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fantasies-fairytales-n-fics · 2 months

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Thranduil and Josie Pt. 171- Sisters

Summary: Josselyn finishes her story but this time it is of her own free will. She and Haldir seem to mend fences in the process as they begin to see each other in a new light.

Chapter Warnings: language, angst, mentions of rape, death, graphic depictions, murder, blood, violence, kidnapping, brainwashing

Chapter characters: Haldir, Josselyn, Julian, Zeddicus, Sara(with no H), Narcisse, Darken Rahl, Sebastian, Alice, Lola, Charles, Sarah, Harker, Jemma, Sisters of the dark, Thaddicus, Josie, Magnus

Chapter word count: 12,170

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist:

An hour had swept by since the first half of Josselyn's past was forcefully revealed by Haldir's power of truth and now, upon a fallen tree, the Marchwarden sat beside the witch doctor with patience and perfect posture while she placed her hand upon his to show him the memories and voluntarily resumed her twisted tale. Haldir knew it would now be the beginning of Lola and Sarah's entrance which is what he had been anticipating. As the story unfolded, Rumil and Orophin stood watch for any threats of Darken Rahl, Harker or any of the walking dead that the goblin king had reanimated.

"So, I guess I will start from when I told the pendant to take me here. I...I had immediately stopped and lifted it from my chest. I couldn't just leave Julian without saying goodbye and as scared as I was of Caroline, I was even more angry, so instead....I decided to try something and prayed it would work. I asked the pendant to take me to where Julian was.

I found myself inside the edge of a forest, in the middle of the night with no clue as to where I was and then....I heard music and people. I followed the sound and came up to a clearing to see a funfair. I panicked at first, thinking it was one of Harker's and I hid and watched for awhile. I did not see his trailer or any of his people but I did see Julian's trailer and then I saw my grandfather. I ran to him and we embraced. I told him I came to find him, which was true. I didn't want to leave without him. I asked him where Julian was and he pointed to a very large trailer with a sign on it that said "The Oracle." I went inside and through a crystal beaded curtain, I saw him sitting at a table with his back to me and there was a woman sitting across from him. She was reading his palm.

As I peeked through the beads, I think he sensed me or smelled me. He looked up into the mirror on the wall in front of him and locked his eyes on my reflection. The joy on his face caused a frenzy of butterflies to swarm through my stomach.

He quickly stood up and turned to me, but his smile faded. I could tell by the look of concern in his wandering eyes that he was looking for Caroline. I told him I came alone and his smile grew right back. He scooped me into his arms and we both laughed as he spun me around. He said he and my grandfather were on their way back to the cabin and apologized that they had not been able to locate Harker and my mother in the month that they had been gone. They had been delayed by a snowstorm in the East. He wanted to know about his daughter and if that is why I came alone. I did my best to keep most of what I told him true. I could not bear to look into his eyes and lie to him. I told him his daughter was born, appearing happy and healthy only hours ago. His eyes, they gleamed so brilliantly blue in that moment. I knew then, for certain, that I could never tell him what I knew and shatter his happiness. Oh how I wished it was me that was the mother of his child. I know he did too. He never once even asked how Caroline was.

Our conversation was cut short when I heard the woman at the table speak my name. I leered around Julian's tall frame and I saw her face. I...I knew her! Her name was Sara, with no H like she had always told people for some reason. She was a soothsayer that had traveled with me and my family for many years. She was my mother's good friend and I always adored her. She helped raise me, but I hadn't seen her in years. Haldir, I swear she was an immortal witch because she had not aged at all. I kind of always suspected it, I mean, she was into more than just fortune telling. Her room always smelled of burning sage, I guess to ward off evil spirits and there were so many books regarding the witchcraft and such. There were crystals, potions, candles, and strange objects. One caught my eye that day on the bookshelf because it really stood out. A figurine of a crowned elf that instantly reminded me of the Elvenprince, Legolas, that I had encountered, for it looked a lot like him. It was definitely an elf of royalty. Maybe his father?? Why she had it, I do not know. She collected so many things in her travels."

Haldir raised a brow, for he knew exactly which statue Josselyn referred to. The one of King Thranduil, carved by his mother that had went missing many years ago, but he did not relay that information to Josselyn.

"I know Prince Legolas very well. You will meet him again soon enough, for I was informed that he is at the castle with Jo."

"Great. I don't think he liked me."

"Most elves are like that with strangers, especially one of his stature. He will soften."

"Like you did?" Josselyn jested with a smile.

Haldir smiled back and then she continued.

"So, I sat and talked with her while Julian went to inform my grandfather he needed to leave. She offered me a tarot reading. I reeeeallly wanted to know the future without waiting till the spring equinox to use that pendant and she had always been spot on. Everything that she said would happen always happened. The things she saw, were real.

She drew 6 cards and began explaining them all, and that reading changed everything, or I should say, verified without a shadow of a doubt what I needed to do, for it was all dark and I could see it, the fear and shock she was trying to conceal under her smile. She clearly did not expect it, but no matter what she drew, she always told the truth so warnings could be heeded.

Her vision went as follows. The Ten of Swords, meaning I would suffer an unwelcome surprise or already have by someone I cared for. The Death card. For me, she saw it to be both literal and the end of something but she assured me it did not mean I would die...but it still meant someone would. The Five of Pentacles, she saw an illness, adversity and solitude. I would suffer many losses. Three of Swords. She told me every word that it represented and it was a warning that some or all were in my future. Rejection, despair, sadness, loneliness, heartbreak, betrayal, separation and grief. The Devil. To put it simply, negativity, control, fear, lies, deceit, destruction and temptation. The Tower, the worst card to receive. Overall destruction of happiness.

When she finished, she was quiet and her eyes kept scanning over the cards. She said she kept seeing the color red and she smelled pepper. A dark and powerful masculine force. Controlling and dominating. Preying on the weak. I had no clue at the time who it was. She also saw another dark force. Wolf like. She saw children in despair. It had to be Harker. She mentioned a fiendish feminine of fiery hair....obviously Caroline. She said all three were attached to me. She saw more children, babies to be exact. Four of them, all to be of great power and then she whispered "earth, air, fire and water. North, west, South and East." She then stared at me and said the man that was just here is also connected. "Earth". After that, she could see no further and ended with saying that love, hatred and lies will fuel my future.

I...I ran out. I couldn't breathe. Julian found me and took me inside his trailer. I told him I should not have come, that my future held nothing good and he would be hurt because of me. I was honest to an extent and warned him that Caroline knew of my feelings for him and his for me, that she witnessed our encounter through the pendant and she made me leave. He held me and told me he meant every word he said to me. He said he did not fear her and he did not want to speak of her. He only wished to tell me one thing. He....he told me he loved me and that no matter what the future held, he would love me for all eternity. I cried and told him I loved him too and then we kissed. He made me so weak that, in that moment, I didn't care about the consequences and gave into him and...all through the night, we made love.

I awoke at dawn and watched him sleeping so peacefully. My mind was clear again and I knew what I had to do. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I broke my own heart to keep Julian's safe. He was my first love, in "every" way and would be my last as far as the love of my life, my soulmate.

I snuck out and woke my grandfather. He and I headed into the forest and from there, we left, using the pendant to take us to Dorwinion for refuge.

It was only a few miles from here that the pendant had brought me to 25 years ago at this exact time of December. As my grandfather and I walked through the snow filled forest, I told him the truth about everything. I trusted him with my life and I had to tell someone or I was going to go crazy. He understood and believed I was doing the right thing. Shortly after, I began to smell the smoke from the chimneys of Narcisse's castle.

It wasn't long until we were reprimanded by warlock guards and later escorted to the castle after I explained to them that I knew Lord Narcisse and needed his help. Needless to say, he was extremely surprised to see me. I wanted to tell him everything too, but as soon as I saw him, I completely chickened out. I couldn't risk Julian's life or Narcisse's because I knew Caroline already hated him. So, I just simply told him that Julian and Caroline had a child and I felt it was time to move on so they could be a family....and that I wanted to find my mother, which was true. I didn't tell him about what Harker had done in fear of starting a war. I just wanted to live a normal life like I used to and while I still could. He offered us room and board in exchange for me to become one of his servants and my grandfather could entertain the children with his puppeteering acts and aid the healers with his magical herbal remedies. He would also be a stableman since he had the power to speak with animals. So we agreed since that seemed pretty normal to me. We had no other choice....and I felt safe with Narcisse....at least I believed that at the time.

Narcisse was very good to me and we became close very quickly over the first few months. He never treated me like a servant and I began to deeply care for him. He even gifted me a gold bracelet on my birthday that had the letter J on it to represent my name, but I secretly wore it in remembrance of my one true love, for I knew I would always love Julian and no one else. I had stopped looking into the pendant to see if Julian still spoke to me at midnight. It was just all too painful to know I could and would never be with him.

There came a time when I developed a slight crush on Narcisse but I did not act on it because Catherine was still an issue as well. Not long after my return, I witnessed an argument between them. She told him she was going to work things out with her King and took her son Francis and left. I tried to comfort him that night and he kissed me.

He had been drinking and was vulnerable. So was I and...we...we made love. He became distant after that and was always traveling about. I truly felt he feared love because he had never experienced it and did not want to. I also think he felt guilty, as if he had taken advantage of me, but I feel I took advantage of him....possibly even used him to forget Julian....but that was impossible, and not for obvious reasons either. 3 days after being intimate with Stephane, I became aware that I was with child and obviously, there was no way it was his. I told him right away so he would not believe otherwise. He was respectful and did not ask me who the child's father was. Whether he suspected Julian or not, I do not know, but I still swore him to secrecy about the baby. He agreed and again, did not ask my reasons. He was so kind and understanding. He told me I was still welcome to stay and raise the baby since he loved having children there.

7 months later, Sarah was born on the autumn equinox, September 22, but that was not her given name at that time. I later changed it for protection purposes that I will explain soon enough. I named her Isabella Julianna, but I called her Bella like my father always called me as a child because he said it meant beautiful....and to me, Isabella was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen besides her father.

4 months had went by and I later learned that on Narcisse's travels, he had been visiting with Julian. He told me he seemed well, but exhaustingly unhappy with Caroline. He said Julian truly loved Josephine though. I guess Caroline returned while he was there and not only heard their conversation, that to Narcisse, unexpectedly included Julian's feelings for me, but also caught him holding Josie. Narcisse said she was enraged by it and still very angry that he knew Julian had slept with Cassie. She was sick of their secrets and spewed threats at Stephane and...I think she did something to him because shortly after he had returned home, he....changed. His personality at first, then later, his image....both dark...like what we all witnessed last night...Lord Darken Rahl.

Bash and I had become friends as well and later...best friends. We told each other everything, which included my love for Julian. When Narcisse changed, Bash told me of his brother's troubled past with their dead father, Lord Panis Rahl Narcisse, and how because of that, Stephane's mind became broken. He split into a version of his evil father, but much more wicked. Enough so that Bash believed Rahl was behind their father's death and later learned of his suspicions to be true when Narcisse was able to remember. And when that happened, Narcisse found the strength to fight Rahl and lock him away in his mind. It was soon after that conversation with Bash that he was forcefully banned from the grounds and I was left at the mercy of Lord Rahl.

Unlike Stephane, Rahl did not like Julian because he was of light and he knew how Julian pined for me. Rahl wanted a queen and he chose me, feeling it was the perfect way to rub salt in Julian's wounds. When I refused him and his sexual advances, he threatened Julian if I did not comply. He grabbed my hand and showed me what he did to his own father. He said if he could kill his own flesh and blood without a care, he could easily kill Julian.

I felt a burning rage in me, as if my blood was boiling. It was then that the powers I took from Ravenna came to life. Maybe some of it was from my grandfather as well because I once saw him throw fire from his hand and it...happened to me in that moment. A beam of fire sprayed from my hand, heading straight for Rahl, but he was quick to my amateur magic and blocked it with a flash of blue fire. It knocked the wind out of me and the next thing I knew, Rahl was racing towards me and locked one of those collars around my neck and then he activated it with just a sway of his hand. I felt his eyes upon me but I wouldn't even look at him. I asked him what he wanted from me and all he could say was "my understanding."

The only thing I could feel after that was my anger, but no power. He told me he knew where my power came from, for a witch could always sense another witch. He said the power was from evil and was destined to be used in that way, but until I embraced the darkness at his side, I would remain powerless by the Rada'han and submit to him. He told me I would be his wife...in every way. Through all of my anger, all I could do was submit. Like with Harker, I was a prisoner all over again."

Haldir's eyes lowered as his mouth gaped in shock.

"Josselyn...you do not have to tell me what he did to you. I think that I understand what took place after that."

"Well you thought right. He took me many times and it wasn't long before....I was with child again. Month after month, my stomach grew bigger while I remained trapped within the collar and his tower chamber like fucking Rapunzel. The only time I was allowed to leave the room was to be at his side for any gatherings and for those, I was dressed in his image. With a red dress and my dark hair, I had become a carbon copy of him as he said I would represent him in the public eye, but really, I believed he was just infatuated with himself and the twin thing.

Otherwise, the only company I was permitted to be around besides him was Alice, the midwife, to care for me. She was rather sweet and I befriended her. She had served Narcisse and became trapped there like me when Rahl appeared. I was not allowed to see my grandfather who was caring for Bella. Rahl wanted nothing to do with her.

I did get to attend my grandfather's puppet shows with Rahl but I wasn't allowed to speak to him. For being the evil, sadistic man Rahl was, he certainly loved the childish entertainment and would just look at me and laugh. It was if for a moment, his light had returned. I believed it was Stephane's persona shining through.

All Hallows' Eve came and I went into labor. The pain was unbearable and I was passing out after every contraction. Rahl was not even with me, just Alice and some servants. At some point, I blacked out and when I regained clarity, Rahl was standing at my bedside holding our child. A girl. He called her, young Mistress Rahl. The sight of him touching her made my stomach turn. I quickly reached for her in panic that he was not going to let me hold her, but surprisingly, he did and I immediately bonded with her. She was perfect and innocent. As I held her, Rahl raved about how she was a spitting image of us both with her dark fine strands.

He then proceeded to tell me that during my delirious birthing state, I was panicking and let it slip about Harker taking my baby. Rahl said that would never happen, not to the child I was holding anyways. He reminded me that one does not take from a warlock and for a warlock to take from a fellow warlock was the sin of all sins....but since the arrangement was only for one child, Rahl said he was going to give Bella to Harker and my debt would be paid in full. He then pried my newborn daughter from my arms.

I pleaded and cried so hard for him to let me at least see and hold my other daughter. He cruelly told me no, that this is the only child I will be raising. He said she will be molded into his image as she grows and become the dark princess of Dorwinion. I then fell onto my knees before him, begging and bawling. I told him he can shape them BOTH to be of his image, that I could live with that, for at least I would have both of my children. He wouldn't budge and said the other must be given to Harker and then he just left me there all alone to later watch and reel from the balcony as he entertained his people with a Samhain festival in celebration of his daughter's birth."

Haldir's free hand was now placed softly on Josselyn's shoulder.

"Would you like to relax for a moment? You may have more of my water. I can bring you some more of the spruce bark if you would like?"

"Why are you being so nice to me now?"

"I am hoping to prove that I am not a wicked little elf man as you characterized me as...and I really do not desire to be strung up in the tree by my...manhood as you threatened. Also...I do not believe you as wicked...well...not anymore."

Haldir's slight smirk brought a smile to Josselyn's face which was the elf's intentions.

"You know what Haldy? You're not so bad...for an elf. I..I am sorry I slapped you. I mean, I am the one who...kissed you...thinking you were Julian of course...you know...the hair and all?"

Haldir grinned and handed her the canteen of water.

"I understand. Apology accepted. Josselyn, I am so sorry for what you have endured. It is all shocking to hear so I cannot imagine what it must have been like for you, especially with two young daughters at Rahl's mercy and one of those being his. Lola I would presume."

"Yes. My sweet Lulu, Lola Louise. I named her after my late grandmother. At least Rahl allowed me that much. Right after I learned of his plans for Bella, I was able to convince Alice to help me. I instructed her to have my grandfather take her far away to the mundane world and I would come for her when I could. I had given him the pendant when Rahl first surfaced so he wouldn't know about it and take it from me. I had Alice explain to my grandfather why I had to stay. For Lola. I had to protect her too. I could not let Rahl turn her evil. I had to stop him somehow and help Stephane defeat him once again, but I didn't have a clue as to how. It turned out I didn't need to because while Bash was away after being banned by Rahl, he had sought out Julian to do it. It took him some time to find him though, for he and Caroline had moved once again.

But before Bash and Julian arrived, something really bad happened. When Rahl learned that my grandfather had taken Bella and disappeared, he soon figured out that Alice had assisted me in making that happen. He had her beaten and then....he killed her. Right in front of me.....and her son whom he had dragged from his bed. Rahl slit her throat.

Everything was happening, just as Sara had said it would and I knew it was far from over, that things would only get worse."

Josselyn began to sob. "Haldir, Alice died because of me. I'll never get that image out of my head or stop hearing her screams. And I do not know what ever happened to her son. I never saw him again. I have to wonder if he killed him too."

Haldir squeezed her hand that held his. "It was not your fault. If anyone is to be held accountable for such malevolence, it is Rahl himself and Caroline for conjuring him. You had to protect your child."

"But I still knew what could happen if she were caught. I think I knew deep down that he would figure it out. It was only her and two other servants that I was able to speak to. And Rahl, yes, he is responsible, but not Stephane. I never held him accountable for anything Rahl did and I never will."

"Once again, you had to protect your child and that meant doing whatever was necessary to acquire that and...I did not accuse Narcisse."

Josselyn's eyes widened and then they lit up with happiness.

"So you...like Narcisse then? You won't hurt him?"

"Just because I do not place blame upon him does not mean I enjoy his putrid existence. I too will take all means necessary to protect Jo, Leean and my own and if that means I have to kill him, so be it."

Josselyn's eyes fell. "I...I understand....it's just that..."

"You love him...too?"

"I..I do, but not in the way that I love Julian, if that makes any sense."

"It does, yes. I understand that all too well. Now...please tell me what happened when Julian and Sebastian returned?"

Josselyn could see that she had accidentally struck a tender nerve concerning you and him and that he wanted to avoid the conversation of it, so she respectfully but sorrowfully continued on.

