#historical fantasy au

[darkdemeter]

𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳'𝑺 𝑹𝑬𝑸𝑼𝑰𝑬𝑴, 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆

— BUCKY BARNES COLUMN

Executioner! Bucky Barnes x Nun! Female Reader

────────────────

; || 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑’𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 : 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || ;

𝑶𝒉 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒚-𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒇𝒚, 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓.

𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 — 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒔 — 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏 — 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔/𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 — "𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒚" (𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇) — 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 — 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 (𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕) 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒖 — 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅/𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 — 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒕?

────────────────

; || 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 || ;

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉.

|| 2.5K ; words ────────────────

◤𝐌-𝐂𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐗 : 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐃◢

@mostlymarvelgirl @hollyseb @sebastianstansqueen @openup-yourmind @kandis-mom @calwitch @cjand10 @identity2212 @ashdoctor @missmarvelophilic @boobsbeesbongos

────────────────┘

For where there is desolation, there is room for God. This is the belief you cling to in a gaze held to Fort Solitude and its surrounding lands. As its name suggests, the keep has stood lonesome and sullen over some decades, the village at its feet yearns for the same aid of repair. God’s aid. That which you are sent to provide. 

  “This is as far as I will go. The Lord’s infinite gift for strength that I do not wrangle Father Fury’s neck with a noose is futile.” Abbess Maria shuns the reclusive settlement with a look of irritation. You swallow thickly at the boldness of her confession. Tongue held in silence, your gloved hands squeeze the reins of your horse, you turn to blindness in favour of the growing anticipation that swells inside your chest and blooms brightly with your unshaken faith.

  “I must venture forward now, alone,” you conclude, voice lilted behind a fleeting stream of breath that mists past your lips. She nods firmly, her jaw clenched.

  You accept this. Understanding her position and that personal ties lay as opposing obstacles tend to entrap, you take no part in trying to sway her decision. “Shall Ser John escort you?”

  “No, I can manage from here,” you answer evenly, eyes cast down to instead count the woven threads of the saddle’s pommel. Your lungs expand and your shoulders push with a deep inhale, the smell of rain lingering in the valley. Raising your focus back to Fort Solitude, you are swept in the renewing grace of God’s spirit. 

  He guides you now. You feel it. 

  “I am here for a purpose, it is God’s will that I go forth now, and with his light I will prevail. I promise, Abbess Maria, I will not— and they’re gone…” Only a cloud of dust resides where your escorts once were, long since vanished are the thundering applause of their escape.

  ‘Alone then, but with the Lord.’

  “Very well, let us be off!” Lips folding out into a brimming smile and with chirpy tone, you sit a little straighter in your saddle and nudge your heel inward, riding down the spiraling dirt road as you take in the rolling hillside. From what you have been told by the higher council of the Vatican, the settlement has been absent in its presence, cut off from the rest of the world. Tucked into this darkened corner of the realm, your superiors wish to see its return to the fold, to become a beacon of hope and refuge once more. 

  Many of the sisters back home spoke in hushed tones when news spread of your newly elected station. That the residents of Fort Solitude were beyond saving, that their souls were condemned for eternity’s hellfire. And to that, you very much disagreed with. Because they spoke with spirits of fear and faith that wavered like a flame to a breeze. The abbey sang a chorus of sighing relief when their names were not summoned. 

  It makes you smile that this opportunity has been given to you. That this great task, no matter how bigger it may seem for someone of your inexperienced caliber, it can only mean that the Lord has set this plan for you. With a light-hearted hum on your tongue, you continue with a merry bounce in your saddled approach. 

  “What the fuck is that?” A woman of blonde hair sneers, lips screwed into a thinned line in her scrutinising glare. Joining her at the wooden fence, two other women also study the approaching form.

  “Maybe she got lost?” suggests Wanda, her tone light with benefited doubt. Not that that swayed the mind of either woman beside her, their eyes still bearing the weight of their prowling judgment. 

  “Do you think Father Fury knows of this?”

  “We’re at time to find out,” snorts the blonde haired, sauntering out past the fenced gate, the two women not too far behind. “Maybe she’s a gifted lamb for the headsman’s axe.”

  “Sharon!” hisses both Wanda and Natasha, ignoring the way she practically moaned the words. 

  Sharon laughs, the sound a clouded abyss of sickness that hangs like an ominous storm. Not too long until the priest joins the growing community outside, his untaken eye spying your approach, your horse slowing to a trot at your gentle command. 

  “Greetings, Sister.”

  “Father Fury,” you say in return, still adorning that bright and thoughtful smile, you take a moment to dismount. Your struggle, however, provides a much amusing sight for the villagers who snicker quietly amongst themselves. 

  Fury arches a brow and clears his throat, bringing a dismissing silence. Stumbling back a little, you turn to face the settlement’s priest with a victorious grin. 

  “Abbess Maria didn’t accompany you?”

  “Hm? Oh, no, she erm… well, she was, but I uh…” Your move to gesture up towards the opening juncture of the valley where you’d come from, your grin falling into a grimace as each word became utterly futile. 

  “I thought it best to carry on alone.” You refrain from gulping too loudly. 

  “Of course. Come.” He beckons you forward with a wave of his hand and with a staggering attempt to bow, in courtesy of the mud trampling your resolve, you tug the reins and follow alongside him. 

  “Father, I’ve come to understand that there was an… incident involving the previous sister.” In the company of Fury, you believe there is no reason to hide the relation of fear you have regarding that particular detail. 

  “Yes, there was. Unfortunate in loss, rest her soul, now we’ve moved on.”

  “Oh, I see…” The lax nature of his response leaves the beginnings of a bad taste on your tongue, dry and tart, but you push forward. You must look ahead if you are to get anywhere here. 

  “I’ve this letter from the Vatican, Father,” you begin with slight pause, procuring the sealed document from your safekeeping, you hand it to him. His eye glares down at you, a brow coiled up in his unspoken anguish, his suspicion of the Vatican all present in a single look. 

  He thanks you quietly under his breath and breaks the wax seal with a muffled pop and unfurls it, reading over its contents. For a moment you each stop and you take the opportunity to come to know what will be your supposed home now. 

  You cannot exactly say for sure how long you’ll be present at Fort Solitude. Only God knows. Casting the land in a graying gloom, the village is not the sight you’d heard in gossip. Much rather, it stands relatively still and otherwise, together, but the feel of it is… wrong. Tainted by darkness. 

  Colour appears to be washed out. A dull palette that grieves an aura of forsaken-hood. 

  ‘Blue!’

  Striking, the grandest and highest majesty of blue you’ve ever seen, and you’ve seen a lot of colour. But nothing like the marvellous hue of his eyes. And unblinking to a degree so unnerving you find it impossible to release a single ounce of breath, now held prisoner in your chest until the ripened bubble of explosion is upon you - ready to break you - but his penetrative gaze commands you to not give in. 

  A man with a powerful stride to his walk, a path carved by purpose, each step as lethal as the next and last; as everything that is him. 

  Your voice is suddenly lost. Incapable to bring yourself to question the priest of who the man dressed in dark clothing, and a heavy leather coat that flows at the muddy hem and dirtied boots. A clinking of leather straps and buckles looping this way and that over his broad form as he saunters alongside the keep’s walls, dark brown hair cascading down in framing locks, haphazardly pulled into a bun with no trace of neatness. A mask covers the lower of his face, concealing the remainder of his features and leaving you to the idea of imagination. A man of rugged charm. 

  Of sinful charm. A forbidden combination of feelings riles within you, stirring your skin to become reddened with blooming heat. You only pray to the Lord above that the overdrape of your cowl hides your manner of impropriety.

  However, your entranced stare turns widened, the fast repetition of your heartbeat forces you to gasp, finally allowing your stilled breath free. In the weight of his fisted palm is the balancing beam of wood, anchored at its end a sharpened tool of bloodshed. A curved and very sharp blade. And freshly blooded. Need you ask, that is no longer necessary, to only realise that this man is an executioner. 

  “I see that Bishop Alexander is insistent on your work here,” Father Fury says, beckoning your attention. 

  With a shake of your head you rid away the impure thoughts that threaten you, repelling them with a clearance of mind and throat. You must focus. You are here to help, to offer yourself as a vessel for God’s help. You cannot simply be distracted by a pair of beautiful eyes - no matter how enchanting - you are a sworn sister of the church. 

  “Very well. By this letter, it appears that you are one of astute read, and willed strongly in your duties.”

  “Words spoken kindly… but yes, that is what defines my repute, Father.” A deflection of the praise, your tone reserved and soft.

  Yes, Bishop Alexander spoke highly of your work and commitment to the order, and your unwavering faith and loyalty. For each struggle is a mere trial you are meant to overcome. An admirable quality. Amongst many things, your tendency to lend help to the city’s streets, at times from dawn to dusk, captured the attention of the Vatican’s council. And thus, it was brought to attention that Fort Solitude remained an outskirted fortress, unyielding to rejoin the outer community. And you would be sent to do what you do best. 

