#((after rehearsals to let her know what he thought; he's still very loyally attending all of them! he just can't give her feedback))

[theheadlessgroom]

https://www.tumblr.com/beatingheart-bride/713656790864232449/theheadlessgroom-beatingheart-bride

@beatingheart-bride

Gingerly, Randall took the mask from her, briefly taking a moment to look at it himself, seemingly briefly lost in thought. 

He both hated and loved his mask, this remaining thread connecting his past to his present: He’d had it for as long as he could remember, his one means of hiding his face from those around him (and he knew they would prefer it that way; the carnies were never shy about telling him to cover it up, were he to ever try and remove it around them). It also made for a more dramatic reveal in the eyes of the ringmaster, always declaring with a flourish, “I give you...the Devil’s Child!” before wrenching the mask away from his face, so that the people could get their money’s worth...

He looked the mask over in his thin, bony hands again, almost seeming to briefly toy with the notion of putting it back on: It was so odd not to wear it around someone...almost as odd as having someone tell him that they actually wished to see his face-his true face, no matter how hideous and horrifying it was...

Though the temptation was strong, Randall resisted the urge to put it back in its proper place, instead opting to prop it up beside the libretto-his stomach tightened as he did, jumping as he looked back up at the un-frightened Emily, smiling angelically at him, a smile he managed to return (albeit a little fainter) as he took a deep breath to calm himself. 

He had nothing to fear. Not with her. Never with her.

#((both of us; collectively: GET ON WITH IT!)) #((this scene would be SUCH a solid setup to a first kiss in ANY other story...but they have to wait six months before they get to that!)) #((but like you said better late than never! they'll get their kiss eventually and it will be SO cathartic as a result!)) #((and oh i KNOW the whole time they're apart emily is thinking of randall; wanting to be with him more than anything!)) #((she's longing for him; he's probably *really* having to restrain himself from lashing out at thaddeus in any way)) #((lest he further alienate emily; and he'll probably have to restrain himself from doing so much as trying to reach out to her)) #((after rehearsals to let her know what he thought; he's still very loyally attending all of them! he just can't give her feedback)) #((and tell her how wonderfully he thinks she's doing; which i think will just be another blow to them both in a lot ways!)) #((she's used to turning to him for feedback and he's used to giving it to her...and for a while that's just not an option!)) #((they're gonna miss hanging out after rehearsals in the attic; having dinner together; talking as they walk around the passageways)) #((spending time on the rooftop...it's gonna be a VERY lonely six months for them; full of pining after one another)) #((but at least it'll make their inevitable reunion all the sweeter!)) #outofhatboxes #beatingheart-bride #V:Phantasm of the Mansion

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

tapestry 👑 V

Warnings: eventual dark elements (tags to be added as fic continues)

This is dark!(king)Steve and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: King Steven had a wandering eye but you never thought it would fall upon you.

This Chapter: The court celebrates the harvest.

Note: I’m a goddamn liar and ended up writing this after work and staying up past midnight because I have a problem people. I need help but until then I’m gonna keep posting so here ya go, my lovelies.

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply! Love ya!

The week of the harvest celebration had come, though time seemed to stand still. Each day dragged on dreading the next. Anxious of what the king should do next, of how the court should roil once more, of your own part in the brewing mess. Even as the waters calmed it did not comfort you. Peace only assured you that chaos was on the horizon.

Rose continued to stew in her anger. You dared to think it was jealousy. While the king persisted in his prolonged stares during rehearsals, your partner did not ease matters as he passed along his master’s messages. Each added to the weight on your shoulders, the guilt that stabbed you each time you looked at the queen. Though you did not encourage it, you felt your part in it just as grievous.

And your father. When you met again, he did not spare a word. His disappointment, his frustration, his anger all spent upon you. Your disobedience had nearly cost him. Never mind that it kept your reputation in tact, that it gave hope to a future betrothal. He didn’t want an earl’s wife, he wanted a king’s mistress. The baubles you refused to accept, the promise of a title greater than his own father’s. You factored little in his desires outside your ability to fulfill them.

The saffron brocade was stiff across your chest, cut much lower than your usual gowns. Each woman was to wear a different shade of autumn for the performance. The king and queen would lead in goldenrod yellow as satins and silks of auburns, scarlets, and moss would swirl in. In imitation of a rush of leaves falling from the barren trees, heralding the change of seasons.

A seamstress knelt at your feet and pinned the skirts. The queen ran a finger along her throat as she considered you. It was the final fitting before the banquet; you were the last of the women to attend their measurements. 

You could barely look Eleanor in the eye. Hearsay was rife as it always was but did she believe the whispers. Did she think the king truly enamoured by you? Did she know of the letters? The gifts he sent along with them? The ones you would not open, that were sent back untouched.

If she did, she did not betray herself. She smiled as she neared and touched the golden border along the top of the bodice. “Tighter around the waist,” She suggested to the tailor. “A half inch lower here.”

You looked down at your chest. You blinked. You really didn’t need less fabric there. As it was, your cleavage was more than noticeable. You bit your lip but did not protest.

“The colour is marvelous,” The queen looked you in the face. “Are you well, my lady?”

“I am but…” You hesitated as the seamstress pinned the bodice. “There are matters we should speak of, your highness.”

“Yes, I think there are,” She nodded and gestured to the seamstress. “If you would excuse us a moment.”

The other woman acquiesced with a bow and quickly retreated. The door closed behind her and left you alone with Eleanor. She smiled and swept away from you to sit on a cushioned bench as the pins in her ashy blonde hair caught the light. She patted the cushion next to her.

“Sit, let us talk of what worries you so.” She cooed.

“Your highness,” You approached reluctantly. “I do not think myself fit for this. I am a poor dancer.”

“You are not so bad,” She said as you sat beside her. “Heavy-footed but not entirely hopeless.”

“Hopeless enough.” You grumbled. “Especially in a place such as this.”

“I know you shall do just fine.” She smiled. “But you do not refer to only the performance, do you, lady?”

“No, no, I do not,” You looked at your lap. “Surely, you’ve heard.”

“There are no secrets at court,” She returned. “I know my husband’s attention has strayed again. I hear Lady Rose and her detest, her complaints of her neglect. And it makes me most happy.”

“But the king…”

“The king does as he wishes. I cannot stop him but I can abide it so long as I am not met with nonchalance and scorn.” She held her head high. “I can stand any mistress but none who would shame me so openly.”

“I...I have refused the king. Every time. I do not wish to involve myself in your marriage. Your highness,  I admire you too much. I would never--”

“You’re a smart girl. I trust you are able enough but this court is perilous. Allies are rare but should be welcomed,” She pulled a loose string from the tail of your hood. “So long as you are...covert, I would have no reason to mind the dalliance.”

“P-pardon? Your highness, I don’t understand--”

“Do with my husband as you please. I know you, my lady. You are loyal and you will not so blatantly degrade me. If I must bear this marriage, I shall bear it with a mite of dignity.”

“I please none of it and yet he does not relent. If you are truly my ally, can you not stop him?”

“He will not relent. He never has and I’ve never been able to stop him. No one has.” She sighed and her long lashes flicked. “I do prefer you to Rose. Oh, I do very much.”

“You…” For a moment you gasped for air. The realization struck you in the chest. “You have maneuvered me thus, haven’t you? Because you knew the king would never tolerate your mistreatment of his mistress and so you thrust me before him.”

“I did not thrust you, my lady,” She smiled. “You were merely well-positioned at a most opportune moment.”

Your mouth was bitter with betrayal. The queen had seemed the only genuine character at court but in a moment, she revealed herself to be just as vile as the rest. Perhaps it was easy to pity a scorned woman but it was little excuse for the disgrace of another. You could not forgive her crime on the grounds of another done to her. You clenched your hands together as you tried not to scowl.

“And you expect me to appease him? To forfeit my virtue to him?” You stared at your skirts.

“I expect you to do as you think necessary,” She said, “But my husband gives little heed to what is necessary. To what it proper. He will take as he pleases, not as you please.”

You looked up at her. Terrified. “And you would not stop him?”

“Cannot.” She shrugged and a glimmer of regret flashed her in eyes. She pitied you. “It is not so bad. You will be taken care of after. A husband will be found, or if that does not please you, a household all your own. I swear it on my honour.”

“Your honour?” You scoffed. “You bartered me to your own husband.”

“A barter you could only dream of,” Her green eyes sharpened. “You don’t know, cannot know, what is like. To be ridiculed daily. To be tied to a man who can never love you, a court that will never accept you as their own.” She shook her head. “I did mislead you, I admit it, but only because I know you to be honest. To be without presumption. You would not bring me further shame because you fear it yourself.”

“Do you not realize that you’ve already brought shame upon me?” You stood and crossed the room. You couldn’t stand to be near her. “You are not a friend to me, my queen. I am...alone.”

Silence. You heard the rustle of her skirts but she did not near you. You turned as she reached the door. She adjusted a pin in her hair as she reached for the handle. She exhaled softly. 

“You will change so that the dress may be altered and you will go. And you will never speak to me as you have again. I am still your queen.”

👑

The day of the harvest arrived. The feast hall was draped in golden and bronze silks as the court gathered along the trestles. The benches did not overflow as dancers hid beneath the canopy just beyond the doors, awaiting their grand entrance to the plucking of lutes and trill of flutes.

You stood quietly, head down, hands clamped together as you recited the steps in your head. You weren’t prepared. No matter how often the master led you through the steps, you’d never be ready. You weren’t a dancer and you were too distracted to retain the simple choreography. 

A shiver went up your spine as a familiar voice met your ears. The space was tight and the performers were close. Steven’s laughter boomed in the small space and you looked up. The king and queen were at the front of the procession, several pairs between you. He was drawn by your movement and grinned at you before you shied away. The queen batted her lashes and took her husband’s hand. Her response was not heard.

“You should not be so nervous,” Lord Barnes intoned. You’d forgotten his presence beside you. “You are not so tragic as you think.”

“Ever gracious but a poor liar, Lord Barnes.” You huffed. “I have noticed how you’ve padded your boots.”

He chuckled. “Of the dozen pairs among us, do you think we would stick out so sorely?”

“I hope not,” You said. “Thought I apologize if I should make fools of both of us.”

“You are much too cynical.” He stepped closer. “You deny yourself even the slightest error. How can one find any pleasure in life with such suffocating restraint?”

“As a lord who would never face consequence for his lack of, I doubt you could understand the caution of a lady.” You returned. 

“Surely not. I could never be so pious. So...boring.” He mused.

You bristled and turned your face away from him. You looked around at the other dancers as they chattered and fidgeted in their impatience. Rose snarled as she caught your eye and shrugged off Lord Alan. You blanched and tucked your chin to your chest.

“I was teasing, my lady,” Barnes leaned in. “You needn’t take it so heavily.”

“I am aware, my lord. I can understand humour, as poorly as it may be presented.” You looked to him pointedly. “I may be plain but I am not simple.”

He laughed again. He glanced around and you followed his gaze to the door. The king peered between the bodies and watched intently. You stiffened and returned your attention to your partner.

“So I’ve noticed.” Barnes said. “As has he.”

“And you, his infiltrator?” You arched a brow. “Do you recount our every word?”

“I might be a loyal companion to the crown but I am no informant. What we speak of remains between us, I swear it.” He assured you. “But I might tell you something...most intimate.”

“So you would?” You prodded.

“I’ve known Steven since we were children. I know him better than any. I know him beyond the courtly disguise he wears.” Barnes faced you and took your hand. He drew you close. “As I stand near to you, he watches, he seethes, because he is quite taken by you.” His voice was low. “And the more you refuse him, the more taken he shall be.” He raised your hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “And he has rarely been refused in his life...he will not stand for it long.”

“Is this a warning or another message?” He dropped your hand and stepped back.

The queen’s voice rose above the babble and she clapped her hands. “Lords, Ladies, we are due. Positions, please.” 

She turned and the king raised his hand for her to take. Each couple mirrored them and you took Barnes hand as he stood side by side with you. He looked to his feet and pretended to kick the dust from his toe as he spoke under his breath.

“It is both, my lady,” He whispered. “A king’s requests quickly become commands.”

👑

“May I?” Barnes was beside you before you could flee. 

You’d hoped to cling to the wall until you could manage to sneak away. As late, you’d grown much too conspicuous for that. You turned back to him, caught in your retreat, and sighed. He was not the only to note your attempted escape. Your father sneered from his seat and the king raised his head above the queen’s as they spun along the boards.

“I wouldn’t pain you or your toes further, my lord.” You replied. 

“I can bear it,” He assured you. “And there is no other partner I wish. They’re all rather dull.”

“Dull of foot might be more painful than dull of wit.” You returned and he grinned.

“The wit does outweigh the foot, my lady,” He offered his hand. “Come on.”

Your eyes were drawn back to your father. He tilted his head dangerously. You couldn’t tell if it were to deter you from dancing or from leaving. You forced a smile and took Barnes’ hand. He guided you onto the floor lithely. His feet were swift and kept clear of your own.

“Did I mention how wonderful you look, tonight?” He marveled as you turned in time with the room. “The cut of that dress is quite complimentary.”

You kept your head high and did your best to follow the steps. “Thank you, my lord. That is kind of you to say.”

“Not so drab as that habit you wore before,” He japed. “Was it the queen who recommended the brocade?”

You stared at him. You struggled to piece together the puzzle. Did he operate upon his own resolve? Upon the kings? Or perhaps he was just as much the pet of the queen? Your lips pressed together as you peeked again across the room. Both king and queen watched you as they moved their bodies gracefully to the music.

“The queen did,” You answered evenly. “She was certain to see that all her ladies were attired fittingly for the event.”

You avoided his gaze as he watched you. As you tried to decipher him, he did the same to you. Your foot came down on his but he did not flinch as he smoothly guided you along the floor. The music swirled around you with your skirts as you were led in the jig. Your head spun with the candlelight and crowd of satin and silk.  He squeezed your hand and you looked to him. He smirked as the music eased to the next tune and he bowed to you. 

“My lady,” He said as he led you by your hand. 

As he turned you, you found the king waiting. You searched through the crowd, the queen was already swept up by Lord Samuel. She paid no heed to her husband’s ploy. You wondered if she were not a party to it. Lord Barnes released you and nodded to his king. “Your highness.”

“Would you allow me a dance, my lady?” The king coaxed.

You fought not to dissemble. You glanced around and found your father still watching. He leaned forward as he nodded. His hand was in a fist on the table. You didn’t dare resist. You took the king’s hand and let him lead you to the melody.

“My lady, you are more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you,” He said breathily. His eyes did not meet yours as they wandered to the top of your bodice. “I’ve found it most difficult to think of anything but you this night ...truly every night.”

“You flatter me, your highness.”

“I am honest. I bear myself to you.” He said. “And you still refuse my gifts? Still refuse me?”

“You know I cannot--”

“I know you are afraid but you haven’t reason to be. I shall protect you; from the queen, from the court. You shall be mine and I shall make certain you are kept well.” His blue eyes burned down at you. “I only long to give you everything. To give you all of me, all I ask in return is you.”

“You are married--”

“But not in love.”

“You are king and I am an earl’s daughter. Unwed and without betrothal.”

“As king, I can see to your future. I can give you title, a castle, lands…”

“So I shall lower myself to courtesan for you?”

“No, no, never. I shall raise you, my lady. Hold you in the highest esteem.”

“You shall ruin my reputation.”

“Can you not see how I suffer? My lady, you torment me so.”

“Your highness,” You stopped short and he nearly stumbled. “It cannot be. To prolong it will not change the circumstance that divides us. I do not seek infamy, I do not seek controversy, nor will I lower myself to be your mistress.”

“Lower…? I do not ask you--”

“You do. For what shall people say? What do they already whisper?” You rescinded your hand. “Your highness, you have not considered fully what you ask of me. You have not considered me.”

“I--”

“Excuse me, your highness,” You touched your stomach as it knotted. “I think I am unwell.”

He blinked, stunned. He bowed his head and you backed away from him. You readied yourself for his pursuit. For him to stop you. He did not and when he was hidden by the crowd, you turned and scurried to the door.

You didn’t slow until you reached an alcove just along the corridor. You were shaky as you leaned against the stone and caught your breath. Would the king be upset? Surely your father would but you could face his wrath as you had your entire life. You recalled Barnes’ words. Would the king cease to merely ask?

And who could save you? The king had a dozen allies and you had not one. The queen would not stop him, nor would his leal friend. Your father, surely, would find a way to assist him. Your own blood would sell you into scandal. You were so very alone.

A sole scuffed upon the stone and drew you from your reverie. A shadow loomed just around the corner and you tucked yourself into the alcove. You flattened your skirts with your hands and held your breath. The footsteps neared and you didn’t dare to move.

The king’s tall silhouette appeared before you. He walked past the alcove as he looked around. He sighed softly and hung his head. He tapped his toe as he stopped and hooked his thumbs in his belt. You watched, paralysed. 

He let out a disappointed grumble and turned back. The toe of his boot caught the hem of your skirt as it splayed out from your hiding spot and he stopped. He looked over and his eyes met yours in the dim of the lanterns. They pierced you through the shadows and his lips curved.

“My lady,” He greeted, “Why do you run from me?” He stepped forward. “Hide from me?” He lowered himself to his knees as he reached for your hands. “Can’t you see how desperate I am? How I am completely at your mercy?”

“Your highness, please,” You begged as he gripped your hands tightly. “Please, this is indecent.”

“My lady,” He brought your hands to his lips and laid a dozen kisses upon them. “I cannot wait. I’ve never waited so long and it pains me deeply. Every second I am away from you, I cannot think. I cannot live.”

“Your highness,” Your voice was coarse as you tried to escape his hold. “You would tarnish me.”

He released your hands and you tried to brush past him. He caught you around the waist and pulled you against him. He pressed his face to your stomach and kissed the taut brocade. He nuzzled into you and raised his chin to look up at you over your bosom. You caught his shoulders as you struggled with him.

“Please, please…” You could barely speak. You were terrified at his strength, at how easily he held you there. He walked forward on his knees as he pushed you back into the alcove until you met the wall. “Please…”

He dropped his arms and you felt your skirts lift and you sobbed. He lowered his head as he tugged at your skirts and you felt the cool air on your ankles. He bent and you pressed yourself to the wall. You could barely breathe as you watched him. He lowered himself until his lips met your slippers. He kissed both and sat back on his heels.

“Can’t you see, my lady?” He peered up at you. “You have me on my knees?” He bent to kiss them again. “I am yours.” He declared as he sat up once more. “Entirely yours.”

You clasped your hands before your chest. You were trembling. You could not speak as you stared down at him. He let your skirt fall back into place as he stood. His shadow enshrined you as he reached out to touch your cheek.

“Are you afraid, my lady?”

You nodded and turned away from his touch.

“You needn’t be for I shall find a way for us to be together. A proper way.” His fingers trailed down and he dragged his thumb along your lower lip. “I promise you, I will.”

For a moment, he held your face. His hand firmly cradled your chin and he leaned in until his breath was upon your lips. His thumb traced your lips and he closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh and pulled away from you suddenly.

“I will wait,” He said, though he spoke more to himself than you. “I will wait.” He opened his eyes and bowed to you. “My lady.” 

You watched him back away, too stunned to move as his shadow faded down the hall and his footsteps softened to silence. You cowered in the stone alcove until you were certain he was gone. At last, you found your strength and stepped into the amber light of the lanterns. 

Lord Barnes’ foreboding rang in your head; ‘A king’s requests quickly become commands.’

#tapestry #king!steve #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #dark!steve rogers #dark!steve rogers x reader #dark steve rogers #dark steve rogers x reader #mcu #marvel #fic #series #au #medieval au #captain america #dark fic #dark!fic #bucky barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes

[clover-hq]

May-Bella Adderin Novachrono

Character profile

Warnings: mega spoilers for manga and story in general.

Also shout out to the lovely @one-leaf-grimoire for letting me add her Lovely Lady Lisa into the lore

Love y'all-���

-------

Alias's-

"Little Jewel"-her father

"Princess Poppy"-Ring Master

Age- 19(at current time of Canon) 20 in story

Height- 5'10/177 cms

Weight- 195 lbs

Hair- Dirty blonde

Eyes- Light Purple

Birthday- October 29th

Zodiac : Scorpio

Magic Knight Squad : Ex Grey Deer

___________________

Magic Type : Party Magic

Spells :

Party balloons

-basic balloons that pop confetti

Funhouse mirrors

-a dangerous defensive spell that sends back the attackers magic as the opposite magic type twice as strong

Cutie clowns

-Clowns that can be used as attackers, Defensive shields or Restrains

Jack n' a box

-A spell that can be used as transporting space or communication device.

_________

Personality-

A Very Spunky Girl, who lives to entertain. But outside of the clown suit she's sassy with a sharp tongue. Despite being the Wizard kings daughter she's very much independent and Strong willed; While she may not always not know the direction to take in life she's not afraid to admit or speak when a path she's taken has made her unhappy. A Clueless Romantic who struggles picking up social cues, yet she's very open and loud about her feeling's if she's figured them out. She's not a very Formal person and is very approachable and friendly, but she knows how lie and manipulate someone to do as she pleases if they're open enough for her to target certain cues

-------

Relationships :

Julius Novachrono (Father)

Lillian Reyna Kira (Mother)

Augustus Kira Clover(Uncle)

Lisa Ambrose Petalon Novachrono(Step-Mother)

Damnatio Kira (Cousin)

Patri (Husband)

Flower (Son)

Mimi (Nanny)

Yami Sukehiro(Elder Brother figure)

William Vangeance(Elder Brother figure)

Back Story-

--------

Minor family background for any hickups or confusion it might cause-

Lillian is Agustus' older sister. I'll post details on her at a later date

_______

At 3 months old she was separated from her mother forcefully by Augustus, Leaving Julius to raise her as single father (With the help of Servants of course) to the best of his ability, while also taking his duty as a magic knight seriously.

Luckily for him she was an easy-going baby with minor hickups every once and a while.

When she was around 2 years old her interest in the world of entertainment sprang to life. when she passed by a street preformers with her Nanny after visiting her father at the Grey Deer Base. She was captivated by the preformer's ability to make to many people clap and smile by singing and dancing. Which she began copying at home; to the best of her 2 year old ability she sang and wobbled around trying to copy the preformers, the first time Julius witnessed the behavior he thought something was wrong but was pleasantly relieved when he figured out what she was doing.

At age 4 she was enrolled into her first Theater Arts class, where she thrived in learning skills of performance. Due to her now having something to do during the day made Julius' worries go away for a while. Till at age 5 when she sprained her ankle after slipping during a dance routine. During her two weeks of recovery she began taking her magic training seriously, and found it odd she could make balloons that when popped scattered confetti.

She grew insecure of her odd magic and began hiding afraid her father would be upset she didn't have magic like him, but Julius saw her cast the spell one day when he came home way earlier than normal to check up on her as she was forced to stay off her feet till she was fully recovered. He was immediately thrilled by her kind of magic, and he was the one to give her magic type a name.

At age 5 she had her first crush on the infamous "Zara Ideale" mainly from stories her father told her but she was able to see him in person once on her way home from school and did receive his autograph that keeps hidden and well kept.

At age 7 she met Yami Sukehiro, they had an immediate attachment with a sibling like bond and often did their studies together. The two where inseparable for the most part, he took his new job as part time big brother seriously and became a new support system for both her and her overworked father. While Mimi still did alot of work with Adderin having someone young like Yami around took a load off her shoulders as she wasn't young like when she raised julius and running around with her was becoming difficult.

Yami, Adderin and Julius lived together fine, but Adderin had minor attachment issues when Yami became a Magic knight. But by that time she already had a full schedule between regular school and her Theater classes as her first big show was coming up. Julius, Yami and Mimi all attended for the show but to their surpjse despite Adderins talent she was only a bush that threw confetti. Despite that she was happy after the show, her first big time on the stage and she was love struck by stardom. The stage was her new home, and now with the goal of being the Star of the next show she had Julius enroll her in more dance classes, singing and other things that would help her raise skills to do so.

At age 9 she met William Vangeance, and his mask absolutely terrified her. Causing her to cry on site. Not being much of a cryer hearing her cry broke Julius' heart as he's the one who made it. She eventually got used to it but did stray away from William as much as possible in the process of getting used to him.

(Biggest Physical difference- at this age she's 5'6).

One time, he unfortunately spooked her on accident as was met with the knife Yami got her for her 10th birthday to the arm. Which she quickly apologized for, and got a scolding from both her father and Yami. After that Adderin and William began to understand each other more, soon growing close like she did with Yami.

Age 11 her hard work payed off and she received the lead role in her schools musical rendition of Princess and the Pea. Although her cast mates found it annoying she was able to everything near perfect while they where still beginning learner's. To compromise this little issue she was switched from lead role to an Uglystep sister(Anastasia) with the older kids and their rendition of Cinderella. This did send her into a minor depression slump and it did Alarm Julius Severely to see her taking her magic training more seriously than rehearsing for the show. He knew the switch took a grand hit to her mental state and did his best to comfort her.

At 12 the theater school completely dropped her. Saying she was to advanced for them despite her young age. And for that reason she couldn't go into the other school till she was 15 and had her grimore. This completely destroyed her, sending her into a 3 month long depression episode as the school was the only place people talked to her despite being excluded from her peers due to not having any hobbies and interestss outside of theater and entertainment. With her father nearly working all the time, Yami and William as well she spent this time of her life completely secluded from the world other than Mimi.

Age 13… has to be the roughest year for her socially. Her father had officially became the Wizard king and William and Yami became captains soon after everyone who used to know her from the school recognized the name Novachrono and they reconized her father. Soon all the children who dreamed or had siblings who dreamed of becoming magic knights started trying to hang around her, but Adderin was an advanced actor and knew they where putting up an act to see if they could chest the system. And she fed into their lies and they fed into hers. But the toll of being recognized as nothing more than his daughter eventually took it's toll on her mental state that led her into alot of trouble. Eventually she decided to let go of her dreams of being a preformer and become a magic knight. It was what all her "friends" were doing and she desperately wanted to fit in. She began taking her magic training seriously but no one took her magic seriously, it was seen as nothing more than a party gag.

(14)Due to his increase of work Julius didn't notice his daughters toxic friend group or her declining mental state till Mimi visited the Magic Knights HC and addressed her concerns. One night he came home earlier to make sure he could be able to sit down for dinner in time only to find her crying in her room. All he could do as assure her the next year she'd be able to return to the world of entertainment doing what would make her happy. Around this age she also stopped growing reaching 5'10 leaving her an awkward giant among her "friends"

Age 15, when she finally received her grimore she took her training more seriously than before, it saddened Julius to see her abandoning her dreams to follow the line but supported her the entire way through. She managed to get into her father's old squad "The Grey Deer", she stayed until a few weeks before her 16th Birthday when she was formally kicked out of the magic knights by her father. He hated seeing her so depressed and uniformed, he wanted her to thrive in an environment where she was happy. So she did, leaving the magic knights and winding up at the nearest circus due to them accepting aspiring preformers.

At 16 she was selected to be the main act for the first show of the season, which she did infact write her father to let him know the big news. Her performance was a big hit among all viewers, new and old. Her magic combined with her natural skill captivated the eyes of so many people she was quickly met with loyal fans and fanclub's for her. The name "Princess Poppy" quickly spread across the world of entertainment.

By age 17 she had merchandising of her,(which her father collected loyaly)Everything from stickers to full-blown figurines, she was a circus idol.

Although she never wondered about her mother when Damnatio asked if she wanted to meet her, she was confused. Her entire life she was told her mother was dead so she never bothered. But when the entire situation was explained, she took his offer and decided to meet her mother in secret.

Which was a decision she'd come to regret after Lillian tried to freeze her throat shut. She was quickly rushed to Owen, luckily Fuegoleon was in the building with a few CLKs who needed treatment after a mission and was able to warm her throat back up but despite his and Owens efforts her thyroid could not be repaired.

Julius was furious at the ordeal and nearly killed Damnatio for setting up the entire thing. But his heart was broken when she asked him "Why did you lie about mom being dead" he realized he also had a shoulder of responsibility for never explaining to her the situation which led her to curiosity to meet the woman she believed dead.

Age 18-

Still recovering from her accident with her mother and getting back into her normal life and routine she found herself chasing after a small rodent who stole her favorite scrunchie, unknowingly running into EOTMS territory and accidentally trampling over "Licht", tripping over him dragging them both into a ditch. Which got a good chuckle out of Rhya seeing the tall clown completely wind their leader.

They where ready to kill her but where surprised to see she was able to send their magic back as the opposite magic type twice as strong with some sort of mirror. She eventually just started visiting them every so often bringing snacks and preforming small gags not caring what they where doing or even questioning what they where doing there, eventually growing an attachment to Patri and Patris attachment to the goofy clown idol was mutual, finding himself longing for her when she left for long periods of times for traveling shows. .

After one particularly special night the two found themselves kissing by the lake after a deep conversation with each other. But Adderin was the first one to admit her love to him and the two began dating in secret till Rhya called Patri out on his lie when questioning him about what the human meant to him.

