badass pair in the Crest. Maybe we should start charging the town for all the favors we do them, huh?”

“I’m supposed to be holding up my tough girl reputation Morgan. Don’t expose me. You know this unbeating heart only flutters now and again for you.” Cece playfully shoved Morgan’s shoulder, careful not to do it hard enough to jolt the vial resting in the overdramatic box. “He sounds like a real dick, so I can’t say I’ll be mourning his loss or anything. But you and your friend need to be careful. If Fexts are even half as scary as the stories are, you don’t want to underestimate this guy. He’s going to be dangerous as hell.” Cece had no idea what kind of nightmare fuel this bottle could summon. Keeping it around probably wasn’t the greatest idea. But if Cece could figure out what it was, she may be able to use it someday. “I will happily take this little container of evil. What could go wrong, am I right?” What an awful question to ask. It’s like she was begging for demons to fuck up her life. Good luck trying to screw up something that was already so royally fucked, demons. “We really do. I’ll brainstorm some business titles. Double bubble, toil trouble? Never mind. We’ll keep workshopping.”

#juice box #wr cece #wr chatzy #wr cece chatzy #wickedswriting

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youarejesting · 4 years

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Witching: 07

[MASTERLIST]

Beta: @tinysweetscrown, @lunarlxve

Summary: After your brother goes missing, you find yourself in Seoul with nothing but a prosthetic limb as the only clue to what might have happened. Circumstances lead you to a coven of seven handsome young men. But they happen to be a well-known coven that go by the name ‘Bangtan Boys’. Can they be trusted? Where is your brother?

Pairing: BTS x Reader, OT7 x Reader, Monsta X coven

Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Drama, Romance, Comedy, Action, and more. HONESTLY ALL THE GOOD STUFF.

Words: 1.5k

“What do we do?” Jungkook turned to their coven leader, waiting for his orders. Namjoon looked at you, removing his glasses and observing your reaction.

“He is not our brother, what do you want to do?”

“I want to save my brother before they kill them, and I want them dead” You growled standing up ready to leave immediately to locate these men.

“Easy their Jagiya, You don’t have any powers, and you have no idea how to find him.” Biting your lip, the weight of your options hanging over your head. On the one hand, you could use your powers and hopefully save your brother, and on the other, you might accidentally kill someone, like you almost killed your brother all those years ago.

“What have I done?” You dropped the book of Dark Spells and Curses, watching the flesh on Thackery’s leg turn black and creep up towards his torso. The healers took him away using spells to hold the magic at bay, and you cried in front of the magical council.

“From what we can tell, you have dark magic, more specifically, Necromancy.” The members of the council and even your father looked at you nervously. It was all an unspoken fear.

“I am not telling you not to pursue your specialty magic, but it has the potential to cause damage to others, and something could go wrong. I would never tell you not to, but the council and the villagers are all concerned” Your father spoke softly, his hand providing a comforting pressure on your shoulder as he sat beside you on the couch. This was the day everyone was supposed to find their mentors to help them with their specialty magic, but you didn’t have anyone in your coven to teach you.

“I need some air.” Taking the stairs up to the roof, where you saw a greenhouse, you sat on the bench, looking out at the stars littering the sky. You didn’t want to be evil or dark or a murderer.

“You might want to move down a little, Dak is about to bite you” Jimin’s soft tone called to you; you turned to see a plant behind you, flower petals retracted to show a large set of teeth dripping a bio-luminescent venom.

“Why do you work with poisons?” You blurted out, trying to figure out exactly why someone so nice worked in such a dangerous field. He turned to you, his eyes pierced into your soul. Did he know why you asked? “Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It definitely is, sweetheart” his answer caught you off guard, well maybe not the answer, but the delivery, the cheery smile.

“What did your family say about it?” They must have been like your parents, wanting to keep him away from others, hiding you away so you can’t hurt anyone.

“They approved, told me to be careful and start slowly.” Again his answer stunned you, ‘they got me about six different mentors so they could make sure I had a thorough understanding of the plants I worked with”

“Did you ever think you were a monster, did you ever hurt anyone?” Playing with your hands, you avoided his eyes; they seemed to look a little too deep into your soul.

“Once or twice, I asked myself why my specialty was growing poisonous plants and not regular beautiful ones. And yes, I had injured a young girl one day without knowing she picked a flower I had grown, and she got sick, but the healers took care of her.” He laughed coldly, rubbing the back of his neck, “I was young, and I didn’t understand. Her family petitioned to have me kicked out of our coven, and so I left willingly and ended up joining Bangtan Boys. I was the final member to join.”

He smiled, letting the plant chew on his arm, you could see Jimin’s eyes glow a vibrant color that matched the venom of the plant. “Why do you ask? You aren’t scared of me, are you?”

“Of you? No.” You laughed, and he grinned, shuffling into the greenhouse, and you looked at your hands. “Of me? Yes.”

You were walking back down the stairs when you were met with the bright smile, red hair braids, and clatter of beads that was Hoseok. “You and I need to have tea.” He linked his arm with you walking you off to the kitchen and sitting you down in front of Butters, who was chewing on a ceramic dinner plate.

“Alright, sit and drink.” He said, pouring the tea without moving his hands, busy shuffling a pile of tarot cards. “We are going to do a regular three-card read past, present, and future, is that okay?”

His smile was innocent, but his eyes were loaded with questions. You nodded understanding he must be under orders to gather information for Namjoon. You couldn’t deny that you weren’t a little curious as to what your past, present, and future would look like. “Let’s start with your past.”

The Three of swords

Your brother watched you from the hallway trying to revive a flower only to watch it shrivel in your hands some more. “You don’t have to be someone you’re not.”

“Tell that to the whole coven who is afraid of me. To our parents who are afraid of me” You hissed at your brother “Because I hurt you, I almost killed you. You could have been one of the greats going down in history. You had so much potential and now—”

“I know this is going to be hard to hear, but I am not afraid, I’m not afraid of you or your magic. Isn’t that a twist.” He laughed, propping his good leg up on the corner of the desk. “You are my sister, and something unfortunate happened, but no one has the right to fear you or shun you if they haven’t been on the receiving end of your magic.”

“Seriously with magic like yours, you could be a part of history,” he grinned, pulling off his prosthetic leg and waving it about in emphasis. “and I can say that my leg was taken by the greatest necromancer the world has ever seen.”

“That would be great except Mum and Dad don’t let me out anymore,” the sigh that escaped you was one of exhaustion. “I am to stay in my room and practice my normal magic.”

“They did not use the term normal.” His mouth fell open. “Oh, they did.”

“Ah, The Three of Swords represents rejection, sadness, loneliness, heartbreak, betrayal, separation, and grief. Such events feel so painful because they are unexpected. It’s not a good card.” Hoseok eyed you frowning, and you nodded in understanding.

“That sounds accurate.”

The Devil

“I am going away for a while.” Your brother smiled strolling into your room with his uneven footfalls, it was comforting to hear him coming, but you knew others thought the sounds were ominous. “Have you been reading the books I got you?”

“I haven’t gotten around to reading them,” you lied reading your ‘Normal’ spells some more “Where are you going this time, I hope you aren’t trying to find me another mentor.”

“I am because you can’t just sit here y/n! You can’t spend your life in the attic hiding away from the world like some kind of mistake. There is nothing wrong with you.” He seemed out of breath from arguing and he sighed, walking out before stopping at the door. “I found a witch specializing in Dark Magic that I am going to ask to teach you, her name is Son Dam Bi, and she seems to be a lovely young lady who knows a fair bit about it.”

“The Devil represents some kind of negativity in your life. Perhaps you are ensnared in an addiction. Maybe you’re self-destructive.” Hoseok said, rattling off the meaning before his eyes met yours, searching deep into your soul, “Or perhaps you’re letting fear control you.”

You shivered and looked at the next card, suddenly worrying about your brother and what might happen to him. Hoseok’s long fingers waved above the card, flipping it.

Death

“Death is symbolic of the ending of a major phase of your life. It may be difficult to let go. If you resist these necessary endings, you may experience pain, both emotionally and physically.”

Your head filled with images of your brother suffering, just like he had that day. His voice screaming in your head as the curse you created ate away at his body. Speeding away from the table in distress, your heart racing. Running straight out of the apartment and out onto the street. There was a strange panting from beside you, looking over and down there was a golden retriever following alongside.

You speed up faster and faster, your fear, anger, and anxiety overtaking your body. There was a dark smoke moving around your body. It engulfed you and Taehyung completely leaving you in total darkness.

Tag yourself [HERE]

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iamfallinforeverything · 4 years

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First Love (2/?)

Here it is dear @xceafh I hope you like it 😊 Also it is alot different from what you requested, but I decided to make this into a little series, because I have a lot of ideas for this and it would be to much for one part. So there is going to be a third part for sure, maybe even a fourth. I don’t know yet.

Also let me know if any of you want to be tagged in the upcoming stuff for First Love. I’ll try to make a tag list for this 😅

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (coming soon)

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries, The Originals

(Elijah Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson (coming soon))

Summary: Your ancestors make sure that you’ll keep your promise and it’s going to be interesting.

Words: +1,6k

Warnings: swearing, angst (just being upset I guess), alcohol

Y/F/D = Your favorite drink

Last Time: For a moment it was silent. And then Niklaus clapped his hands and looked at me.

“So, let’s talk about that promise you just made.”, he smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Because I don’t want to change who I am.”

***

We started to walk back to the house and I looked at him unsure.

“That’s going to be a problem then.”, I answered and smiled nervously.

“Oh it’s not. I’ve known most of the witches from your coven. They know that I am not willing to change who I am.”, Niklaus answered and let go of my arm. I stopped my walk.

“Because you killed most of them, haven’t you?”, I answered.

“You could say so. I prefer to say that I defended myself.”, he said and turned back around.

“Of course you did.”, I breathed heavily and walked past him, back inside the house.

Esther was gone. I couldn’t see her anymore. Just like Elijah. He’s probably taking care of her.

“Care to explain what the hell you did out there?”, Niklaus asked when he had caught up to me and was next to me again.

“Isn’t it that obvious? I peformed magic.”, I answered and shrugged with my shoulders.

“That’s not what I meant little witch. Stop playing games with me.”, Niklaus said and sounded a little angry.

“Or else what?”, I challenged him.

“You don’t want to know that my dear.”

“Oh, I have a good idea of what's going to follow.”, I smiled sweetly at him and spook a little spell to make it unbearable for him to be around me.

I could hear him gag and I laughed quietly.

“Stupid little witch.”, I heard him say which made me laugh louder.

I walked towards one of the many bars and ordered some water. With the glass in my hands I started to walk around again. I could see Finn, Rebekah and Kol talking with eachothers. Just as I was about to speak a little spell to hear what they were saying, their heads turned in my direction and all three looked at me. Kol looked so tortured again. As if something was putting him in a lot of pain. The sick feeling in my stomach returned and all I wanted to do was to leave this house. I was here for what I was invited to. So I’m free to go, right? As if anyone would care anyway.

I put the glass down and walked towards the exit. Everything I wanted to do was to go home, curle up under my warm blanket and sleep for four weeks straight. For some reason looking at Kol, Finn and Rebekah made me sick as fuck.

I walked out the door and straight to my car. I just needed to get in and drive back home. Not a big deal. I can drive. I can drive in the dark and the last sip of alcohol is was also... ...half an hour ago? That’s fine. I can leave. It’s fine.

Then why the fucking isn’t my stupid car opening? I had pressed the stupid button at least 1000 times and I had even rattled the handle. It just did not open. Fuck it, who needs a car when there are buses and trains. Besides, I'm a witch, I can do it without a car.

So I took off my high heels, picked them up and walked home. I walked the long way down to the gate. Pebbles, by the way, are an invention of men who never have to walk over them with bare feet. I cursed every little pebble and as I stood in front of the gate, it crossed my mind that I could also enchant them to make them soft. But I could also simply magically create flat shoes, which will certainly be useful for the further way home.

And that is exactly what I did as I walked through the gate. Or at least I tried. In front of the gate was an invisible barrier, which I couldn't get through.

"That little bitch Esther," I murmured quietly and quickly spoke a spell that should undo her "protection" spell. But when I still couldn't get through the gate, I realized it wasn't Esther's protection spell. It wasn't even a protection spell.

"You're kidding me, aren't you?" I said and tried another spell, but it didn't help either, which was clear. "You're gonna lock me in here? You're really gonna lock me in here? With the vampires. With the fucking original vampires! They' re gonna kill me. They're all gonna kill me."

Beaten, I turned around again and looked at the house in front of me, where I was forced to spend the next time, if not the rest of my life. Why did I always have to be so damn forward? Did I have to promise to change them back to humans? Couldn't I have come up with something else? Like turning them into a bunny, for example? That would be easier.

What am I supposed to do now? I can't leave the stupid property and one day they' ll notice me anyway. And I didn't want to sleep in a bush either.

Why were my stupid ancestors so damn specific about everything? I could just as easily fulfill my promise with something warm to drink in my cuddly bed. Wouldn't be a problem. No, of course they were melodramatic again and had to lock me up here. With the crazy ones. Great. Thanks, you idiots.

So I trotted back to the house and on the way there I decided to get drunk without restraint. I intensified my little spell that's keeping Niklaus away from me, and extended it to the entire Mikaelson family. Only Elijah I spared. I liked him. Somehow.

In the house I immediately headed to the first bar I saw and ordered Y/F/D, drank my drink straight down and ordered a new one. I did the same and with the third glass I resumed my tour through the house, even though I already knew the area where the guests were allowed to go. So I extended my tour to the "private" rooms. At some point I would know all of them anyway, after all I would stay here for a while. I wondered for how long my ancestors would go on playing this game. At least I knew that my mother's crazy aunt had a lot of stamina when it came to punishment. And my father's mother, my grandmother, also loved punishment. What kind of stupid family did I live in? Who loved punishing people? Who loved punishing their own family?

I drank my drink, walked around aimlessly and watched the Mikaelson family trying to get closer to me, but each time they soon started puking. The drunker I got, the funnier it got. Eventually I turned the tables and walked towards them, which made them start to run. I had to control myself not to laugh out loud. It looked too funny watching Finn puff out his cheeks because he was gagging. Or the look Rebekah got on her face. It was just amusing.

Unfortunately this game got boring after a while and so I decided to go outside again. It was damn cold outside and a dress with thin straps and a huge slit on the side didn't really help against the cold. But I was more than drunk, so I didn't really care. Maybe I was lucky and would freeze to death. Would my spirit be trapped here too then? That would be terrible. Being tied to this place forever.

For a while I just walked through the garden until I found a bench a little bit away from everything and sat down. With my back to the house. I just looked up at the sky and watched the stars. I wondered how much they' d already seen in their lives.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't really cared who was coming. I couldn't walk away anyway.

A thin blanket was put around my shoulders before someone sat down beside me. A quick glance was enough to know that it was Elijah.

"Were you not about to leave?", Elijah asked.

"Can't.", I murmured back without looking at him.

"Why may I ask?"

"Because my ancestors are little shitheads who won't let me go until I have kept my promise," I replied fiercely and immediately felt a slight tug in my head. That must have been my mother's crazy aunt. She has always hated me.

"Care to explain?"

"They have bound me to this property. I can't leave because there's a barrier around the entire property. I can't leave until I keep my promise. And since that is very unlikely, I will be stuck here forever.", I said. Maybe I was slurring my words, I was not quite sure.

"Why did you help us at all? We have brought nothing but misery to your coven."

"I don't know. I just had to.", I shrugged.

Elijah didn't say anything else. He just sat there. Kept me company. I could feel myself getting tired. Magic and alcohol made me sleepy. Elijah noticed that immediately.

"Come. I'll show you a room where you can stay.", he said and extended his hand to me.

Without thinking I took it and let him pull me up. My eyes were heavy and I coulnd't think straight. Was the sun rising back there? Was it already so late? Or was it just some lights from the party?

I didn't know and to be honest I didn't really cared. I was exhausted and I just wanted to sleep. I didn't really remember how I got into the room either. All I knew was that Elijah had helped me. And after that, it was all just a blur. Damn alcohol.

And please, don’t ask me where the stupid blanket went that Elijah put around my shoulders because I don’t have a fucking clue.

#the vampire diaries imagine #the vampire diaries #the vampire diares imagines #the originals #the originals imagine #the originals imagines #kol mikaelson #kol mikaelson imagine #elijah mikaelson #elijah mikealson imagine #klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson imagine #First Love #lills pieces

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chasseurdeloup-retired · 4 years

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The Witch, the Wolfsbane, and the Hunter || Bea and Kaden [Chatzy]

Kaden liked the woods. Not cause some bullshit like because they were oh so peaceful like some people thought. No, it was the exact opposite. The woods were wild, especially in White Crest. He could always find an adrenaline kick in the woods. Well, in theory. Today the forest was eerily quiet. Like this was the one spot of the forest the monsters dare not came. Boring. He'd just have to keep walking. He was sure to see an argopelter or a chickcharney at the very least. He swung his machete idly back and forth through the buses on the side of the almost invisible path through the trees. It wasn't to clear the way so much as keep him from falling asleep. "Yoo hoo," he called. "Anything out there? Anything at all?" Kaden stopped dead in his tracks when he realized he wasn't alone. Finally. But it wasn't the monster he was hoping for. Well, as far as he knew at least. It was just a woman across the way. Why the hell was someone wandering alone in the woods?