  “Indeed, kind. But I’d wager flattery first and foremost.” The plainness of his comment rears its ugly head. You sputter over your words that come out as a series of contorted starters and ends, noises he assumes will be frequent. 

  “W-why would the Bishop - or anyone - need to flatter me?”

 His hand waves in gesture to dismiss your ensuing shock. “Don’t take to it, Sister, perhaps to get closer to God through you.”

  Your lips pinch and purse together, your eyes rolling over the mystery of the executioner's sudden disappearance and Father Fury. “I-I don’t… understand your meaning.”

  All it took was a simple glance of his good eye and bow of his head, and a sudden chill creeps into your skin like claws. Your body involuntarily shivers, an unsettled grimace upon your visage. “Ew…”

  You dare not dwell on such paths of thought. To cure the churning disease that is that concept, you tilt your chin high to take in the fort, its walls old and worn, but still bearing strength in its foundations. A once respectable court and haven for the old knights brotherhood, the Templars, the fort’s survival for all these years is remarkable. 

  God hasn't given up on this refuge. No matter the trying of the enemy, His will would not be defeated. This line of thought that distracts you brings you to smile, forcing away any disturbed topic prior. 

  “It is getting late.” He draws your attention to the sun that levels low over the mountain ridge, though its presence is masked by the thick smog of overcasting clouds. “I’ll have James show you to your quarters.”

  Akin to the innocence of a pup, your head cocks to the side, voice inflecting with keen curiosity. “James?”

  The older man answers your inquiry with a summon, calling over the man you presume is this ‘James’, your jaw slackens the moment you come to see those alluring pools of heaven’s blue. 

  ‘Grant me your strength, Heavenly Father, for this man is dangerous.’

  He discards his mask as he walks towards you, eyes shifting from yours to Fury, brows pressed firm into a furrowing glare. “James, this is Sister L/N, I ask that you show her to her respective room.”

  James chuffs a haughty breath through his nose, as if to snicker in his contemplative annoyance, he nods obediently to the now retreating priest and then looks to you. For a moment, he just stares, the affect of it is potent, it begins to play your mind in ways you did not think capable of a mortal man. 

  You’re unsure what exactly it is that traverses the process of his mind, his expression impenetrable to reading, all you can do is give him a wide smile, but otherwise that feels like it’s too much. For a moment you think you see something move beneath the placidity of this man, a startled view in the reflection of his hues, like he’s never seen anyone smile at him before; at least not like you. 

   “So the Vatican sent another one.” 

  A rather interesting first impression but you would take it. You nod, perhaps a bit too much with enthusiasm, you answer with a definite and pronounced, “Yes.” 

  His gloved hand wrestles the reins from your own and he walks without so much as another glance or word. Fisting the skirt fabric of your long, black grown to hop over a puddle, you’re at his heel as he leads you through the iron gates and into the large courtyard. 

  “I am sure Father Fury has spoken of my arr—”

  His interjection comes bluntly and swiftly, “Not really.”

  ‘Uh…’

  His hair dances the line of his heightened collar to peer over his shoulder and down at you. Quickly, you cast your eyes down to the ground, inspecting the water-lined footprints and minute details, he only hums in what you either calculate to be in amusement or relief. As to what personalised goal, you cannot fathom. Willing to remain in control of yourself, you puff the contouring of your mouth with air and continue. 

  “I see. Well, as evidently as it is, I am here to provide solace and comfort to those of Fort Solitude.”

  “As was the last,” he whistles aloud over the gust of wind that howls downwards from the mountains, the power of it forces the tresses of your clothing to flutter about madly. Harbouring your horse in the nearby stables, he passes the duty of her care onto the stable-hand, before he unstraps your bag from the saddle. 

  When you try to reach for it, he swings it over his shoulder, cocking a brow at you with a bout of skepticism over your actions. You huff shortly in reply, “You needn’t carry my belongings, I can— and he’s gone…” the last of which is muttered under your breath. 

  ‘What is it with this man?’ 

  You have to lift the skirts of your gown again to hurry after him towards the keep, a small yelp catches in your throat from almost tripping through a puddle, he eyes you warily once at the heavy, wooden doors. Smoothing down the fabric of your gown and regaining your composure, you motion for him to continue with an eager and bright smile. 

 The only thing he can think in that moment as he pushes the doors open with a howling bellow of its aged hinges, is that you smile at him too much, with far too much hope in those eyes of yours. 

  “Welcome to Fort Solitude, Sister.”

────────────────┘

#bucky barnes column #the demeadery #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #female reader #executioner bucky barnes #historical fantasy au #bucky barnes au #nun reader #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x female reader #beefy bucky #dark bucky barnes #dark bucky x reader

[gerec]

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Rape/Non-Con Category: M/M Fandoms: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types Relationships: Sebastian Shaw/Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier

Characters: Charles Xavier, Sebastian Shaw, Ororo Munroe, Azazel (X-Men), Raven | Mystique, Emma Frost, Erik Lehnsherr, Nathaniel Essex, Victor Creed, Moira MacTaggert

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Humiliation, Alpha Shaw, Alpha Erik, Omega Charles, Rough Sex, Forced Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Threats of Violence, Knotting, Come Inflation, Forced Orgasm, Double Penetration, Non-Consensual Spanking, Age Difference, Captivity, Chains, Verbal Humiliation, Public Sex, Forced Bonding, Forced Marriage, Blackmail, Oral Sex, Sexual Coercion, Male Lactation, Psychological Trauma, Paranoia, Domestic Violence, Lactation Kink, Seduction, Sexual Bribery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Forced Pregnancy, Discussion of Abortion

Summary:

Sebastian Shaw attacks the kingdom of Genosha while its monarch Erik Lehnsherr is away at war, capturing omega Consort Charles Xavier as he flees with his subjects towards Westchester.

Shaw is determined to right a perceived wrong by taking an unwilling Charles as his mate.

Updated: Chapter 16 - Bonding Sickness

Charles and Erik's worst fears come to pass as the bonding sickness takes hold. Time is not on their side.

-----

Getting really close to the end now! Just the resolution and then an epilogue to go!

#gerec writes #cherik #your rightful place #shaw/charles #chapter 16 #historical fantasy au #mind the tags

[hysteriche]

Advertising my own fanfiction yurrrrr

Soldier of the Snow (BETA)

Summary: Mo Guanshan finds himself getting recruited into the army after being caught trying to steal from the Royal Palace by Emperor He Cheng. Finally, after the years of poverty and resorting to thievery to feed himself and his mother, he now has the chance to prove himself amongst the finest men of the Norther Empire. or!! Mo Guanshan slowly growing tired of life and the royal pain in the ass that is He Tian.

Sneak Peek:

He didn’t exactly like being called a thief. He could admit to himself that he was one but it’s not like he had a choice. After his father’s arrest, their inn closed down due to a lack of clients.

Suddenly, he felt the chains around his wrist being loosened. His hands came free and he looked up with confusion. “What…”

“You have two choices,” Emperor He Cheng said in a low voice, “I can have you executed for the attempted robbery of the Royal Household. Or ,” He paused for a second and for just a fleeting moment, Guanshan thought he saw the barest hint of a smile, “You can work for me as one of my guardsmen. Dying is, of course, still an occupational hazard but it’d be better to die for your country than for such a pathetic crime, no?” 

#19 days #19 days fanfic #fanfiction #tianshan #Historical fantasy au

[fizzigigsimmer]

All The Kings Men

Chapter 12

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Billy Hargrove

Summary: When Prince Steve's father tries to marry him to a northern barbarian Steve will stop at nothing to escape and marry the woman of his dreams. But when Steve's plans to run away with Lady Nancy are thwarted by pirates, he comes face to face with Captain Billy Hargrove, formally of His Majesty's armies. Though his touch still makes Steve burn the same way, Billy is not the boy Steve knew at court and his secrets threaten all of Steve's loyalties and everything he understands about himself. Steve might be a prince of the realm but on the sea only one man is king, and Billy will stop at nothing until he claims Steve for himself.

There’s a group of boys gathered around an ale barrel, where a topless boy balances precariously on his hands as the barrel wobbles underneath him. They chant his name 'Steve, Steve, Steve' along with a count, 'thirty two,  thirty three, thirty four', and Billy hops off the cart, curious to see how long the boy can hold on. As Billy draws closer he watches the way the boy’s arms flex and his stomach concave, evidence of the strength it is taking to keep himself upright. He sees the moment when the wobbling becomes too much, when it is inevitable that the boy standing on his hands goes toppling, but before that happens the boy flexes. He should be at the end of his strength, and yet he finds more, pushing off the barrel to land on his feet like an acrobat, winning an even louder swell of cheers.

He’s all messy brown hair and smug grin as the other boys pat him on the back and curry for his attention. 

“You could have done better.”

Billy doesn’t know why he opens his mouth, just that when that head turns and the other boys eyes meet his there’s a rush to it. They all wanted it, but Billy’s the one who has Steve's attention now.

Read it on AO3

I fiddled so long with this. Time to just kick it out of the nest.