At age 19 her world was flipped upside down, as her father's relationship with one of his Advisor's was brought to light. It was the first time in her life she'd ever call someone out of their name and the first time she'd ever expressed pure anger towards Julius. Lisa's was the only one ever Adderin made call her by her first name and title, with her "Lady May-Bella" was all she'd respond to.

It didn't take long for Patri or anyone she hung around to notice hellish mood, someone who normally appeared to happy and untouchable carrying such wrath and hatred scared him alot. But when she said the only thing she wanted was time with him he nearly melted inside. And so she got what she wanted for nearly two weeks she stayed with Patri off the grid which sent panic through Julius when the Ring Master contacted him when she didn't return after the first night thinking she was at home with him as she didn't tell anyone where or who she took off with

Although, about a month from that incident she found herself returning to the capital with news for her father. She somehow had to manage the courage to tell him she was with child. But all but great panic set upon her when seeing a mass light magic spell she knew belonged to Patri, followed by a spell just as large belonging to her father's time magic. Soon followed by the grand attack of elves but she was only able to reach and tell Patri, right before he gave the body back to William. All he could do was kiss her forehead and tell her he was sorry he had to leave. Although minor releif was brought to both parties when Rades brought Patri back.

Before she could leave with Patri, leaving clover for good she went with Yami and William to say her partings to what she thought would be her father's corpse but to find his new state was rather conflicting, but happy he was alive nonetheless. Telling her father the news.. and who the father of the child would be was bitter sweat before she kissed her goodbyes, leaving off with telling Lisa "Take care of Daddy for me while I'm gone, okay mom?'

________

At the current time of Canon Adderin would be 6//7 months pregnant. She lives with Patri in the new Village of the elves now stunted with fear of the dark triad

___________

Age 20, she welcomed a healthy baby boy with Patri. Settling on the name Flower, not telling him the name was from a Skunk from a fairy tale she loved as a child.

#Adderin posting #OC: Adderin

[optimizche]

Angelic: Sire and Seraphia (Park Chanyeol/Reader)

Her

“Ohh my god, Lu,” I groaned around a mouthful of blueberry pancake. “These are delicious!”

Sitting in front of me, nursing a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, Luhan beamed at me with pride. “I’m glad you liked them, princess.”

“‘Like’ is an understatement, Lu,” I said, ravenously forking some more of the syrupy, buttery pancake into my mouth. It melted on my tongue and I let out another groan, shutting my eyes in pure bliss. “These are divine.”

“Hey!” came Baekhyun’s indignant exclamation. “I made them, too, you know? I need some credit, okay?”

I smiled at my brother who was standing at the stove, flipping more pancakes on the skillet. “Of course, Baekkie. You’re a culinary genius!”

He blushed at my praise, waving his hand dramatically as if to say oh stop it.

I laughed.

Beside me, Yixing was watching us with a fond smile on his face, drinking a cup of coffee. He always took his coffee with a splash of cream and two sugars.

Underneath the table, his free hand rested upon my bare thigh. Fingers playing with the hem of my silk shorts.

His touch on my skin felt like a blanket of comfort, a direct result of his innate healing abilities.

Just being around Yixing made me feel at ease, his touches ameliorating any distress or disquetude within me. He was like a walking, talking safety net for me and in his vicinity, I felt calm.

The calm and comfort that Yixing’s presence brought me was rivalled only by the serenity and tranquility that I had always felt around Junmyeon.

I wanted to lean into Yixing, crawl into his lap and dissolve into his embrace. Maybe take a nap, even. But we had to be discreet around the rest of my brothers.

Instead, I placed my hand on top of his, threading my fingers into his. He gave my hand a squeeze.

“You’re working at Seraphia with Minseok and me today, aren’t you, love?” Luhan asked, pulling me out of the quiet moment Yixing and I were having.

I turned to him with a smile. “Yep.”

Seraphia was a cosy neighbourhood cafe that Luhan, Minseok and Baekhyun had started. And the establishment was quite popular among humans, having garnered numerous loyal patrons over the years.

Lu smiled back at me, while Baekhyun began to animatedly talk about all the pastries he was going to teach me to bake.

Just as he was explaining the intricacies of making the perfect blueberry compote, Minseok walked into the room, Jongdae on his heels, both wearing identical grins on their faces.

“What’s gotten you both so chuffed?” Lu asked, quirking a brow at them.

“Junmyeon is coming,” they both announced together.

I stayed frozen firmly in my chair, silent, while the rest of my brothers erupted into cheers. Yixing beside me remained silent as well, giving me a look.

The message in his glance was clear: we both were going to have to be deathly careful around Junmyeon.

Being the oldest among us, it wasn’t going to be easy to make him believe that everything was fine and dandy. Junmyeon could sense an impending peril within a second. He could read through us all.

And the consequences of him finding out what Yixing and I were truly up to… I didn’t even want to imagine them.

It was Minseok’s voice that drew me out of my own thoughts.

“Aren’t you happy that Jun is coming back, ___________?” he asked, regarding me with an air of expectation. And suspicion. “He said he was missing you the most.”

I felt a shard of guilt stab at my heart. Beneath the table, Yixing gave my hand another squeeze, sensing it immediately.

Mustering up the most radiant, shining smile that I could manage, I said, “Of course I’m happy, Min. I’m just… a little anxious about working Seraphia. I’m still a novice, after all!”

Minseok waved a hand dismissively in the air, shrugging off my worries with a grin of his own. “Don’t worry, princess, you’ll be great.”

“Did Junmyeon say when he was going to arrive?” Yixing asked.

“He didn’t say when,” Jongdae mused over a bite of pancake. “He just said ‘soon.’”

I gave Yixing a glance once again.

We had little time to prepare and rehearse our lies, then.

“Will you be coming to Seraphia, Yixing?” I asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

“I will try, love,” he replied, looking apologetic. “I have some commitments at the studio to complete.”

Yixing worked as a music composer, while Jongdae was the lead vocalist at a studio that the two of them ran nearby.

And as crestfallen as I was that I wasn’t going to be able to be around Yixing until tonight, I managed to smile at him.

God, life could be tough around here on Earth.

_________________

The sweet aroma of Luhan’s baked goods on display was making my head spin, the scent of Minseok’s strongly brewed coffee becoming the perfect accompaniment to it.

Even as I stood at one of the empty tables, scrubbing down the tabletop as best as I could, I couldn’t help but think if Luhan would allow me to sneak out one of his chocolate eclairs during lunch break.

He knew that I had an insatiable sweet tooth.

Which is why, when I caught his eye as he stood behind the counter, he gave me a wink. He knew.

If you work well, princess, I’ll let you have as many pastries as you like, was the implied bribe behind his wink.

I grinned at him, walking over to him as he beckoned me to the counter with a curve of his finger.

Tightening up my ponytail, I approached him. “Yes, Lu?”

“Princess, you’ll have to man the coffee bar, since Min has to leave early today,” he said.

“Leave early? Why?” I asked, my brow furrowing with instant anxiety.

It was only my third day of work at Seraphia and until now I had only helped with Luhan and Baekhyun with all the bakery products.

I had zero experience at brewing coffee. Especially nowhere as good as Minseok did.

“He has some official business to attend to with Baek and Jong,” he said, a significant look in his eyes.

Realization dawned on my face immediately. Father had asked them to do something for him.

“Fine,” I said, shrugging. “I’ll do it. But you need to teach me the basics, Lu.”

“No worries, princess,” he said, beaming, before pressing a grateful kiss to my cheek. “You’re a quick learner.”

___________________

The lunch time rush hour had passed smoothly and I had hardly any problem with fulfilling all our customers and their caffeine cravings.

Everything had been going well.

I was silently eyeing the array of chocolate eclairs on display, which were practically begging me to devour them. My stomach growled painfully.

“Ugh,” I groaned, glancing at the clock. “Where are you, Lu?” I muttered, wanting Luhan to return from his lunch break as quickly as he could, so that I could go for mine.

“Excuse me?” came an impossibly deep voice, jolting me harshly out of my eclair filled fantasies.

I looked up from the display case to the man standing on the other side of the counter.

Red.

That was the first word that came to my mind as I took in his lush, spun-crimson hair. He was practically a giant, easily a head taller than me, dressed in a pitch black suit. By his attire, I would’ve thought him to be a businessman. But for some reason, this man in front of me didn’t exactly seem to be a businessman.

Unable to help itself, my heart gave a stutter when my gaze fell from his hair to his face. High cheekbones, full lips and deep-set, dark eyes, he was the textbook definition of devilishly handsome.

“Excuse me?” he repeated, voice dropping an octave and his rosy lips turning into a smirk, now that he had noticed my blatant staring.

“Y-yes, sir?” I squeaked, inwardly cursing myself for sounding so much like a breathless schoolgirl.

“How c-can I help you?”

He grinned openly.

My heart skipped another beat.

“I’d like four shots of espresso, please,” he spoke.

I stared at him, the cogs in my brain turning. His voice sounded so familiar, yet so foreign. Something I knew, but couldn’t put my finger on, just yet.

“Of course, sir,” I said, trying to muster up my composure. Trying to hold my own in front of this obviously very intimidating man. “Anything else?”

He pointed at the display case with a long, elegant finger. “What would you recommend from these?” he asked of the baked goods.

“T-the chocolate eclairs,” I said. They were my own favourites, after all.

He smiled. “Perfect. I’ll have two of those, please.”

“Certainly,” I said, turning to the till to enter his order into the system. “Who should I make the order out to? And will you have it here, or to-go?”

“Chaniel,” he said simply. “I’ll have it to-go.”

My eyes immediately grew wide, the hair on the back of my neck prickling in a completely instinctive reaction that my mind couldn’t understand just yet. “Ch-Chaniel?”

“Yes,” he said, grin growing wider, as if he were enjoying an inside joke. “C-H-A-N-I-E-L,” he spelled it out for me, while I scrawled out his name on a styrofoam cup with a rather shaky hand.

“Please wait right here,” I said, turning away from this man who was making me suddenly feel a whole array of emotions that I couldn’t quite process just yet.

It didn’t help that I could feel the burn of his gaze upon my back, following me behind the counter as I prepared his coffee and packed up his eclairs with fumbling hands.

I had not reacted in such a way to any of the previous customers I had tended to in the past few days.

Why was I behaving in such a flustered way around him?

Discreetly, I turned around to sneak another look at him. He was looking at the pastries in the display case, hands in his pockets. A small smile playing on his lips.

God.

What was wrong with me?

Finishing up his order, I approached the counter, to hand it over to him.

He took the coffee and the bag of eclairs. But instead of leaving, like I had expected that he would, he reached into the bag and pulled out an eclair, holding it up to me.

“Is something wrong, sir?” I asked.

He smiled, almost radiantly, pressing the pastry into my hands. “I bought this one for you,” he said and promptly turned on his heel to leave.

Before I could ask him to stop, or say anything, for that matter, he was gone.

Leaving my hands searing with a pleasant heat where his skin had touched mine. And my heart buzzing wildly like a honey-bee with an inexplicable reason.

And then it happened.

The heat from where our hands had touched, for barely a moment, began to spread its way all over. I could feel it crawl up my wrists, up my arms, to my neck, down my torso and legs. And all the way up to my head.

My breaths began to come in heavier than usual and my trembling hands suddenly let go of the eclair I was holding. In slow motion, I saw the pastry fall onto the floor, and the realization came to me.

It was him.

Him.

The man who had kissed me that night.

Satan’s child.

Between heaving gasps, I leaned against the glass counter, heat flooding through my body like an inferno. So strong that I felt my knees buckle and give out from under me.

But before I fell to my knees on the floor, a pair of arms caught me.

“Princess! Are you alright?”

Luhan’s face came swimming into view through my blurring vision and I staggered, pushing him away violently.

“Y-Yixing…” I breathed out, trying my best to restrain myself, despite the excruciating heat that had now settled deep within my core. “I need Yixing…”

And with that, I turned on my heel and ran out of the cafe.

_______________

Him

The taste of the eclair remained sweet upon Chanyeol’s tongue, a smile firm upon his lips as walked back into his home.

There was a spring in his step, all from the joy to the next phase of his plan coming to fruition, as he hummed a pleasant, sprightly tune, walking through the expansive courtyard.

He could see all of his brothers’ multi-million dollar worth luxury cars parked in the driveway.

Good, they’re all home.

“Boys!” Chanyeol yelled out, as soon as he flung open the front door. “I’m home!”

Silence.

His ears were met with a deafening silence, a stark contrast to the usual ruckus his brothers created whenever they were all home, making an irate Kyungsoo the one to implore them to just keep it down.

Almost immediately, Chanyeol knew that something was up. And his suspicion came true when a very distinctly familiar voice called out to him in a musical lilt.

“In here, son!”

His stomach dropped, nerves growing tenfold at the sound of that voice. He was hoping that he was hallucinating. Or that it was one of Sehun’s playful pranks.

But all his hopes came crashing down when he turned the corner and walked into the dining room.

All of his brothers were seated along the sides of the long dining table, their backs straight, expressions tense and their hands resting clasped together upon the edge of the table.

And at the head of the table, sitting at the seat that was reserved for Chanyeol, was him.

The one man Chanyeol feared more than life itself. The one man Chanyeol had been hoping to avoid for quite a few centuries.

He hadn’t changed in the slightest, Chanyeol thought as he watched him sip a deep red wine from a crystal goblet, clutched between elegant fingers. If anything, he looked younger than before. No one could have guessed that this man, if you could only call him that, had been around since the creation of the universe itself.

He glowed, pale gold and unblemished skin, impossibly high cheekbones, rosy lips and a pointed chin. An array of earrings adorning one ear. Devastatingly handsome, what with his raven hair flopping artfully over the right side of his forehead. He was dressed in his usual, all black suit. Chanyeol had never seen him wear another colour in his life.

“Is this the way to greet your sire?” he spoke, the playfulness in his voice edged with a tinge of irritation.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Chanyeol said, hurrying over to where he sat, falling to his knees before him, bowing his head.

He chuckled quietly, setting the goblet aside to grasp Chanyeol by his shoulders, making him rise to his feet as he stood as well, before he pulled him into his arms in a hug so constricting that it made him wince.

“Do I look old enough to be called Dad?” he asked. “You know what to call me, son.”

Even though he was taller than his father, Chanyeol was nowhere even close to his level of strength. And as he hugged him, Chanyeol glanced at the tattoo etched on the nape of his father’s neck: an Angel falling from Heaven, with its wings spread wide.

The irony made Chanyeol’s stomach twist every time he saw the tattoo. An Angel etched on the back of Satan’s neck?

A sickening taunt.

And the gravity of it hit Chanyeol even more strongly now, as his thoughts went directly to his own angel.

Bile rose up his throat and dread rose in his heart.

Pulling away once his father released him from the embrace, Chanyeol looked at his smirking face.

“It is good to see you, Jiyong.”

#smut #park chanyeol x reader smut #park chanyeol x reader #park chanyeol #chanyeol x you #exo #chanyeol x reader #chanyeol smut #kpoptrashtag #kwriterskollection #noonanet #exo chanyeol #chanyeol au #chanyeol fanfic #chanyeol fanfiction #chanyeol scenario #exo fanfic #exo smut #exo fanfiction #exo au

[starryeyedkoo]

All Too Familiar - Kim Taehyung

Genre: knight!au, e2l!au, angst, fluff

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Warnings: mentions of death and war, mature language, broken family, jealous tae, reader may be a little annoying until character development™

Word Count: 24.5k (i’m so sorry i got carried away)

Funny how the one person you were sure would completely confiscate your freedom brought you the closest you’d ever come to it. 

“What is this?” your father held in his hands a book with worn leather binding and yellowing pages. You felt your heart jump, unsure how he possibly could have found it. You scowled, thinking it must have been one of the servants that ratted you out.

“A book?” you lilted, blinking innocently.

“Yes, of course I know that, (y/n),” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I also know that this book is not from the palace library.” His voice became increasingly more accusing, and you found it harder and harder to keep a straight face, letting your guiltiness be known to the naked eye. “You went out into town again, didn’t you?” he bellowed.

“I wore a cloak and hid my face, and I only went to the little library down in the village. It’s not far from here. I was gone for at most an hour!” you defended. You should have known you would get caught one of these days, but you would rather have to apologize rather than never experience it. The little town outside the walls called to you. You longed for more than these stone walls, yet in all your years, you had only seen a minute fraction of the world outside.

“Do you know how much could happen in an hour? It’s too dangerous! How many times do I have to tell you—”

His lecture was interrupted by a man wearing a knight’s uniform tearing through the entrance to the throne room in a panic. “Your majesty!” he called out, voice strained as he knelt before the king.

“Speak,” your father commanded calmly.

“On behalf of Captain Lee, I must request reinforcements to be sent to the battle at Ambrosia Field,” the soldier explains, still panting from his frantic entrance. Your father’s face became solemn as he contemplated the next step to make. The soldier’s face became worried at his hesitance. “Please, forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Majesty, but our men are getting slaughtered out there as we speak.”

You felt a heavy pit form in your stomach as his voice shook when those words passed his lips. As the princess, you should be able to live on as if the tragedy your people were facing wasn’t happening with the safe and sheltered life you lived within the walls of the castle. You knew that’s what your people thought of you, too, as you heard several times before, some subjects openly expressing their opinions while out in town, but secretly you suffered with them.

“I understand. I will have troops sent for support there.” With that, the soldier bowed and expressed his desperate gratitude before leaving just as distressed as he had entered, rushing to send support to his comrades. Your father turned slowly back to you, the heavy weight of running a kingdom evident in the deep wrinkles engraved into his face. He spoke suddenly, breaking through the solemn silence, “That’s it. It can’t be delayed any longer. You’re no longer safe, (y/n).”

He started out of the room with a quick pace, and you followed behind just as fast. “What? Father, what do you mean?”

“I mean I’m recruiting someone that will serve as protection for you at all times.”

Your eyes became wide and you quickened your steps even more to step into his line of sight. “Father, you can’t do that! I don’t need protection! Please don’t do that!” you begged, but it was too late, for he was no longer listening to you, and your freedom as you knew it was as good as gone.

You felt pain everywhere. In your head as your hair was being pulled far too tightly into a ridiculous braided updo that was always described as “only fit for a royal.” In your abdomen as your ladies in waiting squeezed you into a horrendously tight corset and a constricting dress over the top of it. In your legs as you had been standing for hours to get into this tent of a skirt with a far too uncomfortable cage hanging around your hips to create the rounded shape around your lower half.

You felt pain everywhere. In your mind as you repeated and rehearsed all of the speeches and formalities you would have to give at the ceremony today. In your heart as you felt your last sliver of freedom that you barely had to begin with slipping away between your fingertips.

Today was the day your father would assign your very own appointed night. While it sounds glamorous and exciting to have your own person following you around and ensuring your safety and obeying your every word, you’ve had plenty of these people surrounding you for your entire life, and honestly, you didn’t see why even a single guard was necessary.

“You look beautiful, Your Highness.” One of your ladies stood before you, still making a few adjustments to the hem of your oversized skirt. This particular lady, however, was the closest to your age, only three years older than you, and she was the closest thing you had to a friend.

“I don’t feel beautiful, Jiwoo.” You rolled your eyes at the reflection staring back at your from the other side of your floor length mirror. Luckily, your ladies-in-waiting never tattled to your father when you were being less than pleasant as you were right now, so you were able to voice your frustrations around them. However, you wished they would sometimes speak back to you. It often felt as if you were speaking to a wall when you were talking to them because they were all hesitant to converse so casually with their princess, even Jiwoo most of the time. It was lonely. You continued to complain to them anyways, even if you knew you would get no confirmation that they were even listening in the first place. “Why do I need to have an appointed night? Nothing ever happens here in the castle! The biggest worry I have around here is spilling my drink on one of my favorite dresses!”

“Well, His Majesty believes it is necessary, so it must be done,” Jiwoo speaks carefully as she continues to fiddle with the frills on your sleeve. You only huffed out in annoyance and silently waited to finally step down from the stool on which you were standing to make your way to the ceremony, long-awaited by many—long-dreaded in your case.

The walls of the castle ballroom were ornately decorated for such a special occasion, with banners draped across their gilded lines, and the floor was filled with nobles and visitors lucky enough to see the royal family up close. You weren’t even sure why they bothered to come to a ceremony for something that had absolutely no effect on them. Perhaps for bragging rights to say they were even allowed to attend. Cheerful music played from a group of musicians to your right, in a stark contrast to your sour mood which you had to make an effort to hide from your subjects. You sat in your own throne, positioned to the left, slightly behind your father’s regal throne, which was also about twice the size of yours and much more ornate. After sitting in silence for an agonizing length of time, the royal advisor whispered to your father. The king then stood and all of the excited chatter of the audience died down and directed their undivided attention towards him. “As you all know, our kingdom is at war,” his voice boomed throughout the enormous room, his statement causing a small rise of chatter from the people. “Because times such as these can potentially be dangerous, I have decided to give my daughter, your future queen, a protector that I believe is skilled enough to defeat any who may dare approach her with ill will, and who is loyal enough to lay down his life for his princess. Today,” he paused, looking back to where you sat, motioning with his hand for you to take a place standing beside him, “he will be knighted and assigned as Princess (y/n)’s very own appointed knight.”

Although you couldn’t feel more down as the time continued to approach, you kept your chin held high and maintained your regal image you had been trained for so long to uphold. A short man with a horn then blew to once again silence the growing murmurs of the crowd, all wondering who this knight could be. The same man lowered his trumpet and announced, “Let the procession begin.”

With that, the music resumed, but this time it had a slower, more official tone to it to draw attention to the gravity of the situation. Though people were excited, this was only happening because there was a very real possibility of danger within the walls of the kingdom. One by one, pairs of knights walked in step with one another down the aisle towards you and your father. When they reached the end, they lowered themselves onto one knee and bowed to their ruler before taking their place to the sides of the aisle. Finally, after what must have been at least thirty pairs of knights, a single boy walks down the aisle, a stone cold, stoic expression donned upon his face. To the surprise of everyone who finally caught a glimpse of the to-be-knighted boy, he looked to be almost the same age as you, and he was still dressed in common training garb with dark blond hair and intense eyes.

You had heard things about this boy when you secretly listened into the maids gossip while they worked, believing no one else was around. They had said that he was only a year older than you, and he was still in training to become a knight, but he had shown great potential, so he had been chosen specifically by your father for this position, and they continued to chat about a plethora of other good things about his skill. However, you had also heard that he was rumored to be bold and could even be considered brash by some, and that he really couldn’t take things seriously at times and he really didn’t give a damn about his miraculous swordsmanship in comparison to the other trainees around him.

However, you never could have guessed he would possess these characteristics from the dignified composure he showed. Just as the other knights before him had done, he dropped onto one knee before the king, keeping his head bowed and a hand placed over his heart. You continued to watch the mysterious boy as your father retrieved the Knighting sword, but much to your bewilderment, he had the nerve to lift his gaze from where it focused on the ground to look into your eyes. It was already considered quite rude for a noble of a lower class to make eye contact with you, but for a trainee who had not even been knighted yet, a commoner, to meet your eyes was unheard of. He could be imprisoned just for that if you so wished. You felt your cheeks heat up and hoped it was not visible to him or the countless people watching, who strangely did not seem to notice what scandal had just occurred before their eyes. He simply smirked at your baffled reaction before returning his gaze to the floor as the King faced him with a sword in hand.

Your father then relayed a multitude of oaths that the boy swore by that you didn’t bother to listen to. Instead, you focused on the face of the boy kneeling before you. You would be lying if you said you weren’t offended. It wasn’t that you truly believed that others should be unable to meet your eyes, it was the fact that it was the first time someone had actually done it. It felt so foreign, yet somehow relieving. The more you thought about it actually, the more it intrigued you.

“Then having sworn these solemn oaths, know now that I, the King, by right of arms, do dub you with my sword, and by all that you hold sacred, true, and holy... Once for Honor... Twice for Duty... Thrice for Chivalry... Arise, Sir Taehyung!” your father announced just as an explosion of applause and shouts of excitement arose from the crowd as the new knight stood before them. However, the ceremony was not yet over until he was assigned specifically to you. “Sir Taehyung,” your father took your hand leading you down a step and placing it into your newly appointed knight’s hold, “I hereby declare that you will defend the princess with your life.”

Taehyung lifted your hand in his and placed a chaste and gentle kiss to your knuckles, but once again, he lifted his eyes to meet your own, leaving you breathless as his lips met your hand at the same time as his pupils focused on your own. It only lasted a split second, however, and you were sure no one else had seen once again.

After a beat of intense silence, a unified shout of joy ripped through the crowd in celebration of the exciting news of a new and special type of night. You stayed for a moment, putting on your best smile and gracefully waving to your subjects. Finally, it was time for you to leave. “Sir Taehyung, would you please escort me to my quarters?” you asked, turning towards the excited new knight.

“It would be my pleasure,” he agreed, bowing his head and waiting for you to take the lead. You didn’t even attempt to hide the roll of your eyes, which your father caught, causing him to clear his throat and give you a warning look. You gave a dramatic sigh, losing your regal posture as you slouched your shoulders and walked away with a pout.

The two of you suffered an unbearably silent walk to the other side of the castle where your room was located. When you finally reached your destination, Taehyung stepped in front to open the door for you, and while it seemed as if he may have been trying to act as properly as he could, you could see right through it and your eyes rolled back once more as you brushed past him. He began to laugh, but covered his mouth with his fist, lazily attempting to pass it off as a cough. “Well, Princess, looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“Yes, unfortunately I am,” you muttered under your breath, although you secretly wished that your knight would hear. You faced away from him as he walked through the doorway a few feet behind you, just before you heard the heavy wooden door slam as it did when someone who was unfamiliar with it let it fall behind them. You turned and found him standing in front of it, scanning and observing your room which you were sure was much bigger and more luxurious than any place he had been able to sleep in before. “What are you doing?” you questioned, your eyes flicking between him and the floor between the two of you. “You shouldn’t be in here. These are my private quarters.”

“Well my job is to keep an eye on you at all times, isn’t it?” You scoffed and a very obvious blush grew on your face. “You sure like to let your mind wander, don’t you, Princess?” He said with a smirk evident on his face as he walked the perimeter of your room until he stood before your sizable window, looking out on the expansive castle gardens and the towns just beyond the wall that separated them from the castle’s property. His hands connected behind his back as he observed the sights. “This is a beautiful view,” he mused, suddenly changing the subject.

You were caught off guard by the sudden softness of his voice. You lessened the distance between the two of you so you could see what he was talking about. The garden was in full bloom with a conglomeration of vibrantly colored flowers, and the sun was shining unusually bright. From the feeling it gave off, you never would have guessed there was a war going on just outside the border. “I suppose it is,” you contemplated. “I’ve never really paid much attention to it.”

He gasped. “If I could see something as beautiful as this everyday, I’d never take my eyes off of it.” His sudden sweet words left you speechless for reasons unknown and you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of him. It was just more than anything you would have expected from someone like him. “There wasn’t some type of hidden meaning behind that if that’s what your thinking,” he stated, his smirk returned within seconds after he caught you staring. “I know I’m irresistible, but I’m just your knight. Don’t get the wrong idea, Princess.” He choked back a laugh, and your face flushed with embarrassment which soon turned to anger.

“That is not what I was thinking! Now get out!” you shouted, gripping him by the shoulders and practically dragging him out the door. Just after you slammed the door in his face, which still had no sign of remorse for what he had said, you added through the closed door, “And it’s ‘Your Highness’ to you!” You stomped over to your bed, flopping down face first into a pillow and groaned. You had to get rid of him.

“Father?” You knocked on the large wooden door at the entrance to your father’s quarters. You heard a hum from the other side signalling you to enter. You quietly slid through the door, finally free of your knight who had been following you like a moth to a flame when you told him to wait behind because you were going to speak with the king.

Your father was seated in a lounge chair by the fireplace, reading a book, turning his head to look at you when you entered. “What is it, (y/n)?”

You took tentative steps toward him, not sure how to begin your appeal. “It’s about Sir Taehyung,” you paused fiddling with your fingers. “I just don’t think he’s the right person for the job. Also, the guards stationed around the palace serve as good protection, so I don’t think having a personal knight is necessary.”

The king sighed, closing the pages of his book and placing it onto the table beside him. “He is a perfectly capable knight, and it calms my heart knowing that you are safer with him around. I’m sorry that you’re unhappy with the arrangement, but it is necessary.”

“But is it?” you talk back.

He gives you a stern glare for your offhand speech with him. “It is. I won’t discuss this any longer.” He picked up his book and began to read once again in attempts to make you give up your attempts to persuade him.

You regretfully made your way outside his room back into the castle corridors, where you found a certain blond-headed boy waiting for you. You paused in your tracks when his gaze met yours. “What are you doing out here? I told you to wait behind,” you reprimanded, crossing your arms as if talking to a child. It was beginning to feel that way, after all.

“I was waiting to escort you to your next destination, Princess—” he cut himself off by clearing his throat, although it was painfully obvious to be fake, “excuse me—Your Highness.” He corrected himself with an exaggerated bow, making your blood boil at his mockery. You chose not to satisfy him by giving him a reaction, so you simply stomped ahead of him and walked ahead. He caught up to just a few steps behind you as he began interrogating you, “So what was that little secret meeting about?”

