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#when she was six in frigid water!!!!
baezdylan · 28 days
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eve didn't get bitten... taylor chose this career... try and come for my job...
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clarkgriffon · 1 month
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by all accounts, she almost drowned...
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acourtofquestions · 23 days
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Anyone else get The Bolter vibes from Celaena/Aelin?
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dilemmaontwolegs · 10 months
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Not A Verstappen: A New World {1}
Pairing: Charles Leclerc x fem!driver!reader x Lando Norris Summary: With the season over it's time to turn over a new leaf as you start your next adventure outside the Red Bull family. Warnings: 18+ only, sexual themes, fluff, periods, blood, vomit WC: 2k F1 Masterlist NAV: Sibling Rivalry One || Two || Three NAV: Gridlocked One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine NAV: A New World One || Two
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Christmas Eve 2022 “I could get used to this,” you murmured happily. The sun was warm on your skin, the waves gently rocked the boat and you were with your favourite people in the world. 
“What, unemployment?”
You dared to open your eyes against the bright sunlight just to glare at Max as he stood on a paddleboard a few feet away from the edge. “Relaxing, you asshat.”
Lando rolled over at the disturbance but his eyes didn’t open before he settled back on his side and draped an arm over your stomach. “She’s got a job,” he mumbled half-asleep. “Lady of the House.”
“Lady,” Max snorted. “Good one.”
You sat up and stretched before getting to your feet, much to Lando’s displeasure. “Water looks nice.”
Max scanned the beautiful blue sea, spotting Charles kitesurfing where the wind was stronger beyond the lee. “It’s a little cold.”
“Even better.” You ran and leapt from the back of his boat, tackling him around the waist and knocking him off the paddleboard and into the frigid water. You were laughing as you resurfaced and found Max looking like a drowned rat as he tried to scramble back onto his board. 
“Fuck off,” he shivered as you shook the board everytime he got on it, Lando’s loud laugh upsetting the gulls that hung around hoping for scraps. 
“Nuh-uh, not until you admit I am a Lady.” You grabbed the board again and shoved it about. “Earthquake!”
“Sweetheart, stop harassing poor Max.” 
“Poor Max?” You echoed as you gave him one last push before tipping your head back to float on the surface. “I can’t believe my mum’s favourite child isn’t even her own.”
“I don’t have a favourite,” she said as she set down a tray of baking at the outdoor table, P quickly following as she smelt the fresh cookies.
“You should, since you only have me, your numero uno.”
She rolled her eyes at your dramatics and you wondered if that's how you looked when you did the same thing. “Come and eat, honey. Now that you have no job there’s no need for those strict diets.”
You pulled yourself up the steps off the back of the boat and Lando held your towel open for you, wrapping it tightly in his arms so you were bundled inside. “I have a job,” you said with a laugh as Lando’s drying tickled you.
“That’s not a job,” Max reminded as he stepped onto the boat and dragged the paddleboard onto the deck.
“Obviously. But, seriously, you are looking at an Aston Martin pilot.”
“That’s a bit of a risk,” Max said with a frown at the news. “Lance’s father is always going to put him ahead of you.”
“Well as long as he doesn’t try to kill me then it’s already an improvement,” you said with a small laugh.
Max sat heavily on the padded bench and dropped head in his hands. He was still struggling to accept that Jos had tampered with your brakes and taken the fuse for the water pump before your last race. He had been obsessed with having the Verstappen name on the winners trophy. 
Apparently he hadn’t tried to kill you, he was just trying to slow you down so Max would get the points he needed to win the championship. The brakes were meant to work too well, not stop working entirely. It didn’t change the fact that your own father had nearly been the death of you. 
“That’s not funny, love,” Lando muttered in your ear, his arms tightening around you as he remembered the crash and the fear he had felt that day. 
“No, but if I don’t laugh about it I will cry, and that’s not pretty.”
“I think you’re pretty,” Penelope said with a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.
“Thanks, P, but no one is as pretty as you,” you replied and laughed when she smiled at the compliment.
“Mouth closed when we eat,” Max reminded her with a grimace at the sight of mushed food between her teeth.
You joined her at the table, grabbing a muffin from the tray and ruffling her hair. “I’m going to miss you tomorrow but I hope you have a good Christmas with your dad.”
“Do you think Santa will find his way? My stocking is at home.” She frowned and placed her cookie down. “What if I don’t get any presents?”
“Have you been a good girl this year?” She gave you a small nod after thinking for a moment. “Then he will find you wherever you are.”
Christmas Day 2022 The palatial mansion had gone quiet as everyone went their separate ways for the evening after the banquet. There was no way any one family could have hosted the Christmas get together since there were just too many people but the island destination worked perfectly. Charles’ family had arrived on his boat while Lando’s family had flown in on Max’s plane and they were all spending the next few days celebrating the end of the year with you.
“I never want to move,” you groaned as Charles rubbed your full belly. “I shouldn’t have had that last yorkshire.”
“Maybe it was the two bowls of dessert,” he teased.
“Or the bottle of wine,” Lando added, his hands massaging your feet that rested on his lap. 
“I didn’t eat that much,” you huffed as you looked at your bloated midriff that seemed to dispute your words. “Where were you two planning on sleeping tonight? I’m sure there is a dog box somewhere on the island.”
“But then who would do this when your stomach hurts?”
You groaned as a sharp pain stabbed your abdomen and sat up. “Fuck.” Pushing off the couch you rushed to the bathroom and crumpled in front of the toilet, emptying your stomach of everything you ate before flushing the evidence away. 
“Baby?” Lando nudged the door open and frowned you as curled your knees up and groaned in pain. “You didn’t eat that much…”
“It’s not the food,” you whimpered as the cramps grew stronger and Charles arrived looking worried at your condition. “Can you run the shower?” You could feel the blood running down your thighs beneath the dress and groaned at the timing. 
“Should I call for a doctor?” Charles asked as he helped you to your feet while Lando warmed the shower. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine,” you said, squeezing his hand as you doubled over in pain. Lando blanched as he saw the red streaks running down your legs and you saw the panic in his wide eyes. “It’s just my period.”
“What do we do?” he asked. “What do you need us to do?”
You would have smiled at the rushed words if you weren’t being crushed from the inside out. “Hot shower, clean clothes, painkillers, pads, cuddles and death.”
“You mean chocolate,” Lando corrected as he pulled his shirt over his head and kicked his pants off before stepping into the shower. 
Charles didn’t give you the option to walk yourself in after, carrying you straight under the rainfall of steaming water. The heat saturated your dress and the water turned pink as it swirled around the drain at your feet.
“You guys don’t have to be here for this,” you murmured as you felt a hand dragging the zip down your spine.
“Silly Spitfire,” Lando chuckled as he reached for the special shampoo made for you, lathering it up in his hands while Charles released the updo you had styled for the dinner party. “We promised to take care of you, didn't we? So let us.”
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Max grunted a good morning to Charles as he entered the kitchen on Boxing Day and made a beeline to the coffee maker. Everyone knew Lando would sleep as long as he was allowed but Max frowned when you didn’t follow Charles in, his eyes lingering on the empty doorway expectedly.
“She’s not feeling very well,” Charles said as he placed his cup under the espresso maker. Though there wasn’t the comfortable atmosphere they used to share, they were on friendly terms after finding equal footing in their support of you and how your season ended. They were friends, just not best friends.
“Ah, goodluck, mate,” Max chuckled, returning to his half empty coffee and his phone he was checking the news on. “There’s some spare rooms if you need some space.”
“Why would we need space?”
“I love my sister, but you are going to be in for hell.” He winced at the memory of spending the holidays with you when you raced for AlphaTauri. “Happens every year.”
Charles snorted and took his mug with a shake of his head. “Thanks for the concern, but we’re good.”
You woke to the smell of coffee and found Charles sitting up beside you, reading something on his phone, while Lando snored softly in your ear. You had fallen asleep with their body heat easing the ache in your muscles and they were better than any heat pack you had used before.
“Good morning, ma chérie,” he said as he placed his phone down, noticing you were awake. After helping you to sit up against the headboard he grabbed a plate from the bedside table and placed it on your lap before grabbing a glass of juice. “Plain toast and iBuprofen.”
“Breakfast of champions,” you murmured sarcastically before taking a bite and smiling softly. “Thank you, babe.”
Charles kissed your temple before handing you the tablets and drink. “It’s just because it says not to take these on an empty stomach. Once Lando is awake we can get you anything you desire, even if one of us has to pop over to the mainland.”
“I’d rather just have you.” The words had slipped out before you even realised it and you shoved another piece of toast in your mouth. “Sorry, hormones.”
Lando’s dark lashes twitched where they fanned across his cheeks before they fluttered open and he stretched as he rolled onto his back. “What about me?”
You looked down at him in confusion as he rubbed his eyes. “What about you?”
“Would you rather have me too?” he asked with a lopsided smile as he used your thigh as a pillow.
“Are you always just pretending to sleep?”
“No, I just wake up when I hear something sexy.”
 Charles laughed as he combed his fingers through the wild mess of curls. “Why does that not surprise me, mon cher.”
“Well you can go back to sleep,” you said as you passed the empty plate back to Charles. “I feel disgusting, probably look worse, and don’t even try to tell me otherwise or I will cry.”
“Agree to disagree,” they said at the same time, sharing a small laugh. 
“I still think you are the most beautiful woman in the world, love.” 
“I can see that,” you teased as you looked down at the thin sheet that covered Lando’s lap. “You know what would make me feel better? You did promise me anything.”
Charles shifted beside you and his cheeks flushed pink as his mind ran wild with tempting thoughts. “Anything at all.”
Your tongue rolled across your bottom lip at the thought and their eyes darkened with each passing second. “I want to watch you two.”
“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Lando asked as his fingertip drew small circles on your thighs.
“Isn’t that gross?” you asked as you crinkled your nose and your legs closed tighter.
“It’s just blood,” Lando chuckled. “And red is Charles' favourite colour.”
You rolled your eyes but had to give him a little laugh as he eased the tension and Charles kissed his way down to your collarbone. “There’s nothing about you I would ever call gross. And you never have to be embarrassed with us, mi amor. We just want you to be comfortable.”
You swallowed at the sincerity in his voice but still shook your head. “I’m not brave enough today.”
“Okay, love,” Lando said with a kiss to your thigh before he sat up. “Then we will have to put on a show just for you, a late Christmas present.”
Click here for the next part.
