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lorirwritesfanfic · 3 years

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Not Just A Horse Party

Author's note: Another late submission to @choicesnovchallenge2021. Look at me posting a Liam x MC story just so I don’t forget how to write him. [Original characters are creations of this author. The others are owned by Pixelberry Studios] Book: The Royal Romance Pairing: Liam Rys x Mc (Jade) Rating: T Word count: 980 Reading time: ~4min Summary: When Jade isn’t happy, Liam comes up with an idea to cheer her up. Based on the prompt: Choices November Challenge - day five: cake

The Royal motorcade stopped at the entrance of Valtoria estate and the door opened for Liam. As the king climbed out of the car, he was promptly greeted by the staff and headed inside. Yet, the usual peaceful manor was anything but calm today. Servants walked from one side to another, carrying flower arrangements, fresh fruits, herbs and rustic decorations that would make the place look more like a huge farm than a castle from the Renaissance period.

"What's going on in here?" He asked as they climbed up the stairs.

"It's Marabelle's birthday, Your Majesty," Bastien informed.

"Excuse me?"

"Queen Jade's horse. The benefit horse race this morning was to honor Marabelle and the staff is working on the final arrangements for the feast," his bodyguard explained.

"I thought this was to help the Equine Assisted Therapy Center."

"It is, but she chose to do it today because of Marabelle."

Liam looked around, studying his surroundings as he passed by. More servants carried apples and carrots. He always knew Jade loved animals and Valtoria was the perfect place for her. But he didn't know his wife would become almost as eccentric as the former Valtorian duchess, throwing all kinds of events for her pets. Yet, he didn't have the heart to call her out. With the pressure over her to carry the heir to the throne, taking good care of her pets and philanthropy were her way to distract herself from all the incessant questions about a difficult subject.

"Bastien?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how upset do you think my wife will be when she finds out I forgot about this?"

"Just a moment, sir." Bastien used his earpiece to talk to Mara and whispered to the king. "Twelve."

Liam grimaced.

"Fortunately, Her Majesty's assistant called your assistant earlier this week to remind you. Andrea bought Marabelle a new saddle and matching boots for Queen Jade. They appeared in the race wearing them."

"Hm... So two?"

"Mara said six. Marabelle was too tired and lost the race."

Liam went silent for a moment, lost in thought. Jade learned how to hide it in public, but she certainly was worried about her horse. But as an idea came to him, he grinned. "Bastien, didn't Lady Carmine have a chef whose was specialist on cooking for animals?"

"Yes, she did."

"Tell Andrea to look for their number. I have a special order for today."

About two hours later, the estate was crowded by the Valtorian citizens and guests. Much like any other event hosted by the Royal couple, the press was there, eager to get the latest gossip, or at the very least, write an article about the Queen's outfit. As the king joined the celebration, he noticed his wife making her rounds talking to everyone, but her smile often disappeared when no one was looking.

When she went to the table where the staff received trays with refreshments and appetizers to sip a glass of mimosa away from prying eyes, he sauntered over, placing a hand on the small of her back. "Good afternoon, my queen."

Jade turned around, eyes widened in a combination of surprise, relief, and tiredness.

"Liam!"

Without a second thought, she threw her arms around him, hugging him.

"When did you arrive? I missed you!"

"I missed you too, my love. I had a few things to take care of first, but I couldn't miss the festivities. How's everything going?"

"We reached our goal of donations to the Equine Assisted Therapy Center in the first hour of today's first event, the head of all noble houses are here to support us. It's been great." She forced a smile.

"But?"

"Marabelle lost. By the end of the race, she was so tired. I asked the vet if she was okay and he said she should no longer compete on horse races." The queen frowned.

"I'm sorry, Jade." He kissed the top of her head as she hugged him tighter. "I know you wanted to get her back in shape to compete. She still is a healthy and beautiful horse with many years ahead of her."

"Yeah... I have to give her more attention though. Maybe take a stroll with her everyday to stay close and keep her healthy and happy."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"But I’m so bummed I tired her out today. I made this whole thing for her and it became retirement party that the guest of honor can’t even enjoy because she’s too tired." She sighed. “I know this is stupid. She’s a horse. She doesn’t care about any of this.”

Liam cradled her face and gazed at her. "But you do. And you did more than a party for your horse. You’re supporting a good cause. It means a lot to the people from the therapy center."

“I guess...” She gave her shoulders.

"Besides, I think we still can give Marabelle a nice party."

“Can we?”

Just then, a couple servants passed by carrying a three layered cake made of carrots, oats and molasses.

"How about we take the party to the stables so the birthday girl can have her own cake?"

Joy sparkled in Jade's eyes and she rose on her toes to kiss him. "Oh my god! Thank you so much, Li!"

"No problem, my love," he whispered and kissed her forehead.

"And here I thought you had forgotten all about this event when Andrea sent the saddle and the boots in your name."

"I did. But I have some good impromptu ideas from time to time."

The queen giggled.

"Come on. Let's call everyone to sing happy birthday to Marabelle. Then we can join the feast and cut the cake made for humans."

"Okay."

Walking hand in hand, The Royal couple returned to the party to announce the next part of the event.

#choices fanfic #the royal romance fanfic #liam rys #liam x mc #choicesnovember2021 #lorirwritesfanfic #lorircreates

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batgurl1989 · 3 years

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A Wolf In Toussaint Chapter Three

Summary: After being summoned by the Duchess, you and Geralt head to the Palace of Beauclair with some trouble on the road.

Word Count: 2120

Warnings: spoilers for the Blood and Wine DLC

A/N: I know this is so soon after the last chapter, but I was too excited not to post it. Taglist is open, requests are open.

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Taglist: @rmtndew @henrynerdfan @princesssterek @seanh-boredom @djinny-djin-djin @diegos-butt @cynic-spirit @daddys-littlewhitegirl

"Younin! Watch out!" Geralt growled a warning at you as you dodged a stream of caustic acid an Archespore shot at you. Where Igni hadn't scorched the ground, the large plant-like monsters' poison had. Geralt slashed at one of the large plants, trying to sever it's head.

You tried to stay to the edges of the battle zone, drawing on the smoldering embers for power as you kept fire shooting from one hand at the plants. You didn't have any silver weapons on you, which would have to be remedied as soon as possible. You knew Geralt was worried about you, and that was causing him to be distracted. It had only been a few days since you woke up, and this was the first time you had had to fight since the bandits on your way to Novigrad. You knew it was a risk to draw on the fire, as it was the hardest element to control, and the chaos was weakening you at an alarming rate. But right now, you didn't need to control where it went as long as you aimed wide of where Geralt was.

"It's multiplying!" You called out over the din of the fighting. Buds were springing from the ground. Though these weren't full blown monsters yet, the vibrations of the fire and the fighting were agitating them. One burst close to you, spitting acid in all directions. A droplet landed on your boot, sizzling as it ate through the leather. "Shit!"

Geralt was by your side in a flash, pulling your boot off before the acid could make it to your skin. His eyes met yours for the briefest of moments, concern and something else flashing in the golden depths. You nodded that you were alright, and he was gone again. He swung his heavy silver sword deftly into the monster, his energy seeming to have jolted back to full now that you had come close to being hurt.

Turning your attention to the buds, you carefully stepped further back, out of range of any shooting poison. With your boot off, the rocky ground bit into your sole, but you couldn't think about that now. As long as you avoided the acid pools, you could handle it. Eyeing up the buds that seemed ready to burst, you unleashed a stream of fire, using all your concentration to aim true. The blooming plants burst into fire, sizzling as they wilted to the ground, their poison remaining inside and lighting up with the petals.

Your head snapped around when you heard hissing and squealing. Geralt had slashed through the bud that served as the monster's head, ending the monster's life, and stopping it from creating more buds. He carefully wiped his blade off before returning it to it's sheath alongside his steel blade.

With laser-like focus, he stormed over to you, his hungry eyes raking over your body in such a way that your breath caught in your suddenly dry throat. The tip of your tongue darted out to wet your lips, his eyes tracking the motion like a starving animal. You heard a low rumble deep in his chest, and it set all your nerves on fire, ready for him.

When he reached you, he pulled you roughly into his arms, his mouth covering yours with such force your teeth clacked against his. A long low moan escaped you as you pressed against him, desperate to get closer. The adrenaline from the battle still coursed through both your veins, and it needed an outlet. His hands spanned your back, pressing you tightly against his armour, his fingers gripping the linen shirt you wore for the road. You clutched the grooves of his armour, standing on your toes to kiss him deeper, your tongue delving into his mouth to tangle with his own.

His hands travelled lower, gripping your arse before he lifted you off the ground. Instinctively you wrapped your leather bound legs around his waist, your arms going around his neck to steady yourself. With one arm banded under your legs, his free hand dove into your hair, pulling it free of the ponytail you had tossed it into. Your red hair caught in the breeze, fluttering around both your heads in a curtain of fire, blocking out the world.

You pulled away when breathing became a necessity, resting your forehead on his. His golden eyes searched yours, but you didn't know what he was looking for. You breathed deeply his scent, the adrenaline leaving your system, and your nerves calming. This man drove you wild and seemed to centre you. It was a complete whiplash effect, and had your head spinning, but you wouldn't give it up for anything.

"I suppose we should find the horses?" You whispered, not wanting to destroy the mood of your little world. Geralt chuckled softly, before kissing you all too briefly one last time. Slowly, he let you slide down his body until you were on solid ground again. As your foot hit the rocky ground, you remembered you only had one boot on. "I don't suppose you packed extra boots in my size?"

"Sorry, it was a vast oversight on my part." Geralt shook his head, going to retrieve your boot. He examined it quickly to make sure there was no acidic poison left on it, and to make sure the hole hadn't ruined the integrity of the boot. "You should be able to wear it until we get to the city. I promise to buy you a new pair."

"You don't have to do that. I can buy my own." You blushed as you sat on a nearby log to pull your boot back on. The hole wasn't any larger than the size of your pinky nail, and as long as it didn't rain, you would make it to the city. "Could we also stop by a blacksmith, and see about getting me a silver sword or at least a dagger?"

"Of course." Geralt nodded, offering you a hand to help you up once your boot was laced again. You took his rough hand, but didn't let go once you were vertical. He raised his eyebrows at you, but a small smile played at his lips, and his grip tightened around your fingers. "But first, horses."

It didn't take you long to find the horses. They had run off at the first sound of trouble, but these were Toussaint horses, and were used to being ridden into battle, so they hadn't gone far. They were munching grass as though bored, which you couldn't help but laugh at.

"Dandelion is bringing Roach and Marabelle when he comes down. He sent a letter while you were sleeping." Geralt explained once you were back on the road to the Palace of Beauclair.

"So the King let him go?" You were surprised that you hadn't been worried about it until now. Sure you had been busy being captured and then healing and regaining your strength, but your friend's well-being should have come to mind before now. You mentally kicked yourself for being so selfish. "Do we know yet what went wrong?"

"From what Yen could figure out from her sources, the King of Beggars is either working for someone who wants you and he was delivering you to him, or he was trying to get you away from the person who wants you." Geralt fought hard but ultimately failed to keep the edge off his tone. You weren't the only one jealous of an ex. "One day, you will have to tell me what he means to you."

"If that's what you really want." You had nothing to hide, and if Geralt needed to know for his own peace of mind, you wouldn't keep that from him.

"I'm not sure that it is." Geralt grumbled, adjusting the reins in his hands. "But it might be something that can give us a clue as to what just went down."

"Perhaps when we get back from the Palace, we will have time." You nodded. You knew how hard it was to ask about an ex, and if Geralt wasn't sure he was ready yet, you weren't going to push it. The King meant literally nothing to you other than as a friend, but you weren't sure Geralt would believe that without hearing the rest of it. "So is there anything I need to know about the Duchess?"

"Other than she likes things done her way and quickly, not really." Geralt shrugged. To him, the Duchess was no different than any other client, other than she had the army to back up her demands while farmers and villagers barely had the coin to get his services in the first place. "She can run a little hot and cold, but that depends on how grave the job is. If there is no job, she is actually quite pleasant to be around."

"Oh?" You raised your eyebrow at the Witcher, your voice dripping with unimpressed sarcasm. Knowing him and his past, there was only one conclusion that jumped out at you after what he said.

"Not like that, I swear." Geralt laughed deeply, warmly, in a way you rarely ever heard. Then his face grew serious. "Her sister, however..."

"You're joking! You have to be!" You blinked a few times, trying to wrap your head around the fact that he slept with the Duchess's sister. You were pretty sure she was dead, but didn't know if Geralt had a hand in that or not. "Are you joking?"

"I don't kiss and tell." Geralt winked at you but remained silent. Frowning you tried to think of a way to get him to talk, but knew that once he set his mind to it, there wasn't much you could do to change it.

"Fine. Keep your secrets." You mock pouted, turning back to the road ahead. The palace and the sprawling city across the river from it had come into view, and it took your breath away with its beauty.

"Like nothing up North, isn't it?" Geralt commented, watching you take in the fairytale-esque scene in front of you. The towering palace with its spires and arching bridges. Tall trees and rooftop gardens painted the scene with every shade of green. The lake shone like a fiery sapphire as the sunlight reflected on its smooth surface.

"Definitely not." You couldn't tear your eyes from it as you continued to ride towards it. You didn't remember making the decision to kick your horse into a gallop, but sound the wind was whipping through your loose hair, pulling it behind you as you raced toward the city. Geralt kept pace with you, smiling as the joy inside you bubbled into laughter at the freedom you felt in that moment.

At the city gates, you slowed your horses. Unlike in Novigrad, the guards at the gate were mostly there to keep the peace. No one was checking papers, or questioning anyone about whether they were magical or not. Everyone was free to roam in and out of the city as they wished. The atmosphere was completely different than what you were used to, and you felt almost giddy about it.

As you rode through town, your head was constantly swiveling to take in the sights and sounds of the lively city. Artists advertised their skills and their work outside brightly lit shops. Bakers were rushing to keep up with the demand for their pastries. Florists boasted about the colours of their most recent blooms, ready to steal the hearts of those who received them. Fresh fish was brought in from the river, the catch of the day being shouted to draw in more customers. There were few street walkers and even fewer homeless people. The cobble streets were wide and clean, nothing like what you were used to in Velen.

Geralt watched you with an amused look, indulging you when you wanted to stop to watch a street performer either sing or dance. He handed you coins to give to them when the performance was finished as you clapped loudly. Your heart sang out in happiness that he was showing you this part of his world and his life. You could see yourself easily settling in at Corvo Bianco, making wine, traveling to the city when you wanted to take in some art and culture. You found yourself wondering if Geralt would ever retire from the Path, and settle down here for good. But you shooed that dark cloud away before it could rain on the brightness of your day. You didn't know what the Duchess wanted, and that was as much darkness as you wanted right now.

#geralt x reader #geralt x ofc #geralt of rivia fanfic #geralt fanfic #witcher fanfic #witcher fanfiction #henry cavill fanfiction

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axwalker · 4 years

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Tears in Heaven 3: Again

Synopsis: Alexis O’Brien is about to get married but memories of her old life are coming back to haunt her.

MASTERLIST

Pairings: Liam x MC Drake x MC (TRR)

Warnings: NO ONE UNDER 18 should read this story. This is an 18+ blog. N*FW

This story will deal with very dark subjects such as death, severe depression and suicide attempt (among others) if you’re triggered by any of those issues, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY

A/N: The story will go back and forth between three different periods of time (2009 / 2015 / 2019)

A/N: I used Grey’s Anatomy prompt # 16 , requested by @burnsoslow (in bold in the story)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Word count: 4,957

Songs inspiration: Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton

THANKS TO: @burnsoslow Thanks for beta reading and correcting so patiently 🤣🤣 @pedudley your comments and encouragement are the best. LOVE YOU BOTH! ❤️

June 2015

Liam sat at the hospital bench with his heart still racing. He had barely made it on time. He didn’t want to think what would have happened if he had taken that last call in his office, or if he had come across more red lights on his way to her house.

The doctors had told him that with the number of pills she had ingested and how weak her body was, she wouldn’t have survived much longer.

When Liam had arrived at her apartment that night, he had knocked several times with no response. Something was not right. That morning, she had seemed different: more serene, more at peace. He thought about the expression on her face when she had said good-bye, and it all made sense.

He didn’t lose any more time knocking. He took three steps back and ran at the door, slamming against it with his shoulder. When it opened, he ran to her room, to find her unconscious on the bed. He didn’t think twice; he would be much faster than an ambulance, so he scooped her in his arms and took her to the emergency room in his car.

When he arrived at the hospital, a nurse laid her on a stretcher and took her away from him.

After waiting the longest two hours of his life, a doctor had come out to tell him that she was sleeping, but she was going to be fine. Mainly due to his fast reaction.

He had called Olivia and Maxwell, who had rushed to her side, and the three of them sat together waiting for her to wake up.