“It’s private business. You have no need to know.” You turned your chin up at him.

You could practically hear the mischief in his voice when he spoke his next few words, feigning innocence, “You were trying to get rid of me, weren’t you?”

You were unable to hide your eyes widening from shock at his amazing deduction skills. “How did you—?”

He let out a chuckle at your bewilderment. “Those doors may be heavy, but they’re not sound proof.”

Your mouth gaped in shock as you looked bewildered around the room as if asking the nonexistent other people in the hallway, Can you believe this guy? “So you were eavesdropping? On the king? Well! I don’t think he’d be very happy to hear about this, but telling him would simply be the right thing to do, so it must be done!” you reasoned, spinning on your heel, practically sprinting back in hopes you could finally be rid of this leech of a knight.

He was calm, however, not making a move from where he stood, only calling out to you, “Are you sure about that? Don’t want to make dear old dad angry, now do we?” There was a certain bitterness in his voice that drew your attention from your previous excitement, practically giving you whiplash at his sudden 180 degree change of tone. You stopped where you were, only a few steps away from your father’s bedroom door, listening for what else the knight would say. “He gets a little too angry sometimes, doesn’t he?” All jesting nature had disappeared from his once carefree face and your eyebrows raised at his accusation.

“How…” You looked between him and the door. Your lips were parted and ready to speak, but no words came forth. You weren’t sure how he had been able to convince you, but you found yourself heeding his advice and turning away from your father’s quarters, taking only one last glance back to the door. Bottom lip caught between your teeth, you slowly walked back to meet him where he silently waited for you down the hall, eyeing him warily as you passed him by. You had to be careful with this one; not only was he a master with his sword, but it also seemed he was brilliant with his brain.

“I’m going for a ride,” you said to Taehyung over your shoulder from where you sat side-saddled on your horse, reigns already in hand. The sun shone brightly and you wanted nothing more than to breathe in some fresh air, so you decided you would go horseback riding, although since you would have to leave the confines of the guarded walls to do so, you couldn’t even dream of getting away with going without your knight. “Please stay a good distance back if you insist on following me.” And with that you flicked your wrists, causing the horse to take off before Taehyung had even finished mounting.

Once some distance had been made between you and the man following behind, you rubbed your horse’s neck to calm him and slow him to a trot. You took the few moments of silence and solitude to appreciate the landscape around you of the forest, with its green leaves and tangled vines, you had not been allowed to venture into for years now. You suppose that was one perk to having an appointed knight. Despite how pestering it was, it gave you the opportunity to do things you couldn’t before as long as he was with you. When you could finally hear the hooves of Taehyung’s horse, you had your horse speed up a bit once again.

You decided it was best to ignore him, so you continued to enjoy the scenery, from the rushing waters of the creek flowing by to your right to the towering trees above that sheltered you from the harsh summer sun. Above the tranquil sound of water, you heard the sound of a branch of a tree snapping, but didn’t think anything of it until a large branch came falling down just a few feet in front of you and your horse.

Before you had any time to react on your own, your horse did the job for you, abruptly pushing onto its back hooves and you were bucked off, falling to the side as the horse attempted to turn and run the other way, fortunately from the way you were thrown off, you landed feet first and did not have to worry about serious injury to your back or somewhere worse. Unfortunately, after you had a few seconds to process what had just happened and the numbing shock finally wore off, you felt tremendous pain in your left ankle.

Taehyung quickly dismounted from his horse and ran over to help you, calling out in concern, “Princess!” He reached you and grabbed hold of your arm to help you up, but you pushed his hands away and tried to stand on your own, but the feeling in your ankle only became worse and you immediately sat back onto the ground. He crouched down and looked you over. “Are you okay? Is something hurt?”

You gritted your teeth, pointing to where you were injured, “It’s my ankle.” Taehyung looked between you and your foot a few times before placing a hand under your back and beneath your knees to carry you to the royal infirmary.

After the doctor had seen you, informed you it was a sprain, and wrapped your ankle up, you sat dejectedly on the examination table, kicking your uninjured foot back and forth. Taehyung finally spoke, his voice quieter than usual, “We should probably get you back to your room.”

Before he could even make a move, you began to push yourself off the table, willing to land on your wounded ankle if it meant getting out of what you were afraid would happen next, but you weren’t fast enough. “Woah!” Taehyung quickly grabbed your shoulders, pushing you back away from the edge of the table before he began to support your weight.

“It’s alright. I’ll walk by myself,” you insisted, squirming to escape his grasp.

“Sorry, Princess, no can do. The doctor said you can’t put any weight on that ankle for the next several days.” His voice still possessed its signature lightness, but his face contrasted it, lips forming a thin line and brows drawn together in worry. You continued to give him trouble until he finally grabbed both of your wrists and he looked up to you, eyes wide as they met yours accompanied by turned down brows and lips. “Stop,” he chided sternly, the sudden depth in his voice causing a shiver to run down your spine and put a stop to all movement.

When he finally had you under control, he turned his back to you and bent down so he could carry you on his back. His hands slipped under your thighs to support you and suddenly everything felt much more scandalous than it was. You wrapped your arms around his neck and reluctantly rested your head on his shoulder. “I guess I should say thank you,” you sighed. “I made a really dumb decision.”

“Yeah, well, this is what happens when you try to make my job difficult.” You could hear that grin on his face.

Your remorse for the burden of him having to carry you suddenly vanished. “I was just trying to say thank you! Why couldn’t you just say ‘you’re welcome?’” you shouted in irritation, your voice echoing off the walls of the empty corridor.

He turned his head back to you, showing you a cheeky grin. “I guess I like to make things difficult for you, too.” You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t stop the little quirk up of your lips. He was still looking over his shoulder—the one on which you rested your head—and you suddenly realized how uncomfortably close your faces were to each other. You hastily straightened yourself up, jolting so much that Taehyung almost dropped you. Your face burned like never before now and you decided that it would be best to keep your head up for the rest of the walk, or else you may be subjected to the same view of Taehyung’s deep and captivating eyes.

You were scratching an ink pen across some parchment while seated at your desk, sipping on a cup of warm tea and thoroughly relishing in the silence of just you and the soft rain against the window. It was the late afternoon, just dark enough to rely on candlelight to work at your desk with the wonderful burning scent permeating the air of the large room. It felt as if recently you had been getting less and less time to have for yourself, which usually wouldn’t bother you so much since you were always cooped up in your room when you were younger, but you had no time to destress, so you used your time to relieve all the tension you’ve been feeling recently thanks to a certain someone. You heard a knock on the door, which you purposely ignored in hopes that the visitor would get the message and go away. Without bothering to wait for a response, however, said person waltzed through the door without a care in the world, revealing himself to be none other than Sir Taehyung. “Good afternoon, Princess. Sorry I wasn’t around all morning, I had some mandatory training.”

“Don’t be sorry. It was extremely pleasant,” you mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear, gathering your pile of papers into a messy stack and shoving them hurriedly into your desk drawer as he neared you, peering over your shoulder.

He brushed off your blow to his ego with ease, instead changing the subject, “What have you got there?” His eyes followed the nervous movement of your hands.

“It’s nothing,” you explained curtly, not bothering to try hiding your annoyance. “Please just mind your own business.” You waved him off, locking your drawer and creating distance between the two of you as you felt him hovering, although still limping on your injured ankle.

He became strangely serious in a mere few seconds, his brows furrowing and the edges of his lips turning downwards. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Princess.”

“Yeah, well you sure have a knack for that,” you retorted sarcastically taking a seat on the edge of your bed. You glanced to Taehyung and he now seemed pretty peeved, and you began to wonder if you were taking things too far.

“Look, I’m just trying to be friendly,” he justified.

You should take that as a valid reason to lay off of him, but for some reason you were so angry. Maybe you weren’t necessarily angry at him, but you were angry with your situation, and he was the easiest to blame, so that’s exactly what you did. “Well, stop. I don’t want to be friends. I don’t want you around at all.”

As you felt the air in the room suddenly become strained, this time, Taehyung remained silent, which was a rare occurrence since he always had to have the last word. You easily could have stopped there, but there was no telling when you would be able to shut yourself up now. “But no. You’re always around, trying to make my life miserable, I’m sure. I can’t stand it!”

He scoffed, finally losing the last bit of his cool composure, becoming angry. You should have known his facade would come crashing down sooner or later since this was the only manner in which you had spoken to him since he was knighted a little over two weeks beforehand, and he was probably getting a little tired of it by now. “How do you think I feel? The only reason I’m even here is because I’m just doing my job! I miss my friends back in the barracks. I’d much rather spend my days with them than with a stuck up princess like you!”

“Stuck up?” you questioned, offended, whether you had a right to be or not, you dismissed.

He took a step forward, letting his sincerity be shown. “Yes. You’re a stuck up brat. You get anything you could possibly want, and yet the only words I’ve ever heard from you are complaints! Trust me, no one would willingly spend any time around you!” You couldn’t hide the fact that what he just said had actually hurt you. It all went back to the fact that the townspeople frequently badmouthed you, and your ladies-in-waiting never spoke back. Was he right? “Do you know how difficult you are to put up with?” His voice becoming louder by the second, only making your desire to fight back even stronger.

“Well, same goes to you! You’re a handful yourself, with your nosiness and all that!” you shouted back at him, pointing a finger at his face to stress your annoyance. “I’m glad there’s at least one thing we can agree on!”

“Yeah? What’s that?” he sarcastically expressed wonder, although he truly didn’t what the two of you could possibly share.

“We both hate this arrangement!” you yelled.

“Yeah alright, whine all you want, but you have no idea what actual hardships are! You’ve been served on a silver platter your entire life! You’ve never had to do a goddamn thing for yourself! I’m surprised you even know how to breathe without someone helping you do that, too!” You defensively crossed your arms over your chest. You really did have everything handed to you, though not necessarily by choice. “I’ve had to work so hard to get where I am today!”

“Oh, please. Everyone knows you’re a prodigy.”

“You know nothing!” You wanted to throw his insults back at him, but with the way his breathing became uneven, you decided that retorting might be a mistake. “My father was one of the most skilled and most noble knights anyone had ever known. I admired him and I wanted to be just like him. So badly. All I ever wanted was to make him proud, so I worked my ass off day and night to even be considered as a trainee. Then, you know what? Your fool of a father sent him off to war and got him killed!” he bellowed in rage, causing you stop short at his sudden violent shout.

He was seething and his hands were tightly clenched at his sides as he no longer looked you in the eye, his eyes instead focusing on the far corner of the room. “And now he’ll never see his son be just like him.” His face softened and his hands let loose as the tension in his muscles began to dissolve.

You were frozen in place, already beginning to feel terribly guilty for blaming him for your troubles when it wasn’t even his fault, and then you had to discover this tragic past of his. You knew you shouldn’t speak and just let Taehyung have some space to think, but you couldn’t stop the words from leaving your mouth. “I… I’m sure he’s very proud of you… wherever he is.” Your voice was small and timid, but you hoped maybe he would find some sort of comfort in your words.

Instead, his expression hardened once again, forcing a cold stare to meet your gaze. “Yeah, well, he’s not here, so I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?” His intimidating eyes didn’t leave yours for a few moments until he finally turned on his heel without a word and left, slamming the door behind him.

Four tense days had passed since Taehyung lost his composure in front of you like that, and you hadn’t seen much of him since. You couldn’t blame him, after all, since all you had been trying to do since he was assigned to you was just that: drive him away. Now he hadn’t spoken a word to you recently, instead opting for sitting outside your bedroom door and keeping a good distance away from you at all times when he had to accompany you somewhere, which was only around the palace so far since you couldn’t even think about asking him to take you anywhere else with the stiff and strained atmosphere that followed wherever the both of you went. Now that he wasn’t around anymore and you had finally achieved your initial goal, you realized how big of a mistake that was. You were never looking for it to become this bad, and as much as you hate to admit it, you miss his teasing and his jokes and his sly remarks. As much as they made your blood boil then, you never took the time to realize that it was a breath of fresh air, as no one else would even dare speak to you the way he did. And it was… freeing. Funny how the one person you were sure would completely confiscate your freedom brought you the closest you’d ever come to it.

These thoughts had been occupying your mind for days now, but at this point, they were keeping you awake. You had been pacing throughout your room, your limp finally manageable enough to get around easily on your own, lower lip caught between your teeth, for what felt like an hour contemplating whether you should sneak out to get some air like you were so tempted to do. Finally, you came to the conclusion you weren’t getting any sleep anyway, so you threw on your cloak and a pair of shoes. You tiptoed over to you door and carefully pulled it open, wincing at the way it creaked as you tried to open it slowly and silently in hopes of not waking you night guard who usually fell asleep on the job. When you peaked out of the crack of the door, you saw no one. Your eyes scanned downward as they sensed a presence from below and you found your guard sitting against the wall. Except it wasn’t your night guard. It was Taehyung.

His head still rested against the wall, but his eyes slid over to you now standing just outside your room, drooping as he fought against what seemed like extreme drowsiness to keep them open. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you sleeping?” you whispered. Taehyung was your knight during the day, but at night, he still went back to sleep in the barracks. He was human. He couldn’t be around at all times. So why was he here now?

“Your night guard got thrown out after he was caught sleeping on the job, so I’m taking his position until he is replaced,” he mumbled. You almost laughed at how predictable the termination of your night guard’s job was. Dismissing that, you knelt down next to him and he gave a curious look.

“You must be exhausted,” you sympathized, unable to hide the worry in your voice.

He breathed out a heavy sigh, standing up, surprising you with his sudden energy. “No, not really. I’m okay.” He gave a tight smile. “Now what are you doing up so late? And where were you going dressed like that?” he interrogated, giving a pointed look at your cloak and shoes, making it obvious you were planning to leave the building.

“Nowhere!” you fibbed, a tight smile stretching across your face. Taehyung saw right through it though, tilting his head to the side and raising his eyebrows knowingly. “Alright, fine. I was going to sneak out tonight. I couldn’t sleep and I needed some air.” You chose to leave out the man in front of you was the very reason for your sleeplessness and anxieties, especially because you weren’t even sure why. An idea popped into your head while examining his face, which he probably caught you doing, but you changed the subject quickly. “I’d still like to go. That is, if you’re willing to accompany me.”

He looked bewildered at your ridiculous idea. “Now? At this time of night? I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he worried, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Please? I just want to go for a walk in the garden. We won’t even be leaving the castle walls!” you begged, but he still looked unconvinced, probably affected by how much he’d rather be sleeping at the moment. “Come on. It’ll be fine,” you grabbed his hand and pulled him after you, and to your surprise, he went along silently.

After cautiously sneaking past more guards who would completely disapprove of your little midnight escapade and convincing the more lenient ones to let you pass, you finally reached the entrance to the royal garden, marked by an impressive flowering archway.

The night air possessed a bit of a chill, causing Taehyung to dig his hands into the pockets of his pants while you wrapped your cloak around you tighter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it would be cold. We can go back inside if you want,” you suggested catching the slight chatter of his teeth.

“No, it’s alright,” he insisted, shaking his head. “I’ve never been here before anyway, so I’d like to see it.”

Your surprise was easily showcased in your expression, causing Taehyung to chuckle at the comic widening of your eyes. It never occurred to you that most people didn’t have the pleasure of wandering these gardens like you often did, and quite frankly, took advantage of. You forced yourself to return to a neutral state, calmly glancing at your surroundings, characterized with patches of multicolored flowers lining the stoney walkways. “Well, I’m glad that I’m the one who has the honor to show you around.” You flashed him a quick smile before picking up your pace and tilting your head to have him follow along.

Although you were slowed down by your still-healing ankle, Taehyung was patient and let you lead the way, completely endeared by your childlike enthusiasm. You led him along the widest cobblestone path to a wooden bridge stretching from one side of a creek running through the garden to the other. When the both of you reached the middle of the bridge, you sighed leaning on your elbows on the railing, looking over into the water below. “Welcome to my favorite part of this garden.”

Taehyung would be lying if he said it wasn’t a little… underwhelming, but he assumed there must be a reason it gave you that sparkling, dreamlike look in your eyes. He followed your lead and leaned over the railing as well, looking down and being met with both of your reflections in the rippling water, easy to be seen thanks to the bright moonlight. After he was done studying the mirror image of the both of you side-by-side, he turned his attention to the several flowers resting atop the surface of the water. “Water lilies,” you spoke softly as he looked up to you meeting your gaze as you had already been looking for his reaction. “I know this really isn’t much, but I really love those flowers, so this bridge just became my favorite place.”

Taehyung continued to observe the scenery. “No, I think I get it,” he contemplated. “There’s something special about them, and that’s why you love them.” He let his gaze wander back to you, once again staring down at the white and pink petals in the water, and finished his thought without thinking, “They’re different… like you.”

Your face contorted into a hesitant laugh as you weren’t sure whether that was meant to be one of his jokes he often throws at you or not. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Taehyung tried to hide the panic he felt after letting his words slip, and he covered it up with a lighthearted chuckle. “Come on. We both know you’re not normal, Princess.”

If it had been a few days ago, you would have gotten angry with him because of a remark like that, but today, you were only able to laugh along with him, feeling relieved that you didn’t have to be upset with him all the time. However, one thing he said bothered you. “(Y/n),” you corrected softly.

Taehyung only tilted his head and slightly squinted his eyes, a question obviously on the tip of his tongue. “Call me (y/n) from now on.” His eyes shook with surprise. “The title princess really is just too much for me. I’m tired of being the princess. I want to be just (y/n) for once.”

He gave you what you thought was the first genuine smile you’d ever seen from him as he quietly agreed, “Okay.” You felt weight float off your shoulders knowing that right there, right then, you didn’t have any expectations to meet. It was just you, and him, and the moonlight’s beams on your favorite flowers below.

You shifted uncomfortably, hating to bring up the subject, but you knew you had to say it at some point. “I’m sorry for all the horrible things I’ve said to you by the way.” Taehyung shifted, resting his chin in his palm and facing you a bit more, a smile still dancing on his face despite you becoming more solemn. “I was never actually angry with you. I just thought I was.” There was so much more you wished to say, but the words wouldn’t form, so you let silence take the lead.

Taehyung didn’t respond verbally, but he gave a nod and an understanding smile that gave you enough assurance that you were forgiven.

You wanted to ask about one more thing that had been weighing heavily on you mind ever since you had argued with Taehyung. “By the way… did you mean what you said the other day?” he gives you a questioning look, signaling you to clarify. “That no one would actually willingly spend time with me? I guess that makes sense since the only person around here that I consider a friend… isn’t really a friend… and I don’t really talk to anyone.” You couldn’t prevent the tears that began to pool in your eyes as you finally acknowledge out loud the loneliness you’d just simply become accustomed to. “Well, except for you.” You let out a weak chuckle, the squint of your eyes pushing a stray tear to roll down your cheek.

Feeling guilty at his words whether he meant them that night or not, Taehyung reached out to you,  contemplating whether to wipe your tears, or grab your hand, or maybe that was too much. He retracted his hand. “No. I didn’t mean that. I was just angry. I’m sorry,” he spoke firmly but genuinely, hoping that you would believe him.

The two of you let silence fill the space between you, which, you both noted, had somehow decreased exponentially from when you first arrived on the bridge. Hearing Taehyung let out another shiver, the cold of night still present, you suggested with a shy smile, still sniffling, “Let’s go back inside.”

You two successfully snuck yourselves back to the hallway just outside your bedroom door and you opened the door, prepared to be welcomed by the inviting comfort of your bed, but you stopped as Taehyung slumped against the wall once again, ready to resume his night guard duties. You wanted to slap yourself for the words that were about to escape you, but you couldn’t bare to leave him out there while you slept the rest of the night away. “Why don’t you come inside and get some sleep?” He gave you look to let you know you were just as insane as you sounded.

“Do you know what could happen to me if I got caught staying in the princess’ bedroom over night?”

You rolled your eyes, but also felt a blush creep onto your cheeks at the implications. “You can just sleep on the window seat—which is super comfortable by the way— and no one would ever know. And even if someone did find out, I could easily explain the situation. There’s no way you can be expected to stay out there all night with no sleep.”

While Taehyung’s rational side was giving him every signal for no, the soft call of sleep was louder than any alarm going off in his head, so he finally accepted your offer. You led him over to lay on the window seat, then you brought him a few extra pillows and a blanket. “Wait,” he suddenly voiced, causing you to stop in your tracks on the way to your own bed in search of sleep. “What if someone comes after you and I’m not awake to notice?” he worried, eyes widened.

You had to laugh at his innocence. “First of all, that won’t happen, but if it does, I’m sure you’ll wake up to protect me.” you smiled down at him, seemingly calming his nerves. You finally reached your soft mattress, tucking yourself into the silky sheets and resting your head on the fluffy pillows. “Goodnight,” you called across the room as you blew out the candle on your desk.

“Goodnight,” you heard him softly echo, sounding as if he’s already on the brink of sleep. You watched his outline lit up by the moonlight finally still and turned yourself over once you assumed Taehyung had gotten some rest for himself, eyes fluttering shut now that you finally had some peace of mind.

You had just finished up with a dress-fitting that you were suddenly called to early in the morning, which confused you since there was usually a reason for these things, but as far as you knew there was nothing special to have a new dress made for. Your ladies walked you back to your bedroom since you decided it would probably be a little inappropriate if Taehyung was around while you were being fitted. You reached your room and dismissed the two women following just behind you with a small nod and a polite smile.

You found Taehyung already waiting for you, sitting on the bench at the foot of your mattress, examining the cover of a book. “A Lover’s Temptation,” he drawled out, reading its title before giving you an openly judgmental stare. You gasped, rushing over to where he sat as he choked back a laugh at your blushing cheeks, wrestling the book from his hands as he fought to lift it out of your reach. You knew the two of you had become more comfortable around each other since that night in the garden, but this was just a bit too much. You finally pried it from his grip and playfully smacked him with it on the shoulder with a “Hey!” feigning annoyance, but giving him a genuine smile nonetheless. He mirrored with a gleaming grin of his own, leaning back onto his hands looking up at you.

You tucked the book back into its place in your mahogany shelves, turning around defensively crossing your arms over your chest with a pout. “Listen, I know it’s cheesy,” you defended, “but I was running out of things to read.”

“Running out?” he questioned with doubt, eyes traveling up and down your towering shelf filled to its full capacity with tightly-squeezed books, almost to the point that it looked as if it would fall apart if one more page were to be added. “You sure like reading, don’t you?”

“I do! And yes, I’ve already read all of those,” you stated matter-of-factly. “It’s easy when you spend as much time trapped in this castle as I do.”

The edges of Taehyung’s lips turned down in sympathy as he could hear the bitterness behind the laugh you covered it up with. “What about the palace library? Don’t they have anything to read?” he suggested.

“Oh, there’s plenty of books in there, alright,” you mused, “but they’re no good. Most of them are just historical records of the royal family.” You swiftly turned back to the shelf, searching through the multitude of titles. “Although, there was one book that I found in the library. It’s actually my favorite! It’s this tragic love story about—” you began veering off on a tangent until Taehyung cut it short.

The term “tragic love story” setting off an alarm in his head, causing him to cut you off, he groaned, “Please tell me it’s not Romeo and Juliet.”

“No way,” you laughed in disbelief, turning around with the book you were searching for in hand, cradled tightly to your chest. “That book is so unrealistic. It’s impossible to fall in love in one night. Love is patient. It takes time.” You let a shy smile slowly grow on your face, a gleam in your eye as you pondered about the realness and rawness of true love, the type you always dreamed about, reflected in your many hours invested in reading romance novels, cheesy or not. You hadn’t noticed it, Taehyung hadn’t even realized himself, but he couldn’t take his eyes off your beautiful lips and the way they formed your smile, and without knowing, it became one of his favorite sights.

You snapped out of your thoughts, blinking slowly and returning your attention to your conversation with Taehyung. “Anyways, it’s a story written hundreds of years ago by a court poet within this very castle. He fell in love with his princess, and she loved him back, but they couldn’t be together because she had to marry a prince. He wrote about his heartbreak and the pains of falling in love, and I can’t help but hurt every time I read it,” you explained sadly, knowing that one day you yourself would marry a prince, and now more than ever for some reason, you feared the prospect of falling in love with someone else. “Despite that, though, it’s a fantastic book. You really should read it.” You held the book out to him, a hopeful smile suddenly on display.

He waved his hand dismissively, not wanting to be rude, but completely uninterested. He’d much rather hear you talk about it once more. “Actually, I don’t read much.”

“Well, then, this is the perfect way to start! It’s simple and easy to understand, and it’s not long!” you insisted. Taehyung shook his head once more, trying to resist even though your excitement made it extremely difficult. “Please?” you asked one last time.

He sighed, finally giving in and taking the book you held out for him, “Fine.” Since when did he become so easily swayed by you? Of course, he wasn’t actually going to read it. He just said he would to see that smile on your face one more time.

Your father called you for a meeting in the throne room early in the morning only a few days after Taehyung had come to realize just how much that smile meant to him. He had tried his best calming your nerves on the way there as you knew that meetings so early in the morning never brought the best of news. Now you stood before your father, seated in his throne before you as per usual, however, what was out of the ordinary, were the several unfamiliar men standing to the side of him, seemingly waiting as well for your arrival. Taehyung, who had been close by your side just on the other side of the door, moved away from you and took his place standing by the door, waiting until you were ready to leave the room once again. You walked further into the room, but cast a glance back to him over your shoulder, and he smiled encouragingly, sensing your hesitance.

You finally stopped once you were standing before the steps up to the throne, nervously gazing up to your father, but still taking quick glances at the three men standing around him. He cleared his throat before speaking, “(Y/n), you’re 21 years of age now, and as you know, you have some responsibilities to fill now that you have come of age.” Suddenly your mouth ran dry in realization. This was why you were woken up so early without notice and forced into an unusually tight and uncomfortable dress. This was why you suddenly had so much more official work and training to complete. This was why you were mysteriously fitted for a new dress. For a ball. For a suitor’s ball. These men were suitors.

“One of those duties is marriage. I have chosen these three princes as candidates for you to marry. I expect you to treat them with hospitality during their stay here.” You always thought that when this moment came, you would only feel numb because you had imagined this scenario so many times in your head, but in actuality, it hurt and you wanted to scream and cry because for some reason you let yourself hope for one second that love might come to you instead of being forced into it. You had to hold your breath to keep from letting out a sob. You couldn’t lose your composure in front of these suitors, or else it could ruin everything. Instead, you took shallow breaths and kept your bottom lip between your teeth to hide its quivering. You only nodded. That was all you could bring yourself to do.

“These young men are princes from neighboring kingdoms. First is Prince Seokjin from the Kim Kingdom.” The tallest of the three, with wide shoulders and a handsome face, stepped forward, a polite and well-trained neutral expression on his features. He seemed several years older than you. As tradition goes, you held out your hand for him to press a kiss to your knuckles, despite how difficult it was to release the tight grip you had on your skirt that surely crumpled the expensive material.

“Next is Prince Yoongi of the Min Kingdom.” The man in the middle, the shortest of the three, stepped forward and did the same, pressing his lips to your knuckles, but his face was mysterious and unreadable.

“Lastly, Prince Hoseok from the Jung Kingdom.” The last man swiftly stepped forward and took your hand, holding a bit longer than the two princes before had done, stopping to look into your eyes, giving a charming smile. However there was a hint of worry or sympathy or something you couldn’t quite place in his eyes, and you assumed he could see right through your facade, making you wonder if it was as obvious to the other princes as well. He pressed a kiss to the top of your hand as well and stepped back, keeping his careful eyes trained on you.

“We will have a ball tomorrow night in order for you to meet them properly. After that, it is up to you to get to know them and make a decision,” your father concluded.

You breathed deeply through your nose hoping desperately that your voice would come across as steady. “I understand, Father. I will do so.” You forced a tight smile and nodded to each of the suitors before hastily turning on your heel, letting restrained tears fall just as your face had escaped their line of sight.

You saw Taehyung still waiting in his place, hands clasped behind his back and his usual stone cold expression donned on his face when working in front of your father. Whether it was to maintain an air of professionalism or to mask his secret hatred for your father, you weren’t sure, but you do know that today was the first time you saw the stone crack, his lips parting and his eyes following you intently as he observed the glistening on your cheeks.

You pushed the doors open yourself and walked up the stairs and through the lengthy hallways with silent tears, Taehyung following closely behind, not sure how to make it better. He knew it wasn’t part of his job to make it better, but he didn’t care because you weren’t just a job anymore. He cared about you, but that didn’t mean anything because he was just your knight and as much as it hurt him to accept, there was no way he could help you. All he could do was watch as his favorite smile crumbled before him, eroded away and replaced by bitter tears.

You reached your room and melted down, sitting on the soft mattress of your bed that usually brought comfort, but instead today, it felt as if you were falling straight through to the ground. Now that you were alone in your bedroom, just you and your loyal knight who still stood right beside you, yet not making a move, you could finally stop hiding. Letting go, a sob ripped through your chest so violently that you doubled over, hands gripping at the hair in the back of your head.