"It was late at night. I was in my tower chamber as usual, and alone. Rahl always slept separately after my betrayal and kept Lola with him to further punish me. There was this tapping on my balcony doors. It was Julian and Bash! Julian instantly freed me of the collar with his own powers and then he unlocked the door and subdued the guards with his magic as well. We followed Julian down to the cellar and he led us down a long dark and never ending passageway, almost like a tunnel and he stopped at an bolted iron door. Once again he used his power to open it by speaking a single word, a password I assume and inside was a small room with old wooden shelves full of books. It was like some hidden library. He said they were all books of great importance, but it held one that was the most important of all books in existence. Ashmole it was called but it was referred to by many names. The book of life, the book of the dead, and the book of shadows were the ones he named. It was his mother's and it contained every spell ever created, even to bring the dead back to life. It's power could be detrimental as he once learned the hard way by resurrecting Jareth. It could not be destroyed, for Julian had tried. He said it's power could also be used for good. It depended on the heart of the one who held it, for as Julian would always say, true magic is in the heart of the beholder. It was greatly desired by many, but only a witch would it reveal it's true identity to and only a witch could open it. That's when Julian held his hand out and all of a sudden, this large hardback book slid out of the shelf and came floating across the room to him and then from under his waistcoat, he took out three pages. He opened the book and placed them inside and this light formed as they molded into it."

Haldir was taken aback. "You know where Ashmole is??"

"I...I do."

"You will show Jo when we return. It is needed for the dead that will come on the winter solstice. So is your amethyst. It is one of 6 runestones that are also needed. Where is it now?"

"I...I gave it to Bel...Sarah long ago. When I realized Harker had taken her, I looked for it so I could try to look for her, but I could not find it. I fear Harker may have taken it from her... unless she had hidden it, but I searched her belongings, her room and the entire house from top to bottom. All I found was her silver ribbon ring among the porcelain shards of her shattered body.

With my own magic, I was able to turn the ring back to it's original form and I put it in her box of special treasures. She never took that ring off. My grandfather gave it to her. It was pure silver, crafted by his own magical hands and it was supposed to ward off spells of any kind. The ribbon symbolized binding the spells in a knot. A lot of good it did her huh? I'm sorry, can I just please get on with this story? I relive that night every single day as it is, so I really don't enjoy speaking of it."

"Certainly. Please, go on."

"Julian opened the book to a spell that would break the hold of Caroline's black magic and send Rahl back to solitary confinement inside the locked box of Stephane's mind. The writing was nothing that I could read and there was a drawing of a witch, engulfed in flames that coincidentally resembled Rahl.

I panicked and asked Julian if that was what was going to happen to him. He assured me he would never risk harming Stephane, that he would not burn. The image was a metaphor so to speak, but he said there would definitely be a light show of Rahl's persona being sucked out of Stephane's body. That's when I had to tell Julian and Bash about Lola before they went and exorcised the demon when she was right in the room with him. I knew there was a great possibility that Stephane would not recall the things he had done as Bash had once explained, so I swore them both to secrecy that he would never be told he was her father in fear of what it would do to his mind once more in learning how she was conceived. They both agreed it was best and Bash...my dear sweet Bash offered to step up as her father because he knew his brother would want to know where she came from, plus, since Bash was a warlock, he felt she would still be highly protected from Harker. If Stephane did remember, then I would just deal with it when the time came.

Julian decided to lure Rahl outside by baiting him. We all snuck out to the main lawn and Bash and I stood in the distance behind Julian as he made his presence known. He shouted over and over for Rahl and it wasn't long before he arrived with guards in tow. The two warlocks shared unkind words and Julian challenged him to be a man and come to him alone, just as he was alone. Rahl was hesitant until Julian flaunted the book that all desired and laid it before him at his feet. What Rahl didn't know was that Julian set a witch trap. He had drawn a circle on the forest green lawn with black salt which made it barely visible in the dark of the new moon night. Rahl took the bait of the book and came forward alone. He stopped just before the circle and ogled the book like a kid in a candy store. Julian told him if he could take the book from him, it was his to keep. Rahl took the step forward and laughed, telling him that would be too easy. Julian laughed too and told him that it wasn't as easy as trapping him. Rahl's confident expression vanished as he quickly realized he could not move. Julian opened the book that was merely inches away from Rahl's feet and scanned it with his eyes, so fast that it was like he took the words right into his mind. He then grinned at Rahl and said..."Goodnight Darken Rahl. Rest in Hell."

Rahl's eyes and mouth both gaped as Julian opened his arms out wide and began reciting the spell. I couldn't understand a word of it. Suddenly, blinding light burst out of the book and jolted right through Rahl. The light was coming out of his mouth and eyes as he screamed.

Just like that, in mere seconds, Rahl and his dark image were gone and there, on the ground was an unconscious Stephane. Bash quickly took control of the guards and they submitted when they saw Lord Narcisse was back. We took Stephane inside and when he awoke, he did not remember anything as we suspected. Of course, he demanded to know everything that happened and what Rahl had done, so to start, I went and got Lola. I feared he would remember when he saw her, but he didn't. He took right to her as she did him. It was a bittersweet moment watching him hold her hand. If he were to ever notice any resemblance of himself in her, it could easily be explained based on the lie that his brother Bash was her father.

It broke my heart to have to lie to him like I had to lie to Julian too about our Bella, but Caroline could never know about her, nor Harker and Ravenna. Narcisse and Bash kept their promises and did not mention her and I later explained to them where she was and why.

All was then revealed to Narcisse about all the events that took place while he had been a prisoner in his own body, except what Rahl did to me of course. Needless to say, he did not take it very well. He humbly apologized to me and Bash, then went off to be alone.

It was then the moment I dreaded. I had to say goodbye to Julian all over again. He knew that I could not go with him and that he could not stay. Josie was going on 2 years old and his responsibility was to her and mine was to Lola. I had to remain at the castle to protect her. Julian understood why I had left him without a word, for he admitted he would have never let me out of his arms. He also understood why I had moved on with what he believed to be Bash. He had never expected me to remain alone. We both hugged, kissed and cried, said our I still love you's and always will...and then...he was gone.

10 years. 10 whole fucking years had passed. I was still at the castle with Lola. I missed my grandfather and Bella dearly but it was too risky to go to them or for them to come back here. No one knew where Harker was and both of my daughters were safe where they were and I intended to keep it that way as long as I could. I knew my grandfather would make sure Bella knew who I was for the day I did return to her....and I knew he was watching me through the pendant and possibly letting her watch sometimes too. I spoke to them at random times hoping they would hear me. One good thing happened though. 7 years prior, I found out from Narcisse that Caroline had died. In all the things that could have killed her, it was a car fire? Regardless, that was one less threat to worry about, but it did cross my mind, which I'll soon explain, if she possibly placed a hex on Narcisse before she kicked the bucket, in retaliation for Julian saving him. I also wondered why Julian hadn't come around after that. I guess I had this stupid delusion that Julian and I could live happily ever after and that he would just magically forgive me for all my lies. I also wondered why Narcisse had stopped going to see him. I didn't find out until much later that Narcisse had lied to him and told him we had married and were deeply in love and of course Julian would believe what his best friend told him but Stephane and I, we had never been a couple or even intimate after Rahl's rampage....Bash and I fooled around though." Josselyn bashfully giggled.

"All was going well otherwise. I still did my job as a servant. Lola was a happy normal child and a lot like Stephane, mostly with her love of animals. She had found an injured crow once and brought him to me, wanting me to "fix" him. She did not know of my magic but she believed I could make his boo boo all better like all children think their mothers can do. His wing was broken, but of course, I healed him for her and then she took him outside and he flew away.

Stephane though...he wasn't normal and happy. He slowly became withdrawn and very different after the trauma of Rahl's reign of terror. He still didn't remember everything, but knowing what he did know, it ate at him. He had become somewhat bitter and rather bossy over the years. Everyone walked on eggshells around him. His arrogance was at an all time high and he drank a lot. I think he was suffering from depression and possibly loneliness. But that wasn't the worst of it.

Word spread fast through the servants that Harker's World of Wonders was arriving for a funfair. I went straight to Narcisse and confronted him. When he said it was true and to let him explain, I saw red. There was nothing to explain. He knew Harker was a threat to Lola. I hadn't aged much at all over the years due to Ravenna's power, but her magic sure did. It had finally come to full fruition shortly after Lola had been born and I also discovered I had the power of healing. I think that was passed to me from my grandfather. One day Stephane and Bash were fencing for sport and Stephane was accidentally cut and I was able to heal him. Ironic that I had mended the man I then wanted to hurt.

In my fit of rage, I tried to use my power on him which was a big no no. No one was allowed to use magic there with intent to harm, let alone use it on him. He deemed it a crime. I was punished by being reprimanded and locked in an iron barred dungeon cell while the party commenced that day and into the night. Lola was left with a servant to care for her while Bash was ordered to do his deputy duties. I knew Rahl had not returned, but Narcisse was certainly not himself. To simply put it, he had become a cold hearted asshole. It was like he was punishing everyone to release the weight of the guilt and anger he suffered with. I had sympathy for him in the past, but after allowing Harker on his grounds and what happened next because of it, that sympathy was long gone. I didn't give a damn if he had possibly been cursed.

Bash released me the next morning and the look of fright on his face told me something was terribly wrong. He tried to tell me but I ran straight for Lola's room as he followed, shouting at me to wait. When I got there, the servant that had been with her was being carried out of the room with a bloodied sheet covering her. She was dead. Narcisse stood staring at Lola's empty bed with despair all over his hungover face. The sound of the ajar balcony door banging in the wind hammered like drums through my head. All I could do was scream and I raced off to find Harker, but when I got outside, their trailers were nowhere to be seen....and then...I heard Lola scream's for me from the forest.

I had run so far and so fast, but all was quiet and there was no sign of them. When I turned around, there Harker was, holding her close against him. She was still in her nightgown. The monster had taken her right from her own bed.

I shouted at him. You cannot take her! I was the one given to you, NOT her. She has to be given to you!

He said... And you WILL give her to me in place of you....for now that is..... or I will rip your heart from your chest where you stand right in front of her and then I will be free to take her. Wouldn't you rather be alive for your....OTHER daughter's sake? Bella is it? One of them has to come to pay your debt to Ravenna.

He knew about Bella!! I don't know how, but he knew and I was now trapped, for he was right...I didn't want to die and let him take her too. I needed to live and fight for my children. I had to do the unthinkable. I told him he could have her...but then I panicked and recanted my words and told him he would never have her... but I knew it was too late. He held her right in front of him with his hand tightly gripping her mouth. He could have easily snapped her tiny fragile neck, so I could not use my power against him....so I tried to grab her from him, but all I got was the doll from her arms that Stephane had given her as Harker shoved me to the ground and rode off with her on his horse....and when I looked down at the doll...it's eye began to bleed.

I ran hard and I ran fast in the direction he rode off. I was going after my children and I wasn't looking back. I never saw Narcisse or the Dorwinion castle again.

Needless to say, Lola had been lost to me. Harker was on horseback and I certainly could not fly, still cannot. But I kept trekking on through miles of forest, clutching Lola's doll to my chest and constantly calling out to my grandfather. I knew at some point he would see and hear me and come get me....and he did.

We went back to the mundane world and continued to do what we had always done when I was growing up and what he had been doing with Bella....traveling with our people. Although Bella was 11 years old, we bonded as if we had never been apart. She understood about the "bad man." Grandfather had told her that's why I had to stay away for awhile. She called Harker the big bad wolf. She said she had dreamed of him and described him to a T. I tried using the pendant to see Harker so I knew where he was, but it would not show me anything. I think Harker used some kind of black magic to hide behind, unless he were dead and I feared the same for Lola too since I could not see her either.

All of my hope had been lost, until...2 years later. I decided to check on Narcisse. My anger had subsided towards him and I truly did miss him. Maybe it was the time heals all wounds thing, but I couldn't say all. I still blamed him. But what I saw changed everything. He had Lola at the Dorwinion castle! She...she looked so beautiful with her longer licorice locks and...she was happy. I had to wonder how Narcisse got her back. I...I didn't care at the time, I was just so relieved she was alive and safe. And..."

Josselyn burst out in laughter, actually startling Haldir, for he had been so engrossed in her story.

"She was doing a magic trick for a crowd outside of the castle and they all loved it. Go figure huh? Like grandfather, like granddaughter...AND she was telling them a story about gypsy legends! I was pretty sure that it was Stephane's doing to make sure she knew about us. Her apprentice was a younger boy with dark hair. He looked about 10.

She called him Charles so I assume he is the young man, Stephane's son, that I met last night. Just wow, Lola has a brother. Sorry, it's just mind blowing."

"It is even more astonishing that Charles is Catherine's son. Of course, he did not know Charles was his until the boy was much older." Haldir added.

"What??? Hmmm, well then I guess that explains why I soon saw Catherine with Narcisse in the crowd. I guess the old hag flew back to him on her broomstick."

Haldir chuckled. "Fine analogy indeed. What did you do then?"

"I watched Narcisse for a few days and he didn't appear tainted anymore. I...I didn't know what to do. Of course I wanted to use the pendant and go get Lola but my grandfather warned that we did not know where Harker was and that we were already hiding one child from him. He said Lola was better protected with Narcisse than us. I was torn on that because of how she was taken from the castle once before and Narcisse was the cause of it. Lola seemed so happy though and...she was with her father even if neither of them knew it, which clearly they didn't and still don't considering Charles' reaction last night to learning Lola was his sister.... and Stephane seemed himself again and I could tell he was trying to make things right by Lola because I could only imagine what he believed happened to me when I ran into the forest and never returned. Most likely that I had suffered the same fate as my mother and I'm sure he blamed himself for all of it. I have never forgotten the look upon his face as he stood at her empty bed the day she was taken. He was devastated. I think that is what snapped him out of his mental breakdown of sorts. I wish I would have let him explain why he did what he did. I wish I would have just told everyone the entire truth about Harker. If Narcisse had known what he did to children, that funfair would never have taken place. Harker would have been hunted and could have been handled long before that night and my grandfather could have returned with Bella, so...I was just as much to blame. If only I had known then what I later learned. Narcisse was cursed alright, but not by Caroline. It was by me...I was cursed when I healed him. Harker did something to me and everyone I heal pays a price, which is why I fear putting my hands on Josie. Besides, once she learns who I really am, I may be the one in need of healing.

I saw Bash there too and he adored her....and Stephane had cared enough for her that he rescued her somehow and it was then that I had forgiven him and I had decided that as long as Harker and Ravenna were a threat, I had to leave her there and pray Narcisse would eventually kill Harker if he hadn't already. I had thought about taking all of us there, but...Catherine was back for one thing and second, I could still hear Harker's words when he said he would take Lola in place of me...for now....meaning he still wanted me back....and since he did not have Lola anymore...he would eventually come for me and Bella. I couldn't bring all that baggage back to Narcisse again like I did all those years ago. It wasn't fair to him. I know I sound like I was making all kinds of excuses...and I was because I was just so fucking scared. Like little ol me and one wizard could ever take on Harker, his men and his sisters of the dark, or Ravenna too. I had my grandfather telling me to let things be. I had power, yet I was entirely weak. AND let us not forget what Sara had told me in her reading! Because of that, I felt I should not tempt fate, let sleeping dogs lie, don't fix what isn't broken, ya know? I wanted to find Julian, but how was I going to explain my lies, especially that of Bella?? Merely like I am to you now? That I was just scared?? How lame was that? I had never been so confused in my life. It was all just so complicated. And then it became even more complicated because that's all it ever did. The Tower card was upon me.

We traveled for two more years. Just kept going North. I constantly watched Lola like a hawk, multiple times every single day. If one thing had seemed off, I would have went for her.

Bella was now 13. One more year and she would be of no use to Ravenna but that wouldn't stop Harker from coming after me. He had found us in the mundane world once before, so I knew he could do it again....and he did.

We had set up camp for rest and during the twilight hours, like a thief in the night, the wolf's howl came. Literally. Everyone heard it. A pack of them. Their howls echoed from every angle. I hid with Bella in the trailer, watching from the window. Grandfather had told me that if anything ever happened, I was not to worry for him and take Bella and leave with the pendant....and go to his estranged brother, Thaddicus Zorander. He too was a necromancer and lived like a hermit in the Scottish highlands.

All of our men armed themselves with rifles or knives, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. These wolves were not normal wolves. Their faces morphed into something demonic. Grandfather called them wargs. They tore many of our men apart.

Sisters of the dark soon appeared. They were everywhere, hurling fire and silver dacras, a star shaped weapon of three blades that also killed many of our people. One of them was my mother! She was leading them. She saw my grandfather and I heard her say "kill the old man." They went after him, but he fended them off with his power and then he even turned on his own daughter and whipped her through the air.

And then....Harker appeared and with his command, they all backed off, but stood surrounding my grandfather. Harker told my him he had had enough and he was taking Bella. He spoke about how Narcisse found out about his operations and he and his men raided his camp, killing most of his men and freeing all the children, Lola included, so now I owed him my other child, for Ravenna was growing impatient as time was short on Bella's age restriction. He said he would either take me or kill me, he couldn't decide and that it wouldn't really matter since everyone believed I was either dead or lost into the sisterhood. He said he would kill my grandfather too, for the only good wizard was a dead one. I...I panicked and stupidly screamed. Harker's fiendish claws came out and he bee-lined straight for my trailer.

He taunted us with his strength, rocking the trailer with his hand and chanting "little pig, little pig, let me in."

Bella was angry and stood up. She screamed at him "not by the hair of my chinny chin chin." I heard him chuckle and he began to rock us harder as he said "then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!" I had to think fast because he was going to tip us. I had no choice but to grab our pre-packed bags and leave my grandfather there as he told me to do. We crawled out the escape door on the floor and snuck off from the back of the trailer into the woods where I quickly opened the portal. In the blink of an eye, we were in a large open field, looking at a small farmhouse in the middle of it.

Since it had only been seconds, I had to see if my grandfather was alright. I was so scared at what I would see, but I had to know. What I saw though, was confounding, and apparently it was for Harker too, for he was on his knees with tears running down his cheeks. I didn't know such a menacing man even had tear ducts to be able to cry. Standing before him...I...I didn't see my grandfather anymore...I saw....Ravenna!!

It was him! My grandfather was working his hocus pocus by taking on the form of another person. Harker called her his love, if he were even capable of such an emotion, since it was forbidden in his world. My grandfather must have recently discovered it and waited to use it, hitting Harker right where he was vulnerable. It all began to make sense, why Harker was helping her and why he had killed Jareth once upon a time. No wonder he was so angry at Julian...because he resurrected him. I think Harker even feared her which is why he lost his shit over my age, fearing she would blame him and retaliate....but she never did, which made me wonder if she felt something for him too?

Bella had run up to the cottage, so I ran after her and didn't see what happened. I was taken aback when I saw a man through the window. He could have been my grandfather's twin with his uncanny resemblance. I was too caught up at his vision that I didn't notice Bella walk right in, startling him. He clearly didn't know us as he stared us down, fearfully asking us what we wanted.

I apologized for barging in and explained that we were his nieces and we had nowhere else to go. At first he thought I was my mother and he oddly looked at Bella, saying she was too young to be Josselyn. Bella laughed at told him he was silly for not knowing his own family. I apologized to him again but he smiled and said it was not necessary, that she was merely being a child with no filter. He relit the candles and brought food and drinks to the table, saying we looked like we needed it....and then, we sat and ate as I told him our long tale as I'm telling you Haldir.