Liam couldn’t help but feel furious. She had been selfish and had forgotten about her friends. About Max and Liv. About him. Liam knew his death had been devastating, but she had no right to leave them like that. He couldn’t imagine his life without her friendship, without her.

When he was finally allowed to see her, his anger had faded. She seemed so fragile and small in the bed that all he felt was a deep sadness - for her and for everything that had happened. He sat next to her and took her hand, all his feelings for her rushing back.

She stirred in the bed and opened her eyes to see Liam smiling softly at her.

“Hi, Alexis.”

“I’m in the hospital.” It was more of an angry statement than a question.

“Yes. I came back to check up on you, and I barely found you in time.”

“I didn’t want you to save me, Liam. I just …” She sighed, unable to finish her sentence.

“What?” He stared at her, angry again.

Alexis refused to talk anymore, so she turned her back to him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it so easily. He walked around the bed to face her.

Liam needed to confront her; maybe he had coddled her too much. “Say it. If you’re so determined to really give up, if you really think that’s what he would have wanted, then at least have the courage to say it. You wanted to die.”

“I would never know what he would have wanted or not.” Her eyes filled with tears. Why couldn’t Liam understand that she was already dead? “Leave me alone, Liam. Please, I beg of you, just let me go, let me die. I’m just not strong enough.”

He sat on the edge of the bed. “It doesn’t matter how tough we are. Trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home; it changes our lives. Trauma messes everybody up. But maybe that’s the point - all the pain and the fear. Maybe going through all that is what keeps us moving forward. It’s what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up before we can step up.” He rubbed her forehead softly. “I’ll never leave, Alexis. We’re going to fix this. I swear.”

He took his jacket off and hung it on the chair behind him. “You should sleep a little. I’ll stay here.”

She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Liam pulled out his phone and started to look for the best clinic available. He was determined to save her.

September 2009

Drake and Alexis were excited to spend their first weekend together. The annual Derby in Portavira had been the perfect excuse. She had told her father that she was staying with Liv at Penelope’s house, but she was going with Drake to Portavira for the race, and after, they were going to escape to a little cabin on the beach for the night. Their first night together.

They had agreed to meet at Olivia’s house. When Drake parked in front of the estate, he saw her walking down the stairs towards him. She looked gorgeous in a simple white midi dress and a fedora.

“Hi, Drake.” She looped her arms around his neck.

He kissed her, grinning. Fuck, he was crazy about her. “Hi, O’Brien. I can see you’re not wearing a big feathered hat.”

She beamed. “Olivia tried to lend me several, including one with a dead bird on top of it, but it wasn’t really me.” She lifted her face coquettishly. “Do you like this one?”

He rubbed her cheek, smiling. “You look beautiful, Lexie.”

“Thank you. You look very handsome too. I like that white shirt.”

Drake blushed and smiled as a reply to her compliment. He put her bag in his trunk and they left for Portavira.

They arrived at the racetrack three hours later and easily accessed the infield where the nobles’ tents were located, thanks to the special pass Liam had given him.

Alexis shook her head at the swarm of reporters and photographers waiting for the celebrities and the nobles. “I would die if I had to spend my day thinking about my outfit and talking about Cordonian apples.”

Drake chuckled. “Come on, O’Brien. Let’s go to the tent.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the Rhys’ tent. “I’ll go get something to drink. A lager pint?”

“Yes, please.” She winked at him playfully before turning to enter the tent.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him for a kiss. “You look so cute when you wink at me like that; I couldn’t resist.”

She shook her head smiling sheepishly.

“I’ll be back in five minutes. Just go inside; Li is already there.”

When she entered, Liam was there alone in a high chair facing the racetrack. He was reading a horseracing magazine.

“Hi, Li!”

Liam’s heart skipped a beat when he saw her. “I didn’t see you there, Alexis.” He smiled kindly.

“Sorry, you seemed awfully focused.”

“Heh! I was trying to decide which horse to bet on. Drake has won two years in a row, but this year he’s going down,” he joked.

She laughed. “I should have guessed that you two liked to compete against each other.”

“I hardly call it a competition; Liam loses all the time.” Drake entered the tent holding their three beers.

“I don’t know, Drake,” she teased him as she took her cold drink. “Li has been researching, and he feels extremely confident.”

“Is that true?” He sat next to Alexis, his arms encircling her waist.

Liam nodded excitedly. “You better start warming up. I’m positive that Mirabelle will win.”

“It’s not a bad prediction, but this is Twilight’s year. You’ll see,” he said with a smug look in his eyes.

Liam extended his hand. “The usual?”

Drake shook his hand in agreement. “The usual.”

“What’s the usual?” Alexis asked, intrigued.

“Ever since Drake and I were kids, we bet each other with push-ups,” Liam explained, his eyes crinkling at the memory.

Drake raised his finger. “Well, they aren’t just any push-ups - they are push-ups using only one hand.”

“That’s so cute,” Alexis answered, smiling. She loved their friendship.

Drake frowned. “It’s not cute;, it’s rugged and manly.”

Liam frowned too. “Yes, very tough, I’d say.”

“Sure, of course. My bad!” She giggled.

“Except that I think we should change the bet a little; it would be incredibly rude to leave Alexis out. She should bet against us, too,” Liam suggested.

Drake looked at his girlfriend. “What can you do instead of push-ups?”

“I don’t know.” She thought about it. “But I want to play, too. Maybe I can eat something really spicy, for instance.”

“Nice try, Lexie. You love spicy food.” Drake squinted at her, thinking for a few seconds. “But I do have something in mind.” He turned to Liam. “Can you believe she has never watched any Indiana Jones?”

Liam’s eyes widened; he and Drake had watched all the movies more than 20 times since they were kids.

“Alexis, how can you live like that? It’s like you had no childhood,” he said, horrified.

She shrugged. “What can I say? I just wasn’t interested.”

Drake shook his head in disbelief. “Well, if the horse you choose doesn’t win, you have to watch all the movies with us. But better beware that we know all the dialogue.”

She laughed, picturing the two of them being excited about Harrison Ford.

Liam tried to ignore how much he liked her contagious laughter. He cleared his throat. “Just so we’re clear, there’s only one winner. The other two losers have to accept their punishment.”

Alexis clapped her hands. “There we have it, then.” She looked at the magazine with the horse’s information for a few minutes. “I choose Bolt.”

Loud trumpets announced the start of the race, and the three of them turned to look at the track. All three of them were leaning forward, absorbed. Alexis, especially, was rapt. Drake leaned over to kiss her bare shoulder; he loved the passion she put in everything she did.

“Twilight takes the lead,” Drake smirked. Twilight was being closely tailed by Marabelle’s Dream, Bolt, and another horse.

“Race isn’t over yet. Go, Marabelle!” Liam urged the horse.

The horses reached the point that was further from their tent, making it hard to distinguish much. They could, however, see a white horse still in the lead.

“They’re rounding the third bend …” Liam said quietly, almost to himself. It was a nervous habit he’d always had during the races.

“Come on, Bolt. You can do it!” Alexis was shouting with everything in her.

“Catch them in the final furlong.” Drake’s hands were balled into tight fists.

“They’re neck-and-neck!” shouted Alexis excitedly. Marabelle’s Dream had finally caught up to Twilight and Bolt and they galloped together, their jockeys' legs almost touching. They were coming around the bend and getting closer to where the three sat.

“Come on …” Liam pushed.

At the very last moment, a mere foot from the finish line, Marabelle’s jockey gave her one final push, and they broke the finish line seconds before the other two horses.

“And there goes Marabelle! Ha! I knew it!” Liam pumped his arms triumphantly and gave Drake a gloating smile. “Drake, I believe you’re up, and if you think I’m enjoying this too much,” he chuckled, “I totally am.”

“I must’ve done something very wrong at some point for you to be my best friend,” Drake replied.

He took off his shirt and crouched into the push-up position. “Well, here we go…”

Alexis couldn’t help but admire Drake’s ability to do the push-ups using only one hand. It seemed extremely difficult. And he looked extremely handsome.

When he finished, he put his shirt back on. “Never let it be said that I’ve ever backed out of a bet,” said Drake as he buttoned his shirt back up.

Liam laughed. “You better get used to it, Drake.” He checked his phone; he had a date but wasn’t very excited about it. “Are you going to the beach then?”

Drake nodded. “Yes, we’re leaving now. This was fun, Li.”

Alexis smiled at him too. “Very fun. I owe you two an Indiana Jones marathon.”

Liam grinned. “Don’t worry, Alexis, neither of us will let you forget it until you pay up.”

She laughed. “I’m sure of it.”

The ride to the cabin was silent. Alexis plugged her phone in the stereo and played the playlist she had prepared for the trip, lost in her thoughts. She was well aware that she wasn’t nearly half as experienced as Drake was, and that made her really nervous. They had been waiting for more than a month, so their makeout sessions, intense and passionate, always left them incredibly frustrated. Her heart raced just thinking about their night ahead. She shook her head, trying to focus on the road ahead of them.

Drake knew she was nervous even if she was too stubborn to confess it, and he had to admit that he was a bit nervous himself. He wanted to give her a perfect trip. A perfect night. He grabbed her hand for the rest of the ride.

The cottage was hidden in a corner of a sandy beach. It was a small, charming house made with grey bricks. It had red wooden doors and window frames, a chimney, and a small white hedge surrounding the property. It looked alive and welcoming. The sea was only a few meters away. Alexis smiled, completely captivated by the place. The inside was equally cozy: rustic furniture, fluffy yarn rugs, a small kitchen, and a large fireplace. It was perfect.

“Drake, this is lovely.” Her eyes were brightening the way they did when she was particularly happy.

Drake sat on the large couch and pulled her into his lap. “I’m glad you like it, O’Brien. Bastien bought it, and the three of us remodeled it when we came here during the summer. He was going to move here when he retired, but he met Andrea and moved to Spain instead. Now he rents this during the holidays.”

“Well, it’s beautiful.” She grinned again, locking eyes with him.

He cupped her face and kissed her hungrily; he was dying to be with her, but they had all the time in the world. He rubbed her face softly. “I was thinking that we could go to the beach and swim a little now; the water gets too cold later.”

They spent a few hours in the water swimming and snorkeling, and later on the sand, kissing and playing poker while they drank the bottle of wine. At 6:00, the temperature dropped several degrees, and they decided to go to the local market to get something to eat.

The market was colorful and filled with spices, fruits, vegetables, and lots of fish. Alexis had promised to cook, so she went from stand to stand asking questions and choosing ingredients for her mysterious dish. She had even found Mexican tortillas which, apparently, was a miracle in Cordonia, because she had almost kissed the man at the stand.

Back at the cottage, Alexis cooked as Drake started a fire, and set the table. “This smells incredible, Lexie.” He circled his arms around her while she poured a creamy red sauce over the chicken wraps. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent that drove him crazy. He needed more. He pushed her hair aside and gave her soft kisses on her neck. Alexis swallowed hard, thousands of goosebumps appearing on her arms. Her soft moans encouraged him; his kisses deepened. She threw her head back, lost in him, unable to keep doing whatever she was doing before him.

He turned her and searched for her mouth, desperate to kiss her lips again. “I can’t wait anymore, Alexis.”

She shook her head, speaking with a low, sultry voice. “Me either.”

“Fuck, Lexie, come here.” She jumped into his arms, straddling him. He carried her over to their bed, leaning forward and easing her down onto it. He laid next to her and traced her jawline with his thumb softly. “Are you sure about this, Lexie?”

She was unable to speak, feeling his fingers wander around her face and neck, his warm breath so close to her. He took her chin, making her look at him “I need you to be sure about this, baby.”

She nodded. “I’m more than sure, Drake.”

“You have no idea how much I want this, Lexie.” He could barely get the words out through the surge of desire that rushed through him.

Her mouth opened, and then her tongue was on his, and he was so far gone. His hands roamed her back before settling on her hips, which he gripped hard. She’d been running her hands through his hair, but now she moved them to his chest. She grabbed and bunched up the fabric of his shirt, trying to get him closer than physics would allow.

Drake broke the kiss, feeling like he had to come up for air. He was breathing as heavily as if he’d just run a marathon.

Then he kissed her ear, her cheeks, and slowly, softly, bit her neck. Alexis was dizzy and giddy; she felt a heat travelling from her chest to her core that made her feel like she was going to self-combust.

He knew he was torturing both of them with his slow movements, but it was their first time together. He wanted to take his time, make her enjoy every second of it.

He looked at her, letting his hands play with the front buttons of her dress. He undid one by one; kissing each portion of skin exposed to him, until she only had her lace underwear left.

“You’re a goddess, Alexis.” With the tips of his fingers, he made a path on her bare skin from her jawline to the hem of her underwear. “You deserve to be worshipped.” He put his hand on her back and unclasped her bra, carefully taking down one strap, then the other, while he kissed both shoulders, finally taking it off. He kissed her breasts, gently sucking her buds, rubbing them with his fingers. “Fuck, baby, I want to kiss - to feel - every single part of you.”

She tried to unbutton his shirt, but her fingers were shaking. She was too nervous and excited and unable to function while he kissed her like that. He sensed her nervousness and moved to kiss her lips again.

“Look at me, Lexie.” She fixed her dark eyes with his. “Are you okay, baby?’

She nodded, smiling; her heart was beating too fast. He kissed her gently, cupping her face; he hadn’t told her yet how much he loved her, how lost he was for her, so he kissed her as deeply as he coul, to make her understand. She kissed him back hard, sure that he was going to drive her crazy.

He lowered himself to pepper her stomach with kisses, letting his tongue explore her. He caught the hem of her underwear with his teeth and pulled it down, painfully slowly. She was completely bare, exposed to him, and he allowed his gaze roam all over her exquisite body. He took his shirt, jeans and boxers off and lowered himself to kiss her again: first, her long legs that drove him mad, then her thighs and sensitive inner thighs and finally, the skin around her core. He felt her shiver underneath him and raised his face to look at her. She was completely lost, a pretty blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks, her lips parted, her hair a complete mess, her fists clenching the sheets. She drove him completely wild. He kissed her soft skin, letting his tongue enter her and tease her nub as she gasped and writhed underneath him. She had never felt anything remotely similar to the electric feelings he was producing in her.

While his tongue continued to discover her, he easily plunged two fingers inside her, pumping slowly at first and then mercilessly as she arched her body, moaning his name, oblivious to everything around her. She felt the wave of heat wash over her, catching her off guard. Her whole body convulsed, and a final cry left her throat. He removed his fingers, drenched in her juices, and licked them clean.

“You’re so fucking sexy.” He ravaged her lips again. She groaned as she felt his weight settle down on top of her for the first time, his hips pressing into hers, his broad chest barely meeting her body. He’d propped himself up on his forearms, and she felt his hands moving through her hair even as his mouth kissed her repeatedly. It felt like she was covered in him almost head to toe. It was overwhelming.

He held her steady and moved his hips, feeling himself slide into her gradually, giving her time to adjust to him “You’re so beautiful, baby.” She moaned, and he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, thrusting his hips and leaning forward. “God, Lexie, you’re so fucking tight baby; you feel amazing.” Her hands desperately clenched the sheets again; she fought to keep her eyes open, but she could barely think. She could only feel him. He was inside of her, thrusting. He was ravaging her neck with his lips. He was holding her and caressing her lower back, her ass. He was talking to her, telling how beautiful she was. She arched her back when a jolt of pleasure invaded her. “Oh, my God, Drake … Drake,” she moaned endlessly.

He saw her writhing under him, her back arched, her eyelids shut, her full lips parted almost screaming. She’s mine; this gorgeous girl is mine.

“Say my name again, O’Brien,” he growled as he quickened the movement of his hips and she cried out, indiscernible sounds at first.

“Dr … Drake …”

He leaned into her. “Look at me, baby.” She seemed unable to do it. He pulled her back against him and whispered in her ear. “I want to see your beautiful eyes looking at me when you come.”

His words made her gasp, and she complied, locking eyes with him. He moved his hand, using the tip of his finger to circle over her core, as he pounded her faster without taking his eyes off of her. “Lexie you’re driving me insane.” He was about to explode.

She moaned his name over and over again until a wave of pleasure invaded her. “Drake … I’m … Fuck, Drake! I’m close.”

He felt his own release not far off, the pressure in his stomach growing as her movements sent pangs of heat shooting all over his body. “Come with me, Lexie.”

“D-Drake …”

He crashed his lips against hers as she moaned against his mouth. He felt her stiffen against him, muffling her cries against his mouth.

“Drake!” She sobbed his name as her muscles clenched around him. The sensation of her around him and his name on her lips sent him over the edge with her, producing a grunt from him as he filled her completely.

He collapsed on the bed, pulling her against him as they floated down from their high.

He never wanted to move. Ever. He just wanted to stay here, with her, exactly like that, forever. He lazily trailed his hand up and down her back as she sighed contentedly, nuzzling his neck.