You felt a hesitant touch on your back and your hands came down and rested on your knees as you sat upright again. Before you knew it, the comfort of the warm palm was gone again. “Please don’t cry,” Taehyung whispered. He knew that’s not what you needed to hear, but that was all he said. That was all he could say for he felt he was already overstepping the boundary between princess and knight. Suddenly, his breath hitched in his throat as he felt your head nuzzle into his chest as you continued to cry, desperately gripping onto the material of his shirt. He knew he shouldn’t do what he so badly wished to do, but he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, so he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you even closer, trying his best just to do his job which was to protect you from the evil in this world, even if this evil was inescapable.

It was all far too familiar. The way you were constricted in a tight dress in a way that showed off your body in order to somehow impress while also staying modest. The way you looked at yourself in the mirror and saw the ghost of your hope hovering like a rain cloud over your head, occupied by miserable and tired eyes. It had been this way before, when you were preparing for Taehyung’s knighting ceremony, but somehow this was worse. Before, you were scared of losing freedom that you never really had. Now, you knew that after finally feeling liberation in the form of deep brown eyes and a rectangular smile, everything would really be snatched from right before your eyes. You weren’t exactly sure why your mind lingered on your knight when anxiety about your future marriage ensued. Taehyung was your friend. Surely, he would still be there after it was all over, right?

Speaking of the knight, you would not be seeing him until you arrived at the ball, and even when you were there, he would be serving as a regular guard since your father thought it be a bad idea to have someone lingering around while you were supposed to be spending time with the suitors. The thought made your frown deepen as you realized you would be stuck for hours making small talk with people you had no desire to know. However, Taehyung had promised you he would be there for you to go to when you were feeling anxious, which you were sure would happen in several instances tonight.

Jiwoo helped you down from the step stool, smoothing out the wide skirt of your gown one last time before leading you to the ballroom along with your other ladies-in-waiting. The ball had already started, but of course, you were going to arrive a bit late in order to make a grand entrance. This just so happened to be the exact opposite of what you wanted, knowing the moment you step foot inside the dance hall, all eyes would be on you, criticizing every move you made.

As the grand doors swung open and your presence was announced by the man with the staff by the door, it played out just as you expected. All heads turned towards you, scrutinizing gazes picking apart every part of your wardrobe, your actions, your composure. You gave a regal wave and carefully descended the stairs, met at the bottom by a gloved hand stretched out to take yours in its grasp. Your eyes followed the fingertips up to the face of the body they belonged to, finding the charming face of Prince Seokjin, smiling up at you as he helped you down the last few steps. He leaned in close, whispering in your ear, “Good evening, Princess. You look wonderful tonight.” You were still jittery from seeing the attendees had still not lost interest in your arrival, but the prince’s sudden proximity did nothing to help your nerves. “May I have this dance?” he requested, already leading you to the center of the marble floors.

The people watched for the first few steps of your dance before eventually returning to their own agendas, leaving just a few select eyes on you. As Prince Seokjin began to make small talk with you, you looked around observing the gazes you still felt were those of your father, of course, the two other princes observing closely from the edge of the room, and a few other extraneous sets of eyes from other partygoers. Seokjin talked about his and your kingdom's respective economies and how your marriage could possibly benefit the both of them while you scanned the room for one particular person, and finally you found him. He had been leaning against a decorative pillar and you could have sworn you caught his eyes flick away when you had found him. He looked bored, even borderline irritated, which you couldn’t blame him for as you were feeling the same way yourself. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Seokjin, he had a pleasant air about him and a wonderful, regal smile. It was the fact that you knew just by how he spoke that he wasn’t interested in marrying you for love, but because it was his duty as soon-to-be-king of his land.

The song finally ended and the two of you parted after he gave a deep bow which you returned with a polite curtsy. You turned on your heel in order to make it to where you saw Taehyung standing before, but he was no longer there when you searched once again. Refraining from letting a confused pout show itself in front of all these important people, you decided to take a walk around and greet some guests. You conversed with some older dukes and duchesses, them asking about your plans for the future and you answering with a very complex and diplomatic version of ‘I don’t know.’

You began wandering around through the crowd once more, still keeping an eye out for your knight when the hem of your dress was suddenly caught behind you, making you stumble backwards as you continued to move forward. You felt a hand on your shoulder helping to steady you, and you followed it to find the face of Prince Yoongi. “My apologies, Princess,” he spoke softly once he helped you to stand up straight once again.

“That’s alright,” you insisted with a warm smile. “I’m surprised you’re the first to do that tonight. This dress is a bit difficult to avoid.” You gave a friendly laugh despite the atmosphere soon becoming awkward and stiff as the prince said nothing else even though you stood, expecting something more.

“I’m not going to ask you to dance, if that’s what you’re waiting for.” Your smile faltered, taken aback by his bluntness. “I don’t think either of us really want that.” He turned and ambled away while you mutter a soft and confused ‘thank you,’ although you weren’t really sure whether you should be thankful for that.

You sighed and finally gave in to going over to the food table, secretly hoping Taehyung maybe started camping out there halfway through the night when he inevitably got bored. He wasn’t there either, though, and you couldn’t help but let the fact that your heart sunk in your chest become evident in your entire body expression. After all, he had promised he would be there for you tonight, but here he was, nowhere to be seen when truly you needed him. You took a few glances around to make sure no one was looking before quickly downing a large gulp of one of the glasses of wine they had set out for guests, needing something to lift your spirits.  

“Hello, Princess!” Just as you thought you were safe, you heard a cheerful greeting from your right, causing you to choke on the drink you had hoped no one who catch you with. You put a hand over your mouth, ungracefully coughing as you turned to find Prince Hoseok beaming at you. He quickly began to look worried however, tentatively placing a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you alright?”

You cleared your throat one last time before grinning up at him, unable to stop yourself from laughing at your own embarrassment, which he soon joined once he knew that you were okay. “I’m alright. I just can’t believe I got caught.”

“I can’t blame you. These things do tend to get a little boring,” he sympathized. “I’ve noticed you don’t seem to like crowds too much, either.”

“No, I can’t say that I do. These big formal events have never really been my thing,” you explained, earning an understanding nod from Hoseok.

“In that case, I’ll do you a favor and not ask you to dance.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that tonight!” you laughed. “I guess no one wants to dance with me,” you said, faking a pout.

Hoseok’s face became panicked and he quickly took back his statement. “No, I didn’t mean that! I’d love to dance with you, really! I just thought—”

You stopped him short in his frantic apology, laughing, “I was kidding! Please don’t make me dance.”

His tensed shoulders released as he mirrored your chuckle once again. “You had me worried there,” he sighed. “I thought I had really lost my chances of winning your heart there for a second.” You had completely forgotten that you were supposed to be deciding who you would marry and that this man was one of the candidates, which you supposed was a good thing, that he could take your mind off of it, but you weren’t sure how to interpret the intentions behind the fact that he brought up the subject so casually. Luckily, you were able to have comfortable conversation with Hoseok for the rest of the night without mentioning the dreaded subject of the future again.

You trudged back to your bedroom with your heels in hand since your feet were in stinging pain after having to stand for hours on end at the ball. You were so exhausted, you felt as if you could barely push the door open, but when you finally were able to, you wished you didn’t. You found Taehyung standing at your dresser just beside the drawer observing the little jewelry music box that had been sitting there untouched for years. “Oh, you’re back,” he acknowledged, opening the box to reveal the tiny figurine of a dancing girl and twisting the silver handle on the side of the box, filling the room with its twinkling melody.

You couldn’t hide your annoyance at him as you shut the door behind you a bit harder than usual and drowsily stomped in his direction. “So this is where you’ve been all night?” you questioned, slamming the music box closed and abruptly halting its tune as you passed by, not sparing the knight a glance.

“No, not all night. I went on duty outside for a little while, then I went by the barracks. Now I’m here.” He spoke so casually it boiled your blood even more, which he seemed to finally pick up on. “Are you upset?”

You gave an obvious sigh to point out your exasperation. “Yes, I am upset. Why weren’t you there tonight?” you asked him, letting him know full well that you were angry.

“What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t stand watching you talk with all those princes that only want to marry you.” His voice came out stronger than intended.

You froze, narrowing your eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He hesitated, eyes widening in regret of his previous words before stuttering out, “I-I felt bad for you. You looked so awkward and miserable from what I saw. It was hard to watch.”

“Well, I’m sorry my struggles are so offensive to you,” you scoffed, anger returning when his explanation was nowhere near what you hoped it would be. “That’s why I needed you, though, and you weren’t there! And I’ll have you know that once you left I had a much better time. It turns out Prince Hoseok is quite the conversationalist.”

He felt jealousy bubble up within him and a bitter scowl crept onto his lips. “Then it sounds like you didn’t need me,” he defended, finally turning to face you.

“Yes, but the point is that you promised me you would be there, but you weren’t.” You finally broke the facade of anger and revealed your true disappointment to him, crossing your arms over your chest.

His face softened and he closed the large gap across the room between you until he only stood a few feet away. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have left you when you needed me. I promise it won’t happen again,” he admitted remorsefully, looking down at the ground between you. You could tell his apology was genuine, although you still hadn’t completely forgiven him, you gave him a small smile, reaching out and taking his hand into your own. The way your fingers laced together and your eyes locked with each other’s felt a bit too intimate to be friendly, but that’s all it was. You were just friends.

The next day you awoke to the news that Prince Seokjin had asked you to join him for lunch and a walk through the garden, so you were promptly pampered and prepared for your date that afternoon. You hated that it was referred to as a date, making it feel as if it were something completely different than what was basically a mandatory business meeting. You and Seokjin enjoyed a lovely meal made by your finest chefs and discussed topics ranging from weather to possible battle strategies as he offered his larger army for aid in the war. Once the both of you began your stroll through the garden, Taehyung had the job of trailing far behind, only barely close enough to ensure your safety. You had been feeling his eyes on you every so often throughout your travels, but when Seokjin led you on top of the bridge with the water lilies, stopping to look down at the water with you, you were sure you were feeling his gaze burning into the back of your head.

Before parting ways, you gave Prince Seokjin a curtsy before heading straight away to your poor lonely knight. Although you were both mentally and physically tired, you playfully bounced over to where he stood, examining a particular flower very closely for some reason. He leisurely turned to meet your gaze, however his mood clearly did not match your own, his smile clearly seeming forced upon his lips as it did not travel to his eyes. Your lips immediately turned down in concern. “What’s wrong?”

He let out a weak and once again facetious chortle, insisting, “Nothing. I just don’t particularly enjoy following you and your prince around on your romantic outings.”

You choked back an obnoxious laugh at his interpretation of the date with Seokjin. “Trust me, that was anything but romantic.” You paused in reflection of all that you had conversed about. “I do suppose Prince Seokjin is the most practical choice for marriage, however, considering his ability to turn the tides of this war,” you sighed, trying to rationalize your thoughts into something close to a decision, even though you knew you were still far from making up your mind.

He arched a brow and wore a smug face. “You don’t need some prince and his army to save this kingdom. I can save you and everyone here single-handedly,” he boasted, gesturing to himself in a grand way.

You laughed as what you assumed was a joke and gave him a pat on the shoulder saying “I’m sure you could.” Little did you know, however, it really hadn’t been a joke on Taehyung’s part. He was just envious that you thought you had to depend on anyone besides him. You noticed his still somewhat sour mood, still not believing his response was truthful when you asked him if he was alright, so you suggested something that would hopefully give both of you an opportunity to have some peaceful time together away from the castle. “I need you to accompany me somewhere. We’re leaving the palace grounds,” you requested bluntly, already heading to get your cloak.

“Leaving the palace? I don’t think we can do that,” he warned, eyeing you with uncertainty as you clasped the front of the dark material together and placed the hood over your head.

You grasped him by the elbow and childishly pulled him along with you, taking several tugs before you finally were able to make him budge. “Sure we can. As long as you’re with me, everything should be just fine.” After offering him a cheeky smile, he finally caved in with a dramatic sigh, letting you pull him excitedly in the direction of the elaborate iron entrance gate.

Taehyung, the ever-alert and observant knight he was, felt a pair of eyes following your path as you dragged him outside the walls towards the town. He looked around behind him and found Prince Yoongi staring with his lips pressed together tightly, forming a thin line of suspicion, from a balcony on the second floor, before he slowly sunk back into his room, hands folded behind his back.

Both of you made it to the heart of the town where the lives of the people buzzed most energetically, everyone bustling through the square to finish their many errands before the sun goes down. You smiled brightly and clasped your hands together as you watched a young giggling boy dash past you as several other children chased after him. Taehyung had to remind himself that this perfectly normal lifestyle, one that he used to be a part of before training to become a knight and still returns to when he visits his mother living on the other side of town, was completely foreign to you, so you were bound to be entertained by little things like a game of tag. You took a moment to take in the world around you, stopping in your tracks in the middle of the crowded street. Even though you had been to the village several times before, it never ceased to amaze you. The crescendo of loud voices and the occasional laughter as you went further into its hearth made you feel like you lived in silence back in the palace.

Taehyung suddenly jerked you quickly to the side of the pathway, mumbling a shy apology to the man with the cart filled with pastries glaring at you as you blocked his path. “No offense, (y/n), but I don’t think you’re fit for this town,” Taehyung laughed, gazing down at you. You faked a scowl as you began once again leading him to your desired destination.

You finally stood before a humble little building with an obviously handmade sign above the door displaying its use. Taehyung breathed in deeply before sighing, “Really? Out of all the places we could have gone, you chose the library?”

You rolled your eyes at him, pushing the door open. “Come on, just let me have my fun.”

A bell rung as the door opened and a man emerged from a door behind the desk in the corner of the shop. “Your highness! It’s been a while since I’ve seen your beautiful face around here,” he welcomed you, a dimpled smile on his face.

“Nice to see you, Namjoon! I’ve been dying to get back here to find something new to read.” You return his smile before excitedly rushing over to the opposite wall made up entirely of shelves filled with books. “And, of course, to see you again,” you added with a teasing smile. You often spoke in this flirtatious manner with him, but you were nothing more than simple friends. It was easy to befriend him quickly because he didn’t know your true identity when you visited his library the first few times, so you could have a normal conversation with him, but even when he discovered you were the princess, he treated you no differently and you both remained friends, just as before. Both of you knew that, too. However, Taehyung didn’t.

Taehyung narrowed his eyes in distaste as Namjoon laughed at your comment wondering why you were suddenly so bold with this man he’d never even heard of before. “Who’s this?” Namjoon wondered, staring pointedly at Taehyung, his eyebrows subconsciously furrowing when he caught Taehyung’s scowl.

You tore your eyes away from the row of titles you were inspecting to answer him. “This is Taehyung. He was appointed as my knight. Luckily, with him around, I have a lot more freedom to come here more often,” you explained turning back to continue your search. Taehyung wasn’t sure he wanted that.

“Ah, yes, well you should still be careful, your highness. It’s dangerous out there these days,” he warned.

Your scanning eyes faltered for a moment. “Yes, I’ve heard,” you spoke solemnly.

Namjoon seemed to notice the dip in your mood at the mention of the war, so he attempted to lift your spirits once again. “I have new arrivals by the way!” he piped up, grabbing several books from behind his desk. “They’re all written by people of this town. We’ve got some talented writers in this kingdom.” He held them out for you, putting the remaining away as you chose one to take back home with you. “Hopefully, some day, I’ll have a book of yours on these shelves,” he sighed. “How’s the writing going, anyway?”

A blush spread across your cheeks at the mention of your writing, a subject you discussed with no one except for Namjoon. You glanced out of the corner of your eye in embarrassment to find Taehyung staring in curiosity. “Don’t get your hopes up,” you laughed bashfully. “I’ve gotten nowhere.”

You finally checked out your book of choice and talked a bit more with Namjoon before it was time to leave. You gave a quick goodbye and had to remind Taehyung to say something as well, wondering why he was being so abnormally quiet.

Once you stepped outside, the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky an orange-pink color. You took note that the streets had emptied considerably as most probably huddled inside their homes to eat dinner with their families at this time. You would be worried that your father would be angry that you skipped on supper, but luckily for you, family dinners didn’t really exist anymore for the two of you, one of the many things that changed after your mother’s passing. You enjoyed the fading sounds of the town as you walked away from it, quickly becoming covered up by the buzz of cicadas. The tranquil environment was joined by the deep, rumbling voice of Taehyung, complimenting the sounds of nature perfectly. “So, you write books?” he questioned, staring ahead. “You’ve never told me anything about that.”

“Yeah,” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest when you began to feel the night’s chill. “I don’t really tell anyone about that.”

Taehyung’s lips turned down in confusion and, there it was again, jealousy. “Well, you told Namjoon about it.”

“Yeah, that’s because—” you cut yourself off, squinting your eyes for better vision in the darkening night while getting a few steps in front of Taehyung for a better view of his face. “Wait… Are you jealous?”

Taehyung said nothing. He only continued walking back to the castle, eyes set on the now-visible gates and hands stuffed in his pockets. You couldn’t take that as a definitive answer, but you couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face, secretly liking the idea of Taehyung getting jealous over you. “Well, you should let me read what you’ve got sometime,” he suggested, a smile ghosting his lips.

You shook your head in embarrassment. “No way. It’s not good, and I don’t even have time to do it. It’s just a stupid idea.”

Taehyung spoke seriously once again, finally turning to face you with sincerity in his eyes. “Don’t say that, (y/n). It’s about damn time you do something for you and no one else.” You hated to admit that he almost induced tears with how much you resonated with what he said. He added lightheartedly with a smirk, “Besides, I’m sure anything you write can be better than that other book you gave me.”

“Hey, that’s my favorite book you’re talking about!” you scolded him. You paused in realization for a moment before a huge smile spread across your face as you realized his true intention behind what he said. “You actually read the book! You were just too shy to actually say it!” you teased.

“I’m not shy,” he mumbled through a smile, his ears burning red. You hummed in response, although you made it be known you were not convinced. “Just don’t tell my friends, okay? They’ll think I’m a softie.”

You laughed, endeared by his stubbornness. The fact that he actually listened to you and was interested in what you liked made your heart thump in your chest. He was making your heart beat like this far too often recently, and you know it should be worrying, but it just felt too good to care.

‘Another day, another date’ was becoming your motto these days as every morning for the past five days you woke up to hearing you had an outing planned with one of the princes. So far, Prince Hoseok was the easiest to get along with while Prince Seokjin was the most practical choice. Today was only your first interaction with Prince Yoongi, however, and you dreaded it due to how your first official meeting at the ball went. You were told he would meet you in the ballroom, which you already found odd since that room was only ever used for public events.

You entered through the formal entrance and found Yoongi sitting at the grand piano on the far side of the room. You had to walk down the stairs to reach him and you felt so wrong descending without wearing one of your elaborate and expensive ball gowns. Instead you wore one of your casual dresses, which contrary to what one would believe, still lacked comfortability and functionality. As you crossed the expansive room, you looked down at your reflection in the marble while listening to the melody that Yoongi played. It was soft and sweet, but there was a melancholic tinge in its minor chords. His eyes were closed and he was focused solely on the notes the ivory keys played. You cleared your throat timidly when you reached him and his eyes finally fluttered open. “Have a seat.” He patted the spot next to him on the bench before returning his hands to the keys.

You awkwardly sat as close to the edge as possible, still confused as to what exactly you were doing here. “So, what’s the plan for today?” you wondered, a tight smile tugging at your lips. He said nothing and only shrugged with a slight shake of his head. “Are we just sitting here while you play the piano? I suppose I wouldn’t mind that, actually…” you trailed off thoughtfully.

“I had a feeling,” he mumbled. His hands began to slow down, the melodic piece coming to an end and you were surprisingly disappointed.

“So, what was this for exactly?” You curiously eyed him, waiting for some sort of explanation although you weren’t sure of you would get one since it seems he’s a man of few words.

Surprisingly, however, he gave you the answer you were seeking. “I just thought I’d give you a break from the whole speed dating scene. I know it’s not what you want.” You wanted to thank him, but it worried you that he acknowledged that you didn’t want to get married since this knowledge may cause problems. “Also, I’ve been wanting to use this piano for days, but I thought it would look bad if I came in here on my own,” he admitted. You deadpanned at first, but then you saw the shy smile displayed on his face and marveled at the contrast between the two different sides of him you had seen.

You beamed, continuing to talk about the piano, hoping it would keep him in a light mood, “Yeah, it seems you’re passionate about it.”

Luckily, it seemed to work and his smile, while softer, remained. “It would be nice if I had more time to invest in music, though. Instead, I’ve got a kingdom to run in a few years.” He trailed off, running his hands along the keys. “I know it’s a dumb thing to want, but…”

“No, I get it! I have this crazy dream of being an author,” you tried to relate to him. “As if that could ever work,” you laughed, yet it was void of genuine humor.

You felt him eyeing you from the side before he spoke up, “I knew you weren’t a normal princess.” He smirked and stood from the bench, rounding the piano and heading towards the exit.

“What do you mean by that?” you questioned, hesitantly following him.

“Well, you just aren’t typical, I suppose. You don’t exactly try too hard to be ‘proper.’” You weren’t sure if you were supposed to take that as an insult or not. “You actually have a passion for something, unlike most of the other boring princesses I’ve ever met.” You supposed that was at least slightly true. You had met with other princesses when you were younger and it felt like you were talking to a machine sometimes with how trained and robotic their conversation skills were. “Not to mention, you ate of the forbidden fruit and fell in love with a non-royal.”

Your mouth dropped open as your mind desperately grasped for some sort of explanation to his final claim. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard the clicking of your heels stop behind him. His face was casual, and his voice at first seemed the same way, but if you listened closer, there was a warning nature present in the rumble of his words. “Don’t act so surprised. It wasn’t hard to discover those feelings you have for that knight of yours. You’re a brave one,” he drawled, continuing his nonchalant steps to the door. He spoke over his shoulder one last time, his voice taking on a somber feel this time, “Don’t worry, though. Your secret is safe with me.” With that, he left. You stood in the center of the empty dance floor, physically winded by his revelation. You hadn’t even acknowledged your feelings before for yourself, but when you heard it aloud, you knew it could not be denied. You were left standing, dumbfounded, and even worse, terrified to be in love. True love was a luxury that rarely persisted in this suffocating lifestyle you were born into.

Tonight, Prince Hoseok had invited you on a late-night horseback riding trip on the outskirts of the castle wall. Because he was well trained in swordsmanship, he was able to convince the king to send you out with only him and no knights to accompany you. While you were glad it gave Taehyung a much needed evening off, things became all the more nerve wracking for you when it was just you alone with the prince. Hoseok, you observed throughout your several outings with him, was skilled in keeping the conversation topic from straying to something that might make you uncomfortable or upset, which often stunted the productivity of these outings’ true objectives, but you were thankful nonetheless. However, as time ticked by and weeks passed without any real progress, and all the princes and the king could easily see that was so, Hoseok had no choice but to finally bring up those dreaded topics. He pulled back on his horse’s reins to slow down its speed, and as you noticed him falling behind, you did the same. He wore a gentle smile, just as he always did, but this time there was a hint of guilt behind it. “Princess, I’m aware you don’t like talking about your marriage in the future, but I think it’s time we discuss it.”

You were sure your disappointment was obvious to him, but you were actually having a nice time with him, so you were disheartened to see that hope slip away so easily with only a few words. You had to at least try to act like a proper princess, though, so you lied and agreed, “Of course. You’re right. This can’t be avoided forever.” You turned your steed around and guided him back closer to the prince.

“I’ve been thinking, (y/n)...” You were taken aback for a moment at the sudden use of your name. You felt guilty for becoming somewhat angry since he was such a wonderful person as you had come to know, but for some reason it just sounded wrong coming from him. It only felt right when it was vocalized in Taehyung’s deep and comforting octave. “I don’t want to make the decision for you, but I think we should be married.”

This time you made no effort to hide your bewilderment. Prince Hoseok had never been so forward and now he practically proposed to you with no problem at all. He reached out for you with shaking hands as he tried to support his claim. “I know! I know it sounds crazy, but if you’ll just hear me out,” he said carefully before lowering his hands and pausing, waiting for your reaction. When you said nothing, he continued, swallowing as he observed that your face was still displeased. “Although we haven’t gotten very much time to know each other, I really do enjoy your company. I know that all of this is not at all what you want, but if we have to do this, then I think I can see a future for us where I can make you happy… if you let me.” He had stumbled over his words several times, but that only went to further attest to what you were sure was sincerity.

You knew you should have taken that much more to heart, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t handle any of this right now. Your head was spinning and you were far too overwhelmed. You didn’t want to come to terms with your future if the one person you imagined it with couldn’t be a part of it. “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, eyes unfocused. “I don’t think this is a good time to talk about this.”

Before he was able to say another word, you had your horse sprint off and hoped he wouldn’t follow. He didn’t. You couldn’t do it. You had always been terrified of the day this would come, but now that it was here, you couldn’t even bring yourself to accept it.

Without thinking, you rode over to the knights and trainees’ barracks, dismounting from your horse and leaving him at the front gate. You received many shocked reactions, most of them never having seen their princess in the flesh before, and knights whispering to one another as you passed them by. You hated that you had to speak to these strangers while your voice still quivered, but you knew there was no way you would be able to find Taehyung on your own in this mess of people.

You approached a group of men who had been engrossed in their own conversation and had not noticed your presence until you spoke to them. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Sir Taehyung. Do you know where he could be?” Before you had finished speaking all three of them dropped to their knees before you. Feeling frustrated you begged for them to stand back up, tears pricking your eyes as you felt more isolated than ever when you looked around as all those who gave confused and panicked faces before followed them and dropped to their knees as well.

Your breathing felt constricted as you became suffocated by the panic that continued to build up within you. As you desperately searched for one person near you that wasn’t bowing, you suddenly spotted a head of dirty blond hair, being the only one who remained standing. “Taehyung!” you exclaimed to yourself, hoping it wasn’t loud enough for others to hear your lack of formalities. You ran to him and wanted nothing more than to throw your arms around him and cry into his chest like he’s let you do before, but with all these eyes on you, you had to be very careful what you did, so you skidded to a stop only a few steps ahead of him. It didn’t take him long to notice the tears plaguing your eyes, giving a worried look and reaching out to you before forcing his face back to a neutral position and bringing his hands back to his sides as he glanced around at his colleagues.

You heard heavy footsteps from behind you accompanied by a vaguely familiar voice bellowing, “Is everything alright, Your Highness?” You quickly wiped the tears from your eyes, though you were sure it would not do much help, and turned slowly to be faced with an older bearded man that you had seen at several meetings your father held with high officials and military leaders. You never learned his name, but you knew he was a high ranking captain in your kingdom’s army, and you also knew he had an affinity for sucking up to your father in order to move his way up the ranks. You had a feeling that extended to the princess as well.

“Yes, captain, everything is fine,” you insisted, struggling to keep your words steady. “I was just looking for my knight here.” You gestured back to Taehyung who remained emotionless, wary of his authority. He only hummed, glancing between the both of you before you decided to put an end to whatever thoughts he was processing. “Please, resume your duties. I’ve gotten what I was looking for.” You locked eyes with Taehyung and gave him a plea for help to which he gave a minute nod and led you away from all the onlookers.

You followed him silently while you still felt the wary eyes of the captain locked onto your trail. Taehyung brought you to one of the many small barracks held up by worn wooden planks. He quietly opened the door before letting you in behind him, waving you in when you hesitated for fear of being seen following your knight into his sleeping quarters. As Taehyung carefully pushed the door shut behind him, he turned around at the alarm of your gasp.

Suddenly, there were two boys about the same age as Taehyung hopping off of their beds and kneeling on the wooden floor before you. You looked back to Taehyung in shock, thinking no one else would be around. “What are you guys doing here? You said you would be out in town tonight!” Taehyung fulminated between clenched teeth staring down at the two men he shared his barrack with.

The smaller of the two answered Taehyung quietly, head still facing the ground. “We decided not to. We didn’t realize we would have royal company tonight.”

The other slowly lifted his head up, eyes wide as he looked to Taehyung, making sure his eyes never landed on even a single thread of your clothing. He mumbled shyly, “If you don’t mind me asking, what is Her Highness doing here?” He accidentally let his innocent eyes wander over to your face before taking in a sharp breath through his teeth when he realized his mistake.

You approached the both of them without getting too close for fear of accidentally scaring the poor boy out of his wits. “Please, stand up. You don’t have to bow. Any friend of Taehyung’s is a friend of mine,” you gently commanded, giving them a warm smile when they both finally lifted their heads.

The first of the boys to speak let a tentative grin show itself, questioning you just as you had caught your own mistake, “No formalities? You guys must be pretty close, huh?”

To your surprise, Taehyung didn’t deny like you thought he would, making you think he must trust these guys. “You could say that,” he agreed, biting back a proud smile. The shorter boy gave Taehyung a knowing glance for a reason you couldn’t decipher. Taehyung then cleared his throat directing his attention to you. “(Y/n), these are my roommates and friends, Jimin,” he motioned to the shorter boy who gave you a small nod which you returned, “and Jungkook.” He gestured to the taller boy who still couldn’t meet your eyes when you tried to greet him.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Your Highness. We’ve heard so much about you.” Jimin wore a devious smirk. You caught Taehyung reaching to give him a blow to the back of the head, but when he caught your gaze on him, he grudgingly stopped himself and dropped his arm back to his side. You giggled as Jimin smacked him in the back playfully.