Thaddicus told me not to worry for Zeddicus, that he was a wise old coot and most likely hoodwinked Harker with his hocus pocus. I laughed since that's exactly what happened and I had great confidence in my grandfather that he had escaped, but I would look later, for I didn't know what Thaddicus thought of the pendant. Did he desire it like many others? Family or not, he was still a stranger and for some reason, he and his brother were at odds....but yet he had trusted him enough to have us go there.

It was morning. I laid awake all night, too wired to sleep. I checked on my grandfather but I couldn't see him or even Harker anymore. And then I did something I hadn't done. I looked in on Julian...just to make sure he was happy, even if he had moved on with another. I didn't know if Narcisse had been in touch with him after Lola and I disappeared, so I didn't know if Julian believed me dead or still believed me to have moved on with his best friend like Narcisse had told him. That's when everything changed.

Julian was sick. I didn't know how sick, but he was bedridden and Josie, who was only less than a year older than Bella, was caring for him and they appeared to live in the mundane world when I saw Josie going into what I assumed was their house. She looked so grown up for 13. I suppose she had to be with what she was dealing with.

I could only presume Julian took her there to protect her from the dangers of middle earth. She was constantly at his side, bringing him tea and feeding him. Sometimes, he seemed to not know her. I didn't know how she was doing it all by herself. She was still a child...and god did she look like Caroline, or I should say Cassie. I found out later that Caroline had eventually killed her. I felt so guilty. I wish I could have helped Cassie, but I was no match for Jareth and his dark realm of goblins or Caroline's wrath.

I...I had to go to Julian. I believed Caroline was no longer a threat with being told she had died, but I didn't know how I was supposed to just show up there. Josie didn't know me and I had Bella to explain. Neither girls knew of the other and Julian didn't know of his other daughter. I couldn't just tear up their life. With Julian sick, what would it do to him to learn of my lies? I wanted to try and heal him, but I was reluctant to try after what happened to Narcisse. It could of harmed Julian even more or even worse, ricocheted onto Josie, or Bella. My healing is basically a game of Russian roulette because it is not known when or who it will strike. It was just before I found out Lola was alive and with Narcisse when I first discovered my healing powers were tainted. One of our gypsy travelers was suffering from an infected tooth. Normally, my grandfather would have healed him since he too has such power, but he was away, so I healed the man. All was well for a few days and then his wife's teeth, that were perfectly fine, began to rot and fall out, one by one, all in a 24 hour period. When my grandfather returned, he verified that it was indeed Harker's doing and even my grandfather himself could not undo it. Harker had to be killed or I personally had to take something of his for the curse to be lifted. The night Bella disappeared 8 years ago, I was able to take his silver knife during a struggle before I got away, but I didn't believe it had worked. I still don't.

I had made my way back to middle earth after that and changed my name. I felt it was the better of both worlds to be in when I encountered Harker again and I still dreamed of getting my grandfather, mother and Lola back one day. Through my travels, I never stayed in one place too long. In the summers, I slept in barns, bathed in ponds, stole food from the rich and in the winters, I would work in gin mills to get by. And one thing I always, always did was keep my powers to myself out of fear of what could happen. It was only a few years ago that a terrible pestilence plagued a vast portion of the Southeast and I came across a very sick boy. His mother was pleading with people to help him. I...I couldn't imagine if it were my child suffering like that so...I told her I could help....and sure enough, my healing caused the boy to go blind and nearby, all of a farmer's live stock perished. I didn't trust anything anymore, so I never used my healing again, and like the Black Plague, news of what I did spread like wildfire and I was hunted. They said I was a demon witch doctor and they wanted to burn me alive.

I eventually crossed paths with Bash. He had been looking for me all along and he had a very strong feeling I was the rumored witch doctor. I told him what my healing was doing, but he didn't believe it was my fault. He believed it was due to the Black Plague. He secretly aided me for awhile and gave me shelter in one of Narcisse's unoccupied remote villa's. He was someone I knew I could trust and I told him everything that happened after my disappearance and he swore he would keep my secrets to protect me...because he...loved me. He told me all about Lola, who had become a beautiful young woman and he understood my reasons for keeping my distance from her. He begged me to come back to the castle with him, that Narcisse would protect me too and help me search for my family, but I refused. I didn't want him or Lola involved in my messes anymore.

We stayed together, undetected for about a month and then one night...the people found me. They raided us and detained Bash, making him watch as they tied me to the stake that they had quietly assembled and then they lit it. I...I began screaming out of fear and not of pain...for there was none. I...I couldn't feel it!! It was not burning me! The roped burned trough and I was freed. The look on their faces was priceless as I purposely lunged and hissed at them...and then I ran off into the forest.

I never saw Bash again until last night. It was my choice. I didn't want him to be accused of evil as well and from the things I heard after that, Bash was deemed my victim. That I had witchnapped him and was going to sacrifice him. I was ok with that, for it kept him safe and since I was already accused of the devil's work, what was one more charge?"

Josselyn exhaled heavily, then lowered her head and began to softly weep.

"I...I am so sorry Haldir. I understand now why you believed me to be wicked. I can only imagine what you must think now."

For a moment, the elf was silent and then he raised his hand to gently tuck one of her long dangling tresses behind her ear.

"What I think now is that you are a very selfless...and rather powerful woman. You have suffered greatly and have sacrificed so much for the people you love. Do not apologize for that. I should apologize for being a credulous fool as they were."

Josselyn was frazzled by Haldir's compassion and understanding and even a bit cynical of it, in which she scooted a few inches away from him.

"You...you really shouldn't touch me. You might lose a finger. Well gosh, I have gotten so far ahead of myself and I haven't even told you about Julian yet. I would like to finish this please. I'm so tired."

"As you wish my lady."

Josselyn softly gasped and momentarily stared at him in shock of being addressed with such respect, and even more so... by him, the elf that blatantly harassed her merely an hour ago....then she continued.

"As I was saying before I went of course, I wanted to go to Julian. After watching Josie some more, I realized they were in the United Kingdom...coincidentally and ironically Scotland to be specific, right where Thaddicus lived...but strangely, they were in the city world instead of somewhere remote like I would have guessed him to take her. So once again, I presumed he wanted her to have a normal life with friends and school and all.

The other thing I noticed was that beside their house was a beautiful old stone house for rent. After expressing my thoughts to Thaddicus, I then knew why my grandfather sent me to him. Thaddicus told me he could get me everything I would need to fit right into the civilian world and he did. My uncle had some serious hookups because he came back with a box full of cash and all the fake, but very legit looking documents that were necessary for us to get by. He watched over Bella while I used the pendant to go and handle everything and in roughly a week, we were set. I had a home for my daughter, right beside her father and sister...but they couldn't know who she was. That's when she became Sarah according to her birth certificate, but to Julian, she was the daughter of one of our travelers who died because of my cursed magic and I told him I felt guilty, so I took her in as my own. What was another lie to keep him from hating me and possibly worsening his condition from the shocking truth?? Our last name changed as well...which Bella believed it was solely to hide from the bad man, so she gladly went along with it. I even cut my hair and made it a lighter shade of brown, all by magic of course.

Sarah and Josie became best friends right away. They did everything together, even school. I don't think Josie had any because of Julian's illness. I helped her out with her father every now and then to give her some relief and free time. Seeing him again was just so overwhelming. His appearance was the same on the outside, but inside, he wasn't Julian anymore. His memory had become compromised and most days, he didn't know me, or even Josie. I think he even forgot who he was, powers and all. He spent most of his time either in a chair by the window with his tea and watched the girls ride bikes and stuff, or he was in bed. Just a trip to the restroom exhausted him and he complained of a burning sensation inside of him. I knew it certainly was not cancer like Julian had told Josie before he became so ill.

I wanted to heal him with every ounce of my being, so I attempted other ways that didn't involve my powers. My uncle Thaddicus had given me the name of a well known and trusted powerful warlock he knew from all of his world travels. His name was Magnus and he resided in the states. Manhattan to be exact. He specialized in magic potions and had a lab full of everything imaginable to cast his spells. Using my pendant, I tracked him down and brought him back with me to try and cure Julian. Everything failed. He was then able to validate that Julian had definitely been placed under some very potent black magic and that it was coursing through his blood like acid rain. Nothing more could be done. He told me Julian's hair had to be placed upon the witch who cursed him to break it. That's when I told him about Caroline and that she was dead. Magnus then told me that within a few more years, Julian would die. Little did I know, until I heard the scream, that Josie was listening and watching.

She ran to Julian's side and shouted at us to get away from him, that she was going to call the cops. Magnus waved his hand and the phone went flying out of her hand and then...I had no choice. I grabbed her and tied her to a chair while I figured out what to do. She was so confused and scared and I felt so terrible, but she could not keep those memories, so I told Magnus to block them. It broke my heart when she looked at him and asked him if it was going to hurt. He assured her she would feel nothing and then with a little hocus pocus from his hand, all that she had seen and heard had been erased.

4 years had went by. The girls were going on 17 as it was almost Halloween, Sarah's true birthday and it would be Josie's in December. Julian was still alive, but much worse. I had stayed by his side and made him as comfortable as I could, but he didn't even know I was there. He could barely even speak anymore. Josie was stressed, so I let her come over more often to take a break.

Halloween came and I was making dinner and a cake. The girls were in the living room all dressed up and handing candy out. Just as I walked into the room, the doorbell rang and Josie ran to answer it. I was carrying a bowl of popcorn that ended up on the floor when I heard Harker's voice. He had this huge smile on his face and introduced himself to her as Phillip Covington.

He proceeded to say that he was my boyfriend and he was invited for dinner and cake. He looked at Sarah and said "Isn't that right...Sarah?"

He knew her name. He knew everything. I knew that day would come.

Sarah remembered him, but she politely went along with the charade for all of our safety. He came in, helped me clean up the popcorn and then sat down at the table, still grinning. He was fucking pleased with himself for finding us.

After a dinner of Harker leading the conversations, Josie had to go. Harker told her he was sorry to hear of her father's illness, but he wasn't the least bit sorry. He was thrilled. I told her I would walk her out and when we got to the porch, I took out a powder potion that Magnus had left with me and blew it in her face. It would do the same thing to Josie once more that he had done to her. I didn't want her going back to Julian and telling him about Harker, or Phillip I should say. As sick as he was, I couldn't risk that he still understood things that were going on.

Sarah and I were clearing the dishes and she began apologizing to me. I asked her why and she said she knew something was wrong before he showed up. She said she saw a strange dressed man outside talking to Josie on her way over and she sensed he was not a trick or treater, but someone evil. After she described him to me, I knew then that Jareth had been there too and I had to wonder if Caroline had finally told the lie to Julian that Jareth was Josie's father. It was a good thing that I gave her that potion because she wouldn't remember Jareth either.

Sarah told me she was going upstairs to get the amethyst so she and I could leave. She snuck up there as I did the dishes and Harker sat at the table with his wine...at least I thought he was. When I finished, I went in and he was not there. I panicked and ran upstairs and that's when I found Sarah gone and there was no sign of Harker or the pendant.

I left everything that night in search of my daughter, including Julian without even saying goodbye and now he's dead. I eventually found my grandfather and we made our way back to middle earth.....and now...here I am 8 years later."

Josselyn's hands covered her face and she began sobbing again.

"Oh Julian. I am so sorry my love."

Haldir gently took her hands, pulled them down and tenderly looked her in the eyes as he told her the shocking truth.

"Josselyn. Your Julian...he is very much alive."

@redeemer46

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purposefully-lost · 1 year

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There's a very specific shot in Low Tide that I like that I might just gif for the hell of it despite it not being really a visibly Alex shot but,, there's just something good about the moment when he's dragging the older brother into the water and he stumbles/falls and has to pick up and keep going

#unsure if that fall was choreographed or an actual stumble in the sand but it makes the whole shot feel weighty #i nwed to keep watching josie and jack its just that my ps4 froze up and i had to restart it and i keep neglecting to pull tubi back up #djsSHSH

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ieatstarsforaliving · 7 months

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The Fucking Fight Club (2)

Summary: Hazel tries to control her powers during the first fight club. But because she's a loser, she fucks up. A lot.

Pairing: Spider-Woman!Hazel Callahan x Classmate!Reader

Warnings: Mature language, use of (Y/N), mild violence, mentions of bruises and blood

Word Count: 3866

Note: Okay I know I gave y'all the first chapter yesterday but you guys surprised me with so much likes, I quickly whipped up the next chapter. The ending is kind of bad but lmfao idc. It's extra long cause I probably can't write until next weekend due to fucking midterms. I wish I could drop out and write fanfics all day long. But life is unfair to the gays. - Bia <3

“Okay, before we actually do this, I want Hazel to practice controlling her punches.”

Josie had dragged PJ and Hazel to a hiking trail in the nearest forest. This wouldn’t have been mandatory if Hazel didn’t have the super-strength to murder a human with a single blow, but since she did, Josie wasn’t about to let the feminist self-defense fight club happen without a bit of rehearsal.

“Fine, mom.” PJ rolled her eyes. She was used to Josie’s dramatic cautiousness, but this seemed like a waste of time. She turned to Hazel and offered her face. “Hazel, just relax, and punch me.”

Hazel did a double take. “Punch… punch you?”

“Okay, I don’t like that tone. I know how to take a punch. Something people would always say is ‘PJ knows how to take a punch.’ Come on up.”

“PJ, she literally beat up a grown man with metal octopus arms last week. And the week before that, a man made of indestructible sand. You remember that? On the news? You might know how to take a punch, but you don’t know how to take her punch.”

“That’s why we’re practicing!”

“I meant like practice on a tree or something.” Josie waved towards the nearest tree, standing about 25 feet tall. “Hit a tree, Hazel.”

Hazel shrugged, before pulling back and punching into the middle of the tree. In a split second, the tree quaked under the assault, its massive frame crackling under the exact spot of Hazel’s fist. The bark gave away first, exploding outward in a radial pattern. When she retracted her hand, there was a massive dent on the thick body of the tree, jagged fault lines extending from the center of the impact.

PJ’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck. That could have been my face.”

Josie shook her head. “Okay, so, obviously, you have to calm down. By a lot. Try the same thing, but like, weaken it?”

Hazel nodded. She then gently tapped the tree with her fist.

Josie shook her head again. “That was clearly too weak.”

Hazel sighed. “I don’t know if I can do this, guys. I’m so used to punching psychopathic criminals who want to kill me, so I’m always using at least 90% of my strength.”

“Which is why I brought this.” Josie pulled out a piece of paper from her bag. It turned out to be your face printed on an A4 sheet with a speech bubble that read, ‘punch me!’ “Now, hear me out—”

“-Actually, this is brilliant,” PJ said, taking the paper from Josie’s hands. She taped it to the tree and presented it to Hazel. “Imagine the tree is (Y/N). She’s standing in front of you. She’s sexy, she's wearing a bikini, she’s ready to learn, and she’s asking you to punch her. What do you do?”

Hazel stared at the tree with your face on it. In spite of this entire scenario being outrageously stupid, Hazel’s eyes fixated on the piece of paper, trying to immerse herself in your 2D face. It seemed to be a copy from last year’s yearbook, one that she had spent many hours staring at. She felt weirdly guilty as she wrinkled her eyebrows.

“I don’t really want to punch her.”

“Well, you have to! This is for feminism!” PJ groaned when she saw the hesitancy in Hazel’s face. “Hazel, women like strong, protective people. Why do you think there’s a hulk shrine in the girl’s second floor bathroom? You punch (Y/N) straight in the face, and she’ll immediately fall in love with you.”

“Well–”

“-She will, Josie.”

Hazel nodded. It was worth a try. If she wanted to wrestle with you in this club, she had to try. With a measured breath, Hazel extended her arm, fingers curling into a tight fist. She delivered a punch, focusing on her strength rather than causing harm. The moment of impact was firm but gentle, almost considerate towards the tree’s bark. It was as if the tree had barely registered the encounter, although its leaves were left shaking. She turned to her friends.

“Perfect,” PJ whispered, her eyes glistening in awe. “Let’s go beat some bitches up.”

“Not how I’d word it,” Josie muttered.

That afternoon, you were taking a hike in the same forest with Isabel and Brittany. It was quite calming, walking and talking with your friends in the middle of a beautiful forest. Birds were chirping, winds were breezing– And you guys were completely alone, since nobody really came here, and if they did, it was usually after sunset to do drugs and film porn.

The three of you reached the midpoint of the trail to take a small break, when Brittany pointed at a nearby tree.

“Hey, isn’t that…”

You followed her finger to a tall tree that seemed to be beaten up by someone, with its bark splintered and smashed by a form of impact. And in the middle of its trunk, was a photo of you, with a speech bubble that read ‘punch me!’.

Your heart dropped.

“Oh my god, (Y/N), somebody wants to kill you,” Isabel gasped. She walked up to the tree and ripped the paper off. “Isn’t this from our yearbook?”

You reached out to take the paper from Isabel’s hand and inspected it closely. It was indeed a page from the previous year’s yearbook, with your smiling face captured in a freeze-frame moment of your junior days. The speech bubble, however, had been added later, which meant that someone had deliberately printed your face, edited it, and pinned it to a tree to violently punch it out.

You felt a chill down your body. Who could have done this? You knew it was hard to be friends with everyone from school– but who would despise you enough to do this vicious and also slightly weird property damage to nature?

“We should report it or something, like to a park ranger,” Brittany offered, sensing your panic.

“No, They’re just going to tell us not to come back here wearing shorts,” You sighed. There were no cameras on the trail or anything, and the park rangers were men who were probably going to comment on your appearance instead of the actual problem at hand. “I have to do something about this by myself.”

You needed protection. No, you needed to learn how to protect yourself. You needed teachers who could help you protect yourself from evil highschool men.

You needed Hazel Callahan.

You turned to your friends with a determined face, masking your fear before saying;

“Do you guys want to join a self-defense club with me?”

Isabel and Brittany paused, exchanged glances, then nodded.

“What the fuck. These girls are ugly.”

It was the first club meeting for the feminist self-defense fight club, and there were exactly 8 girls waiting in the gym. Absolutely no sign of you. Hazel laid on the gym mats, trying not to show her disappointment. She reached for her phone, staring at your number in her contacts. She never got to texting you because she was panicking over what to say one night, and was busy fighting off muggings and carjackings every other night.

“Are you stressed? Cause I’m stressed,” Josie muttered, as the advisor for the club hopped in, earning a sharp breath from Hazel.

“Hey, ladies! Let’s get it poppin’ in this motherfucker.”

Hazel blinked. Mr. G was the advisor for this club?

This was going to be absolutely horrendous.

“Alright, uhm… hello, everybody,” Josie tried, looking around the gym filled with girls jumping on trampolines, hula-hooping, scooting, and balance-balling. “Okay, excuse me, sorry, I feel- sorry–”

“-EVEVRYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP.” PJ hit the floor with a broom, each collision echoing through the space with a ‘BANG’.