“That was …” She shook her head. “There are no words.”

He kissed her head. “For me either, Lexie.”

A few hours later, famished, they went to the kitchen to eat the dinner she had planned for them.

“I only have to put the dish in the oven for 30 minutes.”

Half an hour later, they sat in front of the fireplace with the cold wine.

“Lexie, the smell is incredible.”

“They’re called enchiladas. It’s a bit spicy. I really hope you like it.”

She was looking at him, biting her lip expectantly. She was so adorable that he couldn’t help but kiss her before tasting the dish. It was amazing.

The tomato sauce was a bit spicy and it mixed heavenly with the grated cheese and the chicken. “Fuck, Lexie. This is delicious.”

She was eating, too, a pleased expression on her face. “I’d like to be polite enough to say it’s not. But I actually really liked it, too.”

He chuckled. “Love your modesty.” And I love you too.

When they finished their dinner, they drank and talked about their lives. Soon enough, their desire became impossible to ignore. They made love again in front of the fireplace for hours, consumed in each other. They fell asleep on the yarn rug until Drake’s phone alarm woke them at 6:00 in the morning.

Alexis took the phone angrily. “Do you have a death wish, Walker?”

He laughed. “So, not a morning person. Noted.” He kissed her bare back, making her moan again. “I would love to have time for that, baby, but I want to show you something.” He stood up, extending his arm to her. She took it and stood up as well, still drowsy.

He helped her down the stairs and told her to wear a thick jumper and her jeans. He took a couple of blankets and prepared a thermos with hot coffee.

They got out of the house and walked a short mile. When they arrived at the spot he was looking for, he spread one of the blankets on the sand, and they sat on it facing the sea.

“There’s not a better spot to see the sunrise in all Cordonia,” he stated, simply passing her the coffee thermos.

“Drake, it’s gorgeous.” She looked around, admiring the splendid pink lights.

He pulled out the other blanket and covered the two of them with it.

She cuddled against him, enjoying the incredible view.

“Bastien used to take me and Savvie here when we couldn’t sleep after my dad died,” he said, with a bit of nostalgia in his voice.

She raised her hand and stroked his cheek. Thinking about him, as a little boy sad and scared, broke her heart. She couldn’t believe how much she loved him after only a month.

He turned to look at her; her expression was serene, beautiful. He loved every single side of her, and he couldn’t think of a better moment to tell her than that one right then, with the sun rising.

He locked eyes with her, an earnest expression on them. “I know we only met a month ago, but I love you, Lexie. You have no idea how much.”

Her eyes watered, and she felt overwhelmed for a second before she could respond. “I love you too, Drake. I’m crazy about you.” She knew they were meant to be together, she had never felt surer about anything in her life.

April 2019

Liam was waiting for Alexis in the living room with a glass of Scotch in his hand, lost in his thoughts about the past, about what he had done. It had seemed a logical thing to do back then, but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He had betrayed his own values. She came down the stairs, still holding her phone. She put it on the table and sat on the couch next to him, twisting her engagement ring nervously.

“Did you speak with Rashad, love?”

“Yes, I did. I have to go there myself, Liam. It’s better.”

He placed his glass on the table and leaned over to hold her in his arms. He hated the anxious look in her eyes, her sad expression.

“I’ll go with you. We’ll face it together, Alexis.”

She laid her head against his chest. “You know that I have to go by myself, Li. I’ll be fine, I promise.” She checked the time on her phone. “I better leave now; I don’t want to drive at night.”

Alexis kissed him and left the house, trying to show him a strong façade. Sometimes she felt that worrying about her was a full-time job for Liam, and she blamed herself.

She looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror of the car. Five years after his death, and she still could see the emotional scars in her face, in her eyes. The closer she got to the house, the antsier she felt. She was going to open old wounds, to stir the past, and it was too painful; it hurt too much.

Even after all those years, just thinking about her life before the accident brought her to tears. Of course, it wasn’t perfect. They fought, frequently; they were both incredibly stubborn. They struggled about money, they had had too many sleepless nights and worries, but their love had been so deep, so powerful, that nothing else had really mattered.

Or so she thought.

She parked her car with her heart racing. Her hands were shaking, and her breathing had quickened considerably. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but it was useless. After a few minutes of raising her hand to knock on the door and regretting coming there at all, she finally gathered some courage and did it.

When the door opened, she gasped. He had barely changed in almost five years. A few white hairs, more wrinkles, but he was still the same handsome man she had fallen crazily in love with.

He was preparing to go out when he heard the knock at his door. When he saw her standing at his doorstep in front of him, his heart stopped. He froze, completely unable to move or speak for a few minutes. Finally, his breathing steadied, and he was able to mutter her name.

“Alexis.”

“Hello, Drake. We need to talk.”

#axwalker writes

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disneytva · 4 years

Photo

January 2020 Programming Synopsis For Disney Channels

Saturday, Jan. 4 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD Big Hero 6 The Series “Hiro The Villain“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) Momakase blackmails Hiro into helping her steal her family’s knives from Yama’s safe. TV-Y7 FV

Friday, Jan. 10 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Rocketeer “X-Treme Hero/Hot on the Trail“ (11:00-11:30 A.M. EST) “X-Treme Hero” – The Rocketeer introduces Tesh to his extreme sports idol, Xena Treme, after rescuing her during a snowboarding competition.

“Hot on the Trail” – Kit joins Tesh and his dad, with their Hughesville Trailbazer troop, on a hike to the famed Gemstone Firefall waterfall and must stop Laura and Harley from stealing the precious gemstone that lies within. *Rahul Kohli (“iZombie”) guest stars as Tesh’s dad, Mr. Cheena. Ian Chen (ABC‘s “Fresh off the Boat”), Maria Bamford (“Arrested Development”) and Kari Wahlgren (“DC Superhero Girls”) recur as Logan, Laura and Harley, respectively. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Fancy Nancy “Nancy’s Parfait Birthday/Nancy Finds a Rainbow” (1:00-1:30 P.M. EST) “Nancy’s Parfait Birthday” – Nancy wants to have the perfect birthday party, but things don’t go as planned.

“Nancy Finds a Rainbow” – Nancy desperately tries to see her first rainbow. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Elena of Avalor “The Birthday Cruise” (1:30-2:00 P.M. EST) Elena throws a birthday party for Princess Chloe aboard the royal sailboat, but things go awry when they wash ashore a magical isle inhabited by a cursed sea nymph. *Sofia Carson (Disney Channel’s “Descendants” franchise) guest stars as Maliga. Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (“The Sopranos”) and Chrissie Fit (“Pitch Perfect”) return as Princess Chloe, Princess Rebeca and Princess Valentina, respectively. TV-Y

Original Series – SERIES PREMIERE on Disney Channel The Owl House “A Lying Witch and a Warden“ (8:46-9:10 P.M. EST) Luz, a self-assured teenage girl, accidentally stumbles upon a portal to a magical world where she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and an adorably tiny warrior, King. In order to get home, Luz must help them with a mission. TV-G

Saturday, Jan. 11 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “Impopstar/Football Camp” (9:30-10:00 A.M. EST) “Impopstar” – Cricket is mistaken for a tween pop star and exploits the situation for all the perks of fame.

“Football Camp” – Remy and Cricket attend football camp in an attempt to impress Remy’s Dad. *Colton Dunn (“Superstore”) and Danny Trejo (“Machete”) return as Russell Remington and Vasquez, respectively. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD Big Hero 6 The Series “Portal Enemy“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) Megan confronts Hiro about being a vigilante and threatens to tell Chief Cruz the truth. *Jessica Paré (“Mad Men”) guest stars as circus acrobat and physicist, Sirque. TV-Y7 FV

Sunday, Jan. 12 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure “Pascal’s Dragon” (7:05-7:28 A.M. EST) When Pascal befriends a baby dragon, he must decide between his new friend and the safety of Corona. TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 17 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Vampirina “The Great Esmeralda/Frog’s Breath“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) “The Great Esmeralda” – Vee gets a reading from The Great Esmeralda saying that she will lose one of her friends, so she sets out to make sure her fortune doesn’t come true. *Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) guest stars as the infamous fortune teller, Esmeralda.

“Frog’s Breath” – Vee accidentally turns herself into a frog when she tries practicing a potion from the advanced section of her magic book. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Rocketeer “Valerie the Valkyrie/Follow that Bulldog“ (11:00-11:30 A.M. EST) “Valerie the Valkyrie” – Feeling that the Rocketeer is stealing her thunder, Valerie creates her own superhero identity, The Valkyrie. *Navia Robinson (Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home”) returns as Valerie.

“Follow that Bulldog” – The Cast-Iron Chef attempts to steal Kit’s family cookbook from the Bulldog Café. *Ted Allen (“Chopped“) guest stars as Cast-Iron Chef. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Owl House “Witches Before Wizards“ (8:46-9:08 P.M. EST) An ancient wizard gives Luz a map for a mystical quest. TV-G

Saturday, Jan. 18 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “Heat Beaters/Bill-iever” (9:30-10:00 A.M. EST) “Heat Beaters” – Cricket and Remy play a contentious game of “H-O-R-S-E” on the hottest day of the year. *NBA All-Star Karl Anthony Towns guest stars as Wizard Williams and Ricky Stork. Wendi McLendon-Covey (ABC’s “The Goldbergs”) returns as Nancy Green.

“Bill-iever” – In order to avoid punishment, Cricket must make his dad believe in aliens. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD Big Hero 6 The Series “Fred the Fugitive“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) Fred’s invisibility function on his suit glitches during patrol. TV-Y7 FV

Friday, Jan. 24 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel T.O.T.S. “The Valentine Spirit/Shell Games“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) “The Valentine Spirit” – Freddy and Pip rush to deliver Valentines to the babies they’ve delivered to make it back in time for the Valentine’s Day Party.

“Shell Games” – Freddy, Pip and K.C. try to get a shy turtle out of her shell. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Rocketeer “Recipe for Disaster/The Critter Gang“ (11:00-11:30 A.M. EST) “Recipe for Disaster” – When Kit and Sareena refuse to expose the secret ingredients in their renowned family recipes, Cast-Iron Chef tries to steal them. *Ted Allen (“Chopped) returns as Cast-Iron Chef.

“The Critter Gang” – Kit investigates a string of robberies across Hughesville that seem to be committed by wild animals. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Owl House “I Was a Teenage Abomination“ (8:46-9:08 P.M. EST) Luz sneaks into the local magic school to help a friend and makes a new enemy in the process. *Tati Gabrielle (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”) guest stars as Willow, Mae Whitman (“The DUFF”) guest stars as Amity and Issac Ryan Brown (Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home”) guest stars as Gus. TV-G

Saturday, Jan. 25 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “Shark Objects/Dream Weaver” (9:30-10:00 A.M. EST) “Shark Objects” – When the Greens try to spend an eventful day at the beach, Cricket tries to prank the beach-goers. *Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”) guest stars as Life Guard and Wendi McLendon-Covey (ABC’s “The Goldbergs”) returns as Nancy Green.

“Dream Weaver” – Cricket discovers he can influence the family’s dreams to disastrous real-life results. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD Big Hero 6 The Series “Major Blast“ (10:00-10:30 A.M. EST) A new villain, Major Blast, appears in the city and targets Fred. TV-Y7 FV

Sunday, Jan. 26 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure “Cassandra’s Revenge” (7:05-7:50 A.M. EST) When Rapunzel feels ready to settle down and begin living a normal life, Cassandra returns to Corona with a score to settle. TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 31 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Fancy Nancy “Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet/Operation: Fix Marabelle!” (1:00-1:30 P.M. EST) “Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet” – Nancy gets jealous when Bree gets the part she was hoping to play.

“Operation: Fix Marabelle!” – Nancy discovers she’s an exceptional doll surgeon who stays calm under pressure. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Owl House “The Intruder“ (8:46-9:08 P.M. EST) Luz and King must defend The Owl House from a mysterious intruder. TV-G

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gideonthefirst · 4 years

Note

4, 6, 15, and 20!

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

There is a whisper at the edge of the golem’s consciousness. Its thoughts are languid, filling its brain from the bottom like rain filling the dry banks of a riverbed. The golem remembers being the clay at the bottom of a river. It remembers being stretched out under the water, merged with the entire Vltava, hundreds of kilometers long and yet also just barely a pinpoint in space. The golem doesn’t think it is a river anymore.

I’m very proud of this whole story, even though it’s a lot of Peak heavy-handed imagery, and I feel like this paragraph establishes tone and setting and character pretty quickly and effectively. Also it was fun to write

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

Fucking...Gomez Addams. He has no consistent characterization across adaptations besides being Dramatic and Loving His Wife and so I can do basically whatever I want with him and use all my pretentious dialogue and dramatic metaphor and just have a generally fantastic time

15. answered!

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Thanks you’re my hero. We’re gonna talk about With A Burning Violin because dance metaphor rights.

1. Telaine and Melora’s first dance is vague and doesn’t have rules or even music because they’re both generally chaotic characters when they’re young and it’s important to me that it’s them building something together as opposed to doing something that’s already been created by something else. Their second dance is a waltz - supposed to be specifically a Viennese, which was impossible to specify because Vienna doesn’t exist in Bahumia. Waltzes were viewed as scandalous because of how close together you usually are when they were first introduced to English high society, and Viennese waltzes are very complicated and require all kinds of intricate focus and trust and also, usually, practice. So we have this combination of a very intimate dance but specified to be at arms’-distance, and also a demonstration of how well they know each other and how much they once had to trust each other but also it’s not something they’re inventing it’s them falling into something with its own set of rules right before Melora traps Telaine in the Sanctuary.

2. Cobb and Marabelle’s first dance is their first kiss, because the Crick is very physical with affection and so it’s about it being full body intimate. However, they’re square-dancing, which I chose for the Crick because a square-dance is something that requires a group of people to move in tandem with and pay attention to each other - it’s a community dance, not an individual or even couple’s dance. This means that, by the nature of what square-dances are, Cobb and Marabelle can’t dance together the whole time, they’re being split apart over and over and the thing that is both splitting them apart and bringing them back together is the thing that represents the Crick as a whole.

3. Thiala and Alanis’s first dance is sort of like Telaine and Melora’s, in that it’s nothing specific and just them being together. Their last dance is a quadrille, which is maybe the least intimate “partner’s” dance of all time. They have to know the motions, but they don’t have to be together. Plus it’s a very formal type of square-dance, which means it’s less about the joy of community and more about responsibility to a community. Cobb/Marabelle and Thiala/Alanis are the two couples in this fic whose relationships end with a flat out betrayal, which is why their dances are variations of each other’s, but Marabelle’s betrayal was unintentional, which is why they’re just a casual, joyful square-dance, whereas Thiala’s was calculated, like a quadrille.

4. Hardwon and Gemma are pretty straightforward; military two-step is Scottish, which fits the Irondeep vibe, but it’s also kind of chosen to fit what Wilhelm wants his daughter to be, in contrast to what she wants to be, which is the cool party dance where you can’t hear a word anyone’s saying

5. Beverlin’s dance is to music and it might have a name and it might not and in that way it kind of fuses together everyone else’s; they’re going to be better than those who came before them not by ignoring them but by understanding them and taking the good and creating their own bad, not using someone else’s

#asks #ask memes #jadeandquartzes #i put. so much thought. into my dance metaphors

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badchoicesposts · 5 years

Text

Don’t Dream It’s Over Chapter 11

Series Summary: Liam and Ali thought that their relationship was perfect, but their whole world came crashing down when Constantine called him back to Cordonia. Four years later they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party, determined to make things between them work even if it isn’t always easy.

In this AU, Liam and MC (Ali Moonessar) dated for a year in New York while Leo was still crown prince. They broke up when Constantine asked Liam to come back to Cordonia, but they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party before the social season. The story will contain flashbacks, which will be italicized, of their relationship and follow them as they try to navigate the season with Ali as a suitor. I’ve messed around with the timeline a bit so that it fits the story better. I’ve also added in a few OCs of my own.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Ali Moonessar)

DISCLAIMER: I’ve changed up the timeline of the social season a bit to fit my story better. I’ve based it off of some research I did on the British Social Season. Some of the dialogue is taken directly from Book 1.

TRIGGER WARNING:

This chapter gets a bit heavy. We really go back into Ali’s struggle with mental health and there will be mentions of parental abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, eating disorders, depression, suicide, and anxiety.

Taglist: @flowerpowell, @ao719, @kingliam2019, @emceesynonymroll, @hopefulmoonobject, @dcbbw, @qammh-blog, @liamxs-world, @drakesensworld, @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @lauradowning29, @texaskitten30, @senseofduties

A/N: In this chapter you’ll get to see a bit more of Ali and Drake’s friendship. This is my first time ever posting a fic. Please let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. I thrive on validation, lol. Thanks for reading!

Catch Up: Masterlist

Ali followed Drake silently as he led her to a private tent at the edge of the racetrack.

“Go on in, I’ll be there in a second,” he said.