Bea made it a habit to go herb and flower picking in the woods once a week at minimum. Nellie had her garden in their backyard, but Bea thought that some things had to be picked wild. Wolfsbane was one of them. She didn't often use wolfsbane, but it was always an important herb to keep in her witch kit and Bea never liked being unprepared. She had donned her outfit in the morning carefully, she hadn't wanted Nellie to see her going out into the woods wearing her turtleneck and red skirt and call her a hippie again. Bea was not a hippie, even if she liked doing hippie-esque things. She had been carefully picking a stem of wolfsbane when she heard a male's voice. She didn't recognize whoever had just spoke and so she was rather ready to fight (or flight) at any given moment. She carefully placed the flower in her basket as she turned to him fully. "It's impolite to stare," She said, in hopes that this was just going to be an awkward encounter in the woods and not a fight. She didn't want to ruin her white shirt.

Kaden didn't exactly expect to find anyone out there in the woods. Unscathed, too. "Uh, sorry. Just thought I was going to be alone out here." He put his machete away and walked a little closer, tried to see what it was she was doing. His brow furrowed. All she had was just a bunch of flowers in a basket. "Seems like a long way to go for some flowers," he said, nodding towards her crop. It gave him a moment to get a closer look at what exactly she was gathering. Was that...? Yeah, sure looked like wolfsbane alright. "You know, it's not always the safest out here. You might want to be careful."

Bea eyed the machete with clear judgement. Who walked around the woods with a machete? She had seen a lot of strange things in White Crest, and this didn't even land in the top twenty, but still it was an unusual occurrence. "I don't usually run into people here either," She glanced at the wolfsbane and fought the urge to tilt the basket away from him. "Best place to get flowers is in the wild. Can't grow them as well in a garden." She fought the urge to laugh at the irony of a long man holding a machete telling her it wasn't safe in these woods. "I can take of myself generally and I haven't had a problem out here yet."

There wasn't a whole lot of use for wolfsbane that Kaden knew of beyond poisoning. Unless someone was a werewolf. Or knew a werewolf. He gave the woman a closer look, tried to hone in his hunter senses, see if he could pick up anything. There was nothing. No weird tingle. No super senses. But that didn't mean anything. He'd been wrong before. It wasn't a fool proof system, just weird feelings. He'd have to run through all the tests anyway, feeling or no feeling. "So, sounds like you're out here often. Strange you haven't run into any of the, uh, weird aggressive animals out here. Got some calls about them recently." If he were remotely professional, this was when he'd flash a badge. He wasn't anything close, however. "Animal control. Not on duty right now but, uh, yeah." Machete back in its sheath now, he pointed at her basket. "Animals or not, you should definitely be careful with that stuff. Poisonous as hell."

Wolfsbane was one of those plants that Bea and her sisters kept far out of reach and locked in a closet that none of the cats were allowed in. With her parents and grandmother getting older, she was often in charge of keeping more herbs and flowers at her place just in case they needed something. So while she rarely found use for wolfsbane, her family might need it and so she kept around just in case. She was sure Nellie would call her anal for having everything just in case. "Maybe they just like me more than other people." She had to resist putting her hands on her hips and staring the man down in front of her. "I've been living in these woods for a long time. I know how the animals here are and I certainly know what plants I'm picking. Thank you for the concern though."

Kaden did his best not to cast too much suspicion on his face. He wasn't quite sure he succeeded. Here he was, trying to help humanity and just keep shit safe and he was getting shit from some hippie probably werewolf in the woods. "Fine. So is there a reason you want a whole bunch of poisonous plants? Trying to off someone?" He wanted to find a way to try silver on her, see if it reacted on her skin at all. No clue how he was even going her name at this point, though, let alone close enough to even try a basic werewolf test.

There were few moments in Bea's life where she felt that Nellie would be truly proud of her for letting herself be chaotic for once and she had feeling that if her and Nellie were speaking, her sister would get a great kick out of this conversation. "Yes, actually I am," She answered with a sweet smile and rather satisfied shrug,"Most women go for poison, so I didn't feel like breaking that stereotype." She nodded to his machete,"If we're asking random strangers in the woods what they're doing, what's the machete? That standard for animal control?"

Kaden's eyes narrowed at her answer and his stare hardened. "Very nice. Hope it's quick and painful for them, then." Two could play at this. He wasn't about to let this weird woman in the woods getting in his damn way of hunting get the last quip in. And he wasn't a fan of being questioned, especially not about why he was carrying weapons in the the forest full of monsters. "No. But I needed a way to cut through some of the underbrush and shit out here." He may not have a great pokerface when it came to hiding his frustration or anger, but Kaden never had any problems lying on the spot. It was practically the second most important thing he learned growing up. Aside from hunting techniques, of course. He sighed. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. "You're really not going to tell me why anyone would need that much wolfsbane?" he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Can I at least get your name?"

That would be ideal. Any suggestions on how to make it the perfect amount of painful?" Bea asked, making sure she kept up her smile. She almost felt like she was performing, as she was trying to get a reaction out of him. With all the bull crap that she had had going on recently, it was fun to mess with someone a bit. She knew that was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself. "Sounds like you aren't that used to being in the woods then, I've never needed a machete to get around," She retorted. She was sure it made things easier, but she refused to admit that. "I find the flower pretty," She replied, knowing that she couldn't just say that her coven might need it eventually. She appraised him for a moment, Winston had just had their name stolen, she had to be careful. Problem was she wasn't sure how that whole thing worked. She'd have to ask her grandma. "You can call me Beatrice. What's your name?"

"I try not to make it a point to poison people so no suggestions from me, sorry," Kaden replied. He tried to check, make sure she really was just joking and pushing his buttons. Then again, town like this, just as likely that she was serious. And even more likely, she wasn't human at all. If only he could get one clear sign that she was a wolf. A reflection in her eye, anything. "Ah you caught me. I'm not a local. What gave it away? The machete or the accent?" He didn't buy her comment about the flower for a second. A cover up if he ever heard one. And he'd heard plenty. But it was a good opportunity for him. "Pretty, huh? Interesting reason to collect poison. Must be your favorite color to go out of your way for it like this." Wolfsbane was purple. Not a great test to see if she was red-green colorblind but it was worth a shot. "Kaden," he said, holding out his hand, silver ring on his finger, to shake hers. Probably a terrible idea if she'd just been touching poisonous plants. But he had to try.

"Tragic," Bea hummed. She didn't really ever plan on poisoning anyone, that seemed like a rather wasteful way to kill someone considering she wanted to try necromancy soon. Though, she wasn't looking to kill anyone at the moment, she just was going to make sure she made their death count if she was going to do it. "I was going to say it was the hair, but the accent helped me figure it out." She glanced at the flowers, red was her favorite color by far, but she supposed purple wasn't the worst color in the world. "Purple's nice enough, but definitely not my favorite." Bea took another moment to look at his hand, weary of the man still, but she grasped his hand in a firm shake.

Kaden cracked a smile. "The hair? Huh, didn't know it was French. Well, not specifically, at least. And here I thought it was just hair." So she knew the flower was purple and not blue and he was back to square one. That's fine. The could just be memorization or knowledge that wolfsbane was purple whether or not she saw it that way. Sure, that skirt she was wearing was red but that didn't mean she knew that. For all he knew, it could be her favorite color of yellow that just happened to look red to everyone else. "Really? Still seems like a whole lot of work for a mostly useless plant." He definitely didn't have enough information to call this test a failure. When she hesitated to shake his hand, he thought for a moment it might be proof, or at least suspicious if she had refused. Then she surprised him and shook back. He did his best to try to maneuver his hand so that his ring touched her skin, trying to see if she'd flinch or react in any way. It was awkward and he wasn't quite sure he'd managed it, but he did try to squeeze a little extra hard, hoping it'd make contact.

Bea smiled a little more sincerely back when she saw he actually seemed to appreciate her joke. "Hair can tell you a lot, you just gotta know what to look for. I swear once you figure it out, you'll always be able to find something in the hair." She supposed that if she was in his shoes, she's be rather suspicious of him too. Coming across someone randomly picking a plant known for poison without a good reason would be weird. "Maybe I like useless plants," She replied, knowing that all her lies were thin. She wasn't the best liar on her feet, but at least it wasn't as bad as that one time she tried to pretend a necromancy tome was for a book club. Her face scrunched back up into a rather confused face as she pulled her hand back from the handshake,"Is your hand okay?"

Kaden watched her hand as they shook. Did she flinch? React at all? Was her hand all burned or covered in rash now? He tried to see, but he couldn't tell at all and it was hard to know if she pulled away or acted oddly given how clumsy he'd been just then. Merde. "What?" he asked, forgetting he was in a conversation and not just lost in his own thoughts. "Oh, yeah. It's fine. Sorry. I just, uh..." What? That was a lot of fumbling, Langley. Come up with something! "Ring, it got loose, so I just..." He tried to make a motion with his hand that resembled whatever the hell it was he had attempted during the handshake, trying to make it look like he was trying to keep the ring from slipping or something. It was a mess, he had to admit. Not his best. "Sorry, like I said, didn't expect to talk to anyone this morning, forgot how to behave like a normal human being."

Bea tucked her hand into her skirts pocket after their uncomfortable hand shake. She felt weird keeping it out after that whole interaction. She wondered if he worked in animal control because it meant less human interactions he'd have to deal with. Her head tilted a bit as she watched him stumble through his words. This was not how she pictured her day going at all. "Well, I guess, it's a nice ring, so it makes sense that you wouldn't want it to fall off," She was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she had a feeling he was always this weird. She nodded,"Yeah, I can see that... Do you need a minute to regather your social brain?"

Kaden took a deep breath as if he could cleanse the awkward encounter away, pull himself together a bit. Usually he was better at this. Then again, he didn't normally have to try to charm wolfsbane picking hippies in the woods. Maybe this would have to be a long game. None of his current tests were landing, he'd have to try again later. "I think I've got it back, don't worry," he said, adding a smile. "I'll just blame on the lack of decent coffee this morning." He wanted to grab his knife, give it a spin, just to give his hands something to do while he stood there but he thought better of it. She was already skeptical of the machete, he was pretty sure she wasn't going to give him a pass for the arsenal he was carrying with him. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. "You said you were a local, right? Or at least you've been here a while? Maybe you know where I can find a cup of coffee that doesn't taste like sad, brown water."

If Bea had been talking to Nellie at the moment, she would have had a ball telling her about this man, but they weren't talking and so she didn't even have that to look forward to after this. She readjusted the basket, now so that it sat on her hip, she didn't want her arm to go dead from holding all the weight, just in case this conversation was much longer. "Coffee will do that to you," She agreed, knowing that she was rather useless in the morning without her cup or two. "Been living here for twenty three years and most of my family's from here, so I'd say I'm a local, yeah. Coffee plus is good, that's where I go. Though, sometimes it's just better to brew your own."

Kaden spoke without even thinking "You survived here 23 years?" Mon dieu, he hadn't been this off his game since he was a teenager. Maybe spending that time with the medical examiner had rubbed off on him. "I mean, lived here. You know. I just feel like most people I've met so far are new in town. It's good to finally meet a local." And it was good to know his foot was taking up a residence in his mouth. "Coffee Plus, though. Noted. Maybe I'll see you around there sometime." And maybe he'd find a way to prove she was in fact a werewolf. "Hopefully with less poison in tow."

"Well, more than six months if you're lucky." Bea told him with another sweet smile. "Yeah, we got a lot of turn over in these parts. The moose are just so vicious," She teased, clearly implying some thing else was astray in the town of White Crest. While it was a strange and awkward interaction, she didn't hate it. He was nice enough to her, even if it was weird that he he carried a machete around and wandered the forest when he was off duty. "I think I'll be fine. You have a safe... Wander through the woods, Kaden," She told him as she adjusted her basket once again and began to make her way past him to get home.

#chatzy #writing #beatriceblaze #bea #the witch the wolfsbane and the hunter

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like-rain-or-confetti · 5 years

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Strange Friends (Jane Volturi x Reader)

Your gift did not help you in close encounters such as this. You had run into something you really shouldn’t have. You were ready to attack Victoria but were entirely thrown off when you found the Volturi with her. You had masked your scent- which was your gift- but now you couldn’t move or they’d notice you immediately. What made it worse was how you could hear what they were saying and it was definitely not for anyone’s ears.

“Then allow me to make it clear, you have five days to fulfill their purpose. Fail, and we will intervene.” Jane said curtly, one side of her life curled up into a smile. Victoria looked back at her with a small nod. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere.” Demetri spoke up as he turned to look directly at you. “It appears we are not alone.” Jane followed his gaze to see you looking panicked. You were about to flee but were caught roughly on the arm by Demetri. “My apologies, (Y/N), as much as I enjoy our little games of chase- i am in no mood for it today.” “Leave.” Jane ordered Victoria who took her time, long enough to glare at you threateningly. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.” You growled at Victoria, tugging against Demetri as Victoria let out a growl of her own. “I won’t say it again.” Jane said smoothly and Victoria took the warning, leaving immediately.

“Eaves dropping, are we?” Felix asked as the four guards turned bringing their entire attention to you. “Not intentionally,” you admitted. “I was already here by the time you showed up. I couldn’t have left without you knowing or more specifically, her knowing.” You nodded back into the direction Victoria fled. Besides,” you added. “it’s very obvious that you’re not supposed to be here.” “We are supposed to be here.” Felix argued. “Is that why Jane is making decisions to deter Alice since she’s watching Aro?” You shot back. “If you really felt so entitled then you wouldn’t be sneaking around.” Jane let out a short giggle. “Don’t underestimate (Y/N), Felix. They’re very intelligent.” “Indeed.” Demetri commented, still holding your arm. “Tell us, have you joined Carlisle’s coven yet?” Alec tilted his head. “No.” You said quickly. “There have been some complications with that, of the human nature.” “Their human has put you off?” Jane said, hiding her slight inkling of hope. “Yes.” You said curtly. “However, i don’t think my stance on such matters is why you’re here. You’re giving her five days to attack them...and me?” “You? No. You’re not involved as you have so graciously told us. However, you know the laws.” Alec responded. “I do, which is why i don’t understand.” Your eyes shifted to Jane pleadingly. “Jane this is against the law, this is wrong. You’re supposed to stop her.” “We are the law.” Jane said quickly. “The law has already been broken, all i am doing is fighting fire with fire. If they’d like to ignore our laws then they cannot be upset when we do the same to create a balance.” You knew better than to fight her on this. All you could really do is find out where you came into this. “So what’s going to happen to me now, if you’re ‘cutting loose ends’? Am I considered an accomplice?” “No,” Jane responded with an innocent tone. “but you were very close to becoming one. For that reason, i suggest you keep that in mind upon your choice of covens.” “Is that a threat?” “Not at all. Consider it a friendly piece of advice for my friend.” Jane smiled at you before nodding to Demetri who let you go. “However, here’s some tough love.” You were entirely thrown off when Jane grabbed your throat and pulled you close to her, her previously ‘friendly’ demeanor gone in an instant. "Listen to me, you're going to go back to your territory. You won't even think about what you saw here never mind tell anyone. You'll do this because if you don't I will hurt you." Your eyes widened at her statement. Jane didn't skip a beat. "I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to." After a moment of staring into your eyes she let you go and you stepped back and nodding. “Can i depend on you to keep our little secret, friend?” You nodded, your eyes to the ground completely intimidated. “Yeah. I promise.” “Good.” Jane smiled, her innocent composure returning. “Then you can go.” You took off running. “That’s a second chance if i’ve ever seen one.” Her twin teased Jane as the four turned to look out into the open watching the newborns from a far distance. “(Y/N) won’t need a third.” Jane smiled wickedly. “I’m sure Aro won’t mind me showing some favouritism.”

You pulled out your phone, shaken to the core sending Carlisle a text. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’m going into hiding. Don’t look for me.’ You let out a shaky unneeded breath as you tucked your phone back into your pocket. You left to do exactly that, you didn’t go far but you most certainly did go into hiding.

Five days had passed and you should have known that the Volturi would pay you a visit before they left, but you just didn’t think it appropriate after Janes’ threat. You weren’t surprised when they found you in the middle of the woods, however, you were surprised when Jane approached you alone. “What happened? You asked. “Nothing.” Jane responded, lifting her dress as she stepped over a large log. “It is done with, both covens still in tact and all newborns along with Victoria are eradicated.” Jane looked down at you. “Why are you sitting on the ground?” “Why not?” You shrugged. “Barely any snow in this part.” You patted the spot next to you that was covered in snow just like your spot by by no where near as much as the several inches of snow surrounding you. “You’re welcome to sit with me if you wish.” Jane didn’t respond, continuing to watch you. “Do you really consider me your friend? Or is that something you’ve learned from Aro?” “Of course.” Jane said smoothly as she moved forward to sit next to you against the large tree. “I wouldn’t have let you go if you weren’t a good friend of mine.” “That’s good.” You said nonchalantly, brushing away a leaf that had fallen on your boot. “It’s never a bad thing to have a friend.” “Will it be a difficult friendship though?” Jane asked turning to you. “Well it’s already strange to begin with so-- you’re referring to me joining the Cullen’s aren’t you?” Jane nodded slowly with a small smile. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’m not. Your threat made the decision for me.” You said. “I’m glad to hear it.” Jane said lightly. “Besides, i tried animal blood for the first time and i’ve never questioned by existence so much because that was a mistake.” Jane tried to stifle her laugh but hiding her smile was impossible and you picked up on it immediately. “No, im serious. You do not understand how disgusting that was. I don’t know how they survive on that stuff because i was about to rip my own head off- it was that horrible.” “I hear it doesn’t taste bad, per say, but is no where near sufficient for thirst.” You shook your head rapidly. “No, it’s terrible. Like it’s not satisfying, at all and the taste, the taste, oh my god Jane, i can’t get over the taste.” Jane let out another giggle that she simply couldn’t hold back. “I suppose its not for everyone.”