“This isn’t a little hangout, okay? Oh it’s not a sleepover or playtime. There are serious rules that we need to establish, okay?

“First? Listen to Hazel.”

Hazel lifted her hand in a subtle gesture.

“Second? Be on time. Except for you,” PJ pointed to Mr. G. “You come whenever you want. What time is it?”

“3:30–-”

“-3:30! Club starts at 3:15. Not 3:16, not 3:17. But the door closes at 3:15. No exceptions!”

Hazel smiled. Other than the fact that they were the ones who were actually late, PJ was doing amazing, putting authority towards the three girls and setting the ambiance. PJ could be a menace sometimes most of the time, but when she wanted to get shit done, she got shit done. Hazel was almost too distracted by PJ’s rant—

“-I don’t care, if you’re like, oh, but I had to go get extra help for math because I need to get a full ride because my mom lives in a trailer and she loves her boyfriend more than me, bleh blah blarh blargh– Shut up. My dad left me and I’m incredibly punctual–”

–That she didn’t even notice you walking into the gym with Isabel and Brittany following closely behind. When she did notice, her heart seemed to pick up speed, her lips curling into a smile even without realizing. Josie recognized the smile– one that Hazel only had when she was talking about her crush— and Josie turned around, motioning to PJ that the holy trinity had entered the gym.

Your eyes met with Hazel’s, and you waved in acknowledgement. She almost dropped her notebook as she looked around to check if you were waving to someone else, and then she fumblingly waved back. You giggled. Hazel had this face that effortlessly radiated innocent charm. You weren’t sure why, but you were drawn to her slightly nerdy demeanor. (it’s called being gay)

“Hey, guys. Come on in,” PJ rasped. “Uh… we’re just getting started here.”

You walked to Hazel and stood beside her. “Sorry we’re late,” you apologized.

The three girls shook their heads. “Don’t worry about it—”

“-Uhm, the rules were for next week, but this week is good–”

“-Yeah, no worries, take it easy.”

Annie seemed confused. “Okay, I just want to make sure– This is a self-defense class, right? Where we can learn to protect ourselves against football players.”

“And the criminals that Spider-Woman has been fighting? Cause, uhm, crime rate has been going up so criminals are gonna pork us. They’re gonna pork us.”

“I thought we were fighting each other for money. There’s a cash prize, right?”

“I thought this was to be a part of like a local, underprivileged female community.”

“My identity is completely attached to hers so I just go wherever she goes.”

“I thought I could learn how to protect myself. Cause I’m pretty sure someone’s trying to kill me,” You added.

“What?” Hazel turned, her eyes filled with worry.

“Everyone’s here for a good reason!” Josie laughed. “So, you know, why are we nitpicking reasons?”

“Yeah! So, let’s jump in. Hazel, why don’t you take it away?”

“Uh.”

PJ and Josie stepped back and began clapping. Everyone else followed along into a scattered and confused applause. Hazel walked to the front, opening up her notebook to the page reading ‘Self-Defense Club.’

“Okay. Hi. I’m Hazel. And I’m going to teach you guys how to fight. Maybe throw some punches. Some kicks.”

There was a bit of silence, maybe a single cough. PJ spoke up.

“(Y/N), since you’re closest to Hazel, why don’t you volunteer and step up?”

You shrugged. “Sure.”

You weren’t completely sure what was going on or how exactly Hazel was going to teach self-defense, but you dropped your backpack to the floor and walked towards Hazel, who looked incredibly afraid of what was going to happen next. She looked over your shoulders to PJ and Josie.

PJ mouthed the words, ‘Punch her. She’s the tree. Punch her.’

Hazel sent signals through her eyes meaning, ‘I can’t– I’m not gonna punch her.’

PJ continued to mouth the words, ‘Punch her. Hulk shrine. Imagine her wearing a bikini.’

Hazel’s face contorted with disbelief, her eyebrows raised in surprise, and her mouth slightly agape. Was she actually going to punch the girl that she’d been crushing on for years? Was this really the way to do it? She tried to ignore PJ who was now mouthing ‘punch your virginity away’ and instead curled her hands into fists, imagining the tree, the print-out of your face saying ‘punch me!’, you wearing a bikini, your smile, your wave, your eyes, your body—

-While you stood beside her, wondering why Hazel looked like she was about to shit herself. You began to open your mouth to ask if she was okay.

“Hazel—”

—And she flung her fist to your face.

You didn’t even register what had happened until a sharp burst of pain radiated from your nose, and you found yourself laying on the floor of the gym. You heard gasps and shouts and something about Mr. G trying to shut the club down (“Hey hey hey hey hey– I don’t know about this shit-”) as you slowly sat up, tasting liquid metal. The pain began to spread to the rest of your face as your eyes blurred up, leaving you momentarily stunned and struggling to regain your composure.

“Fuck, (Y/N)- I’m so sorry-” a horrified voice rang in front of you, and you felt a warm hand against your cheek. The hand seemed to be shaking, and you wiped your hazy eyes to see Hazel kneeling beside you, her expression embedded with guilt. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“You didn’t even warn her!” Annie screamed.

PJ shrugged. “Okay, we didn’t get warnings in juvie. Juvie was way crazier. One time, this girl’s punching me in the rain. Fall to my knees. It’s muddy. I get up– I’m blind. Punch her right in the middle of her face. Broke her fucking nose.”

“Pretty sure Hazel broke (Y/N)’s nose too,” Annie grumbled.

Isabel hurriedly handed you a couple of paper towels as Mr. G pushed the crowd to assess the situation.

“Let me see her,” Mr. G ordered, gasping when he saw the amount of blood coming from your nose. “Oh, shit, man, we gotta shut this down.”

“No, No—”

“-Shut this shit down. Shut it down—”

“-No, Don’t blow the whistle– Don’t blow the whistle!” Josie yelled. Everyone went silent, turning their attention from you to Josie. “I know that, you know– this is a little messy and bloody right now— Hazel, can you take (Y/N) to the nurse’s office– but like, the only way that we can learn how to defend ourselves is by teaching each other.”

Josie continued on with her little speech as Isabel and Brittany offered to take you to the nurse. But Hazel denied their help, rambling something about how this was all her fault. She picked you up fairly easily to your surprise, bridal style, and carried you out of the gym. You clutched onto her and rested your aching face into her stomach, feeling embarrassed.

When you arrived at the office, the nurse had gone home already, leaving Hazel to place you on the examination bed and find the medical kit. She seemed really anxious as you touched your face, your hand coming back dripping in red.

“God, juvie really taught you how to punch, huh,” You joked, battling your agony with humor. Hazel didn’t laugh. Instead she grabbed a cloth and ran it under the sink water, indulging the silence. You tried again. “Hazel.”

It was ignored once again as Hazel kneeled in front of you and started cleaning your face, her thumb gently holding your chin. She was very obviously avoiding your gaze with the best of her ability.

“Hazel, look at me.”

Hazel finally looked up to your eyes. She looked like a child knowing that she was about to be reprimanded or put on time out— and you almost felt sorry for Hazel, even though you were the one bleeding out. She seemed to grimace as you opened your mouth, getting ready to be shouted at. But instead, you asked;

“Why didn’t you message me?”

Hazel paused.

“I gave you my number. You didn’t message me,” You said again, completely serious. “You don’t like me?”

“No, I like you!” Hazel exclaimed. Her cheeks turned into a shade of pink as she tried to reword the sentence. “I mean, I don’t don’t like you, I… I’m really sorry. I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to come to the club, and I’m sure you don’t want to anymore-”

“-No, I want to.” You interrupted. “I mean, my face hurts like a bitch, but… it was a solid punch. And I really do need to learn how to defend myself like that. I think someone’s trying to kill me, so I want to be ready.”

Hazel cocked her head. “Is someone attacking you? Do you need help?”

You shook your head. “Not exactly, but I did see my face taped onto a tree, and someone had hit it really, really hard. Like, incredibly hard. Maybe with a rock, or something? I don’t know. I think it might be a death threat.”

Color seemed to drain out of Hazel’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you–” You explained, mistaking Hazel’s pale skin as fear. “Listen, I’m not angry at you. Well, okay, I am a little, I think you could have warned me about the punch, at least, but… I know that you’re still recovering from your past and you’re probably on edge all the time.”

Hazel nodded along, as it was partially true– she was on edge, but mainly because you were staring down at her with blood on your face and you still managed to look hot as fuck. She choked on her words before saying, “Still, I shouldn't have punched you like that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m really sorry.”

You smiled. “This is the whole point of the club though, right? You punch me, I punch you… and we become stronger together– ow.”

You winced when the cloth touched a particular spot on your nose bridge, being reminded of your injury.

“Shit, sorry, here—” Hazel instantly dropped the cloth. She carefully cupped your face, examining your wound with sincere worry. She was used to seeing wounds on herself, but seeing them on a person that she liked— seeing them on you, made her particularly upset.

You were surprised to see Hazel being so serious. Every time you tried to talk to her, she was either nervous or punching you. To see her so focused on your face made you feel a bit self-conscious, leading you to comment on her skills to break the silence.

“You seem to have a lot of experiences patching someone up. Do you do this often?”

She chuckled, “You have no idea.”

You assumed she was talking about juvie, and you recalled seeing the bruises on her face the last time you talked to her. Was Hazel still having problems with crime even after prison? You stared at her, your heart throbbing with sympathy for Hazel. What struggles had she faced in her past for her to learn to punch so strongly, to patch up bruises, and to always be nervous around others?

Hazel pulled away from you, finishing up the basic patch-up. She started putting the medical kit away as you caught sight at the mirror across from you.

“Great. I look awful.” You sighed, lingering on your reflection.

“No, you don’t.”

Hazel tore her eyes away from the kit and responded, as if you had said something completely out of reality. You laughed and shook your head, looking at the floor.

“No, my face is a complete mess–”

“-You look pretty.”

You tore your eyes off from the floor to Hazel. She was staring at you with a soft look in her eyes, one that you felt yourself getting lost in. She had such… honesty within them, as if she fully believed your beauty underneath the red and blue color.

“You always do.”

And for a moment you wondered how you had never truly seen Hazel before— when the soft glow from the sun streamed through the window, casting a warm light over the two of you. Hazel’s brown hair, cascading into a messy mullet, framed her face which seemed to be burning up each second that passed.

“...you too,” You muttered, a shy smile replacing your dumbstruck expression. “I hope you know that.”

Then it was her turn to gawk, at you and your hands timidly placed on your legs which dangled from the examination bed. She was reminded of her crush that had been sitting in her heart for years. She had just spent 5 minutes in a room alone with you— and for a second, she was almost glad that she punched you.

And all of a sudden, Hazel seemed to recognize the lack of space between the two of you. Had you been this close to her this entire time? Your face was just inches apart from hers, and time seemed to stretch as you two gazed at each other, hearts thumping in unison. It was as if the wall Hazel had managed to build around her feelings towards you crumbled within this moment. Hazel’s lips parted, just a fraction, as if inviting the inevitable to say—

“-The club isn’t being shut down!”

The office door swung open with a bang.

Hazel immediately leaped back from you, as you whipped your face towards PJ and Josie who stopped in their celebratory tracks, analyzing the odd tension from the room.

“Oh, sorry, we thought–” Josie gaped, rubbing the back of her head in awkwardness. “How are you doing, (Y/N)?”

“I’m doing okay, actually. I should go. But I’ll see you later, bye.” You hopped down from the bed and started walking out of the room, talking a bit too fast for anyone’s comfort. You almost fell over while you ran down the hallway, unable to accept what had just unfolded. What was that? You almost— you almost kissed a girl. You almost kissed Hazel Callahan.

In the meantime, Hazel was also mortified at the fact PJ and Josie had interfered right then and there. She hid her face with her hands which her friends mistook for anger.

Josie tried to calm her down, “Okay, I know that today was kind of a disaster and you made (Y/N) bleed, but after you left we managed to grow the spirit. Everyone’s into beating each other up now. It’s kind of working.”

“And, I honestly don’t know what just went on right now but… (Y/N) just said she’ll ‘see you later’. Which means it kind of worked for you too,” PJ added. “And it doesn’t seem like you broke her nose, which meant that you can actually control your power!”

“Are you still up for this, Hazel?”

Hazel peeked out from hands, her face still red, her heart still sprinting, her mind still thinking about your lips— and how you said you would see her later. A smile tugged at her lips as she nodded and said,

“Let’s fucking do this.”

Previous Chapter: The Origin

Next Chapter: The Set-Up for Chapter 4

#bottoms movie #hazel callahan #hazel callahan fluff #hazel callahan x reader #josie bottoms #pj bottoms #hazel callahan spiderwoman #hazel callahan x you #bottoms (2023)

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pjackk · 1 year

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In Tekken 8 there will be a new character named Windwhistle. He practices an MMA style fusion of BJJ and Mystical Tai Chi. He is 38 years old. He has a sexy skinny twunky body. He has defined very thin and abdomen. He has sexy muscular collar bone. He has a tight waist. His calves are defined but not huge. His nipples are a subtle dark apricot hue. His nipples are small and turn erect on final round. He was born in Cuba but he grew up in southern China. In his adulthood, he travelled to Northern Alberta to work in the tar sands. His areolas is large relative to other male characters. His skin is a lightly bronzed color. On his left forearm there is a tattoo of a sheep. On his right forearm there is a tattoo of a wolf. His cheekbones are very defined. His jaw is very defined. He has deep eye sockets in a sexy way. His eyes are beautiful. His eyes are shining. His left eye is a bloody burgundy hue. His right eye is a deep sea indigo hue. His hair goes down to his neck. His hair is dark and curly. His hair has a lime green streak that goes down the front. He is clean shaven. He loves techno music. He loves EDM music. He loves DNB music. He loves experimental drugs. He goes into full power fury mode after taking experimental drugs. His breasts are large and tender. His breasts are large enough to be firmly grabbed by other human adult males. His cock is 3" long flaccid. His cock is 7" long erect. His cock has a 3" girth flaccid. His cock has a 4" girth erect. His balls are average sized. His balls sag slightly in an alluring way. His ass is large and firm. His ass is spanked and red. He loves for his big ass to be spanked red. He wears black bootleg timberlands. He wears tall black socks that go up to his knees. He wears black cargo shorts that are tight and accentuate his big ass. The bottom of his ass cheeks show from under his shorts tight. He wears a black henley style shirt with buttons that go down to under his breasts. He keeps his shirt unbuttoned to show his breasts. His chest is hairy. His breasts are hairy. His abdomen is not very hairy. He has a trail of hair going up from his pubes to his belly button. He has his zipper and belt and button on his shorts undone to show his dark curly pubes. His thighs are hairy. His calves are hairy. You can see his armpits if you look down his sleeves. His armpits are hairy. His armpits are sweaty on the final round. He has a full throw game. He can wave dash. He has a comboing hellsweep with a maximum for 45 damage. Is df2 punch is safe and launches. He can use a 16 frame unblockable deagle shot high in heat mode. He eats a slice of galic chicken pizza and flips you off when he wins. He has a 1+2 break comboing throw that sets up an unblockable shuriken throw after bounding. He throws three shurikens in heat mode so that you cannot avoid them by sidestepping. He is knocked unconscious and drools on his breasts when he loses. He is loading his deagle and says "Let's burn it all down" in his intro animation. He wears a golden ring with a shattered bloodstone on his left pinky finger. His right ear is pierced. He wears a diamond stud on his right ear. He has an unusually long tongue. He loves RC cars. He has a taunt move where he erotically sucks on a dumdum. He has an armored headbutt move. If his armored headbutt move counter hits, he grabs the opponent and takes them all the way to the wall. He loves cartoons. He loves French style sandwiches. He loves candle wax being melted onto his tummy. He is implied to be Jin Kazama's father. He is implied to be Josie Rizal's ex husband. He is implied to be Jun Kazama's ex husband. He is implied to be Kazuya Mishima's ex husband. He is implied to be Craig Marduk's ex husband. He is implied to be Lili Rochefort's ex husband. He is implied to be Paul Phoenix's ex husband. He is implied to be Prototype Jack's ex husband. He is implied to be Sergei Dragunov's ex husband. He is implied to be Master Raven's ex hu

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roosterforme · 1 year

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Stay on Your Knees | Rooster x Reader

Summary: When Bradley messes up again, he’s more than willing to beg.

Warnings: Angst and Smut

Length: 2300 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written for an anonymous request!

Check out my masterlist for more.

You loved your boyfriend, but you hated it when he was like this. You were a wallflower, and Bradley Bradshaw was the center of attention. The ringleader. The main event. Once again he had invited you to the Hard Deck to hang out with his friends, and an hour in, he'd all but forgotten you were even there. You sipped your cocktail and watched him circulate around the room with the other aviators, never even turning your way to check on you. You watched as a girl you had never seen before placed her hand on his shoulder as she laughed at something he said. He leaned a little closer, and she looked absolutely delighted. You knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of his flirtation. It was exhilarating. But shouldn't he have been saving that for you?