You wanted to fish some more information out of Jimin, but you were interrupted by Jungkook’s quiet voice. “Forgive me for prying, Your Highness, but are you alright? You look like you’ve been crying,” he observed with worry in those big eyes of his. For a moment, you had forgotten the reason you had come in the first place, but you were sure your eyes were still red and puffy from your previous panicking.

The smile fell from your face for a moment and you glanced over to Taehyung who was watching you worriedly before you assured him you were fine. “We should go. Come on, (y/n).” Taehyung was already back to the door leading you out, and you were upset that you were already having to say goodbye to his friends. You wanted to get to know the people that Taehyung liked and you wanted to know what they heard about you, but you knew the longer you stayed, the more chance you had of getting yourself into trouble.

He brings you around to the side of the building in hopes of achieving a little more privacy. “I’m sorry about that, (y/n), I planned to talk to you about whatever happened, but then they were there and messed up everything.”

“Don’t say that. It was nice to see the people you spend time with,” you cheered him up despite your low mood. “Now it’s late, though, and I really should get back to the castle.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there tomorrow morning and you can talk to me about anything you need to,” he reassured you with an encouraging smile, grazing his fingertips over your forearms and pulling away just as they reached your wrists before he would become tempted to take hold of your hand. You only stared at him, prolonging your visit, your feelings taking control much easier now that you had acknowledged their existence. “Go!” he laughed, shooing you away. “This isn’t the place for a beautiful princess. It’s for gross and sweaty guys, none of which deserve you.” If he had lumped himself in with that group, then he was sorely mistaken, you thought.

You began to return to the castle before you stopped to look back at him once more. He rolled his eyes and began to wave you away again, but you stopped him, pulling his hands down from where they motioned in front of your face. “Okay, I’ll go! Just—” You cut yourself off by wrapping your arms tightly around Taehyung’s torso and pulled yourself closer to him. His eyes were wide and his reaction was delayed.

You backed away and hurried back to the castle without another word, leaving Taehyung behind confused and calling after you, “What was that for?”

You both knew there was something between the two of you that was being left unsaid. Something that both scared and excited you, and Taehyung came to realize both his dream and nightmare could be coming to fruition. That initiation would be coming sooner than he ever imagined when his keen eyes missed the forbidding gaze of the captain hidden just out of sight.

Little did either of you know that someone had witnessed it all. The way a knight called his princess by her name, how the knight looked into his princess’ eyes so fondly and called her beautiful as if he could say it a thousand times more, how the princess and her knight had embraced lovingly without even knowing when the princess was meant to be betrothed to another.

The rough man’s heavy boots pounded into the ground as he followed not far behind you to the castle to request a seeing with the king. He was sure the princess’ father would be entirely thankful to hear of his daughter’s betrayal from his most trusted military leader.

“Your Majesty,” he bowed at the king’s feet. “There is something about the princess that you should know. I believe there is something quite... concerning going on between the princess and that knight of hers.”

The king gave the captain his full attention as he described what he had allegedly seen in the training camp that evening. The king’s hands gripped tightly onto the gilded arm rests of his throne and his forehead creased in worry. “I see. I will have eyes on her tomorrow. If someone reports to me with the same accusation, I will have no choice but to believe it. Thank you.” He buried his face into his palm, dismissing the captain with his free hand. If what the captain said was true, the king would have to put an immediate stop to it somehow. He couldn’t hand you his kingdom he had worked so hard to build only for your delusions of love to throw it all away, for love doesn’t exist and believing only leads to destruction.

Taehyung had already arrived by the time you woke up the next morning with a hot cup of tea for the both of you and an open heart to listen to all of your deepest anxieties that you were anxiously waiting to pour out to him. You both went to sit in the window seat, backs against the adjacent walls of the alcove with your legs pulled up just barely enough to keep from touching as you faced each other, the sun shining in a beautifully painted backdrop.

Taehyung didn’t rush you, but instead waited patiently as whatever had happened last night seemed to still be difficult to bring up. “Your friends seem really nice,” you said with a smile, eyes focused on your hands clasped around your knees bringing them closer to your chest. “I wish I had someone like them.”

“You have me.” There was no hint of a joke in his answer making it feel all the more genuine and comforting as the softness of his voice caressed your ears.

You bit back a smile and looked up to find his intense gaze already on you, though it softened with one glance at your shining eyes. “Yeah, I do.” The moment began to feel too tender, too raw, and you became too scared to look deeper into his eyes, fearing you would fall into them with no way out if you stayed a moment longer. You tore away and your eyes traveled to the floor just beside you as you sighed, “I wish the princes were as easy to talk to as you.” You were searching for a way to break the news of what Prince Hoseok had asked you the night before, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say it on your own. “I don’t know how I’ll ever choose from people that I really just don’t know.”

Taehyung heard your voice begin to waver and he quickly wanted to put a smile on your face, so in a panic he tried to joke, “Well, you should choose soon before they all run away.” He immediately regretted what he said and was sure it was a mistake, but his heart was calmed when he saw you crack a smile.

“Hey!” you shouted at him, grabbing the nearest pillow and hurling it at him in retaliation. You laughed as his eyes were widened with surprise at the hefty blow from such a soft pillow before he joined in your laughter, relieved he hadn’t made the situation exponentially worse. He took a moment to examine the pillow, picking it up from where it landed beside him. He pulled at the loose fabric, questioning, “Why is there a huge hole in this pillow?”

You chuckled and snatched it back with a devious glint in your eye, giving Taehyung high expectations for your explanation. “That’s where I used to hide my books from Namjoon’s library when I was sneaking out into town before you came along.”

“That was probably the most anticlimactic excuse I’ve ever heard,” Taehyung deadpanned, although he should have seen it coming from a princess with such a sheltered life as you had always lived. Things like that were exciting, despite how boring they seemed to the average man. You threw your head back laughing, nodding in acknowledgement of his point as you realized it really was as boring as he made it out to be. Taehyung’s boxy smile appeared as he admired the genuine joyful stretch of your lips that he had been deprived of for the past few weeks due to the immense amount of stress you were under.

You suddenly stopped and zeroed in on the top of Taehyung’s head finding a small piece of stuffing from the pillow resting on top of his hair. He frantically questions you as you lean over and reach you hand out, his head flinching away in confusion from your sudden action. You ran your fingers through the strands of his hair to brush it out, secretly admiring the softness of it beneath your touch, a feeling you were always curious to discover. After that, you couldn’t resist letting your eyes get lost in the beautiful landscape of his face, the deep brown of his eyes drawing you in once again. Luckily, he didn’t catch it, however, because he himself was occupied with doing the same, entranced in the way your lips parted innocently and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to feel the way they moved with his own. His tongue poked out to run across his dry lips as his eyes went to meet yours while yours flicked down to follow the action. He wouldn’t have to wonder what your lips would taste like for much longer as you both inched closer, completely forgetting about who you were and instead only thinking about who you wanted to be.

You were mere centimeters apart before you gasped, finally coming back to your senses and hastily pushing yourself away from him. You stood up and worriedly straightened out your dress as you paced further away from him. You couldn’t believe you let yourself cave in and slip up so badly. If anyone had seen, you would be in deep trouble, and Taehyung would be killed. But everything is alright because no one saw and no one knew. And no one would ever find out. Only you and Taehyung would know. Just the two of you. But also the knight that had been standing guard outside your door who was ordered to keep an eye on you, and when the voices in the room disappeared and it was eerily quiet, he silently opened the door, and saw what no one was ever supposed to see.

And because of that, the one person that had the power to ruin everything would come to know of your horrible mistake as well.

After the almost-kiss you and Taehyung shared only a day before, you were faced with great difficulty in being in the same space as each other. There were too many words that needed to be said that were being pushed away as if they had no meaning. If only you had swallowed your fears and confessed to him all that you desperately needed to say before it was too late.

You spent a sleepless night, switching back and forth several times between lying in bed and sitting back in your place at the window, replaying the scene that prevented your sleep over and over in your hyperactive mind. You finally woke up only slightly before midday, regretfully pushing yourself up into a sitting position to scan the room in hopes of finding Taehyung somewhere within it, ignoring the fluttering of anxiety in the pit of your stomach. Your head ticked to the side when you saw he was nowhere to be found, so you threw the blankets off of you and forced yourself into the unwelcoming day.

You hurriedly dressed yourself without waiting for the presence of your ladies-in-waiting and quietly creaked open the door, finding Taehyung was not standing outside as you had hoped for either. A frown overtook your softly hopeful features as you ventured out into the hallways of the palace. You noticed each time you passed a maid or servant they would glare timidly at you until you were out of sight around the corner of the hall, only for you to encounter the same actions from other workers in the castle.

Without realizing it, your feet had led you all the way to the barracks, still in search of your knight, although you weren’t quite sure where this confidence had originated from considering you were practically praying for Taehyung to leave just yesterday. You didn’t mind the knights that stopped and dropped to their knees at the sight of you this time, setting yourself on autopilot towards the barrack you made sure to remember the path towards. You found yourself hesitating just before you reached the door, unsure why your fearlessness wavered, only a wave of uncertainty flushing through you for a moment, but you pushed onward and gave the worn down door a firm knock.

You were met with the same big and timid eyes of Jungkook as he opened the door for you, hurriedly letting you in with a clearly alarmed demeanor. You assumed that was just him acting like himself, but you realized something was wrong when Jimin’s familiar face was unrecognizably tensed. “I-I came looking for Taehyung,” you stuttered, suddenly overcome with a very bad feeling.

Jimin’s eyes widened more than they already had been, walking over to you with concern. “Have you not heard? He was put in the front lines of the troops at Ambrosia Field.” The words terrified you as soon as they left his mouth. You remembered from that time before you had even met Taehyung that things were ugly and the fearful soldier that came to your father for help claiming your kingdom’s men were being slaughtered there. And now, Taehyung was thrown full force into the mess of it all.

You felt as if the breath was knocked out of your lungs with the blow of the news and you began to assume the worst. “The front lines?” you gasped in horror. “But... He could get hurt!” You couldn’t bear the picture that painted itself in your mind, overpowered by shades of crimson as you imagined Taehyung leading the troops in battle. Your hands came to grip at your hair harshly as you felt guilt flow all the way to your fingertips. He must have lost his place as your knight because he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. “This is all my fault… Someone must have seen. This is all my fault!”

Jungkook immediately rushed to your side as you dropped to the floor, gravity becoming too harsh a competitor to deal with on top of the fear within your heart. Jimin followed his younger friend, attempting to calm you and asking, “What did someone see?”

You finally regained control of yourself, though still unable to pinpoint the origin of your sudden composure. You dropped your hands back to your sides and stared vacantly ahead. “We almost kissed.”

Suddenly you were running back to the castle. You weren’t even sure how it happened, and you didn’t even remember saying goodbye to the boys and for all you knew, maybe you didn’t. The only thing you were positive of was that you looked just as much of a mess as your mind was in the moment.

You wasted no time in flinging open the doors of the throne room, screaming without hesitance, “How could you?”

Your father looked to be expecting your arrival, awaiting your reaction with a stern and stubborn stature, already pushing himself up from his throne. “(Y/n), I should be furious with you. Do you want to throw away all in this kingdom that I’ve built up for you? Your childish actions are completely unacceptable!”

You scoffed, trying your best to hide your tears in front of this man you could no longer call your father, who you had been forcing yourself to call father for years. You knew he was corrupt, but because he was your father by blood, you felt as if you owed it to him to always take his side, even when it wasn’t right. “I’ve done nothing wrong!” you shouted, though your voice wavered and you became even more enraged because of it.

“What’s done is done. End of discussion.” The king’s hardened glare bore into you, mocking you while you struggled to stand your ground, this being the first time in your life you’ve ever gone against him. “And because of your immature decisions, I don’t think you’re capable of choosing a suitor for yourself, so I have decided you will marry Prince Hoseok.”

You wanted nothing more than to lash out, to protest and save yourself from this vicious cycle repeated throughout history, but your feet carried you away before you could do anything. You were still young and you still had many fears, one of them being your father, and even now, standing in front of him made you feel small and helpless and insignificant, just as always. So you ran.

Your tears were uncontrollable, blurring your vision as you desperately needed to get out of the corridor with so many gazes witnessing you at your lowest. Perhaps you weren’t the strong princess and soon-to-be-queen, you realized, as all of your grip on this twisted reality disintegrated before you, and as you reached out to catch its ashes, you gripped onto the sleeve of someone blocking your way. Holding you steady after your harsh collision was Hoseok. You looked up to him, pieces arranging back together as you were pulled back down to earth, and seeing his face made your sobs become even more violent. “I’m sorry, but you are one of the last people I want to see right now.”

He held you back from trying to push past him, lowering himself to eye level with you. “(Y/n), what’s wrong? Is it because your father told you about our engagement?” His face harbored hurt as he assumed this reaction was because you were afraid to spend the rest of your life with someone you would never love.

You ignored his question, sobbing into his arm while Hoseok wrapped the other around you in attempts to comfort you. “He’s going to die.”

Hoseok immediately lifted you up, concern evident, “Who? Who’s going to die?”

You tried to push past him once again, but it was only in vain since your energy quickly depleted due to your panic. You didn’t even have the energy to cry anymore, realizing the tears suddenly stopped flowing. Finally saying the words you feared to voice finally out loud made your anxiety become an empty feeling. “Taehyung.”

Hoseok’s brows creased in thought, and also due to your sudden calmness. “Who is—Isn’t that your knight?”

You gave a weak nod, not worrying about keeping this a secret any longer, for it would be something you would never move past, and you both would be living together for the rest of your lives, after all. “My father sent him to die… because I loved him.”

Hoseok looked hollow for a second, and you almost mustered up the strength to feel guilty when you knew he had expressed his feelings for you before, and this proved there must have been some authenticity to them. Suddenly, you had a realization. This was all too familiar. Your mother had told you a story when you were young, and she had made sure this recounting was kept secret from your father. It was a story of a prince who fell in love with a princess, but the princess was in love with a swordsman. Your father was the prince, your mother was the princess, and the knight was…

The blank ceiling of your bedroom suddenly displayed abstract shapes that your dried eyes tricked themselves into seeing. There was a good chance you had been staring for several hours, but you weren’t entirely sure. The sleepless night dragged on for what felt like a century. Though you could not actually bring yourself to sleep, your eyes drooped as it had been a week since you could sleep properly. After all, on nights like these, you would pass the time with the gentle voice of Taehyung, but instead he was the very reason for your sleeplessness. Well… not exactly him, but something far stranger that scared you to your wit’s end. If your theory was correct, your suspicions of your father would be proven correct.

There’s no better time like the present, so you decided it’s time to find out the truth once and for all. This meant you would have to face your father, even though you knew his was the last face you want to see now. Your feet stomped across the expensive carpets in determination, destination set to the throne room where you would once again find your father. Just before you rounded the last corner to enter the main hall, you heard the voice of one of the old maids speaking hushedly with another while they cleaned the unnoticeable dust on the floorboards for the fourth time this week. “Did you hear? The princess’s knight is back from battle.”

Already thumping in anticipation of your interrogation of your father, your heart rate increased dangerously, whether in excitement or fear, you weren’t sure. You hadn’t even registered that you were running in the opposite direction of the throne room. This conversation—anything—could wait until after you finally see Taehyung. Your fear of never seeing him again that persisted all the time he was away was finally dissipating before your eyes. You dodged a door opening just in front of your path, but then you collided with the person who had just come from within that room, and after a moment of inspection, you recognized the familiar features of Jiwoo.

Her eyebrows shot up at your disheveled and breathless form, immediately querying, “Are you alright, Your Highness?”

You nodded excitedly, a wide smile spread across your face while you held onto her arm to steady you. “Sir Taehyung is back from battle!” You loosened your grip on her arm and turned to continue on your path, but before you could take another step, you felt her fingers slip down to grip your wrist before you could tug it away. You turned back and the smile on your face faltered at her uncertain features. “What is it?”

She swallowed tightly, brows still weighed down with concern. “Your Highness, haven’t you heard?” Her head shook in disbelief. “Sir Taehyung is… unwell.” You could feel your heart drop to your stomach. She was vague and clearly had much more to say than she let on, but you got the message loud and clear. Taehyung didn’t come back safely like you had wished for every night before bed, looking out over the expanse of trees where you were sure he would be, leading the troops like the hero he is. You should have known, otherwise he wouldn’t have returned so soon. Without another word, you yanked your wrist free from her grasp and rushed to find Taehyung, changing your destination to the infirmary camp, a ways outside the walls of the castle.

Much to the confusion and dismay of the young stable boy who knew you weren’t supposed to ever take your horse on a ride on your own, you quickly lifted yourself up onto your steed’s back and took off, leaving a few guards who had caught you leaving in the dust. You rode for a few minutes before you finally saw the large white tent with overworked nurses going in and out in a frenzy. You carelessly jumped from your saddle onto the ground, not caring about the splatters of mud that lined the bottom of your skirt. You entered the tent, bumping into a few women in white carrying handfuls of bandages and medicines, who were so busy they probably didn’t even have the time to register you were the princess.

You were horrified at the sights you were met with inside the infirmary tent. There were at least a hundred men splayed out on hospital beds, either covered in blood or coughing it up. Some had missing limbs, and tears sprung to your eyes as you looked closely at some who seemed they may not have been breathing anymore. You were terrified, inspecting every single agonized face, and you never felt more guilty for having the sheltered life you lived, safe and sound inside the walls of the palace while these men fought to the death for you and your kingdom.

As you made your way further into the infirmary, several beds with patients currently being treated were closed off by curtains and it was getting increasingly difficult to find the face of the man you were looking for. Finally, you caught sight of a blond head of hair from behind a curtain that had not been closed all the way. Your hand visibly shook as you pushed the curtain aside to see the face that belonged to the blond-headed man.

And sure enough, there he was, torso and arms wrapped heavily in bandages that were stained red. Completely overwhelmed by the pain you knew he must be suffering, you fell to your knees and buried your face in your hands on the sheets of the bed beside his arm. You heard shuffling from behind and looked to see two nurses returned to his sectioned off area, stopping short in their tracks as they saw you on the ground beside Taehyung’s bed and bow their heads in respect for their princess. You wasted no time and frantically questioned, “Will he be alright? Is he going to be okay?” You had always been taught to keep yourself calm and composed in front of your subjects, but you had thrown all rules you had known to the wind because of your worry for your dear knight.

The nurses glanced warily to each other and one timidly spoke up, knowing you would be unhappy with the answer, “He is in... very poor condition, Your Highness.”

Your breath felt caught in your throat at their confirmation of his fragile state and you could only slowly turn your face back to observe his own, pain evident on his paled face even while slept. “Please leave us for a moment,” you ordered quietly to the nurses while still keeping your gaze locked on Taehyung. They bowed their heads once more before quickly scurrying behind the curtain. “Taehyung...” the sound barely escaped your lips in a shaky breath as you ghosted your fingertips over the back of his hand, desperately wishing you could grasp it and never have to worry about being seen and frowned upon. You saw his fingers twitch ever-so-slightly in response to your touch.

He pushed out a labored sigh and winced at the movement of his abdomen. “Well, hello there, Princess,” he attempted to speak casually, but the pain in his voice gave him away. His eyes were focused solely on you, though they were half-lidded. He gives a weak smile to reassure you, though the absence of its boxy shape that you had become so fond of makes it more difficult to comfort you.

At the pitiful sound of his voice, you let tears finally escape your eyes and cascade down your cheeks, but you still managed to send a pained smile to your lips. “How can you speak so casually? You could have died.” You chose to ignore the fact that death could still be a possibility. There was no way you would accept that he wasn’t home to stay, especially because, somewhere along the way, he had become home to you. The castle you lived in was merely a building, but he was the safe space that you never were allowed in the palace, the place where you could be wholeheartedly you.

“It would be an honor to die while protecting my princess.” His smile grew as he spoke, into a more genuine one and you felt as if your heart were being pulled in your chest, knowing that he would so willingly give himself up for you. He heaved in another painful breath before asking with hopeful eyes, “Did you find my gift?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, straightening yourself up in confusion. “No. What gift?”

“I left something for you to find in your room before I left, but I had to hide it. If someone else had seen it, I could have easily been beheaded,” he explains, laughing weakly, yet his reasoning left you with several frantic questions. “You should go look for it.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” You mentally cursed yourself for sounding so weak in front of him when he needed you to be strong for him in the moment.

The nurses who had disappeared before pulled back the curtain with medical equipment in hand. “We’re sorry, Your Highness, but he really needs to be treated again.”

You hurriedly wiped your tears, giving Taehyung’s hand a squeeze before standing and preparing to leave. “I understand. Please take good care of him.” You looked back down to where he lied one last time before letting the nurses take over.

You went back to the castle slowly and solemnly, choosing instead to walk beside your horse and lead him by the reins to prolong your journey back. You finally reached the inside of the building, then you ascended the first, then the second staircase up to you bedroom. You finally stopped to take a breath after holding it for far too long just after you had slammed the doors shut behind you, locking the door to prevent anyone else from entering.

Your tired eyes carefully scanned your room in thought, everything looking as pristine as always. Suddenly, it was as if a switch had flipped inside of you. You had to know what it was that he left for you. You began to tear the place apart, ripping the pillows and blankets from your bed, throwing aside all of the expensive dresses hanging in your closet, but wherever you looked, there was nothing unusual there. Where would Taehyung have put something that he only wanted you to find? What’s a special place in this room that only you would think to look? Your eyes that wandered around the room eventually fell on the window seat, where the both of you had sat and talked and reminisced and quarreled and experienced so many emotions together. It had to be there somewhere. You checked all corners and underneath each pillow, but saw nothing. As you threw down the last pillow you had lifted, it made an unusually loud thud as it came into contact with the wooden floor. As you examined closer, you found it had been the ripped pillow, the one with the hole in its seam. The one with a hole big enough to hide something in it! You scooped up the pillow once more and tore out all of its stuffing, finally finding the source of the loud sound the pillow had produced. When you finally fished it from the remains of the pillow, you pulled out a simple leather bound book. You carefully untied the strap holding it closed. You flipped slowly through the first few pages, then quickly through the rest as you discovered it was simply empty, and you almost missed the note written on the very last page of the book. It read:

I’m sorry this was all I could give you as a possible forever-parting gift. I know how much you love books, so I gave you an empty one where you could fill it up with your own story, just as you’ve always dreamed. It doesn’t matter that it’s not what you should be doing, but you should do it because it’s what you love. Promise me you will live your life without hesitations from now on. I don’t want you to be sad anymore. If I haven’t come back to you by the time you have found this, that probably means I won’t be coming back, but don’t be sad for me. I don’t want to see you cry from where I am looking down on you. Just know that I’m with my father again, and I’m telling him all about you and how much I loved you. I wish you nothing but happiness for the rest of your life, as much happiness as you were able to give me.

-Taehyung

You had trouble reading the last few sentences as your tears had partially blinded you. He really thought there was a chance he would never see you again, and this was all he was able to do to say goodbye. Most importantly, though… he said he loved you. Now, after days and weeks of agonizing over these feelings that confused you and that you were so sure you were definitely not allowed to feel, you knew now that there was no denying that you loved him, too.

Days had passed and you were still visiting Taehyung everyday in the infirmary. You had to request something extremely important of him before time ran out since the wedding seemed to be fast approaching, but you couldn’t let anything weigh heavily on his heart until he had healed a considerable amount. Taehyung finally was back to his alert and spirited self, although still bedridden, and you decided it was time to finally push the pressing issue to him. Your hands trembled and he noticed, reaching up to steady them within his own.

“I can’t live like this, Taehyung. I can’t stay here and live without the person I love. Run away with me.” He had told you he loved you in the message he left for you, so why were you so afraid he would turn you away? You anxiously scanned his features for any hint of a response. The sharp motion of his eyes had nearly given you a heart attack, yet they were still soft. He was shocked to say the least, but his wide eyes soon left the gaze of your own as they slid to focus behind you. You heard the clearing of a throat from just a few feet behind you and you jumped, seeing the unexpected visitor. “Prince Hoseok! What are you doing here?”

He had an small, ingenuine smile dancing across his lips, signaling he had definitely heard your request for Taehyung. “They told me I would probably find you here.”

He trailed off and the silence became tense. “...I’m sorry.” It was all you could say. You knew it must be hurting him, but he was a dear friend and nothing more.

“It’s alright. I had suspected something between the two of you for a while.” His eyes flicked over to Taehyung’s form still laying on the bed, watching the both of you closely. “I know that you’ll never be able to love me like I had hoped, but I want to help you. I want you to be happy, (y/n).”

You entered through the large doors of the throne room just behind Hoseok who had led the way with determined eyes, yet secretly still with a heavy heart. “Prince Hoseok. This was unexpected of you,” your father acknowledged him before shifting his gaze to you just behind the prince, a limping Taehyung with his arm hooked around your neck. You insisted that he should stay in the infirmary, but he stood firm in his claim that he should be there for you when you finally stood up to the king. Said man’s brows turned down in anger at the sight of Taehyung’s grimacing face. “Why is he here?” he spoke now directly to you, slowly so that he could vainly attempt to conceal his rage.

Hoseok put a stop to the thick tension in the room by directing the king’s attention back to himself. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I need to let you know about this sudden change of plans.” Your father’s eyebrows shot up. “I cannot marry your daughter if I cannot make her happy. I’m afraid I must call off the marriage.”

Your father quickly rose from his seated position. “She has to marry you. That isn’t her choice. It’s for the good of the kingdom!” his fist was now tightly enclosed and shaking wildly in the air in your direction.

“I love Sir Taehyung, Father.” You had not spoken with nearly enough courage, your voice coming out as meek as a mouse in the presence of your vicious feline of a father. His panicked eyes were on you once again in a mere moment, causing you to jump. Taehyung straightened himself up at your sudden jolt and placed a protective and comforting hand on the small of your back.

With a pretentious laugh, the king spat contemptuously, “Are you really going to tear down this kingdom I’ve worked all my life to improve upon because you think you’re in love? You don’t even know what love is, (y/n)!”

Before you could shrink any further you straightened yourself and attacked him with the words you had been waiting for him to hear for a while now. “No, you are the one with no capacity to love. You thought you loved mother, but you made her suffer by murdering the man she really loved, didn’t you? He had already moved on and started a family, but you knew mother still didn’t love you, so you did the only thing you could think of and sent him to die!” you screamed at your father. Taehyung’s hand had slid down into yours and squeezed it tightly. You looked over to his face which showcased all of the fresh scars of his past still burning deeply as they were brought up in front of him, and finally your suspicions were confirmed. “That was Taehyung’s father, wasn’t it? And you were going to take Taehyung’s life in just the same way, by having him slaughtered on the battlefield!” You desperately didn’t want Taehyung around while you dug up these buried griefs and practically threw them back in his face, but your father needed to know that you weren’t ignorant. Rage for your mother, Taehyung, Taehyung’s father, and everyone your father had ever hurt, everyone these horrific laws ever damaged burned within you. “You are a murderer!”

Your father’s confidence had disappeared only several words into your accusations and he was now the most humiliated and vulnerable you had ever seen him before, the large man you once looked up to as an ignorant child now shrunk into his seat in shame. He swallowed, slowly letting his eyes fall to the ground just before your feet. “How did you know about that?”

“Mother’s stories,” you finally breathed out the air that had been encased in your dry mouth. “It took me a long time to understand fully what she had been telling me and to piece it all together, but I think I put the pieces together pretty perfectly, didn’t I?” Your father was speechless. He eyed the prince that now stood shocked at the revelation of the king’s dark past. Taehyung breathed slowly out through his nose, the tightened hold on your fingers finally loosening. “Please father,” your voice had softened again. “You say you loved mother, but you made her suffer. If you really love me, let me find happiness. Don’t make the same mistakes again. Our kingdoms have been doing that for far too long.” The king slumped back into his throne, suddenly seeming much less brilliant than it had just months ago, before you had been so exposed to the true light of the world. His knuckles paled as he gripped the arms of the chair for dear life, lost in thought.

...and the crooked-crowned puppet with a stitched smile finally broke free from its strings. The puppet master's control was now nullified and his routines he had performed countless times since its genesis had now come to a close with the red velvet curtains.

The soft brush of lips on your shoulder elicited a soft gasp and the drop of the inky quill from your scribbling hand. As the lips traveled up to your collarbone then to your neck, the girlish giggle that escaped your lips morphed into a satisfied sigh. “Hello, Queen (y/n),” the deep voice rumbled against the sensitive skin of your neck.

“Prince Consort Taehyung,” you greeted. He finally pulled away, causing you to frown up at him from the desk chair you were still seated at. Taehyung gave you a warm smile before examining the mess of your desk in front of you. You saw his eyes stop on the paragraphs written in the notebook and his grin widened, happy that his gift was being put to good use. He saw another book propped up with its old cover on display in the corner and he picked it up, examining it in thought. “Why is this out?”

Reaching out for it with a smile, only for him to pull away from your stretched hand, you chuckled, “No reason. Just some reminiscing, I suppose.”