#all the kings men #steve harrington #Billy Hargrove #alpha!billy hargrove #omega!steve harrington #dom!billy hargrove #sub!steve harrington #sirens #merpeople #mermaids #fantasy au #historical fantasy au #harringrove #steve x billy #pirates #pirate!billly hargrove #Warlord!Billy Hargrove

[psychicbee]

let me tread your shores (i beg to be drowned)

by vminrisings (1/1, 15505)

and when you see how desperately the tides reach out for the moon—two lovers yearning for each other’s touch but never to meet—you will then understand the cruelty of the universe.

#taekook #ocean deity tae #moon rabbit jk #angst #hurt/comfort #historical fantasy au #ambiguous/open ending #10k~20k

[thotpuppy]

ThotPuppy's Historical-themed Sterek Fic Recs

I know lots of folks have already done one of these! BUT! This is one of my favorite tropes, so... here are some of my faves! As a note, these largely range from ~vaguely medieval~ to incredibly well-researched SPECIFIC 'Medieval' to ~general regency ish~ to VERY Regency to various points in between. I am also aware of some as of yet unwritten but ~coming soon/eventually~ Pirate, Wild West, 1920s, and of course Medieval pieces coming out, so I MAY have to post an updated version in a year or so lol

Also... have one that's not here? PLEASE send it to me! Especially Medieval Fantasy. It's my FAVORITE and I KNOW there are more that I don't have/don't have saved and I'm very interested!

Golden Boy by trilliath Rated E, Complete, 127k+

A Most (Im)Proper Proposal by Welsh_Woman Rated E, Complete, 200k+

Entente by Siria Rated E, Complete, 44k+

A Desperate Arrangement by mikkimouse Rated E, Complete, 115k+

Foolish devouring things, build your castle in me by LunaCanisLupus_22 Rated E, Complete, 23k+

The Consort's Tourney by Lalaith_Quetzalli Rated T, Complete, 12k+

The Wolf in the Tower by exclamation Rated M, Complete, 57k+

Propriety and Pursuit by JenyaKeefe Rated E, Complete, 27k+

The Wrong Hale by Dextrous_Sinistrous Rated E, Complete, 77k+

The White Hart of Winter by DarkAthena Rated E, Complete, 65k+

The Marriage Contract by Palendrome Rated E, Complete, 12k+

The Omega Servant and the Alpha King by EmeraldTrident Rated E, Complete, 2.4k+

Where the Real Beasts Are by kaistrex Rated E, Complete, 109k+

I Made a Vow Out to the Dark by WhoGeek Rated T, Complete, 22k+

I'm Not Asking Questions, I'm Taking My Chances by keldjinfae Rated E, Complete, 80k+

Here are a few that I haven't had a chance to read yet, but the mere concepts have me in a chokehold:

Kingdoms Fall by Gia279 Rated M, Complete, 74k+

A Pauper's Prince (Revised) by Welsh_Woman Rated E, Complete, 83k+

A Wolf's Heart by Palendrome Rated E, Complete, 22k

Tangled Crowns by Halevetica Not Rated, WIP, 37k+

A Winter's Knight by changez Rated E, Complete, 5.5k+

I Won't Be Alone For The Rest Of My Life by blackorchids Rated G, Complete, 1.4k+

And lastly, would I really be that bitch if I didn't rec my own?

Triskelion Reign: the Shepherd, the Lamb, and the Wolf Rated E, WIP, 47k+

Tagging authors (i know of on here) so they know we out here loving and appreciating them! @Athenadark , @outtoshatter, @halevetica, @changez4sterek, @lalaithquetzallicaresi, you all write lovely works and I appreciate your efforts <3

#sterek #stiles x derek #derek x stiles #sterek fic rec #sterek fanfic #eternalsterek #sterek is eternal #my fic rec #thotpuppy recs #medieval fantasy #regency #historical #like my dudes this rec list covers like 1100 through 1820 #it is ALL over the place #maybe a wee bit lacking in true rennaissance?? #imo it makes up for it with some of the “ren faire” level aus #but i do not say that as a negative i live for it #ALSO its very eurocentric which makes me kinda want to write that feudal japan inspired fic even more akdgjakdjg #it's the weeb in me im sorry

[nectarbird]

more of this bs . In my head Tommy is a prince and he doesn’t know it yet. Also I couldn’t find a befitting hat for him that didn’t read as forzen in my brain so he gets a hood

#hlvrai #hlvrai fanart #tommy coolatta #benrey #not intended to be historically accurate #just fantasy au designs

[mustasekittens]

🕷️A Mysterious Vigilante and the Sword of the Goblin King⚔️

fantasy(ish) parksborn au that im working on with @eyesack884 💥💥

design notes!

tldr of the story is Pete is a commoner who gains spider-like abilities and becomes a vigilante; Prince Harrold anonymously becomes the right hand to the king. The King is unaware that his son is his prized knight and said knight is unaware his best friend is The Spider >:)

theres more but im tired and didnt even mean to make this fucking au in the first place. like at all so i mean. enjoy!!

#parksborn #mustasekittens #fantasy is used as a blanket term here #its not medieval because i dont wanna do a fuck ton of research to make it more historically accurate. there's also magic n shit #idk how far im going with this but its been fun brainrotting with eye #spiderman 2 ps5 #insomniac spiderman #peter parker #harry osborn #spiderman #green goblin #fantasy au #fanart #my art #designs #character design #insomniac peter parker #insomniac harry osborn

[kriskukko]

denounced shirts and the rule of kings in the same breath

#teh au where oliver had magic and went on to become a spellsword wizard #greedy nobility? dismantle with fireball #the idea made me laugh but honestly this was my excuse to draw a chaperon and big medieval sleeves #historical fantasy #orcs

[thedoctorsthings]

Power to the king | Min Yoongi pt. 2

Fantasy/historical AU, viking Au (attempted lmao), Yoongi x female reader

More angst (you know me by now), Yoongi is still an asshole, things taking a dramatic turn

cw: sexism, mentions of war, Jungkook's humour (I've decided I'm blaming my painful unfunnyness on the character now)

word count: about 3k

Yoongi and you had been married for a month now and you’d kept your promise. You were ice cold, you only talked when spoken to and you hadn’t as much as smiled in Yoongi’s general direction. The servants and everyone else in the castle treated you with respect and subservience. One might even say they seemed scared of you. Only you knew this all to be a farse. At night, when you were alone you cried yourself to sleep. It had been a month and you’d made little progress. Every day felt as empty as the last. Days before the wedding your mother had told you that an arranged marriage without love wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be. She said you would find things to love, running the household or eventually your children. But as a princess there was no household to run and how were you supposed to have children if your husband wouldn’t even look at you. You admit that you did want children. If you couldn’t have your husband close to you at least you would have them. They would be something that you could devote yourself to in this empty life. Since your wedding night you and Yoongi hadn’t spoken about the subject again. You assumed he would come knocking on your door every night, asking over and over. This was the way most of the men you’d met and heard of acted when it came to sex, but he left you alone. It seemed that maybe it was up to you to come to his door, but over your dead body were you going to give in to him first.

You got out of bed and got dressed. It was customary for maids to help women of your status with this, but you had quickly made an end to this habit by sending the maids out every morning. Now they didn’t even bother coming in anymore. The typical attire of a princess consisted of a white underdress and a heavy garment over it. Today you chose a blue dress. You leave your room and head to the dining room for breakfast. Yoongi is already sitting at the table. You were infinitely thankful for the rest of his family and the ever-present servants. If they weren’t here every moment you spent in the same room as Yoongi would be spent in agonising silence. You always sat next to your husband, as was customary. His brother sat next to you on your other side. Jungkook was a small dash of light in the dark tunnel that your life had become. He was nice, funny and actually tried to engage in conversation with you. He was the reason your days here weren’t spent in complete loneliness. You had no romantic feelings for him, but still found yourself wishing you’d have been married off to him instead. Marriage with him might have been easier, might have worked better than with Yoongi. “Good morning, your majesty. How did you sleep?”, Jungkook asks in that overly polite tone he often liked to use with you. “Nothing to complain about, my lord”, you replied, equally nasal. “Not really suitable for a prince to be playing games with his future queen, is it?”, sounded a grumpy voice from your right. You had already noticed that Yoongi didn’t appreciate it when you had too much fun with Jungkook. It made you want to do it all the more. At this comment you settle your gaze on the empty chair in front of you, the one where the queen is supposed to sit, and rigidly stare at it. “We are expected to attend next week’s festivities together”, Yoongi poses and somehow his voice sounds softer. He’s bent slightly towards you, but you stay unmoving. “okay”. Yoongi finishes the rest of his meal in silence as you occasionally say something to Jungkook. As Yoongi gets up, he says: “your chambermaid will tell you when it is time to prepare. She’ll give you the clothes you’re expected to wear as well”. You merely nod. 