#one shot #oneshot #twilight #the volturi #volturi #twilight eclipse #jane volturi #twilight victoria #vampire!reader

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angrypixie-sarisa · 5 years

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The tapestry

Piedras Rodantes Pt.7

Okay, so, I wanted to write another fanfic and since nobody pays attention to me on tumblr, the situation it’s just perfect, It’s a Supernatural fic. Now here’s the deal. It’s a polyamorous situation. I know, shush.

Sam x Mexican!Fem!Witch!reader x Dean

Warnings: Throughout the fic there are gonna be lines in Spanish. Nothing to fancy for google traductor, i hope. “Suggestions” of spanish songs i love. Swearing in both spanish and english. And the usual, mentions of blood, violence, smut and other varieties. It’s supernatural, really we don’t expect something else. Spoilers?(if you haven’t watch spn of course, or if you are just getting started with it) Also, SLOWBURN. Also, some chapters are short, some are long, depends on my mood.

Descriptionof the whole fic in general: So, remember when Sam took a break of hunting because he thought he was a danger for everyone? Season 5, i think? That’s where the fic starts. Reader and Sam met at the bar where he worked at, developed a friendship and a crush on one and the other. Then Sam has to leave because of all the shit that goes down throghout the season and the horseman and the fight between the archangels. But promises the reader that somehow, he’ll come back. Then, he goes to hell. That’s when reader meets Dean. And yeah, things aren’t as smooth with them in the begining. Reader befriends Lisa and Ben first, which raises Dean’s suspicions. He just wants to keep them save and all. After some stuff they become friends and the Sam comes back. So yeah…

What to do when feeling down

Things to do to cheer up

How to deal with a bad day

Good movies

Why?????????????

That was what your google research looked like. It had only been two days and you were nowhere near to carry on with your day. This usually didn’t happen to you. Normally you would see the signs and you’d end things before it got worse. But something about Sam just told you to keep going and you never feared where things were headed until it dawn to you. Well, shit. I’m a witch and he’s hunter. What could possibly go wrong? It’s not like you were in a coven or something like that. You weren’t satanic. You never even listened to the taunts of demons. You weren’t even sure if you were a witch. You only were certain that normal you were not. You had powers and gifts and your intuition was better than the others. Yet, these things had always been a part of you. And you knew your family well; they would’ve never dare to give in to the bullshit pact of a demon. Please, your mom would’ve even scolded the demon or threatened it with the, oh, so powerful chancla. Your dad didn’t believe in these things and your grandma always carried her Rosario with her.

Throughout the years, witch always felt the right word to describe you. Nobody had a bad reaction to it in México, so why was it that in the US everyone was ready to burn you alive?

You sighed and shrugged. There was only one thing you hadn’t tried yet. Well, two. And those were getting chocolate ice cream and painting.

Yes, you liked to paint and draw. You liked art in all its glorified representations and interpretations. You took out your supplies, a big white sheet you always intended on converting it in something else, all kinds of color acrylic paintings, a spoon and the ice cream. Brushes? What were those? You needn’t such things when you had fingers, the best brushes of the world.

You looked at your tin can filled with old and new brushes of all kinds. You stared and stared, as if the can itself had eyes and it was contesting against you.

“Fine, I’m sorry. I do love you guys, I just want to paint with my fingers today.” And it seemed that they understood. They always did.

It did the trick, you blasted some music, ate ice cream from the container (staining the spoon just a smidge) and painted the sheet. You had not and specific image. You just ran your fingers through it with blue and then orange and then pink and then green; making a whole beautiful mess of it.

You were almost finished with it when a loud banging at the door disturbed you from your artsy mood.

“Hijo de su pinche madre. ¿Quién toca tan pinche feo?” You whispered out loud. You got up from the floor, pausing the music, and cautiously approached your front door. You looked through the window and saw a far too familiar tall figure standing in front of your door. His eyes caught you staring and he sheepishly waved his hand hi. You rolled your eyes.

As you opened your door, you leant on the door frame, not inviting him to come inside and not telling him to go away either.

“You owe my door an apology.” Sam knitted his eyebrows together and scoffed a laugh.

You raised your eyebrows and your chin. You pursed your lips and stared him down.

“Seriously, you want me to apologize to a door?” You nodded, he sighed.

“I’m sorry, dear Door, it wasn’t intentional. I will never do it again or to any of your door friends.” He looked at you, waiting for your approval. Trying to hide your smile, you bit your lip and only nodded once.

Sam took in the sight of you. Your hair was braided and away from your face. Your yaw had a little bit of blue paint. Your hands were a mess, all the colors seemed to merge in them, frankly it seemed as if that was your actual skin color, spots of pink and red and blue and orange and purple… It felt right, for some reason. You were wearing your “to paint” t-shirt; an oversized white old t-shirt which had hints of your many years painting.

His eyes, then, landed in your bare legs. And he knew, you were only wearing the t-shirt.

Sam cleared his throat and forced his eyes to go back to yours. You weren’t glaring anymore, you would’ve been, but it wasn’t the first time you had caught him looking.

“Hey.” He said softly.

“Hey.” Your eyes followed his hand as he scratched the back of his neck. He’s nervous.

“Can I… May I come in?” You took a deep breath.

“Are you going to capture me and burn me alive?” He shook his head.

“No. I… I want to talk.”

“Did you bring something?” Sam laughed as your eyes traveled towards the brown bag behind him.

“Ice cream, chocolate and red wine, the cheapest red wine.” “As it should be”, he heard you whisper. It was then when the sound of your laugh filled his ears, he had missed it. You took a step inside and opened your arms wide.

“Come in.”

“So…” You said as you took two spoons out of the drawer. You opened the ice cream, but saved the wine for later. If Sam started asking questions, you might need it.

“I… I have questions.” He said. Oh boy, no. You sighed and opened the bottle.

“I figured. Shoot.” You poured yourself some wine and asked him if he wanted. He shook his head.

“Well, for how long?”

“Long as I can remember.” You took a sip and glued your eyes to the table.

“Well, what exactly can you do? Maybe you’re cursed or something similar. You don’t have to be a witch.” You silently laughed.

“Maybe you’re right but Sam you have to understand that I haven’t met someone, something or a whole definition for what I do.”

“Maybe I can help you with that.” He was wearing his worried face, with those puppy eyes looking at you. He wanted to help and correct the situation between you.

“Yeah, we’ll see.” You exhaled dramatically and brushed your hair with your fingers.

“Let’s start big, am, I can teleport, I see the future, I can sense people’s auras and sometimes even read their minds, although the last one’s rare. It only happens when the emotions of the person are very strong.” You looked at him through your glass of wine as you took another sip. He nodded for you to continue.

“I excel at divination, I can talk to animals but it’s the same situation as reading minds. I can heal myself and others in different levels…” Flashbacks started to flood Sam’s head. There was one time where he was preparing a coctel and as he was cutting the lime he had cut his finger. It wasn’t something big. You had already spent some time together and when he went back to talk to you at your place in the bar, you had indeed brushed your fingers lightly to the tips of his. By the time he saw his finger the cut was tinier than a papercut. Of course, when he questioned it out loud, you suggested it been the lime juice, you claimed it had scaring properties.

“You mentioned teleporting.” Sam started. You stopped talking and nodded, emptying the last of your wine in your mouth.

“How can you exactly teleport?”

“Not like demons. I can’t just banish in midair and reappear where I’d like.”

“Then how?” You gave him a small smile. You stood up and as easily as before the whole mess, took his hand in yours. As if it were the first time, he blushed intensely. It surprised him how used to your touch he was and how with only two days of not being around you it felt weird not to hold your hand in his.

You conducted him to the nearest closed door, that been the one of your supplies closet. You opened the door and showed him, well, your closet.

“What am I supposed to see?”

“Ordinary, isn’t it?” He rolled his eyes, but nodded. You closed the door again and when your hand went to touch the handle again, he thought he had seen it shine orange as the sunset. When you opened the door the sight in front of him was different.

It was a sunset in front of his eyes, a beach and a calm waving ocean; so near and real. He had never gone to the beach, ever. In the hunter life there wasn’t much space for vacations, let alone a vacation in a tropical destination.

“What? Is this real?” Sam turned to look at you. A warm feeling spread across your chest. Oh, his stupid face, so adorable and lighted and full of surprise and wonder.

“You want to go? The portal won’t close unless I close it. So we can walk in the beach if we want to.” He scoffed and started taking off his shoes and socks. You did the same.

“How does this work?”

“Well, there’s like a veil between the places. The veil helps the people or animals at the other side not see our side of the portal. They only see what they should be seeing.”

“So, we just have to step through the veil?” You nodded.

Sam took your hand in his. Your heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t often that he took the initiative, however through the past weeks; he seemed as if he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. It was always the small of your back, your elbow, knee, head, shoulder or back of your neck that was in touch of his palm. But when it came to holding hands, you were the one that usually started it.

“Ready?” You asked him. He didn’t answer. He just walked ahead of you, for the doorway wasn’t big enough.

You were already used to it. Being in one place and then being in another. The change of scenery didn’t affect you. Then, you looked at Sam, his eyes were closed. He was walking then stood still as he took in the feeling of soft sand beneath his feet.

He exhaled a shocked breath.

You giggled and contemplated the idea of kissing his cheek, his cheek or lips. A sad smile was drawn in your face. Even after all of this, you might still end up without him.

You gulped the knot in your throat, so your voice will sound smooth again.

“Open your eyes, Sammy.”

He did. If you thought his last expression was priceless, then the one in front of your eyes made the aching in your chest grew bigger. The sort of ache you have when you see something so beautiful it hurts. The sort of ache that you had both experienced at the sight of each other under the orange, golden light of the sunset.

He felt his hand leave yours as his arm slowly snaked his way around your waist. He drew you closer to him, chests pressed together. With his other hand, he cupped your face. You debated yourself whether you wanted to close your eyes or stare into his. Your hands placed themselves on his shoulders, but when he hugged you closer you clasped them at the back of his neck.

“I don’t know what you are Y/N and I don’t care anymore.” Sam whispered. He dipped his head more until you noses touched.

“I could be many things, corazón. But I know evil I am not.” He loved it when you called him that. That little pet name you had for him.

“Y/N, I really want to kiss you, so you better not tease me again.” You giggled and he closed the distance between you.

You both sighed in content. You had waited so long for this kiss. Such a tender yet desperate kiss. A kiss that could last forever and yet slip away. Like time or ether, touch or heartbeats. You both wanted it to last forever, if only your breaths had the same will as your lips.

When your lungs cried for air, you separated and stayed closed. Contradictory but existing.

“How was that tease, pretty boy?”

“You call that teasing?” In his eyes there was a promise, he’ll show you what it truly was teasing.

#sam winchester #sam x reader #dean winchester #dean x reader #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural imagine #supernatural x reader #fluff #angst #smut #piedras rodantes

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lady-needless-litany · 5 years

Text

An Uninvited Guest

The dusty quiet of Aziraphale’s bookshop, set against the muffled backdrop of London’s traffic, was split by tinkle of a bell. From his position seated behind the till, reading, he looked up. The bell heralded the arrival of a visitor, usually Crowley—except Crowley was in the backroom, perusing an newly-acquired Victorian copy of Doctor Faustus.

Instead, it was a woman that stepped through the door.

She was regal, poised, and supremely self-confident. Dark, lustrous hair. Stylish clothing. Aziraphale wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was a little intimidated and didn’t say a word, though he distantly felt that he should recognise her; in return, she didn’t spare as much as a glance in his direction.

She spent a few minutes browsing the shelves directly opposite the front door. They were old, leather-bound volumes—not Aziraphale’s most treasured, which were carefully tucked away in a separate room, but precious nonetheless. At one point, she pulled a book out and idly flipped through it.

That was enough to kick Aziraphale’s brain into gear. “Can I help you?”

She turned, fixing him with a piercing stare. “No.”

How rude.

His umbrage was short-lived. Looking at her face-to-face, Aziraphale though he detected something strange, something supernatural, about her. A witch, perhaps. No, it had to be more than that—the presence of a witch wasn’t discomforting in the way that this woman’s was.

“Excuse me. Have we met?” he enquired, still unsettled. “I can’t help feeling that you look familiar.”

The woman flicked her eyes up and down, surveying him. “No. We haven’t.”

“In that case, might I ask your name?”

“No,” she said flatly. “Besides, who are you?”

“This is my bookshop!” Aziraphale said, indignant. He shot to his feet. “I-”

“Ah.” Crowley said, emerging from the back room, summoned by Aziraphale’s raised voice. He immediately registered the woman’s presence. “Wonderful.”

His tone suggested that the occurrence was not, in fact, wonderful; it was the kind of voice one used when attempting to deal with a persistently annoying child without losing one’s temper.

Aziraphale whipped his head around. “Crowley, do you know…” he began. He didn’t finish the sentence, inhibited by his characteristic awkwardness.

“Yes, angel, I do,” Crowley replied, just short of a sigh. He leant against the till counter, gesturing vaguely in the woman’s direction. “Aziraphale, this is Lilith. Or Madam Satan, depending on what day of the week it is.”

“Enchanté,” Aziraphale managed. He flopped back onto his stool. “May I ask what you’re doing in my bookshop?”

Lilith ignored him. Instead, she directed her next words to Crowley. “I see you’ve gotten attached. Is that why you’ve been keeping your distance?”

He rolled his eyes. “Hell’s depressing. That’s why I keep my distance.”

A tilt of the head, a raise of one eyebrow. Minorly offended. “Depressing?”

“The hellfire and brimstone. Gets a bit much, after a while,” Crowley replied. “Anyway, I hear you’ve become quite attached to a certain coven of witches in America. Greendale, is it?”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. “Your absence has been noted,” she said coolly. “It reflects poorly on you. On all of us.”

“Glass houses, Madam, glass houses.” Crowley deliberately drew out his esses, giving the sentence a menacing edge.

Naturally, Lilith was unthreatened. “Careful, Crawly.”

His face grew stony at the use of the name, his hate for it undiminished by the intervening millenia. “Surely you’ve not come all this way to scold me.”

Her jaw tightened. Whatever her business was, it was galling her.

“As a matter of fact,” she said, tossing her hair. “I haven’t. I require your assistance.”

Although Aziraphale couldn’t see Crowley’s eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, he knew the demon was rolling his eyes. He laughed darkly. “I doubt that. Why would the Mother of Demons needs help from me?”

Lilith bristled. It was clear that it had cost her pride to admit it, let alone reiterate it. “You’re ‘Hell’s most approachable demon’, are you not?”

“That’s usually an insult coming from your mouth,” he said bitterly, recalling the day she’d minted the epithet, centuries ago.

“Desperate times, desperate measures.” Her voice had returned to its even keel. “There’s a girl—a witch. Sabrina Spellman. She’s having doubts.”

He played dumb, just to see the fury glitter in her eyes. “About what?”

She visibly suppressed a hiss. “Signing the Book of the Beast.”

“She’s a witch. Witches don’t have to draw their power directly from the Dark Lord. Many don’t.”

“The Spellman’s are part of the Greendale coven, part of the Church of Night. They have to sign. That’s their deal.” Lilith said. “Besides, He requires it. My presence in Greendale is not a holiday.”

“He requires one specific witch to sign it?” Crowley raised both eyebrows, exaggeratedly expressing his shock. “Must be a special person.”

“That’s irrelevant. You just need to convince her. As a more… benign representative of Hell.”

He considered it for a long moment, tapping one finger against his chin. He was only an arm-length away from Aziraphale, who wanted to reach out and tell him to refuse—not just because of his heavenly duties. He simply didn’t trust Lilith. Even without her formidable reputation, her threatening aura was enough. Malevolence radiated from her.

After a moment of deliberation, his response was decisive. “No.”

She blinked rapidly, a movement that was accentuated by her dark eyelashes. Slowly, dangerously, she asked, “Excuse me?”

Crowley shoved his hands into his pockets. “No.”

Her mouth twisted. Expectantly, she waited.

Her silence had the intended effect: it pushed Crowley into talking. “That’s not my job. Witches, recruitment, that’s not my shtick.”

“You’re a demon,” Lilith said, enunciating every word. She looked at him like he was utterly dense; to be fair, he wasn’t doing much to prove otherwise. “Of course it’s your job.”

“No, it’s - look, I don’t even report to you!” Crowley exclaimed, flustered. It was a lame excuse and they all knew it.

“If you can deign to follow Hastur and Ligur’s orders,” she said, disdain dripping from every syllable. “You can damn well obey me.”

There was nothing much Crowley could think of to say to that, a fact that was infinitely clear in the way he started shifting from one foot to the other. Seeing his discomfort, Aziraphale’s intrinsic empathy began to kick in.

“Hang on,” he said, doing his best to intervene. He was still sitting behind the counter, a position that felt mildly ridiculous, so he pushed himself to his feet. “Crowley’s right. Witches aren’t his thing. Anyway, if he says ‘no’, then it’s a 'no’. It’s as simple as that.”

Lilith looked between them with a new understanding—or so it seemed. Aziraphale wasn’t quite sure what understanding she’d come to, nor did he particularly care in that moment, but she certainly seemed to be looked at the pair of them differently. It was as if she were toying with them, a cat with a ball of wool.

“Alternatively,” she said, voice taking on a dangerously saccarchine twist. “You do me a favour—all in His name, of course—and I turn a blind eye to your… arrangement.”

There was no doubt over what she was referring to, but Crowley, instinctively afraid of the potential ramifications, tried to act innocent. “What ‘arrangement’?”