“You’re not still letting this story get you down, are you?” he questioned worriedly, turning his back to you and heading for the wooden bookcase.

You laughed and stood from the chair to follow close behind him before placing your hands on his shoulders and peeking on your tiptoes at the old book that held a different, but still special, meaning to you. “Of course not. My fear of history repeating itself was definitely not what made it my favorite book.”

He gave you one last glance over his shoulder and a smile he was holding back was all too evident in his eyes. “You’ll never have to worry about this happening to you ever again. You know that, right?” He placed the book back in its place on the shelf, then he turned around, snaking his arms around your waist while yours encircled his neck. “I’m not going anywhere.” You squinted at him in distaste for his sudden cheesiness, but still swooned nonetheless. His eyes flicked suddenly just behind you and with a lick of his lips, he retracted his statement. “Actually, I will go somewhere. To that bed. With you.”

He quickly pulled you along with him to where he sat at the edge of the bed and you stood between his legs, looking down at him with the sparkle of newly found happiness in your eyes. He peered up at you in admiration, bringing you even closer to himself with a tug of your hips. “I love you so much, (y/n).”

You trailed your hands up his chest to rest on his cheeks as you lifted his face to press a kiss to his lips, begging for more as soon as you had to pull away. “I love you, too.” Your eyes crinkled in the corners, giddiness swelling within you at the words that you had heard many times by now but still could never get enough of. With a sigh, Taehyung pulls you down on top of him and pulls the blanket over the two of you just after he hears a knock at the door and the voice of one of your ladies-in-waiting calling out for you.

“I’m sorry, but the queen is extremely busy at the moment and will most likely be occupied until the morning. Please come back at a later time,” Taehyung called out in response. Immediately understanding his implications, your face reddened and you slapped his chest with a slack jaw before you buried your face into him to hide, although there was no need to since it was just the two of you in your own little world beneath the sheets. Taehyung’s mouth became boxy once more before intertwining your fingers with his while connecting your lips together in a passionate embrace once more.

You were simply a hollow, breathing breathing body before you had met him, but he was able to introduce you to depth and genuine life. Although it was safe and comfortable, you were sick of the life you had lived, and Taehyung was the one to show you there was more to the world than jealousy of those who roamed it freely. You didn’t think you wanted what he had to offer and it made you scared that he came in and turned everything upside down, for you didn’t know all of it would work towards the better. And yet here you were, smiling like an idiot, wrapped in the warmth of his arms where you finally felt at home.

#bts #taehyung #bts v #taehyung x reader #taehyung angst #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #bts fic #bts scenario #bts oneshot #bts imagine #taehyung fic #taehyung scenario #bangtan #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #beyond the scene #starryeyedgukk #fic: all too familiar

[thatishogwash]

Love is in the Stunts

KuroDai Mid-Birthday Weekend 2018

Day 1: Phenomenon - Celebrity AU

AO3

Kuroo, along with half of the cast and crew, watch as one of the main actors for the would-be historical action piece storm off the set.  Kuroo isn’t all that surprised, the man had been throwing childish fits since day one as if he didn’t realize what he was getting himself into.  Nothing seemed to be how he wanted it to be and most of the crew spent their valuable time trying to talk him back from ledges instead of doing their actual jobs, which meant they were behind schedule even before they started filming.  Kuroo looks down at the head of wardrobe and costume design, Yachi Hitoka.  Yachi is fairly young and sometimes her nerves get the best of her but Kuroo already know she’s got a backbone of steel and after a small pep talk to herself she could get anything she set her mind to done.  She also happened to be brilliant at what she did, the elaborate kimono she had crafted fit his long form perfectly, though she was making minor edits before the first day of shooting tomorrow.

Yachi had lost her laser-like focus as she looked over at the director, Ennoshita Chikara.  Ennoshita was only a few years older than Yachi, young to be directing such a big production but he had won several awards for his independent films and was quickly picked up by a large production company.  This film would be his first big one and one of the main actors had just stormed off.  His face betrayed nothing, his eyes were tired looking and his shoulders were relaxed but his hands were curled into tightly balled fists.  Ennoshita and Yachi had attended the same high school and she had worked on his previous films with him.  Kuroo could see the clear worry written all over Yachi’s face.

Recasting was a dangerous road to go down.  The actor that had stormed out might have been a big man child but he was a talented man child, none of his pomp and arrogance ever came across on screen and the public loved him.  The character of the mild mannered but loyal bodyguard would be a tough one to fill, especially with the direction that Ennoshita planned to that the relationship between the bodyguard and Kuroo’s own character.

“Yo director-san!”  Tanaka Ryuunosuke was the stunt coordinator for the film, along with being an extra in it.  He was a childhood friend of Ennoshita’s and had to be held back a couple times when the actor who had stormed off got into Ennoshita’s face.  Tanaka swung a muscled arm around Ennoshita’s shoulders, giving the other man no choice but to follow him back into the office where the door was closed for privacy.

“Yachi-san?”  Kuroo questioned softly, snapping Yachi out of her daze.

“Oh!  I’m so sorry!”  Yachi said quickly, bending back down to make her final adjustments on the kimino.  “How does that feel?”  She asked, fingers running over the fabric covering Kuroo’s legs to straighten it out before backing away.  Kuroo stepped off the heightened pedestal he was on and walked around.  The garments were heavier than anything Kuroo was used to wearing with more layers that promised to make him sweat under the bright studio lights but Kuroo had to admit it was a beautiful piece of work.  It was the perfect blend of historical accuracy and modern adaptation, just as the story Ennoshita was trying to create with his movie.  Kuroo had been entranced the moment he read the script and was only that much more inclined to do it when he heard a rather famous actor had agreed to play the role of the emperor.

“Yachi,” Oikawa whined as he put away his phone after taking a minimum of 40 selfies.  “What about me?”

Oikawa Tooru was admittedly probably one of the best actors of their generation.  He was one of the select few child actors who managed to crawl their way out of that ambiguous time and come out stronger on the other side.  He had a loyal following that only seemed to grow with each new project he did and every magazine he graced the cover of.  Kuroo was humble enough to admit that he didn’t think they’d ever cross paths, let alone be in the same movie together.  But Oikawa was clever, far more clever than his public persona let on, and he recognized Ennoshita’s talent and how far it would take him.

“Your wardrobe suits you perfectly.”  Yachi said diplomatically, not mentioning that Oikawa technically didn’t even have to be there.  Despite Oikawa’s longtime fame and the wealth he’s accumulated since he was a child, he still showed up for every single meeting, dress rehearsal, lighting and sound check, and everything in between.  Yachi was also very carefully not saying that Kuroo’s own wardrobe needed a lot of last minute changes due to much of it not fitting.

Kuroo’s previous project had been a guest appearance as a vigilante on a popular tv show.  He had appeared in five episodes and had been shirtless for a total of seven scenes.  The no carb, high protein diet had been torturous along with the hours of training and working out he did for the action scenes, but Kuroo couldn’t deny the results were there.  Kuroo had always been on the lean side, good genetics and his height made that possible.  Yachi had made his wardrobe to fit his measurements before he had started training for his role as a vigilante and things had changed since then.  Kuroo had apologized profusely but Yachi had waved it off and worked hard to make sure everything not only fit Kuroo but looked good too.

As Yachi helped Kuroo carefully remove each layer he couldn’t help but look over at the closed door and wonder what solution they were coming to in there.

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

Kuroo let out a long moan specifically designed to earn him a glare from Kenma.  Kuroo continued to eat the tempura, moaning with each new piece until Kenma kicked him and Yaku threatened bodily harm unless he stopped.  Truthfully it was more so Bokuto threatening to take away the food that made Kuroo stop, but honestly it wasn’t all for show.

“I haven’t had anything fried in months.”  Kuroo complained as he snatched another piece and shoved it in his mouth.  The strict diet he had been on for his last role was broken the second they wrapped up but considering Yachi had made so many adjustments to his wardrobe he was being good about what he ate.

Except it was rare for all of them to be able to get together.  Kuroo saw Kozume Kenma more than the others but not nearly as much as Kuroo would like, though Kenma might argue further Kuroo knew he was missed.  It was good to have people who weren’t in the same business as him even if it made it difficult for all of them to gather in the same place more than a handful of times a year.  Kuroo was always busy with one project or another and Kenma was a full time app designer.

Bokuto Koutarou was a professional athlete.  They had met when Kuroo had gotten injured on set and Bokuto was seeing the same physical therapist for an old elbow injury.  Bokuto was one of the silliest people Kuroo had ever met, he was always coming up with wild schemes and saying the most ridiculous things that almost made sense.  The guy was always one of the most hardworking people Kuroo had ever met, Bokuto wasn’t good at anything but sports but by god was he good at those.

Yaku Morisuke was an old high school friend of Kuroo’s, they had turned severe hatred into a lifelong friendship.  Whenever Kuroo was feeling adrift or too far from who he wanted to be, he could always count on the daycare teacher to straighten him out.

“Have they found someone to replace that actor yet?”  Kenma asked.  It had been three days since he stormed off the set and Kuroo hadn’t been able to do any of his scenes because all of them involved his bodyguard.  He could see the stress settling on everyone's shoulders as time continued to crawl on.

“Not that I know of.”  Kuroo answered honestly.  Technically he wasn’t allowed to speak of such things but they were in the safety of Yaku’s apartment and Kuroo trusted the three of them enough not to repeat anything he told them.  “Oikawa’s just as amazing as everyone says he is.”   Bokuto asks if Kuroo can set him up on a date with Oikawa, which Kuroo instantly denies.

“But why not?  Do you think I’m not good looking enough for him?”  Bokuto asked before curling up a bicep with a grin.  Kenma snorts as Yaku gives the large muscle an appreciative glance.

“I think he’d eat you alive.”  Kuroo answered.  “And then I’d have to hire some guys to break his legs and one of those guys would turn out to be a cop and I’d be thrown in prison-”

“Don’t retell one of your own movies you tool!”  Yaku called foul, hitting Kuroo with a pillow as they moved onto other subjects.

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

Kuroo sat back as they reset the scene, script balanced on his knee but mostly forgotten as he watched Terushima and Yachi step back from Oikawa in full outfit and makeup.  Terushima Yuuji was a talented makeup artist that Kuroo thought was going to be a big problem considering he hit on everyone, especially Yachi who was clearly uncomfortable with his advances.  Kuroo had been about to step in during one of these interactions, about to play mediator before someone like Tanaka got whiff of Terushima’s bad attitude and caused a scene.  But a second after Yachi had recoiled she had sprung to life, finger pointing and telling Terushima that she didn’t like the way he talked to her and how uncomfortable he made her feel, unsafe on her own set when approached so aggressively by someone much larger than herself.  Kuroo had expected the makeup artist to scoff and continue his ways but he had actually looked sheepish and the next day he had bowed deeply to Yachi, apologizing and promising that he would stop.

To Terushima’s credit he did stop the aggressive flirting.  Kuroo suspected that he was just a flirt by nature so he didn’t cut it off completely but he always gave people their space, always asked for permission before stepping closer, and had mostly become a better person.  Kuroo had been proud of little Yachi for telling him off but in a way that was constructive, allowed Terushima to see things from her point of view and forgave him when he made a conscious effort to better himself.

Kuroo still wasn’t a huge fan of Terushima’s but he couldn’t hold it against the kid forever when clearly no malice or ill intent was meant by it.  But he still watched Terushima, making sure the other man didn’t slip back into bad habits.  If Kuroo had to talk to him he wouldn’t be nearly as nice as Yachi was.

The sound of a motorcycle coming closer had most heads swiveling around to see who it was.  It was a closed set, which meant whoever was driving up had the credentials to be there but Kuroo didn’t remember anyone riding a motorcycle to set before.

“Was that a motorcycle?  Is Daichi here?”  Tanaka popped up from seemingly nowhere, head swivelling around after the motorcycle had cut off.  Moments later a broad figure walked into the large warehouse where they were housing several sets for the movie they were working on.  The man was wearing a black helmet, the visor tinted so nothing could be seen inside, along with a black leather jacket, dark washed jeans, and old brown boots finished the look.  “Daichi!”  Tanaka did a running leap and the man must have been used to it because he braced one leg slightly behind him before catching Tanaka, making it look easy even though Tanaka was tall and muscular.

“Oh, excuse me!”  Yachi dipped her head in a quick bow before walking over to the stranger and Tanaka.  The man released Tanaka, who hopped to his feet and immediately made room for Yachi.  The man removed his helmet, revealing a would-be plain looking, tanned face.  What could have been plain features were made striking but a large and genuine smile that made his eyes crinkle and a dimple appear in his left cheek.  “It is so good to see you.”  Yachi said with genuine enthusiasm as she took the helmet despite the mans protests.

“Ennoshita is back here.”  Tanaka lead them both away, where Ennoshita had walked off with a few of the lighting people to find something that wasn’t as harsh as the ones they were using now that washed out too much color from the set and actors.

“What do you know?”  Oikawa asked and Kuroo turned to see him addressing a grinning Terushima.

“So much but information isn’t free.”  Terushima turned to his make up kit, reorganizing it.  Oikawa narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want?”  Oikawa asked, voice wary.

“You know what I want.”  Terushima threw another grin over his way.  Kuroo watched with amusement, propping his chin onto a closed fist as he looked at Oikawa, wondering what his response would be.

“I’ll figure it out on my own eventually.”  Oikawa scoffed, adjusting his yukata with practiced hands, a fake air of nonchalance that even Terushima could see through.  Terushima went back to organizing his kit while Oikawa stared holes in the ground.  “Okay!  One instagram picture but I get to choose what we do and how we look.”  Terushima let out an excited shout and they shook on it.  Poor Terushima had no idea what he was getting into, Kuroo had once witnessed Oikawa take no less than a hundred pictures in four different locations before declaring all of them ugly.

“His name is Sawamura Daichi,” Terushima revealed as Oikawa brought out his phone.  Kuroo stood up, placing his script on his chair before hovering over Oikawa’s shoulder to see what he could dig up.  “He’s a stuntman who has worked all over Asia but the past couple years he’s been in a long term contract with a pretty big company in America coordinating a series of superhero movies.  He’s also a senior member of the film club Ennoshita, Tanaka, and Yachi were in.”  Kuroo read the long list of films that Sawamura had not only coordinated all the stunts but was an extra in too.  He had won awards and there were pictures shared by A-List celebrities all around the world crowing his greatness.  Sawamura Daichi’s instagram was a mixture of various stunts, gym pictures, and a plethora of furry creatures.

Before they could dig any deeper Ennoshita walked out and called for everyone to gather.  He introduced their newest cast member, Sawamura who gave a good natured grin and bowed before asking them to take care of him.  Kuroo tried not to think of pictures of revealing tank tops, flexing muscles, or a smiling face as a cat butt his head up against Sawamura’s chin.

Kuroo tried not to think about those things and failed miserably in doing so.

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

Kuroo finds he loves doing scenes with Oikawa.  Oikawa real personality is a bit too much for Kuroo, too much intensity, too much scrutiny, too much pride but all that focused into his character provides the perfect sounding board for Kuroo’s own acting abilities.  There’s no bend or give in Oikawa but he does find the perfect way to balance and blend with whoever he’s sharing screen time with.  He makes Kuroo better and Kuroo’s humble enough to admit that.

Real Oikawa though is a bit childish and gets jealous easily, it’s almost laughable how easy Kuroo finds it to provoke the other male and he knows that’s not always a good thing.  Acting is an odd job to have, it’s difficult to find boundaries when those get blurred so often in their field.  It’s why all of Kuroo’s closet friends aren’t in the same business, he needs people to ground him, to feel comfortable just being himself and not being on all the time.

Oikawa wants to work out all of Kuroo’s secrets.  Kuroo doesn’t think Oikawa wants to do anything unsavory like post them on twitter or sell them to a trashy tabloid magazine but it’s still unnerving to be the center of that high intensity focus.  Kuroo enjoys his privacy, he likes where he is in life, likes the acting roles he takes and his small niche of loyal fans.  He doesn’t want more fame and he already makes a comfortable living wage, all of that confuses Oikawa who is always aiming for a high goal, he can’t understand people who are just content with what they have.

Kuroo had been Oikawa’s focus for a while, until Sawamura Daichi came along and stole the spotlight.  Kuroo couldn’t say he was sad to see it go, but he pitied the other man.  Oikawa couldn’t believe that Sawamura was as wholesome and stalwart as he appeared to be, but with each passing day he just proved himself to be a good old country boy.  A country boy with thighs that could crush a watermelon and a smile that made angels cry, but Kuroo was beginning to think that was a more him thing than anyone else.

Kuroo shoved those feelings deep down inside him because godforbid Oikawa discovered Kuroo’s little parttime crush and weakness for men with deep voices and soft eyes.

It was several days after Sawamura’s initial introduction that Kuroo found the other man in a slightly compromising position.  Kuroo had been walking around the set, generally staying out of people's way and avoiding Oikawa who wanted to go out for drinks afterwards and get to know each other, as if Kuroo was born yesterday.  His headphones were pulled over his eyes, he had a penchant for American blues and alternative rock, when he spotted Sawamura sitting amongst racks of clothes and discarded props.  His back was ramrod straight, his knee bouncing with anxious energy and there was a deep frown on his usually smiling face.

Kuroo would usually never pass up the opportunity to tease someone, especially when Sawamura was oh so teasable, but the slightly battered and crinkled script in Sawamura’s white knuckled grip made him think it through more.  Sawamura was a stuntman whose career was boiled down to Thug Number 2 and Attacker Number 4.  It must be nerve wrecking being thrust into a speaking role, expected to carry part of the plot on his, admittedly nice, shoulders.  The rest of them had time to study the script, to talk things over with Ennoshita, and slowly slide into their roles.

“Having trouble Sawamura?”  Kuroo asked, purposefully dragging out the syllables of Sawamura’s name.  He had really meant to offer help but something about the other man brought out the teenager in Kuroo.  Sawamura looked up, his leg stopped moving and he looked like he was about to give false assurances but then he sighed.

“I’m not an actor.”  Sawamura admitted.  Kuroo put his headphones around his neck, letting the tones of Muddy Waters continue on as he sat in front of Sawamura.

“Ennoshita isn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t have asked you to fill this role if he didn’t have confidence in your abilities to pull it off.”  Kuroo held his hand out for the script and Sawamura handed it over.  Kuroo looked at the first couple lines, knew the familiar scene and couldn’t help but grin up at Sawamura.  “Is it the lines giving you troubles or the fact that you have to say it to a man?”  Kuroo knew he wasn’t being particularly fair, but he had gone most of his career with people asking him frankly bigoted and homophobic questions.  He could work with Sawamura if he was either of those things, but it was best to know it now so Kuroo could swallow down his anger and if he was being honest with himself, disappointment too.

“Ennoshita made me aware of the role I would be playing.”  Sawamura seemed to pull back on his own frustration.  “Men or women, I don’t really care but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve never had to do any of those type of scenes before.  The most I’ve had to do is yell things like ‘Get him’, and yeah I’ve gotten very good at being punched but this is-” Sawamura made an aborted motion with his hand but Kuroo still understood.  It was about some heavy emotions, it was a relationship that had to be believable otherwise it would create a disconnect with the audience.

“Okay, tell me what you know about the character.”  Kuroo asked.  “Who is the actor here?  You did ask for my help after all so trust the process.”

“I don’t think I asked for your help at all.”  Sawamura grumbled but he straightened up.  “He’s a bodyguard to the daimyo, a trained samurai in a time where samurai’s are coming to an end.  He has no living family, his only purpose in life is to protect.”

“And his relationship with the daimyo?”  Kuroo asked.

“He loves him but he thinks of himself as lesser, unworthy of that type of love but it doesn’t matter to him because all he wants to do is be by his side.”  Sawamura’s cheeks are a little pink and Kuroo finds it adorable but he forces himself to concentrate.  “He’ll never make the first move because that would be stepping outside the boundaries he’s created, he would think it’d be disrespectful.  He loves the daimyo he protects and would give up his life for him without question.”  Kuroo had to clear his throat twice before he could speak again.

“Well you’ve got the characterization down.”  Kuroo handed the script back.  “So let's see how your acting abilities are.”

They run through lines together.  Sawamura isn’t bad but he wouldn’t be winning awards anytime soon.  There’s a certain stiffness to his deliveries, which actually works quite well with the respectful and rule abiding samurai he’s playing, but there’s a hesitancy there that someone who spent their entire life preparing for their role in society wouldn’t have.  Kuroo knows it’s nerves and he knows it’s because Sawamura won’t take his eyes off the script, concentrating too hard on getting the wording exactly right to put real emotion behind it.

“You need to get off script.”  Kuroo said after his name had been called.  He stood up and stretched out his long body.  There were people who did better with things like tele prompts but it was clear despite Sawamura’s staple of society looks, he was a bit of a wild card and needed to have the freedom to put a bit of himself into the character.  “Ennoshita told us at our first reading that the words weren’t as important as long as-”

“The emotion behind them was conveyed.”  Sawamura grinned ruefully down at his script.  A brilliant idea came to Kuroo that would allow him to sneak out of drinks with Oikawa while getting to know Sawamura better.

“Do you want to go over lines after filming?”  Sawamura looked up, surprise written on his face.

“I’m learning the stunts from Tanaka after but if you don’t mind sticking around?”  Sawamura asked, a hesitant smile on his face.  Oh no, Kuroo thought as he nodded without a second thought, he was definitely in trouble.

#kurodaiweekend #kurodai #sawamura daichi #kuroo tetsurou #haikyuu!! #my writing #haikyuu

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Breaking Free

Summary: Your whole life had led up to this point, marrying Prince Minhyun had been every girl’s dream. Except yours.

Pairing: Hwang Minhyun x reader

Genre: Royal AU, angst, romance, fluff

Warnings: unhappiness within arranged marriage

Word count: 4416 

You stared into the mirror in front of you, wearing the finest gown you had ever put on. Lush fabric adorned with jewels and intricate embroidery floated around you and you felt exactly like a princess.

A princess.

An audible sigh left and deflated your chest, your best friend Anne coming up to your side. “What’s wrong? I thought you really liked the dress!”

“I do,” you started, your hands gently running over the large skirt and you admired it again in the mirror, despite the sadness within your eyes. “But I didn’t want this either.”

“Oh Y/N, don’t be silly, isn’t it every girl’s dream to grow up and marry a prince?”

Not mine.

Your family had been delighted when two months ago your name had been chosen as the suitable bride for Prince Minhyun. It had been a dream come true for all those around you, after decades of loyal, endless support to the royal family, you were the first descendant to finally propel your family forward.

Any girl would be excited to get this opportunity. But you weren’t.

Ever since you were born into this world, you had been prepped for this moment in time. But you had dreamed of another lifestyle, where you chose the boy you would marry, and further, it would be out of love.

This was far from that fantasy.

It wasn’t that Minhyun was a bad match. From the very small amount of time you had been in his company, he seemed polite and kind. But this wasn’t enough for you to build anything on before accepting marriage. Even with his handsome appearance, good credentials within education, leisure activities and socially, you were unsure if you would have even chosen him to date.

But you didn’t have a choice anyway.

This thought alone darkened your mood and a single tear slipped down your perfectly made complexion at the thought of what was to come.

Today you would be married.

It felt as if it were a blur, the ceremony had been over two hours long, but you were sure you simply blinked and it was over, moving onto an intimate luncheon served by the King and Queen, before another reception holding further guests.

Night time had cascaded down and although you stood at the side of your new husband, you had said less than five words to him since leaving the chapel. It was exhausting, greeting guests, entertaining them, standing for so long in your heels. Although you had been allowed to change into another gown for the reception, you were still unable to feel comfortable, though you wondered if that was down to the situation and not what your body was wearing.

You had taken glances at Minhyun several times throughout the night; his smile never seemed to become jaded. You wondered how he could still appear so genuine, when you were sure everyone would be able to tell neither of you were a true couple. You felt like you were an actress in a lavish show, your smile coming out as part of the role. You stood close but not as close as lovers would, and affection was lost on you both. All the same, well wishes and “you both look like a match made from above” were constantly hitting your ears throughout the evening.

Mocking you.

You had no appetite for dinner and yet you still sat and played out your part, raising your champagne flute for several toasts, laughing at the dry jokes by the jolly cousin of the queen across the table, and answering questions from family relatives that you had practiced as if lines in a play for the past month.

Eventually the appropriate time for you both to leave for your new home within the palace grounds arrived, and you hugged your parents goodbye, a sudden ache growing in your chest as you departed from their sides. The show was over now, and real life was settling in, the grief you felt from now being a daughter to another family hitting you in that moment.

“Let’s go.” The voice near your ear was deep and quiet, causing you to flinch. You glanced up at the tall boy, his hand rising in a wave to those behind you as he gently guided you into his car.

Once enclosed, the atmosphere was thick with distance. The smile had faded completely from Minhyun’s face, and instead his eyes were steely, the only emotion that you could read upon his face. The purr of the classic jaguar and the crunch of the gravel under the tyres were the only sounds for the short drive to your new home. It made you awkward, not knowing how to act around him.

Before when you were both fulfilling your roles, you knew what was expected of you. Now you were not so sure. Should you talk to him? Ask him about himself? What the rules of your new home would be? Of your own chambers? So many questions were rushing around inside you, and yet the aloof demeanour of Minhyun had you hesitating.

The car rolled to a stop and Minhyun hopped out of it, not even glancing back to see if you were following him inside. Dejected, you pulled yourself out of the car and stared up at the manor that would now become the setting for your impending loneliness.

A month went by and you had no time to become accustomed to your life at the castle grounds. It was still quite the upheaval, with no real sign of settling soon. Each day was a bustle, new outfits, new appointments, more interviews. You had spoken so much of your family and marriage that you no longer had to rehearse anything, it was second nature.

It was at night time though that you struggled.

Minhyun was obviously used to his own company, and routine. After dinner he would retire to his study for several hours, and then at precisely ten each night, he would come to find you. At first when he had appeared, you had been hopeful of some kind of bonding to begin.

“Goodnight,” he swiftly greeted, walking back out and leaving you sitting there, perplexed.

Now you were used to smiling lightly and repeating the same word, heading into your own bedroom not long after.

This wasn’t the marriage you had dreamed for.

“So what’s he like?!” Anne leaned forward in the plush armchair in the parlour room, bringing you out of your thoughts. You blinked and noted her eagerness. “He’s so freaking handsome!”

“Looks might be all he has,” you replied with a sigh, glancing out the window and finding the subject of your topic in the yard, talking to one of the gardeners. “I’m not sure what he’s really like.”

“What do you mean?”

“We barely speak, unless we are in an appointment where it’s expected of us. There’s nothing to enjoy about living here with him. He’s cold, and hard to read.”

Anne stared outside at the Prince and then looked back at you. “Really? But he’s so kind and forthcoming to everyone else.”

You nodded, feeling a hint of jealousy at the natural way he was interacting with the old man outdoors. Even though you hadn’t wanted to marry him, you had hoped to somehow make the best of your situation. Your resolve was slowly breaking though, and watching what you wanted occurring around you was difficult to bear.

“Maybe you should start proactively make his life more interesting?” Anne suggested, a sly smile crossing her lips.

You were intrigued, leaning forward to hear of her idea.

“You are simply beautiful, you’re glowing, Y/N!”

You smiled politely, bowing your head a little in gratitude at the woman. “Thank you, Senator Blight.”

“Together you look like such a powerful couple; you will truly bring a new element to the royal family with your youth and modern mindsets.”

Minhyun glanced down at you with his wide smile and then grabbed at the hand of the older woman in front of you. “It’s an honour to be able to have you and your husband attend our dinner tonight.”

“When will you make the announcement?” she asked and you looked at her with a hint of confusion. She laughed and placed a hand over top of Minhyun’s. “Oh we all know she cannot be glowing simply because!”

“Actually I can be,” you blurted out, stunned at her assumption. “Make up artists are extremely talented.”

Minhyun and the woman stared at you for a moment and you continued to smile, whilst inside you raged. You were unsure why it affected you so much, when your marriage hadn’t even been your choice. All the same, the insinuation of you being pregnant made you extremely frustrated; you hadn’t so much as kissed your husband yet.

Senator Blight clapped her hands together in a forced laugh and Minhyun awkwardly chuckled with her. “You are too funny, Princess. I cannot wait until you announce it though, until then I will make sure not to say anything funny.”

“To announce anything, wouldn’t-”

A hand covered your mouth then, Minhyun laughing loudly. “She’s nervous.”

“Oh but of course, I’ll see you inside then.”

Once she was gone, you wrestled out of his grip, glaring up at him. “What? I was telling the truth!”

“You have to remember your place here, Y/N,” he warned, his eyes darting around you at all the guests. “Rumours are easily started.”

“It isn’t a rumour if it’s a fact. We have no reason at all for me to be suggested as glowing. Surely she knows what highlighter is, she was wearing enough of it herself!”

He regarded you for a moment, his eyes dark and searching yours. “We can discuss this later.”

“We can actually talk to one another? More than goodnight?” you shot back, and Minhyun’s mouth dropped at your statement. You smiled up at him, albeit with some tension. “Do you actually have words you would even say to me?”