Yoongi walks through the huge, stone hallways while lost in thought. He got what he wanted, a wife that never let her emotions get the best of her, one that was rational and let him do as he wanted. You were perfect, there was nothing you did wrong, and somehow, he still despised you. Whenever he tried to make contact with you, you rejected him. There was nothing but one-word answers from your side. He felt that you hated him and that made him dislike you. He knew he would never be as charming as Jungkook, but you could at least try to form some sort of friendship with him. The most important reason however, was that he hated the way he felt when he looked at your emotionless face. You looked like all life had been sucked out of you, while at the same time there was a deep silence lying in the still waters of your eyes. It made him feel horrible, it was his fault, he’d never admit it. He knocked on the door of his mother’s bedchambers. “Come in”, he heard her weak voice call. He pushed open the heavy, wooden door and stepped into the room. She was sitting half upright on the bed, leaning against a mountain of pillows. The sunlight coming from the high windows hit her face nicely. He sat down in the chair next to her. “How is married life, son?” “To be honest, I barely talk to her”. The queen looked at him with a questioning look. “I just don’t really like talking to her”. “Why?” Yoongi sighed and stayed quiet for a while. He made a vague gesture with his arm and shrugged: “It’s like she’s not really there. When she always responds as short as possible and only speaks when spoken to. I think I don’t like talking to her because I know she doesn’t like me either”. His mother looks out the window a second, before speaking: “You think she’s cold?” “Yes exactly”. “Yoongi, you’re my son and I love you, but you’re not the warmest person either. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t like talking to you either”. “But I try so hard to seek contact with her”. “I think a husband and wife should have more than just contact”, the queen said, smiling. Yoongi was quiet again. “Could it be that you feel guilty?” At this Yoongi got up: “No that’s not it!”, he said raising his voice. “No need to get angry”, she said calmly. “I’m not, I just have things to do”, was the last thing he said before leaving the room.

You’re walking through the gardens of the castle. It was spring now and getting warmer. In this kingdom, warmer still meant well below what others find agreeable, but your people were used to it. People had started dressing lighter and the sun shone more often. You also felt lighter. After months of basically ignoring your husband, you had decided to be more welcoming. Your sister had been right. As a woman all you could do was make the best of it. About a week ago you had started being nicer to Yoongi. You smiled at him during meals and asked him how his day was going. Yesterday you spent the evening together playing a traditional board game. You suggested it. It was nice, you’d laughed together for the first time ever, even if it was still awkward. Things started looking up, maybe you could find happiness here after all. You let your hand brush over the newly growing flowers and enter the halls. Tonight was the night of the festivities and you planned to go to your husband and ask him what was expected of you tonight. You could ask any of your maids, but this was the perfect opportunity to spend more time with Yoongi. As you near the corner you hear giggling. Your ears perk, even with Jungkook’s presence everything happening at the castle was a grim affair. Giggling was not something often heard around these parts. “Your majesty, behave”, you hear a female voice tease. Dread fills your stomach. You round the corner and there he is, his hand on her lower back, his nose in her hair as she opens a door. He looks up for a split second. You don’t know if he saw you, you’re still quite far away from them. Even if he did see you, it clearly doesn’t matter to him, because he and the maid enter the room. You hear shushing and more giggling and then the door shuts. You welcome her back with open arms. That all familiar emptiness, or at least that’s what you wish this feeling is. It’s not, it’s pain. It hurts you more to admit it. It’s horrible to realise that you let this man get to you. You promised yourself you would never feel again when it came to him and here you were, seeing blurry from the tears trying to find your way back to your rooms.

Tonight’s festival marked the beginning of spring. Everyone in the city gathered on the main square every year to sing, dance and eat together. It was your favourite thing as a child. Today was the first year you couldn’t enjoy it. You were expected to walk through the crowd at the height of the festival. The king and queen first, although the queen wouldn’t attend due to her illness, then the crown prince and his wife and lastly the second born son. You’re waiting in the carriage. You and Yoongi are seated next to each other, Jungkook sitting opposite of you. The air is tense. You still have no idea if Yoongi noticed you earlier today. You have a feeling that he might have because he’s tenser than usual. So are you. “Alright someone say something before the awkwardness drives me to jump out of the vehicle”, Jungkook says while uncomfortably squirming on his bench. You and Yoongi both remain silent. “By Odin, I bet the mute choachman is better company than you people”. At this you let out a giggle, that in its turn makes Yoongi scoff. Wanting to relieve Jungkook of his suffering you offer: “What do you think the head druid will predict tonight? I hope not another failed harvest like last year”. “Me personally, I’ve been hoping for golden rain ever since I was a kid”, Jungkook jokes with that signature, boyish grin of his. “The druid’s prophecy is no laughing matter Jungkook, Y/N is right. We better hope for a fruitful harvest this year”. “Alright Mr. Cranky, maybe you should jump out of the carriage”, is the last thing Jungkook mumbles before getting kicked in the shin by his older brother. This time you laugh out loud and even if it was just unconsciously, Yoongi is proud that he was finally part of the reason why.

Your carriage arrives after the king’s and when you get out the mass of people outside cheer so loud you almost cover your ears. Almost, because you’re sure that if you did Yoongi would have something to say about it later. You and Yoongi link arms, which is probably the most intimate you’ve been since the wedding. You walk through the path of people to the thrones that have been set up at the head of the square. There are six thrones. The king and Yoongi sit on the two most extravagant ones in the middle. You sit next to Yoongi and Jungkook next to you. Two men are already sitting on the thrones next to the king. These are the head druid and his apprentice. At the end of the evening, they will perform a ritual to predict the fate of the kingdom. During the meal you and Yoongi barely exchange a word. After however, when you’re watching the city’s people dance, Yoongi chuckles at seeing a young man almost trip and light his hair on fire with one of the torches. The man manages to do a sort of twirl and prevent this horrible fate from happening. “That’s Jimin”, Yoongi states: “He’s a bit of an idiot but a good man. He’s the son of the farmer that delivers food to the castle. You might have seen him help his father with the deliveries, the old man is getting sicker and sicker”. You haven’t digested the events of this morning yet and honestly the fact that he’s acting as if nothing happened is pissing you off. “So, you’re just going to act like I didn’t see you grope a maid this morning?”, you ask without looking at him. “Y/N”, Yoongi start, but he’s interrupted by the booming voice of the king. You hate that man for the way he talks to you and for the way he speaks of his wife as if she’s a burden, but you have to admit you’ll always have respect for the way he can make a crowd of hundreds of people shut their mouths. “People of Sargon, turn your eyes to the fire. The Druid will perform the prophecy!”. His voice could reach the deafest of men. The druid got up. You had never seen him from this close. He was quite a young man; most druids were older than stone. He had pitch black hair filled with silver jewelry. It ran over his broad shoulders like a black waterfall. When he turned to bow to the king you saw his face. In your nineteen years of life, you had never seen a man so handsome. After that, his apprentice got up and turned to do the same. This man had dark eyes and an almost equally handsome face. “I think these druids have a potion to make themselves look better, it’s not fair”, Jungkook whispers. “You look fine Jungkook don’t worry about it”, you smile back. “Don’t ya think I oughtta get to the bottom of this then ey?”, he asks in that accent you’ve gotten so used to. “Yes Jungkook, as prince of the kingdom I think you should make it your first priority to find interrogate two druids on why they look so good”, you retort. “Exactly my thoughts”, he grins, but he can barely finish the sentence because Yoongi reaches over you to softly hit his brother upside the head. The druids walk over to the huge fire. The head druid reaches into his pocket and takes out some dried leaves. His apprentice is holding a wooden bowl with a purple looking oil in it. He dips the leaves in the oil and then throws them on the fire. For a moment, nothing happens. The square trembles with suspension. All of a sudden, the flames turn black. In all the years you’ve attended the festival you’ve never seen a fire this dark. It roars and seems to double in size. The head druid is caught off guard and stumbles to the ground. The flames shoot higher than ever, before turning back to their normal size and colour. Everyone is quiet. The man named Jimin, who was laughing seconds before is now looking at the druid with fear in his eyes. That same fear is visible in the eyes of each person in attendance. You feel the heat on your face fade away as the druid whispers: “war”.

After the druid had uttered the word war a shock wave had rolled over the square. The king had ordered the druid and his apprentice to accompany you back to the palace. Once arrived there, he immediately called all his advisors to gather in the main hall. You and Yoongi had followed them in. “What is she doing here?” the king’s voice sounded throughout the entire hall. “She’s my wife and the future queen of this kingdom. She needs to know what’s going on”, Yoongi defended. “Your mother never sat in on things like this”. “I plan on doing things differently”, Yoongi said sternly. The king grumbled but didn’t complain further. “Seokjin, what is the meaning of this”, the king yelled angrily, as if it was the druid’s fault that the fire had behaved this way. “I don’t know your majesty; all I know is that this means war. I don’t know with whom. I don’t know how long, and I don’t know how high our chances of winning are. The rest of the of the evening was spent with old men arguing with even older men about what to do. Eventually they concluded that we would have to wait. After hours the druids had managed to convince the king and his advisors that it was too early to decide anything, but the king decided to start training his men more fervently.

