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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Kitty Troubles for MissArtisticDraws on dA

Kitty Troubles

When Edward and Stella bought the kitten for Jenna as her birthday gift, they should’ve looked after it overnight before giving it to the little girl. What chaos have ensued while cat-sitting for a night? One-shot.

–

Because the scene between Edward, Stella and the shopkeeper when they bought the little kitten for Jenna could’ve been expanded on a bit more. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to MissArtisticDraws on deviantArt!

-0-

“I want a kitten for my birthday,” the little purple-haired child told Stella when said healer asked her what she wanted for her birthday. Stella had nodded happily, much too eager to cater to Jenna’s request. As soon as she was done talking to the little girl and her mother, she had exited the house with a giggly smile on her face, making Edward dread what was going to happen in the next few hours.

“Okay, so… What does she want?” he inquired Stella immediately after he saw her open the door to leave the large house, slightly irked at how they had been dragged into attending the birthday party of someone they hardly knew.

“A kitten,” the lilac-haired woman declared proudly, taking Edward by the arm and dragging him towards the shopping district in the Veldarah. “And I know just where to get one!”

“Wait, you don’t mean—” Edward objected, before he was shut up by Stella stopping abruptly in her tracks and putting her free hand over his mouth.

“Yes, yes, I am,” the normally gentle girl said firmly. Edward sighed, his mouth still covered by Stella’s hand. Nodding in defeat, he motioned for her to lead the way, and Stella’s bright smile returned to her face before she pulled him into a familiar item shop.

As the smell of perfume and gift wrapping paper invaded his nostrils, Edward suddenly found himself face-to-face with a friendly-looking middle aged man.

“Hello, how can I help you today?” the man asked, a kind smile on his face. Edward bowed his head slightly as a greeting before he replied, “A friend of mine is here to get a birthday present for a child. Stella?”

Raising an eyebrow when he found that his companion hadn’t reacted to his call, Edward realised that his arm was free from the healer’s grasp. In slight panic, he looked around before spotting Stella’s lilac head bobbing up and down in the middle of the shop.

She was kneeling down on the wooden floors, playing with something white Edward couldn’t quite see clearly. Only when he approached her could he see that it was an adorable white kitten, nibbling at his friend’s fingers.

“Oh, Edward,” Stella squealed as the prince knelt down next to his companion, eyeing the cat curiously. “It’s so cute! Didn’t Jenna say that she would like a kitten?”

Edward exhaled deeply. “Yes, Stella, you just asked her barely ten minutes ago.”

Rolling his eyes as Stella paid him no heed and continued spoiling the kitten, he turned to the shopkeeper who was still standing behind the counter. “How much for this kitten, shopkeeper?”

“You can have it for 10 gold coins,” the man responded, looking up from his newspaper. Pulling out their coin pouch from his backpack, Edward fished the required amount of money out and gave it to the man, his movements slightly begrudging.

“Hey, Stella, get the kitten over here. We’re giving it to Jenna tomorrow,” Edward called out. He watched her struggle slightly with the playful kitten that was fidgeting quite a bit before she managed to successfully scoop it up into her arms and set her on the counter.

“Would you like it wrapped?” the shopkeeper queried. Edward and Stella exchanged a wary glance.

“Uh… You can wrap a kitten?” Stella questioned, her hand stroking the back of the cat’s ears. The shopkeeper nodded as he pulled out some brightly coloured paper and began to wrap the kitten.

How he did it, the two travellers didn’t understand, but in a few moments, the shopkeeper had accomplished in completely wrapping the kitten into a gift with nearly minimal effort, albeit with a few scratches on his face and arms.

Edward had been too awed by the cat-shaped bundle of wrapping paper, but Stella had already offered to heal the shopkeeper’s wounds as extra thanks.

They left the shop with quiet steps, because according to Stella, “It’ll scare the kitten!” if Edward walked like how he normally in his heavy, metal boots. With a roll of his eyes, he kicked off the boots and walked Veldarah’s muddy paths with only his socks on.

He was none too pleased when they returned to the inn and his feet smelled like soil.

–

“Do you know how to take care of a cat, Stell?”