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espressobysabrina · 26 days
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did you know that
By all accounts, she almost drowned When she was six in frigid water And I can confirm she made A curious child, ever reviled By everyone except her own father With a quite bewitching face Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless Excellent fun 'til you get to know her Then she runs like it's a race Behind her back, her best mates laughed And they nicknamed her "The Bolter" Started with a kiss "Oh, we must stop meeting like this" But it always ends up with a Town Car speeding Out the drive one evening Ended with the slam of a door Then he'll call her a whore Wish he wouldn't be sore But as she was leaving It felt like breathing All her fuckin' lives Flashed before her eyes It feels like the time She fell through the ice Then came out alive He was a cad, wanted her bad Just like any good trophy hunter And she likes the way it tastes Taming a bear, making him care Watching him jump then pulling him under And at first blush, this is fate When it's all roses, portrait poses Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats What a charming Saturday That's when she sees the littlest leaks Down in the floorboards And she just knows She must bolt Started with a kiss "Oh, we must stop meeting like this" But it always ends up with a Town Car speeding Out the drive one evening Ended with the slam of a door Then he'll call her a whore Wish he wouldn't be sore But as she was leaving It felt like breathing All her fuckin' lives Flashed before her eyes It feels like the time She fell through the ice Then came out alive She's been many places with Men of many faces First, they're off to the races And she's laughing drawin' aces But, none of it is changin' That the chariot is waitin' Hearts are hers for the breakin' There's an escape in escaping Started with a kiss "Oh, we must stop meeting like this" But it always ends up with a Town Car speeding Out the drive one evening Ended with the slam of a door But she's got the best stories You can be sure That as she was leaving It felt like freedom All her fuckin' lives Flashed before her eyes (And she realized) It feels like the time She fell through the ice Then came out alive ?????
i bet you didnt.
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shroombloomm · 7 months
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The Dark King*
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18+ (mature content warning; choking, air play, spanking, dark themes, murder, blood, obsession.)
11.5k words.
Over the trees laid a thick fog across the top of the greens. The sun was rising over the horizon as the cold air sent goosebumps over anyone who dared to step outside of their homes. At this time of the morning, the birds would chirp to wake everyone up; but they hadn’t done that in decades. Raven didn’t remember the last time that she heard a bird sing in this land anymore. 
Not since He took over. 
Actually, she didn’t remember anything before He took over. 
There were vague memories each time she took a step outside of her door. When Raven would walk past the dead bushes with brittle branches, her dainty fingers would reach out to caress them; a sudden memory of the bluebells that used to sprout from them. This land used to be covered in green grass; it was soft enough to fall back on and feel no pain from the landing. 
The sun used to be warm. Now, when the sun is out, they were more aware of it; but it still felt very cold. Summer and spring no longer existed, only fall and winter. Raven didn’t know how this was possible, but anything was possible. 
Anything in Neverland goes. 
Her only alarm clock she had since Him was the loud poundings on the door. He made sure to send out the guards at half past five every morning. They had a schedule and if anyone was late; well, it wouldn’t have been in their favor. The Dark King didn’t like tardiness, he liked punctuation. 
Raven knew a boy once, his name was Duffy. 
Duffy was late once. 
Once. 
Duffy wasn’t around anymore. 
Raven’s feet hit the hardwood floor with a soft grunt surpassing her lips. The pounding on the door only subsided when she yelled that she was awake. When the sounds of the guard’s feet moved past her door is when she stood from her bed and moved towards her small bathroom made out of rotten planks of wood and leaves. 
Fresh water poured from the spout every morning, it was from the frozen lake. It was the purest water in all of Neverland, but the only problem was that it was only ever one temperature. If she wanted a warm bath, she would have to work for it. 
Raven brushed her teeth with the freezing water, then washed her face with the freezing water, then tried to keep her teeth from chattering afterwards. 
Breakfast at six. She always showed up earlier though. 
That’s why she was His favorite. 
Not a lot of people liked Raven because of that reason. It was unspoken, but everyone knew that she was The Dark King’s favorite. She was everything he wanted of the people of Neverland; she was responsible, she was punctual, and she always went above and beyond for him. 
Despite the poor housing and the bland food given every day. 
She would do anything for her Dark King. 
Raven pulled her trousers up to her waist and buttoned them, then threw her wool sweater on; Duffy had made this sweater for her. In fact, he had made them for everyone one cold winter. She tried to swallow the bile in the throat each time she put it on. 
She missed Duffy, but nobody dared to ever comment about the missing persons of Neverland. 
Doing that is like committing treason. 
Her black hair wrapped tightly around her fingers before she pinned her hair up, then proceeded to exit her small room. The corridors were cold, if it was up to everyone they would forge a fire for these frigid mornings, but there was no room. 
Each room had its own furnace. That was the warmth they were granted after each long day, but during the day they must stay outside in the cold weather and do as they are demanded for their jobs. Raven didn’t mind it. She’d spent three years in Neverland. To the newcomers, she only warned them to keep their bitter complaints to themselves unless they wanted their tongue to be clipped. 
Raven didn’t take lightly to the complaints of her Dark King. 
As she stepped outside of the makeshift dorm, the sun was just barely covering the treetops. This was as much sun as they were going to get if they stayed near the Palace. For anyone who wanted to bask in it would have to travel miles to the frozen lake; that is if they were able to get past the wolves and bears that lingered in the deepest parts of it. 
Raven wasn’t afraid of the animals. She always carried a bow and arrow with her. Hunting was something she did in her spare time, though if caught, would serve a penalty. Red meat was only for high royalty, for the people of Neverland only were served scraps. 
Beans, little bits of pig, and toast. Sometimes even eggs if the chickens felt generous enough to spit out a few. 
“Rise and shine, Raven.” 
Raven turned her head to see her friend, Bode, behind her. She offered a sly smirk. 
“Look who is up early.” She remarked with a snicker. 
Bode always woke up five minutes before he was supposed to be at the dining hall. He would cut it close each time. Raven warned him that she would not be able to save him if he was a second late, but he was so sure about himself. 
“Ha ha,” Bode walked beside her, swinging his arms as he glanced towards her, “Do you know what today is?” 
“Of course I do.” Raven said quietly, swallowing thickly. 
“Do you believe they will make it easy on ole Bootsy?” Bode turned his back to stand in front of her, then proceeded to walk backwards, “I believe his crimes against the king shall serve him a slow, painful death.” 
“Do you believe so?” Raven hummed carefully, she wasn’t much for gossip. 
“I do.” Bode smirked. 
Bootsy was one of their neighbors in the dorms. He dared to enter the Palace to find a drip of wine for a party the people had planned. Bootsy always tended to go overboard with the drinking; he was infamous for being the drunk. On the night of the party, we had ran out of wine and he thought to sneak into the quarters to steal from him. 
In hindsight, it was innocent. 
However, you are not to go against the Dark King, nonetheless steal from him. 
“Bootsy had it coming to him, he was not surprised.” Bode clapped his hands together, turning his back from Raven. 
Ahead, the dining hall was empty, usually a line out the door if you showed up last minute. However, Raven was awfully hungry in the mornings and preferred her food to be warm and readily available when she wanted it. 
“We will see at the execution.” 
Raven dropped the subject after her comment, entering the dining hall. It was warm there, only because of the coal stoves working overtime to cook the breakfast. She rolled her sleeves up, batting her lashes as she was served the same breakfast every morning. 
Beans, toast, and a small egg; poached. 
Of course, with a hot cup of tea to wake up. 
As the room started to fill with people, Raven was already half-finished with her plate. At this time of the morning, she studied the people ahead of her. They sat in their seats, tired, while they either ate their food or enjoyed the hot tea. Some couldn’t stomach the food every morning, but if they were hungry enough, they would eat it. 
The execution was after breakfast. It was easier for those who had a weak stomach not to eat. It was mandatory to attend these, it was a learning lesson for all of them to know the consequences of going against Him. 
Raven finished her food in silence, when she stood to her feet, Bode followed closely behind to discard her tray in one of the bins. Just as she went to refill her hot cup of tea, a loud ruckus came from behind her. 
In the center of the room, a man held a knife to one of the younger teenagers. A shaky hand held a piece of toast; Raven could only guess that he had taken the man’s toast. 
“That’s not good.” Bode frowned. 
“No, tis not.” Raven mumbled, withdrawing her knife from her boot and stomped towards the two of them. 
“Ye stole my toast?!” The older one held the knife tightly to the teen’s neck. 
“I did no such thing, unhand me!” The teen yelled out in anger, thrashing with a sweat. 
Raven pointed her knife at the throat of the older man’s neck and prodded his skin light enough to get his attention. His dark brown eyes glanced back to see the angry woman behind him; a snarl on his lips. 
“There shall not be any fighting in the dining hall.” Raven warned through a light growl. 
“He stole me toast.” 
“Did you see him take your toast?” The knife prodded a bit harder against his skin, if she just barely flicked her wrist it would create a bigger mess onto the floor. 
“No, but–,” 
“Unhand him or I shall hand you over to the guards,” Raven kept her dark gaze on the man, “Have you forgotten the penalty for fighting? Tis the cellar and you shall rot there for laying your hands on this boy.” 
The man stared darkly at the fearful boy. Raven was sweating too, but it wasn’t from the hot air in the room, it was the witness’ of the room. She was now an accomplice. If anyone decided to run to the guards at that moment, she would rot in the cellar as well. 
“L-Let me go–,” The teen boy groaned, there was a bit of blood on his neck from the man’s knife. 
“Ye not worth it, anyhow.” The older one pushed the boy away, putting his knife away as he sent a dark glare to Raven. 
Quickly, she made haste to his side. It was only a prick on his neck, but still the guards would surely question him about the mark. Raven pulled the bag around her body towards her, rummaging through for a clean cloth before dabbing the wound. 
“Are you alright?” She mumbled to the boy. 
“Yes, of course. Sorry ma’am.” He whispered quietly, the toast in his hand crumbling from his grip. 
“Did you take his toast?” 
His eyes fled to the floor, confirming that he stole the older one’s toast. Raven sighed quietly, once done cleaning up the blood, she placed the cloth into his hand and searched his features. 
“I shall not tell,” She fixed his coat as if she was his mother, “Do not steal anymore. Bootsy is an example of what will happen, no matter the object stolen.” 
“Yes, ma’am.” He mumbled. 
Raven turned a blind eye to the boy and made her way back to Bode. The teen boy was new; she had only seen his face very few times in the last few days. He did not know the ways, but she always tried to warn the newcomings as much as she could. 
For those who dare come to Neverland, mind you on their own free will, would find out the hard way without Raven. There were no rules, but there were rules. It was a bit unfair not to give out a handbook, but the Dark King liked to play this game with the newcomers. 