A deep sigh escaped you as you finished your drink and set the glass down on the bar. You had given him so many opportunities, had so many conversations about this, but he didn't seem to care. When he was alone with you, he was sweet and attentive. But when you got him in a group, he was the opposite. He was naturally flirtatious and couldn't seem to reel it in for you. And now that he was enjoying the limelight, playing Great Balls of Fire on the piano, he wouldn't have known if you'd vanished an hour ago. You'd chatted more tonight with Phoenix and Bob than you had your own boyfriend. It wasn't that you didn't like Bradley's friends, because you really did. But it would have been nice to have a little attention from him, even if he just checked in once in a while. That's all you had asked him to do. Then suddenly you saw him hugging another girl, and when he released her, you recognized her immediately. It was his ex-girlfriend, Josie. You tried your best to chat with Bob about some new movie he had just seen, but you were getting more and more upset. Bradley had spent almost ten minutes talking to his ex. Just as you hopped up from your barstool and started to make your way over to him, he turned in your direction. He was making his way over to you. Finally. "You having fun?" he asked, brushing a kiss along your temple. "Yeah, I just missed you," you said, taking him by the hand. "I'm going to grab another drink and head over to play some pool. Come join me if you want, okay Josie?" He grabbed his fresh beer and turned away from you, heading off to play pool. He had just called you Josie. And he hadn't even noticed. You gaped at him from across the room as he took a pool cue from Josie and paired up with her to play. She leaned down to take a shot, and he smiled at her when she glanced up at him. "I'm leaving," you muttered to Bob, and you reminded Penny to put all of your drinks on Bradley's tab. Then you grabbed your jacket and walked out onto the beach. It was only about a mile back to Bradley's apartment where your car was parked. You decided to walk along the beach, and soon you felt tears overflowing from your eyes. Your trembling lips gave way to sobs as you started running down the hard packed sand along the surf. He was never going to change. You needed to grab your things from his place and get out now. ------------------------------------------------- Bradley shot some pool for a while. It seemed like everyone he knew was here tonight. His friends had gotten him to play piano for them, while they sang along. And now Josie was flirting with him, but nothing was going to happen there. His beer was empty again, and he was going to grab another one. "Hey, Bob, you need another?" he asked his friend, but Bob shook his head. "I'm gonna get one more and then head out." "Your girl already left, man," Bob told him with a frown. Bradley looked around frantically, trying to spot you. "She did? She never told me she was leaving. How long ago?" Bob shrugged. "Almost an hour?" Bradley felt his heart plummet. "An hour ago? Fuck!" He went to the bar and quickly paid his tab before rooting around in his pocket for the keys to his truck. When he got to the parking lot, he called your phone. No answer. He shot you a text asking where you were before calling you again. He couldn't reach you, and now he was panicking. Fuck. He'd done it again. He always got carried away and forgot to check in with you when you were out with him like this. He was so focused on you when it was just you two together, but after a few drinks he always got distracted by everyone else. He knew you just wanted a little bit of his attention, and he always seemed to fuck it up. "Wow, you're such an ass," he mumbled to himself as he climbed into the Bronco and started driving home. He knew your car was parked at his place, so he headed there. --------------------------------------------------- You were grabbing your things and shoving them into plastic shopping bags. You stuff was all over Bradley's apartment, and you wanted out before he got back. The run along the beach had made your head even clearer. No matter how many times you talked to him, he wasn't going to listen. When you stopped in the bathroom to collect your things, you rinsed your sandy feet off in the shower. Then you grabbed your shampoo and body wash and headed back into the bedroom. You really wanted to take Bradley's soft shirt that you liked sleeping in, but instead you balled it up and threw it viciously into the corner. "Fuck this," you announced to the bedroom, before turning back to the living room and grabbing your plastic bags full of stuff. Just as you were about to put your wet shoes back on, you heard a key in the door and froze. You thought you would have had more time. Bradley flung the door open and darted inside, his eyes immediately finding yours across the room. He looked at the bags in your hands and asked, "What are you doing?" You tossed your chin up in the air. "I'm leaving, asshole." Bradley closed the door and walked toward you. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry I was a dick to you tonight. Please stay. Please don't go." He sounded so sincere, and you could feel your lip trembling again, but you held it together as you tried to dodge around him to the door. "No, no, no," Bradley begged, backing up until he was fully blocking the only exit. "I'll be better, baby. I promise." "You promised me that last time. And tonight you called me Josie!" Bradley's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open, but no words came out. "Get out of the way," you told him, trying to get to the doorknob. "I didn't mean to call you Josie! I didn't even know I did that, baby! I'm sorry!" You stomped your foot when he wouldn't move for you. "Maybe if you paid me the tiniest bit of attention instead of hanging off your ex for the night, you wouldn't have called me by her name! Now get out of my way, Bradley!" You watched as he dropped to his knees in front of you. "Please. Baby, please stay. I'll do anything." His words sounded so sincere, and his brown eyes were clear and pleading with you. "I need you. I love you." Your heart squeezed in your chest. He was always like this when you were alone. This was when you always had his full attention. "How am I supposed to trust that you'll be better?" you asked. Bradley reached for your hips, pulling you closer to him, and you dropped the bags to the floor. You stepped into his grasp, and he looked up at you from his place on his knees. A gasp escaped your lips when he reached for the bottom of your shirt and inched it upwards, placing a soft kiss just below your belly button. "I'll be so much better, baby. I will." You bit your lip, and he started to push up from his kneeling position. "No. Stay on your knees." He froze before settling back onto both knees, looking up at you with burning desire as he sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, baby. You tell me what you want, and I'll do it." He squeezed your hips, and you felt powerful with his huge body in front of you like this. "I want you to say my name over and over and beg for me while I get undressed," you whispered, and Bradley's loud groan echoed throughout the living room. He watched your every movement and whispered your name along with a chorus of Please, baby as you pulled your shirt off. When he tried to help you by unbuttoning your denim skirt, you slapped his hands and moved them out of the way. Bradley bit his lip before whispering your name a dozen times as you slid your skirt down your legs and stepped out of it. Now he was practically panting as you towered over him in your matching bra and panties. "Next time we go out to the bar, what are you going to do?" you asked softly, reaching around to your bra clasp and undoing it. You let the straps slip down your arms, but you held the cups in place against your breasts, awaiting his answer. Bradley licked his lips. "I'll stay with you the whole time, baby. And if you don't want to go out, we'll stay in for the night. I just need you." He swore under his breath in that raspy voice as you let your bra fall to the floor. When he reached for you again, you slapped his hands again. He groaned and raked his fingers through his hair as he watched you start to shimmy your panties lower on your hips. You stopped when the fabric hit just above your slit and asked, "And what's my name?" Bradley chanted your name like an oath, his eyes roaming over your face and your breasts before falling lower as you let your underwear fall to the floor. He was licking his lips, and you could tell how badly he wanted to touch you. But you felt powerful now. You never usually did this kind of thing to him. Maybe he needed to see you in control for him to understand how serious you are about leaving him if he doesn't shape up. "Do you want to fuck me?" you asked him softly. He moaned and tipped his head back, his Adam's apple working against his neck. "Yeah, baby. Wanna fuck you so bad." "No. You're not fucking me tonight," you told him, glancing down to see his penis was so hard in his shorts. He swallowed and looked up at you, meeting your eyes and nodding, silently agreeing to his punishment. "You're going to give me everything I want, but you're not going to fuck me." He nodded again. "Okay, baby. Whatever you say." You took a small step closer to him until your pussy was right in front of his face. You had to commend him for keeping his focus mostly on your eyes, as you rubbed yourself against his mustache and his eyes fluttered closed. "Lick my pussy, and make me come," you told him. He was instantly licking up and down your slit as his hands wrapped around the backs of your thighs. You separated your legs a bit more for him, and he groaned against your core. Bradley grunted and pulled back to look up at you, and you could see your wetness on his lips and mustache. Then he circled your clit with his tongue a few times, causing your breath to catch in your throat before burying his mouth and nose in your pussy. "Bradley," you gasped, threading your fingers through his hair and holding him against you. "Baby," he whispered reverently before he licked your clit with his flattened tongue. He pulled your clit gently between his lips in a truly filthy kiss before guiding his mouth down lower and fucking his tongue inside you. He was doing a damn good job with his assignment. But you really wanted to make your point. "Bradley, if I'm not coming, hard, in the next two minutes, I'm leaving." He groaned and gently rubbed your clit with the tip of his nose. He knew you loved that. Then he licked you there before sealing his lips around your bud and sucking gently. You could feel yourself starting to buck against his face as his tongue connected with your clit. His soft swipes sent you over the edge as you ground yourself against his face. "Oh!" you gasped as he went a little harder, making you cry out a little louder. You grabbed his head for support, and he tightened his big hands around your thighs. He released your oversensitive pussy as you took a small step away from him, gasping for air and shaking your head. "Now, tell me again who I am, and what you're going to do," you managed to say as your breathing was starting to return to normal. Bradley looked up at you lovingly, not bothering to clean you off of his face. He whispered your name. "You're my sweet girl, baby. And I'm going to treat you so well. I promise." "Okay, I'll stay," you told him.

------------------------------------------

Whew! Did anyone else notice there is absolutely no kissing in this fic?

Hope you liked it, nonny friend!

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#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine #top gun fanfiction

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shallowrambles · 2 months

Text

A bad Dean, "Abbadon."

So after seeing how closely some of Henry's and Cas's words line up, in some cases almost word-for-word…

I've been thinking a lot about the spectre of Josie Sands...and the initial shadow self to Josie: the OG knight of Hell, Abaddon.

Abbadon seized on Josie's sacrificial sense of love to defeat enemies and secure her position in Hell, the way Crowley will seize on Dean's self-sacrifice for his fam and loved ones to secure his Hell position.

And idk, it's just so interesting as a lead-in to how I think of Dean's next arc, which is a reversal of power. Cas gets to get the idealized role of Dean, reading ppl and taking care: talking almost like a thematic narrator at times, a mouthpiece for "killing of innocents" and "not becoming a monster", a de facto “wife” with (clown college?) Colette (Colt?) treatment. Sam gets to do the ballad of the Campbell "my-way-of-the-highway," taking extremes to keep his family safe.

When Dean moves to the Cain parallel and enters his full-on reversal arc, Charlie gets killed, and it's "Sam's fault," the way that Kevin getting killed was "Dean's fault." It's notably reversed. (Albeit in a Sam fashion, with more, uh, "Sam-typical" strategies.)

////

Anyway, back to Dean and the mark. After knocking out Crowley's enemy, Dean will continue on a failed crusade to save Cas from his enemy, Metatron. The implication is that defeating Metatron will get the angels home, and maybe even release Cas from his work obligations. Obligations which Dean has been, once more, struggling with.

///

Anyway. Abaddon could indeed be a "shadow" Josie, a stand-in for her worst self: her darkest, deepest jealousy. Josie is actually a lot like Hannah. She's a figure that is "more like Henry." She's in Henry's social class, higher ranking, "more equal" and "closer to him" through work.

Josie is committed to the cause (like Cas's lieutenant Rachel was), and she entices the Henry away from Millie and John, the way Hannah takes Cas away from his human family.

I mean, there's also this whole line running through SPN that we need work and work gives us purpose, but it can spiral into meaninglessness when it takes us away from our loved ones. (Hunting functions the same way. Live to work; work to live etc etc.)

Anyway, BOTH Josie and Hannah try to renew his loyalties to career and underline to him how important his work is:

Back in season 9, Dean is weird at the sight of Hannah, and Sam shoots Dean a weird side-eye for it. Feeling like an outsider, and bristling at seeing the work that "takes Cas away from them," at being in Cas's "frat bro world" again, Dean immediately jumps to trying to show off his and Sam's skills.

///

SPNwin Millie and Ada.

Seems like women who worked with Henry were a fear of Millie's. After giving (misplaced, presumptive) "parenting advice" to Millie (hi, that's so Sam-coded for her to be a know-it-all here!), Ada puts her whole foot in her mouth, and Millie's back straightens up SO FAST.

But Ada clocks Millie's defensiveness, so underlines that she and Henry just worked together:

Ada is herself a parent, but she was so gloriously annoying in this scene at first. I'm with Millie on Ada's stock advice of John needing more time, more space--that he'd be fine:

"Wow you learn all that from one week on the road with my son?"

Ada recovers with some grace, giving Millie the address where John's staying for her peace of mind, and Millie thanks her for that.

Like the protective jasmine, Millie still loves Henry, so Ada coming out of the gate so ham-fisted was pretty ill-chosen, haha! Poor dear.

Millie's journey will be accepting that Henry made his mistakes (Ada says of Henry in this very convo: "He had his secrets. He made his mistakes." BUT Henry was always motivated by love and wanting to protect them, and Millie makes her peace with that.

The same way Dean makes his peace with Cas wanting to protect him in The Trap in taking on the Mark and in Despair with, "She's gonna kill you, and then she's gonna kill me." There's some tacit acceptance for HOW Cas operates in the last season.

Societal expectations of protection are in the mix. But also fear.

#and ironically dean distrusts cas's work #rightfully so #but he trusts in hunting almost too much!#not seeing the same dynamics at work but at a lower level #dean/cas #cas henry parallels #dean millie parallels #josie sands #abaddon

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spntoxicfemslashevent · 1 month

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After encountering problems in 1978, Anna decides to go back further. Now in 1950, she just needs to find Deanna Campbell and Millie Winchester. It's not that hard to steal a cherubim bow. Too bad Anna's aim isn't very good and she accidentally makes Millie and Deanna obsessed with not only each other, but her too. Maybe at some point their polycule runs into Josie Sands, creating the most relationship of yuri history.

what if there simply were no male winchesters. what if it was ALL horrible women instead. when deanna (hunter), millie, and josie (men of letters connections) decide to band together and capture themselves an angel. anna won't know what hit her 🥰. hey, at least now the apocalypse can't start, right?

#spntoxicfemslash #prompt #spn femslash #submitted prompt #anonymous #millie winchester #deanna campbell #anna milton #josie sands #anna milton/deanna campbell/josie sands/millie winchester #anna milton/deanna campbell/millie winchester

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iovesia · 2 years

Text

LIKE WHAT I FOUND IN YOU.

❥⠀masterlist. ⠀:⠀ ( the karate kid masterlist. )

synopsis: fluff alphabet and headcanons with johnny lawrence.

warnings: fluff. johnny has major jealousy issues. lots of yelling. mentions of self-esteem issues. slightly suggestive. possessiveness.

pairings: johnny lawrence 𝒙 fem!reader.

josie’s note .⁺ ˖ ⌒ no thoughts— just johnny. sorry for the inactivity lately, i've just been so busy with school lately, so enjoy these little headcanons i whipped up. ignore the typos or spelling mistakes, it's like three am as i'm writing this oopsies !

⠀

activities — what do they like to do with their s/o? how do they spend their free time with them?

Johnny would love spending his free-time with you at Golf-N-Stuff; playing mini-golf, or hanging out at the arcade (he 100% uses this as a chance to show off, and win you prizes).

Some nights he'll take you to the beach, just as the sun is setting and people are packing up, and lay on the sand with you and you two would enjoy the sunset together.

⠀

beauty — what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?

Everything. He's completely enamoured with you. He loves how flustered you get over compliments, hiding your face behind your hands, trying to stop the smile growing on your face. He also admires your intelligence, anything you say, he'll look at you like you hung the moon.

⠀

comfort — how would they help their s/o when they feel down / have a panic attack, etc?

Johnny's not the best with overwhelming feelings, especially ones of fear or sadness, but he'd try his best. He'd go with a more physically approach, wrapping his arms around you and giving you a shoulder to cry on.

⠀

dreams — how do they picture their future with their s/o?

He pictures you two together, maybe living together in an apartment in the Valley, or wherever else you'd want to go. He would continue his karate career, and support your passions are.

Family-wise, there's probably no kids in the near-by future..

⠀

equal — are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Johnny has a naturally dominant personality, and likes to take control most of the time. But that doesn't mean he'd never let you take over every once in a while.

⠀

fight — would they be easy to forgive their s/o? how are they fighting?

He's a total hot-head, so expect frequent arguments with Johnny. As much as he hates to fight with you, it's evidently going to be a repeating pattern.

When you fight, he tends to yell and push the blame onto you as a way to ignore the guilty feeling in his gut. The aftermath isn't any easier— Johnny's a stubborn guy.

He'd be passive aggressive while you'd give him the silent treatment. After a while, the guilt of yelling at you, and his insecurities would begin to eat away at him, and he'd finally cave and apologise to you open arms.

⠀

gentle — how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?

He's gentle with you physically, never wanting to be too rough with you (..unless you wanted him to). However, emotionally is where he tends to snap.

Johnny's temper gets the best of him sometimes, and if you were fighting, it wouldn't be uncommon for him to make you cry. Though that's when he would revert to his gentler-self and try to calm you down.

⠀

honesty — do they have secrets they hide from their s/o?

Johnny definitely has some underlying trust and abandonment issues, so he's not in a hurry to spill everything to his S/O (at first). He'd try to keep most of his past a secret, not wanting to scare you away with his problems. Eventually, once he knew he could really trust you, he would pour his heart out.

⠀

i love you — how fast do they say the L-word?

He loves you, he really does. But it would take him a while to actually say it out loud to you— most likely when he finally lowers his guard around you. Although, once he does say it, he'll say it almost constantly.

⠀

jealousy — do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?

Oh boy.. Johnny Lawrence is probably the most jealous person you'd ever meet. He couldn't stop the sneer appearing on his face when he'd see you laughing and hanging around other guys.

Majority of his jealousy issues, again, come from a lot of insecurities he's hiding deep down. What if you liked that guy more than him? Was he funnier? Was he nicer? Maybe you do deserve someone better than him.

His way of "dealing" with his jealousy would definitely be to come up behind you, and wrap his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his chest while glaring at whoever you were talking to.

⠀

kiss — are they a good kisser? what was the first kiss like?

Johnny's a total babe magnet, so he clearly has experience in the kissing department.

When you two first kissed, he took the lead. One of his hands caressing your cheek, as the other one led to your waist, pulling you closer to him.

⠀

love confession — how would they confess to their s/o?

Would definitely be a heat-in-the-moment thing, and before you two were officially dating.

You had agreed to go out with this guy in your history class, and Johnny had made it his mission to crash that date. He'd drag you outside of the nice diner your date took you to, his grip tight on your upper arm, eager to get you away from this date. You harshly pulled your arm back out of his grasp and began chewing him out.

Shockingly, Johnny stayed quiet, just staring into your eyes as you shouted, and berated him. Suddenly, you felt a pair of soft lips against yours.

⠀

marriage — do they want to get married? how do they propose? what would the marriage be like?

I don't think Johnny's looked that far enough into the future to picture marriage or a family, but all he knows is that you're it for him. You two are meant to be, married or not.

⠀

nicknames — what do they call their s/o?

He would stick with the basics: babe, baby, or just a shortened version of your name. Contrary to popular Watt-pad belief, I do not see this man calling you princess, or any of the cheesier nicknames (sorry y'all

⠀

pda — are they upfront about their relationship? do they brag with their s/o in front of others? or are they rather shy to kiss, etc. when others are watching?

100% shows you off to everyone he can. He makes it very clear that your his and he's yours. When you two are walking around school, he'll wrap his arm around your waist or keep a hand in your back pocket. When you two are hanging with friends, he'll have a cheeky grin on his face if you choose to sit on his lap.

PDA goes up especially if someone tries to pull anything with you. He'll plant soft kisses on your neck and play dumb when you call him out on it.

⠀

quizzes — how much would they remember about their partner?

He tries and mostly succeeds at remembering the small things you like, or an off-handed comment you made about something you wanted.

Johnny will 100% remember anything he can use as a chance to spoil you. You briefly mentioned a new book you've been saving up for? He already bought you the whole series.

⠀

romance — how romantic are they? what would they do to make their s/o happy? cliché or rather creative?

Such a cheesy romantic. I'm talking buying you sweets and flowers on Valentines day, keeping a polaroid of you with him, giving you his Cobra jacket when you're cold, and all the other movie-clichés. Total gentleman.

⠀

support — are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? do they believe in them?

Johnny's your number one fan. He'll always push you to do your best, and be there for you when you feel like giving up. When he can't find a direct way to help their S/O achieve a goal, he'll be there by your side as moral support.

⠀

try — how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts?

He goes all out for dates and anniversaries. He'll borrow money from Sid and splurge on something expensive for you, or pick you up in a fancy car. He wants to spoil you in any way he can, through physical touch or gifts.

⠀

ugly — what would be some bad habits / traits of theirs?

As we already know, his worst habit would be getting jealous about everything. He can't help it! He tries to tone it down, he really does, but something just gets his blood boiling when he sees someone else trying to get too close to you.

Tying in with his jealousy comes with his anger. Training at Cobra Kai, and under Kreese's influence definitely doesn't help. He will pick a physical fight with someone, and will argue with you about how it was completely justified for him to do what he did.