“Not now, Y/N.” He almost growled and you bit your lip, blinking a couple of times. Had you pushed him too hard? He however had no respect for how it made you feel to be in this situation. You pressed on.

“Why not now? Ah, because we’re here to act together, right?”

His eyes were becoming as sharp as daggers.

“Your Highness, Princess, the dinner is now ready to be served.”

Neither of you looked away from each other at the butler’s announcement, and for a moment you could see Minhyun wrestling with something you had never seen reside in his umber eyes.

And then he turned to the man waiting on you, smiling graciously. “Thank you, shall we?”

His elbow was hooked out for you to grasp onto and you sighed inwardly, slipping your hands around the arm and followed him into the dinner with your smile placed upon your face.

However as the meal progressed, you could tell the tension was still simmering between you both. Minhyun’s attention was on you more than usual, and you wondered if he was monitoring your behaviour. Many times throughout the meal, you had found him staring at you, unwavering. It made you feel anxious, and also a little encouraged to continue frustrating him. You were finally seeing more reaction out of him than you had known so far into your marriage. Even if you were uncomfortable, it was worth it. The distance was becoming too much for you.

“Y/N?” You blinked rapidly, only realising you had been ignoring the older man beside you. As you turned to look at him, you noticed the sly smile briefly cross Minhyun’s lips over the table from you. It threw you off. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes,” you managed, smiling at him and he took your hand gently. You clasped your hands over his. “What were you saying?”

“I asked you what you like about your husband the most,” he mentioned, his deep seated eyes piercing yours. “None of the generic stuff either that I’ve read in your interviews, something real.”

You were stumped; there was nothing you had yet to like about him. Glancing over at the boy, you were surprised to see him gazing back at you, his head tilted to the side ever so slightly, an expectant expression settled on his face. Narrowing your own eyes and scrunching your face up for a fleeting second, you then returned to your conversation.

“What do you think I should like about him?”

He chuckled. “I’m asking for your opinion. Do you like him so much you don’t know where to begin?”

“Uncle, I believe she might not like me at all, fancy that.”

Minhyun’s eyes were now challenging you, his sweet smile sickening you. Smiling back at his relative, you nodded. “There’s very little to like.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But he does have one attribute I can attest for.”

“Which is?”

You sighed, remembering the many occasions you had felt jealousy rear of late. “He treats those who work for and with him with the utmost regard. He listens to their concerns, wisdom and joy and treats them all as people he treasures greatly. It’s admirable.”

Minhyun’s smile faded as the older man chortled. “That’s right; he’s a very soft person at heart. You have paid attention to him well. I’m relieved. I was worried there would be no love between you both since neither of you appeared to want this marriage initially.”

You were acutely aware of the eyes fixated on you, but you chose to avoid them, swallowing roughly and then smiling at the old man again. “Time will tell.”

“Dear Princess,” the man then pulled you closer, words only for you to hear. “He’s a hard person to grow accustomed to, I know. But trust in this, he is very much so interested in you.”

He moved back then with a knowing smile, and you shook your head immediately. “I believe you’re wrong.”

You were pulled closer again and the words he uttered this time shocked you to the core. “It wasn’t the King who chose you but Minhyun. He was adamant it had to be you.”

The party was over and your head hurt, the constant buzzing of thoughts since gaining knowledge from Minhyun’s Uncle giving you a headache. You barely were aware of climbing into the car to go back to the manor, hands fumbling over you to place your seat belt on. You only realised this after the fact and suddenly pressed yourself into the leather upholstery, eyes wide with shock.

“What has made you like this?” Minhyun asked quietly as he started the car up, and you merely stared out your window.

Why had he chosen you? It wasn’t as if he knew you well enough to be so certain you were the right pick. Thinking on the four other girls you knew that had potential to be in your spot, all were more beautiful, successful and powerful.

Had he chosen you because you were the plainest of the bunch? Or more importantly, because you wouldn’t be someone to threaten the balance of control within your household? You were known to be pleasing to all around you, your inner thoughts being held in; even if you disagreed, you were trained to be compliant. Except for tonight, you had never challenged anything in public before. Your hands clenched up as you realised how quickly you had become a choice because of living trapped as a marionette doll, and now Minhyun held your strings.

“Stop the car.”

“What?” Minhyun glanced over at you and then back at the gravel track. “We’re almost there.”

“I don’t care, stop it.” He obliged, and as soon as it was stationary, you threw the belt off of you, ripping the door open and taking off into the field adjacent to the car. Stopping momentarily, you removed your heels and threw them, allowing your sore feet to embrace the soft grass as you ran as fast as you could take yourself.

You heard movement rushing after you, and it only angered you more, coming to a complete stop and turning to face Minhyun, the taller boy rocking back on his heels to prevent crashing into you. He panted once and ran a hand through his dark hair. “What on earth was that?!”

“Why did you have to choose me?!” Your hands were balled at your sides and your chest rose and fell with the exertion of running and your emotions. “Why did you have to ruin my life?!”

His eyes were wide, and for the first time since you’d met him, he looked crestfallen by your accusation. You glared at him, searching for a reason for this situation. Finally he seemed to be able to breathe again. “I ruined your life?”

“I never wanted to marry you, not once!” Heaving in a deep breath, you pointed at his chest, Minhyun flinching at your touch. “But since I did, I thought I would make the best of it. Surely we could at least find companionship in time. Instead you barely acknowledge my existence. I’m sick of playing the role of the perfect Princess and wife. I’m done!”

You spun around and stalked off again, the moon lighting your path through the grass. He stopped you though, moving so fast in front of you that you almost tripped over and fell onto him. Minhyun held you up, but you snapped away from his grip, shaking your head. “Don’t touch me!”

“Should I have let you fall then?”

“Maybe! Then we’d be on the right playing field with each other. You don’t care about this relationship at all!”

“And you do?” he challenged, his mood darkening like it had earlier. He was exasperated, shaking his hand in your direction. “Have you ever once thought of what I wanted?”

“No!”

“Exactly.” He scoffed loudly, and you bit your lip. “Don’t point the fing-”

“Because you’ve not given me a single chance to even know what you want, Your Highness.”

“Don’t speak to me like that,” he growled, stepping closer. “Don’t place me higher than you.”

“Aren’t you though? Didn’t you pick me because I would be the person to keep out of your affairs? The type of wife who was well trained for this role, and would just comply with all my marital duties, with no opposition?”

He laughed bitterly. “Is this what you call no opposition?!”

“No, this is the real me. The one who is screaming at you to regard me as… as-”

“As what?” he asked, moving even closer to you. The intimate proximity and your heightened emotions were playing tricks on your mind, and you watched as he pursed his lips together, his eyes glued to yours. “What do you want to be to me?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar.” He covered the remaining space between you, his shallow breathing hitting your face as you looked up at him. “Tell the truth, you were so ready to at dinner.”

“Why did you pick me, Minhyun?”

He stared at you for what felt like an eternal moment, and then a quick smile crossed his lips. “Because I like you.”

His words knocked the breath out of you, but your brow furrowed, and you came back to your senses. “Don’t lie, yourself. If you liked me, wouldn’t you pay more attention to me?”

“All I do is pay attention to you, Y/N. You just don’t seem to recognise it at all.”

“We barely speak!” You shook your head, not believing anything he was saying. His features had softened though, embarrassment evident in his eyes. “How would you like someone you don’t even know?”

“I related to you,” he said, gently shifting a tendril of your hair away from your face. You were surprised, you hadn’t even realised your hair had been there. “The others all knew what they wanted, why they were pursuing me with advances that I didn’t ask for. You simply completed what was asked of you, respecting the others and my family. You appeared sincere, but really, you looked frustrated, wanting nothing more than to break free.”

You nodded slowly, he had been more observant that you expected.

“My whole life, I never wanted anything that I’ve done. Do I look like I even would enjoy tennis? Yet, I trained to the point that I hated that court more than anything else. Why? Because it was expected of me.”

“Because your parents wanted you to,” you surmised and he nodded.

“My parents didn’t want to choose you,” he admitted and he smiled, taking off his blazer and then sitting down. He laid the garment out beside him and looked up at you and then at the jacket. For some reason you accepted his offer, thankful for getting off your sore feet. You glanced down at them and realised how painful they looked.

“Why did you then?”

Minhyun’s smile grew. “Because I thought if I chose you, we could be free.”

“This is your definition of free?” you reproached, shaking your head.

“Our parents will always expect things of us. But between us, couldn’t we expect nothing like that? You could do whatever you want to. I’ll support it.”

“Why would you do that for me?”

“Because I like you,” he repeated, looking ahead. “Because I understood your cry for help back then. If you didn’t marry me, wouldn’t you be auctioned off to the next family in line? Like me, you never had a choice to marry for love in your cards, right?”

“Mm.” You sighed, pulling your legs up around yourself and resting your head on your knees. You were growing tired now that the anger was seeping out of you. “Why didn’t you just talk to me, get to know me, spend more time with me, if you liked me though?”

Minhyun didn’t answer right away, and you glanced over at him then, his eyes staring off into the distance. He took a deep breath and then turned to look at you. “Because I liked you too much.”

“That makes no sense,” you laughed but he grew thoughtful.

“I didn’t want to say anything that would make you uncomfortable, or make you angry with your situation anymore than you had been. And I was worried, always.”

“Why?”

“That I wouldn’t be enough for you. That you would end up hating me because you never chose me.”

Your eyes fell down to your knees, shocked by his vulnerability. And then you looked at his own lap, his hand clenching and then loosening off against his pants. You reached over without much thought, slipping your fingers inside his palm and holding his hand, feeling it settle against yours. Looking up, you were surprised by how close his face now appeared, and took a shaky breath. It was enough for the prince to lean over and kiss you gently, hesitantly.

Emotion came from someplace you never knew existed within you, and you closed your eyes, kissing him back. Your free hands both moved to each other, yours to his neck, slipping around to support yourself on him, and Minhyun’s to your waist, drawing you in closer as your embrace deepened. An urgency between you grew, and soon you were both breathless, your lips separating only for a deep breath before you let go of his hand, slinging your other arm around his neck, Minhyun gently laying you down beside him, your kiss not breaking at all.

And then he finally pulled away, your eyes attached to his now swollen lips. He glanced around you both and laughed. “Imagine if we were caught out here like this. How impractical of us.”

“You just kissed me like that, and then that’s all you can think to say?” you asked, your arms untangling from around his neck. He stopped you from moving away and you looked up at him.

“I didn’t say it because I didn’t like it.”

“Then why did you stop?” You reached to touch his face tenderly. “I’m worried that when the sun rises tomorrow, you’ll be back to your old self.”

He shook his head, turning to kiss your hand gently. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.”

“So why did you stop?” you repeated, and he scooped you back in his arms, feeling like a completely different person. Minhyun wasn’t cold at all like you knew him to be; in fact his warmth was the only thing keeping you from shivering in your slip dress.

“I left the car running,” he admitted sheepishly, and you both laughed, getting up to your feet.

“Couldn’t you just let the battery die?”

He leaned down to place a chaste kiss on your lips and then smiled. “Let’s go home. Let’s do all the things we’ve wanted to all this time.”

“I’m sure it’s past ten now,” you teased and nudged him playfully. “Isn’t that when you need to retreat to your bedroom?”

“What do you think of making it our bedroom?” he asked, his eyes diverting away from yours after a quick glance to see your reaction. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Only if you want to that is, after all I did ruin your life, as you said.”

“You did,” you agreed readily and the taller boy snapped his eyes back to yours. You smirked. “But I think you might have a way of making my life better now too.”

You stretched up to kiss him briefly again before running off, Minhyun chasing you all the way back to the car. As he sped down the drive and you both jumped out of the car, you laughed earnestly, feeling like the field had been a place where you both left your burdens behind. You hadn’t felt this free before.

Opening the door to the manor, the mood changed again, Minhyun’s hand slipping into yours and leading you up the staircase, his eyes constantly soaking you in. He then let your hand go, moving over to his bedroom door and opening it. Standing there, he tilted his head to the side and waited.

It didn’t take you long to rush towards him, your lips entangled in each other as you moved over the threshold and into your new relationship with your husband.

Minhyun hadn’t ruined your life after all. He had opened a new world for you instead.

And you couldn’t wait to experience all of it with him.

_________________

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[sleepywinchester]

Behind The Story S2 | Pt. 9

Summary: They say things never go as planned and oh were they right. When you are giving a second chance in life, you’re only just begun to live. A baby girl came to the world but it doesn’t mean their road is over yet. The story about their relationship and family while shooting Supernatural and attending Conventions continues…

Author: sleepywinchester {prev; deanwinchester-af}

Characters: Jensen, Reader, Jared and Cast Cameos.

Pairings: Single!Jensen x Actress!Reader (Nina Dobrev = Faceclaim)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: Fluff. Name Calling. Weight Shaming.

Disclaimer: NO HATE TOWARDS DANNEEL!

Title: Loyalty.

Note: Hope you guys like this one!!! Feedback is always appreciated it.

Masterlist 

It was the last filming day of the season, you might haven’t said it out loud but you were very glad hiatus was already here. This wasn’t going to be like any other hiatus. This summer you were getting married to your soulmate. You and Jensen decided it was best to have the wedding in the summer, it was more convenient for you guys and the guests.

“Y/N?” A familiar female voice broke you apart from your thoughts.

Turning around you saw Leyla, your stunt double. “Hey, Leyla,” you said.

She smiled back, “Are you ready to rehearse your last stunt of the season?”

“Hell yes,” you flashed a grin and got in position.

Since Leyla was hired, you’ve been rehearsing stunts sequences with her before doing it with anyone else. She was highly trained and you trusted her completely. The last scene you’re going to shoot for this season is with the new actress, Claudia. The script saying her characters and yours finally meet eye to eye in the season’s finale and have one hell of a fight. You would be lying if you weren’t glad you got to fight sequence with the woman.

After the conversation, you had with her past this week, she’s been keeping her distance from you and Jensen. When he asked you, what happened and you told him, Jensen was slightly surprised yet proud of the answer you gave back. You’ve never acted extremely jealous or said things like that to another female actress, yet again, you’ve never had to. Every woman that comes to set and must do intimate scenes with him or just any woman in real life, they’ve always showed you respect.

“Ready?” Leyla breathed out.

 You smirked, “I’m always ready.” 

“Action!”

With Bob’s shout, you shifted into character and glared at Claudia.

“Let me guess,” you spoke channeling Katherine’s confidence. “You were bored?”

Claudia grinned devilish, “Oh. I do better things when I get bored.”

Your eyes squinted dully, gripping tighter to Kat’s knife. Her character was annoying and the way she portrayed her was even more annoying. In fact, you weren’t sure why the writers wrote her in the first place.

“What do you want?” You growled.

Claudia took a step closer, “I want it all.”

It was that moment when she threw her first punch and you skipped it by dropping your head backwards. The fight sequence had begun and you were so ready for it. The stunt coordinator told you that after her punch, Katherine would attempt to kick her in the stomach but Ava would have caught it and punch you in the face. Claudia did as the script was told and you followed the choreographed dance.

Now, Claudia had you pinned against her body with a key, both still standing up. You loved sequences like this because it gave you the opportunity to make Katherine’s signature and most badass move. Grabbing her hand and undoing her key, you turned and climbed up to her shoulders. You could hear Bob’s mouthing ‘Easy’ at your athletic and lethal moves. With a smirk, you pushed Claudia of her feet, making the both of you go straight to the floor.

“Cut!” Bob yelled from his seat behind the monitors.

You released Claudia at Bob’s call and stood up from the floor. Waiting for Bob to reach to direct what he wanted next, your eyes scouted the surroundings of the set. A smiled appeared across your face when you found Jensen standing up from his small bike, watching you work from the distance. When both eyes met, Jensen winked.

“Great stunt girls,” Bob spoke and looked at you. “Now, all I need is the ‘Go to hell’ line followed by the knife and that’s it.”

“You got it, boss.” You clicked your tongue, turning to grab the knife from Max, one of the guys from prop’s departments. “Thanks.” You mumbled as he handled you the knife.

“Um, Bob?” Claudia spoke, “Can I ask a question?”

“Sure,” Bob said.

Claudia stood near him, “Can I improvise? I’ve been thinking it would be great for my character to say, ‘I’m here to stay, Princess’. Since nobody knows what’s happening next…?”

You turned around to roll your eyes. She just got here and she’s already asking for the green light to improvise? Who the hell does she think she is?

“Nice,” Bob said. “Let’s try that.”

“Great,” you muttered and looked at Bob. “She doesn’t die when I knife her?” You asked with a perked-up brow.

“Nope,” Bob replies, “She’s here to stay.”

You faked a smile and turned to get in position. “What a shame.” You muttered under your breath. “Let’s get this done then,” you spoke watching Claudia get distracted by her phone, “I have shit to do.”

“Sure,” Claudia spoke with an arrogant and smug smile, “nursing babies and stuff.”

Her tone was arrogant and with a spice of mocking. Was she mocking you for being a mother? If the cameras weren’t rolling, you would have said something back but it wasn’t the time or the place to speak your mind.

Instead you opted for ignoring her comment and got into character and in position. She laid on the floor below you, while you had her grabbed by the neck.  

“Action!” Bob shouted.

“Go to hell, bitch!” You hissed, shooting daggers at her with your dull look. As you rose the knife, you waited for her to say her line.

Claudia smirked, “I’m here to stay, Princess.”

In that moment, you did the motion of knifing her for the first take. Then Max handled you the fake knife for you to act the sequence. Once again after Bob shouted ‘Action’ you growled and knifed her.

“Cut!” Bob shouted.

You stood up from Claudia’s body.

“Thank God,” she breathed out, “not offense but I think you have to commit more to the gym.” She said under hear breath.

You cocked an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

Claudia glanced at you clueless, “What? I mean, I get it, you had a baby and you’re trying to lose down the baby weight. It shows you’ve lost some but… there’s some of it still roaming around. Y’know what I mean? I can rec a great personal trailer if you want.”

You couldn’t believe the audacity of her words. “Screw you.” You told her before turning back to Bob who was watching the scene.

“Everything okay…?” His eyes were on you, mostly asking if you were okay.

You sighed sharply, “Yeah. Was that good or?”

“To me it was perfect,” Jensen strolled in with Jared by his side.

“Hey boys,” Bob said turning to you. “It was perfect as always, Y/N. Good job, Claudia. See you in July.”

The woman smiled widely yet didn’t left. “I’m so excited for Jus in Bello. Can’t believe I’m actually invited with so little time.”

Jared being the friendly puppy he is, he smiled at her. “We’re glad you’re coming. You’re going to have a blast. Is so fun every year.”

“I bet!” Claudia said, her eyes stopping on Jensen. “Well um,” she shifted her look to Jared,” see you guys in Rome.” She said before leaving.

You rolled your eyes, “I don’t like her… or her character. She’s going to Jus In Bello because I turned it down.”

“Why? She seems nice,” Jared spoke oblivious.

“Yeah. She’s so nice,” you said sarcastically. “She called me fat.”

Jared’s and Jensen’s eyes widen instantly.

“She what?!” Jensen spoke, turning to look down at you.

You sighed and nodded, pulling a hair behind your ear. “Yep.”

“You know that’s bullshit, right?” Jensen caressed your arm. “You’re smoking hot, babe. You know that.”

“Yes. You tell me so almost every day,” you said with a smirk. “Still. What a bitch.”

Jared nodded, “Yeah. She looks so nice though.”

“She isn’t,” you told him. “She saying I need to lose some baby weight isn’t important. What I don’t want is her doing more inappropriate moves while shooting with Jay.”

“It’s the work, Y/N.” Jared said.

You glared at him, “How would you feel a co-worker was putting his tongue inside Gen’s mouth while doing the job?”

Jared pouted, thinking of the possibility, “Yeah. Never mind, I understand.”

“That’s what I thought.” You patted his back, turning to glance at Jensen. “You guys have a scene left?”

“Mhm, I have to go to the trailer though,” he replied.

“I’ll catch you guys later,” Jared said when his cellphone began to ring and walked away.

You walked with Jensen to your trailer, his hand stopping you from strolling inside.

“You know I love you right?” Jensen said. “I’d never hurt you.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

Jensen sighed deeply, “I see the way you’re speaking about what happened… If I could, I would have said something back when I had the chance but we were working and everyone was messing around. I’m sorry for not saying something quicker.” He spoke with a serious tone, staring right into your eyes. “Maybe you think I’d want or do anything like it… I just want you to know, I’d never hurt you, Y/N. I love you too damn much and, I couldn’t stand to lose you over anything or anyone.”

You didn’t know you needed those words to come out of Jensen’s mouth until you heard them. You didn’t know you needed re-assurance until Jensen gave it to you. Jensen was a loyal man who would never do something as low as cheating. You didn’t think of it but it felt like a weight had roll down your shoulders after listening to him.

“I love you,” you said, leaning over to kiss him.

He flashed a quick smile before kissing your lips.

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[drawingsdrawingseverywhere]

Trollhunters Dadswap AU Part 20

So what happens when Bhaltair has the amulet of daylight, Claire knows about the troll living in Jim’s basement, and Heimdrel is sharpening his sword as we speak? This one runs away from canon again from time to time so just enjoy the ride my dudes

We begin our scene on Bhaltair and Heimdrel preparing the bridge once more. Bhaltair activates the gate as Heimdrel scales the side to reach the top of the bridge. Heimdrel raises the amulet for the changelings to see, and his mouth curves into a cruel grin.

“The time is upon us,” He growls, “the time for our beloved Queen to return to this realm.”

Bhaltair, giving a salute to The Witch as she stands ready on the other side of the gate, folds his wings over his body and takes a few respectful steps back.

“and to reclaim the world that is rightfully hers,” he muses in agreement.

Heimdrel places The Amulet into its spot on the bridge, and takes his place beside Bhaltair. His eye glances over to the changelings in attendance and he lets out an irritated snort.

“One is not here for the ceremony.”

Bhaltair’s eyes narrow in thought and he lets out a quiet hum. He turns his head towards the goblin horde waiting their commands.

“You.” one goblin makes a confused face and points to himself. “yes you. Bring Enriqus to me. One so loyal to our cause should be in attendance.”

Just as the goblin scurries out, the bridge completely activates and it would seem for a moment that the gateway is fully open. Both Champions bow their heads in respect when suddenly something goes wrong. The floor heaves and shakes as the museum is shook to its core by the bridge beginning to collapse. Bhaltair and Heimdrel both look up in shock, and while Bhaltair quickly takes flight and scales the bridge Heimdrel pounces forward towards the failing gate.

“My queen!”

Heimdrel dares to try to reach through while Bhaltair tries to pry the amulet out of the bridge. The Witch tries to reach through as well but cannot make it past the barrier when The Jailer is finally able to force it from it’s place in the stone.  By removing the amulet, even the gateway they had opened collapsed. The Witch lets out a furious shriek as the gate shatters. Bhaltair is thrown off the edge by the Amulet magically forcing itself away from the bridge, and he is sent rolling away as Heimdrel continues to stand before the closed gate, hand still outstretched as if he could suddenly reach in and pull The Witch out.

Bhaltair runs a hand over his lip to check and see if he was bleeding before sitting up and looking over the Amulet. The words across the silver metal begin to shift and change, before finally settling and making the message loud and clear.

“For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is His to command?!”

Heimdrel looks over his shoulder, broken from his trance. He says not a word as Bhaltair rises, the hand holding the amulet trembling with anger. 

As this goes on, NotEnrique is sleeping happily in bed when he hears a noise. He opens his eyes and sits up to look around as a baby would before shifting the second he knows he’s alone. He is about to rise and grab something to use as a weapon when he looks up to see the Goblin on the ceiling.

“oh!” He nervously takes a step back and gulps when the Goblin lands in the crib. “wh-what brings you ‘ere this time of night? Don’t you know it’s past me bedtime?”

The goblin speaks as a goblin would.

“... you know I got no idea what you just said.”

The Goblin comes closer, angrier now, and speaks again.

“OH! Oh you mean to tell me that Bhaltair wants ta see me? Well why didn’t you say so?” As he’s talking, NotEnrique is also subtly reaching for the spare rattle in the crib. “oh yeah sure sure. Let me just pack a few of my things and I’ll be right on-”

NotEnrique swings, hitting the beast square in the jaw before leaping on to the wall and trying to scurry away. Goblin close behind, he takes a risk and climbs out the window and into Claire’s room. He hides up on a shelf and holds his breath. As the Goblin climbs in, NotEnrique uses all his strength to push the random knick-knacks off of the shelf. The Goblin dodges, but it is a distraction big enough for the changeling to pounce off of the shelf and tackle him. The pair scramble around the room for a time before the Goblin is suddenly crushed beneath a heavy book.

NotEnrique is frozen for a moment, knowing what happens when you kill a goblin, but quickly makes his escape out of the window when he hears more approaching. The goblins scurry into the room and look around when they spot the remains of their own squished beneath the book. Furious they begin to search the room, spotting a picture of Claire on her dresser.

It does not take long for the goblins to return to the museum in a swarm. Heimdrel is quietly placing the loose stones of the bridge back into place when they enter. Bhaltair scoffs in disgust.

“he’s gone Rogue.”

There is a cold hiss as Heimdrel runs his sword prosthetic across his arm. Bhaltair ignores it and turns to Mr. Takato.

“It would seem our little party is missing a few guests. Bring them to me. All of them.”

Mr. Takato nervously looks at Heimdrel before nodding and bowing to Bhaltair. He is about to turn to leave when Heimdrel turns and is quickly at the curator’s side. Bhaltair seems unaffected by the outburst.

Heimdrel lightly grazes Mr. Takato’s neck with his sword- freezing him in his tracks and giving The Executioner his full attention.

“No. You will find the rogue. The boy is mine.”

Jim and Toby are pacing quietly outside of the Heartstone anxiously. Everything they had training AAARRRGGHH!!! for was suddenly hanging on a thread. It made sense to not have them in the room while Vendel spoke to the troll, so he couldn’t cheat even accidentally, but it was still very nerve wracking to think Vendel may still not think their friend could be trusted.

“They’ve been in there for some time”

“yeah... You think he’s doing ok?”

“I’m sure he is, Tobes, I mean.... Angor Rot is there too so I’m sure everything is fine.”

“can’t help but be worried... what if Vendel kicks him out and this Jailer guy he’s so afraid of shows up???”

Toby is obviously getting more and more stressed and nervous. Jim stops his pacing and puts his hand on Toby’s shoulder to comfort him.

“Hey! You know if that happened you know you and I would be there to help him! If Bhaltair wants to get his hands on AAARRRGGHH!!! he’s going to have to go through us!”

“That wont be necessary.”

Jim and Toby both spin towards the voice of Vendel to see him, AAARRRGGHH!!! and Angor Rot standing at the entrance of the Heartstone.

“It will take some time to get him settled into society, but your friend here has shown every sign of free will required. I have removed his mark, and he is now free to live within Trollmarket.”

Jim starts to thank him when Vendel raises his hand.

“However,” he begins forcefully, “It has been brought to my attention that your little changeling ‘friend’... NotEnrique was it? Nearly cost the lives of not one, but three trolls. I would suggest keeping closer watch of your so called ‘friends,’ Trollhunter.”

“y-yeah... I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks again, Vendel."

“do not mention it.”

Jim almost continues when Vendel returns back into the Heartstone.

“Ever.”

Jim sighs in defeat. How many times would Vendel brush him off like that? Jim wasn’t able to think of it long however as Toby was more than prepared to celebrate- pulling Jim back into his good mood. As Angor Rot and AAARRRGGHH!!! descend the steps, Jim and Toby run up to meet them. Both humans wrap their arms around the larger troll in a hug.

“You did it, buddy! I’m so proud of you!”

“we knew you could do it!”

celebrations are short lived, however, when Jim is dragged back into reality upon spotting a familiar figure cautiously scurrying about. Jim breaks out of the hug and runs after the tiny troll.

“Jim? Hey Jim, wait up!”

Jim dashes across the market and scoops up the little troll before he’s spotted, and goes into a back alley- holding NotEnrique by his scruff.

“OI WATCH THE-” NotEnrique realizes who it is and literally grabs Jim’s face, “oh thank heavens it’s you! You wouldn’t believe the hole I had to crawl through ta make it in ‘ere! Ya gotta help me, pretty boy!”

“What on earth are you doing here?”

It’s then that the others catch up.

“NO time to explain! I’m up to my teeth in Goblins and I need ya to help clear em out!”

“Wait a sec did he say Goblins?”

“Yes, I said Goblins! There was a whole stew of em after me when I left the house!”

Jim almost drops the changeling.

“You meant to tell me you have Goblins crawling all over Claire’s house?!”

NotEnrique realizes what he just said and nervously laughs. “ehm.... more or less?”

Jim hands NotEnrique over to Toby.

“Toby, get the Rugrat out of here before someone notices him.”

“Wait a sec where are you going?” Toby sits NotEnrique in Angor Rot’s hands- who proceeds to hold him by an ankle.

“It’s bad enough that I keep missing rehearsals, I don’t think Claire’s ever gonna forgive me if I let her be Goblin chow!”