Edward’s enquiry incited a look of embarrassment on Stella’s face, causing him to slap his forehead in frustration.

“Well, no,” Stella explained frantically, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “But I’m sure it can’t be that difficult! Besides, it’s only for one night.”

“Yeah. One night, and that cat might go missing on us because it saw a leaf dropping from that tree.” Edward replied sarcastically, cupping his head with his hands as he sat in front of Stella, the kitten wagging its tail on the table they were seated at.

Stella scoffed, unhappy at Edward’s bitter behaviour at the kitten. “Oh, don’t be such a sourpuss, Edward!”

“Yeah, whatever.” the male muttered before yawning and rising to his feet. “I’m going to bed. If that cat goes missing, Stella, you’re looking for it and I’m not going to help!”

Stella simply grinned at him innocently at that statement. “Of course you are, Edward, because it’s already missing!”

“WHAT!?” Edward yelled, his eyes widening to become as wide as saucers. Quickly stealing a glance at the wooden table the white cat had just previously been standing on happily, he realised that it wasn’t there anymore, and that the window behind Stella was wide open and there was indeed a tree shedding its leaves outside. “Stella!”

“Oh, come on!” the healer sang childishly, jumping to her own feet and grabbing her staff as she brushed past Edward. “Let’s go, Edward. A wild goose, I mean, cat chase awaits!!”

“Stella— hey, Stella—!”

With another heavy exhale, Edward rubbed his temples and retrieved his swords from a corner in their inn room. This was the last time he was going to follow through with any of Stella’s plans.

–

“Argh, where can it be!?” Edward grumbled, his arms crossed and lips curled in a frown. “Hey, Cupcake, get back here! … Urgh! Stella, this is all your fault…”

Edward and Stella were hunting down the little white kitten in the dark city centre of Veldarah with only the aid of the light from Stella’s staff to guide them (apparently, the Empress of Veldarah had deemed it unnecessary to have streetlights in her city) and the kitten’s name that Stella had just thought up— Cupcake.

“Why’re you so cranky, Edward? This is great!” Stella exclaimed energetically, making Edward shoot an unamused glare at her. “We’re looking for Cupcake at 3 in the morning, and the weather is cool and nice and the best part is, no one’s looking at us right now, which means no one is thinking about how we’re both being total idiots!”

Edward grimaced at the memory where the both of them had danced on top of the academy roof for Stella’s birthday and caused him to be the centre of gossip amongst the students.

“… Your airheaded-ness knows no bounds, Stell,” he finally said with a heavy exhale.

They walked in silence for a few moments, Stella still sporting a bright smile on her face until a four-legged shadow crossed her vision behind the statue of the goddess.

“Wait, I see her!” Stella shouted, running towards the large statue and pulling Edward with her. By this time, Edward didn’t have the energy to complain nor whine, so he followed her without a word, only a tired facial expression.

“… That’s a gray cat.” Edward said as Stella picked up a tom cat and stuck it right in front of his face. “Hey, why can’t we just take one of these cats and give it to Jenna, anyways?”

“Because Cupcake’s special!” Stella replied with a huff, putting down the cat and allowing it to run off.

“Stella.” Edward said slowly. “No one will even notice!”

“I will!” Stella was very adamant.

“Stella!” Edward complained.

“Oh, come on, Edward.” Stella protested. Oh boy, Edward thought. It’s started again. “If Mel was here, she wouldn’t like you whining like a girl!”

“Mel would agree with me on this!” Edward spat, stomping his foot like a child.

“No, she wouldn’t!” Stella whined.

Edward opposed, obviously. “Yes, she would!”

“No, she wouldn’t!”

“Yes, she would!”

“No, she wouldn—” Edward began, until he realised that he had been fooled. “Stella!”

“Well, you agreed!” the healer pointed out defiantly. “Let’s continue looking for her.”

“Stella, I want to go to bed!” Now, it was Edward’s turn to whine.

“No bed until we find this cat!”

Edward sighed for the umpteenth time that night before he obliged. “Fine.”

They walked on for another short period of time before Stella suddenly halted in her tracks, almost knocking over Edward who was traipsing on without so much of a care behind her.