“Don’t try that with me, dear, it’s crystal clear. You’re practically cohabiting.” She spat the last word out with no small measure of contempt. There was no hiding, then.

“Fine,” Crowley said through gritted teeth. “But that’s it. I’ll talk to the witch. Nothing else.”

“No, that will do. Just get it done and don’t beat around the bush.”

Crowley didn’t reply, leaving a loaded silence.

Eventually, he spoke. “Unless there’s anything else, you may as well leave. This isn’t a social call.”

She crossed her arms, tutting. “Such poor manners. I expect better from a demon.”

“You heard him,” Aziraphale said suddenly, even surprising himself. “Please leave.”

She regarded him with derision. “Angels. I’d forgotten how much I hated them,” she mused aloud.

Aziraphale’s cheeks grew hot. He opened his mouth to respond, but Crowley beat him to it. “That’s enough.”

For the first time since she’d walked into the shop, she smiled, all teeth and scarlet lipstick. It conjured unsavoury images of fangs and venom. “I suppose you’re right. I really ought to be going.”

She pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket, holding it out to Crowley. Reluctantly, he took it.

“It was wonderful to see you,” she said, voice laden with sarcasm. “I’m so glad that we could come to a compromise.”

With that, she vanished.

In her wake, there was an odd lull—like a marionette with its strings cut. Indeed, they both released tense breaths, shoulders slumping.

Aziraphale moved from behind the counter. “I think that’s quite enough for one day,” he said, turning the sign on the door to ‘closed’. “She really was horrible.”

Crowley visibly marshalled himself. “That’s just who she is.”

“Yes, but you’re a demon and you’re nowhere near as-” he floundered, searching for a word, while Crowley watched him with growing amusement. “-awful.”

“Makes you glad that you’ve got me, doesn’t it?”

He’d never admit the flutter that gave him. “Mm-hm.”

“Does she normally order you around like that?”

“Only a couple of times per millenium,” he replied flippantly. “It’s not just me. She likes to remind us all who’s boss.”

“I see.”

To Crowley’s ears, there was something a bit off in that response. If he had to hazard a guess, Aziraphale seemed almost… jealous. Crowley removed his glasses. “Are you alright, angel?”

“I need a drink,” Aziraphale exhaled. “A dram of single malt, I think.”

Crowley looked mildly alarmed. “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Oh, what does that matter? What’s the point in being able to snap your fingers and get rid of a hangover if you never get hungover in the first place?”

Crowley had to admit that he had a point. In silence, he followed Aziraphale into the back room, a cozy space lined with cupboards and bookshelves and housing an assortment of tables, chairs, and sofas.

Crouching, Aziraphale pulled open a small cupboard, extracting two snifters and a dark bottle. With a mutter, he cleared the glass of dust—it was clear that the cupboard hadn’t been opened in a long while.

Crowley tilted his head. “What is that stuff?”

“Macallan 1926.”

“Why don’t we drink that more often? Puts your Chiantis and your Cabernets to shame.”

He deposited his paraphernalia on a table. “The whisky doesn’t seem very angelic, somehow. Besides, it’s rather expensive.”

Watching as he set about opening the bottle and pouring it, Crowley wrinkled his nose. “That’s not exactly a problem when you’re an angel, is it? Or a demon.”

“Magically replicating it just isn’t the same, trust me.”

“Look, can we just get on with drinking it?”

“Yes, indeed.” Aziraphale handed him a snifter. “To ineffability.”

“To ineffability,” Crowley echoed, clinking their glasses together.

Crowley awoke with a start, largely due to the painful crick in his neck. He found himself slumped in an armchair; opposite him, Aziraphale was stretched out on a sofa. To one side was a table, with the now half-empty bottle of whisky standing on it.

He dismissed his hangover and started properly scraping his mind together. He heaved himself up, casting a fond look at his still-snoring friend, and made his way through to the shop. It was a Thursday morning, but it was still early—the light was still gentle, softly illuminating the room.

A flash of colour caught his eye, jolting him out of his drowsiness. On the counter was a crisp, white envelope. It was written in sharp, angular handwriting:

Sabrina Spellman

Spellman Sisters’ Mortuary

Greendale

United States of America

Nothing that Crowley couldn’t have found out himself. Lilith had left it there purposely. It was supposed to serve as a reminder.

He sighed. This is not going to be fun.

This is also on my AO3! And I’m planning to write at least two more chapters.

#fanfic #good omens #chilling adventures of sabrina #crossover #aziraphale x crowley

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xxwritemeastoryxx · 5 years

Text

Forgotten Alliance Ch 40

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x OC with other parings mentioned throughout.

Word Count: 6.6K

Warnings: Canon Typical things

Author’s Note: As a reminder, FA can be found on ffnet up to chapter 42. I am uploading chapters here on tumblr for convenience. I decided against tagging this until new chapters are posted. If you would like to be tagged please let me know! Chapters are queued and will be posted randomly. Enjoy

"So you aren't going to kill her?" The Mayor asked from across the table. "Even though she fed and killed off locals."

"No." Elizabeth said shaking her head. "It's not that I won't, its that I can't kill her."

"Rules had been broken." Mary stated as she looked at Elizabeth. "As you said the punishment should be death."

"And I understand that." Elizabeth said looking between the two. They weren't clearly hearing her. "Veronica is a unique situation. One that I have no control over."

"Seriously?" Mary Scoffed. "Just because she is someone you turned, it doesn't mean the girl gets a free pass from not following the rules."

"She is still a part of the coven." Vincent said in hopes of helping the others to understand. "Veronica belongs to not one but two factions. One of them has deemed-"

"Why should that make a difference to us?" The Mayor asked cutting Vincent off. "The whole point of us being at peace was none of the rules were being broken. For almost four years we had managed to live with little problems. Now you want to break that trust because of one vampire."

"A vampire that is exactly like Elizabeth." Vincent said shaking his head. "One that isn't exactly killable by normal standards plus when you involve magic, it just becomes even more difficult."

"There must be a way to do it." The Mayor said looking at all of them.

"There isn't." Elizabeth said looking at him. "If there was, it would have been done."

"Oh really. Who tried?" Mary asked.

"The hybrid that allowed her to do it." Elizabeth said trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. Her eyes lifted to the corner of the room where Malakai had been standing.

"This hybrid," The mayor began. "What exactly did he do to try and kill her?"

Elizabeth sighed remembering the process they had gone through. "Stake to the heart, decapitation, pulling her heart out, you name it he tried it."

"If he really tried all of that, what was stopping her from staying dead?" Mary asked looking back and forth between Elizabeth and Vincent.

"Magic. Both hers and the coven." Vincent said sighing. "Veronica is truly a special case that we have to consider. She is that of what Elizabeth is as well as a witch that belongs in New Orleans. She is the descendant of both Elizabeth and powerful line of witches that have importance within the coven. The witches believe that Veronica is meant to keep the peace that we've established those few years ago."

"How is she supposed to keep the peace when she is feeding off the locals?" The mayor asked, not believing a single thing that either one of them had been saying.

"She is supposed to be dead." Elizabeth said with a nod. "Believe me, even after Malakai had tried every way possible, I tried. But before last night, the coven decided that Veronica is of great importance to them. Because of that, she has been placed under their protection."

"Which means what exactly?" Mary asked crossing her arms.

"It means that several members of the coven had put a spell in place that no one can lay a hand on her." Vincent said looking between Mary and the Mayor. "In doing so, whatever it was that they attempted was counteracted by magic."

"When Malakai shoved his hand into Veronica's chest, he couldn't pull out her heart without feeling pain on his own. Decapitation, nothing broke through her skin. Stake to the heart, it burned before it even reached her skin. I watched every attempt and each of them failed simply because she was being protected." Elizabeth said giving some of the details that had happened the night before.

Both Vincent and Elizabeth had seen the looks of shock on their faces before they huffed slightly. Elizabeth knew they weren't happy about the situation. But when they had all sat down at this table almost four years ago, this had been one of the coven's demands to be included. They had all agreed on it and turning back on it now would mean the peace treaty they had made would fall to pieces and this was not what either of them wanted.

Elizabeth knew that they would need something to put their minds at ease. "I do have a plan. While Veronica may be under the protection of the covens, I will be taking her out of Louisiana for at least a year. It will give the locals some peace of mind that she isn't within the city limits."

"What?" Vincent asked shocked.

"Why are you leaving?" The Mayor asked.

"Who is going to keep the Vampires in line, while you are gone?" Mary asked.

The questions fired at her had made Elizabeth shake her head slightly. "Answers I cannot give in this exact moment. But I know I am needed elsewhere for now." She wasn't going to out right say that in that moment she was planning to leave to retrieve venom from the packs. Hayley hadn't had a chance to talk with Mary just yet. She wasn't going to make things worse while they were in there for one problem.

"Do you at least have any idea as to when you'll be leaving?" The Mayor asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "Tomorrow night. By then, I will make all the necessary arrangements and you will have your answers."

"How you feeling?" Elizabeth asked Veronica as she walked into her room.

Veronica, who had been staring out a window, had been waiting for the others to return from the council meeting. Last night had confused her greatly and no one would give them an explanation as to what was going on.

"Curious, mostly." She said turning from the window and looking over at Elizabeth who had taken a seat in the arm chair.

Elizabeth smiled. "It was a loophole that we found in keeping you alive. That's all that matters."

Veronica shook her head slightly. "Shouldn't you have filled us in on it?"

Elizabeth laughed. "I didn't even think it was going to happen. I believed that Malakai was going to take your life and that would have been the end of it. But when he was thrown across the room, I knew Vincent and the coven had came through."

A small smile tugged at Veronica's lips. "What did the others have to say about it?"

"Oh they were pretty upset." Elizabeth said with a nod. "But there isn't much they can do about it now. The coven decided that you were worth saving."

"Have they ever done something like this before?" Veronica asked curiously. She was a vampire. Sure she still was able to do magic, but she had thought they would have been happy that one more vampire had been taken from the world.

"These are people we are talking about, not the ancestors." Elizabeth clarified. "You made an impact on these people as you spent time with them. They wanted to help you do this. You mean a lot to both factions, that't not gonna change."

"The ancestors wouldn't have done this, would they?" Veronica never saw the coven with their connection to the ancestors. She had heard the stories about them and wondered if they were really that bad.

"Coming from someone that has been altered by them, given that it was a wrong choice for the right reasons, I can tell you that they wouldn't have cared." Elizabeth shook her head. Elizabeth knew how much they had hated vampires, the Mikaelsons mostly, but Veronica wouldn't have changed anything. "They would have denied Vincent and the coven a chance to do it and would have stood by and watched as you died."

Elizabeth could see a shiver run through Veronica at her words. "Were they really that bad?"

She nodded. "They were really upset with your cousin on many things. She could have done things differently, I'll give them that, but it ended in her death. When we tried to bring her back, she explained that things on the other side were bad, they were trying to do something with her and when El-we weren't able to help her in the end. I have no idea what happened to her spirit. But that tells me everything that they care not for anyone who doesn't stick to their rules. You are different, they wouldn't have cared."

Veronica watched as Elizabeth's eyes had filled with tears as she explained. She walked over and sat in the chair right across from her. "That was the night you took the serum, wasn't it?"

Elizabeth shook her head, blinking back the tears. "No, That was the night I turned off my humanity. Two days later, I took the serum and the events that followed were nothing I was proud of." To think those events had only been a few years ago. Though to Elizabeth it was already beginning to feel like so much longer than that. "Enough of that though." She said remembering the reason she was actually wanted to speak with Veronica besides just checking in on her. "How would you like to get out of New Orleans for a bit? Go on some what of an adventure?"

Veronica's eyes lit up a bit at the words and that had already indicated her answer to Elizabeth. "Where are we going?

"A few different places. With Hayley's help we should know locations soon." Elizabeth still had no idea where any of the packs actually stayed at. While there were two specific lines she didn't need to track down, it was the other five she needed. She just hoped that she wouldn't get stuck somewhere along the way.

"How long should I pack for?" Veronica asked, practically bouncing in her seat.

"We'll be gone a year, so make sure you have enough to be living out of hotels, cars and all that fun stuff." Elizabeth said with a nod. "I have a few other arrangements to take care of tonight. And then I'm headed out to Hayley's. I'll be back first thing in the morning and then we'll be heading out okay?"

"Okay." Veronica said with a nod as she got up from her spot. "Is Kai going with us?"

"Like he'd ever stay behind." She said with a smile as she stood up from her seat. "He knows to be ready. I'll see you in the morning."

With one last nod from Veronica, Elizabeth walked out of the room to take care of everything else she needed to.

"Is taking her such a good idea?" Vincent asked. Elizabeth and Vincent had meet up at Rousseau's. They both needed a drink after the events of the day.

"She stays, we have a possible uprising." Elizabeth said as she ran her finger along the rim of the glass that had been sitting in front of her. "That uprising from anyone could turn what we made into utter chaos. This gives them all a moment to breath and get used to the idea that our laws are definitely not meant for everyone."

"Would it have been any different if it was Kai that had been the one to do the killing?" Vincent watched Elizabeth. He was watching her reactions at his words. He could see the hurt at the thought of it all in Elizabeth.

"Kai is a hybrid, I would have done what was necessary." She said nodding even though she hated herself for actually being okay with the idea. "Even though he is one of the only hybrids sired by Klaus, I would have done it."

Vincent nodded before taking a drink from his glass. "When will we be expecting you back?"

"A year from tomorrow. I just got to take care of this before I go crazy doing nothing." She sighed softly looking around the bar for a moment. "I know you hate the idea of me trying to bring them back, but all this time, I haven't done one thing to actively be looking for the cures. I had been putting the work I should be doing to others. I need to do this."

"I get why you are doing, honestly I do." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "But what is going to happen when you get out there and they refuse to help? Or even if you do get the venom, whats the next step?"

"I'll figure it out," She said with a shrug. "There will be others from the same line, one pack may not agree to it, but another will. As for if I can get them all, I'm sure Jess can do something to get what we need." Or Freya for that matter. But she never mentioned that she was able to actually speak with the Mikaelsons. She wasn't going to tell him that now. "I'm not giving up on them."

He sighed. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up while you are out there Liz. While I'll admit I am not the Mikaelson's biggest fan, I know that with you running this, they'll keep in line." He thought his words carefully next. He didn't want to make it seem like he didn't care at all but they also had other things to worry about. "Look, if this doesn't play out the way you want it to, you have to promise me that you'll let someone else take care of it. Let Hayley give it a go. We both know that they wont stay that way forever. But this city has thrived with you here, not them. You."

"I get it." She said nodding. She honestly did. "Depending on how it goes out there, I'll make that promise when I get back. I can't go out there thinking I'm going to fail at this." she gave him a smile. "But until I get back and I need you to do something for me while I'm gone."

"Name it." He said returning the smile.

"There are going to be vampires that are going to take advantage while I am gone. My plan is to leave Josh in charge, he's the only one that isn't on the outs with the other factions. If trouble comes alon-"

"I'll be sure to help him in anyway that I can. If some group of vampires decide they want to act out, I won't let them." His smile grew into a smirk.

"Good." She said with a nod. "Now I need to go talk to him about this." She stood up from her seat and drank what was left in her glass before putting it down.

"Just remember what I said, Liz." He said watching her take a step back.

"I wont forget." She promised. "It just wont be the center of my thoughts." She gave him one last smile before turning to leave.

...

"What exactly am I supposed to do when they start pilling in for some rager and the guest of honor isn't here?" Josh asked as he ran his hand through his hair. He didn't like the idea of being left in charge of something like that.

Elizabeth thought for a moment. He had been right, she had forgotten all about the fact that she was expecting several vampires for the yearly celebration in half a year. She needed to come up with an idea and one quickly. "Tell them that I'm out tracking Hayley down." She said with a slight shrug. "I highly doubt I'll be running into anyone during my time away. If they ask where I was last, say following a lead to Europe."

"That seems really thought out." Josh said as he watched her begin to pack her things.

"Thanks I made that up on the spot." She said giving him a smile. "I'm serious though, this has to work out in our favor. They have to believe it. If not, there is a chance that they'll be back a lot quicker than we need them to."

"Great, of all the other, much older vampires in this city, you choose me to take care of everything while you're gone." He shook his head at the thought. Elizabeth was in fact supposed to be gone for a year and he wasn't sure he could handle it all.

"You'll have Vincent to help you out." Elizabeth reassured him. "I'm also just a phone call or text away from any desperately needed advice you may need while I am gone."

"Yeah, expect a call a day at the very least." That caused Elizabeth to laugh. "What am I supposed to do about the ones that decide they want to cause trouble while you are away?"

"Vincent will help you with that." She promised. "He'll be using magic to take care of it all until I get back. Though the others don't exactly know that just yet." She gave a slight shrug. "Stop worrying so much, everything will be fine."

"The last time you said that, I woke up from my neck being snapped and Veronica dying." He shook his head at the memory.

She sighed softly and placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "You'll do fine, Josh. Klaus can't be touched because of Jess's spell. I am the only one that can go in and out of there. He'll be out of sight, out of mind. Veronica and Malakai will be with me, so there is no need to worry about what kind of trouble they can get into. Your biggest task right now, is that anniversary party. You have a little under six months until they start coming in. Attend the meetings, they'll help you out, no questions asked when it comes to them visiting."

"That is the pep talk I'll be repeating in my head even after I call you a million times." That had caused Elizabeth to laugh as she removed her hands.

"I'll talk you through every step if need be." She promised. "You've got this. There isn't anyone else I'd trust for this job."