Ali walked into Liam’s tent and saw him staring intently at the racetrack.

“Thinking about me?” she joked, laughing even harder when he jumped at the sound of her voice.

“Ali! Yes, actually I was,” he said, walking over and kissing her cheek. “What are you doing here?”

“Drake saved me from a horse, and then brought me here,” she said casually.

“He… what?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in a way that reminded her of a confused deer.

“I saved her from being trampled to death by a horse,” Drake said, walking into the tent.

“What? Are you okay?” Liam asked, concerned.

“She’s fine. I know you don’t like beer so I got you a soda,” he said, handing her a bottle and Liam a cup of beer.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip of the cold beverage with Liam’s concerned gaze still on her.

“Really, Li. I’m fine,” she assured him.

“Look, the last race is about to start,” Drake said, causing the other man to finally look away from her.

“I say Marabelle’s Dream takes the crown,” Liam said, straightening his body as he looked towards the race track.

“That’s not a bad prediction, but my money’s on Twilight-Dash,” Drake responded.

“Want to bet on that, Drake?” Liam asked, his competitive side coming out.

“Sure. The usual?” Drake said, smiling widely.

“What’s the usual?” Ali asked.

“Push-ups,” Drake began.

“With the other person on their back,” Liam concluded.

“Really? You guys still do that?” she said, rolling her eyes.

Betting push-ups was something that only two men would do. Liam smirked in her direction, knowing that she thought their bet was stupid.

“Drake, I think it would be incredibly rude to leave out Ali. Maybe she should be the one that sits on the loser’s back while they do the push-ups,” Liam said with a smile.

“What? Worried you won’t be able to handle my weight when you lose?” Drake shot back.

Liam chuckled in response.

“Maybe you would be better off with the usual bet. I’m kind of heavy,” Ali said self-consciously.

“Okay, fine. Ali's in,” Drake said immediately in response to her words.

Ali sighed and turned back toward the racetrack. Liam and Drake both leaned forward in suspense, each cheering on their chosen horse. Ali was taken aback by how fast the animals moved. She watched as Marabelle’s Dream and Twilight-Dash approached the finish line neck and neck, and she could feel the anticipation radiating off of the two men beside her.

As Liam predicted, Marabelle’s Dream crossed the finish line first, just barely pulling in front of Twilight-Dash.

“Damn it,” Drake cursed beside her, glaring over at Liam.

“Are you ready to pay up,” the other man asked, smiling widely.

Drake rolled his eyes and pulled off his shirt, causing Ali to raise her eyebrows.

“Who are you trying to impress, Walker?” she teased, motioning at his bare torso.

“Shut up and get on,” he said with a roll of his eyes, getting into position on the floor.

Ali and Liam shared a smile, choosing to refrain from further teasing, and she climbed onto his back, holding tightly onto his shoulders to keep her balance.

After finishing the last push-up, Drake used all of his strength to push himself up one last time and lean back into a sitting position. Ali, who had still been resting on top of him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind to keep from falling onto her back.

She broke out into a laugh as she landed on the ground in a seated position herself, with Drake sitting in the space between her legs and leaning his back against her chest, trying to catch his breath.

“You did that on purpose!” she accused, pinching his arm.

She could hear Liam laughing as well as Drake jerked his arm away and relaxed his body completely in retaliation, placing all of his weight on her and resting his head under her chin. Ali was forced to rest both of her hands on the ground behind her to keep from falling down underneath him.

“Obviously,” he laughed, still panting slightly as he rested against her.

“Prince Liam,” Bastien’s voice called as he entered the tent.

He took in the scene before him but refrained from commenting, and Drake quickly grabbed his shirt before pulling himself and Ali back up.

“It’s time to head back to the palace, Your Highness,” he said, keeping his professional composure.

Ali quickly wondered how many odd things Bastien must have seen and had to refrain from reacting to on a daily basis. He definitely had a lot of interesting stories to tell. Especially from his time with Leo.

“Of course, Bastien,” Liam said, straightening up as well.

All feelings of light-heartedness was immediately gone as the three of them were pulled back into reality.

~~~

Ali was stretched out on Liam’s bed, the sheets pulled up around her body, falling in and out of sleep as she listened to the rain fall outside. The man himself was fast asleep next to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and his head laying on her chest. She ran her fingers through his soft hair mindlessly, the smell of his shampoo filling her senses and lulling her into a relaxed state.

Ali smiled at the feeling of Liam’s breath on her bare skin, and her eyes began to close again. It had taken forever to get used to sleeping next to someone like this, but now she didn’t think she would ever be able to sleep without him again. There was nothing she loved more than being wrapped up in his arms, and the feeling of him next to her always put her at ease. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep before she was jumping up again at a banging sound coming from somewhere in the apartment.

She wrote it off, figuring that Drake was just walking around the living room but tensed again at the sound of a loud crash.

“Liam,” she said quietly, gently shaking him awake.

He mumbled in his sleep before opening his eyes slowly.

“What’s wrong?” he groaned, still not completely awake.

“There’s someone in the living room,” she whispered back.

Liam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, before throwing the covers off of his body. Ali grabbed his shirt from the floor and buttoned it up over herself as he left the room. She gave him a few moments alone and ventured out into the living room after some time passed without any noise.

When she entered the living room she saw a soaking wet Drake sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, with Liam sitting next to him. He had obviously just come in from the rain. The small side table that was beside the couch had been shifted from its spot, and a broken lamp was lying on the floor.

“Is everything okay?” she asked softly, taking in the scene in front of her.

Liam nodded, a strained smile on his face as he rested one of his hands on Drake’s shoulder.

“Go back to bed, my love,” he said back.

She could tell that the two needed a moment alone and nodded in understanding before returning to the room where she allowed herself to fall asleep.

Ali woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She reached over to grab her glasses from the bedside table, and saw Liam buttoning up a shirt at the foot of the bed.

“Good morning,” he said, leaning over to kiss her lips gently.

“Morning. Are you leaving already?” she asked, grabbing her phone to check the time.

“I have to go into work a little earlier than I thought. But, I already have coffee ready in the kitchen for you,” he said with a smile.

“What was wrong last night?” she asked, getting out of bed and gathering her clothes.

She grabbed her jeans off of the floor and walked over to Liam’s dresser, taking out one of the t-shirts he had to change into. Liam sighed, sitting on the bed and pulling her down with him.

“The date slipped my mind. Today is the anniversary of the death of Drake’s father. This is usually a difficult day for him every year. The earlier I get into work, the sooner I can be back here for him.”

Ali nodded sadly and kissed his cheek.

“Let me know if either of you need anything,” she said, squeezing his hand.

“Thank you.”

“I’m going to grab a shower before I leave, okay?” she said.

He nodded in response and pulled her into a kiss before they both got up again. Ali made a beeline for the bathroom as Liam exited the apartment. She took her time, letting the warm water relax her muscles and was feeling completely refreshed when she stepped out.

“Hey,” she said quietly, as she stepped into the kitchen to see Drake already up and holding a cup of coffee.

He was definitely hungover, but she couldn’t imagine that the whiskey she could smell in his coffee was going to be much assistance in getting over it. He nodded at her in response, not meeting her eyes, as she walked around him to pour some for herself. She took a sip of the hot liquid and looked back over at him. He seemed absolutely miserable, and she felt her heart ache for him.

Ali and Drake weren’t close, and she didn’t want to assume that she knew how he was feeling, but she still felt for him.

“Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to talk about it.

“I’m fine.”

“People who are fine don’t usually start their day with liquor in their coffee,” she pointed out, keeping her voice soft.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, looking up at her tiredly.

“I don’t want you to say anything, but I want you to know that you can,” she responded, smiling at him kindly.

Drake looked her over for a moment as if trying to gauge her sincerity. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and opened it before holding it out to her. She took it from him, pouring some into her mug before handing it back.

“My dad used to do security for Liam and Leo, so my sister and I were allowed to hang out with them. That’s how Liam and I got close even though I don’t have the lineage to merit it. He died saving Constantine’s life in an assassination attempt on The Crown,” Drake said.

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how that must have felt,” she said honestly, taking a gulp of her now whiskey infused coffee.

Drake chuckled humorlessly.

“Not great.”

Ali didn’t speak. She just continued to sip from her mug, wanting to give him some space to continue talking if he chose to. Drake got up from the kitchen and walked into the living room with his mug and the liquor bottle. She followed and sat down next to him on the couch.

“The worst part was that I… I mean we, my sister and I, we didn’t just lose him,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“After it happened, my mom couldn’t take it. She just up and left in the middle of the night. She didn’t even say goodbye, just left a note saying that she was sorry. She asked another member of the guard, Bastien, to take care of us,” he said with a scoff.

“We weren’t his responsibility. Hell, he was barely old enough to be taking care of two kids. But, he did anyway. He took care of us because she couldn’t be bothered to. I haven’t even seen her in years.”

The bitterness was evident in his tone as he spoke of his mother, and he had put down his mug, opting to drink straight from the bottle instead.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been for all of you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Savannah, my sister, she took it the worst,” he said.

“And let me guess, you didn’t take it at all,” she said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

He gave her a questioning and surprised look, the alcohol allowing him to finally let his guard down.

“How did-” he trailed off, his words slurring slightly.

“Call it a hunch. You don’t seem to be very in touch with your feelings,” she said, taking the bottle from him.

He let out a laugh. It was tired, but it was also his first genuine smile this morning.

“I needed to protect her. To be strong for her.”

“I’m sure you did an amazing job,” she said, lowering her voice into a soothing and reassuring tone.

Drake sat there looking at the wall for a moment. Neither of them seemed to want to break the silence.

“What about you?” he finally asked.

“What about me?” she said, bringing the bottle up to her lips.

She took a swig of the liquid before bringing it back down to her side, deciding that Drake had already drunk enough for the morning.

“What’s your tragic backstory? Liam’s mentioned… a few things,” he said.

“Do you really want to know?” she asked.

He nodded, raising his brows to signal that she should speak.

“I got into a really bad depression when I was thirteen years old, and it lasted for a really long time. I, uh, I don’t really talk about this with anyone, but I guess, looking back on it I had been seeing signs of it in myself for a while. I was just too young at the time to know what anxiety or depression was,” she began.

Drake was looking at her intently, hanging onto every word.

“Were you close to your dad?” she asked.

Drake furrowed his brows, the sudden change back to his story confusing him.

“Yeah, he worked a lot, but he always tried to make time for us. He was the best man I knew.”

Ali smiled at his words, glad to hear this.

“Mine wasn’t so great. Not the worst guy in the world, but definitely not the best. I think a lot of my, uh, issues stemmed from him.”

She didn’t know why she was telling all of this to Drake, but once she had begun talking about it, she couldn’t stop. She was getting too emotional and the words just continued to spill out of her mouth.

“He was an asshole, to be honest. He had a quick temper, and you always had to walk on eggshells around him, never knowing when something would set him off. He was emotionally abusive, and he could be physically abusive to my mom. There were times when I was scared he would turn on me too. Just snap and hit me one day, but he never did. I still vividly remember one night when I was fifteen. My parents were fighting, and I got in the middle and tried to calm them both down. The look in his eyes was terrifying. He started coming towards me, and it felt like my heart had stopped beating. I thought he had snapped. He stopped himself at the last minute, but by then the damage was already done. I was so terrified I had to call my friend Luca to come pick me up. I don’t think I stopped shaking that entire night,” she said with a shudder.

“The physical stuff stopped about a year before I got ‘diagnosed’, but the emotional stuff went on for a lot longer. He would sometimes leave for weeks at a time, going off and doing god knows what with god knows who, but he would always come back, and my mom would always let him. It was always the same thing. He would snap one day, be angry at us for a while and then go back to normal and act like nothing had ever happened. It was exhausting, never knowing if one small screw-up would make him lash out.”

There were tears streaming down her face now, and Drake hadn’t taken his eyes off of her.

“There were some other things too, of course. I had major self-esteem issues, and I definitely had self-image issues. I uh- I had an eating disorder for a while, too,” she stopped momentarily to fiddle with her fingers. “Anyways, things got really bad with me the summer before high school, and it lasted pretty much all the way through. Senior year, when everyone was getting ready for prom, I was getting sent to the hospital for a ‘major depressive episode’. That’s fancy talk for ‘I wanted to kill myself’,” she tried to joke.

Ali felt Drake brush his fingers against her hand hesitantly, but instead of grabbing it, he moved away and placed his hand back in his lap instead.

“I was nineteen when I finally started getting better. I had about five good months before both of my parents died in a car accident.”

“Damn,” Drake whispered as she took another drink from the bottle.

“Yeah, so as you can imagine, all the progress I made kind of went down the drain. But, I had the Larsons with me. Luca, Emma, and their siblings let me move in with them, and they helped take care of me. They were there for some of the hardest parts, and they helped put me back together when all I wanted to do was fall apart. Because of them I was able to start getting back to myself. It’s been about two years since then, and I still have some pretty bad days, but I’m trying to be okay,” she concluded.

Drake remained silent for a moment, taking it all in.

“Wow, I’m sorry to unload all of that on you when you’re already having a bad day. It kind of just started coming and wouldn’t stop,” she said, embarrassed at her confession and hastily wiping away her tears.

“Don’t apologize. I asked you to,” he said, “You’re pretty damn strong, you know that right?”

“So are you,” she said, with a sad smile.

~~~

Ali was confused when she awoke the next morning to a steady knocking on her door that wasn’t consistent with Maxwell’s usual wake up call. She pulled on a bathrobe and opened the door, surprised to see Drake casually leaning against the doorframe.

“Took you long enough. I’ve been knocking for like ten minutes,” he said, strolling into her room.

Ali closed the door behind him and pulled her robe tighter to her body.

“Yeah, I was asleep. What’s going on?”

“Get dressed. I’m going to teach you how to ride a horse,” Drake said, picking up the book she had on her nightstand and flipping through the pages.

“What? Why?” she asked, grabbing it from him and placing it back down.

“Liam asked me to teach you. Besides, around here, you’re probably going to have to learn how to ride one sooner or later,” he said, this time going over to her vanity and playing with the items there.

“I should probably talk to Bertrand first.”

“Already cleared it with him.”

Ali raised her eyebrows, impressed with him.

“Let me get dressed,” she said, grabbing an outfit and heading for the bathroom.

She stopped in her tracks and walked back over to him, grabbing the bottle of scented hand lotion he was smelling and placing it back down on the vanity. He just shrugged at her in response and motioned for her to hurry up.

She dressed quickly and followed Drake down to the stables. He looked completely natural as he interacted with the horses, and Ali could tell that he was in his element.

“You look happy. Happier than you’ve been the last few weeks,” she commented, breaking the silence they had been riding in for the past half an hour.

He had taught her the basics of what she needed to know and said that she would get a better understanding of things when she actually got on the horse.

“Yeah,” he said simply, smiling as he continued to look forward.

“Yeah? That’s it? Look, I know you’re the silent, broody type, but can you give me a little more than that?” she teased.

Ali saw Drake roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye, but he continued smiling nonetheless.

“I don’t care much for the politics or people at court, so it’s nice to get out here. It’s different. Comfortable.”

“If you hate it so much, why don’t you leave?”

“The same reason you packed up and moved to a different county. Liam’s my best friend. I care about him too much. I can’t just leave him.”

By now they had reached the farthest edge of the palace grounds which was bordered by trees all around.

“Did you bring me here to murder me?” she joked when she realized just how much of a secluded area they were in.

“Yes, you’ve uncovered my master plan,” he responded sarcastically.

He slowed the horse to a stop and told her to do the same. She climbed off, glad to finally stretch her legs and take some of the pressure off of her lower back before the pain got too bad.

“Charlie said that you told off Olivia,” he broke the silence, a content smile on his face.

Ali groaned, dropping so that she could sit down on the grass.

“Not one of my best moments,” she confessed as he sat next to her.

“I don’t know, he said it was pretty impressive,” Drake said, smirking at her.

“She got under my skin, and I snapped. I know I shouldn’t have, but it was like she could sense all of my weaknesses,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, she’s pretty good at that. That woman can smell fear from a mile away.”

Drake wrapped his arm around Ali’s shoulder and pulled her closer into his side. She relaxed her body. Being with Drake made her feel safe. He wasn’t a noble, and unlike Maxwell, he didn’t have so much riding on her becoming Liam’s wife. She could talk to him freely, and she appreciated that. He was also the only other person at court who knew her as well as Liam did.

“Drake, do you think I can do this? Do you really think I have the potential to rule a country one day?” she asked hesitantly, not sure that she really wanted him to answer.

“What I think doesn’t matter. What matters is whether or not you think you can do it,” Drake responded.

“A part of me does, but another bigger part of me is still scared. All of this stuff is still so new, and I don’t feel like I fit in here,” she confessed.

Drake sighed and pressed a kiss to her hairline.