“Maybe we should lure her out with some food…” she thought aloud, rummaging in her rucksack.

“Like what? Cupcakes?” Edward asked sarcastically, before he realised that it could actually be true. “Stella, if you actually have a cupcake in that rucksack of yours—”

“Of course I do!” the healer said, not missing a beat and pulling a traditional vanilla cupcake with sprinkles out of her leather sack. “Cupcake, here’s a cupcake for you~”

Edward bit back his groan of embarrassment as someone opened their window and looked at them as if they were idiots who needed to be sent to a mental institute.

“Stella.”

“Alright, alright! Home.”

Edward wanted to kiss her feet the moment those words left her mouth, but kept his smooches to himself and also to Mel.

“Okay. And I’m telling you, Stella, if that cat goes missing one more time—”

“Oops!”

Cupcake jumped out of Stella’s arms and was currently running towards a trashcan in an alley between some houses.

Edward groaned again and buried his face in his hands.

“Let’s go, Eddy!” Stella shrieked joyously, chasing after the kitten.

-0-

“Happy birthday, Jenna!” Stella exclaimed happily, Edward not far behind her somewhere and stuffing his face with cupcakes.

“Mom, can I open it?” Jenna asked, taking the wrapped bundle from Stella. The two had spent the remainder of last night trying to wrap it again “Because Stella insisted,” Edward would grumble.

“Go ahead, sweetheart,” her mother said, stealing a quick glance at her as she pulled more cupcakes out of the oven. Jenna grinned and tore off the colourful paper bit by bit before she, in a fit of joy, lifted the kitten up and screamed with happiness.

“It’s a kitten!!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in wonder.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” her mother said, now kneeling next to her.

Edward and Stella grinned. “It was no problem,” Stella informed her.

Edward grimaced while still keeping a courteous grin on his face, hand over his pant pocket that hid one of Cupcake’s poop pellets.

Chloe’s gift for MissArtisticDraws!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #edward pendragon #stella #aveyond 3 #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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@peregrine-falchion’s gift for @piepeter!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #aveyond 3 #mel darkthrop #lydia rupert #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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First Time Skating

Mel gritted her teeth as she gazed out at the large patch of ice in Istir Forest. The spy agency had taught her how to ice skate, but being taught how to do it was different from actually doing it. Why were there so many ice patches in Istir Forest anyway? Was there an underground lake or something that overflowed into the land?

“Well?” said Stella. “Mel? Aren’t you going to get on the ice?”

Mel gulped. “Sure.” She was tempted to point out that she didn’t have to be the first one on the ice when there were four other people in their party, but none of them were making any moves, not even the vampires. She would have thought that in their hundreds of years, Te’ijal and Galahad would have already learned how to ice skate, but they had participated in the agency’s lesson along with everyone else.

“All right,” she finally said. “Here goes nothing.”

She stepped onto the ice one skate at a time, her mind going through the instructions during the lesson. Keep balance … keep balance … hey, this wasn’t so hard! “Come on, guys!” she called. “The ice is fine!”

Almost as if on cue, at that moment her legs slipped out from under her and she fell flat on her back, sending pain through her whole body.

“MEL!” Seemingly without thinking, Stella skated over to her friend and dived down next to her. “Mel, are you all right?”

Mel grunted as Stella helped her up. “Yeah … I guess you’re a better skater than I am.”

Stella looked down at her skates, as if she only now realized what she was doing. “Well … maybe I already knew how to skate before I lost my memory, I don’t know.”

Mel twisted her mouth, knowing Stella didn’t like talking about how she couldn’t remember anything from before she and Edward found her, so all she said in response was “Maybe.” Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Stella did know how to skate before.

What else could Stella have known before that she was unaware of now?

Mel didn’t think of it much – well, maybe she tried not to think about it on purpose – but they didn’t really know Stella. Even though she was always friendly and caring, would she still be like that if she got her memory back?

Of course she would. It was ridiculous to think otherwise, wasn’t it?

Stella was taking her hand. “Come on, let’s skate together,” she said with a slight giggle.