...

"Would it even change your decision if I did?" Jess asked as she stood next to Elizabeth out on the porch of her house. They both had been looking out at nothing in particular. "You said you didn't want any more visions."

Elizabeth sighed. "It wouldn't change anything. I'd still go out there and try my damn hardest to make sure I come back with the venom that I need." She honestly wasn't sure why she was there. She had told Jess that she hadn't want any more visions after she asked the last time. "You don't need to show me anything. I'll take your word for it, but I just need to know if things will go as planned while I'm out there."

Jess bit down on her lip for a moment as she thought. No matter how many times Elizabeth asked, Jess would always be there to help in some way. Even if it meant she was giving Elizabeth details that would be of her taking a few steps closer to a future that made even Jess cringe. "There will be moments where you'll succeed easily and then there will be others where you'll do whatever is necessary. But from what I can see, doing whatever is necessary leads to consequences that you may not like. I don't know what those consequences will be, but I know that once you come home..." She sighed softly as she placed her hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "There will be something different about you."

Elizabeth's eyes searched the woman's face as the words had sunk into her mind. There were so many things Elizabeth wanted to know, but at the same time she didn't. There was a possible future of hers that she was in no way ready for it. "A good different or a bad different?" She asked hopeful.

Jess shook her head slightly. "Like there is a secret you've been keeping that no one can get you to talk about."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped slightly. Once again she was left with more questions than answers and Jess hadn't showed her a single vision. She now knew that some things would work in her favor while she was gone. But when and to what extent would Elizabeth do what was necessary to get what she needed? What consequences would be waiting for her when the time came? And if there was secret that she would be keeping, what was it that she was keeping? Was she keeping the fact that she had awaken the Mikaelsons a secret or was there something else?

A thought crossed her mind and Elizabeth shook her head. "A secret no one can get me to talk about. If I'm keeping secrets from people its because I don't want them involved in anything. if it's what I'm thinking, I'm gonna fail out there aren't I?"

"Don't go reading into an observation of mine." Jess said shaking her head. "We both know my take on things can be different. And at any point things can change depending on what happens while you are gone. I wont know until you are out there and doing what you need to. For now you need to go and say good bye to to a few people. We can deal with what happens after once you come home."

Elizabeth rubbed her hand along her face as she sighed. "Fine."

"I'd say to call me to let me know how you are doing, but-" Jess shrugged the rest of her sentence and Elizabeth laughed.

"I get it." Elizabeth said with a nod. "You'll know how things are going once more visions happen."

"Exactly." Jess said with a smile pulling at her lips. "Tell the others I said to make sure you're doing okay out there."

Elizabeth smiled. "I'll tell them you said that."

"You're here!" Hope yelled out as she came running down the porch steps as Elizabeth got out of the car.

Elizabeth smiled and braced herself for the hug that was coming from Hope. Once Hope was attached to Elizabeth, she wrapped her arms around her and hugged tightly. "I had to come see you guys before I leave." She said as she pulled away from Hope.

"Leave?" There was sadness in Hope's voice as she looked up at Elizabeth. "Why do you have to leave?"

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Its that time to take my trip that we've been talking about."

"Can I go with you?" Hope asked as she started to pull her towards the house.

"You have to stay here with me." Hayley said from the porch. "Aunt Liz has to go take care of some things that we can't go do."

The pout that formed on Hope's lips had caused both Hayley and Elizabeth to shake their heads slightly. "If you came with me, who would visit your Aunts and Uncles?" Elizabeth asked hoping that would help make the girl feel better about having to stay behind.

"No one." Hope said sighing. "But who will go with you?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Well first of all, Kai will be with me. And then I have another friend going with me, Veronica. So I won't be alone for a year."

"Okay." Hope said with a nod. "Are you going to visit them now?"

The smile that had been on Elizabeth's lips had grown. "Of course. I wouldn't leave without seeing them one more time."

"I'll race you to the room." Hope said as she bounced slightly where she had been standing on the porch.

"Go on." Elizabeth said nodding her head towards the house. "I'll move like a slug so you wont think I'm cheating. Let them know I'll be there." Hope's giggle filled the air before she took of inside the house.

"No more sitting around?" Hayley asked as she entered the house.

"Nope." Elizabeth said popping the 'p'. "There were some problems back home. Figured now would be the time to give the humans some breathing room."

"What happened?" Hayley asked curiously as she closed the door once Elizabeth had walked in.

"I may have helped piss Mary and the Mayor off with Vincent's help." She said with a shrug as she looked around the living room. For as many times as she had been in that living room, her eyes never failed to scan the walls of the place. It was at that moment she had felt Hope enter the dream world. A smile pulled at Elizabeth's lips as she felt the familiar presence of Elijah. "I offered to take the problem out of the city while I was gone for the upcoming year and they agreed, so I guess its not that big of a problem anymore."

"When do you officially leave?" Hayley asked as she took a seat on one of the couches.

"I'll pick up Kai in the morning and head out from there." Elizabeth said with a nod. "Have you been able to get what I asked?"

Hayley smirked slightly. "I did." She said with a nod. "And I didn't even have to only rely on Mary to get the information."

Elizabeth's eyebrow raised. "Do I even want to know?"

Hayley chuckled. "Probably not since it broke your rules about staying put."

Elizabeth shook her head slightly. "Yeah I figured that was going to happen at one point or another. As long as you didn't draw any attention to yourself, I wont complain."

"Yeah, about that." She said in a joking manner. "I ran into a a bunch of vamps and I just couldn't resist pulling their hearts out."

Elizabeth laughed. "Right and you left their bodies like bread crumbs that lead straight to your front door."

"I figured it would keep me from going crazy while you get to go off and have all the fun." Hayley said with a grin on her face. It had been nice for them to just sit there and joke around. Things had changed between them from the first time they had met. "Go on," Hayley said nodding her head towards the hallway. "I'm sure he's waiting for you."

"Impatiently at that." Elizabeth said with a smile. "He's worried," She noted feeling the worry mixed in with the slight feeling of impatience. "I've felt a lot of different emotions the last two days and I'm sure he's going mad with not knowing whats going on." She watched as Hayley shook her head before she nodded her head once more towards the hallway as a silent 'go'. Elizabeth gave her one last smile before she made her way towards the room.

...

"Any longer and I was going to have Hope go out and drag you here." That was the first thing Elizabeth had heard the moment she had found herself in the dream world.

Elizabeth chuckled as she watched as Elijah took a step towards her. "For someone who has been alive for quite some time, you lack patience." She said jokingly.

"I only lack it when I know something is wrong out there and I can't do anything to help from here." He said as he came to a stop right in front of her, his hand moving up to run through her dark locks. "What happened?"

She leaned into his touch, a small smile on her face. She could see the worry in his eyes as well as feel the worry coming through the bond. "Kai took Veronica out on Bourbon Street and she killed several locals."

Elijah's eyes widened at that. "Tell me you didn't have to-"

Elizabeth shook her head quickly. "Thankfully no. Um, Vincent had convinced the coven to place a spell on her to keep her from any harm. We had to convince the council" More like lie. She thought to herself. "that the coven had decided to save Veronica long before she was meant to be executed."

"It isn't a crime to protect her, Elizabeth." He said with a nod. "You did what anyone else would do."

"I know." She said sighing. "It was just a long few days and I'm just relieved that its finally over."

"If you are relieved," He said as he grabbed a hold of her hands. "then what is that I feel?" He couldn't quite define the feeling she had been emitting from the bond. He knew what it felt like when she stressed, when she worried, when every emotion played through her except this one.

She bit down on her lip slightly. "I don't know how I'm going to spend a year away from you." She said as she let go of one of his hands and brought it up to place it on his cheek. "I could handle it before the bond had been restored. I could handle the months away from you before Hope had found the loophole. The days became bearable with the gems because I could feel you until it was time for another visit. But a whole year without seeing you, its like I'm fighting myself on staying here with you."

Placing his hand on top of hers, he sighed. "When?" He knew exactly how she had felt about that. He had thought about it several times while she had been gone. He had been grateful for the things that Elizabeth had mentioned that made the situation better. But just like her, he hated the thought of not being able to see her for a whole year.

"Tomorrow morning." She said before swallowing the lump that had seemed to have formed in her throat. "I'll be picking Kai and Veronica up and then we'll leave from New Orleans."

Bringing both of her hands up to his lips, he kissed the back of each of them. "We both can do this." he said with a nod as he looked at her. "I'm sure with the gems we'll be able to feel something of the other."

"Distance makes it harder to feel it." She noted. Elizabeth remembered what it was like before Ava had taken it away. At a specific distance, they couldn't feel the effects of the bond. While they could feel an urge to go in the direction where the other had been, the connection wasn't strong.

"All this time we've been letting it grow. It will take a greater distance for it to feel like there was nothing." His words had gotten a small smile out of her. "If I have to ask Hope to practically spend every waking moment in here just to make it so I'll be there with you in some form, sobeit."

"I'm almost positive you wouldn't even finish getting the words out of your mouth before she said yes." She absolutely loved that Elijah could easily calm the thoughts and the emotions that were causing her to stress. While at times she wished it wouldn't have been done so easily, in this moment she desperately needed for him to do it. To silence the argumentative side of her brain that told her to stay put.

"Come on." Elijah said taking a step back. "I'm sure the others are wanting to see you."

"You mean you'll actually share me with your siblings before I leave?" She asked in a fake shocked tone.

Elijah smiled and shook his head before he pulled her close to him and kissed her. Elizabeth smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll still be within arm's reach at all times." He said once he pulled away slightly.

Elizabeth shook her head and kissed him once more. "I have no complaints about that."

"Hopefully it wont feel like forever." Elizabeth said as she sighed softly before biting down on her lip. She had practically spent the whole night with in the spell. She didn't want to leave at all. Not even to sleep. She wanted to be there with Elijah until it was time to leave and she had. She just wasn't ready to leave just yet.

"It is only a year, Elizabeth." Elijah said chuckling. "I won't be going anywhere." Elijah had stayed up all night with her. Even though there were several times he had insisted she leave to get some sleep and return in the morning, she refused. This had been the longest visit she had with him, but he had enjoyed every minute of it.

Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. "This will work out just fine." She said trying to convince herself more than him. "I'll come back and Jess or Freya will be able to create the cure. A year away and then you'll be awake."

Elijah ran his hand through her hair, but didn't say anything. He knew that there was a possibility that she may not come back with the cure. As much as he believed in her, he didn't want to get his hopes up. Things were never that simple and he knew that. "Come back as soon as you can."

"Of course." She said before leaning up and kissing him. He pulled her close to him as he deepened the kiss. No matter how many times they had talked about her leaving, he wasn't ready to be away from her for so long. When they finally pulled away, Elijah rested his forehead against hers. A small smile played on Elizabeth's lips at the action.

"Go on, before you change your mind about going." He said squeezing her hand slightly before letting it go. Sighing, Elizabeth nodded and took a step back from him. She opened her mouth to say something but didn't get the chance to. "I love you too, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. "The bond has you reading my mind now."

He smiled at her and shook his head. "Not quite. That would make things interesting."

She ran her hand through his hair as she smiled at him. "I'll see you soon." She promised. Elijah nodded as she took a few steps back from him.

Elijah watched as she faded from his sight. His hand came up to rub the back of his neck as he looked around for a moment. The year was going to be tough, he knew that. But with Hope's continued visits, the next year shouldn't feel like Elizabeth was completely gone.

"I'm sure everything will work out just as it needs to." Freya said from behind him. "We'll be out of here soon."

Elijah turned to look towards his sister. "Would you be able to create something when she got back?" He wanted to know if she would be able to do as Elizabeth hoped she would.

"Of course." Freya said with a nod. "She gets me what we need, I can be out of here and use magic to create the cure."

"Good." He said with a nod. "The moment she's back, you'll be ready then."

...

"You'll keep them company right?" Elizabeth asked as she stood outside the house with Hope. She had been kneeling down to Hope's level as she spoke with her. Elizabeth had loved spending time with the girl in front of her and she didn't know how she was going to get through the next year without seeing her as well.

"Yes!" Hope had said with much excitement. It had caused Elizabeth's smile to widen.

"I'll see you soon, kid." Elizabeth said as she pulled Hope into a hug. Hope had hugged back tightly, not wanting to let go just yet.

"You wont be too long right?" Hope asked when she finally pulled away from Elizabeth.

"Only a year. By then I hope Freya teaches you a lot so you can show me when I get back." She said letting Hope go and smiling at her before standing.

"When you get back, will it mean we can wake them?" Hope asked and it caused Elizabeth's smile to fade a bit.

"Hopefully." She said as she took a few steps back towards the porch. She looked over at Hayley who had been leaning against the door frame. "Call me if anything. I'll come back if needed."

Hayley chuckled and shook her head. "Go on. The longer you stall the longer its going to take for you to get back. If you have any problems out there, call me and I'll see what I can do from here."

"Lets hope I don't need to." Elizabeth said with a nod before turning and heading down the porch towards the car.

"Be safe out there." Hayley called out causing Elizabeth to look back at them.

"I will." She said with a smile as she reached the driver side door. "I think with what I currently am, there isn't much that makes it unsafe."

"You never know." Hayley said with a shrug. "I would hate for someone to be angry because you wont come back in one piece."

Elizabeth smiled. "Oh I'll come back in one piece." She promised. "Stay out of trouble."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Just go, Liz."

Elizabeth chuckled and climbed into the car. As she started the car, she made the promise to herself that things would work out as they needed to. Whatever happens while she was gone, it would bring her one more step closer to getting the cure for them. Without looking back as she drove away, even though the bond wanted her too, heading into the city to get Malakai and Vanessa before heading out as planned.

#The Originals #The Vampire Diaries #Forgotten Alliance #Series #The Originals AU season 3-4 #Elijah mikaelson x oc

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forkanna · 6 years

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NOTES: Sorry about that huge delay - that was totally unintentional. I've been trying to make a game, which I know, is a completely ridiculous thing for me to do considering I've never tried to do that before. Also, I'm terrible at it as it turns out, haha. BUT! If I ever finish it, you'll be the first to know - I'll also probably post it to AO3 if it's at all possible.

Hopefully, the length of this chapter (and the sheer amount of events set off in it) help to make up for it! We're doing a time-hop forward. Part Two is much longer, and Part Three will be about the same length as Two. Have fun!

~ PART TWO ~

CHAPTER SIX

"Come on, Illianora, spill! What did they say, exactly?"

The round-faced girl smiled back at her friends, swinging her legs back and forth just below her chair in the corner of the inn they so often met up in for lunch. Any fool could tell that this was a unique opportunity for her to be the center of attention, and she was about to milk it for all she was worth. Not that anyone other than the barkeep and the one or two of the customers were going to pay them the slightest bit of attention — and the former only because he distrusted anyone who had not come to the age of adulthood.

"Oh, come on, you don't want to hear this boring old Emerald City gossip."

"We do, we do!"

"Okay," she giggled, relenting far too easily. Scooting a bit closer, she said, "Well. First, they were making this big proclamation about appointing Fiyero to be Captain of the Guard!"

There were a chorus of gasps. One of the other girls whispered, "Not Prince Fiyero!"

"Yes! I mean, I really wanted to go congratulate him… tell him personally how proud we all were of him. A Vinkus man being given such a high position in the Wizard's army! Put in charge of the search for the Witches themselves! But I couldn't get close, of course."

"You wanted to tell him how much you wanted to be his wife," another girl accused. When Illianora only shrugged, they all laughed. "Knew it! You're shameless!"

"Oh, stop that; you know I'm only interested in Liir. Even if Fiyero is a handsome devil." Then her eyes sparkled. "But I haven't told you the half of it! The press secretary — Marble something — she announced that after almost two years of searching all of Oz, they're finally tracking down where the other two Wicked Witches are hiding!"

More gasps, these of a different nature. Darker, more fearful; still just as excited and eager for hearsay as the ones over the guard captain, but laced with the appropriate apprehension.

"Well?" one of the girls needled, given that Illianora had taken overlong continuing. "Where?"

"Here."

"Here? You mean the Vinkus?" When she only shrugged again, she pressed, "Not in Kiamo Ko?!" They turned to each other with whispers of alarm. This was a lot more personal, more pronounced, than the quick jolt of adrenaline they felt about the vague existence of the witches. This was local.

"Well, maybe not in Kiamo Ko specifically, but in the Vinkus, at least. We all know they've patrolled our streets enough to have flushed out any two witches."

"Have they? I hear they can shed their skins as easily as a snake!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sarima," another girl snapped. "Go on, Nora, tell us what else the Marble woman said — further north? South? Or out West?"

"Might be West, because they kept calling them 'The Wicked Witches of the West'... though that could just mean in the Vinkus," she added in a thoughtful mutter.

Sarima pushed a hand into the side of her face. "I was a lot happier dreaming about that Prince Fiyero than worrying about witches holding us for ransom." The others were quick to agree.

"That was about it," Illianora reluctantly admitted. "Just to stay alert, try to tell any Animals that still speak that she and the Wizard are offering a reward for any information on where the witches went."

"Weally?"

"Weally- I mean, really. Oh, and that they're keeping a close eye on the Witch of the East; you know, the one in Munchkinland?"

They all muttered lazily about that for a moment. By now, the strict policies and threats of that particular "witch" were well-known everywhere, even if they weren't nearly as sensational as hearing about fires and explosions and freed Animals courtesy of the other two. With no more exciting news about the East to pick apart, they just muttered for a minute or so about her before letting the subject return to the more immediate threat.

"I've heard that one is green and the other is blue," a girl whispered. "And that when they get mad, they switch!"