“I know how that can be, but if it makes you feel any better you look like you belong here,” he said.

“That’s what Liam and Constantine said; that at the Masquerade I looked like I fit in. Constantine almost sounded surprised if I’m being honest. I don’t think he likes me very much,” she admitted, shifting her head on his shoulder so she could look up at him.

“You don’t know that. He can be tough to read sometimes,” he tried to say convincingly.

However, the look on his face told her that she wasn’t wrong.

Ali and Drake spent the rest of the day sitting in the grass, talking casually and letting the cool breeze blow over them. It was late afternoon by the time they reached the stables, and Ali looked down at her phone to see that she had about fifteen unread messages from Bertrand and another ten from Maxwell. She opened the article attached in the last message and felt her chest tighten as a wave of anxiety washed over her.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned.

#the royal romance #trr #the royal heir #trh #liam x mc #the royal romance fic #trr fic #liam x mc fanfic #liam #king liam #my fics #choices fics #choices #playchoices #play choices fic #king liam fanfic #liam fic #playchoices fic

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lizzybeth1986 · 5 years

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Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 1 Chapter 7

• So! Chapter 7. So little yet so much happens in this chapter.

• I usually don't place a General Thoughts section on my TRR QTs, but there's enough, I think, to warrant one on both this one and the next for now.

• It's very well-constructed, there are all sorts of interesting contrasts and dynamics to it. In hindsight seeing as Olivia and Drake are such popular characters now, it's nice to see the beginnings of those shifts here.

• Hana also has a very important role in this chapter, and there are shifts here too. Not a lot will be said about this here, because I've got a full essay on her Cordonian Waltz scene that deals with a lot of its major themes. This scene is not my favourite Hana scene though - that honour will always belong to the piano scene in Chapter 8 😍

• THIS CHAPTER, my friends, is also where Drake's use of our surname begins. So I'm guessing our little tally for his use of our first name may just stop at 4 (he does say your first name sometime in the meteor shower scene, so that should be 5).

• Title: Fire and Ice.

Kinda fitting, no? We're staying in Olivia's wintry home, but there are a whole bunch of tensions bubbling under the surface.

I mean, look at the lines of the Robert Frost poem they borrowed this title from:

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

I mean you have Olivia, who loves the cold and admires the frozen splendor of the Alps, and whose mockery of Savannah included claiming she was "the sensitive sort" who wouldn't "last long here". And who hates the MC enough at this point that the moment she gets the tiniest amount of power, she will leave no stone unturned to let the her know she is not welcome.

And then you have Drake, who has begun to thaw towards the MC, and Hana, who is now opening up to her. Both experience the first stirrings of desire for her in these chapters. You get romance points for just being nice to Drake in both this chapter and the next one, and Hana is flustered by the attention you could optionally give her during the waltz.

• The narrative describes Lythikos as being situated at the Alps, and Maxwell tells us that Olivia is primarily at "Lythikos Hall, which is further south" but she will be hosting the court at her chateau instead. Hana tells us that since Lythikos is her domain, Olivia would have the upper hand, but we will really only understand the importance of that advantage at the ball in the next chapter.

• Bertrand is missing, and on one of his many trips to figure out estate stuff. Drake complains about the others discussing Bertrand, and Hana (like a normal person) complains about the cold. Which leads us to our OOTD!

• Our rooms are pretty much a modified, simpler version of the Lykos Castle bedroom, where Val once reluctantly pretended to be Zenobia's handmaiden, and where Annelyse and Kenna could sneak in for a rendezvous at the end of Book 2. I like it. It's purple 😁

Me Back Then: That outfit is terrible! It's the ugliest fucking thing I've ever seen and I've seen Bluebelle. The other option must be a basic sweater or something right? Right??

Me Back Then (after seeing the second option):

Me Now: If our MC needs more motivation to freeze to death in Lythikos, the ugly coat opens up to a free Drake scene.

Me Back Then: Okay. Okay. I guess I feel better about turning into an icicle now.

• This, and the Beach Bae outfit, are the only ones in this book that unlock extra scenes with the outfit purchase alone in Book 1. Buying Marabelle's Dream in Chapter 13 also works on a similar principle, but as far as outfits go these two are the only ones this book.

• If there are two basic things canon will give us about our MC this chapter, it's that she's learned ice-skating before (how good she is at it depends on you), and she's gone for soccer and basketball practice as a child.

• Maxwell plays matchmaker by distracting Olivia to buy us time with Liam. Kinda reminds me of that scene in the Fox Hunt chapter where he tries showing Constantine dance videos so we get extra time with Liam at the stables 😂

• These dialogues below get unlocked only if you show interest in hearing more about Olivia from him:

Liam and Olivia were such cute fucking friends and I find it sad that we rarely get to see much of that. Liam is protective of her, trusts her to the point of believing she is innocent when (optionally) no one else might in Book 3, concerned when she looks distressed and respects her.

• One thing that changed along the way in Olivia's story was who Lucretia was in relation to her. In this scene Liam calls Lucretia her great-aunt (although she isn't mentioned by name here), in Book 3 she is confirmed to be her mother's sister.

• I think the most heartbreaking bit is where Liam speaks about walking into the sight of Olivia crying into her mother's gown, and holding her until she cries herself to sleep. To think...that's the child Constantine was so desperate to leave broken and powerless.

• This tender backstory informs your choice to be good to her. You get to compliment her duchy, which, again, takes her by surprise.

• Hana comes up next, skating circles around every person in that court. Kiara, Penelope and Tariq are shown as struggling with skating - first as a set up to speaking about Hana's talent in this area, and second to show us just how much her parents had prepared her for a life in the nobility. Not only is she made to learn the life and rules and negotiations that govern noble/royal life - they've also pushed her into learning (and being good at) skills that would either help her in domestic/court life, or would make her desirable to her suitors. The courtly ladies who have grown up here know what's needed and know their strengths (at least some of them). A foreigner like Hana probably has to jump through more hoops to be seen, so her parents sent her to learn everything possible thing they could think of.

• Tariq is shown complaining about how his fancy skates are too expensive for skating...so yeah, another point on the "Tariq's Shoe Obsession" tally.

• Here is Hana speaking about ice skating with the same lack of interest Drake employs around fancy wine and good food.

That last line. It killed me. There's such a sense of resignation in the way she says it.

• This may seem like a slight build up to Hana's Cordonian Waltz scene (and that scene does reference this dialogue), but I honestly believe it's meant to be more of precursor to her Piano Parlour scene in Chapter 8.

That scene was all about something she loved and enjoyed, ruined by her parents' desire to reduce it to just another skill for them to parade around. There is a real fire and anger about the way she speaks of how she fiercely guarded it, and I believe this scene - where she talks of ice skating with such a lack of interest that even a stranger can see it - is the perfect contrast.

• We now meet Drake, who has suddenly and without cause begun to call us by our surnames. We will only get to find out why towards the end of Book 2.

• There's also a funny dialogue the MC makes about wanting to see Drake in a tutu, to which he replies that some images aren't worth the effort - back from the good ol' days of his macho posturing. It's even more funny given that the writers are trying really really hard now to retcon that completely, by having him claim in TRH he would dress up in a tutu if his wife claimed to have a thing for the sugar fairy 🤣

(Screenshots for the first option from the Parvez Kanok YouTube Channel)

More relationship points opportunities for Drake! You get to choose where your MC stands in her relationship with Drake now - does she like him? Is she friendly but cautious? Is she upfront that she can't stand him? The last option doesn't yield relationship points obviously, but he tells that MC that it's a good thing she refuses to trust him ("you shouldn't have faith in anyone out here, and certainly not me").

• We now have a skiing race down the slopes with Drake, where you can beat him at his own game and maybe show off to Liam and Olivia while they're on the slopes (Liam very adorably cries "Go MC!" in this option 😂). Orrr you can land on your butt while Drake laughs at you.

• Drake tries really hard to argue that he's won even in the option where you do everything right, which is another earlier indicator (besides the betting scene at the Derby) of his competitive spirit.

• Okay so this confuses me - Drake is the first one to tell you about the Cordonian Waltz being the main dance at the ball, has probably heard about it even with his lack of interest in all things courtly. But Maxwell is our sponsor, and in Bertrand's absence he should have at least been asking around if he had forgotten the message. I like Maxwell but the lack of forethought and concern for a foreigner that he's brought here is...not a great look on him on replays.

• We're now back at Olivia's lodge, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate (with marshmallows that Drake is pretending not to fanboy over)

• It feels so strange now to be in Lythijos and have something that's not Lythikos Nog.

• So here is where Olivia mentions Savannah, to get back at Drake for being Not Impressed™ (careful Drake the Leona side of your genetics is showing) with her "spectacular hosting". IDK Olivia if you're the only one patting yourself on the back for the hosting...then you're probably not that good at hosting.

• In any case, she pushes every possible button marked sensitive on Drake, and you can tell she knows how much Savannah's departure affected him ("wait, Drake, dear! Come back! I wasn't finished with you!") and is enjoying sinking that knife into him. From her we get to know that Savannah worked hard on fitting in, was a sensitive girl, and struggled to fit in. She also remarks on the suddenness of Savannah's departure.

• What baffles me though is that either Olivia was decent to Savannah's face during her time in court, or they simply retconned the fact that Olivia looked down on her. Because by Book 3, Olivia acts pretty normal around her and is even planning a gift for her in TRH in the middle of really important work. There is a possibility that she probably resorted to these tactics only during the social season but didn't have to do so once she'd withdrawn...but still. You'd think there would be some reference to her attitude in the first book. My guess is they backtracked with that part of the story because they were invested in making Olivia look better.

• The options to respond to Olivia include threatening to slap her, being dismissive about his pain, and simply asking about Savannah. The second one was way too insensitive for me and the third one seemed pretty invasive (why tf would I ask Olivia about Savannah when I could simply ask Drake), so I tried the first one...only to get a romance point. That's not going to be the last time I get a romance point just for being nice to Drake.

•

Me Back Then: Aww Maxwell. Such a good friend.

Me After Book 2: This is so sad Alexa play Liar by Queen

Me After TRH: When was the last time you met her Maxwell? Two months ago??

• Drake's Meteor Shower scene is actually pretty short, and there's not a lot going on in hindsight. But because it comes from a character who is already so closed off - the amount of information is just right. It's just enough to create a shift.

- You start off by surprising Drake with your arrival. Now for most of Book 1, Drake is pretty talented at shoving his foot in his mouth, which is exactly what he does in this sequence if you're concerned about him. He's also apparently not a very easy scare.

- As with the scene that built this one up, Drake proves to be far more comfortable when you show a lack of trust in him than when you show concern - for it is the second option that sparks a knee-jerk, defensive reaction that he needs to then apologize for (rather similar in fact to the scene at the stables, where he gets straight to the point if you're suspicious, and makes smart-alec comments if you're grateful). You get a couple chances here and there to figure out how your MC will respond to him.

- It...kinda makes sense, because mistrust and suspicion is something he seems to expect. Genuine kindness and concern isn't.

- The other interesting thing are the parallels the story creates between the MC and the perception of Savannah especially in this book. Right from the MC's first special moment with Drake watching the shooting stars, the way Savannah used to when they were kids. The image Drake conjures of the MC being an innocent gazelle walking into a trap. The fact that if you're romantically involved with him, you share your first kiss in the same office where Bertrand and Savannah...I'm not finishing that sentence. The comparisons he makes between Savannah on her last day in Cordonia, and the MC at the Coronation Ball - right before events that will change their futures.

(Screenshots taken from the Parvez Kanok YouTube Channel)

I still wonder if things changed along the way, because the tone of Drake's early scenes about Savannah sounded so...ominous, so scary. I think many of us (before they started dropping heavy hints about the Beaumont connection) suspected her departure was plot-related and she'd discovered something terrifying...except it all turned out to be one big misunderstanding between two people who would anyway be awful together.

- I think Drake makes a pretty huge leap in terms of trust here: at the end of the scene if you ask him whether he trusts you, he tells you that if he ever had to start trusting anyone, he would start with you.

- For the Drake stan there are a couple cute moments: him asking you if you trust him before shoving you to the ground so you can stargaze, the actual stargazing, and holding his hand on the way back to the Chateau.

• Poor Hana (if you've gone with him) is up all night waiting for the MC and Drake to return, worried sick about them being in the middle of a possible storm.

• Hana's Cordonian Waltz scene. Now that one I've played numerous times - maybe too often to count. I've written an essay about it too, so I won't be going into a lot of detail here. (for anyone interested in reading it, just search for #cordonian waltz on my blog. The essay on the Cordonian Waltz scene should be the first thing you see on that tag in my blog). I will talk about two things though - the personal impact of this scene, and Hana being valued for her skills more than for who she is.

- This scene is in a lot of ways the followup to our first scene with her, where we comfort her and give her advice on dealing with people like Olivia. If you bought that scene...she returns this favour as a gesture of gratitude (if not she does it is only because she's a marvellous human being and way too good for us). It also gives us more insight into why her engagement broke, why winning Prince Liam's hand matters so much even though she only sees him as a friend.

- Let's be honest - without Hana this story would look...quite different. She is our guide, our protector, someone who eases us into the routine of the court. She is also someone who is aware of Cordonia's ways and traditions, but in her own way is still a foreigner, still someone who might have to work far harder for the same amount of respect. She is someone with a foot each in both worlds.

- In a way, her knowledge is important to us, but her foreignness makes her relatable. It makes her acutely aware of our struggles in a way that a Liam or a Maxwell or even another lady of the court wouldn't, since they spent their lives in Cordonia and therefore may not fully understand the nuances of the MC's assimilation or exactly how much she may have to adjust to fit in.

- And I think this is exactly where the writers failed her. They made her the foreign woman with Cordonian heritage, who knew a lot about Cordonia...and then refused to explore the heritage and life she grew up with when the chance was clearly there. In Book 2, we wound up spending more time in Shanghai with the guys than we ever really did with her.

- Hana's skill based scenes often tend to go beyond the immediate task at hand and delve into the nuances - so that we can see the beauty of what she is teaching. Take this scene for example. Can we perform the Cordonian Waltz without a hitch if we don't buy this scene? Sure we can! But the beauty of this waltz, its value as a courtship dance, is only barely apparant if you don't buy it.

- Hana's general attitude to teaching a bad dancer an intricate waltz is "bitch if I can teach my dad's favourite hunting dog to learn a box step on his hind legs then I can do anything. Don't try me." But said, like, super super politely.

- The Cordonian Waltz seems to have the elements of a traditional waltz, I think, with the 'Cordonian' element being the courtship aspect of it. From what I can make of Book 1's exploration of social mores, the expectation seems to be to pursue whatever relationships you want to, but to keep those displays of affection largely private. A courtship dance giving the noble/royal a small leeway to flirt kind of works with that general logic.

A little story here: this sequence was in some ways the reason I started taking interest in Hana at first. Part of that was because I related so heavily to a lot of what she was saying in this sequence.

I've lived with controlling parents. I've had family who insisted their way of thinking was the best, and who wouldn't even realize at times that they were not giving me a chance to voice my opinion. There's a lot of messages within that kind of upbringing that you absorb when you're young - the biggest of them being that they're all you have, and even genuine frustration at their worst behaviour can be wrong and will result in them reminding you of every single thing you've done for them.

It's not all doom and gloom...it's not either all subservience or all I-hate-my-parents either. It's often a very complicated, messy mix of things. There's good stuff and happy memories, but there are also things that seem normal and then niggle at you, before they explode and you see them for the big problems that they are. You value and respect those parents, but at the same time you can't always place what is it about their behaviour that makes you feel strange and stifled. You want to rebel sometimes, but some of that rebellion comes with a creeping sense of guilt, like you're doing something wrong. You know sometimes that staying away is healthier for you and them than staying with...but you can't bear to break off that relationship yet. And in a lot of ways Hana encapsulates - within the miniscule space the writers chose to give her - a lot of the mess that comes with complicated, controlling relationships like that.

I've seen people call Hana weak and passive, see her only for her tragedies, stay blind to the individuality that she does possess, stay blind to all the small ways she does push back. I've seen people who will without a moment's hesitation put her down to praise an Olivia - never mind that even an Olivia had some support somewhere, never mind that her homeplace Lythikos has vastly different rules and norms that she upholds, that she has grown up learning and still follows. Context matters.

- The other thing that is so striking is how she compares what she has grown up with to what Peter had grown up with:

When you're brought up believing that you don't exactly have a say in who you marry, even romance of the kind Peter seemed to be envisioning seems like a privilege to you. Even on the basic level of 'I have a say in the kind of person I want to spend the rest of my life with'. Sometimes you just know when what you want doesn't exactly count (I mean...we are talking about the woman who had 200 PinStop boards on her future wedding yet believed she didn't have a say in how it would look).