“You are lucky the guards are outside the door today,” Bode warned as Raven exited the double doors. 
“They’ll do no such thing to me.” Raven smirked, tossing her knife in the air and catching it by the handle. 
Bode rolled his eyes, “Of course they won’t, but you are getting cocky.” 
“I’ve earned my right.” She said quietly, but still confidently. 
Bode mumbled something, but Raven didn’t care enough to catch the comment. People judged her for admiring the Dark King. In the other world, she was just as twisted as he was; the only difference is now she gets to show it. She was not hungry for power, but she was hungry for dominance. The Dark King saw that in her. 
Though they had only crossed paths twice, she found herself on her knees to bow to him in those times. He did not leave his Palace often, but when he did, it was a big deal. He was the type to gaze over the land, not be a part of it. 
As Raven and Bode walked down the dirt road, they came across the cobblestone that led them into the small town square. This part of the land many did not spend much time in, for they needed money to spend for the vendors, and little did the people have. Though this was a place where the people could meet others and socialize; very few people under the age of fifty came into the square. The elders, however, loved it. 
Raven passed the vendors selling fresh fruits and handmade clothes and ventured into the middle where the people were gathered. She stood by the wall, far from the crowd, with her hood on and eyes wandering darkly around. He would be around for these events. 
To be able to catch a glimpse of Him was a pleasure, any time the opportunity was given. She thrived for it, and it somewhat gave her a feeling of butterflies. 
“Thank you all for gathering!” 
The crowd went silent as the guard announced the beginning of the act. Raven could barely stand these things much anymore. If they’d change it up, perhaps she’d find more interest, but she was never vocal about that. Raven was a bit of a psycho in those terms, finding things such as this, the only entertainment in Neverland. 
They announced the crimes of Bootsy, dragging him out with a sack on his head and nothing but the trousers to hide his bits. He thrashed around in the arms of the guards, throwing him to his knees and placing his head where the guard could get a clean cut. 
Her eyes wandered again; out of the corners, she found a man in a tree. He sat lazily, one leg propped up, the other swinging carelessly as he bit into a red apple. Raven’s eyes lit up, it was He. She went to take a step forward, only for Bode to stretch his hand out to stop her. 
“Where are you going?” 
It took her a moment to answer, she almost didn’t comprehend what Bode had said. The Dark King’s eyes were so green that he could’ve blended perfectly into the woods. He already did, truthfully. He wore a brown robe, hints of green that sparkled without the sun, and long brown hair that curled effortlessly around his face. 
He looked amused while he ate his apple. Raven could taste the thirst on his lips, he thrived for these moments. It was not that he killed people, it was that he awaited those who would cross him just for him to watch them suffer. She imagined what he felt while he watched, if his body was pumping full of adrenaline, or if he was just simply unbothered by it. 
She took another step forward. 
“Raven!” 
“What?” Her head snapped towards her bickering friend. 
“Where are you going?” Bode said slowly, yet stern with tight brows knitted together. 
“Well, I was…” When her eyes went back to the trees, he was gone, and a part of her heart broke. She let out a sigh, flicking her gaze to the beheaded man as the crowd dispersed, “I was going to the apple stand, if you wanted to know so desperately.” 
“You do not eat apples.” 
“I do when you are not six feet up my rear end, Bode.” She snapped at him, annoyed that she missed her Dark King. 
“You have been acting differently as of recent.” He retorted. 
“Then maybe you don’t know me at all.” Raven mumbled. 
After dinner that night, everyone resided in their rooms. Neverland did not have a curfew, however if one were to stay up late, it was best to prepare to stay on schedule for the day. Raven typically went to bed early to restore her energy for the next morning. 
Tonight was different. 
She lingered in the square without Bode. Earlier had created some tension between the two; while she cared for Bode, sometimes he smothered too much for her comfort. The reason she left her home was for the sole reason of suffocation; she wanted something meaningful. 
Neverland was meaningful to her. 
She never looked back when she found this place, not that anyone else dared to either. Neverland was made up of misfits, but they all stuck by each other. Well, the misfits who cared for each other, anyway. 
There were a few bad eggs that crossed the lines that were drawn. 
Raven’s heels clicked against the cobblestone, a hood over her head as a few locks of her hair framed her face and hid herself well. Her fingers gripped onto the cloak, pulling it together before locking the golden buttons together. 
She was not on a mission, nor was she trying to hide. It was the simple fact of that, she herself, learned to cross the drawn lines as well. If she were to get caught, which she’d never had, she would surely get executed. 
Above all rules, there is one that the people must not cross. 
Do not, any under circumstances, climb over the wall. 
Their town was separated from the Palace. If Raven were to stand at a distance, she would be able to see the Palace glow in the night; it was beautiful and made of cement. It was not like their shelters, made of branches and old wood. 
The Dark King’s palace was most beautiful. 
Nobody ever dared to think of sneaking into the Palace. Not until Bootsy. 
However, Raven was stealthy. The nights she had spent hunting without a single branch cracking under her boots, she would make herself a nice meal with potatoes from the ground and deer meat. Of course, she kept that to herself. It was why she was the most healthy compared to others. 
Ahead of her, the large stone wall. Across the wall, there were some stones that stuck out, and some nights she would climb it. Never jump over it. But simply sit on it. Her stiff fingers grabbed onto the stones, placing her feet onto the others steadily as she carefully climbed it without a single worry. The night was silent, she needn’t worry about the vendors; they were closed around this time either way. 
Raven huffed softly, making it to the top without a problem. To the side of her, a tree that she liked to sit on. The branch was thick and strong. She hunched as she stood, balancing on the top of the wall as she quickly rushed towards the tree. One jump, her arms grasped onto the branch and pulled herself up. The draping of the other branches hid her well enough, she would never get caught. 
She’d never gotten caught. 
Her feet pushed her back to sit against the bark of the tree. The view of the Palace was beautiful; the glow was different from her small village, town, however they wanted to call it. Raven’s shoulders slumped carefully, placing a hand in front of her as she laid forward onto her stomach and dangled her legs on either side. 
She never got to see the Dark King from this view, but she liked to imagine it all. She liked to imagine what he was like; the infatuation she had with him was hers to keep. From the few times she had came across him, she tried to keep the image of him, but it was nearly impossible when he only showed up once a month, sometimes only once a year. 
“Don’t be afraid, you’re not alone,” She sang under a whisper, eyes glimmering in the Palace’s lights, “Sleep until dawn, for all is well, long ago this song was sung to me; Now it’s just a distant melody,” She pushed herself further towards the end of the branch, her stomach turning at the thought of catching a glimpse, “Somewhere from the past I used to know, once upon a time and long ago.” 
Raven sighed, closing her eyes. In some ways, she was manifesting the sight of him. While she was his favorite, they had never spoken a word to each other. It was evident that she was his favorite; she told herself that constantly. 
She wondered what his voice sounded like. If it was so deep that it could make the floors of the forest vibrate. In the midst of her dreaming, she heard a crackle from underneath her. Eyes shooting open wide, her arms worked to grab her bow and arrow before pointing it down at the floor. 
Raven studied the floor, eyes squinted yet adrenaline shot through her veins. The thought of getting caught didn’t scare her, but it didn’t ease her either. When she heard another crackle, she threw her arrow over her back and stood to her feet on the branch. She jumped onto another branch, looking deeply into the forest, as much as the light from the Palace would admit. 
But there was nothing. 
Just as she was about to turn to jump back over the wall, a hand grabbed her ankle and she fell to the floor of the forest. Her back hit the floor with a loud crack, she bit back the scream in her throat, her hand slapping over her mouth with a soft cry. The pain in her back shot through her in consistent spills. 
Raven turned onto her side, gasping to catch her breath; just as she did, a shadow rushed past her and it caught her eye. As she leaned up to look around, a pair of hands grabbed her cloak and quickly brought her to her feet. Disorientated, she couldn’t see the shadow in front of her. Raven’s back hit the bark of the tree, head thumping against it with a thud. 
“Climbing over the wall?” 
The familiar voice made her eyes cross in confusion, but when the blur faded away, she was faced with the older man from the dining hall earlier. Raven’s blood boiled almost instantly, fists balling up as she used her leg to kick him off of her. 
“You idiot!” Raven hissed through her teeth, quickly pulling her hood over her head once more, “If we get caught, we both get killed!” 
“Would that be the worst thing to happen?” He clutched his stomach fiercely with fire in his eyes, “But I do not plan to get caught, however your luck has been cut short.” 
“What do you speak of?” Raven squinted her eyes at him. 
“You do not know the name I was given, but you have been a misery in my life since you arrived,” He spat angrily, “Dary, that is my given name, but you would not know.” 
Raven stayed silent, staring at him in disgust. 
“You almost killed a boy over a piece of dry toast.” 
“I do what I please.” Dary leaned down to the floor of the forest, his hand disappearing before coming clear with a knife in his hand, “You think you are special, but you are less than the dirt I soil on.” 
Raven’s body froze at the blade. While she had killed many animals, she had never committed such a crime. It had become evident that it was either him or her; and she was planning on getting out alive. 
“You do not dare to touch me.” Raven whispered quietly. 
Dary grimaced, “I do what I must,” He took a step closer to her, the blade shining from the lights, “Who could’ve thought that someone such as you would be such a burden in this village?” 
“I am no such thing,” Raven’s hand wrapped around the bow on her back, “I keep to myself.” 
Dary let out a deep, dark laugh, one that made shivers fall down her spine. Not another word from his mouth, he lunged towards her. Raven was not quick enough, the feeling of the blade slashing her arm made her cry out. Her leg kicked Dary away from her as she ran into the woods. 
“You cannot hide from me, Raven!” Dary called out loudly. 
Raven could hear him chasing after her, when she got the bow off her back, she then quickly turned onto her heel and pointed an arrow in the direction where he was. When she expected the man to be closer to her, she was only met with the silence of the forest. Raven’s breath hitched, taking a step back as her head snapped back and forth to search for Dary. 
It was silent. She didn’t know if that was more disturbing or if she had found that she was thankful for the sudden disappearance. But, where did he go? 
“Dary?” She called out, not loud, she didn’t want to alert the guards. 
Raven tuned into the sounds of the forest; crickets were singing lightly in the distance, even bullfrogs cried out into the night. A mile from where she stood was a creek that could be heard, the water brushing over the boulders. She faltered when she suddenly heard a chewing sound, snapping her head behind her to see nothing; yet again. 