After this evening regular life continued, albeit with a dark cloud hanging above all your heads. Everyone seemed stressed and anxious at all times. You and Yoongi also went back to normal. Normal meant back to how it was before you decided to be nicer. You never brought up the affair with the maid again, and neither did he. That evening at dinner the king showed, once again, why everyone tried to stay as far away from him as possible. “Why is she not pregnant yet?”, the king asked, although a better term would be, demanded. Of course he didn’t ask you. He asked Yoongi and acted as if you weren’t in the room, like always when he said something about you. “I don’t know father. We haven’t had any luck yet”, Yoongi answers stoically, without looking up from his plate”. “I bet it’s her fault. She’s barren and tricked us into marrying her into this family”. “That is not it!” You raise your voice. You’ve barely ever said a word at this table and the king is made of the same thing your nightmares are made of, but you refuse to let him talk about you. The room becomes impossibly tense as the king looks at you. It almost felt as if you could feel his stare sting in your eyes. “Father, you will not talk about my wife like this”. Yoongi says calmly. “Oh, really son? So it’s not her fault? Is it yours then?” Yoongi and the king share 5 full seconds of murderous eye contact before the king delivers the final blow. “I should have known. The God’s refuse to bless you with an heir after what you’ve done”. Yoongi slams his fists on the table and gets up so roughly his chair falls to the ground. He storms out of the room and the sound of the door slamming can be felt in your ears long after he leaves.

Later that evening you are sitting in your chambers. You’re reading a novel when there’s a knock on your door. “Come in”, You say curtly. Yoongi steps into the room. He doesn’t peek his head in first like the servants do. He always enters rooms with the confidence of someone who belongs, something you could only dream of. At least now, when you were a child, you could do the same thing. Somewhere along the way you lost the confidence. It happened to every woman in this godforsaken kingdom. “We should talk about producing an heir”, Yoongi offers carefully. “Oh really, now you want to come to me. For months on end, you leave me alone in the cold of the night but when daddy dearest brings it up you listen”, you bite. “I just think he raises a good point. We’ve been married for months and people will start expecting good news soon”. “What is it really? Are you starting to get lonely, does our stone-cold crown prince need someone to warm his bed?” halfway through that sentence you had gotten up and started getting closer to him. He grabs you by the wrist of the hand you had been pointing in his face with: “You will not speak to your future king in that way!”, he spits through his teeth. You refuse to stand down, so you say: “Maybe my future king should go find another servant to produce a successor with, I bet she speaks to you in whatever way you want, doesn’t she?” Yoongi lets go of your hand. For a moment it looks like he’s about to say something, maybe even apologise. But then he disappears from the room without saying a word. You flop down on your bed. Maybe you were too harsh. You have to admit that you did desire a child to raise. It would give you something to do, someone to love in this cold castle. You would also be lying if you said you didn’t desire Yoongi in that way. When you saw him and that council hall a couple of weeks back. When he had argued with his father about protecting the country, when he had argued to stay calm and not make any rash decisions, he seemed in his element. He was good at this, he was good at strategy, he was a born leader. Seeing him like that had shot a feeling through your body like you’d never felt before.

taglist: @lifeless-firefly @emerald-notes @daisies-and-dandelionpuffs @jjkwifestyle @viankiss

#bts #jimin #jungkook #namjoon #taehyung #yoongi #bts headcanons #jin #hoseok #bts fanfiction #bts historical au #yoongi x reader #yoongi fanfic #bts fantasy au #bangtan #fanfiction

[scryillo]

aint bad with good company and a good drink

#trigun #vashwood #millymeryl #vash the stampede #vash saverem #meryl stryfe #milly thompson #nicholas d. wolfwood #nicholas d wolfwood #zazie the beast #trigun 98 #trigun fanart #scrib: linkings #worked on this for a trigun secret santa for a server... its a 98 specific fantasy western au a bit? #changed up the outfits slightly to reflect some victorian esque vibes [yes i know its not historically accurate it pains me but i was not #going to do costume design for a month and a half. nor did i have time to LOL] #but yeah! a bit of a vampire + vampire hunter au.... i did have a set of doodles i had in universe that accomponyed it but... idk if i have #the confidence to post fully gay shit yet lmfao #vash is a vampire. zazie is a vampire. insurance girls are vampire hunters assigned by the government and ww is a vigilante hunter... also #sent to collect specimen.... meryl could not believe vash was a vampire at first bc she thought vamps were supposed to act a certain way...

[gerec]

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Rape/Non-Con Category: M/M Fandoms: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types Relationships: Sebastian Shaw/Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier

Characters: Charles Xavier, Sebastian Shaw, Ororo Munroe, Azazel (X-Men), Raven | Mystique, Emma Frost, Erik Lehnsherr, Nathaniel Essex, Victor Creed, Moira MacTaggert

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Humiliation, Alpha Shaw, Alpha Erik, Omega Charles, Rough Sex, Forced Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Threats of Violence, Knotting, Come Inflation, Forced Orgasm, Double Penetration, Non-Consensual Spanking, Age Difference, Captivity, Chains, Verbal Humiliation, Public Sex, Forced Bonding, Forced Marriage, Blackmail, Oral Sex, Sexual Coercion, Male Lactation, Psychological Trauma, Paranoia, Domestic Violence, Lactation Kink, Seduction, Sexual Bribery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Forced Pregnancy, Discussion of Abortion

Summary:

Sebastian Shaw attacks the kingdom of Genosha while its monarch Erik Lehnsherr is away at war, capturing omega Consort Charles Xavier as he flees with his subjects towards Westchester.

Shaw is determined to right a perceived wrong by taking an unwilling Charles as his mate.

Updated: Chapter 17 - Into The Lion’s Den

Charles returns to Shaw's side in the hopes of turning the tide on his sickness and saving the baby.

-----

I'm ready for the yelling to start!

#gerec writes #shaw/charles #cherik #your rightful place #chapter 17 #historical fantasy au #mind the tags

[starker-sorbet]

As the personal page to the great Knight Stark, general of His majesties army and hero of the realm, Peter had many tasks assigned to him. From grooming his masters horse and taking care of the knights weapons. All were tasks Peter took great deal of pleasure in performing for Sir Stark as the man was not just the realm's her but Peter's personal one too. Ever since the man saved his life when he was but a child and Peter swore he would do anything to serve the older man. Even helping to warm his bed.

@starkerfestivals Secret Starker Valentine Event for: @unapologeticallytheworst

#starker #sfsecretstarker24 #fantasy historical au #knight tony #page peter #moodboard #my moodboard #gift

[fizzigigsimmer]

All The Kings Men

Chapter 9 is up. Billy is so messy and yet somehow so sweet it’s a true conundrum that science can not explain.

 “When we exchanged blood Steve you started to become like me, to become omega.” Billy said, perhaps reading the question in his eyes. He read them again, answering a question Steve hadn’t voiced. “It means you’re mine. I’m why you breathe, why you eat, why you open your eyes on the dawn. Without me the world grays. Food turns to ash in your mouth and sleep won’t release its grip. You live for me.”  

 A wail filled Steve’s head, an internal scream that resonated in his bones and yet did not attempt to force itself out of him. He had no retort. No defense. He’d never had words before to adequately describe to those who cared for him what it was that he felt, what his life had become after Billy. Now he did.  

 A tear rolled down his cheek and Billy’s thumb followed its path. He leaned down close to Steve, golden lashes lowering as he inhaled deeply – breathing him in.  

 “And Princess,” his thumb and forefinger gripped Steve’s chin, inhumanly strong, holding him in place.His eyes burned into Steve with barely restrained want. “I like it that way.”  

You can read it here.

#all the kings men #harringrove #steve x billy #billy x steve #alpha!billy #omega!steve #dom!billy hargrove #sub!steve harrington #Steve is a bratty sub #alpha!billy hargrove #omega!steve harrington #alpha omega #historical fantasy au #mermaids #because I love a good mermaid #pirate!billly hargrove #Pirate!au #Stranger Things #stranger things fic

[cultofdionysusnet]

Library of Illusion Event Masterlist

Welcome to the Library!

Take your time browsing each section and perhaps you'll find a story that strikes your interests! We have a few genres to choose from and several writers including @sanjoongie @anyamaris @thelargefrye @kwanisms @kpop-stories-21 @stardragongalaxy & @mint-yooxgi!

And don't forget to check the return cart in the lobby for books that haven't made it back to their shelves! Just make sure to take care and tread lightly in the Restricted Section, you may come across a few books that aren't for the faint hearted.

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖 |:| 📖

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

#cultofdionysusnet #library of illusion event #CoDN Events #group: ateez #rating: mature #genre: smut #type: series #type: masterlist #type: event #au: fantasy au #au: historical au #au: sci fi au #au: adventure au #au: mystery au #au: horror au

[amandacanwrite]

The Violet Thread of Fate Part Three:

The Scribe's Guild and the Acolyte Errant

Read || Part One • Part Two

POV || Third Person, dual POV Gale Dekarios and Elinna Inklynn (Tav)

Pairing || Elinna Inklynn (Half-drow tav) and Gale Dekarios

Length || 5,400 Words

Scenario || In an alternative timeline for the events of BG3 Elinna Inklynn, an orphan from the Moonshae Islands seeks out the tutelage of accomplished wizard Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep. She has a knack with the Weave, but no money or connections to actually learn how to harness it. She has heard the wizard is a gentleman and a schollar, and hopes she can appeal to him to take her on as his apprentice in exchange for her help around his tower, with his research, and in running errands in Waterdeep. Unfortunately for her, Gale Dekarios does not take on apprentices.