This is further complicated by the fact that the narrative alludes to her upbringing by placing an emphasis on heteronormativity - her parents constantly push her towards men, a lot of the skills they have her pick up (including fringe ones like fainting to show how fragile she is???) are openly mentioned as being there to appeal to men, Xinghai is shocked when Hana tells him that she cares for the MC romantically. It's not said in so many words, but the overall impression you get is that she's never really had the opportunity to discover what she wants, probably never had the space to even think about it. I kinda really feel that on some level.

I grew up in an environment where a lot of things were taboo - including discussions on sexuality or even sex itself. Our parents were tight lipped, other adults skirted around it, and in our churches and schools kids had the most skewed ideas of a gay/lesbian/bi/trans/nonbinary people. I spent almost a decade in the closet, half of which involved me being in very very deep denial.

It's only in retrospect that I recognize that a number of relationships that I saw as 'very close friendships" were actually crushes - it didn't even occur to me to call it anything else. It took me until after I got married to fully come out and understand who I was.

(Screenshots from Abhirio's YouTube channel)

Hana's clumsy fumblings towards expressing her feelings must stem from a similar place. What she is feeling is so different from everything she has learned and experienced so far that she takes the entire social season to emotionally adjust. But doing the romantic, sensual Cordonian Waltz with a woman she's beginning to feel more than friendship for? That's a good start.

- There's also the factor of her parents convincing her to maintain her friendship for personal gain (Hana also briefly speaks of this kind of strategy in her Book 3 Snow Angel scene at Lythikos), but at this point she is so devoted and invested in the MC that she doesn't mind going above and beyond to make her succeed. She pretty much saves our asses for two whole books.

- Gosh I spent a lot of time on this scene didn't I (esp for someone who has done an entire essay on it before). But I've gone through two books since, and a lot of people tend to forget/dismiss/minimize Hana's particular set of situations in their desire to push forward a more shallow view of her.

- This scene is a good example of the mix between skill-teaching and personal history for Hana. As the story progresses, the writers will focus far less on the personal, on the struggles of her own journey, and more on the skills she can impart to the MC. And that's the tragedy of her writing: that the writers are some point were only willing to give her space, when the MC had something to benefit from it, when it was centered around the MC rather than her. When the MC either got the advantage of Hana's expertise, or when there is an opportunity that centers around the MC and places her in a pedestal. Towards the end of this series, Hana's friendship with the MC seemed very imbalanced - mostly because any opportunity to expand on what Hana was going through or feeling was often taken by other characters, or overshadowed by the MC's needs at the time.

General Thoughts:

• So...the next chapter is one of my favourites - because it is the dynamics of this chapter increased and expanded tenfold. The tension between Liam and Olivia as grownups who were childhood friends, Olivia's fear of losing him to the MC, Drake and Hana's trust in her, Liam's confusion over his feelings for her, how the ladies view this situation. There's so much going on next chapter, and this chapter is pretty good buildup to that.

• The 8th chapter esp in Books 1 and 2 of the series tended to provide significant changes in terms of relationship dynamics - and their dynamics in those chapters were often based on the theme of trust. But more on that in that chapter.

• Ngl, I'm also excited about that chapter because there's a spotlight on Kiara AND my all-time favourite Hana scene xD

• Admittedly...there's not a lot of Persephone (the MC of my failplay) in this QT - partly because I have only a ten-pic limit, and mostly because this chapter is pretty much like a short holiday from the court and the events.

• This is the kind of chapter that is light on the events and activities but heavy on the personal relationships. Plus, even though I wanted her to dance with Hana, I didn't want her to have any advantages going in to the ball - and even though you could still screw up it could still come with its own set of advantages. Besides, I knew a really good scene was coming up the next chapter.

• I found it easier as a Hana romancer to choose like this in Book 1, because even if I didn't take a scene I knew there would be a good one coming up in the next chapter, or in a couple chapters at least. By Book 2, I had very few good options (that didn't come with an automatic advantage) to choose from, so Persephone ended up taking crappy ones like the fashion show scene in Paris because I knew the next good Hana scene would take a while. It's...not a good feeling.

• What especially worked for this chapter were the contrasts. You have a gruff, guarded Drake who takes the chance to open up to you if you give it to him, and you have the vulnerable child-Olivia, juxtaposed with the very tough, very aggressive adult-Olivia.

• You were confronted with a very different Olivia in Liam's memories, to the one you see now, but at the same time reminded that she is indeed a very different person in the present. It was like you'd be tempted to thaw a little but the narrative would say "no, not yet".

• And it worked. Because you were eased into the nuances of that character, not having the better parts of her pushed in your face while you were still wary.

• Olivia's scene with Drake has a few parallels with a scene in a corresponding chapter in Book 2: Madeleine's treatment of Hana. Not on the scale of what they did (you can't really even compare Olivia's mockery of Savannah to Madeleine's obvious abuse of power), but on the setup the narrative was giving you. Here are the similarities:

1. Both chapters begin with the MC viewing Olivia/Madeleine as a rival of sorts, and her initial views on them are largely negative.

2. The MC witnesses moments of nuance that allow her to see that character in a different light. (Liam's story of Olivia's parents' deaths/Madeleine calling out the press on their sexism re: the Tariq situation, then the MC discovering to her surprise that Madeleine was never involved in the conspiracy against her).

3. While the MC is still attempting to take in this new information, the character does something that will confirm her initial thoughts about them. It will take a while before she manages to change her mind.

For me, the differences lie both in scale, and in the way the LI is treated. Olivia is cruel, she enjoys insulting Savannah and upsetting Drake - but the space isn't one where his position or his staying at the court is threatened. Besides this, the MC is allowed to push back at Olivia (aggressively, if she chooses to) and support Drake, as do Hana and Maxwell when Olivia leaves. Drake has the space to be upset about it, he has the space to lash out. His pain is validated and he is allowed his mistrust and anger at Olivia even into Book 2 when she is offering help.

Madeleine on the other hand threatens Hana's place at court and uses her newfound authority to harm her - and fully intends to continue doing so until she breaks. Hana is pushed by the narrative into a position of powerlessness - one that wasn't even necessary (she isn't even allowed to know about Madeleine's plan to break her nor is she given the space to push back against her). Even the diamond scene following Madeleine's threats revolved around every other character besides her.

I personally feel like the writing team chose this route for Madeleine in Book 2, because it seemed to work well enough with Olivia...but they'd gone too far, and in a way that Madeleine couldn't exactly come back from as easily as Olivia could. The strategy worked for Olivia, and backfired quite a bit for Madeleine.

• The irony of this chapter is that in TRH 7, Savannah herself speaks about not being able to fit in, and being happy she has friends among the ladies of the court now, and Olivia seems pretty alright with her by then. As I mentioned earlier this could be because the Olivia we're seeing now is doing everything she can to hold on to Liam, and it's making her act in ways that would only defeat her purpose, rather than help her.

• Drake's diamond scene in a lot of ways is necessary buildup for his whiskey scene in the next chapter. He spends a lot of time talking about what it's like to be in court there, but with our knowledge that his sister has disappeared and the (optional) assumption that the court was a poisonous place that drove her away from Cordonia altogether - he can (in his Whiskey diamond scene) expand on why it's better to not trust anyone, and warn her at the same time. The fact that he has now reached the point of wanting to tell her these things (even the things he says about Savannah in the meteor shower scene, are things he admits not having told anyone) is pretty major at this point.

• That's it for this week folks! Sorry for the longer-than-usual post 😅 I feel like the next one might be wayyy longer because I love that chapter.

• Tally Counts:

Number of Times Drake has Called Esther/Persy by Their First Names: 5

Number of Times Tariq Has Mentioned His Shoes: 2

Number of Times Drake Has Taken An Alcoholic Drink that’s Not Whiskey: 1

Number of Times Someone Has Called A Reigning Monarch 'Your Highness’: 2

Number of Times You Can Leave Hana Shook. SHOOK I TELLS YA: 3

Number of Times We See Penelope’s Angryface: 2

#long post #trr quick thoughts #trr qts #the royal romance #hana lee #king liam #olivia nevrakis #drake walker #maxwell beaumont

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stone-stars · 3 months

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happy 6 years of naddpod everyone <3 (alt title: the dragon pussy podcast making me cry for 6 minutes straight)

Transcript:

Mee Maw: That's true, but… there's also somethin' else. Murph: And you see she pushes her cloak to the side, and you see she has black scabs-- Caldwell and Jake: Oh, no! No no no! Moonshine: Oh, Melora! Murph: --and deep crick rot all over her chest and neck.

Marabelle, weakly: Jolene? I-- I didn't realize I was gonna get to-- say I was sorry. Moonshine (pretending to be Jolene): Thank you, of-- of course you're forgiven! I love you so much! You're my big sister!

Melora: You're not cursed. You were born like this.

Hardwon: (desperately) Gemma? Gemma? Gemma wake up. Gemma baby. Hey. Murph: You see she's-- she's-- she's cold and dead. Hardwon: Fuck!

Balnor: I couldn't help them. I can barely swing a sword. Alanis: There's a war coming, and everyone needs to fight. Even old men who don't know how.

Beverly, crying: No, he's-- he's my light. He's my Pelor! He always was! I strayed!

Bev Sr: You tell her the truth, Bev. You tell your mom that I died in the Feywild. Beverly: (crying) You know I'm bad at lying. Bev Sr: It's not a lie, Bev.

Deadeye: Yeah, I know I'm down a hand. And an eye. And a life. But I got a soul, and a family. And I finally know which is worth more.

Deadeye: I hate to think about what woulda happened to me, but maybe more I hate to think about who I still would've been if I had never met you.

Rosa: JV, I can't-- I can't find my lantern. JV: Aw, well look at that? There's a lantern right here. Rosa: Are you sure that's mine? JV: Yeah. Yeah, I'll-- I-- I'm gonna go look for mine.

Hardwon: --interpretation. I-- I-- Moonshine: Hardwon, I really don't want you to want to die, because I want you to live so much and I don't want to be alone in that feeling.

Lydia: Elias, is that you? Hardwon: It's uh-- It's still little Elias. You saved the child, ma.

Lydia: I don't know what I've been these past few years, I don't know what I've been these past few decades. But I want you to know that when I was your mother that... you were wanted.

Murph: Somebody who felt they could never have a child… um, is holding their child. Moonshine: I-- I didn't want to need you, dad, but… now that you're here… it-- it's kinda nice.

Murph: Your father has given you... a strategy guide on how to beat him. Caldwell: I have to look away so that the tears don't ruin the pages.

Beverly: (tearful) I don't want to go. I don't want to go. But I have to. It's my duty. I have to do this. Moonshine: Okay, youngin, I want you to know. I will love you whatever you choose to do. But, here's my two cents: A child has a duty to his father, but a hero has a duty to the world. Now, I've got my opinion of which you are. But it's time for you to decide.

Bev Sr: Thanks, Bev. I always-- I knew I could make the deal, because I knew you'd stop me.

Moonshine: (tearful) I-- I've been wanting to tell you about this for so long, and I just didn't get a chance to. And I don't know if I will, so I just wanted to make sure I told you.

Moonshine, crying harder as she goes on: Paw Paw. You are… You are my best friend. And you are the best part of me. (sobs) And I am so grateful. For-- (sobs) the fact that so much of our lives have been braided together. But… where I'm going, next-- after we beat Thiala, which we will-- you can't come, mmkay? So I just need to make sure that you are taken care of, and I need to make sure that you take care of some people, okay?

Pendergreens: This time, you picked me up. And you were nice to me for no reason.

Pendergreens: If when you come back... if I'm different? Moonshine: Mhm? Pendergreens: Just, remember me as I am now. 'Cause I like who I am when I'm around you.

Death: I will take everything from you-- Hardwon: Quit pointing at people! Death: --until you come with me. Hardwon: Ok-- I'll go! I'll go. Beverly: Hardwon, no! Hardwon: Bring her back, and I'll come. Bring her back.

Lydia: All my life, people told me what I had to be. You don't have to be anything other than what you are.

Lydia: I think you should talk to your friends. Not because you owe them an explanation, but because you deserve to be heard.

Melora: Beverly. Beverly: Yes? Melora: I wish you could grow up in a normal world, but the Gods have not blessed you with a normal life. You are… afflicted with duty. Things thrust upon you far beyond your years.

Melora: The world should have protected you, but you have been asked to protect it. What an honor, what an injustice.

Moonshine: How long do Half-Elves live? Mee Maw: You talkin' bout Hardwon? Moonshine: I mean-- It's on my mind.

Moonshine: I guess, if I'm being honest, I don't know what it's gonna be like to know Bahumia without Hardwon Surefoot. (tearful) And there's a part of me that doesn't want to find out what that feels like.

Moonshine: There is something sour I probably need to swallow, though. It is-- There's people you meet that are once in a timeless body lifetime kinda people, right? Mee Maw: Oh, yeah. Moonshine: Okay. Mee Maw: And you keep 'em with ya. Moonshine: Okay.

Moonshine: (crying) It's okay, Balnor. Like all the most powerful things in this world, I knew I was only borrowing you.

Hardwon: Moonshine, when-- When I left Irondeep, I-- I didn't know where I fit in. And then I met you, and you didn't just let me in. You brought me in, and you thought I was good.

Balnor: I hope that you all get to leave this world with the same comfort that I had: knowing that it's in good hands. I love you. Murph: "Your knight, Balnor."

#naddpod #bahumia #happy six years of naddpod everyone!!#emily axford #brian murphy #caldwell tanner #jake hurwitz #moonshine cybin #hardwon surefoot #beverly toegold #naddclips #weavings

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fluffy-marshmallow-heart · 6 years

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Drake's Diary Ch.3-The Derby

Words: 2036

Early the next day, Drake woke to a knock on his door. He groggily got out of bed and put on some pants. He opened the door to a smiling Liam. “Ugh, Liam, you do know it’s early, right?” Liam just smiled at him. “Maybe according to you, but this is all the free time I have available today, and I needed to ask a favor of you.” Drake opened the door wider to let him in.

“So, Drake. What are your thoughts on Lady Emma?” Drake rose his eyebrows. Of all things Liam might come to him this early in the morning for, he was surprised it was already about her. He knew he liked her, of course, but it was still pretty early in the social season. Drake shrugged.

"She’s ok, I guess. A bit mouthy.”

Liam laughed. “That she is. She’s certainly not afraid of speaking her mind. Which brings me to my visit. Drake….I would greatly appreciate it if you could look after her for me.”

Drake stared at him, confused. “What, like, babysit her?”

Liam shook his head. “Not…exactly. Just…make sure she doesn’t end up lost and wandering into the wrong places. As an outsider she’s an easy target for every other lady here.”

Drake groaned. “So you do mean babysit her.”

Liam sighed. “Look, Drake. I know she’s not your favorite person and if I could do it myself I would in a heartbeat. But we both know I can’t…and you are the only one I trust to keep her out of harm’s way.”

Well geez, when he puts it like that, how can I possibly refuse?” Drake found himself nodding “OK, Liam. I’ll watch out for her.”

Liam grinned and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Drake. I owe you.”

“Yeah, you really do” Drake muttered.

Liam took his exit and as Drake started getting dressed he got increasingly annoyed. He wanted to be there for Liam, of course. He would do anything for him. But Emma? From New York? He had conflicting feelings about her from the start. On one hand, he wanted to be around her all the time. Something drew him in, although he couldn’t figure out why. And because he couldn’t figure out why, he wanted to spend as little time with her as possible. He didn’t like the idea of babysitting some girl who had no business being here. But then again, if she wasn’t here, I wouldn’t know her at all. He frowned as he thought of that. He wasn’t sure which was worse.

When Drake arrived at Honeyhill Downs, he took a minute to take everything in. It was crowded and everyone was wearing bright colors and huge fancy hates. He didn’t get the hats. Why would you want to wear a bird’s nest? They look ridiculous. He looked over towards where the press was interviewing the suitors. His eyes immediately found Emma. She was posing for a picture, smiling, and chatting away with the Ana de Luca like they were old friends. How does she have such confidence? Heh. Probably the hat.” Drake smirked to himself as he thought of that. She didn’t look ridiculous though, she looked….good. He watched her disappear into the crowd before he remembered he was supposed to be looking out for her. He thought briefly for a moment to just leave her and head to Liam’s private tent, but he knew Liam would ask about her and he didn’t want to lie. He hurried after her, but in the giant sea of over the top everything he didn’t see her. He started to panic a bit as he went by the ladies’ tent and she wasn’t there. Crap. Liam gives me one job and I completely botch it. He picked up his pace now, searching the crowd for any sight of her, but there was none. He ran to the outskirts of the crowd and that’s when he saw just a glimpse of her heading into the stable. What is she doing there? What would possess her to think to go to the stable, which is not where the race is happening, and think that’s where she should be? Drake heard the door slam and took off running. As soon as he reached the door he heard a scream from inside. He threw the door open and saw a horse rearing up in panic right in front her. She was going to get trampled. He darted over to her and pushed her down into the hay and started calming the horse.