Suddenly, a loud thud could be heard from in front of her. Dary’s body fell from the sky, as if he had somehow opted for the power of flight; something that only the Dark King could do. Raven’s eyes widened in horror, approaching the body in haste, but jumped back just as quick when her gaze set on the mutilated face of Dary. 
Raven gagged, slapping her hand over her mouth to suppress the sound. Sure, she had seen many executions, but this was no execution; Dary’s face was mauled as if a creature had finally found it’s dinner after days of starving. Pieces of his face hung from the sides, revealing the red flesh underneath with his nose vanished and eyes gorged. 
“What in the world–,” Raven coughed, taking a step back only to feel her back hit a body behind her. 
She turned onto her heel, a man with a hood draped over his head, but a pair of emerald eyes glowed down at her. He was still, blinking only once. Raven’s mouth slowly gaped as she took a step away from him, knowing exactly who this creature was. Someone she had been desperately waiting to face again. 
His hood fell back as his hand removed it. Blood covered his face, lathered in vivid red around his mouth. He used the sleeve of his cloak to wipe the remnants from his mouth, but the pigment still stained his pale skin. Raven was in awe as she fell to her knees and bowed with her forehead against the forest floor. 
“My dark king.” She breathed out as her heart beat wildly in her chest. 
Raven stayed in her deep bow, though she was desperate to raise her head and look him in the eyes once more. 
“To your feet.” His voice was deep, just as she suspected, something about it demanded her. 
“Yes, my dark king.” Raven quickly stood to her feet. 
When she flicked her gaze towards his, he was using his pinky finger to pick out pieces of Dary from his teeth. She was in awe for half a moment before she suddenly realized that she was caught on the other side of the wall. Something that she had never done before, not even by a guard, but of course it was her luck that her dark king would be the first to find her like this. 
His tongue ran over his teeth, then swallowed thickly as his eyes searched hers. Raven felt as though her knees would not be able to support her any longer; when He looked towards Dary, she studied the slim feature of his jaw that could cut effortlessly. Long brown curls that framed his face, but yet pushed back in the middle, and his curved brows furrowed together in a tight knit as he studied his late dinner. 
She parted her lips to plead for forgiveness, but he flicked his hand up to stop her. 
“I do not want to hear your pleas,” He kicked Dary’s body lightly, now turned back to Raven, “You have committed a death worthy crime against the Palace.” 
He said it so effortlessly, so carelessly. The Dark King did not care about the lives of those who crossed him, even if it was just crawling over a man made wall. The rules were the rules and Raven broke them in hopes for a glimpse of her king. 
Raven shook, but took her bow and arrows off her back and threw them to the forest floor. Before he could turn to face her, she had her knees in the dirt and eyes glaring up at him with desperation. 
“If I were to enter my last sleep, may it be while I face you, my king,” Raven did not hesitate to take her knife from her boot and offer it to him. 
He stared darkly down at her, amused, even a hint of a smirk tugged at his lips at her offer. Raven had her head bowed, he studied the submissive ways of Raven; it entertained him, something that he never got much of when he was in his own home. 
Not this kind of entertainment anyway. 
Raven felt the knife disappear from her hand, her heart fell to her stomach as she brought her gaze to the man above her and awed into the glowing emerald eyes of his. Shakily, her hands unbuttoned the cloak from around her neck and tilted her head back, still staring deeply into his eyes. 
He twirled the knife in his hand, tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he studied her. The Dark King leaned down, not letting his knees touch the ground in a crouch as his fingers reached out to grab the underside of her jaw. Raven gasped out, suddenly her stomach was boiling inside of her and she felt her skin catch fire from his touch. 
He was touching her. 
“Raven…” He warned carefully with a tsk, the blade of the knife soothed against her neck, holding it lightly at her neck. 
“Do not spare me mercy, for I have betrayed you.” Raven tried to hide the fear in her voice, when she swallowed the tighter the knife felt against her throat. 
He chuckled darkly, the pinch on her chin tightened as he inched closer to her. Raven inhaled sharply, only to find that he was stealing the air from her lungs. She gasped softly, throat tightening, while her fingers quickly wrapped around the wrist of his and flicked her gaze to his eyes once more in pure fear. 
His lips were pursed in a small ‘o’ as the ghostly air frosted against his lips, she was besides herself. Raven felt weak, the grip on his wrist weakening as his eyes turned from a bright emerald to a dark mossy color with spots of brown and black. 
Then, suddenly, he blew back onto her and the air filled her lungs once more. Raven coughed out, relief washing over her as her hand grabbed her chest and hunched over while she tried to steady her breathing. 
“What makes you think that I wouldn’t kill you in seconds?” His knuckles caressed Raven’s cheek, a smirk playing on his lips before tearing his knuckles from her, “Because you serve me no purpose. Do you enjoy your sickly obsession with staring in my palace at late hours of the night?”
Raven was caught off guard by the question, embarrassment washing over her as she avoided his gaze. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, she could feel his cold breath on her skin and it made her skin tingle as her fingers dug deeply into the soft dirt. 
“Speechless?” He chuckled quietly, “I am shocked at your silence. You seem to have quite the mouth with others, do you not?” When Raven didn’t answer him, he raised his voice once more, raspy and dark, “Do you not, Raven?” 
“Yes, my dark king,” Raven whispered quietly, closing her eyes as his touch left her skin, a loss for her needs.
He only tsked, standing tall over her. Raven dusted herself off, slowly standing; he towered over her small stature. She felt intimidated by the height, but still avoided the scalding glare of his. Within moments of her on her feet, she was quickly cornered against the tree. His cold hand grabbed her jaw as he made her look at him. 
“Step on my land again,” His breath hits her cheek, making her breath hitch in her throat, “And your punishment will be similar to Dary’s.” 
Raven shook under his touch, but before she could think to say something, he vanished. Now alone in the woods, Raven blinked hard and grabbed her cloak, quickly putting it on before gliding up the tree she had fallen from and worked her way back over the stone wall. 
When her feet hit the ground in her village, she ran home with an ache in her stomach. 
At home, she locked the door behind her and pressed her back against the door. When the noise settled, she closed her eyes and thought. 
When shall she see her dark king again?
-
Two days later, Raven sat at a pond with Bode. Since seeing her dark king face to face, there was an itch that needed to be scratched. If she thought about it long enough, she could feel his fingers back on her skin, and the way his cold breath created goosebumps along her neck. 
Bode kept asking questions though, as Raven had been silent for the last two days. 
“It’s been two days since Dary has been missing.” He skipped a rock along the pond. 
“He must be the least of your worries.” Raven said quietly as she doodled with a feather pen tucked between her fingers. 
She doodled the eyes of her king, in case she forgets him. 
“Some people think you murdered him,” Bode said nonchalantly, “You did hold a knife to his neck the night he went missing.” 
“People think what they may, I do not care, I know I am not guilty.” Raven rolled her eyes, slamming her old notebook closed before tucking it under her robe and slouching towards Bode. 
“You shall not care until the guards show up at your door.” Bode was getting irritated with Raven’s lack of care. 
“They won’t.” 
Bode squinted his eyes, standing over her as he crossed his arms. 
“You believe you are innocent, show you are innocent. I cannot be the only person to defend you, other than the young boy who took the toast,” Bode’s thick brows furrowed together, “If they find reason you may have–,” 
Raven stood to her feet in annoyance, “I shall hear this no longer.” 
Bode grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving, “And I shall not watch my best friend be slaughtered in the square,” Their eyes met, Bode’s full of worry, “I fear for you. I care, you realize? What has gotten into you the last few days? You have been acting dangerously.” 
Raven took her arm back, rubbing the tension off. 
“I realize you care,” She reaffirmed his feelings, “I act no dangerously than any other misfit in Neverland. I do not understand your worry. I am fine.” 
“I believe it is something to do with the Dark King–,” 
Before Bode could say any further, a knife was drawn to his neck with no hesitation from Raven. Her eyes glew a dark purple as she took a step closer to him. Bode’s eyes widened, disgust on his face as he studied Raven’s features. 
“You dare not speak of him.” Raven muttered.
Bode’s pointy ears twitched, he waved his fist and suddenly Raven’s knife was redirected towards the tree, before it flew from her grasp and penetrated the bark of the thick tree. 
“You care more for him, that is certain, given you held a blade to your friend’s neck.” Bode spat, grabbing his things. 
Raven stood, ashamed, yet shocked. She didn’t know what to think, though, her infatuations are secret to her and her only. The more people dared to speak ill of him, it became more apparent. She didn’t believe that her king would kill her, no. Had she told anyone that she faced him alone? 
Of course not. 
Raven kept it to herself, it was of no one’s business. 
Bode looked back at her, opening his mouth to say something, then shook his head and made his way back to the village. 
Raven sighed, walking to where the blade was. She wrapped her fingers around the handle, pulling it from the tree with ease. Dusting off the blade, she slid the blade in it’s respected spot and sat on a boulder with her chin in her hand. 
She couldn’t stop thinking of him. 
If it was not for him, Dary would have killed her. It confirmed to Raven that she was special and others were jealous of the affections between her and the king. She had to find a way to see him again without crawling over the wall again. 
Picking herself up from the boulder, she ventured down the leafy path towards the village once more. 
Tonight, she would see her king again. 
-
Raven walked the same path into the woods, this time away from the walls. A bow and arrow on her back with her knife in her hand. At night, these ways are dangerous. While the misfits were sleeping, there were other troubles that lurked ahead. 
A land just across the lake, they often came to Neverland to steal our meat. While Neverland’s people seem to mind their business, they often fight at any chance they can, especially when it is someone that does not belong on their land. 
Above Raven’s gaze, the moon lit up the night enough for her to see the path. When she found a creek, she crossed it as she jumped on each rock, sturdy and careful. Walking up a small hill, she laid on her stomach at the top and stared down at the fields that were below her from afar. 
Creatures lurked here at night. 
While the death penalty is not ideal, she wanted to test her king. Raven removed the bow and arrow from her back and readied her aim; she squinted one eye, searching the moonlight for any creature that was up at this time of night. She knew, at least, it would be deer. 
The lullaby she sang a few nights ago, hummed lightly through her lips as she mouthed the words under her breath. She heard a rustle, tilting her head, a deer trotted into the light. A smirk spread across her lips, she readied her aim once more. 
“Long ago this song was sung to me, now it’s just a distant melody,” Raven sang under a whisper, “Somewhere from the past I used to know, once upon a time and long ago…” 
Shoot. 
She let go of the arrow, watching as it just barely brushed the deer before the creature got startled and ran out of the light. Raven’s eyes widened, frowning as she sat herself up with her arms. How could she have missed that shot? She didn’t understand. 