⠀

vanity — how concerned are they with their looks?

Johnny's not the most vain person around, but he does take pride in his appearance. He has a reputation to uphold! So you two will bicker about how long he takes in the bathroom to fix up his hair, or to get dressed for when you go out.

⠀

wild card — a random fluff headcanon.

Whenever you two are alone in his car, and aimlessly driving around, he'll definitely sing along to whatever songs on the radio. Partly because he does enjoy a bit of singing every once in a while, and partly because he loves seeing you smile and sing along with him.

⠀

xoxo — how affectionate are they with their s/o? do they like to kiss and cuddle?

Handsy as hell. Near to god impossible to get this boy off you. Johnny needs to have his hand on you practically at all times. He loves to cuddle with you at the end of a day, especially after a tough training at Cobra Kai. Fight me on this, but he loves being little spoon, resting his head on your chest while you comb your fingers through his golden locks.

⠀

yearning — how will they cope when they're missing their partner?

Less extroverted as usual, and more mopey. The longer you're away, the more down he gets. He'll mopes around by looking over the photo strips you two took at different photo booths, letters you wrote to him, and other small gifts that hold sentimental value.

⠀

zeal — are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? if so, what kind of?

Once you two become official, it's sort of a done deal. He'd do almost anything to make you happy, and show you how much he loves you— although his methods might be questionable at times.

If you two would ever break up, he'd use every opportunity to convince you to get back together with him, whether it be forcing you two to talk it out, or scaring away other people from even trying to ask you out. Johnny Lawrence had you in palm of his hand, and he's not going to let you go that easily.

⠀

#johnny lawrence x reader #johnny lawrence imagine #johnny lawrence #the karate kid imagine #cobra kai imagine #william zabka imagine #cobra kai x reader #the karate kid x reader

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myfandomprompts · 9 months

Text

𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 | 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐱 ��𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝟔)

Summary: You're approaching the Free Zone, but you have to do a stop first.

Previous part - Masterlist

Tags:Mention of dead parents, fluff, fire, injuries

French spoken -> italics

Tom doesn’t let go of your hand until you are safely standing outside of the ditch, and when his hands are finally free he feels cold, now aware of the sweat adorning his skin. He believes that he is as shaken as you are, looking at you as you dust your clothes off and go fetch the bags left behind on the road, trembling slightly. He takes a deep breath before doing the same.

“They’ve been terrorising people from the skies since they got through the line…” he hears Giulia say as they resume their march. “Used to shoot civilians that fled on the roads, to slow down the military… Guess they don’t do that anymore, but want to make sure to keep us afraid.”

Nobody replies, too preoccupied with trying to settle their racing heartbeats and looking ahead where people are pushing their carts and bikes, like they’ve grown accustomed to this sort of occurrence.

It’s frightening.

He can’t help but glance at you every once in a while as you cross village after village, like drawn to a light he needs to know is still there, right behind him. Your expression is blank, but the rare times your eyes meet they briefly light up, and Tom makes a point to check on you behind him when he can. Mainly he keeps to his thoughts, barely acknowledging Giulia next to him.

His fingers are still tingling from where you held him, palm against his own when you smiled so softly at him. At that moment in the ditch he had recalled the beach, soldiers running around on the sand and ducking while the Stukas were diving on them, the revival of the memory hitting him like a wave. His instincts had kicked in and he felt like running, the stinging pain on his shoulder return and blood running in his veins like fire, until he felt you.

You’d manage to take him out of that stupor, to pull him out of the memory so easily, untying the knot in his stomach like it had never been there, far from harm’s way. Even now he could still feel the sensation coursing through his body, the soft glow of your touch that soothed him, making every cell of his body relax but somehow tense at the same time.

It was a new sensation, something he had never experienced before and he wondered if this was how his dad felt when he had one of his episodes and his mother used to hold his hand. When Josie Bennett was still alive, he witnessed the anguish fade from his father’s eyes when she smiled at him; Tom was only a boy and fascinated by the interaction. Lois had taken this role after her death, but the look in Douglas’s eyes had never been the same.

Were you that for him? The Josie to his Douglas? Could only your touch be able to soothe him the way it did in that ditch?

Logic wanted him to say no, that the compassion in your eyes and the way he focused on you could be found in anyone else that would have tried. But somehow he didn’t believe it, because the intense connection he felt in that moment had been too intense to be trivial, his senses awakened at your touch, all his fear forgotten in a blink of an eye, all of this because you held his hand.

The heart often outweighed logic, or so he’s been told.

His heart aches when he thinks that you will have to part ways in a few days again, but he tries to shut out that pain, for he knew he would carry your absence inside of him for a very long while, like a hollowness he would never be able to fill again.

“I can see it, you know.”

You cast a confused glance at Henriette at your side, brows furrowed. “See what?”

“You two,” she tilts her head towards Tom walking in front of you.

You instantly lower your head, rather looking at the ground than at Tom’s back. “There is nothing to see…”

“I disagree. When I realised he was the one that you… I mean, the man you’ve been sweet on over there, I was surprised. But now I understand. It’s genuine.”

You scowl and fumble in your bag to take your bottle out, taking a long sip to avoid answering right away, the liquid coursing through your dry throat.

You wished that it was stronger than water. “It doesn’t matter. In a few days, he’ll be on the road and we’ll be at my aunts with my parents, both trying to survive away from home, unlikely to see each other again.”

The lump in your throat doesn’t disappear as you swallow the warm liquid and clasp the bottle cap thoroughly, bitterly.

Henriette gives you a sad look, glancing between you and Tom who choses this moment to glance back at you again and gives you a smirk. When he turns back, like he always does, you lose the smile much more quickly.

“Have you… told him?” your friend asks softly after a while, careful and unsure to speak.

Your heart drops in your chest, and you feel a familiar ache low in your stomach, that rapidly transforms into emptiness.

“No… It’s… It doesn’t matter anymore, and I have no idea-” you swallow again, this time your throat burns. “I have no idea how he would react. It would be cruel.”

Henriette nods gently, feeling your ill at ease and reporting her gaze on the road to leave you space.

However, you refuse to let your emotions take hold of you further, considering the scare of the day enough misery to bear.

“Here we are,” announces Giulia when the night starts to settle around them several hours later. Tom was covered in sweat and could not feel his feet anymore ; they were standing in front of some sort of old factory. “Our lodgings for the night.”

The place was crowded with camps installed around fires as people came in and out of the heavy red doors that marked the entrance of the two stories building. The factory was offset enough from the town to be allowed enough space for refugees, and light could be seen filtering through the windows.

“We shouldn’t be here,” he croaks out as families pass by them, bags on their shoulders, and exhaling satisfyingly at the smoky smell of meat. It’s too crowded to be safe, isn’t it?

“The important thing is that they serve food. I don’t like it either, but at least we will be less likely to be noticed among others.”

As they stroll among the makeshift camps, Tom observes the many faces there, from children to men his own age, laying down on frail blankets and eating directly out of cans, for those who don’t have a fire or a stove. There is an elation that wasn’t present on the road, and he feels like he entered another world completely. His stomach grumbles at the sight of a few sausages being grilled in some rare corners. He must admit that a meal would be nice, even if he had to stay silent to have it.

He isn’t sure if speaking English would bode well for him here, and he was too tired to think about it anyway.

You’re at his side, observing every settlement and every face, careful not to step on anything, but the paleness of your skin makes him worry about you. Your lips are tight, tense, eyes glancing around at a quick pace and one of your hands is clutching your elbow, grazing it like you’re not even aware of it. He reaches the small of your back without thinking, flattening his palm there softly as he helps you move forwards upon the grass. The glance you give him is brief, like a deer in headlights but you quickly find your composure again, looking ahead and he knows you feel grounded by this gesture, exactly like he had been from yours.

At least, it’s what he hopes.

You don’t really look at him, but you don’t complain either, and he lets go of you only when you both come to stand still in the waiting line inside the factory, the high ceiling making the voices of the refugees echo through the walls and he can barely hear his heart beating. As he looks upwards, he understands that most of the sleeping areas are on the first floor, beyond the stairs filled with people discussing as volunteers distribute food at the end of the line he is currently standing in. One of them is arguing over the quantity given with an upset-looking woman, and Tom wonders what it looked like, when the exodus was at its highest.

Giulia is standing a few metres from them, Henriette right behind him as you look right in front of you, still determined not to look back at him, but he sees the rosiness of your cheeks and the stillness of your posture. It’s not that hot in here, he thinks.

Many thoughts cross his mind but only one comes through, and it’s his will to lighten the intensity of the situation.

“Feel like I’m back at the ship,” he leans into you, and you jolt a bit. “Could mistake it for the low deck, with my old mates fighting over a piece of bread,” he continues, looking at the front of the line where the woman had angrily taken her ration. "Just missing the seagulls, really.”

You make a movement he thinks is a comprehensive nod as you still look right ahead, but it’s your smile that makes him grin, the pink of your cheek still there for him to admire. “Careful, it sounds like you miss it.”

“Not the seagulls, I don’t.”

You laugh this time and his chest swells with pride as you keep your gaze straight ahead. He scans your features, hoping to meet your eyes at one point but you don’t turn, so he is left with observing his surroundings.

His gaze is immediately drawn to a brown pair of eyes, watching him from the distance and Tom feels like he was being watched for quite some time already, the back of his neck tingling with discomfort. The brown eyes belong to a man, roughly his age if not older, brown hair as well and an entire minute passes before he realises that it's not him he is staring at, but at you.

Tom instinctively moves his body closer to you, hiding you from the lurker as irritation grows within him. He doesn't bother to conceal his uninviting expression to the man who doesn’t look unsettled in the slightest by it, but even moves along with him so he can still stare at you, making Tom growl in annoyance. The man's eyes narrows into slits as he steps closer and closer and Tom places a protective hand on the small of your back in order to pull you to him further.

You look at him with confusion almost immediately, but Tom is too busy staring darkly at the advancing man to notice.

“Y/N?”

You detach your gaze from Tom at the calling of your name and the next moment you're out of his grasp and into the stranger’s arms. “Oh mon dieu, Albert?!”

Tom is barely able to understand a word you exchange as he watches you giggle and hug the man with all of your might, and he feels helpless, like something is rooting him to the ground.

The happy commotion draws Giulia’s and Henriette's attention who come to stand next to him. When you turn to talk, the glow on your face unmistakable. “C’est mon frère, Albert! Albert voici Henriette, Giulia et Tom.”

The man smiles and eagerly shakes hands with Henriette and Giulia while Tom stays still, the uneasy feeling at the back of his neck unwilling to disappear.

When the man turns, he pauses when Tom doesn’t move. “Tom, this is my brother, Albert,” you speak softly, and your voice sounds like an echo in his mind.

Your brother. He is your brother.

Oh.

Tom cracks a smile and finally shakes the man’s hand, the uneasy feeling going away but quickly replaced by something he can’t really define at the moment.

Albert lets go of his hand rather quickly and turns towards the nurse. “The famous Henriette… Heard a lot about you! Y/N’s good friend, is it?”

Henriette smiles gently, glancing warmly at you. Then Albert turns to Giulia.

“You, on the other hand…”

His gaze is curious, warm, and Giulia seems shy under it all of a sudden if not for the small curve of her lips.

“She is… part of a group that helps people escape. Wanted people… Like Tom here,” you clarify, and Tom tilts his head towards you at the mention of his name.

“Right, and you are?” your brother asks, like he hadn’t forgotten how he’d tried to hide you from him seconds ago.

“He… doesn't speak French,” you interpose, fumbling with your hands. “He is… uh, he is from Manchester,” you continue when you’re sure no one is listening to you. “I lived with his family when I was there. He was in the navy.”

“Ah…” Albert nods in understanding, considering Tom slowly as he searches for words in English. “Good to… meet you.”

Tom raises a surprised brow at the rough accent and smiles, uncomfortable. “Same for me, mate, same for me,” he replies back, the sentence coming out strangely, like a loud whisper.

You then proceed to speak in French with animation due to your reunion with your brother and he is left to witness it.

Half an hour later, you sit in a circle around a small fire outside, a box of food cans firmly put on the ground between all of you. The stars have become clearer in the night sky, people are eating and talking among themselves as insects fly around in the humidity.

Being reunited with your brother feels like destiny, placed upon your path like an inevitable encounter, exactly like meeting Tom and leaving Paris. All seems to fall into place and you almost manage to forget about being on the longest walk of your life across fields, with two fleeing individuals at your sides and an end to the journey.

You are seated next to Tom who is silent and staring at the flames aimlessly, feeling him more excluded than usual and you can’t help but wanting to be close to him, be there for him. Opposite to you, your brother is recounting his own journey for your group.

“Was at the Meuse since… February? When we understood that the Germans had already raced to the Channel, closing in on us we stayed put for a while, not really knowing what to do,” Albert spoke in a rough voice, one of his travelling companions, still in his army boots nodding beside him. “We were cut off from the command base, you know. It all went so fast… There was nothing left to fight, so we decided to come back on foot, take our chances."

You whisper the translation rapidly to Tom who lifts his head, now looking at your brother with genuine interest.

“You walked from the Maginot Line? You didn’t encounter any of them?” asked Henriette, playing anxiously with the pendant at her neck.

“Oh, we did. We lost some of our comrades trying to escape them. Once, we stayed two entire days hidden in an attic, unable to move. Those bastards were enjoying the food and wine of the house we’d found to rest, and we knew that if we moved or made a single sound… we were dead. We found civilian clothes shortly after that, and tried to mingle. We made quite the detour…”

The man next to him sniffs in disgust, Emile you think his name was, staring darkly at the fire at the remembrance. You feel your heart beating in fear for them as Giulia translates to Tom, lost in thoughts of his own.

You’re just so glad you've found your brother again in one piece. “And him? What happened to him?” he asks next, nodding towards Tom.

As if on cue, the man next to you raises his head and you give him a sad smile before turning to your brother. It was a shame he did not take English class as seriously as you when you were children.

“He joined the navy, back in September," you explain, looking at Tom rather than your brother while trying to think of what to say in his stead. “He was on the cruiser that went after the Graff Spree.”

“Why join so soon? Military man?”

You hesitate, unwilling to say the real reason Tom joined up. It wasn't your place.

“Something like that,” you end up saying, looking at the bottom of your can and avoiding Tom's curious gaze at the exchange.

Albert seems content on the other hand, turning to Tom. “Your father, do war? First?”

Tom blinks at the few awfully spoken English words, realising that the conversation had seriously taken a turn around him. “Yeah. Came back shell-shocked.”

As translation is given to him, Albert is quick to nod comprehensively. “My and… Y/N, father,” Albert continues, fingers pointing between the two of you, “Shell shock too.”

Tom turns fully to you, brows furrowed over his blue eyes. “You’ve never told me this.”

You shake your head, stumbling over your words before his betrayed expression. “He was but… not as serious as Douglas, he quickly recovered. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

Tom keeps staring at you intensely while the others agree on sleeping arrangements, Albert and his companion giving the bunks they had managed to secure earlier inside to you and the girls while they’d sleep outside on blankets, in the cool air of the summer night.

Tom was confident he would find sleep rather quickly due to his exhaustion, but the restless state of his body forbids him to do so, slumber not coming as easily as he had thought. Around him, nothing seems like it's ever really quiet, people whispering, sounds of them moving here and there or sometimes a child crying in its mother’s arms. His eyes observe the night sky like he would find solace there, and his body gradually relaxes.

He believes that he had fallen asleep at some point, because at some unknown time of the night he feels snapped out of his drowsiness by a strong scent of smoke and a disturbing stir around him. He lifts his head in concern, his eyes blinking when a soft glow from the building reaches him amidst the dark, and he takes a few seconds to comprehend that the light comes from the first floor of the factory, flames licking one of the windows as smoke comes out of it.

A fire.

He gets to his feet with everyone else at once who watches the orange glow dance over their heads, expecting the roof to flare up as well but the flames look contained only within a single room, more smoke than fire. Next to him, Albert had come to a stand, watching the people that were inside slowly coming out of the building beckoned by well-intentioned souls, turning to see what had caused their awakening once outside.

Tom and Albert’s gaze meet. “Y/N? The others?”

Albert only shakes his head, and Tom doesn’t waste a second before sprinting towards the building, your brother hot on his heels while he scans every face he crosses paths with for yours. Walking against the flowing waves of people coming out slows his advancement, but once inside it worsens, people converging towards the exit in palpable growing panic. They are now aware that a fire is threatening them, but their ignorance of its location had them acting irrationally, pushing each other as they aim for the doors. Tom has to make his way forcefully in order to progress amidst the chaos.

But then he spots you, coming down the stairs with careful steps with Henriette and Giulia some metres behind you, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His lungs work properly anew and he is now fully able to smell the acrid scent of the smoke that is sticking to the ceiling, not quite filling the room. He goes to turn away with Albert right behind him, but right before he is able to a man pushes you roughly, evidently in a rush to exit and you are violently shoved on the side. He sees you fall, taking in with you a little girl that happened to be right next to you and you do what you can to shield her, both your forms disappearing briefly from view as you hit the railing. Tom hears a sharp cry among the distraught madness and he is surging into action, pushing his way towards the stairs.

Henriette and Giulia are still behind when Tom reaches you, evidently in pain and trying to prop yourself up on the steps as people keep passing beside you in mild concern. Albert gets to you first, Tom helping the little girl up gently before her mother quickly grabs her and takes her outside without a word.

“Y/N, ça va?” Albert immediately asks, wide-eyed as his body shields you from the flooding of people that keeps getting thinner as they exit.

You grunt in response, eyes briefly closing in pain before nodding weakly, Henriette now reaching your side.

“Alright, let’s get you up, we have to get out of here.”

On these words Albert takes hold of your arm to hoist you up but as soon as he pulls, you wail in pain, Tom feeling his stomach tightened in awful knots at the sound while you lumpily fall back down. Henriette crouches down to your side.

“Something is wrong with her arm,” she concludes, looking up at Albert.

He nods, resolute. “Alright.”

Without hesitation he snakes one arm under your knees and at your waist and lifts you up, carrying you out while you hiss under your breath. “I can walk…” you whisper as you’re taken outside.

Once in the fresh air Tom is quick to catch up, Giulia coming to stand right next to your brother who is depositing you gently on the ground while people are starting to pump water and form a chain to the first floor, buckets in hand.

“Bordel, Y/N, you’re bleeding,” Albert remarks with concern, drawing Tom’s attention on your head where red smudges your skin right above your temple.

Your only response is a weak sound of acknowledgment while Henriette examines your wounds and arm. “Shoulder luxation. You must have fallen pretty hard, but it’s pretty minor. I’ll fix it, d’accord?”

“What’s wrong with her?” asks Tom who grows more and more concerned at the way you wince in pain.

“She dislocated her shoulder, nothing serious apparently,” Giulia reassures him before starting to translate everything, as if she had been reminded that Tom was here and completely lost in the French of it all.