“Whoa there. Whoa.” He gently brushed the horse’s mane and brought his head down to look him in the eye. “Nothin to worry about, big fella. I’ll get this girl outta here for you.” He led the horse back into his stall and closed the door. He turned to face Emma, who was staring at him with her jaw dropped. “Are you ok, Emma?”

“Drake! You saved me!” she exclaimed

“I thought I was saving the horse from injury tripping over you.”

She gave him a dirty look. “Oh. Charming. Did the horse knock the sense out of you?”

Drake smirked. “Nah. I actually got away without a scratch.”

He offered her his hand and she took it. Unfortunately she weighed almost nothing and he pulled her too hard. She ran right into him. “oooph!”

For a second too long they stayed like that, her in his arms. Drake quickly let go. She still looked mad.

“Why are you even here?”

Drake ran his fingers through his hair. “Look…I��the truth is, Liam told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t end up in the wrong place….exactly like now” He grimaced then continued. “Good thing I listened, huh?”

“He really said that?” she asked. Drake nodded.

“You should really get back to the racetrack and your adoring fans” Drake rolled his eyes and turned to leave when she spoke up

“I’m lost. Maxwell said to look for the pink tents.”

Drake shook his head “He’s wrong. You want the white tents near the starting line. Can’t miss ‘em.” He turned to go again

“You’re not coming?”

Drake smiles, “Nope! I’m due to meet Liam in his private tent. We usually just hang out, drink, watch the race, place bets…it’s pretty sweet.”

Emma nodded. “Ok, take me with you.”

Drake looked at her in surprise.

“What?” She asked. “It sounds more fun where you’re going. Bring me.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to” Drink started slowly

She laughed “What are they gonna do? Throw me in princess jail?”

Drake sighs but lets her follow him. They walk in silence, Emma a few steps behind until they reach a private, enclosed tent. “Here. You go ahead. I’ll grab beers.”

Drake walked away then, leaving Emma alone to go into the tent and surprise Liam. I can’t get a single minute alone with him, someone is always around now. I was looking forward to this event and now…ugh. Now I have to deal with a suitor swooning over Liam the whole derby too, cuz I don’t see enough of that as it is.

As soon as he had 3 beers he went back to the tent and opened the flap cautiously, suddenly feeling like a third wheel. He cleared his throat “I hope I’m not interrupting anything…I’ve got beer”

Emma turned to face him “Drake! Of course not. I’m always happy to see you.”

Drake frowned. This was different. “…You are?” he asked

She beamed at him “Yeah, come join us.”

Liam spoke up “You’re just in time, the last race is about to start. I’m putting my money on Twilight Dash.”

Drake looked at him thoughtfully “I’m going with Marabelle’s Dream. She’s been doing really good this season.”

Liam grinned. “Our usual bet?” He asked

“You know it” Drake replied.

Emma spoke up, reminding Drake she was there “What’s the usual?”

“We always bet each other 10 pushups…But the winner gets to sit on the loser’s back while he does them.” Liam told her

Emma bit her lip and Drake could tell she was holding back a laugh. “That’s…so cute.” She said, grinning.

Drake glared at her. “It’s not ‘cute.’ It’s…rugged. And manly.”

“Yes, very tough I’d say” Liam chimed in “And it seems rude not to include lady Emma. How about this time, she sits on the loser’s back?”

Her eyebrows shot up as Drake replied “Absolutely. We definitely don’t want to be rude.” He turned a smirk toward Emma. “It’s about to start, let’s take our seats.”

To his immense disappointment Emma took the seat between himself and Liam. He automatically rolled his eyes, and she must have seen it because he felt a kick to his leg as she sat looking out at the racetrack. He noticed she was sitting a lot closer to him than she was Liam. He was able to smell her perfume, and although he had no idea what it was, it smelled really damn good. Intoxicating, even. All three of them leaned forward as the race began. Emma seemed to just listen as Drake and Liam went back and forth about the horses. Drake was thrilled when Marabelle’s Dream won and was covered in flowers.

“Time to pay up!” he told Liam.

Liam sighed. “That’s Drake, never letting me bow out of a bet. But, rules are rules.”

Liam paused a second, then removed his jacket and shirt “Can’t get this wrinkled” he said while winking at Emma.”

Drake just shook his head. This is getting ridiculous.

Emma sat on Liam’s back and he began the pushups. It looked easy. “Maybe I should get on there, too” Drake joked. “Should’ve known she’d be too light.”

Liam finished and started putting his clothes back on. “I must have done something every wrong at some point for you to be my best friend.”

Drake laughed “It’s my job to keep you humble with all these gorgeous women chasing after you.”

Liam turned to Emma “I’m glad you spent this time with us. But, unfortunately, it’s time for you to join the rest of the ladies.”

Drake saw a flash of disappointment cross her face. He looked from Emma to Liam….and sighed “I’ll go see where they are.”

He stepped out for a brief minute then came back in “I saw Maxwell go get the car. The ladies are a few tents down and heading to the picnic. I can show Emma.”

Emma sighed. “If you must.”

Drake walked Emma to where the rest of the ladies were “I guess this is where I leave you. Good luck.”

“Sometimes I’d rather face a rampaging horse than deal with the others” she replied

He looked at her, surprised “I don’t know…you didn’t fare so well in front of the horse.”

“Ha, true” Emma told him.

They stood there looking at each other.

“Hey Drake…”she started “Thanks for saving me”

He scoffed “I know I can be a jerk, but I’d have to be a real low-life to let a horse trample a girl.”

“Well….thanks anyway” She gave him a small smile then turned and walked towards the other suitors.

He heard Hana ask her where she’d been and was shocked when he heard Emma say “Oh, I just got lost.”

He heard Kiara next “That’s embarrassing, it’s only day two, Emma”

He started heading to the picnic, lost in thought. He was surprised that she didn’t brag about being with Liam. Any other lady would have. Instead she chose to embarrass herself. Why would she do that? Why can I not figure her out? As soon as I think I’m close she does something else that throws everything I thought I knew into question.

As Drake walked he tried to put her out of his mind but found himself unable to. She kept creeping right back into his thoughts. He really wanted to hate her, and he wanted her to hate him…but something else was happening. He was…intrigued, although he would deny it if anyone asked. He saw the way her face lit up when he walked into that tent. That was weird…right?

@imaketerriblechoices @agent-bossypants @blackwidow2721 @sleepwalkingelite @annekebbphotography

All Characters belong to Pixelberry

#the royal romance #the royal romance fanfic #trr fanfic #trr drake #drake walker #drake x mc #drake x emma #choices the royal romance

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thesassybooskter · 7 years

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SWEET SOUTHERN TROUBLE by Michele Summers: Excerpt & Giveaway

AVAILABLE MAY 2ND 2017

An ambitious Southern belle

Marabelle Fairchild knows she’s a gal who can get things done. Feeling unappreciated at the exclusive private school where she’s a kindergarten aide and varsity tennis coach, Marabelle determines to score with the next big fundraiser. What she doesn’t expect? A smokin’ hot football coach to throw her off her game…

A reclusive NFL bachelor…

NFL coach Nick Frasier is Raleigh’s most eligible bachelor, but he wants to focus on his career…not his playboy status. He doesn’t need a smart-mouthed, pint-sized kindergarten teacher pestering him. So he cuts Marabelle a deal—in exchange for Nick sponsoring a bachelor auction starring him and his gorgeous celebrity pals, Marabelle will pose as his fiancée to ward off unwanted advances.

What could possibly go wrong?

Buy Online: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Add to Goodreads

Author’s Corner

The best things about the South can be debated until the cows come home. For me, the list changes as often as our weather. I was born and raised a Carolina Blue Tarheel, but after college, I made my home in Miami, Florida and stayed for over twenty years (A different kind of south altogether). But since returning to my Tarheel state, it’s quite evident, some things have changed…and some things have not!

Here’s one of my favorite things about the south: Southern Hospitality.

Yes, ma’am. Southern hospitality is so much more than being polite to one another. In the South we make our guests feel like family. Our southern drawl is our way of talking more slowly, letting our guests know they’re welcome to stay as long as they would like. Conversation flows seamlessly from the front door, to the dinner table, to the family room.

Southern hospitality is contagious and spreads like kudzu on a vine. We don’t expect reciprocity, but many times it happens nonetheless. And before you know it, friends have become family. Standing at the front door, the “goodbyes” can take quite a while, still talking and laughing while the hostess bundles leftover desserts and maybe a bone or two for Fido. We hate to see our guests leave and we always remember to say, “Ya’ll come back now real soon, ya hear?”

Excerpt

“Tinker Bell, we need to talk.” Nick caught up with Marabelle on the courts the next afternoon shortly after the gala committee meeting. She was in the middle of running drills for the team. She growled in his direction like a feral cat, but that didn’t deter him. He opened the gate to court one and forged ahead.

“I have nothing to say to you.” She continued to feed balls like a machine, with a death grip on her racket.

He watched the boys hitting behind the baseline. “Now, honey, is that any way to talk to your intended?”

“Get back on your court and keep drilling,” she ordered the boys as some of them started to gawk and work their way over to him. She threw her racket in the basket of balls and grabbed his arm to pull him off the court.

Nick allowed himself to be turned and then stopped. “Where’re we going, Thumbelina? Behind the bleachers to neck?”

“Fat chance. Away from the courts. Those boys have a fanboy crush on you, and I don’t want them to hear us.”

Nick strolled next to her toward the bleachers. “I think their crush is on you, not me.”

Marabelle stopped, eyes snapping as she dug her small fists into her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means…those teenage boys have the hots for their tennis coach.”

Marabelle’s eyebrows shot so far up they got lost under her tennis hat. “Are you insane?” She put up both hands. “Don’t answer that. What kind of fiancé are you? You don’t write; you don’t call. I’m sitting on pins and needles here. This charade has gone on long enough,” she whispered fiercely.

Nick bit back a grin. “Awww, it’s only been two days. Have you been missing me?”

“Of course not. That’s not what I meant.” Nick started to chuckle. “I don’t think I can keep up this lie. In case you didn’t notice, those committee members want to lynch me,” she said, eyes flashing. “They’re very upset that the man of their dreams has taken himself off the market and gotten engaged to me.”

Nick had shown up at the meeting unannounced, and walked in on complete pandemonium with a lot of hysteria thrown on top. He’d managed to settle everyone down. Pledging a shitload of money will do that. Marabelle should be kissing his ass for saving hers.

“And that’s a problem because…” Nick shrugged.

“Because now the entire committee thinks I’m a slut. Hazel Cartwright asked how long I’d been ‘boinking’ you.”

“Really? Well maybe we should—”

“Look, can’t we pretend we had a big falling-out and broke up? I’ll tell everyone you dumped me for…for Jennifer Aniston. That’s totally plausible.”

Nick hated to burst Marabelle’s bubble, but he needed her more than she needed him. Marty Hackman loved the idea of his “engagement” and told Nick not to fuck it up…his exact words. And Nick had no intentions of disappointing the gruff, cigar-chewing owner of the Cherokees. If he asked Nick to join hands and sing Joni Mitchell songs, then he would do exactly that.

Nick placed his hand over his heart. “Tinker Bell, I’m wounded. Besides, Jennifer and I didn’t get along all that well.”

“You’ve actually dated Jennifer Aniston?” Marabelle drew back as her mouth formed a perfect O.

“We went out a few times. What’s the real problem here? I think the committee bought our story. We had them eating out of our hands.”

“Eating out of your hand. Look, it’s time we go our separate ways.” Marabelle ticked off on her fingers. “You do what you do best…date groupies. And I’ll do what I do best…make my mother’s life miserable. It works.”

Nick gave an exaggerated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anybody ever tell you you have no sense of adventure? You need to get out more.”

“I’m adventuresome. I’m all about adventure. Adventure is my middle name.”

Nick shook his head. “Huh-uh. My mind is made up. We’re engaged, and you’re just going to have to accept it. The sooner you do, the sooner we get to the good stuff.” He waggled his eyebrows at her scowling face.

“How can someone so gorgeous be so wicked and depraved?” Marabelle wondered aloud. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

“Honey, I’m not picking on you. I’m playing with you.” Nick allowed his gaze to roam over the tennis sweats swallowing her petite body. “I can’t wait to play doctor and get to the part where I undress you,” he said in a husky voice, moving in close and invading her space.

“Oh my God…you’re impossible.”

“Sh-h-h, you’re drawing a crowd.” Nick pointed at nobody over her head.

Marabelle whipped around to see who was listening, and Nick took advantage by gathering her in his arms.

“Marabelle, honey, stop fighting. Trust me.” He slipped his arm around her waist and lifted her up on her toes.

Then he kissed her silly. Or did she kiss him silly? Because the second his lips met hers, he forgot what they were arguing about. He’d never had to work this hard to get a girl on board. Frustrated didn’t begin to describe his feelings. Maybe he was losing his touch. He lifted his head, and Marabelle’s whacked expression matched his. Nah.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he murmured.

Marabelle lowered herself and licked her bottom lip as if tasting him there. “Mmm. Okay. We’ll pretend. But only when others are around. And no sex.” She narrowed her eyes to slits. “I’m no groupie. I worship only from afar. It’s safer that way.”

He pressed another hard kiss to her lips, wishing he could scoop her up in his arms and take her home. “Get back to work. I’ll call you later.”

“Yeah, right,” she mumbled. Nick watched as she trotted back to the courts, wondering how he was going to survive the next few months.

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About Michele Summers

Michele Summers writes smart romances with spunky heroines, hunky heroes and wacky characters, with sigh-worthy emotion and a satisfying happily ever after. She never tires of creating fictional towns with lovable but flawed characters. When not writing, Michele loves her career as an interior designer and works with clients in NC and Miami where she lived for over 20 years. These days she stays busy herding her college freshman and high school sophomore and spends a lot of time watching them compete in tennis. Presently she resides in NC where she grew up with her family, but still misses sunny South Florida, swaying palm trees and wearing open-toed shoes…everyday!

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SWEET SOUTHERN TROUBLE by Michele Summers: Excerpt & Giveaway was originally published on The Sassy Bookster

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stone-stars · 1 month

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.. HELLO. VERY CURIOUS ABOUT SOL AT THE CRICK AU. OR ANY OTHER NADDPOD AUS. IF U HAVE ANY DESIRE TO EXPOUND

sol at the crick is like. it's very new in my mind so i don't have That many details ironed out, but. okay so the setup of it is that swag, when he flees mothership, steals an egg. runs with it. knows he can't take care of a kid, especially with mothership after him, so he flees into the living wood and finds his way to the crick. entrusts sol to them (probably bumpy and jolene specifically, is my thought) the thing that's interesting abt it. to me. is that sol, as we know him, grew up really yearning for like, family and bonds. which is a huge part of crick culture. and not necessarily something he'd be lacking in this, but... also i don't think it's that easy. i think he'd still really want connection. and like. okay. i think bumpy and jolene would tell him abt swag. when he's old enough they tell him more details, that he's a clone and a little about mothership. for sol's safety more than anything. but i think that inserts this thought into his head that he's always kind of felt-- he's different from everyone else at the crick. makes him want to find out more. so he leaves to go to ezry. what if you were surrounded by the thing you wanted more than anything but it still never fit Exactly right. y'know. (also i think sol'd either just start a long death monk, be an ascendant dragon monk from training with big bev, or be a mercy monk who picked up healing from hanging out with so many druids.) (also x2 though i haven't thought that much of it bc i came up with this like an hour ago, this would be fun with changing up some elements of callie and calder's backstories too. i'm not sure exactly what yet tho)

any other..... sweats......... i have so many. i really like roleswaps in general, and i've been thinking of a handful where i swap up the timelines/roles of the different parties of adventurers. like. if you have melora/telaine/aryox, ulfgar/thiala/alanis, jolene/marabelle/cobb, the boobs, duck team etc... shuffling them around. like. okay you have the like, ancient trio where one of them becomes a god, right? what if that trio was actually jolene/marabelle/cobb instead, and jolene becomes a god. what if it's the boobs (insanely i think. i'd make hardwon the god. in this). or melora/telaine/aryox as the legendary heroes. or like, i'm really normal abt the calder helm deal and i have thought a lot about alternate timelines where callie or sol is forced to do something similar. sol with alexandrite. callie with oberon. after the recent eps i started thinking abt an au where callie is a diviner. earlier today i was yelling about pendergreens-ing gideon. but. i've also in general got a lot of eldermourne thoughts. i did at one point start to write smthn where fia, when she and irina were kids, pledged herself to irina as a paladin. it was like. fia as the only paladin of a demigod, neither of them knowing the weight of it. a connection like that matters, though, and the reason i started writing it was the idea that fia, when she was alone, would talk "to" irina. and irina heard her, like they were prayers.

oh i also for a while was thinking abt. aus where the boobs were the ones who were forced to time-loop instead of alanis. and the different ways it broke each of them. that was fun.