At Claire’s home, we see her curled up on her bed in fear. What was that thing in Jim’s basement? and just how did she get home?!?!?!?! Are there more of those monsters waiting just outside her window???? Claire notices the books knocked about, and.... what was that green stuff under that book?

Claire nearly screams when she suddenly hears a noise outside. She looks to the window to see a pebble hit it. Claire gets up and Jim is standing outside. Claire opens up her window and before she can even ask what’s going on Jim climbs up the house and into her room.

“Jim?! What are you-”

“No time to explain, you have to come with me-”

Jim takes her hand and tries to lead her outside, but she quickly takes her hand back.

“Now you hold on a second, mister! I want some answers and I want them now! Just what was that thing I saw in your basement? And how did I get home? and-”

Jim, upon seeing the goblin goo under the book and realizing they’ve likely targeted her, puts his hands on her shoulders.

“Claire please! You’re in danger! I gotta get you out of here!”

“why?! And I can’t just leave! My parents are downstairs, and you know if my dad sees you up here he’s going to kill you!”

Jim gets a bit frustrated and just blurts out, “they have your brother, Claire! And if I don’t get you out of here your whole family is going to be in danger!”

Claire, upon hearing about her brother, runs from her room across to Enrique’s, and begins to panic when his crib is indeed empty.

“what?” Claire spins back around when Jim catches up to her. “Ok you start talking! Where’s my brother?!”

the house begins to shake slightly. They’re here. Claire takes a step back and Jim takes her hand again.

“I promise to tell you everything if you’ll just come with me!”

Claire is hesitant, but takes his hand. The pair climb back down the house and start to run into the woods when Claire begins to see the Goblins swarm her house. She stalls.

“But what about my parents?!”

“I promise they’ll be fine! It’s not them they’re after!”

Jim and Claire make it deep into the forest until Claire makes him stop.

“Jim stop! I don’t understand anything you’ve been saying!”

Jim tries to get her to run again when, once again, she refuses.

“no! I want answers!”

Jim takes a deep breath.

“OK look, do you really want the truth?”

She nods.

“ok. fine. There is....” he lets out a frustrated huff. “It’s going to sound crazy. But you’ve already seen too much for me to hide it anymore. We’re not the only things out there, Claire. Right now, under our feet, is a whole different world. Trolls, Claire! And those things that are after us? Goblins! They’ve taken your brother and swapped him out with a troll called a changeling, and-”

Jim freezes when he hears a twig snap. He looks around. They found them. Jim pulls the fake amulet out of his pocket, still unaware it was fake.

“Jim?” Claire backs up into him, the teens now back to back.

“Don’t worry, Claire. I’ll get us out of this. For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!”

nothing. 

“Jim?” Claire picks up a branch and holds it like a bat.

“it’s not working! For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is Mine to command!”

“Jim?”

“what’s wrong with this thing?!”

Claire swings, knocking a Goblin back. Jim quickly looks up and grabs a branch of his own. Looks like they were on their own for now. Jim and Claire face off against the coming horde. In a moment of frustration Jim swings at a Goblin hard after it tries to grab the Amulet, the goblin hits a tree- turning it to goo and breaking the Amulet. Jim picks up the pieces.

“A fake?”

Jim and Claire resort to throwing rocks as well to keep the goblins at a distance. Their chances grow slimmer until Jim in further frustration raises his hand in the air.

“FOR THE GLORY OF MERLIN, WHERE ARE YOU?”

Bhaltair is finishing the repairs on the bridge when out of the corner of his eyes he notices the Amulet begin to glow. He picks it up and stares curiously when the Amulet suddenly lunges in his grasp. He is thrown across the room when it suddenly slips. 

“NO!”

Bhaltair leaps after it and swings with his whip only for it to escape. It crashes out through the glass ceiling and flies across the night sky until it rests in Jim’s hand. Jim, Amulet in hand, raises it to the sky.

“For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!”

fully in armor, Jim is more able to fight off the Goblin Horde. As the beasts begin to flee, Claire looks over his armor. Both are exhausted by the fight.

“OK... one last question”

“Go ahead”

“what is that”

“Magic armor.”

“I see.” Clearly Claire has already been overloaded by all this information, and is willing to accept anything.

However, it’s then that Jim realizes the real reason the Goblins decided to run. A deep growl echoes through the air. One Jim already learned to know by heart.

“Claire, when I give the word, you need to run.” 

“what?”

"run!”

Claire prepares to object again when out from the shadows is Heimdrel himself. He is mid charge as Jim yells.

“Run! Now!”

Claire begins to flee when another troll leaps from the shadows over her. Before Heimdrel can strike Jim down, Angor Rot’s dagger catches onto Heimdrel’s sword, and the trolls lock eyes.

“you” Heimdrel’s voice is venomous and bitter. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

as the two clash, Jim gets a hold of Claire and the pair run.

“Who was that?!”

“Heimdrel!”

“doesn’t your friend need our help?!”

“If Heimdrel is here that means everyone is after us! It’s us he wants! We have to get as far away from here as possible while we can!”

Once he feels they’re safe Jim slows down and looks Claire in the eyes.

“now listen, we have to split up. I have to help Angor Rot, and you have to get as far away from here as you can. Find somewhere to hide until morning. I promise you I’ll come find you!”

“Ok.” Claire tries to calm her nerves.

“on the count of three, we’re going to run in opposite ways, ok?”

“ok.”

“alright. One. Two. Three!”

They scatter. Jim running deeper into the forest and Claire running a way she hopes would lead her to somewhere she could hide, like Jim said.

As Jim ran, he only sees the dash of a figure before he is kicked in the jaw by Mr. Takato. Jim rolls a ways before looking up to the already advancing changeling. He draws his sword and only just catches his katana.

“you’re not going anywhere, boy.”

Claire doesn’t stop running until she must to catch her breath. However upon doing so and taking in her surroundings does she realize she’s circled back. Claire doesn’t dare move when she looks into the distance and can see the fight unfolding. 

Heimdrel gets an advantage, and knees Angor Rot in the chest- causing him to drop his dagger. He tries to retaliate but is grabbed by the neck with Heimdrel’s hook shot hand. Heimdrel laughs and pins him to a tree, making the “talons” dig into the wood after he raises the smaller troll off of the ground.

Claire creeps closer.

“How must it feel,” Heimdrel growls, his talons tightening around the troll’s neck. “to know everything you’ve done will be for nothing?”

Heimdrel’s eye notices a familiar glow and his smile grows even more sinister.

“You know... I thought I was going to just slay you on sight and leave your miserable statue to crumble with time....”

Angor Rot is fading. He begins to go limp as Heimdrel uses his free hand to grab onto Angor Rot’s wrist. He holds the troll’s hand out to where he can see the Inferna Copula on his finger.

“But I’m starting to think it’d be far more delicious to drag you back to her.”

Claire doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but she can tell if she didn’t step in- she notices the dagger on the ground.

Heimdrel carefully removes the ring from Angor Rot’s finger. You could almost see the transformation as he continues to go limp and numb- soon to lose consciousness. Heimdrel laughs darkly.

“welcome back, Assassin.”

Heimdrel suddenly roars with pain- dropping the ring. Claire doesn’t dare let go of the dagger as she stabs him in the leg once again. Heimdrel turns his attention fully to her. His wound begins to crystallize and Claire removes the dagger in worry she’d get it stuck in the crystals.

“You little brat!”

Heimdrel lets go of Angor Rot and shoots his hook shot at Claire. She dodges and backs away fearfully, Angor Rot’s dagger in her trembling hands. Heimdrel advances like a predator. 

“Let me show you what happens when you attack Heimdrel the Executioner!”

He almost strikes when there is a flash of what looked like pure dark magic, and Claire feels stony arms wrap around her. The feeling of weightlessness follows as she closes her eyes in pure terror. Moments later gravity returns and she opens her eyes to see her in the arms of the troll she saved. She assumes his name is Angor Rot.

Angor Rot quickly scoops up the ring as Heimdrel spins towards them. His staff turns pitch black and the troll leaps inside, the world once more growing weightless and Claire trying not to scream. She opens her eyes to see herself in familiar territory.

“they are not after you, now. Run home!” Angor Rot carefully puts her back on her feet before disappearing through another shadow portal. Claire runs inside.

“dad! I need your help!”

Jim is losing his battle against the changeling, if only because exhaustion has been taking its toll on his body. When he slows down he gets a swift hit from the hilt of Takato’s katana and his world is spinning out of control. He hits the ground hard and everything begins to go black.

He sees things only in flashes from then on.

Heimdrel.

Mr. Takato.

Being dragged across the forest floor.

noise. Flashlights.

The changeling vanishing into the night. Heimdrel’s roar before he too fled.

Strickler. Claire. Her father.

an ambulance.

Mom.

#Trollhunters #Dadswap AU #yes I ended it on a cliffhanger kinda #bear with me the next part is coming soon!

[aaronmascoll]

Chapter 111 - Leila

It's been a full day since the Zein Royal Guard arrived and Leila was already tired of their presence. They wore giant armor that seemed impossible to move in, and carried large, fantasy-style, one-handed swords. They were so large that everyone had to step out of the way if anymore than two came walking by in tandem. But Leila hated that they kept switching positions without relaying any information between eachother. "How many times do I have to tell all of you that this is my room too!?" Leila yelled, glaring at the two guards that prevented her from entering her and Morgan's room.

When she had left, both Morgan and Belia were napping, and Charles was attending a lecture the Necromancy professor was giving. "If you ask Queen Morgan, she will vouch for me!"

"Impossible," A woman's voice said, muffled by her large helmet. "The queen is not to be disturbed while she's napping."

Leila couldn't take it anymore. "Morgan!" She screamed.

A silent minute went by and Leila screamed again. "The Queen is napping," A man's voice said, muffled by his skeleton shaped helmet. "If you can't remain silent, we will have to silence you."

Leila noticed the male guard's hand folded into a frighteningly large fist, and the female guard moved her hand to rest on her sword. "Morgan!" Leila screamed, again.

Leila didn't know where he came from, but Charles was now standing in front of her, and there seemed to be four of him. "That's it!" The female guard shouted, drawing her sword.

The door behind the guards suddenly opened and Morgan emerged wearing a black robe. "What is going on out here?" She said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

The two guards immediately dropped to one knee. "Leila, what's going on?" Morgan asked, looking between her, the guards, Charles and his three other selfs.

"These morons won't let me into our room!" Leila said, angrily.

"And why is that?" Morgan said, sternly. "She lives here."

When the guards didn't move or stand, Morgan's face reddened. "Take off your helmets and look at her," she ordered.

The guards took off their helmets and looked up at Leila. Leila looked back into the wrinkled face of a man in his early fifties, and the gaunt face of young woman in her mid twenties. "Remember her face," Morgan said. "Tell the rest of the guards that the woman with the gold tattoos is the royal ambassador. Now go, off with you two."

Leila starred at the two of them triumphantly even though Morgan had just named her the royal ambassador. "Yes, Your Grace," The guards said in unison.

When they spoke, Leila was slightly shocked to see both guards had vampire fangs. The guards stood up, walked down the hall, and around the corner. "They're vampires?" Leila asked, following Morgan into their room.

Morgan crawled into bed and rested her head on a pillow. "Yeah, the entire royal guard is comprised only of vampires."

Leila unlaced her boots, placed them next to the bed, and sat down next to Morgan. "In fact, I think the entire royal staff are vampires."

"Why only vampires?" Leila asked, staring at Morgan casually.

"I guess it makes them more loyal. Vampires are supposed to be very loyal people."

Leila could see Morgan was nervous from the way she kept fiddling with her thumbs and chewing on her bottom lip. "Are you okay?" Leila asked, rubbing Morgan's shoulder reassuringly.

"Yeah, I just haven't been there in a very long time. Ever since Gwen died I've been to scared to go back."

Leila knew Gwen was a sensitive subject, but since Morgan seemed to be in a talkative mood, she thought she'd better find out as much as she can. "How did she die?" Leila asked, laying down and looking up at ceiling.

"I killed her," Morgan said, her voice shaking with sadness. "We were teaching the senior class how to defend themselves in case they were attacked by the faction of Male warlocks that hadn't stopped fighting the war. This wasn't the safe stuff we were supposed to teach, this was the more advanced stuff that could seriously hurt you if not done correctly. It was supposed to be simple. We rehearsed it a thousand times. It went just as we planned until we got to part where she was supposed to deflect a lightning spell that would kill you if it made direct contact with your chest. When I casted the spell, something distracted her and it went straight through her heart."

As Morgan talked, Leila could hear that she started crying. Leila reached out and held Morgan's hand and she squeezed it fiercely. "She kept reaching for something while she laid there dying. I tried but there wasn't anything I could do. I looked to see what she was trying to grab and I saw her bracelet lying on the floor, inches away from her hand. That bracelet held the only memory Gwen had of the daughter she had with Wolfram. The elders would've done anything to make Gwen and I return after we left. So when Silver was born, we left her with Wolfram and made him promise to keep her safe."

"So Gwen was born in Zein?"

"Princess Gwendolyn Moonsaver, The Pride of Zein. She had the most beautiful cobalt blue hair."

"Her hair was blue? Like naturally blue?"

"Oh yeah," Morgan said, rolling over to face Leila. "Her whole family was supposedly touched by a moon goddess. They all had very vibrant colored hair. The first time I saw her she was so beautiful I couldn't speak. I couldn't believe this was the girl I was supposed serve for the rest of my life. She thought I was a mute."

"Serve?" Leila said, rolling over and looking at Morgan. "You were a slave?"

"Yeah," Morgan said, casually tracing the lines in Leila's hand. "My family sold me so I could have a better life. And it was so much better. They taught me to read and write, well Gwen taught me once she learned I wasn't a mute. To her I wasn't a slave, I was her best friend that had to sleep in a cupboard. We did everything together, played together, ate together, bathed together, even traveled together when I discovered there was a spell that could make us immortal."

"So what made the two of you leave Zein for good?"

"It was two years after Gwen had Silver and she wasn't in the best place, mentally. She never wanted to go outside, she got angry over the simplest things, and got sad doing things that usually made her happy. One night I managed to talk her into doing a special summoning spell. Everything was going perfectly, she was excited, I was excited, all was good. The special runes were drawn, the candles were lit, and we were ready. We did the summoning but we weren't sure if what had happened was the god trying to kill us, or just an accident."

"What happened?" Leila asked, her intrest in the story taking over.

"A miniature sun appeared in the middle of the city. Millions died and the entire city became uninhabitable. But what made us unsure if it was meant to kill us was that there was a baby trapped inside the sun."

"A baby?" Leila said, curiously.

"Yeah we managed to get him out before we left the city. We sort of adopted him. Taught him to read and write. Whenever he had a nightmare we'd let him sleep in our bed and read him a story. His favorite was 'The Salamander Who Fought The Sun.'"

"She's talking about Jackson!" Willow said.

"We couldn't keep him," Morgan said, sadly. "We had to have Wolfram take him in too. Gwen was so happy to have him. But having to give him up didn't affect her like it did with silver. This time it was like she was determined to get them back, make it safe for them to come home, even if it meant taking on the elders."

"So you left a slave and you're returning a queen?"

"Life was easier when I was a slave," Morgan said, jokingly. "And a lot more fun too."

"'Queen' is just a fancy word for slave to the people."

"Yeah, but it's no fun," Morgan said, thrashing around like a child throwing a tantrum.

It made Leila happy to hear Morgan laugh. "Charles is soul divided by the way," Morgan said. "I know you've been wondering about it."

Leila looked to where Charles and the other three stood. Two had long hair, one in braids, the other straightened, and they seemed to be wrestling. Another was standing off to the side, had his hair in a mohawk, and was glaring at the two that were wrestling. And then there was the Charles that Leila knew. The one with his hair neatly combed back and had a soft welcoming smile. "Yeah, what's up with that?" Leila asked.

"I think on your earth they would've called it a split personality disorder," Morgan replied. "His soul split into multiple fragments when he was born. Each fragment matures and develops it's own personality as if they were their very own person. He's still one person, but his soul is in multiple pieces. As for why you can see them, you'll have to ask him."

Out of the corner of Leila's eyes she seen Charles's head turn. The one with the mohawk stopped glaring at the other two, who were still wrestling, and walked towards the door. When he opened it, Mrs. Fume was standing there looking as if she was about to knock. "Hey, Dora," Morgan said. "You can come in."

Mrs. Fume walked in, looked at the four different versions of Charles and was immediately confused. "Um, I'm sorry to bother you, Morgan," Mrs. Fume said, apologetically. "Some of the parents were wondering who was going to take over as Headmistress, now that you're the queen."

Morgan looked at Leila and smiled.

#thechampions #writers #writer #writing #entertainment #excerpt from a story i'll never write #excerpt from a book i'll never write #readers #reader #reading #aspiring author #aspiring writer #storytelling #stories #story #fantasy novel #fantasy #keep scrolling #light novel #long reads #creative wrting #creative #bookreader #booklover #bookish #bookworm #books #bookaholic #bookaddict #novel

[sudsybear]

More changes

Something happened at Wooster. These days I don’t remember exactly what that something was. Although, I do remember talking it through with Ross; one of those late night confessionals when we admitted our fears and insecurities, gaining trust in each other. Seems to me there was a story of an unsuccessful suicide attempt; scratching his wrists with razor blades, drawing enough blood to be scary, but not enough to be deadly. I picture him standing in the lobby of the Civic Center, I hadn’t seen him for months, and he had bandages on both wrists. No one else I’ve asked will corroborate that memory. Did I make it up? Is it a figment of my overactive imagination? I honestly don’t know. Later, Ross led some to believe he hacked into the school’s mainframe, and was expelled. With others he joked about eating too many Twinkies and watching too much television. He was good at evasion and kept his own counsel. I don’t remember enough to know what to believe anymore. Whatever the reason, it was a doozy of a sophomore slump and his parents made the three-hour drive on I-71 to the college and brought Ross and his stuff home in January. He needed to sort out what he wanted in life. He needed time to heal. Wooster was not a good experience. I’ll never know all that happened. I just know he came home.

 Along with Liz, my friendship with Shari blossomed in the aftermath of David’s and my demise. We shared choir and Triple Trio rehearsals; and were thrown together for study groups and Teen Counseling sessions. Shari was strong then, She had ideas, plans, dreams. I enjoyed her confidence, a bit amazed by it. Proud of and loyal to her Jewish heritage, she refused to sing the sacred Christmas music our choir director chose for the winter concert. By February we were fully engaged in co-producing the Corral Show together. As producers, Shari and I made sure all the acts had parent sponsors and filled all the show committees (publicity, program, house manager, etc.) Later we followed up with the committees making sure the myriad tasks were taken care of. We had to be at every rehearsal to make sure all the would-be participants showed up. I spent Saturday afternoons with Shari at the Civic Center.

 Since Ross was home from college, he was put in charge of shuttling Scott around. Scott was playing guitar with a re-hash of the band Ross had played with two years previous – some of the same faces, a couple of new ones. They would perform in the show. Ross stayed at the Civic Center and listened while Scott played. He had little else to do. And when Ross showed up, Shari’s and my friendship strained. You remember reader, Ross and Shari had dated a few years back. The three of us tried to joke and laugh together. They had been intimate. I never knew the extent of their attraction. And while I recognized the irrelevance of the relationship, my own insecurity fed my curiosity. I asked questions of both of them, and worried how I compared in Ross’ eyes.

 Ross and I started slow. We really were just pals. Ross drove me home from Corral Show practice. Scott rode in the backseat with his guitar, and Ross dropped me off at the end of our driveway. As the weeks wore on, Ross and I took longer drives home from the Civic Center with detours to an eatery. We were comfortable, natural with each other. No pretense, we thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.

 I fell for Ross in a big way. Just seventeen, I was sure I could soothe his troubled soul. I knew his struggles. And was smitten with a stubborn case of puppy love that I’m still not completely over. I’m confident declaring that at the time the feeling was mutual.

 *          *          *

 I still had school, homework and rehearsals. So did he. Ross wasn’t home but a couple of weeks, and he was registered for computer classes at Cincinnati Technical College (Now Cincinnati State). That was his Dad’s doing, “If you’re home, you’re going to be in school.” While I never actually heard him say it, the message was clear. “No son of mine is going to be a college drop-out. I don’t care if it is a technical college, you’re going.” So, school it was. He started with just a couple of classes, not a full load. Enough to keep Ross busy, but not enough to overwhelm him. We made time to spend with each other.

 My father was gone much of the time, traveling for work. Mom was busy working to finish up her nursing degree, taking the last class and getting her hands-on training at the local hospitals. Her mother, my grandmother, lived at one of the newer retirement/nursing home villages in town. Mom worked part-time as an aide. She checked in on my grandmother and took her to the grocery store, post office and such. Mom still ran life squad. Sunday dinners were a must-attend, but beyond that, we left messages for each other on the kitchen counter. We were very good at the message system. The back door was never locked; the dogs were let out any time someone was home. Mom fed them and changed their water dishes. We were an active and cooperative household.

 Any time Dad was out of town, I had the Pinto to drive – which was most of the time. And even though we lived less than a half-mile from the high school, I drove half the time. That gave me freedom to ditch class and spend time with Ross. So I did. Not often enough to get in trouble…but often enough to make it worth our while.

 I didn’t take seriously my role as Mark’s first girlfriend, and I dropped him – rather suddenly and inexplicably, I’m afraid. Poor guy, he never had a chance. It was very unfair to him, and I’m truly sorry for the way I treated him. There was nothing wrong – he didn’t do anything to upset me. He just wasn’t Ross. Ross and I had history, friendship, and a connection that Mark could never equal. Mark hated girls for a long time after that, and I should have been kinder.

 *          *          *

 “Boyish Enthusiasm.” That phrase was invented to describe Ross with a new album. Ross picked me up from some activity, either from school after a choir rehearsal or at the Civic Center after a Corral Show practice, and we HAD to get to his house. What was the deal? We pulled in the driveway, ran in through the garage, flew up the basement steps, his mom was in the kitchen. “Hi, Mrs. Jeynes!”

 “Hi, what’s going on?”

 “I don’t know…Ross just bought a new record. We’ll be upstairs.”

 “Okay, have fun!”

 Ross was in his room by the time I finished that quick greeting. “Soozin-X, come up here!”

 “I’m coming, I’m coming! What’s the hurry?” as I ran up the stairs.

 In his room, Ross took the pleasure of slicing through the cellophane wrapping. He inhaled the smell of new cardboard and vinyl, and the delight of a pristine album untouched by a needle. Bliss. The album was Phil Collins’ latest solo release, “No Jacket Required”

 He pulled the album out of the sleeve, holding it carefully, thumb on the outer edge, index finger on the center hole. Placed the album gently on the turntable, put the needle in place (first checking it for dust), lowered it, and cranked the volume. I had no idea music could be played that loud. (The knob must have gone to 11 at least!)  He stood in the middle of his bedroom where the speakers had been strategically aimed to maximize acoustic performance and listened – really listened to the first side. I sat on his bed; sheets and bedspread scattered under me, leaned against the wall and watched him. I was amazed at the intensity with which he concentrated on the music. He stood with his hands by his side, eyes closed, or occasionally glancing around the room, with periodic eye contact and a smile. Air drumming or air guitar…he concentrated on the sound…he absorbed it.

 The first side ended, my ears were ringing by this time, and he turned the album over to play the second side. Entranced by his behavior, I just watched and listened…the album ended, and Ross wanted to play it again. This second time, I convinced him to turn the volume down, and we sat on his bed and listened …together. Then it was time to get home for dinner with my folks and do homework.

 *          *          *

 In April, I started receiving acceptance letters from colleges, and had to decide where to go the following fall. My choices were Ohio State, Augustana, Tufts (I was wait-listed) or UofR. Oh what a decision that was. Money was a huge issue. We didn’t qualify for financial aid at that point, and UofR was one of the most expensive schools in the country. Friends were going to Ohio State, and I thought that might be comforting. I never did take Augustana seriously. I applied on a lark. Basically I had to choose between OSU and UofR.

 While we disagree about it now, at the time, I believed my father pushed for UofR. Dad liked the prestige of the school – he had applied and considered the school back in the fifties. He even pulled out thirty year old slides of the campus that he took when he visited. Dad ended up at MIT. He thought it was neat that his daughter might attend a school he had considered a lifetime previous. He was especially impressed that the dean of Students taught in the Religion Department and was the baseball coach. I had my misgivings, but chose Rochester, and decision made, forgot about it, sort of. More fun to live in the moment.

 *          *          *

 Ross acquired a project car. An old Pinto he bought from a friend for $1, it never actually went anywhere that I ever knew, although others tell of him driving it. Ross worked in the driveway in back of the house, wearing a Rush concert T-shirt overtop cutoff cargo pants, Converse Chuck T’s and no socks. His short bland hair was growing out from the color black he had dyed it. He welded new metal plates to the floor to cover the holes in the bottom, then put in new carpet. Remnants from a carpeting job his parents had done. He repaired the seats and upgraded the sound system (I must say the subwoofers he installed in the back of that thing were "kick-ass") for what’s a car if it doesn’t have decent sound? He tinkered with the engine, learning any and all that he could about cars. I passed tools to him like any smitten female does, but eventually I got bored and found something else to do. If Ross wasn’t working on his own Pinto, he helped his friend Greg with his Dodge Dart.

 The Dodge Dart. Why is it that anyone in High school in the mid 1980s has a friend or acquaintance or drove himself, a Dodge Dart? That was Greg’s fancy. Ross had the Pinto, and Greg had the Dart. They were great friends, and Ross loved to rib Greg about all the time and effort he put into that car. Like the Pinto was such a great car either? They had dreams, and were learning, and it kept them out of too much other trouble.

 *          *          *

 Suffering a severe case of senior-itis, I purposefully gave myself a light academic load. Math was a relaxed affair, social studies required some attention, AP English was supposed to be a tough course, but with the teacher mix-up, I ducked the writing assignments as much as possible. Art and Choir required little effort outside of rehearsals. I had no first period class and standing permission to be off campus for Teen Counseling, I spent my free time with Ross.

 One morning toward the end of the school year, I left for school late and instead of the short ride to park in the school lot, I drove around the corner and up to Jeynes’ house. Our parents were at work. Scott was at school. I parked my Pinto next to Ross’ in the driveway behind the house, walked in through the garage, up the basement steps to the breakfast nook, tiptoed around the hallway and up the stairs to the second floor. Turned right, and sneaked down the hall to Ross’ room. Ross was not quite awake, still in the blessed morning state halfway between, “Do I want to roll over and go back to sleep…or wake up and go take my shower?” Once in his room, I took off my shoes and socks and crawled into his bed. We curled around each other and both fell back asleep.

 We woke up later, enjoying a morning snuggle. We still weren’t motivated to do anything productive. We talked about how much time we were spending together, and how comfortable we were. I asked something about Wooster, and Ross dug around in some boxes and found the letters I sent to him. He kept them in a shoebox. He also had letters from other friends and previous girlfriends. I was thrilled and flattered that he had kept my letters. We re-read them. Sitting on his bed, the covers strewn around us, we started laughing. Oh, how we laughed.

 Ross described walking to his mailbox with his buddies. He checked his mailbox, sorted through the letters, and stuffed the one from me in his jacket pocket.

 “Hey Man, you got mail. Aren’t you going to read it?”

 “Nah, I’ll save it for later”

 “Oh, it’s a good one, eh? From a girlfriend or something?”

 “No, nothing like that. It’s just this girl who writes to me. It’s bizarre stuff.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Alright, I’ll show you.”

 It was one of the coloring book pictures I colored and sent.

 “You get that stuff all the time?”

 “Yep.”

 “Weird. What do you do with it?”

 “I don’t know, man. I just don’t know. She just keeps sending it.”

 We laughed so hard that morning, looking through the mail I had sent him. Poor Ross, what I had put him through sending him mail. Yes, he was happy to get it, but what strange mail to receive.

 After we laughed, I lay in bed while Ross showered and dressed. By this time we were ravenous, and it was almost noon, so we left the house and drove to Burger King for brunch. He had to go to afternoon classes, and so did I. I was distracted the rest of the day, in anticipation of seeing Ross again. Afternoon classes, and choir rehearsal…my heart wasn’t in it.

 *          *          *

  I had an Eddie Bauer backpack to carry my textbooks and spiral notebooks. Book packs have been all the rage since the mid-70s at least, and in the 80s having the right label on yours meant everything. I begged my parents to pay too much for an Eddie Bauer bag, and I used it and used it and used it. The thing was, the seams were unraveled and I had a terrible time getting my books and notebooks into and out of the bag. I complained about it to Ross one afternoon. He looked at it, said, “Oh, I can fix that. I need a lighter.”

“What?”

 “It will be okay, I promise. Watch.”

 On the back porch of our house, he sat for an hour melting the seam allowances along the entire interior of the backpack. Tedious and dangerous, burned fingers are no fun. I have a healthy fear of an open flame, despite (or maybe because of) my experiences with teenage male pyrotechnics. I was terrified he would burn himself, but fascinated to watch him work. I used that backpack for another couple of years, took it to college, then summer camp and out to California. A strap finally broke. Mom mailed the pack back to the company, and they replaced it with a new one. When it arrived, I sat on the back porch and melted the seam allowances myself.