Warnings || Age gap (Perhaps about 10ish years), depiction of depression and heart ache, description of very, very mild body horror. Description of scarring from corporal punishment. Slightly mature themes.

A/n || In the interest of full disclosure: I didn't edit this one. I was too eager to get it out, so please forgive any strange pacing or verbiage. I may edit it tomorrow or sometime soon, but I also primarily write this for fun so I may also not. I actually really enjoyed writing Gale softening up to Elinna a bit, and Elinna sort of losing some of her rose tinted vision for Gale. Perhaps soon they will meet somewhere in the middle. :))

If you like this, you may also like my original works! I have a writing taglist that you can sign up for simply by commenting or reblogging and letting me know you'd like to be added. OR you can fill out this form if you'd like to be specific about which works you'd like to be tagged in.

Tag list || @softvampirewhump @horizonstride @thoughts-of-bear @mymybirdie @tiedyedghoulette @drabblesandimagines @madwomansapologist @hijirikaww @tryingtowritestuff24 @laserlope @auroraesmeraldarose @puckprimrose @dont-try-pesticide @cherifrog @circusofthelastdays  @nourangul

The Scribe’s Guild

Elinna cupped her hands above her eyes, trying to reduce the urge to squint as she looked out over the edge of one of the craggy cliffside peaks. 

“Are you certain you’re alright up there?” Gale asked from the ground. “Not to be a pain, but you haven’t had the greatest track record with heights as of late.”

“I climbed up here–as long as I don’t try to magic my way down, I should be fine,” she called back. “I’m trying to figure out where we are.”

“Any luck?” he called back. 

“You’re distracting me!” she said. 

“Are you one of those people who can only do one mental process at a time?” he asked. “Do you go blind when your ears are in use?”

“I’m one of those people who needs to think to recall the details of all the maps I’ve cataloged at the Nest,” she griped looking down at him. “Now be quiet so I can think.”

She saw him lift a hand and rub the back of his neck before he turned around and sat down to have a pout. She rolled her eyes looking out over the coastline again, trying to cross reference what she could see from her view with the overhead details of maps she’d looked at before.

Gale Dekarios was certainly a…strange archmage. 

Reading transcripts of conversations, reading his treatises–she’d always pictured this stately, almost dry sort of fellow. Someone who would sniff before correcting her about something–or stand perpetually with his nose pointed at the ceiling so you always knew he was looking down at you past it. 

But he was just…well–a sort of awkward, somewhat humorous man. 

They’d been wandering for some time–Gale had a good sense for what was north, south, east and west, but there was only so much that one could do when unaware of where the starting point was.

The shame of things was that they were in some random locale with very few cities about. She’d learned much about Baldur’s Gate, Amn, Waterdeep–places she wished to visit. If there was Gale’s tower nearby–or perhaps Sorcerous Sundries–she could have been able to pluck it out of the landscape with ease. 

Instead, as she looked out off the cliff, she only saw shoreline give way to worn out cobbled roads. Some sort of village obscured the haze of distance and…well nothing familiar. She pursed her lips before chewing slightly on the bottom one; a nervous habit that often left her with metallic-tasting patches on the inside of her lip. 

“Well?” Gale said a bit impatiently. 

She was just about to give him the bad news–that she found nothing of note and had no idea which way to go–when a shadow darkened the ground from somewhere overhead. She looked up to find a black blot against the light blue of the sky–a dire raven with a wingspan of about 10 feet, armored in the colors of a the Scribe’s Guild; pale tan leathers, brass metal and mist green canvas. 

She found herself smiling despite the fact that she’d told herself she’d never look at a Scribe’s Guild after leaving The Nest. She watched for a while longer as the large avian swooped through the sky and then landed on the parapet of a distant stone structure. 

“We’re in luck!” she called down to Gale.

“Are we?” he asked. “You didn’t happen to have found a cleric of legendary skill up there did you?”

“Not that much luck,” she said as she started to climb down the rocky face of the cliff.

“Are you sure you ought to be doing that?” he asked. “It seems awfully dangerous.”

“As we just covered, I’ll be fine so long as I don’t use magic,” she responded. “I’m used to climbs.”

Looking down to find her perch, she carefully lighted her foot on the boulder where she started her climb, and turned to find Gale waiting for her, a single hand offered up to her to assist her down from the small height. 

“You don’t have to do that,” she said. “It’s not that high up.”

“Best not to risk it,” he said. “The twist of an ankle could mean the difference between humanity and ceremorphosis, considering our plight.”

Elinna nibbled on her lower lip and nodded, placing her hand in his. His calloused fingers closed around her hand and he lifted his other hand to grasp her waist. She stepped off the stone and he supported her weight easily, lowering her to the ground smoothly. 

“So,” he said, not taking his hands away yet. “You’ve kept me in suspense, Elinna. Why are we in luck?”

“I just saw a Dire Raven,” she said. “One of the ones we use to transport records between different chapters of the Scribe’s Guild.”

“The what?” he asked. 

“The Scribe’s guild,” she said. “I told you, I was their ward in the Moonshae Islands.”

“Did you?” he asked. 

She sighed and gave him a disappointed look. “You really didn’t listen to me at all back in Waterdeep.”

His hand twitched on her waist as his brow furrowed. “Well that’s hardly fair,” he said. “You were a stranger standing right outside of my home. Why should I have?”

“Courtesy,” she said sourly as she turned away from him and started to walk down the pathway in the direction she watched the dire raven fly. 

She tried to ignore the tingling feeling in the tips of her fingers as her hand left his; the feeling of absence at her waist as she lost the weight of his hand. 

“Oh, come now–” he said, his face screwing with offense and hurrying after her. “Don’t imply that I was being discourteous when you were the one showing up at a strange man’s home unannounced!”

“It’s not as if I let myself in!” she said back. 

“Wait, you still haven’t told me what the Scribe’s Guild is,” he said, finally catching up to her.

“I assumed you would know what it is,” she said looking sidelong and up at him.

“I confess I’ve not heard of it,” he said. 

She sighed and looked ahead. Maybe she didn’t want to tell him if he didn’t already know, she thought. She wasn’t sure she was ready to reveal just how sheltered her life was before heading to Waterdeep. 

But they were now headed for the local archive and he was going to find out either way so…

“The scribe’s guild is a redundancy,” she said. “It’s one of the realm’s most extensive collections of information. If you’re looking for a book, a scroll, a record of some obscure property dispute… you can find it there. I was raised in one.”

“So, you’re a scribe?” he asked her. “You write books–collect this information and dole it out to those who need it?”

She pursed her lips. “I wasn’t a scribe myself,” she said. “I was a clerk.”

“So you were in training,” he said. “Assisting the scribes so that you could take on the task.”

She felt her skin pinken with warmth, afraid to disclose the truth–afraid of what it would look like. “Not quite,” she said. “The ArchLibrarian thought I wasn’t suited to the work.”

“Why not?” he asked. 

“Because I was too fun,” she said, her walls going up a little higher. “If you must know.”

“My,” he said. “Did I hit a nerve?”

“It seems like you’re looking for reasons to think poorly of me,” she said. 

“It seems like you’re hiding reasons to think poorly of you,” he said. “So, what was it? Sleeping on the job? Theft? Did you try to cast a cantrip and  Did you come looking for me because they turned you out and cut you off?”

“Gods,” she said looking up at him, a little line forming between her brows and her face getting even warmer with embarrassment. “You really do think I’m a wastrel, don’t you?”

“No I don’t!” he said. 

“What happened to you being worried about seeming an ill-mannered man?” she asked.

“Elinna–you’re young–youth is made for mistakes. You think I was always an upstanding young man while in attendance at Blackstaff?” he said. “I slept through most of my Calashite lessons.”

“Don’t lie to me to try and get dirt on me,” Elinna said as she walked faster.. “Don’t mock me like that.”

“Elinna–Elinna, would you slow down?” he said. 

“No. I want to get to the Scribe’s Guild.”

“We will get there with plenty enough time before sundown,” he said, grabbing her arm. “Elinna, stop.”

She stopped but didn’t look up at him, she couldn’t make herself do it. She didn’t know what was more embarrassing for her; the fact that she’d hardly seen any of the world, the fact that her guardians felt she was inept and flighty, or the fact that she was quite acting like a petulant child with Gale when she only wished to prove to him that she could be a good student. 

Maybe seeking him out had been a mistake from the start. She’d spent so long reading about Gale and his work–learning about his unique understanding of magic–reading his writings…in some ways she’d convinced herself that he was already a friend. 

She’d never thought about how trying to become his apprentice also meant sharing her qualifications and the more time she spent talking to him the more she realized she had none. 