Mel glanced behind them, seeing that Edward was wobbling a little, but he had managed to actually get on the ice. Te’ijal and Galahad, meanwhile were getting on the ice in small, hesitant steps, which Mel couldn’t help laughing at. Who would have thought the graceful vampires would be so nervous on ice?

“I think the vampires might need help,” said Mel. “And that’s something I never thought I’d say.”

Stella laughed her high, charming laugh. “Well, you can’t expect vampires to be good at everything.”

“What was that?” asked Te’ijal in her accented voice. “Are you saying vampires cannot ice skate?”

“Well,” said Stella, “you don’t seem very confident.”

Galahad glared at her. “Fine, I’ll show you confidence.” He leaned forward and started skating over to them in long, determined thrusts – only to fall forward and land flat on his stomach to the laughter of everyone else.

“Oh husband, I do so love it when you humiliate yourself,” said Te’ijal. “You are so adorable.”

Now Galahad turned his glare to his wife as Stella skated up to him as easily as if she’d been doing it all her life instead of just learning it at a spy agency. “Galahad, do you need a healing spell?”

“No, mi’lady, but I appreciate the offer,” said Galahad.

“Well, at least let me help you up.”

Mel would have though that Stella would have difficulty helping the muscular Galahad up, but no, she helped Galahad to a standing position with the same level of ease as she had helped Mel. Apparently she was stronger than her delicate-appearing figure would suggest.

Te’ijal, meanwhile, was still cackling in amusement as she cautiously skated up to her husband. “Come, my crumpet, it appears that had both best assist each other,” she said, offering her hand.

The former knight grumbled, but he did take his wife’s hand.

Stella giggled at she skated back to Mel’s side. “I think Galahad really does love his wife deep down.”

Mel cocked her head. “Really? It always seems like he hates her.”

“Yes, but remember how he rushed to save her when Gyendal captured her?” Stella said in a knowing voice. “And when he’s not occupied with yelling at her, they actually seem to enjoy each other’s company.”

“Well … I guess after three hundred years you’d have to get used to being together.” Mel shrugged.

“But look, they’re holding hands,” Stella said with a knowing point.

“To keep each other balanced,” said Mel. “You and I are skating together, but that doesn’t mean we’re in love.”

Stella just grinned knowingly and seemed to give a sly glance at Edward, but Mel wasn’t going to ask what that meant.

By now the party was nearing the other end of the ice patch with varying levels of skating confidence. Mel’s feet still wanted to slide out from under her at regular intervals, but Stella always caught her. Still, she had to admit that this was kind of fun, especially when her friend was there to keep her from falling.

“Mel?” asked Stella.

“What?”

“Well … I don’t know if I’ve ever skated before or not, but I just wanted you to know that I enjoy skating with you.”

Mel found herself grinning. “I enjoy skating with you too.”

THE END

EsmeAmelia’s gift for Darwin!

#aveyond #aveyond 3 #aveyond winter exchange #mel darkthrop #submission #mel/stella #mel darkthrop/stella #stella

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Scrivener’s gift to me, thank you so much!

#gyendal ravenfoot #yemite #aveyond 3 #yemite/gyendal ravenfoot #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Rhen/Lars for crystallinememes <3

@emocummies’ gift for @crystallinetides!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #rhen/lars #rhen pendragon #lars tenobor #emocummies #crystallinetides #crystallinememes #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Aveyond 2 extended cut

@anusha52‘s gift for Scrivener of the Gods!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #aveyond 2 #ean okho #iya tiki #anusha52 #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

happy winter exchange to @iluvtoonlink! hope you don’t mind the liberties i took with your prompt!

@k3ysm4sh‘s gift for @iluvtoonlink!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #rhen/lars #rhen pendragon #lars tenobor #iluvtoonlink #k3ysm4sh #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Submitting anonymously because I’ve yet to remake my tumblr - my gift for Ishti!

Darwin’s gift for Ishti!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #lydia rupert #mel darkthrop #nicolas pendragon #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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No Capes!

Well if you are expecting a dark fic or anything related, I’m afraid you have come to the wrong place. What do you want from me? I’m a fruit.

But if you have come for fluff and humor, I believe this little story will suffice.

For Queen-of-ice101, who probably didn’t think I would actually write this but clearly she should not have underestimated me because here we are. I regret nothing.