"That's ridiculous, Nastoya. How can a person switch colours?"

"How can a person be green or blue in the first place?" Sarima cut in, shaking her head.

After a moment, Illianora asserted herself again, hoping to recapture the spotlight from her friends. "Well, they say one of them was from Gillikin; the emerald mines are near there. Maybe there was an accident, and now she's green forever! Wouldn't that be awful?"

As they continued to chatter on, a robed figure passed behind them and left a handful of coins on the counter before making good her discreet exit. For the time being, she had heard quite enough to be going on with.

~ o ~

"...And that's the scuttlebutt."

A green chin nodded up and down as two spindly fingers stroked either side, glittering emerald eyes sharpa as they always had been. "Intriguing. Not that I know what 'scuttlebutt' means."

"It means the butt of a scuttle, of course! Come on, Elphie, aren't you frightened?"

"Why should I be?" Gesturing around at the sparkling insides of the cave, she announced, "Saint Aelphaba is safely tucked into this hidey-hole behind Wicca Falls, where none may enter but her closest companion, Glinda the Ghastly. What's to worry about? They're no closer to finding us than they were last year. I doubt they could find their hats if they were on their own pointed heads."

Glinda the Ghastly scowled as Elphaba chuckled, folding her arms over her chest. "I don't find that particularly humourous, you know. Just because I'm resigned to living like a common criminal on the lamb doesn't mean I want to joke about it."

"Who's joking? Maybe I really am Saint Aelphaba." At Glinda's eyeroll, she gave one of her own. "Fine, you aren't in a laughing mood."

"I'm not. But… I do have some good news to go with the bad." Reaching behind her, she produced a large, round disc of light-tan bread, lips pulling into a small smile. "See what I picked up?"

"Ooh, honey loaf!" Elphaba breathed, smiling in spite of herself. "It's been awhile since we splurged. By Oz, to eat something besides fish for once!" Her fingers twitched toward it, then pulled away. "But… you bought it, I should let you break the bread."

"Here, then," she giggled as she split it in two easily and passed half of it over. "Eat up. No sense waiting another hour until supper."

As Elphaba drew it closer, she glanced upward. "You always give me the bigger half."

"Well…" Squirming, she shrugged and feigned indifference. "You're taller than me, aren't you? More to feed. I'm just being practical."

"Sure," Elphaba chuckled, breaking off a small piece to nibble. They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then she said, once her hunger was not so gnawing, "I'm worried about the Animals."

"This again," Glinda sighed.

"No, listen; it's been a week since I heard from their camp in the Great Gillikin Forest. The Crows were supposed to come days ago. What can be keeping them?"

For a minute or two, Glinda simply watched her companion wring her hands. It confounded her, but yet again, as she had the past several times this subject turned in such a direction, she found herself very faintly jealous. Why should she? It was because the Animals demanded Elphaba's attention, of course, but the part that confounded her was that she cared so deeply whether or not her friend had concerns outside the two of them. Perhaps it could be merely attributed to them spending far too much time together; they were becoming codependent. It was to be expected when you were living in a cave with only one other person, but sometimes, she worried that it was going to ruin her for keeping company with others. Would she remember all of her social graces, her manners, once this crisis was over?

It had to come to an end. It had to; the Wizard and Morrible couldn't possibly keep up this witch hunt forevermore! Someday, they would find a way to bargain for the Animals to be left alone, and to return the Grimmerie to its rightful owners. She had no idea how such a plan would come together, especially after two years of feeling defeated, but she was determined to make it so. Until then, she supposed she would have to put up with playing second chair to Elphaba's zealous crusade now and then.

Her friend must have sensed her displeasure. After swallowing her current bite, she said in the soft voice Glinda had grown so accustomed to over the past years, "I missed you the past few days."

"You did not. You're just sorry I didn't bring back a Pig for companionship," she griped.

"Glindie…"

Chewing on her lip for a moment, she decided not to be too mean; it wasn't worth it. "Did you really?"

"I always do. If only I didn't stick out like a green thumb, I could go with you when you head into the cities."

"Yeah, I know. Any, um… progress on degreenifying yourself?"

"Nope," she sighed, glancing over at the Grimmerie's vaunted place on a very basic table on one cave wall, next to a candelabra of wax stumps. "You know, I did manage to turn my knee orange yesterday."

"Oh, can I see?!" When Elphaba only snorted, she wilted and mumbled, "Don't joke! I don't like it when you joke about magic, it seems… I don't know."

Throwing up both hands, Elphaba began to rise, only just catching the last bit of her honey loaf before it toppled to the grotty cave floor. "No joking about magic, or Animals, or Saint Aelphaba. What can we joke about?!"

"We can joke about how ugly I'm getting, without my makeup artists and hairdressers." When Elphaba only frowned deeply at her from the "kitchen" area of their hovel, Glinda pursed her lips. "You know I stopped caring about that after the first few months, but you still won't laugh. I always thought you'd be thrilled I gave up on that."

"But you gave up on them because they're out of reach for you, not because of disinterest." Having stashed the rest of her bread for the time being, she returned to help Glinda up. "You know I would give you back those things if I had a spell for that."

"Don't turn my knees orange," she warned, and Elphaba grinned in spite of herself. "But… you're learning to do much more important things than giving me supernatural lipstick."

Glancing around the cave, as if someone would jump out and interrupt them, Elphaba leaned in and pressed her lips against Glinda's ear. The latter shivered at the feeling of air caressing her lobe and neck, at the closeness of the vibrations of sound.

"I perfected fire."

"Perfected?" she breathed, licking her suddenly-dry lips. Elphaba knew that she was still a bit skittish about being so close as that, and she often used it to tease. This time, she could tell it was unintentional, so she did not bop her on the nose.

"Yes, perfected. Here…" Raising a hand, she began to whisper under her breath; seemed she didn't even need to read the words from the Grimmerie's pages anymore. In the very center of her palm, a plume of pale green flame began to flicker and dance.

"O-oh! It's a tiny fire! You've really done it, you- and it's not even raging out of control like the last time!"

A smile ghosted into the corners of Elphaba's mouth, and she fell silent, allowing the flame to continue its presence there. After a few more seconds, she closed the hand and it vanished. "Yes. It… well, I still feel guilty about our hut down in Yips, so I promised myself I would only practice somewhere safe. The connecting caves go deep enough that it's easy to find somewhere without any wood or brush. Look how much it's paid off!"

"It's truly wonderful, and wonderfully true; your control is getting as good as your arcane arsenal!" With a little titter, she went to join her in working on getting their supper finished. Honey loaf was well and good, but it was not enough sustenance. "And I've barely mastered the flight spell; everything else, I have to read it out of the book or I'll mess it up. Even then, I still mess it up sometimes!"

"Glinda, that's alright." Perching her free hand on her forearm, she went on, "You're the one running around Oz, trying to acquire things for us, listening in on gossip. I'm stuck here all day, hiding and waiting to talk to Crows, so this is the way I can be useful. Well, other than fishing." As she stoked the fire higher underneath the several fish spitted on a stick, she added, "And anyway, you're a lot further along than that and you know it."

"Maybe," she muttered, embarrassed by the attention toward her inferior spellwork.

"Definitely. Just keep at it and you'll be floating around over Oz in no time."

Soon after, they set to plating and eating the fish. Though they were literal cave-dwellers, Glinda had still insisted they could bother to pick up kitchenware and eat as civilised as they could manage. Elphaba cared a bit less for manners, but she still did her best to maintain some decorum for her companion's sake. After all, small gestures such as those went a long way toward keeping the peace.

It wasn't until they were washing up that Elphaba announced, "I'm thinking about visiting my sister."

"Oh?" Glinda asked as they stood in the mouth of the cave, hands outstretched to let the waterfall blast away the food remnants. They sometimes lost dishes that way due to unexpectedly powerful bursts of water, but they knew now to tighten their grip against the torrent. "You… want to see Nessa? Why?"

"It's all this talk of her being 'wicked' like us. The details are so vague, I don't… what are they talking about? She never acted the slightest bit wicked in all the years I've known her, which are all the years she's had. I know it's not really the focus of what we're trying to get done, and it might not help us clear our names, either. But… she's my sister, isn't she? For better or for worse."

At that, Glinda had to nod glumly. "I might be an only child, but I imagine having a sibling must be the bestest. A very special bond, especially! So… so why should I stand in your way if you want to see her?"

"Because it's foolish," Elphaba sighed, turning away with the cleansed dishes to dry them over the table. Glinda hurried to follow. "It's a needless risk of exposure. I'd have to be careful flying almost literally from one end of Oz to the other, and for what? To have Nessarose snap at me that I've 'disgraced the family', probably."

"Oh, come on, Elphie. She wouldn't be that cruel!"

"Wouldn't she? You've met my father. She's his child."

"So are you, and I don't see you being that cruel." When Elphaba glanced at her, she shrugged. "Not that often. We have our quarrels, but we always work them out, and you're very rarely cruel without cause."

"But I am cruel, then. Right?" Glinda didn't answer right away, and Elphaba sighed. "I'm sorry, I… sometimes, I get so passionate about saving the Animals from being muted and massacred…"

"I know," she soothed with a hand on Elphaba's back. "Of course, I understand. And… even though I hate it when you shout at me, you've never struck me or… or insulted me unless I've already insulted you somehow. So I think you're quite an admirable person, overall."

At that, Elphaba snorted and patted Glinda's arm. "Such lavish praise. If you don't want me to go and see her, I won't, but… oh, I just feel like I must. Something in my gut tells me it's important."

A sigh escaped Glinda's lips as she pondered. Not that there was much to ponder at all. "Your gut has served us well a few times before now, so I feel like it would be sheer ridiculosity to ignore it now. Go to your sister; I'll hold down the fort here."

"No, no; I must wait for the Crows. But once they have arrived… shall we go together? I want her to know that we're on her side if she's being wrongly accused." In an undertone, she added, "Besides… if she isn't wrongly accused, I might need your help escaping her clutches."

"Her 'clutches'!" Glinda giggled. But when Elphaba didn't laugh, her own petered out quickly. "Oh. You really think… little Nessie? The one in the chair?"

"Just because she's in a wheelchair doesn't mean she poses no threat. You didn't grow up with her; you don't know how manipulative she can be if it suits her purposes. Maybe she isn't a villain, but she's no perfect princess, either."

Nodding, Glinda whispered, "I'm sorry. You're right, I don't know a twigging thing about her."

"No, I'm sorry," Elphie sighed as she put away the dried dishes and utensils. "No point in spreading doom and gloom about something that hasn't happened yet."

"Then it's settled. Once we hear from our fine feathered friends, we find your family for a fisit."

Elphaba had been nodding along until the very end. "You mean 'visit', don't y- oh, nevermind." But Glinda was so pleased with herself that Elphaba couldn't frown for long.

~ o ~

Déjà vu settled upon Glinda when she spied Colwen Grounds for the second time in her life. However, it was not quite the same as the last occasion. Munchkinlander guards paced up and down the street, spears in hand. There was a distinct lack of civilian presence throughout all of Nest Hardings, now that she thought to look. How could things have changed so drastically in a couple of short years?

"By Oz," Elphaba breathed. Glinda tightened her arms around her waist to comfort the poor, shocked woman. "My home looks like a prison…"

"Or a fortress," she muttered. "Elphie, where would your sister be?"

"Upstairs, the third window from the right in the back. It's… oh, I wish I could have perfected that invisibility spell! All the rocks just turned lighter and lighter shades of grey, they never vanished entirely!"

Sighing, Glinda patted her side and whispered, "We'll just have to be quick. Act when the guards aren't looking. We can do that; I'm even wearing this hideous black cloak and it's the dead of night, it ought to be simple enough!"

"Ought to be, yes… but will luck be with us?" Neither of them dared answer.

With some relief, they found the window unlatched, and were able to slip in undetected. Of course, that didn't last long.

"ELPHABA!" Nessarose shouted. It had been so long since Glinda saw the black-haired, wheelchair-bound beauty, but she looked no less elegant now than she did in their days at Shiz. The chair squeaked as she made her way over to them, struggling to push it along with her own slender arms. "Wh-what- GUARDS! What are you doing here?!"

"Nessa, I'm sorry," Elphaba said in a stage whisper as she paced forward, their broom forgotten. "I just… I had a powerful feeling that if I didn't come soon, you…" Her gaze dropped and her voice petered out, as meek and cowed as Glinda remembered from when they met with her father.

"What? Come on, out with it!" Nessa's voice grew more terse as she went on, "You've spent the last two years terrorizing all of Oz, casting a shadow over the name of Thropp! And now, what, you want to waltz back in? To smooth things over?"

"Believe me, I'd love to smooth things over, with both you and Father. But that isn't why-"

"Oh, that's fabulous." A humourless laugh floated out of her throat. "With Father! You really must be a powerful witch now if you think you can manage that!"

Elphaba looked mildly confused. She glanced at Glinda, as if she might hold some key to deciphering her sister's words, but Glinda merely shrugged her own ignorance. Even if she did have any idea what this was about, she was smart enough not to butt into a family discussion. "What do you mean?"

"He's dead, you ignorant celery stalk!"

Glinda swooped forward as fast as she could to catch Elphaba before she crumpled to the ground, and just barely made it. Still, a struggle ensued as Glinda had to use all of her feeble muscle to support both of their weights — made all the worse for Elphaba going entirely boneless.

"Dead… no, he's… he can't- wh-what are you saying to me?"

"Dead. You know, deceased, passed on? Dancing with the Unnamed God? He's gone forever, and it's all your fault!"

"My fault?" Elphaba rasped. The accusation seemed to give her back some small shred of herself in the form of indignation. "H-how? I haven't even- I was on the other side of the kingdom!"

"Exactly." Her fists trembled on the arms of the chair as she shouted at her sister, voice turning hoarse, "After he learned what you'd done, how you'd disgraced us, he died... of shame! Embarrassed to death. You didn't have to lift a finger."

At the last phrase, Elphaba's posture went rigid. "I didn't have to- what are you implying? That I wanted Father to die?!"

"Didn't you? He told me what you said when you came begging for scraps, for protection. How you complained about me getting all of the attention! Look at me, Elphaba!" One hand swept down at her legs as her eyes bored straight through her green sibling. "How can you blame him for wanting to help me more? I am broken! But your legs work just fine; you can stand alone! Why should he help you when you can help yourself?!"

"You… you little…" Elphaba's hands worked into fists and back, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"Me, what?" A brief pause. After a moment, she bit out, "Go on, say it. Say whatever horrible thought is in that horribly wicked brain of yours."

"You think you know so much," Elphaba hissed at her. "But you're wrong. I never wanted Father to- all I wanted from him was love and acceptance. But he could never manage it. I was always treated differently because of how I look, which is something I cannot help. And he did it anyway. When you're the colour of Truth Pond scum, I guess that's how you get treated."

Nessa's expression darkened, even though Glinda would not have thought it possible given how dark it was before. "You take that back. He was always saying how proud he was of you, how you had grown up strong and independent. I don't want to hear these lies."

"He never said it to me! Never even said… that he loved me. The only things he said to me were about you, Nessa — unless he was insulting me, or telling me how much I've been fouling things up. Which, of course, was also usually about you."

"So instead, everything should have been about you?! Fine, that's rich; poor Fabala, she's green! It doesn't change anything else about her life, she can walk and dance and go wherever she pleases, but poor Fabala!"

"Don't call me that," Elphaba warned.

"Or what? You'll curse me?" A scoffing noise as she folded her arms. "You have everybody fooled that you're a witch. As if you could manage anything but weird explosions! Well fine, blow me up, sister of mine. If that's what you want, go right ahead; then you'll have both of us out of the way. The last Thropp can have Colwen Grounds all to herself."

The three of them stood in a tense silence for a long moment. Finally, assuming no one else was going to do anything to diffuse the situation, Glinda cleared her throat and asked something that had been bothering her.

"Um… I've heard the people of Oz calling you a witch, too. What's up with that?"

"What? Oh… oh, nevermind their nonsense," she brushed aside. "They don't like my policy changes."

"Policy changes? I don't understand, I thought your father… was…" Then her eyes widened slightly. "Nevermind, I get it. You're the new Munchkin Mayor."

"Eminent Thropp," she corrected.

"Whatever. So what kind of policy changes? You have to be this tall to ride?" Glinda held her hand only a few feet above the ground, alluding to how diminutive a lot of Munchkinlanders were. Not that Nessa or Elphaba were among their number.

"I closed our borders to emigration and immigration. No one goes in or out. It's a temporary measure for everyone's safety. And I increased taxes to funnel into our military, and the Lurlinist Pike Guild; you know our family doesn't believe in Lurlinism, but they're our strongest defense force."

Elphaba nodded her understanding. "Yes, I suppose you work with what you have. Why so much fearmongering, though?"

"That's you, too. What did you think would happen? You zoom around the kingdom, allegedly rescuing Animals and brushing aside the Wizard's forces like they're ants! Everyone's terrified of you!"

"You don't seem to be."

"That's because I understand who you really are; a coward. You made a mistake, got on the wrong side of either the Wizard or Morrible, and you won't face them directly. So you scurry around, using this weird thing with Animals to distract yourself. Isn't that right?"

Elphaba glanced at Glinda, who shrugged. Then she turned back and said, "Not exactly right, but not exactly wrong."

"Oh." Nessa seemed somewhat surprised by the admission. "Then… you really are afraid of the Wizard."

"Of course. Who wouldn't be? You see what he's doing to the Animals, silencing and herding them up to be slaughtered. Whether it's him or if it's Morrible's idea, they're both to blame."