She could feel him looking at her almost indulgently–like a man speaking to a child. 

She didn;t know why she hated that most of all. 

“Elinna, forgive me for prying,” he said. “I was just trying to get to know you a little better. From what I can tell there is a significant distance between here and Waterdeep and it will be a much more pleasant journey if we get to know one another a little bit as we travel, don’t you think?”

Elinna smoothed her amber hair away from her brow, cupping her hand on her forehead as if checking herself for fever. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, finally. . “I think I’m just tired.”

“I can only imagine…what with going from the islands, to Waterdeep so climbing up cliff sides and now we have to walk even further? We can swap notes later,” he said with a gentle smile. “Let’s focus on getting to this place–maybe they can put us up for an evening or at least point us in the direction of the nearest town.”

Elinna nodded before heaving a great sigh. 

“It shouldn’t be long,” she said. “Maybe just a few hours of walking from here.”

“Excellent,” he said. “Lead on.”

The Acolyte Errant

Elinna was a curious girl. 

She was somehow equal measures breezy and intense; lackadaisical and earnest. He didn’t know what to make of the dichotomy. He knew even less what to do with the strange secrecy she had about her former home. 

Perhaps it was a bit of paranoia–after all, he had his own secrets he was keeping. It was perhaps more than a little hypocritical of him to fault her for hers. 

“So, tell me more about The Scribe’s Nest,” he said, trying to change the subject to something more informative and a little less personal.

“Specifically The Nest? Or the guild in general?” she asked. 

“Mm…if it’s not too personal for you, The Nest. You said that’s where you grew up right?” he said. 

She nodded, wiping sweat off her brow. The day was beginning to get hot, so he had to think they were further down south than Waterdeep and the islands. It was much cooler this time of year–hence the layers both he and Elinna wore. 

“Uhm–The Nest in Moonshae is in an old abandoned temple to Ilmater,” she told him. “My mother left me there thinking that it was a safe place for me to grow up–thinking I’d be cared for by clerics. But The Nest was already there.”

“I see,” Gale said, feeling for the girl but trying not to let it come through in his tone. “I suppose they took you in anyway?”

She nodded again. “They did,” she said. “Still not sure why, if I’m honest–they have a few oaths they had to make in exchange for financial support. Even so, there were other temples in the area that probably could have taken me in. But uh–anyway. The way that the scribes work is they receive funds from the local government and they use those funds to pay a fleet of scouts to get word back to us about the goings on in the world. The scribes record it, make copies of each account and send them to the other branches.”

“Hells,” he said. “That sounds like quite the expensive endeavor.”

“It is–and the scribes outsource the work so that there’s no conflict of interest. No scribes out wandering the world trying to spin tales. They have a motto: ‘We Are The Accuracy In The Indulgent The Composed in the Chaotic.’” She said. “In other words, they try to record everything as plainly and as closely to the facts as possible. In addition to that, they try to have copies of every written work ever produced.”

“How can that even be quantified or verified for that matter?” Gale asked. 

“Like I said–they try,” she said. “It’s all very tedious if you ask me.”

“I’m shocked I haven’t heard of this place–it sounds like a veritable treasure trove of knowledge,” he said. 

“The scribes don’t open the vaults to many,” she said. “They consider their work one of posterity; a record of history, not a resource to be plumbed. They don’t even really indulge in reading the records themselves.”

“That sounds….extraordinarily wasteful,” He said. 

He saw Elinna finally crack a smile at that. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said. “Wasteful, boring, depressing.”

He was itching to ask her if that was why she’d left what she’d had as a home for…well however long she’d been alive. She looked remarkably young, but with half-elves that hardly meant much. For all he knew she was his age. 

“Elinna, do you mind if I ask how old you are?” he asked. 

She looked up at him, her brow quirking. “Uhm–I’ve had twenty-eight summers so far,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

Ah–around ten years younger than he was. No wonder she seemed so restless when she’d come to find him at his tower. Most Wizards were well into their studies at Blackstaff by now, or at least had some reasonable amount of aptitude with the weave. “Just curious,” he said shrugging. “You look young but you’re also not complaining, or panicking, or well–other things I would expect a young person to be doing in this situation.”

He wasn’t sure if he was reading it correctly, but he could have sworn that she pressed her lips a bit to avoid smiling. Was the poor girl such a stranger to praise that the simple pointing out of her maturity could make her have to stop a flustered smile from forming on her lips?”

“I guess I just feel like anything is preferable to being stuck in that dusty old tower,” she said. 

There was a sort of…sadness to her words. A quality he recognized first hand. 

Not sadness, he realized as he saw one of his own feelings mirrored back at him. Regret. 

But that was not a subject he wished to bring up–not when the questions could so easily be turned back onto him.

“Well, Elinna,” he said, changing the subject. “You have Gale of Waterdeep with you–I’m a captive audience as we walk to the guild hall. Anything I can impress you with?” 

It was an olive branch, of sorts. It, of course, wasn’t the first time he’d met some hopeful magician who wanted to pick his brain. Usually he politely shooed them away, but he figured that extending the offer might cheer her up.

“I’m quite well read on the subject,” she answered. 

Wait…had he missed the question while he was patting himself on the back for being open to bragging? “Sorry–which subject is that?” he asked.

Her face flushed and she gave him a furtive look with those pretty green eyes. She cleared her throat and pushed some hair behind her ear. 

“Uhm–you–” she said finally. “I’ve read everything the archive has that even has a tangential mention of your name in it.”

He blinked, feeling glad for the fact that she was looking most pointedly away from him. “Ah,” he said, trying to master his tone. “Well–should we crosscheck the scribe’s records? Tell me what you know and I can correct anything that’s wrong.”

“We’ll be here for hours if I do that…” she mumbled under her breath. 

Now it was his turn to flush–until he realized–

“Wait, I thought you said that the scribes don’t read the records–” he said. 

“I did,” she said, looking over at him with a sheepish little smile. “That’s why they said I’m not suited for the work. It’s why they keep me on shelving duty.”

Ah–that was what she meant when she said she was used to climbing.

Suddenly there was an uncomfortable pressure in his skull as he saw flashes of giant stacks of dusty tomes, heard the squeaking of a half-broken wheel on a cart, felt rawness on his fingertips from shelving books and records; the deep ache of tired muscles.

When he was able to focus again, Elinna was crouched a few feet ahead, her gloved hands pressing on the sides of her head. 

“W-was that a memory?” Gale asked. “Did you just send me a memory?”

“No,” she said weakly. “Gods…that was…I could feel you in my head–”

“I didn’t–it wasn’t something I did on purpose,” he said frantically. 

He felt as embarrassed as a young man might be during his first time with a lover. It’d been years since he’d accidentally used his magic. Not since he was an adolescent. 

“I think it’s the parasite,” she said. “Mindflayers are part of a hive mind–maybe it’s the start of that tether forming to it.”

“I’m loath to face that possibility, but you may be right,” Gale said grimly as he walked over to her and offered a hand. “You alright?”

“Just exhausted, I think,” she said as she took his hand. “It felt like the parasite was pulling at the seams of my mind, extracting those images like thread through the eye of a needle.”

“Aptly put,” he said, finally helping her up. 

“Let’s just hurry to the guild,” she said. 

It was a bit of a grueling trek after that. The pathway mostly uphill and on rocky, uneven pathways. Wherever this guild branch was, it was clear enough to him that the scribes had no interest in being bothered or visited. He wasn’t so worried about himself, though–if anything, he was worried about Elinna. 

Thinking about it–she’d originally mentioned that she was looking for a place to live when he met her and she’d asked him to take her on as a student. He wondered when the last time she’d slept was. It wasn’t uncommon for passengers unused to traveling by ship to sleep poorly on them. The voyage between the Moonshae Islands and Waterdeep was probably close to a tenday, give or take a day or two. 

He felt a little guilty, now, that he had let her climb up the cliffside to help them get their bearings; that he couldn’t be of more assistance with some kind of charm or boon. 

As predicted, it took them about another two hours to make it to the base of a decaying old castle. He didn’t recognize it, and from what he could tell there were no real markings on it to distinguish what lineage or people it could have belonged to at one point. 

He looked up as another dire raven–or perhaps the same one he hadn’t seen before–took flight from one of the crumbling parapets, then he looked over at Elinna. 

She was still damp with sweat, but her exerted flush had given way to an almost sickly sort of pallor. He worried for a moment that she may already be starting the process of ceremorphosis–but if that was the case, why hadn’t the same happened to him? 

“Fucking stairs,” she groaned as she bent over and braced her hands on her knees. “I think I may need to sit for just a moment.”

Gale looked at the stairs and then back at her. He quirked his lips slightly, weighing the number of stairs against the health of his knees. 

“I know once you sit it will be all the more difficult for you to get up and get going,” he said. “Let me carry you the rest of the way.”

She balked at him, her verdant eyes wide and a bit of her flush returning to her freckled cheeks. He tried not to think about how charming the look of surprise was. “Y-you can’t,” she said. “I’m filthy–and drenched besides. And I’ll be too heavy.”