________________________

Actually they had been getting along fine for weeks before that. According to all credible sources this was due to the agreement they had established between them. (Some less credible sources, i.e. Yemite, babbled about it having something to do with neutrality and the position of the stars, et cetera, et cetera, blah blah blah, Mel fell asleep at this point and was late to breakfast as usual even though she was the only one eating.)

This “agreement” consisted of Gyendal promising not to call Mel by any disgusting diminutives, like “lamb” or… just lamb, really. (At least he never called her “succulent chopstick.” That would be… ew.) And Mel had agreed, with great reluctance, to refrain from bringing up all the times she had bested him in battle, or the fact that the world had yet to be plunged into eternal darkness, or that those contemptible orbs were destroyed, and—

Well, the point is her portion of the agreement was of a significantly greater length than was his. And Mel was of the highly controversial opinion that this was so not fair.

And that is why one particular day, after what seemed an eternity of what Te'ijal described as wedded bliss and Galahad most eloquently called “heck,” Mel finally took the opportunity to do what she had wanted to do from the moment the agreement had been established. It happened while she and Gyendal were coming back from a long day of Aislday shopping— which had been Te'ijal’s idea, and Mel suspected originally it was Galahad’s idea but the vampire paladin would never admit it— but anyway she and Gyendal were coming back from it, and Gyendal was walking in front of her down the hall, and his red, red cloak was billowing out behind him dramatically. And intimidatingly. Maybe even a little alluringly. Alluring, that is, in a way that made Mel walk a little faster and lift her booted foot a bit higher off the floor than she might have otherwise.

She couldn’t stop herself, the idea was too enticing to abandon. She caught up to the billowing scarlet cloth, finally, and she lifted her foot and stepped— on— his— cape!

“Argh!” Gyendal yelled, his arms flailing out to prevent his inevitable fall—

Actually apparently his fall was evitable because, it didn’t happen.

“Lam— Mel!” he protested, whirling to face her. “What do you think you are doing?”

Mel refrained from cackling— she’d picked up the habit from the witches who traveled through Ghed'ahre selling curses. Yemite loved curses, Mel liked Yemite well enough she supposed, stuff happened. But anyway, Mel did not cackle at this time.

“I’m just walking!” she said innocently, widening her eyes at him.

Gyendal shot a glare at her, but then turned around and continued down the hall.

He was letting it go! Ha! And Professor Gray thought she couldn’t lie!

Mel smirked to herself, and then—

And then.

She did it again.

Or she tried to, but suddenly the red, red cloak was swished away and instead she was staring up into red, red eyes that were a tad bit too murderous for her to really feel very comfortable.

“Mel,” he said, very slowly and distinctly and as though what he actually meant was I will kill you and not regret it remotely. He leaned towards her until she could feel his breath on her face, and he hissed, “Stop. Stepping. On. My. Cape.”

If she shook it certainly wasn’t out of fear. It was just that his breath was cold. Also, he pronounced his p’s with a careful pop and it was… funny.

“You know,” she began with great indifference, popping her hip like he popped his p’s and pretending to examine her nails, “you could easily solve this problem by not wearing a cape.”

She pointedly emphasized the p, and looked up to meet his red hot gaze with cool defiance.

He glared back.

She blinked and went back to her nails.

“Honestly, it’s ridiculous,” she informed him. She didn’t have to look to know his scowl was deepening and his eyes were sharpening to two red points like the ends of twin poisoned daggers. “It drags on the floor everywhere you go.” She pretended not to notice his building rage. “It has to be inconvenient. I bet it gets in the way of every simple thing you try to do.”

“It’s an intimidation strategy!” he protested, waving his arms angrily. “It heightens the drama!”

“In fact,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard him, “I bet if you didn’t insist on always wearing such a pompous piece of cloth, you wouldn’t have lost all those battles so miserably.”

She had said it. Her end of the agreement was broken. Galahad would be ashamed. So would Stella, and Edward, and Ulf and so many others. But Te'ijal would laugh, and Mel would laugh with her. And Gyendal…

Gyendal.