Raven had never missed a clear shot. 
She cursed to herself under her breath, readying another arrow in her bow and waited on her stomach, on the hill. Minutes went by, still no creature. Raven started to feel helpless, maybe it was the hunger in her stomach from being up past her bedtime that made her feel this way. 
Then another rustle, much louder than the last, echoed in the area. Could it be her king? She dusted herself off and stood to her feet in anticipation. Purple eyes wandered around the area, this time searching high in the trees for the hidden man, but found nothing. 
Unsteady on her feet, a suddenly uneasy feeling came over her. Could it be an intruder? Raven started down the hill with haste, she didn’t think she had the guts to murder someone. As twisted as her personality was, she knew her stomach wouldn’t handle such a thing. 
When she came across the creek once more, a body laid in the creek, contaminating their waters with blood. As she got closer, the person’s throat had been slit, so tiny it looked like it was done with a piece of freshly cut paper. Raven swallowed thickly, jumping over the body and asking no questions. 
Someone was among her. 
If not someone, then something. 
Her feet hit the pathway once more, looking back as she walked forward. Shivers went down her spine, she could feel someone watching her, but she wasn’t sure who. It couldn’t have been her king, no, she committed no crime tonight. 
Could it have been Bode watching over her? 
Raven looked forward, finding a man hunched over something. She paused her steps, blood growing cold. When the man stood to his feet, the moonlight hit him and Raven faced the familiar cloak that she had just seen some nights ago. 
Her dark king. 
He turned around to face her, the same emerald eyes glowing bright as he gave her a once over. She stayed still, though dared to take a step towards him. Raven kneeled on one knee as he approached her, he had blood dripping down his white blouse that was so sheer it showed his tattoos. 
“My dark ki–.” 
“Are you thrilled over the power I hold on these lands,” His voice coarse and thick, “Or do you just enjoy being on your knees for your king?” 
Raven blushed wildly, looking away for mere moments before swallowing thickly. 
“Tis always an honor to be in the presence of you, my king.” She said quietly, standing to her feet once more, she crossed her arms under her cloak as a brush of cold wind surpassed them. 
“For you, of course,” When he came closer to Raven, she felt her stomach start to bubble, “You tried to kill my creatures.” 
Raven stayed silent, she knew someone was watching her; she never expected it to be him, though. 
“You were following me?” 
“You called,” He mumbled, “For reasons which bore me, dreadfully.” 
“Called?” Raven pinched her face in confusion, she did not recall calling out to him. Only ever in her dreams, but how would that be possible for him to know?
He hummed the lullaby that Raven had been singing the last few days, her face washed in a pale white, watching as he took slow steps around her, in circles. 
“The lullaby,” He was now behind her, she could feel how close he was, “It beckons me to those who seek me.” 
Raven said nothing, her body was frigid and her gaze was locked onto the body up the road. She didn’t know that the song beckoned him, if she knew that; she would have him any time she wanted. 
“But you still tried to kill my creatures,” His voice darkened, a hand placed onto her shoulder and it made her knees buckle, “Another crime.” 
“A crime I did not commit.” Raven said above a whisper, fluttering her eyes shut. 
In seconds, Raven was whipped around, the king towered over her as he grabbed her face and squinted his eyes darkly. 
“Are you accusing your king of lying, Raven? That would not be very…” His fingers fled to her throat, backing her up until her back hit a large boulder behind them, “Smart of you.” 
Raven didn’t comment on his threat, instead studied the blood on his shirt; his abs flexed as the cold wind hit him, she didn’t think possible for him to feel such things. 
“You murdered those men.” 
“There were trespassers on my land.” He arched his brow. 
“You killed them for me.” 
Her heart raced at the thought. Her king protecting her, it made her heart melt and her skin crawl with excitement. Raven’s lips tugged upwards into a small smile at the thought. 
But then he laughed, a hardy, deep laugh that shook his stomach while his fingers clenched both sides of her neck a bit tighter. He then pulled her closer, inches from her face as he let out a growl. 
“I do not kill for my people, I kill for my amusement,” He spat through gritted teeth, in seconds his fingers wrapped around the black strands of her hair and pulled it tightly at the root. Raven let out a soft sound, rolling her eyes back, “Do you find this amusing to you?” 
Raven’s stomach was on fire; she desperately tried to ignore the way his fingers locked into her hair, but the sensation was more than she could ignore. 
When Raven couldn’t speak a word, it was when He realized that she was enjoying this. A tedious smirk barely showed on his face through the shadow’s of his hood. His fingers lightly massaged her scalp, causing a small sound and physical reaction from Raven, then he gently jerked on it again to make her mewl out. 
“Oh,” He said, “This is quite pathetic, isn’t it?” 
Raven’s eyes fluttered open at the comment, her lips parted. 
“If you believe I have committed a crime, then punish me.” Raven said quietly between the two of them, it was taking everything not to reach out to him and touch his chest. 
His eyes glimmered, “The punishment you haunt yourself with everyday is not enough, is it?” He breathed cold on her lips, Raven was close to closing the gap, “Torturing yourself with the thought of seeing me.” 
His lips grazed her jaw, Raven let out a moan so embarrassing just from the smallest touch. She felt his lips feather up her jaw until he was breathing into her ear. 
“But you cannot,” His voice was below a whisper, “For I do not answer the silent beckons of your wet dreams.” 
Raven’s breath hitched, “My dark king, I must admit my admirations—,” 
“If you feel the need to do so, please call me by my name,” He lapped a strip up her jaw, letting out a low grunt, “But do not expect for me to care for you, for I could snap your neck and walk away without a care.” 
Raven’s eyes darkened, “And what name might that be?” 
“Harry.” He pressed his lips against her ear. 
Her heart fluttered, “I have adored you for ages, Harry.” 
“Cute,” Harry chuckled quietly, creating a distance to rid Raven of the imaginative warmth he gave off, “As if I don’t have everyone on this land feeling the same way.” 
“My feelings are different,” Raven felt a pang of anxiety in her chest, stepping towards him, “I have admired you from afar. I have defended your name when many wouldn’t.” 
Harry flicked his hair back in a state of boredom, “And what makes you different from the rest?” He spared her a glance, “That you treat me with such royalty as if I am,” He then leaned towards her with a small smirk, tilting his head slowly, “Let me allow you to educate you, love. We do not have any kings in Neverland, just me.” 
Raven’s chest burned with fire, she couldn’t tell if it was rage from his rejection, or if it was the still lingering lust deep inside of her. 
“You rule this land, you have been our king—,” 
Harry laughed out in howl, shaking his head. 
“A king,” He remarks, “You humor me, Raven.” 
“Is that not what your title is?!” Raven finally snapped with irritation, fists balled by her side. 
“My title is whatever the fuck I want it to be,” He spat with his white teeth showing, canines sharp and ready, “A king protects his people. I could set Neverland ablaze and watch all of you scatter to the water to escape and feel nothing.” 
Raven’s eyes stared darkly at the man before her. The darkness inside of him excited her, it made the passion she had for him burn brighter than it ever had. If she had a choice, she would burn the place to the ground with Harry just to watch his emerald eyes glimmer with hints of red in them. 
He was darker than she thought he was. 
Raven took a step closer to him, parting her cold, chapped lips. 
“And what would one do to watch this land burn with you?” 
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, she dared to place a hand onto his bloodied chest. The warmth of the blood was the first time she had felt the other degree of weather in years. Her fingers enclosed around the fabric, only for Harry to grab her wrist and raise her arm in the air. One moment she was standing before him, the other she was being pinned back against the boulder, now with his full body against hers. 
“I see the darkness in you,” Harry smirked faintly, showing off his canine teeth in the corner. Raven inhaled sharply as his hand grabbed her hip and burned his fingers into her skin, “You feel it too, don’t you, Raven? You wish to act on it…” His breath hit her cheek as his tongue just barely lapped under her jaw, “But you wish to be a…good girl, for me?” 
Raven’s eyes fluttered closed as a whimper escaped her. She let out a small hum in approval, acceptance, knowing that if given the chance there would be a few people on this island she would cut to pieces with no mercy. Dary being one of them, though, Harry covered that for her. 
“Words,” His fingers pinched her cheeks, forcing Raven to look at him as he squinted down at her; the emerald hues now turned dark and mossy, “I need to hear you say it.” 
Her mind was fuzzy, the close vicinity was fucking with her head. Raven could easily close the gap, ease the burning feeling in her gut and devour every piece of him. When she opened her mouth to speak, it was stuck in her throat, and she kept having to swallow the block from the lack of oxygen she had in her lungs. 
“Yes…” Raven breathed out, shoulders relaxing as she flicked her gaze into his, “I do, my dark king.” 
Silence fell between them, Harry searching her face; she didn’t know what for, if he was studying her, if he was reading her mind to tell the truth. All she knew, and had known, was that she wanted to bite into the obsession that was him. She wanted to feed off of him, she wanted to rule this land and kill off anyone that crosses the two of them. 
Harry’s fingers pinched tighter around her cheek, then let go. When Raven let out a shallow breath, his lips smashed against hers. Her body only stiffened for a second, shocked, then relaxed and fed into him. Her long fingers disappeared into his long curly locks, tugging it to bring him impossibly close to her. 
Harry let out a growl against her lip, when she went to lap her lips, his teeth snatched her bottom lip and pulled on it slowly. She sucked in a harsh breath, he pierced the skin and she could taste the faintest taste of blood on her tongue when she swallowed. Harry’s hand moved down from her cheeks to her neck, grabbing it tightly as he tilted Raven’s head back and started to suck on her lip as if he hadn’t fed in some years. 
Inevitably, the burning in her stomach didn’t go away; only worsened. Raven knew exactly what she wanted, but the only concern was that it would feed her obsession for wanting more. When Harry pulled off her lip, they both tried to catch their breaths from the makeout session, but only gazed into each others eyes while her hand was still pinned against the cold boulder. 
She wished to touch him, and just at the thought, her wrist was freed. It fell by her side and she was able to reach out and unbutton his cloak. In the most unspoken message between them, they started to undress each other. 
Harry let his cloak fall to the dirt, then reached out to her and removed her cloak. He draped it over the boulder, saying nothing, then turned back to her as his fingers caressed the side of her face; he was able to see the deadly look she gave. It made his throat tighten, he could see that they shared the same evil inside of them, the same feeling of nothing. 
“You wish for power, do you not?” Harry’s gravely voice said, deeply, as he pushed her long sleeved green shirt off her shoulder, when his lips met her skin, she closed her eyes and tried to take in the question; but it was so hard when he was touching her. 