“Nonsense,” he insisted. “You hardly come up to my shoulder–and it’s not as if I’m a fine example of cleanliness at the moment. You can tell me proper decorum as we make our way up.”

“Gale–”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” he said with a little teasing glimmer in his eyes. 

He kneeled in front of her, back toward her, and patted his shoulder. “Climb on,” he said. 

There was nothing for a moment and he almost looked back to see if she was going to stubbornly refuse. But just as he was going to, he felt tentative fingertips on his right shoulder; then his left. She smoothed her hand toward the front of him, drawing a tingling line along his collarbones. He tried not to flinch as her hands joined right over the spot the orb burned in his chest, but he couldn’t stop it. 

She froze and almost started withdrawing. He reached up and closed a single hand over both of hers. 

“Did I hurt you?” she asked him.

“Not at all,” he said. “Remember–I’ve been a recluse for some time. Just forgot what it felt like to be touched by someone who isn’t a tressym.”

There was one more moment of hesitation and then finally, Elinna put her weight onto him, hitching her legs above his hips. 

“Alright,” he said. “Going up.”

He scooped his hands under her knees and rose to his feet. 

Truth be told, she was a touch heavier than he’d expected. And he realized with a bit of rueful interest that her body was a little…softer…than he’d anticipated. Even through her layers of canvas and leather, he could feel the supple swell of her thighs, her hips, her breasts…

He shook his head and cleared his throat as he started to climb the stairs. 

“So, what’s our story?” he asked. 

“Mmn–story?” she breathed against his ear. 

Gods, she sounded like a freshly roused lover in the morning. 

“You’re not falling asleep back there, are you?” he asked. 

“Trying not to,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Keep talking to me,” he said. “It will help you stay awake.”

And give me something to stop my mind from drifting to what might be beneath your clothes. He thought with no shortage of disgust in himself. 

“Mmh–visitors are prohibited, usually,” she said, her sleepy slurring sending a chill up his spine. “Since you’re carrying me in…maybe tell them you found me unconscious on the ground. They can refuse scholars, but they have an oath to help the needy. Hence…me…”

“The lady deceives,” Gale teased. “I thought you were above such dishonesty.”

She gave a quiet chuckle. “If the guild needs a bit of encouragement to do what is right, who am I to deny it?” Then after a moment. “Thank you…for carrying me. You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no bother,” he said. 

And it really wasn’t, aside from his own traitorous thoughts about her. His knees weren’t even tired when he reached the top of the stairs. He looked back at her sidelong. “Hang onto me will you–afraid I’ll need one of these hands.”

He regretted asking her to do that immediately. Her thighs squeezed a little tighter around his middle and he suddenly wished for death. He opened the door as quickly as he could, and went back to holding her knee. 

Inside there was…no one to be found. At least not at first. 

Then came the sound of soft soles scuffing on stone stairs. He gazed to the right, seeing a shadow elongate as it grew further and further away from some torch or sconce further up on the stairs. 

A moment later, a wizened man peered at him through small spectacles on a crooked nose. 

He was dressed somewhat like Elinna, though the embroidery and fastenings on his clothes were finer. On his lapel, he wore a golden dire raven pin with a quill snatched in it’s beak.The pin was connected to a chain from which dangled a single golden key. 

“You’ve reached The Scribe’s Perch,” he said, his voice quiet and willowy, like it had frayed through years of neglect. “I fear we’re not taking visitors.”

In front of Gale’s chest, Elinna’s arms went slack and her body went a little heavier. Her head rested fully on his shoulder, her sleeping breaths gusting warmly on the back of his neck. He supposed it worked better for the tale he had to weave–though he did worry for the poor girl. 

“I’ve found one of your acolytes on the path some way away from here. She seems feverish–likely hungry and dehydrated. She’s gone in and out of consciousness but told me to find you here and ask for you help. Help for both of us.”

The old man merely tilted to get a look at Elinna with a somewhat disinterested expression. “Mnh…there are protocols in place for this, yes,” he said. “An inconvenience to say the least, though. We will have to make arrangements for your supper.”

Gale felt his ire flare and found himself understanding why Elinna seemed so sour about where she’d been reared. It was a wonder she made it out of childhood with her curiosity and her tenacity intact. 

“If it’s too much of a bother, I can see to producing a meal for us,” he said, trying his best to master his tone. 

“No, no,” the man said. “The smells–the oils–they could upset the balance and focus of the archives. Come–I will see you to a lodging for the night. I am afraid I must ask you to stay there and to not wander our halls freely. And you must leave come morning.”

“I thought you had an oath to help the needy,” Gale said. 

“The qualifying criteria which defines who or what is needy is not agreed upon,” he said. “The girl is unconscious, but you stand and walk freely. Surely she is hardly needy if she has you.”

“She’s one of your acolytes,” Gale said. “Surely you can’t be so callous.”

“She’s not an acolyte from The Perch. We do not allow women among our ranks–their scents and scintillations bring focus away from posterity. I allow you to stay only because she still wears our colors and because we’ve received no missive about a disgraced acolyte,” he said. “But there has been a great collision on the shoreline and we work tirelessly to record it.”

“Well you’re in luck–we’re survivors from that crash–we can help you–”

“No. We only accept the accounts of verified scouts,” he said. “Now come–I’ve wasted precious time already. My quill will have started to dry out.”

Gale bit his tongue and simply nodded–worried that if the man showed is rudeness and disinterest again he would snap at the Scribe and lose them a night of rest and the chance to bathe and change. 

Their ungracious host led them up the stairs, past a massive steel door singing with wards, and to a doorway about as tall as Elinna. The Scribe opened the lock with his tiny golden key–a skeleton key it seemed–and gestured him inside. 

Gale bent a bit at the knees, careful to mind Elinna’s head as he ducked into the room. 

“Thank you,” he said. 

“Supper is at seven bells. Porridge, roasted carrots and river fish–you will have to come retrieve it yourself–the kitchens are down the stairs we traveled up and through the small northern wooden door,” their host said. 

And with that, the man simply closed the door and left Gale alone with Elinna. 

Gale looked about the room. 

It was small, about the size of the larder in his tower, and barren. In one corner, a threadbare sheet hung to offer pock-marked privacy should one bathe in the water-swollen, wooden tub there. There was a single desk with a nearly-spent candle perched slantingly in a chamberstick made of brass. Against the far wall stood the bed–

The Bed. 

Singular. 

Only one bed. 

Oh hells, it would be a very long night indeed. 

He carried Elinna over to the bed and carefully cradled her against his back as he pulled back the mildew-smelling covers. Beneath was an old hay mattress. He felt loath to place her on it, but he hadn’t enough energy to conjure something more comfortable for her. 

He supposed it didn’t matter for tonight–the poor girl just needed some sleep. 

He carefully placed her in the bed and hesitated, pondering.

She’d spent so much time during their travels complaining of the feeling of viscera in her clothes; her shoes. He could only imagine how terrible it would feel for her to wake up, warm and damp from feverish sleep, only to still feel soggy boots and garments on your body. 

It wasn’t proper. He wasn’t even sure it would be welcome. But it was a gesture toward her comfort he could actually provide. 

He carefully slipped off her boots, setting them off to the side in a blood-soaked heap. Then he removed her leather gloves, and finally, the waistcoat she wore. 

Beneath her green canvas, she wore a simple muslin dress that fell just slightly off the shoulders. He noted with a bit of curious mirth, that she had a smattering of freckles across the bare skin of her decolletage and arms as well. He wondered how many times she’d had to sneak away from her duties to get those. 

Then he saw something else. 

On the inside of one delicate wrist, he spotted the hint of a violet patch of skin. In a brief panic he turned her arm over to get a better view of it, worried that her transformation may be starting, after all. 

Instead, what he found was scarring. Violet scars forming a ladder of tidy caning marks on the tender skin of the inside of her arm. 

“No wonder you wanted to get out,” he said under his breath as he brushed his thumb against the marks. They were only barely raised. They’d been there a long time then. For some reason it hurt his heart to think of a smaller, squeakier Elinna as her caretakers tried and clearly failed to tame the wonder out of her. 

Perhaps it was because he had also been punished severely for his ambition and thirst for knowledge, but he could no longer bear to see her in the greens, tans and creams of The Scribe���s Guild. Not when there was so much she’d had to fight to keep hold of. 

He thought he could maybe find a pocket somewhere. If he rested he ought to be able to, anyway. Or if not, he could try to look around the grounds and scrounge something up for each of them to change into. And maybe a few supplies for setting up camp, too, since they wouldn’t be granted time to catch their bearings at The Perch. 

He pulled the worn blanket up enough to cover her arms, but not so high that the smell of mildew could wake her. 

He walked over to the tiny door and looked back over his shoulder one more time to make sure she was still quite asleep. 

And then he slipped out of their sorry room to find a place to restore himself. 

#bg3 #historical fantasy #romantasy #authors #writeblr #my writing #violet thread of fate #bg3 fic #fic recs #bg3 fic recs #gale /tav #gale x tav #gale bg3 #gale dekarios #bg3 au #bg3 headcanons