Could vampires self-combust? He looked like he was strongly considering doing so, regardless. He had his arms folded across his chest, his hands clenched into fists so tight she could see his lifeless veins sticking out from parchment-white skin.

“Just think of it,” she said, now smirking at him. “All your grand plans of eternal night and world domination thwarted by your poor fashion choices.”

Surely that was the proverbial last straw. He would begin raging any moment now. If she was lucky he would kick that stupid vase she had been trying to get rid of for months, and then she could be free of the vase and that cursed agreement.

But… he wasn’t kicking that vase. He wasn’t raging at her. He wasn’t even glaring anymore, he was smiling. Actually smiling! Why was he smiling at her?! Great, she had broken her husband–

“I suppose that is an interesting point,” he hissed softly. And then, a mere breath later, “Lamb.”

“Gyendal!” she squawked, feeling herself flush a bright angry shade of pink. “You promised!”

But he just grinned wickedly and winked, he actually winked. That was it. He was broken. She had broken him. She had only meant to irritate him, not drive him out of his mind! There was only one thing to do.

She must irritate him further.

With one quick movement, she grabbed the ends of his cape and wrapped them tightly around him— she had always been rather good with knots— and she pushed him against the wall and pulled his head down so she could glare into his eyes and be sure he understood the full magnitude of her undiminishable rage. And as much as she was concerned for him, she was full of rage; after all, he hadcalled her lamb.

“Why don’t you say that to my face?!” she shouted to his face.

“I did say it to your face! Lamb!”

Again! She had asked for one thing, that was all. She opened her mouth to retaliate. “I am not a baby sheep— mmph!”

His cold disgusting lips were moving over hers and this was greatly injust and also greatly concerning—

“Mel,” he breathed against her mouth, and never mind about the other thing, here was the least fair and most unsettling thing that had happened that evening and even that month—

“Let’s not fight,” he continued in the same low voice. “We must set a good example for my sister and her snack.”

Mel meant to roar and seethe, until Gyendal was also roaring and seething and everything was returned to its natural state. But instead she snorted, and the worst thing she could think to say was, “Her husband, you mean?”

“Whatever she’s calling him these days,” he said with a wry smile. Then he frowned (and she quickly decided she would tease him relentlessly about his pouting later, when she felt like teasing again). “I prefer to call you Lamb.”

“Well, I prefer to— to—”

They say showing is better than telling, so she showed him very decidedly what she preferred, which was—

Well, I am quite embarrassed to tell you, and I suspect Mel will repay me rather unpleasantly for my divulgence, but if you must know, and if you promise to exchange all the fluff for this invaluable information, I am willing to risk it.

You see, what the former Miss Mel Darkthrop preferred, was to be called Mel Ravenfoot, and to press her lips soundly against those of Mister Ravenfoot (who preferred to be called Lord Ravenfoot, thank you very much, you miserable mortal), and to live in perfectly happy wedded heck for the rest of her absurdly unfair life.

Thank you very much, the end.

@mu11berry‘s gift for @queen-of-ice101

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #mel/gyendal #mel darkthrop #gyendal ravenfoot #mu11berry #queen-of-ice101 #aveyond 3 #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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my winter exchange for @k3ysm4sh :) i barely see any art for Iya so I thought she needed a little love too

@blogofblu‘s gift for @k3ysm4sh!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #iya tiki #aveyond 2 #k3ysm4sh #blogofblu #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Happy holidays @emocummies !

This is my first time drawing Lydia so I wanted to dress her up more for the season. Happy new years everyone!

@iluvtoonlink‘s gift for @emocummies!

#aveyond #aveyond winter exchange #lydia rupert #aveyond 3 #emocummies #iluvtoonlink #submission

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aveyondwinterexchange · 6 years

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Hi! I was the Secret Santa for @blogofblue! I hope you like this! I had a lot of fun writing it, and it got me back into the swing of things with writing!

Aveyond Secret Santa, for blogofblue

By crystallinetides (AO3: crystallineflowers)

Those that were able stayed with her through her coronation. She held her parents close as they cried for her, as she told them they could live in Thais if they wanted. She let Elini fix her hair beneath her heavy crown. She let Lars teach her how to walk in heels and not step on the hem of her dress.