#this isn't even half of them btw #thinking about putting the characters in situations is my hobby #hanbles #naddplog #ask #there's also an arranged marriage au #but don't worry about that one #originswap

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ao719 · 6 years

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Reversed Royal Romance - Collide

Characters belong to Pixelberry

Title/Song Inspiration: Collide

A/N: AU-Reversed Roles- MC is Princess/Liam is the suitor

Summary: A bartender from New York City is invited to the Kingdom of Cordonia as a potential suitor for the Crown Princess.

Warning: This series will contain NSFW material. If you read, you acknowledge you are 18 or over.

Masterlist

@bobasheebaby @leelee10898 @3pawandme @riseandshinelittleblossom @speedyoperarascalparty @drakenazario @hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @blackwidow2721 @lodberg @umccall71 @zaffrenotes @cocomaxley @katurrade @gardeningourmet @hhiggs @sweetest-marbear @ooo-barff-ooo @innerpostmentality @blackcoffee85 @indiacater @gibbles82 @iknewyoudcome @thecordoniandiaries @tornbetween2loves @smalltalk88 @mynameiskaylabella @alj4890 @jadedpixiescribbles @mrsdrakewalkerblog

Liam awoke the next morning to his bedroom door flinging open and Olivia walking in.

“Get up!” she spoke in a chipper voice clapping her hands. “We’ve got to get you ready for the derby!” Olivia had already been down to the boutique and handed Liam a light grey suit jacket and matching dress pants, with a sky blue dress shirt. “You’re welcome,” she smiled. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” she turned and walked out. Liam got showered and dressed, went down to meet Olivia and headed for the car after grabbing a quick bite to eat. “Ok, so today is a pretty big deal. You will be making your first appearance with the press. It’s extremely important how you come across to the Cordonian people, and the press can make you or break you. What they write, the people read, and if the people love you, it will be easy to convince them that you deserve their Princess. The minute we reach Honeydown Hills, you’re going to be surrounded by them.”

“Ok...so what will they be asking me?”

“It depends on who’s asking. But, they always start with the easy questions and they get harder as it goes on. They’ll ask who you are, where you’re from, that kind of thing. The Cordonian people want to understand your story, so think about how you want them to see you. And do NOT embarrass my house in that process. Remember, everything you do now reflects on me, and I will not be pleasant to deal with if you tarnish my impeccable reputation,” she sarcastically grinned. “You need to act like the future ruler that you’re going to be when we win this thing.” The limo pulled up to Honeydown Hills, Liam looking out the window to see a sea of colorful hats and clothing. The press were already snapping photos and he hadn’t even opened the door yet. “How do you feel? Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Well, go on then. I’ll see you afterwards. Just find Maxwell once you’re done with the press, he will take you where you need to go.”

Liam nodded and opened the door as the flashbulbs started going off and people were lodging questions at him left and right. The first reporter, asked him who he was and what his story was. He told them his name and that he was just a regular guy from New York. The next reporter asked him the harder questions. What he thought about Cordonia, and what qualities he thought he had that made him fit to rule alongside Cassandra. They seemed pretty impressed with him, the one reporter telling him they were glad to have someone interesting like him in the running. He stepped away after they snapped a few photos of him and looked through the crowd for Maxwell. He eventually found him, he was hard to miss in his bright green suit jacket, white pants and pink dress shirt.

“Hey, Liam!”

“Hello, Maxwell.”

“So what do you think of the derby?”

“Lots of hats,” he chuckled, “and...really bright colors,” he looked at Maxwell’s vibrant ensemble.

“That’s the fun of it! Come on, we’ll head up to grab a drink.”

They made their way through the crowd to the the tent that held the bar under it and waited in the line to grab their drinks. Liam was looking around, hoping to see her, even just a glimpse. She was beginning to consume his every thought. He didn’t know how someone he had known less that a week could have this type of affect on him, but she did. He couldn’t shake her from his thoughts, not that he wanted to. As he and Maxwell made it up to the bar, Drake came walking up to them.

“Hey, can you grab two for me, Max,” he asked.

“Sure! Are...are you in the tent?” He gave a sad expression. Every year, he, Drake, Olivia and Cassandra would all be in the same tent watching the derby and placing their bets together. But this year, because of the social season, him being a suitor, and Olivia sponsoring one, they were told it might not be a great idea so it didn’t look like Cassandra was playing favorites.

“Yes, I am...” Drake looked at him and then to Liam. He knew he shouldn’t, but he knew Cassandra would want him to. And if he invited Liam, he had to ask Maxwell. He rolled his eyes shaking his head. “Fine...follow me...” Maxwell threw his fists in the air. Liam had no idea where they were headed, but he did as Olivia said and stayed with Maxwell, really not wanting to piss her off. They made it up to a tent that was bigger than the rest, and Drake stopped with Maxwell.

“You...come help me with something real quick. Liam...go on in, we’ll be right there,” Drake shook his head at himself for doing this. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about this guy, but he could tell Cassandra saw something in him. Liam slowly entered the tent, and then it all made sense. There stood Cassandra facing the track, a smaller hat than most he’s seen today sitting on the side of her head, her hair in a loose updo, wearing a floral, tight fitted dress that hugged every curve. His eyes scanned over the back of her with a smile.

“Excuse me, I seem to be lost...” he grinned. Upon hearing his voice she whipped around wearing a wide smile. He thought she was gorgeous when she had her back turned to him, but when she turned around, he swallowed hard. The dress hugging every curve in the front as it did the back, the top of it leaving little to his imagination.

“Liam!” she walked toward him giving him a hug.

“You...look stunning,” his eyes swept over her.

“Thank you,” she smiled. She stared up at him for a moment, and Liam couldn’t help himself as he leaned down pressing his lips to hers, his hand going to the small of her back as he gently pulled her body into his, her hands holding his arms. As they parted she wore a smile and looked at him, biting her lower lip. When she bit her lip like that, he felt his craving for her multiply. “Well, that just made this day better,” she grinned, “So, how did you get in here?” she asked with a smirk and an arched brow.

“Well, I met Maxwell when I first got here, we went to the bar where we ran into Drake, and he told us to follow him. And, here I am,” he grinned.

“Sneaky, sneaky,” she chuckled. Just then Maxwell and Drake made their way into the tent. “I’m so glad you got to come, Max!” She gave him a hug. She explained to Liam how they normally are all together during the derby but not this year.

“So, last race...usual bets, Max?” Drake asked with a smirk.

“You’re on! And I’m going to win this time.”

“You say that every year,” Drake shook his head.

“I think it would be rude to leave Liam out,” Cassandra chuckled.

“Out of what?”

“So, every year they bet on which horse they think will win, loser has to do pushups. In this case, losers.”

“I think I can handle that,” Liam smirked.

“I say Autumn!” Maxwell exclaimed, as Drake let out a laugh shaking his head.

“I’ll go with,” Liam looked at the horses, thinking for a moment, “Twilight-Dash.”

“That’s not a bad prediction,” Drake said nodding his head, “but, my money is on Marabelle’s Dream.”

“Ok, bets are placed. Here we go,” Cassandra said turning back to the track as the race started, everyone leaning forward in anticipation. Maxwell’s pick went completely rogue, running all over the place as Drake let out a snort. Liams pick took an early lead, but as they rounded the third bend, Drake’s pick caught up and they were neck and neck.

“And she takes it in the final furlong!” Drake said with a grin, clapping Maxwell on the shoulder. “Your pick didn’t stand a chance, buddy,” he laughed.

“Ok, ok,” Maxwell smirked as he began taking off his jacket and shirt.

“You’re up too there, pal,” Cassandra smirked at Liam. He gave her a grin shaking his head. “Need me to hold your jacket?” she giggled as she held out her hand. He shrugged off his jacket handing it to her as he smiled. While never breaking his gaze from hers, he unbuttoned his dress shirt and shrugged it off, placing it in her outstretched hand. Cassandra swallowed hard as her eyes swept over his chiseled chest and perfect six pack. She rather gathered he was in good shape, but this was certainly a pleasant surprise. He gave her a wink before he dropped to the ground next to Maxwell and began doing his pushups, and she watched his muscles as they flexed, unable to stop staring. Suddenly, it felt very warm. She heard a light chuckle come from Drake and she looked up as he wore a grin, motioning to her to wipe her mouth. She smirked and flipped him off as he silently laughed. Liam and Maxwell stood after finishing and she handed Liam his shirt and then his jacket.

“Impressive,” she smirked.

“Pushups aren’t that hard,” he smiled. She leaned in to his ear.

“I wasn’t referring to the pushups,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip again. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a flush coming across his cheeks as he grinned.

“Liam, we should head back down to the other suitors, before they start getting suspicious. We have to get ready to leave for the lawn party, anyway.”

“Ok,” Liam replied.

“I’ll go see if Liv is here,” Drake said, pulling Maxwell with him by the arm out the exit.

“Well, thanks for coming to hang out with me,” she smiled.

“Will I see you at the lawn party?”

“You bet, save me a seat, I’ll sit with you,” she grinned.

“Consider it done,” he brought his hand up brushing his thumb across her cheek as he leaned down kissing her. She put her hand softly around his neck, her nails gently raking through his hair at the bottom, sending a chill through him.

“I’ll see you later,” she smiled as they parted. Just then, Drake stepped back in to let Liam know Olivia’s car was waiting, offering to walk him over there, since he was catching a ride with them anyway. He smiled at her before they walked out of the tent. She let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding as he left. The image of his shirtless body now plastered in her head. She didn’t know what it was about him, she just wanted to spend more and more time with him. She started to wonder if this was normal, because who falls for someone this hard, so soon after meeting them. She smiled to herself as she exited the tent headed for her limo.

Liam, Drake and Olivia headed over to the lawn party. Olivia knew something had happened because Liam couldn’t wipe the grin from him face, as Drake sat there trying to stifle a laugh at how love drunk the guy was looking.

“So...what happened?” Olivia smirked at the two men.

“I brought Liam and Maxwell to the tent,” Drake smirked. Olivia gave him a grin, knowing the more time Liam spent with Cassandra the better. “And Liam and Maxwell lost the bet,” he chuckled.

“You made him do the bet?!”

“It was Cass’s idea!” Drake said before Olivia got mad at him.

“It’s fine,” Liam chuckled.

“Cass sure thought it was fine,” Drake snorted as Liam grinned and his face flushed.

“Well, anyway,” Olivia smirked at the two of them, “now we’re headed to the lawn party. You’ll meet the other noble ladies there today, as well as Queen Regina. But her and I are in good graces anyway, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to impress her. Just flash that smile of yours,” she grinned. “When we get there, you’ll go stand with the other suitors. Once Cassandra arrives, she’ll head over to the other noble ladies and the Queen, and when they’re ready, you and the rest of the suitors will make your way over to us, where Cassandra will introduce each of you.” They pulled up to the lawn party where Liam saw the group of suitors waiting in a line. Olivia made sure Liam looked in order before he exited the car and made his way over to them. Drake headed to a table and Olivia went over to the group of noble ladies. Cassandra arrived shortly after, making her way over to the other noble ladies and Regina.

“Hello, dear,” Regina said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Hello,” she smiled.

“Your highness,” the blonde haired woman spoke when she curtsied. Cassandra narrowed her eyes, but quickly fixed her face when Regina cleared her throat. Olivia tried stifling a laugh. Her and Cassandra were not big fans of hers.

“Hello, Countess Madeline.”

“Your highness,” the other two noble ladies spoke with a curtsy.

“Lady Penelope, Lady Kiara. It’s good to see you both.”

“Cass,” Olivia smiled giving her a hug.

“You still should be formal with her, Olivia, even though she’s your friend.” Madeline sneered.

“And I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Maddy,” Olivia gave an exaggerated grin.

“Ladies,” Regina gave them the eye, nodding her head toward the group of suitors that were now making their way over to them. The ladies stood lined up next to Cassandra and Regina.

“Ladies, may I introduce you to Lord Rashad.....Lord Neville.....Lord Tariq.......Lord Maxwell,” he gave Cassandra a funny face causing her to laugh as he made his way through, “Lord Liam,” Cassandra’s face lit up, and the first one who noticed it was Regina who gave a small smile. Liam kissed the back of her hand as he made his way through. “And Duke Nathaniel.” Cassandra noticed Madeline motioning to her cousin to stand straighter as he made his way through the line. Her and Olivia both looking at each other rolling their eyes.

“Gentlemen, it’s very nice to formally meet all of you for the social season,” Regina spoke. “Know that one of you will rule alongside the next Queen, and you are expected to represent Cordonia well.” They all bowed before making their way to their tables to eat.

“Well Nathaniel seems very nice,” Penelope said to Madeline. She gave her a smile.

“Well,” Kiara smirked, “I thought they were all nice, but that Lord Liam, mmm-“

“I suggest you choose your next words very wisely, Lady Kiara,” Cassandra spoke turning and staring at Kiara with a fierce yet stoic look, her hands clasped in front of her holding her clutch.

“I...I apologize your highness,” she curtsied before walking away with Penelope and Madeline. Cassandra and Olivia made their way over to the table where Liam, Maxwell and Drake sat. They talked over lunch, Liam fitting in nicely with their group of friends. They got on the topic of dessert when Liam had a sudden craving for a New York treat.

“I could go for a cronut right now.”

“What’s that?” Cassandra asked.

“Wait...you guys have never had cronuts before?” They all grinned shaking their head no. “They’re the best dessert imaginable. You have to try them. There’s a cafe we passed on the way here, they probably have them.”

“Maybe....we can make a little jailbreak tonight and go on a cronut run?” Maxwell suggested wriggling his brows. Everyone nodded in agreement and made a time to meet out front of the palace.

Later that night, Drake, Maxwell, Olivia and Liam were waiting for Cassandra to come. Liam was hoping she didn’t get caught sneaking out, he knew it probably wasn’t easy for her to ditch her security detail. He smiled when he saw her making her way up to the group. It was the first time he’d seen her in regular clothing, as she dawned a pair of skinny jeans, v-neck white t-shirt and a pair of flats. And she still looked as stunning as ever.

“Sorry guys! Bastien was acting suspicious, so I had to give it a few minutes,” she chuckled.

“You’re not going to get in trouble, are you?” Liam asked as the group all laughed.

“No. Compared to my brother, who Bastien used to look after, I’m a damn saint,” she grinned. “Shall we?” Liam nodded and smiled as the group snuck off to Drakes truck that he had waiting outside the palace gates, and they all climbed in.

They made it down into the Capitol where Drake parked the truck and they got out, walking down the boardwalk by the beach to the cafe. As they were walking, Liam slipped his hand into Cassandra’s, lacing his fingers through hers as she gave him a smile. They headed into the cafe, Liam ordering them their cronuts and sitting at the table, draping his arm over the back of Cassandra’s chair as she leaned in a little closer, shooting him a smile. They all were in dessert heaven with the cronuts, conceding to Liam that they were, in fact, the best dessert imaginable. Even Drake approved, but that wasn’t hard to do when it came to food. After leaving the cafe, no one was ready to head back yet, so they decided to walk along the beach. While Olivia, Drake and Maxwell walked ahead, Liam and Cassandra fell behind, stopping under one of the palm trees.

“This was nice...to get away from the palace for a little,” she smiled.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, and the cronuts,” Liam grinned. Cassandra leaned against the base of the tree staring up at Liam. She couldn’t explain it, but every time he looked at her, her heart began to race, and her stomach filled with butterflies. It was the way he looked at her...with this desire in his eyes. It was beginning to drive her crazy. He smiled as he leaned down pressing his lips to hers in a slow, passionate kiss. She placed her hands on his waist pulling him into her, his body pressed right up against hers, as she lightly bunched the fabric of his t-shirt. Feeling him against her this way was sending a fire through her. The way she pulled him into her drove him crazy, and left him wanting so much more. He felt intoxicated by her. They both were completely lost in the moment, neither ever experiencing a kiss like this before. They were brought back to reality when they heard someone clear their throat. Cassandra recognized it. They slowly parted as she kept her eyes closed with a smile. She opened one eye and glanced over to see Bastien standing there with a smirk.

“H-hi, Bastien,” she gave him a sheepish grin.

“Princess Cassandra....you know I can’t let you out of the palace without security,” he arched his brow. She gave him an apologetic look. “It’s fine,” he grinned, “but we should be getting back before your father realizes you’re not there. I’ll give you a moment, the car is across the street.” She nodded as he walked away. Her and Liam looked to each other and let out a laugh.

“Well...I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” He smiled

“You bet you will,” she grinned, before standing on her tip toes giving him a kiss goodbye. “Goodnight, Liam,” she smiled as she headed toward the car. Just then the rest of the group made their way over to Liam.

“Well, we should get going anyway. We’re heading back to Lythikos tonight.”

“We are?” Liam asked, confused.

“Yes,” she grinned. “We’re hosting the next two days at my estate. Which is a very good thing,” she smirked. “Home turf advantage.”

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