Rolling her eyes, the girl tried to wheel over toward a small wooden cabinet that stood in the corner, but she was having such a hard time of it that Glinda tutted impatiently and strode over to take the handles on the back of chair, wheeling her the rest of the way.

"Thank you," Nessa said curtly. But at least she said it.

"No problem. Do you need help with anything?"

"I can take care of myself," she assured her, glaring over at Elphaba. She opened the door and withdrew a crystal bottle and a decanter, setting them on top. Then she glanced back at the other two as she poured herself a generous helping of a thick, dark liquid. "Can I offer you something? I have Qwice Wine, Gilligin, a pretty good year of Munchcatel…"

"Ooh, I haven't had a good Munchcatel in a while!" Glinda whispered. Nessa smirked slightly as she withdrew another bottle. "What?"

"Nothing. Just that you seem like the type for a sweet wine, that's all."

"Thank you, I think!"

"Nothing for me," Elphaba said flatly. "I'm flying later."

With a shrug, Nessa handed Glinda her drink and lifted her own to her lips, draining a third of it in one go. When Glinda wheeled her back over to Elphaba, she sighed as if irritated, but it seemed to be because she was getting closer to her sister and not from Glinda's actions directly.

"Alright, we've taken care of the small talk. Why are you here now? What is the point of this visit? You've gone two years without darkening my doorstep, so I can't fathom why you would now."

"Because I have a feeling something truly bad is coming. For you." When Nessa's eyes rolled, she snapped, "I don't care if you believe me or not! Or I do, but… oh, forget it. You obviously neither want nor need anything from me, and I don't care if you do. I just didn't want anything horrible to befall my only sister without trying to warn her."

"You can't give me anything I want," Nessa said softly. "You can't bring Father back, you can't make me able to stand. You can't even make Boq…" But then she cut herself off, gripping the glass tighter. "What's the point of you being a witch if you're useless?!"

Unable to stop herself, Glinda whispered, "Hey now, that's not quite fair, is it? Elphaba's not a genie, she can't just grant your every wish. Sorcery is a skill like any other skill; she can only do what she knows how!"

"Then why don't you ask yourself; what has her priority been? Me? Of course not. I've never been her priority."

"You've always been my priority," Elphaba bit out. "Ever since you were born, Father made sure you were the only thing that mattered. Only… only going to Shiz made me begin to see how much I was missing in my life. Being friends with Glinda."

"Aww," Glinda tittered softly, allowing herself a shy smile. "It's no big deal. I just wanted to help you feel pretty and popular for once."

"And you couldn't do that for me?" Nessa snapped. "What a selective fairy godmother."

Glinda turned on her, hands on hips. "That's enough, missy! You're already pretty! Prettier than me, lately! But you don't get popular by trapping everybody in their homes, do you? And speaking of Boq, I set you up with him in the first place! So don't tell me I haven't done anything for you, you, you… jerkity sad sack!"

Elphaba gasped. Nessa looked affronted, of course, but Elphie was the one most definitely shocked that Glinda had said something so hostile against another person to their face. Glinda knew she didn't do that often; it was part of being a member of high society. One didn't go around openly criticising your peers! But in this case, Nessarose was being unkind and unfair to her best friend. She had earned a little payback.

"Well, I…" Nessa took a drink to give herself an excuse not to speak for a moment. Then she said in clipped tones, "You're right, I can't deny you did encourage Boq to approach me. I'm sorry. But Elphaba… I'm not wrong about that."

"She loves you. She just… you can't be her whole life, y'know? But she never wanted to have to leave you for more than one short day. And we're here now, aren't we? You have no idea how long and hard it was for us to come visit you!"

At that, Nessa did look up at her sister, eyes narrowed. "Yes… how long did it take you? Where are you living lately? I'm curious."

"And I'm not that stupid. You'd sell that information to the Wizard in exchange for more protection in a heartbeat, wouldn't you?" When Nessa merely shrugged, Elphaba grunted, "Typical."

"Well, you can't do anything else for me. And it would be your own fault if you slipped up and told me; I'd feel no guilt over it."

"Of course you wouldn't." Elphaba folded her arms over her chest and went on, "Well, I can't bring back our father or get you out of that chair, so you'll just have to enjoy the visit for what… it… hmm."

"'For what it hmm'? What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Glinda, may I speak to you for a moment?" When Glinda merely shrugged and trotted over to join her in the far corner of the chambers, Elphaba steered her over close to the window.

"What? What is it?"

"You've been studying the Grimmerie, too, right?" At Glinda's nod, she hissed, "Do you remember anything that might make Nessa able to stand? I could put a flight spell on her underwear, but I think that would go pretty quickly awry — and she wouldn't really be walking."

Glinda's face screwed up in concentration. "You know… I have seen something, but I can't remember where! I think it was some spell for enchanted shoes, but it was for dancing, not walking."

"Yes, exactly, exactly. But as we now know, if we tweak a couple of spells… combine them…"

"The Glowing Stone," she breathed, referring to a rock that now glowed always. They actually had to stick it in a box overnight so that its radiance wouldn't keep them awake. "You're right, that was two different spells! But can you find two that will help Nessie?"

"I don't know. But…" Sighing, she glanced over her shoulder. "That unpleasant toad does not deserve my help, but I won't feel good about myself if there was something I could do for my sister, and I didn't."

"Well, that's definitely… a type of motivation, I guess," Glinda said with a weak laugh. "You start looking for the other spell, I'll stealify her shoes, okay?"

"Oh." Casting another look over at Nessarose, she whispered, "That might not work out as well as you would hope, but see what you can do. I'll get to work."

Vaguely confused by that last warning, Glinda shrugged and left Elphaba to withdraw the Grimmerie from inside her inky cloak. "Listen, Nessa?"

"Yes?"

"Uhh, hey." Her finger pointed down at the padded footrests of her wheelchair. "Do you mind if I borrow those for a moment?"

The girl's reaction was immediate. Glinda could practically see her withdrawing from the conversation a small amount, the way her hands fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, her eyes lowered, fluttered, glanced back up at Glinda. After a few seconds of this twitchiness, she asked a simple question.

"Why? If you're going to tease me…"

"We're going to try a spell. No promises!" she warned, before any hopes could be raised. "Just… a little something. If it doesn't work, at least we tried, right?"

Thoughtful, she looked down at the shoes. They were quite elegant: sueded blue slippers with small pearls trailing along embroidery that graced each side. Somehow, they had been secured well enough that not a single pearl had been lost — or else it was because they had never been walked in.

"Do you h-have to take them off?"

"Hmm. Maybe not, but it sure seems safer to me. Do you really want us to try throwing magic at them while you're still wearing them?"

"Well… alright, that is a good point. I don't trust Elphaba particularly, but I have this feeling you wouldn't lie about something this mundane." She began to bend forward, then was stopped by realising she was still holding her drink. "Oh… this is hard enough normally without being inebriated!"

Chuckling, Glinda knelt and said, "I'll get them, don't worry. Relax."

"No! D-don't…" After a long pause, she looked away, cheeks rosy with embarrassment. "Okay, but don't… don't look at my feet."

"What?"

"Please? That's all I'm asking."

The whole matter puzzled her. What was the huge crisis? Shrugging her agreement, Glinda did as she was asked; she looked long enough to get a good grip on the backs of the shoes, then slipped them off without ever glancing down. Hearing the quiet thud of Nessa's ankles into the padded rests, she whispered, "Sorry!"

"It's alright," she said with a nervous chuckle. "At least I can pretend I moved them on my own."

"If you say so. Um, be back in a minute!"

Once Glinda and Elphaba were crowded around the Grimmerie, scanning its pages with the shoes placed above it on the small table, she was able to help look for the proper spell. As they debated the pros and cons of certain choices, another question niggled in her mind. When she decided she couldn't ignore it any longer, she asked.

"So what's with Nessa's feet? She wouldn't let me look at them."

"Hm?" Elphaba was clearly distracted, her index finger running along a passage. "Oh, nothing's wrong with them. Other than the fact that they don't work, I mean." Seeing that didn't satisfy Glinda, she sighed and said, "It's… hard to explain."

"You don't have to if it's all that difficult, Elphie. I'm just a nosy-pants."

"Just… well, it's our Father's fault. Not that it was something 'bad' he did, exactly, but he was trying to make her feel better about her condition. She was having a hard time with it one day, about how everyone kept staring at her lame legs while she was out. So he told her that they were just jealous of her shoes. When I was older, I kind of realised that he had been making everything up as he went, but he told her that she looked so pretty in her chair, and her shoes were so lovely, that everyone was envious. From that day on, he kept finding newer and more intricate slippers and boots and any other kind of shoe for her."

"That's sweet of him," Glinda said softly, smiling to herself. She knew Elphaba probably didn't see it that way, but she couldn't deny the doting man had at least done that much to make his handicapped daughter feel less unsightly. "But I still don't understand."

Shrugging, Elphaba turned the page, still more focused on her work. "Nessa drew the conclusion herself. She noticed that people are told they look nice if they're wearing pretty clothes, and that it's shocking — taboo, if you will — if they're seen wearing too little. And since my father had made such a big deal about how lovely she looks in her top-of-the-line shoes, combined with already being ashamed that her legs don't function…"

"Ohhh," she breathed as the last piece fell into place within her mind, pounding her open hand with a fist. "So going barefoot is the same thing as going naked to her? How very odd, indeed!"

"Yes, it's odd," Elphaba said sharply, looking up at last. "And I'll thank you not to tease her about it. I think she's silly, but to her, it's reality. So just… don't let slip that I told you any of this, alright? I'm sure she's already embarrassed enough at being 'exposed'."

That did make Glinda squirm in secondhand embarrassment. "When you put it that way, I suppose I would feel a little strange if some old classmate asked if I'd hand them my brassiere. But okay, I won't say a word."

It was another ten minutes before Nessa asked, "How's it coming?" When neither of them answered, she did not pester them further — merely sat in her chair, anxious to have her shoes back regardless of whether or not they were any improved from her sister's efforts. Glinda had to resist the temptation to glance down whenever she peered over at her; she knew it was the mere matter of being commanded "do not look at this" that made her want to look at all. Funny how the power of suggestion could sway one's attentions.

When Elphaba began to chant, low and long and focused, Glinda saw Nessa stirring out of the corner of her eye, saw her getting closer a little at a time. Clearly, it was a struggle for her to make it there, but her curiosity at their spellcasting fuelled her actions.

"Is it finished?" she asked in a quiet whisper when the vermillion lips had fallen silent. "Have you really… I mean, is there any chance…?"

"They look… different," Glinda breathed, raising a hand toward them. At first, she felt a thrill of dread to touch the shoes, but when she truly thought about how much she trusted her travelling companion, she picked one up as Elphaba did the other. "Are they… silver now? Or red? Maybe that's just the light from the fireplace."

"It is, I think," Elphaba agreed, just as captivated by them despite having performed the spell herself. After a moment, Glinda turned to look up at Nessa apologetically.

"Um… is it alright if I put them back on?"

"Y-yes," Nessa said breathlessly, cheeks still rosy but her eyes eager as they took in the shimmering shoes. "I want to know if this has worked at once!"

So Glinda obliged. This time, she couldn't help but look because she had to guide the shoes on properly… and there really wasn't anything to see. Nessa had dainty little feet, of course, but they were no more or less remarkable than any other pair she'd ever come across. Then the shoes were on, and both she and Elphaba were standing back to observe.

But before Nessa could attempt to stand, the door squeaked open and an unimpressive figure strode inside. Short in stature and with a drab face that was not entirely unpleasant… and was a bit familiar.

"Madame, I've prepared your- oh!" His eyes went wide to see the other two. "Goodness, it's- GUARDS!"

"Shush, Boq!" Nessa commanded him with a wave of her arm. Glinda flinched, even though the guards had not come the last time Nessa herself called. "Wait a moment. I… I want you to see something."

"Madame, these are criminals! The Wizard will want to be warned wight away!"

"You mean 'right aw-' Oh, I should know better by now," Elphaba admonished herself.

"We can't waste any time! Quick, I'll go and get them while they're… still… what on Oz?"

Boq found himself unable to finish the thought. His previously-disabled mistress was now standing, pushing unsteadily to her feet from the chair. It was already miraculous enough that she was standing unaided, shoes dazzling with white and red flashes — but there would be more. One foot at a time, she began to take steps, arms out to either side. After the first few, she began to tip, and Glinda and Elphaba both dashed forward and righted her again.

"Th-thank you," she breathed as she stood. "But… I think I…" Another few steps, without their aid. "I'm getting it. I'm walking. Ozma Above, I'm walking!"

To Be Continued…

#The Coven of Oz #wicked fanfiction #forkanna writes #the wizard of oz #gelphie #forkanna the writer

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peopleandrhythm · 6 years

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S2E5: The Differences Between Mistakes

My sincerest apologies! I forgot to queue this episode to post at the usual time of 8p EST yesterday evening. My mistake! Here is the episode now; I hope you enjoy it.

Everyone gathers in the library, curling up on couches or leaning against bookcases. Kol situates himself before the desk, half-standing, half-sitting, with Klaus lounging in the chair behind him.

Freya’s spot is just behind Hope, who’s trying to appear as small as possible on a couch. “What have you learned, brother?”

“I’ve spent the past few weeks traveling around Côte d’Ivoire, looking for a coven of witches.”

“As you do,” River mutters, and Hope pinches her leg.

“I’ve been doing research,” Kol continues, “since Hope called me this summer.”

“You called him?” Hayley asks her daughter. “You couldn’t come to me?”

Hope shrugs. “It’s not that I couldn’t. I just…needed someone outside it all.”

Hayley opens her mouth, but Elijah places a hand on her shoulder, and she lets it go. Moving on, Kol says, “There aren’t many covens that practice ancestral magic, but of the ones that do, the coven of Mount Nimba in Côte d’Ivoire has traditions most similar to the New Orleans covens. So I went there and asked to speak to their Advocate.”

“And what did you find?” Klaus demands. “What did she tell you?”

Kol glances over his shoulder at Klaus, and then settles his gaze on Hope. “Should you tell them or shall I?”

Hope doesn’t answer, so Klaus stands and presses, “Hope, what is he talking about?”

River rolls her eyes. “Oh my god, Hope, just tell them.”

“Alright, I—alright.” Hope takes a deep breath. “It’s…sort of…having these voices in my head, all these ancestors, all the time.” Her eyes flick up to the heavens. “It’s kind of…driving me crazy.”

Hayley’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean it’s driving you crazy?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Freya asks, just over her shoulder.

Klaus growls, “You cannot keep secrets like this, Hope—”

“Enough!” Rebekah snaps, standing up. She crosses over to Hope’s side and perches on the arm of the couch, pulling her niece into her side. “Like the lot of you never kept things to yourselves. Leave her be.” Hope smiles gratefully at her aunt.

Eyebrows raised, Kol elaborates. “In that village, I did not see an Advocate. I saw a girl, barely older than you, Hope, completely detached from the world, from her family. She was in excruciating agony, because the voices of her coven’s ancestors spoke to her ceaselessly. Her mother told me that the girl tried her best to keep them at bay, but over time she grew weaker. Now she can’t even get out of bed, and the coven has effectively lost its direct line to its ancestors.”

“How long?” They all turn to look at Elijah, who asks, “How long did it take for her to…deteriorate?”

Kol’s eyes fall, then flick up to look at Hope. “Less than a year.”

River heads for the compound exit, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She’s nearly in the entranceway when she hears a voice behind her. “Hey.”

She turns to see Hope, a few feet back. “Hey.” She jerks her head up toward the library on the floor above. “They still discussing things up there?”

Hope nods. “I couldn’t take much more. Had to get out of there before my own family were the ones to drive me crazy.” She points to the backpack. “You going to study?”

“Oh, um.” She half-shrugs. “I’m actually headed to the bayou.”

Hope makes a face. “What for?”

“To turn.”

“…To turn what?”

“No, I—” River takes a deep breath. “I’m actually going to go turn into a wolf.” She’s met with silence. “I’ve done it a couple of times this semester. Just when things get stressful, you know. When you got shot. It helps. Not being a human with human thoughts and human feelings. It’s like, a break.”

Hope’s eyebrows flick upward, and she opens and closes her mouth a few times before saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t…I don’t understand. I made that moonlight ring so you didn’t have to turn anymore, not so you could…turn whenever.”

“Does it matter?” River says, tone tinged with annoyance. “You gave me this to control my wolf form. That’s what I’m doing.”

“Yeah, but the idea wasn’t that you’d run off to the bayou whenever things got rough. The point was to spare you the absolute agony of becoming a wolf.”

“Yeah well, at least I try to deal with my problems instead of ignoring them in the hopes that they go away.”

Surprise blooms across Hope’s face. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

River rolls her eyes. “Come on, Hope. I’ve been telling you for months to tell someone about the headaches, the constant voices in your head. You have a house full of people who love you and you left them on the outside. So maybe you should cut them some slack if they don’t know how to handle the fact that this Advocacy thing could kill you.”

“Because going out into the middle of nowhere to break all of your bones and become a wolf is the epitome of handling things well. And you know what? This is my problem, so maybe let me handle it.”

“That’s not how relationships work, Hope!” River throws her hands up in exasperation. “When you love someone, when you let them love you, your problems aren’t your own anymore! It was selfish of you to keep this to yourself, and it was selfish of you to ask me to, too.” Hope is stunned into silence once more. “I gotta go.” River spins around and stalks off, leaving her girlfriend shaken in her wake.

“We have to find a way to transfer the Advocacy to someone else,” Klaus insists, banging his fist on the desk. “Kol, surely your Noomba coven had a solution.”