But then they were leaving, saying tearful goodbyes in the port of Thais, waving to John and Elini as they flew away on the dragon.

Rhen was alone.

Two years pass before she hears from the isles again.

The Empress of the Eastern Isle is sending over teachers and students to study at the School of War and Magic, which has recently reopened. The Empress did not give Rhen names of those she is sending. Rhen orders quarters cleared out in the castle for the new teachers – historically, professors had lived in the castle, and Rhen is more than happy to have more company about. She gets along well with her handmaid, but she has no true friends here, and the halls are too quiet.

Rhen watches the ships come into port from her balcony. She had meant to go down to greet them properly, but she had barely been able to drag herself to the council meeting today, so she opted to let them come to her.

She is sitting at her armoire, staring at nothing, when her handmaid enters and tells her the new teachers have arrived and are eager to meet her.

They meet her in the Grand Hall, where she revealed her heritage and her signet ring all those months ago. It feels as if a lifetime has passed. Rhen is no longer Rhen Darzon, a simple maid thrown into a life of chaos. She is Queen Rhen Pendragon of Thais, the warrior queen who saved the world.

It is lonely being the savior.

Rhen sees a familiar head of green hair, and she nearly cries even as he delivers his formalities perfectly. She allows him to bow, allows the sword singer to introduce herself, and gathers her wits enough to inform them that they have quarters in the castle if they choose to live there.

The sword singer politely declines, but Lars happily accepts. Somewhere in her, Rhen knows she expected him to.

It isn’t until they are alone, and Rhen has shown Lars his new home, that she breaks down and hugs him, sobbing into his shoulder. He holds her tightly, and she doesn’t notice the tears running into her hair.

Lars settles in quickly, comfortable in this world of nobles. She offers him a seat on her council – she cannot trust these old men who ruled in her absence. She needs someone with a like a mind, someone who understands her reasoning.

He agrees, and tells her of his accomplishments as High Sorcerer back home. When he mentions that he fought to abolish slavery, she breaks down again. She is thankful they are alone. Few people have seen her tears.

The rest of the council do not take kindly to their newest addition, at least not at first. Lars quickly worms his way into their hearts with his noble charm, but Rhen can see right through him. She fights to keep her face neutral as he lies through his teeth with flattery.

Her good humor is ruined when they bring up – again – her lack of a husband. She can feel Lars’ eyes on her, but she refuses to look at him. She stares the others down with steel in her gaze and reminds them that she holds more power as a single woman. She tells the council she does not wish to give up that tactical advantage.

She looks at Lars when the meeting is over, and she knows he can see through her lies.

The days pass. Rhen visits the school a few times a week, but she is not sure why. She tells herself it is just to provide support for the new teachers. She even assists in a lesson with the sword singer teacher – she is young, but still older than Rhen. Rhen explains to the class how Swords of Power work, and though she has used many in her travels, her mind only goes to one. The Sword of Shadows calls to her, even now.

Rhen finds herself in Lars’ office every time she visits, laughing about something a student has done, or venting about how inept the councilmen are at ruling. She realizes after a while that she is actually happy, or at least as happy as she can be in her situation.

Lars inserts himself into Rhen’s life as if he had never left. As if he belonged with her. She finds herself smiling more, bickering lightheartedly with him. They meet occasionally at night, restless from nightmares of their past, and Rhen finds herself seeking him out when she can’t sleep. She had forgotten had much she valued his friendship, and how important he is to her.

Eventually, she asks about the others. Lars tells her in a quiet voice that he hasn’t spoken to anyone in months, maybe a year. As far as he knows, Elini and John are still happily married, and Te’ijal and Galahad have settled in Ghed’are. Mad Marge continues to run that disgusting pub on the tiny island in the middle of the sea.

Lars hesitates before talking about Devin, the new sun druid. He knows this is a sensitive subject for Rhen. She grips her dress tightly in her fist, trying to keep the memories at bay and failing.

She hears the Sword of Shadows in her mind, whispering things she wishes she could forget. Ahriman laughs as she faces Dameon. She can feel his dying breath on her cheek again, can smell his blood on her hands.