“I wish for you,” Raven admitted, untying the thin fabric shaped as a loose bow around his front, when it fell to the side, she started to slowly unbutton him as Harry’s mouth finally attached to her neck and sucked it viciously, “I wish for you in any way…” She pushed the shirt off his torso, exposing the ghostly white skin of his, it was almost gray; tattoo’s meshed together and faded, “Any shape or form…” Raven’s fingers drew down his chest, “I wish for anything you allow me to have, my king.” 
Harry shuddered at her words, drawing a long mewl from him as he breathed through a wide smirk. 
“That’s what I like to hear,” He whispered into her ear, biting down on her earlobe, “Now, get on your knees for me, lovie. I want to show you what I shall allow you to have,” When he met her gaze, he pouted his lip in fake sympathy, “And what I shall offer you, tis just a taste.” 
Raven smirked, biting down on her lip as she fell to her knees. Looking up at Harry, his cock twitched inside of his pants; his fingers unbuttoned the fabric of his brown, stained pants. They fell, it gave no imagination, he wore nothing underneath; Raven was looking up at the long length that dripped from the tip and twitched for her. 
The sight alone made her mouth water, she was swallowing down the pooling saliva in her mouth as Harry took his cock into his hand and pumped it slowly; his fingers glided over the veins that pulsated, with each stroke precum dripped and he’d only use it to lather himself for lubrication. 
“Open your mouth.” His words held no compliments, but Raven loved it. 
When her lips parted, her tongue fell past her lips and she opened her mouth wide for him. Harry anchored himself down to meet the height of her mouth. With his cock still in his hand, Harry watched as the tip slipped delicately onto her tongue and let out a bated breath; Raven closed her eyes, moving forward as she took his cock into her mouth and settled around the thick girth. 
“I can give you anything,” Harry’s groan vibrated through his throat as Raven started to lap her tongue around his cock, her moans vibrating around his length and making his toes curl. The way her tongue felt on the underside of his cock, to the way the tip bottomed out in the back of her throat, “Show me you are worthy–ah, of this, fuck.” 
Raven took those words to heart, she wanted to show just how worthy she was and more. She raised herself onto her knees, one hand around his length as she eased her throat and breathed steadily through her nose; in swift motions, she started to deep throat him, her hand stroking any part of his cock that couldn’t fit into her mouth. 
Harry’s stomach tied in knots, the cold air mixed with the pleasure made his balls tighten, with his thighs shaking. His long, thick fingers curled into her hair as he bucked his hips into her mouth. Watching the view from where he was above her, it was a beautiful sight. The sight of Raven’s spit falling and dripping from her chin, while her lilac eyes flicked upwards to make eye contact with him. 
“What a privilege this must be for you,” Harry tried to breathe, but the pleasure was too much; his chest burned, “Do you like the way my cock tastes? Is it everything you dreamed of?” 
Raven blushed, a flat hand against his thigh as she moaned against his cock. Harry tried to refrain from taking over and fucking her face until she cried; he wondered how her tears tasted, if they were salty, or sweet just like the way she looked. 
He couldn’t control it, he needed to be inside of her, and that was what he wanted; that is what he shall get from her. Harry pulled out from her mouth, a string of spit following from her mouth as a gasp left her. Raven tried to catch her breath, just as she went to wipe the spit from her lips, Harry commanded her to stand with a single flick of his two fingers. 
Face to face, Harry being as calculated as he was, wrapped his hands around her bottom and picked her up. Raven wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips clashed together in a heated kiss. Her tongue ran across his bottom lip, letting him taste himself on her tongue; Harry growled lowly, setting her down onto the seat of the boulder before pushing her back to lay onto her back. 
“You shall take anything from me,” Raven breathed in a moan as Harry unbuttoned her blouse and ripped it open to show her bare breasts, “Take anything you must, my king. You can, and will always, have it all. Anything you want.” 
Harry twitched at her words, staring darkly up at her. When slid her pants off, his mouth attached to her breast, one small inhale before he dug his canines into her skin. Raven cried out, reaching for his hair as her back arched; the pain enclosed around her body, but then a sudden burst of euphoria filled her veins as Harry started to suck the bleeding from her skin. Her eyes pinched together tightly, desperately trying to suppress the moans deep inside her throat. 
Harry let the taste fill his tongue while his hand disappeared between her legs; Raven let out a loud whine as the pads of his fingers slid through her slick folds. Using his fingers, he lapped up the creamy arousal around his fingers and brought it to the engorged pearl that throbbed. Raven pulled his hair tighter, Harry growling against her skin at the tension in his head as his fingers circled around her clit daringly. 
He hadn’t heard someone sing for him like this in decades, Raven was whimpering and whining underneath him as his mouth moved to her nipple and latched onto it. Flicking his tongue, lapping it over the hardened nub; he nibbled it and played with it as her body withered underneath him in pleasure. 
“H-Harry–,” Raven spoke his true name in desperation as the fire burned inside of her, a portal opening up to a new world that she could have, that he could give her. Each suck, each flick, each lick, Harry was feeding her a taste of what she could have and she never knew how starved she was for it until now, “O-Oh…my god.” 
Raven winced at the lack of touch when he latched off of her nipple, his eyes squinting at her before slowly kissing down her stomach lovingly, soothingly, though she knew these feelings inside of her were only ever one sided. 
“Isn’t it beautiful?” He mumbled against her skin, his fingers sliding down to her slick folds and stilling his movements carefully, “What I can give you?” Harry said it slowly as he entered his fingers inside of her, when a mewl left her, his lips wrapped around her clit and started to kitten lick it in slow, short, small circles. 
“I want it all,” Raven didn’t feel like herself, she felt different; suddenly the color of her skin started to mute, as if Harry was converting her into him, “Give it to me, I want–ah!”
Raven watched as Harry’s nose sat at the top of her cunt, digging further into his late night snack. The wet feeling of his tongue lapped in longer strokes each time while his fingers slowly curled inside of her, pumping with each curl, her arousal was pooling around his knuckles and chin as his tongue worked around her. 
Her legs locked around his head, tightly, tighter, each lick made her body contort and twitch; her soul descended, then came back to her. She was seeing the world as it was, as it is, and as it always will be. Harry was doing her a favor, she was feeding into it, just as Harry wanted her too; Raven couldn’t fathom the power of what Harry had to offer her. 
“I’m…” Raven felt her cunt burn, her clit twitched and lit on fire as his tongue circled faster around her. 
It was the end for her, embarrassingly fast enough, the fireworks lit inside of her and her nails dug into the thick boulder as the lower half of her body raised from the surface. Raven cried out in pleasure, whimpers, pleas, Harry worked her through her first, and not the only, orgasm of the night. She drenched his chin, even when her body felt fucked and tired, Harry still sucked viciously on her pearl to make her oversensitive; he wanted to see the tears that he could bring her. 
“S-Stop–ah!” Raven tried to inch away from him, only for his fingers to dig into her thighs and lock her down against the boulder as his tongue worked in circular motions against her. Raven’s eyes watered as her thighs shook violently, lashing above him as the over sensitive feeling washed over her in a hot bath of fire until she drew another orgasm that was so deep and hot, “Ah! Fuck! F-Fuck, y-yes, oh my–,” 
Harry drew away from her, but not before kissing her clit. When he watched her body deflate, he felt accomplished, but there was more he was willing to give; he was not ready for this to be over. Not when he hadn’t shown her everything he had to offer. Tis just a taste. 
Harry kissed her ankle, grabbing her hips as he pulled her close to him. 
“You are right…” She said in a daze, “It’s so…beautiful.” 
His fingers catch the arousal around his chin, lapping it up and bringing it to his lips and sucking it off his fingers. He hummed, biting down on his lip as he positioned himself against her entrance, staring darkly down at her. 
“Are you ready to see the rest of it?” Harry’s voice was filled with lust and devious matters. 
“Please, my king,” Raven whimpered, “I beg of you to show me.” 
Harry hummed lightly, pushing his tip into her. Raven, while she was wet, was tight. Harry had no problem stretching her out with his thick girth, as he pushed himself into her, his lips parted as they glistened in the wet moonlight. 
“You have been such a good girl,” Harry finally praised her, he lifted her dead legs around his waist and pushed himself further; her wet cunt hugged his cock so tightly, he thought he was going to cum within moments. He had to collect himself. 
Raven couldn’t bring herself to react, even physically, the second orgasm brought all the energy out of her. Her walls stretched around him, he was thick and big, it made her sore legs shake before he found himself to pull back and get to work. 
Harry leaned down, brushing her hair out of her face, “But I know you’ve got a demon in there,” He kissed her pale lips, nudging his nose against her cheek as her eyes glimmered, “That little demon begs to come out and play, wouldn’t you agree, lovie?” 
Raven whined out, a sudden urge of aggression vibrating through her as she clutched his locks and swallowed thickly. Dark purple eyes met his emerald ones, and she brought him closer as she just barely touched his lips. 
“Let her come out,” She whispered softly against his lips, when Harry went to kiss her, she inched back and stared darkly, “Let her free.” 
Harry smirked wide, “Of course,” He breathed against her lips, finally tasting her before mumbling against her lips, “Show me your demons, Raven.” 
Their lips clashed once more, just as Harry drew his hips back and slammed them against hers hard. Raven cried out against his lips, wrapping her arms around his back. Harry grabbed her throat, squeezing the sides as he bottomed out to the hilt of hers; Raven lost her breath as the pleasure filled her, his tongue dancing with hers, the stars in the sky cried in showers of dead bursts of light. 
When Raven closed her eyes, the vision came more clearly; the vivid rebellion of her in bear skin and finest gold; the nights of her in the bed with Harry, in a king sized bed, while she rode him until he came. Raven envisioned the overlook of the village, the power it brought her, and when she came to…
“Fuck, you’re so good,” Harry grumbled against her skin. 
Raven’s fingers were digging tightly into his skin, blood embedded underneath her fingernails as Harry drilled into her cunt. The quiet of the night interrupted with the powers of their pleasure and skin slapping in the night, they begged for each other quietly, loudly, wildly. 
Harry’s cock worked her cunt, the tip continuously hitting her g-spot as his fingers flicked away at her irritated clit; if there was a God, Raven could see him so clearly in the makeshift religious experience. Her toes curled as she approached the third coming of her orgasm, loud whimpers and moans ripping through her throat as her nails dug deeper to claw into the bloody back of her king’s. 