“Prête?” asks Henriette while grabbing your hand and pressing over your rib.

Ready?

You nod, closing your eyes and bowing your head in anticipation right before Henriette pulls and you let out a long wail that fades in your throat.

“You’re alright?” Albert asks while Tom is scanning your expression, unable to speak, eager to hear your voice.

“Brilliant,” you wince, bringing a hand to your head only for it to be snapped away by Henriette to let her examine it more closely.

Tom feels his body relax when you meet his eyes and gives him a weak reassuring smile, pain diminishing over your features. But this instant of peace is short-lived as Tom spots the man who had pushed you over your shoulder, his body instantly tensing and blood running hot in his veins and he feels his hands clench into fists.

His expression shifts completely, his legs moving on its own, barely hearing Giulia call him while he takes rapid and angry steps towards the man, fury clouding his mind and unable to see anything other than his pathetic face. When he closes in on him, all the tension of his body unleashes.

“You fucker!” he yells, grabbing the man’s collar and swirling him around. “You could have seriously injured her!” he seethes, shaking him. “You wanted to save yourself, eh? Save your own arse? Well, guess what mate, you’re not fucking alone!”

He pushes him with force, wanting to provoke him, not caring about the way his eyes widen in incomprehension and his obliviousness only wants to make Tom break his nose.

But a hand comes to press on his chest, stopping him from getting back at him. “Wow, wow, calm down!” Albert hollers, positioning himself between the both of them. “What the hell are you doing?”

Tom doesn’t need to speak French to understand the appalled expression on your brother's face while he struggles to escape his grip, calling out in rage, “Push- Poussé Y/N, that wanker-!”

Albert doesn’t let him go, still firmly holding him back but his body stiffens, slowly turning to look at the man as his expression turns dark, threatening.

“What the fuck is wrong with your friend, man?” the man exclaims, pointing at Tom accusingly. “He is crazy! And what is a rosbif doing here anyway? Run back to your country, like you all did in Dunkirk, coward!”

“Ferme ta gueule,” Albert says suddenly, boiling and his hold on Tom loosen. “My sister is bleeding because of your bullshit, so you better shut it before I get angry. Then it’s not a skinny Brit like him you’ll have to worry about, understand?”

Tom sees the man’s face turn pale and he feels almost satisfied, his expression decomposing as his punchable face finds nothing to retort. With a last dark look, Albert turns around and drags Tom away angrily before he can say or do anything else, bringing them back to where you are still seated, clutching your arm.

Tom's irritation lingers when he sees some red scratches on your hands. He deserved more than just a dark look.

"What was that?" enquiries Giulia, unhappy about the commotion that had almost gone unnoticed in the chaos.

“Nothin’,” Tom shakes his head, his look drawn at the linen Henriette is applying on your forehead. “You ok?”

You nod again, clutching your arm tighter as you cast suspicious glances from where Tom and your brother came from.

Henriette laughs softly, focused on her tending. “She’s a little fuzzy from the blow, but she’ll be alright. At least it’s less blood than last time.”

“What last time?” Tom asks at once, seeing the smile die on Henriette’s features when you give her a frightened glance.

“It’s not the first time you get hurt like that? What happened?” joins Giulia while she translates to Albert.

“It wasn’t serious, I’m fine,” you blurt out exhaustingly, taking your face in your hands in weariness.

“Act like I didn’t say anything,” Henriette smiles at the others and lingering on Tom, uncomfortable.

“If my sister was unwell at some point, I’m entitled to know!”

“You don’t want to know,” you breathe out, pinching the bridge of your nose in exasperation and trying to escape the conversation.

“Oh but I do, what was it? Henriette, tell me-”

“Oh, I really shouldn’t-”

“C’était une fausse-couche!” you suddenly say, earning an instant silence around you, hands trembling slightly over your face, and the next words you utter are only whispered brokenly. “C’était une fausse couche, d’accord ?”

Tom stares helplessly as everybody falls into sorrowful quietness, unable to truly discern what had been said, but not liking the depressed faces that surround you one bit.

“Well?” he presses, looking at Giulia for the translation.

She looks baffled, and when she speaks her voice is strained, low, and you are unable to stop her words in time. “She uh… miscarriage,” she finally blurts out.

His heart drops in his chest, tasting blood on his tongue and then he meets your eyes, gleaming from the slight tears that are forming there. “... What? When…?”

You shake your head in denial while Henriette gives him a sad look. “It was really early on, it’s fine. Henriette was there, it’s over now.”

Something breaks in him while you look at him with guilt, like frightened by how he would react, and he doesn’t need anything else to know the truth. He can feel it in his guts.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You bite your lips, words apparently so difficult to come out of them. “I… I don’t know. I feel like it wasn’t real, never have been. What was the point, you know?”

Tom feels like he can feel your pain and he desperately wants you to share it with him instead of putting on a brave face. His throat feels dry as he stares at your eyes like it’s the only thing he can hold on to, reaching for your hands softly so you can feel him, right there with you. “I’m sorry.”

A small smile cracks over your features and you escape his gaze to look at your hands, feeling your anguish disappear through them as he grazes your skin.

“I knew it…” Giulia whispers under her breath, making Albert frown at her words and start looking at your entwined hands with narrowed eyes. His jaw drops as realisation comes to him but he closes it almost immediately, now busy darting back and forth between you and Tom, the latter feeling the intensity of his gaze burn the side of his face.

But he doesn’t care, the way you stroke his palm with your thumb is more important than your brother’s look or the hollow in his chest and when you smile at him, your eyes are still hooded, like you are seeing him in a daze. There is still blood in your hair and he wants to reach out and wipe it out in affection.

“We should move,” Giulia announces, looking at the fire above them being gradually extinguished as black smoke escapes into the dark sky. “Even though it was a little fire, it will certainly draw the Germans, and I don’t think we want to be there when that happens.”

“Can you give her two bloody minutes? She just hit her head!” snaps Tom, looking at his guide with irritation while still clutching your hand under Albert’s tensed gaze.

“I’m fine,” you say next to his ear, and the next moment he is helping you up, gathering your belongings with Henriette’s help.

“Excellent. Let’s go.”

A/N: Thank you @enchantingcupcakecollectionfan & @babyblue711 for beta reading. I am not a doctor/have not an extended knowledge in medicine, thus my descriptions of wounds and their recovery are highly prone to be inaccurate. If ever you are bothered by it, feel free to reach out, I'll be happy to learn more!

"Ferme ta gueule" -> Shut the fuck up

@chainsawsangel@mischiefmanaged71@depressedperson88@enchantingcupcakecollectionfan@yentroucnagol@tssf-imagines@omgkatherine01@nightdiamond8663@r0segard3n@lauraneedstochill@lauftivy@unleashthelion

Part 7

#tom bennett #tom bennet x reader #wof #world on fire #tom bennet imagine #smut #tom bennett fanfiction #ewan mitchell #angst #fluff #world on fire 1x01 #gone with regret #usermyfandomprompts

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shallowseeker · 3 months

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Ah, yes. Miss Moneypenny. 007's hot secretary.

It will never not be funny to watch Dean immediately antagonize the angel wearing a hot woman out of the gate instead of flirting with her.

He was excited to see Cas. Proud of his idea. Giddy, maybe. SO happy they'd gotten a beat on The Mother of Everything, something to finally sync up their respective plots and efforts.

Sam has the look of a brother who's like, "He's acting weird."

///

And he's so hopeful, omg look at his embarrassing face:

///

And whomp-whomp. Rachel shows up, and they immediately get...tense. It's already been pointed that Rachel is probably blaming the Winchesters for all of Cas's absences, some of which were on Purgatory business.

But God, their tension is lovely.

She's condescending, telling him to learn his (low-class) place, and then-- then Dean calls her Miss Moneypenny. She's literally the trope of the hot secretary-I-am-immediately-suspicious-of. Like Josie Sands was to Henry W, sorta.

They didn't have to cast her as hot secretary. They didn't have to invoke Miss Moneypenny. Dean could've defaulted to his tried-and-true way to win power in a convo: innuendo.

But he can't cause he's whiplash-shocked and at the heart of it, he's [OMITTED].

Dean looks a little vulnerable and covers with some, "Whoa."

///

So then. THEN Dean races off to go...shopping.

Dean (overhearing): Well, then. We'd better get you a watch. He's not even worried. Very excited to be playing dressup. Very sure Cas will get him home safely.

BOBBY What the Hell's all this?

HE WENT SHOPPING, BOBBY! OBVIOUSLY

#dean #tfw idiosyncrasies

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fantasies-fairytales-n-fics · 3 months

Text

Thranduil and Josie Pt. 170- Gypsy Origins Part 3 of 3

Summary: By the power of 3 times 3, let the truths of Jo's past finally be set free as Josselyn remains hypnotized by Haldir's power of truth. Her buried emotions evolve in a more descriptive manner which may not settle well with her when she is awakened.

*Chapter Warnings* language, angst, infidelity, mentions of child loss, child abandonment, child abduction

Chapter characters: Haldir, Josselyn, Julian, Caroline, Zeddicus, Jareth, Cassandra, Rumil, Orophin Chapter word count: 6,919

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Still under Haldir's powerful and unbreakable magic spell, Josselyn was permitted to relax while the Marchwarden tried to wrap his head around what she has revealed so far. What disturbed him the most, besides the revelation of your maternal grandfather, Viktor, the late vampire ruler and most diabolical of all fanged fiends, was yet another monstrous lie involving the witch turned vampire Caroline, your mother...or so everyone believed she was, because Haldir knew exactly where Josselyn's memories were headed. That Cassandra was your true birth mother. Faramir's also.

You would be hurt once again with that knowledge and as much as it crushed the Lorien elf's heart, you deserved every bit of the truth as to who you really were and he was going to give that to you. It had to be done and now... it was time to continue, for he now wanted to know more than ever just how your best friend Sarah became involved and if she could still be alive.

"It is time Josselyn. Continue....and please be discreet with any intimate details."

"I am so happy. I never thought I would see my grandfather again. Zeddicus is the only blood family I have left. This was my surprise Julian mentioned. He did this for me. Julian found him and brought him here. There was a time not long ago that he had left for a week. Now I know why. I love Julian even more now, but he must never know. Caroline will turn on me.

The sun is rising. We are all finishing the stew my grandfather had prepared for us for when we arrived. I am sitting by Julian. Caroline refuses to. She is barely touching her food. She has become withdrawn and when she does speak, it's retorting. Grandfather is across from me, holding a chicken while feeding and speaking to it. I've always believed he could understand animals and they him.

Grandfather wants to speak to me alone. We go for a walk. He tells me he has something for me. He has kept it safe for many years to give to me when I was old enough. He holds his hands out. They are empty. He places his fingers into his palm and magically pulls out a pendant. Dangling before me is a sparkling amethyst stone. There is something swirling inside of it. A mist? I am smiling in awe of it's beauty.

Grandfather...are you really a wizard? Like, a gypsy wizard maybe?

He is laughing and winks, then he whispers his traditional words when he does magic for me.

Hocus Pocus. It will be very useful to you as it has been for me. It must be placed over the heart to use it and it will take you wherever you wish to go in the blink of an eye. It is how I arrived here from the mundane world since I cannot fly like Julian. Be warned though, that you must always keep it safe, for it's one of 6 very powerful runestones and they all are greatly desired by evil hands. Like two of it's companions, the moonstone and the citrine, it can see the present, but this one is extra special because it can also see visions of the past and future. The stone's center possesses a very powerful water from the Lorien realm where it was created. And of course there is a little hint of...hocus pocus...in there as well."

Haldir's brow raised for a moment as he now recalled seeing Zeddicus in Lothlorien centuries ago with Celeborn and the Lady of the woods. He indeed was a wizard just as Josselyn had described him as, but not as powerful as Gandalf. He carried no staff, only a sword. Haldir remembered him as a puppeteer and magician. He communed with animals, had great knowledge and skill with herbs and potions and had the ability to change his image. He also possessed the power of fire and was a healer, even to the extent of limb rejuvenation.

"He then tells me what it does in more detail.

The past and present can be seen at any time, but the future can only be seen at 4 points of the year. The autumn and vernal equinox and the winter and summer solstice. It needs the rays of the full moon or the visions cannot be trusted. Be warned again that just because it holds such visionary power does not mean it should be entertained. There are many things we may end up wishing we did not know. Things like secrets of the past and present or traumatic events of the future.

The next morning comes. Grandfather and Julian are out on a walk. Caroline corners me. She overheard what the pendant can do. She wants me to use it for her to find Cassandra. I...I am clutching it tight. I'm scared of what she will do if she knows. I tell her I'm not sure how to even use it. She snaps at me. She tells me I better figure it out because I had promised to help her with her plan. I close my eyes and go with my instincts. I focus on Cassandra. I ask the stone to show me where she is and then I look into it. The misty swirl inside...it...it is clearing and I...I see her! I...I hear her!! So does Caroline. Cassandra is rubbing her stomach and singing to it. Hush little baby girl, don't say a word. Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. She is pregnant!!! and she somehow knows it's a another girl.

Caroline is smiling very wickedly and speaks into the stone.

Gotcha. And now I will come to claim what should have been mine!

I am upset. I ask her if she is going to kill Julian's child. Now she is upset. She yells at me.

What is wrong with you??!!

Stupid girl! I am not going to kill MY child because that is exactly what this child will be! A 7th daughter with powers that will also be mine. Now listen and listen good to my plan. I am going to leave for awhile to tuck Cassie away where she will never be found, with a little help from a certain goblin King. And when she is near her due time, I will come for her and take her far far away to give birth. I can't risk Ravenna snatching the baby for herself if she were to find out. All I have to do is summon him. As evil as he has become, this will be one hell of a thrill for him and all I will have to do is give his cock a little something in return.

Julian's evil brother Jareth? You're...you're going to...sleep..with him?

Well there's the lightbulb. You catch on quick. Jules fucked my sister. I will fuck his brother. When I return, I will tell Julian I am finally with child and make him believe I have forgiven him due to our little miracle. With a little dark magic, I can easily make myself appear pregnant. It seems more feasible than turning to gluttony just to become fat.

But...w...won't he think the child is Jareth's?

"Noooooooowah??? I am not going to tell him I slept with Jareth until much later on...years maybe...after he's already bonded with and come to deeply love the girl and then rip his heart out by telling him she is Jareth's. You see, Julian is going to continuously suffer for what he did, because when I'm betrayed, I hold grudges. I hold them forever. Even naughty Narcisse is now on my shit list. It has come to my attention that the wretched warlock secretly visited our solstice party on his travels to return the cheating Catherine to her clueless King in Lake Town. He knew what Julian and my sister did and certainly was never going to tell me and he will pay for it too, so you better not even THINK of crossing me. You will keep your mouth shut about all of this. Do you understand me little girl?? I can always summon Harker to take you back. Now that you're older, he'll probably use you the way he does your mother. You don't want him to be your first time do you?

No! No please, no. I...I won't say anything. I promise Caroline!! Please don't send me back. I'll do anything!!

Good girl. Now, stop you're blubbering. It's unbecoming. I am going to go tell Julian some bullshit that I am going to go visit my mother and think about things. I should have Cassie all shackled in her little dirty dungeon of iron bars in no time and I will see you when I get back. And do not even think of spying on me with that pendant. Ta ta!

Julian has bought her story. He looks sad. She was cruel to him as he begged her not to go. I feel terrible and so guilty. How can she hurt him like this? How can I???

It is the next evening. Caroline is gone. Grandfather is at one of the traveler's camp sites for a party that Julian declined to attend. I stayed home too. I didn't want to leave him alone. Julian is quiet. He is having a glass of wine at the kitchen table. I think he is trying to drown his sorrows. I want to make him feel better. I...I am making myself extra pretty to see if he notices. I ask if I can join him for some wine. He looks up at me. His eyes dilate and he smiles. I think he notices. My stomach drops as if I am falling.

Please, Josselyn. Allow me to pour you a glass. You...you look very lovely this evening. Have you decided to join the festivities?

No...I...I am quite happy right here..with you...I..I mean...I...

I am too frazzled to speak. I feel so embarrassed. He notices that too. He is trying to make me feel comfortable. His lays his hand upon mine.

I understand what you mean. I...I enjoy your company as well.

I know I am turning red. I can feel the heat on my cheeks which he also notices.

Your cheeks are quite flushed love. Is the fire too warm...or could it be that I make you nervous?

He pulls his hand away. The way he is smiling...I...I think he knows how I adore him. He once said he knows many things if they are not hidden from him. I am most terrible at hiding my feelings.

No..no of course not. I..I think I overdid it on the rouge. That's all.

I see. You do not need all of that nonsense on your face. Your beauty is strikingly natural.

You...you are too gracious Julian. I...I am so sorry for what you are going through. You...you do not deserve it. You are the best man I have ever known aside from my father and grandfather.

He is staring at me. I think I said too much. I drink down my wine and pour another. He is chuckling.

I do not think you have known many men to really know that, have you?

I...I do not need to. I don't want to know any other but you.

He is staring again. I should not have said that. It is so hard to stop myself. I...I want him to know but yet I know he shouldn't.

Is that so? You are something special Josselyn. So very beautiful and kind, on the inside as well as out. If only I had met you first. May I...confide something in you?

Of course. Your secrets are safe with me.

My mother forbids love. It is all about darkness and power to her after she was scorned by my father. I am a 7th son. I am supposed to be with a 7th daughter and reproduce another 7th. It is an endless cycle. I have defied the darkness and my mother. I want love because I feel love inside of me. Although my union with Caroline was arranged, I believed I could love her and I learned to eventually, but it still never felt quite right or real. It was more physical attraction than anything. I began to focus on having a child to love. He or she would not be some number to me like I was, but Caroline has not been able to conceive. I was beginning to think that it was myself that was the problem until Caroline confessed something to me yesterday before she left. She had become pregnant 6 times and had miscarried them all. She knew they were girls. She believed I would find her useless to me so she chose to lie to me instead. The only thing I find useless now is continuing on with this farce of a union. I have had much to think about on our journey here and since she left. Caroline was right. I should have known that it was Cassandra I was intimate with. Although their appearance is identical, with real love, one should know the difference for many other reasons....but I did not. I realize more than ever that the only connection she and I truly have, to quite simply put it is....being of witch heritage. It is all quite a surreal awakening.

I...I want to cry and throw up at the same time. I did not know Caroline was going to use Cassandra's story as her own, but I see why she did. So Julian would believe her upcoming fake pregnancy was his 7th child and now, Julian needlessly suffers even more believing he has lost 6 other children. He trusts me and yet I am lying to him too. Would he ever understand why? I am not even worried for myself anymore. I fear Caroline will do something terrible to Julian if I tell him the truth. My love for him is very real. My tears, I cannot hold them back any longer. Julian comes to sit by me. He tilts his head and touches my cheek.

Darling girl, why do you cry?