Lars touches her arm, bringing her back from the past, and she falls into his embrace, willing herself to forget.

In truth, Rhen does not ever want to get married. She feels as if her capacity to love died the day she killed Dameon.

But… Talia was able to move on, as was Devin, if what Lars tells her is true. She begins to hold some hope that she, too, can learn to love again.

She will never marry for politics, she tells herself. She will never marry just because someone tells her she should. She will never marry someone who could never understand what she went through.

She realizes, belatedly, that this leaves a very short list of potential husbands. She is not sure how to feel about that.

The news of a demon to the east comes with a shock.

The nobles in her court look on in horror as a survivor recounts his tale. We were working in the mine, he says, mining jewels for trade. There was a rumble, and a sudden cold, and icicles everywhere, and the sound of a woman laughing. He tells Rhen that his blood runs cold at the sound of that laugh, for it was full of malice.

Rhen knows of whom he speaks, but she hopes she is wrong. She stands, her crown heavy on her head, and suddenly she is their warrior queen, giving orders to collect her guard and their elite squad to join her on this demon hunt. As the onlookers mutter amongst themselves, Lars moves to stand beside her. They lock eyes, and she merely nods before making a swift exit to change into her armor.

Rhen looks every bit as deadly as she is made out to be when she meets with the council to inform them of her imminent absence. Her hair is braided back, done by her own hand, and her brow is set. A thin, light tiara glitters in her hair, something to remind her people that she is their queen. She holds her head high, far more comfortable in her tunic and armor than she ever will be in her dresses. She can tell by their eyes that they have forgotten that she defeated Ahriman and saved the world.

They beg her not to go for fear of something happening to her, but she asserts herself. Try and stop me, she tells them just before she walks out, Lars close by her side.

Her warriors are fierce, and they fight the monsters in the cave valiantly. She wonders briefly where they had all come from. The mines were clear just a few days ago.

It is the demon inside. It has to be.

They delve deeper, Rhen taking point and Lars protecting the rear. She is unused to commanding so many people in battle. She is used to a small party, full of people who need no instruction, but here the people look to her for guidance.

They make it to the deepest part of the cave, and Rhen can see her breath in the sudden cold. She locks eyes with Lars, who is by her side in an instant.

They are all going to die if they go in there, she thinks. Indra will kill them all.

She orders her warriors to retreat. The captain of her guard says she must be crazy, but she is firm, and soon enough they are all gone, albeit begrudgingly. Lars is the only one who stays, though it is most likely due to his own stubbornness. If Rhen could, she would order him to go back to Thais, where he would be safe within the castle walls.

But Lars has always had a habit of sticking by her no matter what she says, so here he stands.

She would trust no one else by her side.

Indra wastes no time in trying to kill Rhen. She doesn’t even flinch at the spear of ice shooting towards her – she knows that Lars will take care of it. She knows that he has her back.

Rhen draws the Sword of Dreams, a relic from her past, and throws herself into the fight.

They are battered and bruised and bloody, but they are alive.

Rhen has her sword poised above Indra’s throat, ready to strike the final blow. She finds herself wishing she had the Sword of Shadows, so that Indra would be trapped forever within it, no longer able to cause harm to her people.

Indra senses her hesitation, however brief, and grins. Where is your precious sun priest, she hisses. Rhen fumbles the blow and lodges her sword into the demon’s shoulder, leaving herself open.

Lars cannot stop Indra’s attack, not when they are so close. He calls to Rhen, his voice breaking, as she falls, impaled by ice. Indra wheezes a final laugh and fades away, her magic spent.

Rhen comes to slowly, her entire world colored with pain, a bitter taste in her mouth. She cracks her eyes open to see Lars hovering over her, his face pale. He makes a sound of relief and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to press her forehead to his. She breathes in his scent, and grimaces when the breath causes her pain.

I was so worried, he whispers. You weren’t waking up. The cassia leaf wasn’t working. I thought you were gone.

Oh, she realizes, something in her clicking into place as she hears his broken voice. Oh.

I won’t leave you, she whispers back, reaching up to with a shaky hand to cup his cheek. It is wet with tears. I will never leave you.

@crystallinetides’ gift for @blogofblu!

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