The pain only edged Harry more to his first orgasm, recklessly thrusting and fucking into her, his stomach boiled with each thrust; his toes curled as he slapped the boulder beside her face and pulled her torso closer to her. Raven now sitting up, Harry grabbed her ass and squeezed it so tight there were marks forming within seconds. He held her up, her legs wrapped around him, as he caught her nipple into his mouth and started stroking sloppily at a hard and fast pace, offbeat and messy. 
Raven’s arms wrapped around his neck, holding him close as her moan ripped through her throat; spilling messily against his cock. She was ripping through her third orgasm, wetting her thighs and Harry’s pelvis, while Harry’s nails clawed into her asscheeks and came in long thick ropes inside of her; marking her as forever property of his, never to leave his side, and that was the silent contract in this game they played with one another. 
Their bodies deflated, when Harry couldn’t hold the weight any longer, he sat her back down onto the boulder and let his flaccid length fall out of her. Both of them fucked, though Harry recovered easily than her, she could barely hold her eyes open. She wondered for a moment, how would she get up and walk all the way back home after this? 
After some moments, silent and thick, Raven and Harry got dressed without a word. She buttoned up her blouse, avoiding eye contact with him. She rested her body against the boulder, taking in the actions and the blur of it all; the memory fading faster than she’d like, but the euphoria still lingered in her veins. 
Harry put his robe over his head, parting his wet lips as he glanced towards her. 
“It’s late…” She trailed off, unsure of what to say, “I must reside back too–,” 
Just as Raven went to walk back towards the dirt road, Harry grabbed her wrist tightly, staring darkly as he pulled her to him. 
“Where do you think you are going?” Harry spat in distaste, grabbing her chin to make her look at him, Raven’s eyes were wide; “You belong to me now.” 
Raven’s eyes softened at his words, slowly a smirk stretched on her lips. 
“Yes, my dark king.” 
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ohgaylor · 1 month
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anyone else read this line from The Bolter to mean everything surrounding reputation, her sixth album?
By all accounts, she almost drowned when she was six in frigid water
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BY ALL ACCOUNTS. SHE ALMOST DROWNED. WHEN SHE WAS SIX IN FRIGID WATER.
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fitsinthepalm · 1 month
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good morning did you know by all accounts she almost drowned when she was six in frigid water
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corneliaavenue · 10 days
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Vesuvia Weekly: Brainrot's Baking Lesson
~ What happens when six friends ask their local author to show them his bread recipe? What happens when this involves teleporting them to brainrot's IRL apartment kitchen? ~
1.6k words, rated PG
I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to have all of them over at once, instead of inviting them in twos and threes. Nadia and Asra are both sitting on my kitchen stools, being politely conscious of the fact that they are in my personal space. Muriel is surprisingly at ease - he's found my cat. He's very happy to have something small and soft to protect, and she's very happy to have such a tall and attentive shoulder to perch on.
Julian, Lucio, and Portia, on the other hand, are already starting to stress me out.
"Where's the fire?!" Portia's voice echoes from inside my oven, one hand braced dangerously close to the knob that would make the fire she's searching for appear - right under her nose.
"I'll show you how it works after I show you how I make my dough - Julian, your diet is too poor for me to explain what those are."
The doctor glances guiltily over from where he's been examining the selection of instant noodles on top of my fridge. Of course it's the first thing he'd notice, being so damned tall. "Can you blame me? These have pictures of soup on them, but they feel crunchy! Why do they feel crunchy?" He widens his eyes, crunching a packet in one gloved fist for emphasis and I wince.
"I -"
"Why do you have winter in a box? I hate winter!"
"Close the fridge, Lucio."
"Fridge? As in frigid?" Nadia watches her ex-husband's antics with poorly concealed amusement. "How innovative. This eradicates the need for a cellar."
"What kind of magic does it run on?" Asra's question is innocent, but the way they're eyeing the mechanics of my freezer with a curious gleam is anything but.
"Not a type that you're familiar with, so can we please focus on why you're here?" I don't know what it is about my tone that gets my point across, but it works. I stoop to retrieve my bread bowl and set it on my counter. "So, uh -"
Having six pairs of eyes on me at once (seven pairs, if I count the cat) is not a sensation I think I can get used to. I get several encouraging smiles and take a deep breath. These are my friends. They're all sitting with me because they like being here. This is fun. I love them.
"Uh, so, first, I put some hot water in my bowl." I turn on the kitchen tap to 'hot' and immediately take everything back.
"What -"
"What is that?!"
"That does not look natural."
"You can decide the temperature?!"
"Is it safe?"
"How does that work?"
I shut the tap off. For the first time since I ushered them through the door, the apartment is silent. The cat gives me an unimpressed yawn and curls up on Muriel's shoulder for a nap.
"Okay," I run my fingers through my hair, "Okay, let's try this again. This is a water source, in my apartment, that I control the temperature of. The point is not that I have water, the point is that I need hot water to start my dough."
"We have something similar in the Palace," Nadia muses, "though so far its use is limited to drawing the baths and running the fountains. I've been thinking of expanding the network using the aqueducts, but it had not occurred to me to adjust the temperature of the water as it runs through the system."
"U-um, yeah." I nod, hastily measuring the liquid into my bowl. I hope the butterfly effect from this isn't catastrophic. "Anyways, we need oil, honey, and salt next."
I hand different containers to my different guests, giving the salt to Lucio as I expect it to be the least messy ingredient involved. Portia's quick to wave me off when I offer her a measuring cup. "Oh, I'm just watching. I need both hands free to take notes." She's got an old envelope in one hand and a pencil in the other. I nod and move on.
Putting the dough together is fairly straightforward. Besides Julian calling himself a slippery boy, Lucio howling with laughter when I explain the function of yeast, and Nadia sneaking little tastes of honey from the measuring cup, getting to the point of adding flour is fairly event-less. That is, until it's time to add the flour.
I know they can cook, but I'm quickly finding out that Asra might not have any experience baking. Before I can warn him, he's haphazardly tossing a cupful of flour into the mixing bowl, causing the powdery substance to explode all over the counter, the ingredients, and ourselves. There's a moment of stunned silence before Portia reaches over and rumples their curls, raising a second floury cloud from their hair. She giggles. "It just blends right in, doesn't it?"
There's no question in my mind when it comes to who has the best hand and arm strength for kneading. The question is whether he's willing to part with my cat for long enough to do so. Taiga is thoroughly enamored with her preheated napping tree.
"I'd take her, but I'm still writing my notes." Portia looks ready to cry from frustration. Nadia, always quick to smooth things over, reaches up and begins to lift the furball down.
"I'll hold her. She seems very sweet -"
The tiny, annoyed 'mew' the cat makes as she's lifted down is enough to capture the guests' attention. Muriel takes advantage of the distraction to get a headstart on kneading the dough, his massive hands getting the job done in half the time it usually takes me. I should invite him over to help out more often ...
"She SMACKED me!"
"What do you expect if you try to touch a cat right after they hiss at you?"
When I look over again, Taiga is crouching in Nadia's lap with her tail bushed out, letting out low warning yowls in Lucio's direction. Julian is busy trying to get both of the offended parties to calm down, while Asra sneaks her treats with a proud look on their face. I narrow my eyes. When did he pull those out of my cupboard?
"Now what?"
"Hm?"
When I look back at our project, Muriel is standing over the bowl with both hands slathered in dough and the beginnings of an embarrassed pout on his face. "... I can't get it off."
"Oh gosh - let me help with that. Sorry, this recipe is really sticky ..."
Lucio materializes at my other elbow as I work the dough off of Muriel's hands. "I'm tasting this now."
Before I can protest, he's scooped some out with his finger and already has a chunk in his mouth. For half a moment I consider bapping his hand much like my cat did a few minutes ago, but I let it slide. A little raw flour never hurt anyone ... right?
"I hate to be bothersome, but ah ..." Julian is still standing in the middle of the kitchen, swaying slightly on his feet. "I'm afraid I forgot to eat, and I'm beginning to suspect that bread takes longer than a half an hour to produce ..."
"Honestly, Ilya, why would you do that?"
Julian stares down wide-eyed at his sister, comically intimidated by someone half his size. "I was ... busy."
"Busy since when?" Portia's eyes narrow as she presses her brother to confess the full extent of his sins. "Speak."
"Er - yesterday?"
"You bastard!"
"Okay!" I jump in. "It's going to take another hour and a half, so ... how about we eat?"
Lucio and Asra both look mildly disappointed when I cut off their brewing entertainment. Nadia looks generally concerned. "We'd hate to impose on you. I fear we've already caused enough trouble."
"It's not troublesome," I tell her as I reach for the top of my fridge, "instant noodles are easy."
"I though you said my diet was too poor to learn about these." I swear Julian's eyebrows get bushier with excitement as I set my electric kettle to boil.
"I underestimated you."
... he looks way too self-satisfied with that.
By the time the bread has risen, been shaped, risen again, been baked, and cooled enough to slice up and send home, my guests have made themselves perfectly comfortable. Portia has raided my wardrobe and tried on every cosplay I still own. Nadia has gone through all my chopsticks and arranged them by pairs. Muriel has given Taiga so many scritches that I think she's imprinted on him. Julian has smuggled at least seven instant noodle packets into his coat and grilled me about every item in my medicine cabinet. Lucio has tested out every single makeup product leftover from said cosplay days (I don't know how to tell him that it's all expired and should probably be thrown out). Asra has somehow managed to innocently unearth all the embarrassing things I own before taking a catnap in my bed.
"And that's how I make my bread," I tell them. The six are standing at my door again, each holding half a loaf to take home. "Any questions before I take you back?"
"Can I have some jam for this?" Lucio's already tucking into his piece, speaking around a large chunk in his mouth. "It's kinda dry without it."
"I'm sure you'll be able to procure some upon our arrival." Nadia is somehow making a wrapped half-loaf look like a ballgown accessory with how elegantly she's holding it. "I worry that we may have overtaxed our host."
"Not at all," I tell them, and I mean it. Whatever grey hairs I've gotten from this are far outweighed by how happy I was to spend time with them. "Let me know if you ever want more. Maybe next time we could watch a movie."
"What's a moo-fee?"
"Never mind!" I yelp, "Let's head out, I'm sure you're more than ready to be back in your world, let me just make sure the cat doesn't try to follow us -"
The cat is, indeed, trying to follow us. She gives Muriel's shoulder and Asra's treat-filled pocket a forlorn look as I gently scoot her away from the door. Wait -
"Give those back!"
"Never!"