“It’s Nimba,” Kol snaps, “and don’t you think that if they had a solution they would have implemented it already? Their Advocate is basically a vegetable.”

“Okay let’s calm down.” Hayley stands up and straightens herself out. “Hope’s stronger than the average witch, and it’s only been a few months. We have some time to figure out what’s happening. It’s not going to do us any good to panic.”

The conversation continues, but Freya’s attention is diverted by a buzzing in her pocket. She pulls out her phone and is jolted by the name: Amaya. She slips out of the room unnoticed, staring at the phone as if it’s a bomb about to explode. She closes herself in her bedroom, sits on the bed, and watches as the phone rings and rings and rings until it falls silent, and a few moments later: Missed Calls (3).

Freya’s eyes slide shut, but flicker open again a minute later when her phone buzzes again. New Voicemail. She scrambles to unlock her phone and press it to her ear.

“Hey, Freya. It’s…me.” Freya’s shoulder sag as she listens to Amaya’s voice. “Not really sure what there is to say. It sucked to wake up without you there. Sucks more now that you’re not answering my calls. Listen, just…call me back? Yeah just…just call me back.” And then there’s a click, and Freya lets the phone fall to the bed.

She takes a few deep breaths, runs her hands through her hair, and stands up, sticking her phone back into her pocket. Avoiding her reflection in her mirror, she heads back to the library—back to the things that make sense.

Joel paces the living room of their tiny apartment, phone wedged between his shoulder and ear. He’s got a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. “Yeah,” he says to the person on the other end of the line. “Yeah, I got that.” He scribbles down the number 14 and circles it twice. “Anything more specific?” He listens, and then hums. Bright L. “Alright, that’s all you’ve got?” A pause. “Okay, thanks.” He hangs up and sits on the couch, leaving the notepad and pen on the coffee table cluttered with textbooks and papers.

He begins tapping on his phone. He pulls up Google and searches what little information he has to go off of: New Orleans abandoned motel, L. Half a second later, the first search result gives him exactly what he’s been looking for: London Lodge, New Orleans.

Freya pokes her head into Hope’s room and spies her on the balcony, face tipped up toward the sun. She raps her knuckles quietly on the door, and Hope murmurs, “Yeah. Come in,” so she does. She walks out to her niece and rests against the balustrade. “How are you?”

“Four months as queen and this city is about to descend into anarchy, I’m fully aboard the train to Crazy Town, and my girlfriend’s pissed at me. I’m doing great.”

Freya offers a sympathetic smile, and then says, “I heard the two of you got into an argument.”

Hope turns to face her aunt, leaning back against the rail. “It wasn’t so much an argument as it was me, being an insecure ass for no reason.” She crosses her arms. “I have no idea what I’m going to do to fix this.”

“Well, I’d give you advice…” Freya takes a deep breath, makes a decision. “…but I’m kind of screwing up my own relationship right now.”

Hope’s eyes blow wide, and her mouth gapes into a disbelieving grin. “Aunt Freya, are you dating someone?” Freya merely smiles in response, so Hope demands, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“That’s rich, coming from the queen of secret-keeping.”

Rolling her eyes, Hope says, “Yeah, yeah, this is way juicier than the fact that dead people are talking to me. Tell me everything!”

“…Her name is Amaya.”

Hope grabs Freya’s arm. “You’re dating a woman?”

“I was—I—yes.”

Hope makes a strangled, excited noise. “This is the best news. Do you know how exhausting it is to be surrounded by heterosexuals, like, all the time? Wait, have you dated girls before? Because if not let me tell you it is the best—”

With a laugh, Freya cuts her off. “Hope, Hope, calm down. I get that this is exciting, but…” Her eyes fall to the ground. “I can’t see her anymore.”

“Why not?”

“It’s…it’s complicated, Hope, and I just—”

“Do you love her?”

Freya looks up at her niece, startled. “What?”

Hope shrugs. “Do you love her?”

“I…I don’t know. It has been a long time since I loved someone who wasn’t a member of my family. How does one even know?”

“Well…” Hope sighs. “I knew I loved River when…I guess it was when I chose her over my own family. I had just rescued Dad from Marcel’s weird basement prison and I had just found out that River was a Malraux wolf. She was the key to curing Uncle Elijah and Uncle Kol. And I didn’t tell anyone. I wanted to protect her.

“But then Dad found out and he didn’t care what she meant to me. All he cared about was curing his brothers.” She smirks. “So I kicked his ass in the middle of the street. I didn’t care that I had spent seventeen years wishing he was a part of my life. I didn’t care that he was just trying to save his family. I cared about her. I chose her over him and that’s when I knew I loved her.”

Freya is silent, staring at Hope as if just seeing her for the first time. Then she blinks rapidly and swallows. “Well. Then using that as a benchmark…yes, I suppose I do love her.”

“Then whatever you’ve done, whatever…complication there is? Fix it.” She gives a wry smile. “I know I screwed up with River. I know that she’s mad at me, and she has every right to be. But I also know that we’re better than this, that we’re stronger than this. And when I fully remove my head from my own ass, I know that I can make it up to her. Somehow.”

“You’re quite wise for an eighteen-year-old.”

“Didn’t you hear?” Hope smiles mischievously. “I’m so wise they made me a queen.”

Freya tosses an arm around Hope and tugs her into a hug. “You are wise. But you are not alone. We are your family. We are here to help you.”

“I know,” Hope says into her shirt. “I know you guys just want to protect me.”

And with that, a low, cold feeling sinks over Freya. She rests her chin atop Hope’s head. “Yes. Yes we do.”

It’s dusk when Joel finds it, all the way up in Hollygrove. As he approaches the cracked parking lot, a deep, chilling sense of existential dread washes over him. Every molecule in his body urges him to run, to be anywhere else but here, but he knows magic when he feels it, and he presses on. There are a few buildings to the motel, difficult to discern without the help of the flickering L in the sign, and it takes him a few minutes of fighting his instinct to flee before he sees it: a white door labelled 14.

He knocks, and waits. And waits. After a minute, he assumes his information is wrong, that his source was mistaken, but then, with a low, discordant creak, the door swings open, and a strange figure stands on the other side. “You’re not who I expected.”

He straightens himself. “My name is Joel Ruiz. I was told that you could help me.”

“Help you?” She looks him up and down skeptically. “Boy, I don’t know if anyone can help you.”

“I’m a vampire hunter,” he insists, “and I was told by my source—a witch—that whoever lived in this…” He looks around with curious eyes. “…place had information that could help me rid this city of vampires for good.”

Her doubtful frown is quickly replaced with a bright grin. “So you’re here about the Originals?”

Joel’s confused. “The original whats?”

Impossibly, her smile widens further. “Oh honey, you have a lot to learn.” She turns, settles herself on her bed. “Make yourself comfortable,” she says dryly. “It’s gonna be a long night, Joel Ruiz.”

He eyes the doorframe. “I can come in?”

“Unfortunately, no. Boundary spell. Only the Advocate can get in or out. But you’re welcome to pull up some pavement.”

With a half-shrug, Joel settles himself onto the ground just outside her door. “What’s your name, by the way? My source didn’t have one.”

Her smile is glittering. “You can call me Theo.”

From his spot in the alley, Ricky leans just out far enough to see that Cauldron is nearly empty. It’s late, and the vast majority of the witches who peddle their wares and services to naïve tourists have folded up their tables and tucked away their tarot cards for the night. This is the point in the evening that he’s been waiting for, because he’s no fool; he knows that any move against the witches while they have the numbers advantage is a suicide mission, and Ricky has no interest in having his heart ripped from his chest today.

He motions for his few cohorts to come in close, and then whispers, “Let’s teach these bitches a lesson.” Then the small group of renegade vampires charge into the square, picking up rocks and hurling them through the storefronts, the places where many French Quarter witches make their livelihood. The few tables that remain are flipped over, reducing them to splinters, and one of Ricky’s friends pulls out a flask. He douses the timber with his personal store of whiskey, and another vampire retrieves his Zippo and sets the mass on fire.

Ricky lets out a howling laugh, cut short by a loud, “The hell are you doing?” The group looks up to see Annelise, barely discernable in the shadows cast by the flames, leaning out of a damaged restaurant. Ricky picks up a lit piece of wood, smirks and chucks it like a spear at her head. She barely manages to duck out of the way, but the wood sails past her and into her restaurant. Flames leap up behind her, and she curses. “Suctus incendia!” The fire blinks out, and she turns to see the vampire horde attempting to flee, cackling as they run into the night.

Annelise narrows her eyes and extends a hand, and suddenly, the vampires are all on their knees, grasping at their heads and yowling in pain. Then, with a flick of her wrist, all of their necks snap, and they fall limp to the ground. She tugs her phone out of her pocket and dials a familiar number. “Get down here. We just got rousted.”

Hayley leans against the doorframe to their bedroom, half hidden by the wall. She watches Elijah tug at his tie, slip off his suit jacket to hang up neatly in the armoire. He’s gotten one button on his dress shirt undone before she raps lightly on the jamb. “Hey.”

He turns, surprised. His smile comes easily. “There you are.”

“Here I am.” She steps into the room, arms swinging awkwardly. “So…I need to tell you something.” She pushes the door closed behind her and leans against it.

Elijah settles on the foot of the bed. “Go on.” His head is tilted in curiosity.

“Right. Well.” She plays with her fingers nervously, bending them inward and out. “That…that guy? Joel? From the farmer’s market?” She takes a deep breath. “He wasn’t a friend. I didn’t…I didn’t know him long enough for him to be a friend.” She can’t look at him, so she looks down to her hands. “It was the night that my friend Meredith told me that she’d heard the Malraux pack had been wiped out, and that there was no hope to cure you. Mary drove up to watch Hope, and I went out to get…really, stupidly drunk. I just wanted to…I don’t know. Forget. Forget about you, forget about what this family needed from me, and…he was there.”

Head still bowed, her eyes flick up to look at him. “I slept with him.”

Elijah’s eyebrows shoot up, and he slowly rises to his feet. His hands move to button his suit jacket, but he’d already taken it off, so they fall back to his sides. Hayley closes her eyes. “It was…it was one night, and it was a mistake, and…Elijah, I’m sorry—”

“For what?” He turns back to look at her. “For seeking a moment of comfort in fifteen years of solitude?”

“Elijah, I—”

“Do you know what I told Freya not days before you freed us from our Chambre de Chasse?” Hayley shakes her head. “I told her that my greatest fear would be that after all those years, all that time spent with our family’s selfish needs settled unfairly upon your shoulders, that you would still be alone.” Elijah strides up to her, places his hands on either side of her face. “I do not own you, Hayley Marshall. So while it would be a lie to say that thinking of you with another man doesn’t spark something…primal in me, I would never begrudge you the things you needed to do to get by in our absence.”

Hayley tips her head forward to rest against his chest, and he pulls her tightly into his arms. He rubs a soothing hand up and down her back, settling his chin atop her head.

Hope picks her way through the wreckage of the Cauldron, the embers of the fire still glowing hot. There’s a large crowd of witches at this point, most still dressed for bed, all talking at once about the damage done to their businesses. Hope stares in awe at the broken windows, the scorch marks on the pavement.

Vincent approaches her. “Cowards came when they knew we’d’ve cleared out. If they’d come during the day, they wouldn’t’ve survived.”

“Did they survive?” she asks. “Where are they?”

“Annelise snapped their necks. They’re tied up with vervaine ropes in the basement of her momma’s restaurant.”

Hope looks up toward the restaurant and sets her jaw. Without another word she marches for the door, the crowd of onlooking witches parting silently to let her through. She bypasses the burned table and the cracked chairs and heads down into the basement, where Annelise stands over four seething vampires.

Hope stops a few feet before them, Vincent just behind, and glares down. “These are the ones who caused all the damage?”

Annelise quirks an eyebrow. “Saw them with my own eyes. Took them down with my own hand.”

“Good for you.” Hope’s eyes bounce between each vampire, anger rippling off of her. “Normally I would wait for your…representative to be here before passing judgement. But I don’t have time for that. Any attack on the witches is an attack on this entire city, and I can’t let that stand for even a minute.” She lets out a slow breath. “Five years, each.”

Ricky scrambles to his feet, wincing against the pull of the vervaine ropes. “Everything you do is an attack on this city, you bitch.”

Instead of answering, Hope says to Annelise, “Go to the Jardin Gris. Get as much vervaine as you can find. I have a feeling it’s going to take a lot to subdue these idiots as we take them to the Penitentiary.”

Annelise disappears up the stairs, and Vincent murmurs, “You want me to call Marcel?”

“No…I have a feeling he’ll find out soon enough.”

Joel’s on his feet again, pacing a tiny circle in front of Theo’s door. “So you’re telling me that the oldest vampires in the history of time live in this city, and if I kill them, all of the vampires they’ve ever created will die along with them?”

Theo hums. “Well, except those in Klaus’s line. He was unlinked from his line fifteen years ago, but yes, if you kill Elijah and Rebekah, you’ll knock out roughly a two-thirds of all the vampires in the world in one fell swoop. You’ll be a hero.”

“So how do I kill them?”

Clucking her tongue, Theo explains, “See that’s the tricky bit. The only thing that can kill an Original vampire is white oak from a tree in Virginia that’s been burned down twice now. There were remnants from that tree for a while, but they’re all gone now.”

The air whooshes out of Joel. “So there’s nothing?”

“I didn’t say that.” Theo stands up and walks over to him with a smirk. “Sixteen years ago, the Mikaelsons’ crazy aunt Dahlia woke up from a Sleeping Beauty nap with the intention of kidnapping Hope.”

“Jesus,” Joel breathes.

“Right before the Mikaelsons defeated her, she almost defeated them. She took the last remaining white oak stake and turned it to ash, which she then used to suffocate them.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to that ash, now would you?”

“Smart boy…” Theo leans against the doorjamb. “It turns out that Mikaelsons are many things, but tidy is not one of them. They left a sea of white oak ash behind as they celebrated their victory over Dahlia, and my mother, a smart witch who spent more time listening than she did talking, quietly followed behind and cleaned up the mess.”

She snatches a motel notepad and pen up from the nightstand and begins to sketch out a map. “Go to Lafayette Cemetery. Look for my family crypt. This should help.” She tears off the sheet and stretches her arm out, the paper just crossing the boundary spell. “Look for an old bottle of Rougaroux filled with what looks like sand. That’s what you’ll need to get the job done.”

Joel takes the paper and studies it. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You’re the one doing the dirty work. I certainly won’t be sad to see that family go.”

Joel starts to turn, but then pauses and looks back. “Hang on. You said one of the Originals’ names is Elijah?”

Theo shrugs. “Yeah, Elijah Mikaelson’s the eldest brother. Well, the eldest brother still living. Why?”

With a shake of his head, Joel says, “No reason.”

Just then, the sounds of people approaching startle the pair. Theo looks over Joel’s shoulder and sees shadows moving. “Someone’s coming. You should go.”

Joel nods, and says once again, “Thank you for your help.”

“Go!”

And Joel darts away, slinking in the shadows all the way home.

Hope stands with her head bowed and a hand pressed against a door labelled 23. From inside, Ricky hollers, “The vampires won’t stand for this shit! If they have to kill you to free us all they will!”

Ignoring him, Hope finishes the boundary spell. She looks up at Vincent. ��This is their punishment. Make sure that your witches don’t come here and antagonize them further.”

“There was thousands of dollars of damage!” Vincent argues.

Before Hope can reply, a voice drawls, “I’ll make sure to write a check.”

They both turn to see Marcel walking up. Vincent makes a lunge for him, but Hope places a warning hand on his chest. “Don’t.” She glares at Marcel. “How many times have I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep my guys in line.” He waves her off dismissively. “Has it ever occurred to you that after one vampire gets stuck here after defending himself and other gets murdered in an alley, I might not be able to keep them in line?”

“Has it ever occurred to you that that’s your job?” Marcel opens his mouth, but Hope cuts across him. “No. Let me make myself very clear. This is all on you. You keep coming to me after the fact and telling me how to respond—if you want to give me advice, maybe try showing up before someone ends up dead.”

“I am trying,” Marcel hisses, “but I’ve got dozens of guys, and they’re all a mess because of what’s happening in this city, and if you think sentencing these goons to half a decade in here is going to help things, you’re insane.”

“I have every vampire, witch, and werewolf in this city looking to me for fair justice, so if you think I’m going to let what happened tonight slide, you’re not just insane, you’re an idiot.” With that, Hope spins on her heel and stalks away. Over her shoulder she snaps, “Make sure that they’re each given one bloodbag a week until they’re let out. See if you can’t screw that up, too.”

Looking over his shoulder, Joel ducks into the Lafayette Cemetery, keeping as close to the shadows as he can manage. There are a number of witches milling about, and he overhears something about a cauldron, but he can’t make it out. He follows the path drawn for him by Theo, and at one point, he bumps into a large, cement potted plant and hisses.

“What was that?” he hears, and he knows he’s drawn someone’s attention. He darts away, managing to silently appear three crypts over before whoever heard him can round the bend to see where he was. It only takes him a few minutes to find the small crypt with the stone letters LEROY over the entrance. He slowly pushes open the door, wincing at the low creak, and steals inside.

There’s stuff everywhere, parchments and old leather-bound books and a stupefying number of candles. He digs through the clutter, looking under rickety wooden tables and moving urns around. After a minute: “Yes!” He extracts a tall, heavy bottle of Rougaroux filled with ash. Joel smiles. “Time to kill some vampires.”

#the originals #originals #tvd #tvd fic #originals fic #people and rhythm #pr 2x05

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