I...I cry for you. Your pain, it hurts me so. I want to take it all away. You deserve happiness and...true love.

He is staring again. His head tilts the other way. He wipes my tears with his thumb. He cradles my head in his hands and....he...he is leaning forward. His lips...they take mine. Soft and fully. Mine fit and move perfectly with his. Our tongues slowly caress. He tastes of his scent. Apples. The really sweet ones. Am I dreaming??

He pulls back and stares into my eyes once more. I can see my reflection in his. His eyes are torn between desire and worry.

Josselyn, please forgive me...You bring weakness upon me. I would give anything to make love to you right now, but not even a kiss can ever happen again. Caroline's intuition is very strong. She would know and if she ever hurt you, I would never forgive myself. I never knew you would come to mean so much to my heart. I will forever taste your caramel kiss. You must go to your room now. Zeddicus is coming. I sense him.

But Julian...I...I...you need to know...I lo...

He rushes his fingers to my lips. There's a tear in his eye.

No! Do not speak it precious one. Not now. Just know that I know. I have always known. Sweet dreams Josselyn.

I hear my grandfather's whistling. I do as Julian says and go to my room. I silently cry myself to sleep. Damn you Caroline. I want to give the pendant to Julian and let him see what she is doing, but I cannot risk it. I wish I had been left with Harker, for this pain is far worse."

Haldir let Josselyn rest again. This part of her tale seemed to weigh the heaviest upon her. He needed a rest too, for he knew how evil and vindictive Caroline was even before she became a vampire, but what she had done to her own sister and her husband was just appalling to him and his heart even went out to Josselyn. He felt her pain. He knew it all too well for his love of you and seeing you hurting so much.

It was time to move on. He aided Josselyn in giving her some water from his canteen and then asked her to continue.

"The day I dreaded has come. Caroline has returned after 7 days. I am cooking, but listening as she tells Julian the news. He sits down. He looks as if a hole has been punched through his chest. I catch a glance of his eyes. They are sorrowful. He is forcing a smile at her. He is worried she will miscarry again and he tells her so. She is angry that he cannot just be happy they have another chance. My heart is breaking for him.

Month after month goes by. Everyday is the same. Caroline is still a bitch. The only difference is the growing of her fake stomach and my relationship with Julian. He rarely speaks to me now but I know it is not to hurt me. It is to keep her happy and unaware of his feelings.

It is November. Caroline says Cassandra will give birth in December. A 7th daughter only carries for 7 months and the child is always born on the 7th day. Caroline and Julian have been fighting all the time. I just want to hold him, but I keep my distance and go on walks a lot. I love nature....and I watch my mother through the pendant when I am alone. I am going to stop. She is so far under Harker's spell, that it is not even her at all anymore. She looks different. Older. She wears a red dress. There are others dressed the same. The sisters of the dark. My mother is as wicked as Harker is. My grandfather's heart is broken. He misses his daughter. I miss her too. He and Julian are leaving to attempt to bargain with Harker to get her back. I don't like it. Caroline does because Julian will be out of her way for her to "have" the baby. She is the one who coaxed him into going.

Before Julian leaves, he takes me aside. He looks in my eyes. The dear sweet man says he is doing it for me. He wants me to be happy. I tell him I do not deserve to be happy. He says I deserve the world and kisses my forehead. I tell him to stop and talk to me every night at midnight. I will be watching and listening through the pendant. He smiles, whispers the words "faithfully my dearest girl" and leaves. I go in my room and cry my eyes out into my pillow. I never should have told them what I saw. I always ruin everything. If Julian learns what I have done, he will look at me the way he looks at Caroline now. I...I'm curious of the future...my future, now more than ever but it's too late to see it. I heeded my grandfather's warning about it and skipped the open door of the autumn equinox in September. The winter solstice is approaching. I still will not look when it comes. I wish my grandfather never would have given it to me. He said I will need it. I do not need it except for to see and hear my beloved Julian.

It is December and time to gather Cassandra. Caroline and I pack up a small trailer and head to a desolate area away from the other travelers so they will not see us leave through the portal. She has brought two of her henchmen to drive the carriage and for extra protection. They are traitorous warlocks that do her evil bidding. We all sit tight together upon the carriage. I do as grandfather explained and wear the pendant over my heart. I whisper the words "take us to the Goblin King's realm."

I've never seen anything like it. A doorway forms with an illuminated gateway, purple with a swirling mist like the amethyst.

The horses become agitated and do not want to go through it. Neither do I. I am frightened like they are. The drivers each snap the horses on their rears with the whips and they race forward. Just like that, we are there, simply like walking into another room. I am even more fearful now. We are in a dark and dead forest. It smells bad. Caroline says it is the bog of stench that lingers through the realm.

We approach the Misty mountains and upon the summit sits a colossal castle. There are hideous beasts all over the mountain as we ascend on the winding path. Goblins and orcs. They do not bother us. They know who Caroline is. Oh my god, WHO is that?? A man...with eccentric blonde hair. He reminds me of Dracula in his creepy high collared black cape. He is sitting in on an open window ledge of the fortress. He is spinning something in his hands. I think they are crystal balls? 3 of them. He is staring at me.

We all enter the castle as the doors open. There are ticking clocks everywhere as well. All with a 13th hour. It is like a maze of hallways and strange staircases. Some upside down. It is making me dizzy and nauseous. So is the overpowering smell of citrus. The man arrives out of nowhere and kisses Caroline's neck.

Hello Caroline. My my. Quite the beanpole for being 7 months with child. Illusions are thrilling are they not? Speaking of...hello there...Josselyn. I am Jareth. How are you enjoying my labyrinth?

He is leaning over me, staring me right in the eyes. His eyes...one brown, one blue. They are...oddly beautiful just as he is. But he scares me. He's exactly like Harker and nothing like Julian.

I...I...think it is...lovely?

He is loudly laughing. Yes, the gloom and doom IS quite lovely is it not? So are you child. You should be after ingesting the magic of my Queen.

I...I am so sorry! I swear, I did not mean to.

He is laughing again. Relax girl. I am not going to harm you. I find what you did, intentional or not, rather amusing. I can quite picture Ravenna's fearful face as time was running out. Oh how I would so have loved to have been a cockroach on the floor to personally witness it. Wretched woman unnerves me and now, unfortunately she is carrying my offspring which she is ever so undeserving of. I should never have pleasured her after what she has done but...I too have needs. At least....It's a boy! And I can mold him into my image. Speaking of needs. Caroline. Before you collect your....surrogate...I don't think your payment was quite enough for what I am doing for you, so I am raising the price. Join me in my chambers and when I am satisfied, my lips will remain sealed and you may be on your way. Josselyn dear. Have a seat. We won't be long.

Caroline is displeased but does as he asks. She does not sound displeased though as I hear her moaning echoes through the halls. Gross.

All the clocks begin to chime on the 13th hour. It's disorienting. I run outside for peace...and to quickly see Julian while I have the chance, for it is midnight. I believe the placement of the moon over Jareth's time trickery.

I pull the pendant up from my chest and wait. I am shaking with anticipation and lovesick with butterflies. I...I see him. He is sitting in a forest all alone. The moon is radiating over him. He looks like an angel.

I am here my dear Josselyn. I hope you are too. I wish I could hear you, see you...like you can me. Zeddicus and I have had no luck thus far in locating Harker on his travels, but I will not give up. Zed is resting now so I can speak to you. He knows of my feelings. He told me he does not have to be a wizard to know, for it is written all over my face when I speak of you. That is why I have kept my distance and I never spoke of you to Caroline. It is a gutting agony. I miss you immensely beautiful butterfly, for that is what you have become. I still see your bright blue eyes and taste your caramel lips. I can feel your delicate skin and hair of silk. I still hear the pounding of your heart when we touched and smell the sensual aroma of your arousal. You have bewitched me for eternity without even trying. I wish all could be different. I must go now. Until next time sweetheart, sweet dreams. You will be in mine.

He is standing up to leave. I'm sobbing.

No! No Julian, don't go. Wait!

I quickly blow a soft kiss to his image and whisper how much I love him. His hair.... it is taken by it! He looks in the direction of the breeze and closes his eyes. He moans softly and touches his lips.

Mmmm. A whisper and caramel kiss on the wings of a butterfly. Message received. Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice and it lights up the night. I see my gypsy.

He blows a kiss back and smiles so wickedly adorable. I feel the kiss in my very soul. Now I know what my grandfather meant when he said the pendant even holds a hint of hocus pocus in it.

I hear Caroline! but it...it's not her.....I run back inside to see the warlocks man handling a dirty and angry Cassandra. She is wearing some odd collar around her neck made of metal. It is tight and it has a small dark gemstone in the center. Cassandra's stomach is huge! Her eyes lock in mine.

You?!! From the forest... help me...help me please!!

Her arm lunges at me as they pull her out the door. I jump back against the wall. There's nothing I can do. I follow them outside. They put her in the trailer and bind her to the bed. I ask Caroline what is on her neck. I...I saw it on my mother once when I was watching her. She says it's called a Rada'han. A warlock's favorite toy per se. It simply appears to be a jewelry piece and something only wicked warlocks use. She says they have different stones in them that serve different purposes. This particular one has an iron meteorite stone in it's center. It is like an iron, salt and silverbane cocktail to a witch, rendering them powerless and it's far more debilitating. The stone is tight against the skin and low doses of the poison are slowly and consistently released and absorbed into the body. The collar can only be removed by a key in which Caroline holds. I worry the poison will hurt the baby. Caroline says the 7th born is protected in the womb. Maybe that is why her stomach is that big for only one child?

Her goodbyes are said to Jareth and we are leaving. I am glad. Jareth's realm makes me feel sick like I did in Ravenna's dark forest. Caroline is fine. I think it's because she has now become dark. We are out of the realm now and we are stopping. Caroline says we will use the portal again. I ask where we are going. She says far far south to a realm of humans, a place where no one knows her or Julian. Minas Tirith in the realm of Gondor. There is an eminent midwife there that she will seek aid from. She serves the wife of the city's notorious steward, Denethor.

We have arrived. The city is a prodigious pyramid of stone placed alongside the White mountains. I have counted 7 levels as we approach it. Just in time too. It is the 7th and Cassandra is in labor.

We are stopped at the gates. Caroline unties Cassandra and removes the collar. She warns her to remain silent if she wishes to live after the birth. I do not think she could speak much if she wanted to. She is in pain and can barely open her eyes.

Caroline puts her hair up in a bun and wears the hood on her cloak. She does not want to be witnessed as a twin. She tells them that we are gypsy travelers in urgent need of a midwife and that she was told by others along the way to come here. The guards hear Cassandra's cries and look in on her. They quickly guide us inside. We are given a room on the first level and told to wait.

Time passes. Cassandra is moaning and crying.

I am patting her forehead with a cool wet cloth. She grabs my hand and squeezes it. I squeeze back and whisper to her that I am so sorry. I feel so bad for her. Caroline is angry and orders me to stay away from her. She wants her to suffer.

A woman comes in. She wears servant attire but it is rather fancy. She introduces herself as the midwife. She goes right to Cassandra and preps. They begin. She tells her she sees the head and to push on the next contraction. Cassandra is cursing and screaming. This goes on for 6 more attempts. The baby is out! The midwife cleans out her mouth, smacks her bottom and she squeals! I am crying happy tears. I have never seen a child birth. The baby has red hair!! Cassandra is crying and reaches for her. The midwife cuts and clamps the cord, then places her in Cassandra's arms. She kisses her tiny forehead and tells her she loves her. They gaze at each other. It' so beautiful.

Caroline is a cold hearted bitch. She pries the child from Cassandra's weak arms. Cassandra cries that she wants her baby. She begs Caroline not to take her and then she passes out. The midwife says she needs rest. Caroline thanks her for her help and gives her a small bag of coins. She tells her we do not have time to stay, that we have a long journey ahead and must get the child home to her father as soon as she awakens. She says she is going to the trailer to clothe and feed the baby, then she will be back. She tells me to stay.

I am sitting by Cassandra while the midwife cleans up. She awakens. She grabs my hand again.

Don't let her take them both.

What? What do you mean both?

The boy. She does not want a boy. She will kill him like she did all of my other babies.

What boy? There is no boy. You had one child. A girl.

There is a boy. Twins...you must take him. Please!

I..I think the exhaustion and the poison are affecting your mind. There is no boy and even if there were, I cannot have a child. Harker, he owns me and will take it from me for Ravenna and I certainly can't just walk out of here with a baby because Caroline would see him.

Cassandra starts to moan and scream again. I jump up in fright. The midwife comes running back. Her eyes widen. She says she is having another baby! I'm in shock. Cassandra was right. I stand and watch as another head of red hair appears. 3 pushes and he is out, instantly screeching. The midwife tries to place him in Cassandra's arms but she refuses and becomes cruel. She tells the midwife she does not want the little bastard and to give him to someone else. I think her harsh words and demeanor is intentional. She is trying to protect her son. She tells the midwife to never speak of this or she will curse her. Cassandra must have gained enough strength to use some of her power after having the collar removed. With a strong glare, she forces the midwife's breath out of her, making her begin to choke. She quickly releases the terrified woman who now understands what Cassandra is.

Now do you see what I am capable of? Now go! Get that thing out of here!

The woman runs out with the baby boy and Cassandra passes out again. I clean her up as I wait for Caroline to return. I am shaking so bad.

Caroline soon returns with the baby girl and her two guards. Cassandra awakens. I think she senses her baby's presence. I can smell the child. It's a strong cherry scent, much like Cassandra's. The boy smelled of sweet apples like Julian.

Caroline places the collar back on Cassandra and the guards force her to her feet. We are on our way once again. Caroline makes me take us back to the goblin realm. We stop in the dark forest and the guards drag Cassandra out. There...there is a hill...and a door at the bottom of it. It is barely visible from all the trees, rocks and brush. Caroline calls it the hole in the hill. She says Jareth has it prepared for Cassandra and it will now be her new home. The door is unbreakable. It can only be accessed by Jareth's ring. No one will ever know she is here. She will be believed dead by all. Caroline wickedly laughs as her sister is pushed inside with the collar still around her neck. I can faintly hear her banging on the door and crying. I am crying. I despise Caroline for this. For ALL of this. If only I had powers, I would handle Caroline. Then I would take the girl and run back to Julian and tell him everything, even if he hated me for it.

We are back at the cabin now. Caroline has the baby all settled into her cradle. She is calling her Josephine.

It is almost midnight again. I am unable to leave and see Julian in the pendant, for Caroline wishes to speak to me. She seems...strange.

Tell me Josselyn dear. Do you take me for a fool?

I...I'm sorry, what? No, of course not.

I find that to be a lie. Something that you are very good at too. The crystal balls Jareth has. They have the power to see just as your pendant does. Jareth showed me something before we left his realm for Gondor. No, no Julian, please don't go!!! Ring a bell??? Daring little girl aren't you?? Or should I say....whore?

Caroline, please...you don't unders...

Liar!! My eyes and ears understand quite perfectly! You desire my husband as he desires you! Go on, deny it! I dare you!

I...I...wh...what are you going to...do to me??

Well unfortunately, I certainly cannot kill you. I don't need Harker coming after me, so I will do the next best thing. You will leave here and never speak of what you know to ANYONE and you will NEVER come near my husband or child ever again. If you do, I will have no choice but to take my chances with Harker's wrath. Grab your things and don't let the portal door hit you in the ass.

But...my...my grandfather! Please, let me wait for him.

I said get out...now! You can spy on him later and find him!

She follows me while I gather my stuff and then watches me as I walk off into the dark cold night. I trip and fall in the forest. I can't breathe. I am crying too hard. Julian, my sweet Julian. I'll never see him again. He'll never know the truth. What if she hurts him for knowing how he feels?? Maybe...I think I know someone who might be able to help. But...I...I could die for it....and I would...I would die for Julian's safety and happiness. I'm still afraid. She could kill him if I betray her. I don't know what to do!

I get up. I put the pendant on and I say the words. Take me to the Dorwinion castle."

Josselyn began to hyperventilate and Haldir quickly attempted to calm her with his emotion control as he took her hand, but it did not work. She was getting worse. The Lorein elf knew he had to bring her out of his hypnotic spell before she forgot everything. He couldn't risk it...or her well being. She still had not spoken of Lola and Sarah and that had been his main goal.

As his dilated eyes relaxed, Josselyn was released.

She toppled over against his chest and he allowed her to lay there until she caught her breath. A motion of his hand told Rumil and Orophin to give her some privacy, for he knew when she came to her senses, he was going to get an ear full of well deserved rage.

"Josselyn. Are you able to sit up? I would like you to drink some more of the healing water."

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of Haldir's voice and she rolled them up to look at him. Haldir sighed, for her big blue eyes were filled with tears and pain. He never meant to hurt her.

She tilted her head to the side and gazed at him as if she did not know him, but she did. At least she thought she did as she stroked his blonde strands.

"J...Julian? You...you're here. You came for me. I...I love you so much."

Haldir was caught off guard when Josselyn pulled his lips to hers. In his perplexed state, he allowed it. It felt nice to have a woman's lips upon his again, although he wished they were yours. The kiss was full and deep, but Haldir abruptly ended it when her tongue slipped into his mouth.

Josselyn's eyes gaped as Haldir's face came into focus, then her eyes filled with rage.

"You! You son of a bitch!!"

The palm of her hand cracked hard and loud across his cheek and off she stormed through the forest. As Haldir caught up to her, she spun around, still raging mad.

"How dare you!! You wicked little elf man!! No one. No one was supposed to ever know those things!! Do you know what you've done??!! I am as good as dead now! If I had my powers, I would string you up in that tree by your balls!"

Rumil and Orophin arrived and raised their bows at her.

"Baw!" (No) Haldir snapped as he raised his hand at his brothers.

"Your anger is justified. You know why I had to force you. Jo deserves to know the truth. Do you not care about her??"

"What kind of question is that?? Of course I do! I was like a mother to that girl when....arrrgh! Just never mind!"

"I will not never mind. Tell me the rest. Help me help her. I can help you too. I will let no harm come to you. You can trust me."

Josselyn laughs hysterically. "Like you just now let harm come to me?? I have been on my own for so many years and I trust no one! Especially an elf! And obviously with good cause! And don't you think for one minute that I enjoyed that kiss!"

"So be it. Just know, when we return to the castle, I am going to show Jo all of this and she will seek you out for the rest of the answers. Knowing her like I do, she is going to be far more angry than you are right now, for you knew all of this and never told her. I would say you are much better off to tell me now and then I can speak with her and try to make her understand your reasoning."

Josselyn was quiet as she stared at him, then she softly spoke.

"You...you would actually do that for me? Try to help me, even after...after all of this. I mean...I...I kissed you, then I slapped you for one thing."

"I will. I am an elf of my word. As I said, you can trust me. You are safe. I will protect you."

Her eyes were skeptical for a moment and then she sighed.

"Alright. Fine. Have a seat. But you better buckle up elf boy. There's many more twists and turns."

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