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dearreader · 13 days
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By all accounts, she almost drowned/When she was six in frigid water/And I can confirm she made/A curious child, ever reviled/By everyone except her own father/With a quite bewitching face/Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless/Excellent fun 'til you get to know her/Then she runs like it's a race/Behind her back, her best mates laughed/And they nicknamed her "The Bolter"
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bradshawsbaby · 1 year
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Si Vis Amari Ama
I. Twin Flames
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SERIES MASTERLIST
Pairings: Rooster (Roman Name: Gallus) x Female Reader (Roman Name: Sabina), featuring Hangman (Roman Name: Carnifex) x Phoenix
Summary: A girl whose freedom was stolen to pay her father’s debts. A gladiator enslaved for the entertainment of Rome. A love they never thought possible.
Author’s Note: I hope you guys are excited for Gallus and Sabina’s story! I know that I’m very excited to tell it. Please think of this chapter as a Prologue of sorts, where you’ll get a little glimpse into the histories of our hero and heroine.
Word Count: 2k
Warnings: Slavery in the ancient world, parental death, references to physical abuse, allusions to atrocities committed during a Roman raid, angst.
You could never escape your debts.
There wasn’t much that you remembered about your father, but you could recall those words falling from his lips, clear as a bell. He’d said them so often when you were a little girl that they were permanently ingrained in your brain, rather like the brand that now marred the skin of your left shoulder.
He was right. You couldn’t escape your debts. Even in death, they came to haunt those you left behind, the weight of them falling on shoulders not strong enough to bear the burden.
If only your father had heeded his own advice.
But you were only a child then. At six years old, what could you know of the expenses your father was piling up, the creditors he owed, the tax collectors he evaded?
Perhaps he knew all along. Perhaps he knew he would never escape those debts, never outrun them. And so perhaps Fortuna, the only god he had ever had any use for, had smiled upon him when she sent the fever that robbed him of his life breath.
But why did she have to take Mater, too?
At six years old, you knew nothing. Nothing but pain and loss.
If only you had known that that was just the beginning.
What could you have known of the debts your father owed? Death may have allowed him to escape them, but it didn’t afford you the same luxury.
Rome had been your home your entire life, but when you needed her the most, she turned her back on you, just as your father had done. Just, as it seemed, Fortuna had. The most powerful empire in the world had no pity in her heart for poor orphans, especially not orphans who had inherited a lifetime’s worth of debt, orphans whose fathers’ foolishness had robbed the empire’s coffers.
It was a strange thing, being swept up and sold off, like you were of no more worth than the tapestries and vases that went with you off to market.
Everything was to be sold, you’d overheard the men saying, those frightening men with their faces that looked like the marble you’d seen in the Temple of Jupiter and their eyes as cold as the frigid waters of the Tiber in the dead of winter. If they fetched a good enough price for your childhood home and everything that lay within it, it might just settle your father’s accounts, so they said.
You could never escape your debts.
Or, in this case, you could never escape the debts of others.
Maybe you should have known that moment would come, the moment when your freedom was swallowed up forever. Maybe the signs had been there all along, as the augurs in the temples were so wont to remind people.
Had your parents known all along that this would be your fate when they bestowed your name upon you at birth? Sabina, a name derived from the Sabine women, the very women who had been robbed of their freedom when they were unwillingly carried off by the brutal hands of Rome.
You had never been one for portents and signs, but perhaps this one had been staring you in the face all along.
From Sabina, the freeborn Roman to Sabina, the slave.
How quickly the hands of fate could turn.
Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months to years, until freedom itself seemed only to be a distant memory, like the sound of your mother’s voice and the joy of the games you’d played as a small child.
Your childhood and your freedom had been stolen, stolen to satisfy the debts of the man who was supposed to protect and defend you. And yet, you couldn’t find it in yourself to let the bitterness and resentment build. You’d seen the way it festered in others, the way it gnawed at their bones until nothing remained but a hollow shell. You couldn’t allow that to happen.
Because then what was left of you would be stolen, too, and you really would be nothing.
So long as that tiny flicker of peace remained, then a part of you remained as well, and nobody, not even Rome herself, could take that away from you.
Through every indignity, through every punishment and beating and degradation, you clung to that tiny piece of your heart that you stubbornly refused to let be stained by the world. Through every change of hands, when your body was treated like a commodity to be bought and sold, your very humanity ignored and denied, you retreated to that small place inside, that place where you were still you and always would be.
At night, when you dreamed, it wasn’t of the horrors of your circumstances or the brutality of your days. When you dreamed, it was always of the same pair of arms that held you close and kept you safe. They were strong arms. Scarred arms. Arms that had carried the weight of burdens too heavy to bear, just as you had. You didn’t know who they belonged to—you could never see his face—but you trusted him more than anyone you had ever known. And though you woke each morning alone and cold, you knew with a surety borne only of a deep-seated need that his warmth would find you again when you closed your eyes.
No matter where you went, no matter what household you were sold to, your strong-armed protector followed you in your dreams. And so you weren’t afraid when, after the death of the dominus you’d served for many years, you were sold off to the household of Atticus Cornelius Juventus. For though he was well known to be a lanista, a dealer in the most brutal of gladiators, you felt a strange sense of certainty that you would be safe there.
Your father had taught that you could never escape your debts.
You had learned that you could never escape the fetters of slavery.
But maybe, just maybe, there was still a part of you, no matter how small, that could be free.
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Honor and pride were all a man had.
His father had been a great warrior. Honor and pride were the two things he had lived by, the things that had fueled him.
He didn’t really remember his father.
His mother had told him about him when he was small, but he didn’t really remember her either.
He could recall her in flashes—the feel of her arms as she rocked him to sleep, the sound of her voice as she hummed a tune he could no longer remember the words of, the look of pain that flickered in her eyes when she spoke of his father.
But every time he tried to cling to those memories, to solidify her face in his mind’s eye and tattoo it on his heart, they disappeared like the morning mist, taking all the fleeting echoes of home with them.
Home.
Britannia had been home once, but was it any longer?
It was the land his father had died for, the land he’d been cut down defending.
It was the land where his mother had given him life, nurturing him and raising him to be a man of honor and pride, as his father had been.
But he hadn’t been a man, not then.
He hadn’t been a man when the Romans came and raided his village. He hadn’t been a man when they burned the only home he’d ever known, not caring that his mother was still inside. He hadn’t been a man when they raped and pillaged, destroying everything he’d ever held dear in their mad thirst for power and control.
He hadn’t been a man when they rounded him up with the other few survivors and carted him off to the slave markets of Rome, the foul center of their even fouler empire.
He hadn’t been a man then, but he became one.
And as he grew under the watchful eyes of Rome, so did his bitterness. As his body grew stronger, so did his hatred for the people who had made him a slave to their savage empire.
The Romans liked to claim that his people were the savages, yet he had never seen a people as thirsty for blood as the citizens of this hellish kingdom. His father had only ever fought out of devotion to his family and his homeland. These people fought for the pure joy of bloodlust.
He hated them.
He hated them and he hated everything they represented.
But most of all, he hated himself for not being able to break free of them. He hated himself for having to submit to their fetters and chains.
One day, he told himself, he would break free. And so he worked hard every day, not for the benefit of Rome, but for the benefit of himself. He built up his muscles and his stamina, he built up his endurance and his strength. He built himself up so that no one would ever be able to hurt him and get away with it.
But perhaps that had been his mistake.
He built himself up so much that it began to attract talk—and attention.
It started out harmlessly enough. His dominus—how he hated that word—would set up street brawls with drunkards and other slaves and collect bets on the outcome of the fights. He might not have been proud to admit it, but it served as an outlet for the rage he’d been bottling up inside since he was a small boy. Each man he fought was the man who had run his father through with a Roman sword, or the soldier who had laughed as his mother screamed in agony while the flames engulfed her. With each swing of his massive fists, he avenged his parents and his people.
But as the fights became more popular, more people began to take notice. And he was too brash and impulsive, too young and stupid, to realize just how dangerous that was.
He would never forget the day that Atticus Cornelius Juventus came to watch him fight, the rich man’s dark, beady eyes never blinking as he watched him destroy his opponents, beating them to within an inch of their lives. At the end of the bout, when he was bloodied and panting and soaked with sweat, the man even smiled, one corner of his cunning mouth quirking up into a satisfied grin.
“I’ll take him, Linus,” he had said, throwing a hefty bag of clinking coins in the direction of his smirking dominus.
His former dominus.
From that day forward, he became the property of Atticus Cornelius Juventus and he knew that he would never taste freedom again.
He had built himself up so that they could never destroy him, and he ended up destroying himself.
From street brawls with drunkards, to armed combat in local arenas, to the public spectacles of the Colosseum, the years passed and his fame grew. “The Barbarian from Britannia” was what they loved to call him. He was their champion, their hero, their undefeated victor. They loved him, worshiped him, adored the ground he walked on.
He hated them.
He hated their cheers, he hated the way they fawned over him, he hated the way they had forced their sword into his hand, the same sword that had slaughtered his father and his people.
He no longer cared whether he lived or died. In fact, he rather wished that death would finally come to claim him one of these days. 
What did he have to live for?
It certainly wasn’t the hope of freedom. He no longer hoped for that. He no longer hoped for anything. His life was not his own, and it never had been.
There were moments when he was by himself late at night, brief and fleeting moments when he felt himself reaching out for something—or someone. It was a desperate ache, a longing deep inside his chest for something he didn’t quite understand.
It didn’t matter. He would root that longing out of his heart, just as he had rooted out every other feeling beyond bitterness and hatred.
Honor and pride were all a man had, and his had been trampled into the dust.
He would never return to his homeland.
He would never escape the blood and sand of the Colosseum.
He would never again be free.
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iknewyouweretroubletv · 2 months
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the bolter lyrics that remind me of bella baxter:
“by all accounts she almost drowned when she was six in frigid water, I can confirm she made a curious child”
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“splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless”
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“then he’ll call her a whore, wish he wouldn’t be sore”
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“all her f*cking lives flashed before her eyes, it feels like the time, she fell through the ice then came out alive”
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“he was a cad wanted her bad, just like any good trophy hunter, and she likes the way it tastes, taming a bear, making him care, watching him jump then pulling him under”
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ivebeenthearcher · 1 month
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Did you know that by all accounts she almost drowned when she was six in frigid water. If you even care.
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applewhitehorse · 2 months
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By all accounts, she almost drowned
When she was six in frigid water
And I can confirm she made
A curious child, ever reviled
By everyone except her own father
With a quite bewitching face
Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless
Excellent fun till you get to know her
Then she runs like it's a race
The Bolter by Taylor Swift
not taylor swift writing about apple white’s life story
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