A Compendium of Magical Artifacts
Chapter 23: Research Time -no item-
Prompt: Hope and Despair
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[When you get home from work for the day, you immediately move to the kitchen to grab a snack, grab the book and your notebook, and then sit yourself at your desk. Going through your notes, you’re not quite sure where to start. There’s not a lot there, but you hope that one thing will lead to another. Now, which to start with, Amity Park, the Cat Café, ‘Jack and Maddie’, or the castle itself?
Well, the castle was the closest. You should be able to find it on a map, get the address, and then look up public records. Easy. It doesn’t take long to pull up M—Maps on the computer and start at your own address. From there you just scroll out a bit and scoot along the path you had taken for your nature walk.….
That. Wasn’t right? When you reached the spot where the castle was, there was only rubble strewn across the ground. You tried checking how long ago the satellite took the picture, but for whatever reason it didn’t seem to want to load. There was No way the castle had just collapsed in on itself after two days, right? Shit, you still had the rest of the week before you’d have enough time to go back and explore. You could just pop over after work tomorrow though, just to make sure.
Despite the rubble, you can still get the address. From there you plug it into the public records search engine and start scrolling. There’s a record of sale about twenty three years back. When you click on it, the details only partially load— or maybe they weren’t put into the system correctly. You can see the company that sold the place, but not who bought it. Going back to the search, it looks like they got it from Wilfred Meyer, the first owner of the Dairy King Company some ten years before that. Pulling up another tab and searching for the company reveals that they went out of business not long after selling the place. There’s no website for them and you aren’t sure it would be worth looking any of the workers up considering how long ago it happened. Plus, even if they did remember, it would probably be considered pretty rude or weird to call them up out of the blue. So, the castle was a dead end, but the name Wilfred Was familiar. It was the name of the other ghost the author said had lived in the castle.
You weren’t sure if it meant anything beyond the old guy who use to have the place deciding to haunt it after death. Since there was no other sign of them being anything beyond roommates, you write the name down for later and move on to the next thing.
So out of the other three, the Cat Café had the most concrete information attached to it with both a street name and a business name. ‘Jack and Maddie’ were probably a dead end— especially if the author had been talking about not being able to find them. Amity Park was a bit broad, especially without the author’s name. The closest you had to a name at this point was ‘Plazzy’ and you were pretty sure that wasn’t their actual name. You hoped it wasn’t their actual name.
…It looked like ‘plazzy’ was slang in Liverpool for something fake. So it was either an insult or a nickname. Considering ‘Ember’ was apparently a friend of some kind, you were pretty sure it was just a nickname. Of course you had no clue what kind of name that nickname could be referring to, but you wrote down your observation anyway.
Okay, back to the café. You type in the name of the place along with the street name and, thankfully, it comes up as the first search result. You open up the page excitedly and end up spending more than a couple minutes scrolling through their pictures of the different cats. Then, on a picture of a little chubby calico, you see the Free Cat box from the book. It’s a little roughed up, but you recognize the writing on it from the picture and it’s still upside down. Now that you have some tiny seed of proof, you’re determined to go visit. You click over to the reservation page, might as well get some kitty time while you’re there, but then your eye catches on the address. It’s in Amity Park, Illinois.
You’re torn between being excited that your seemingly separate pieces of information have connected and despair because you kind of wanted to see the kitties. That’s way too long of a trip for you to take just to visit a cat café. It’s also interesting because, if the author was writing while they were in Illinois, then why was their book in Wisconsin? Like, having a doorstep implied they were living over there. Maybe it was temporary?
Glancing over at the time, you sigh and decide that that’s enough computer time for now. Your snack earlier wasn’t enough and now your stomach is growling again. Maybe it would be better to look through a few more entries tomorrow to try and see if there’s any more info for you to gleam.]
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My miracle
Anthony Bridgerton x reader
summary: Anthony’s wife is in labor and it’s not looking good
warnings: mentions of death
“Where is she?” the loud voice of Anthony was heard in the entire mansion. The door he opened slammed into the wall but he couldn’t care less as he saw some servants running his way to take off his coat. “Tell me where my wife is!”
“My apologies, my Lord.” the poor man trembled under the Lord’s menacingly glare, that were just a cover for the worry and fear that was running though his veins. “The Viscountess is in your chambers. The midwife and your mother are already present with her. Shall I inform your brothers to come and wait with you until the child is born?”
Anthony didn’t bother to respond. He quickly climbed the stairs, two steps at once, seeing with wide eyes as the maids ran to his room with towels in their hands. He doesn't even settle for knocking, immediatly opening the bedroom door. None of his mother's stories could have prepared him for the sight that lay ahead.
His darling wife was drenched in sweat, dressed in her nightdown. One hand was on her round belly protectively while the other was in his mother’s hands, who was whispering words of comfort. Her jaw was clenched in pain and it was only then that he noticed the midwife between the Viscountess legs.
“You!” Y/n screamed accusingly, managing to point a finger at Anthony with hatred. “You did this to me! You will never ever put your hands on me again!”
“I-” Anthony was at loss of words. He knew that his wife was in pain, and looking like she was ready to kill, so he just nodded his head in agreement. He took slow hesitant steps towards the bed, hoping to comfort her without dying. “I’ll never touch you again, my love. How are you feeling?”
“How do you think I’m feeling? I’m pushing your child that inherited your big head out of my lady parts! So tell me, my dear husband, how am I feeling?”
“Like you are giving birth?”
“Anthony...” his mother whispered while shaking her head in dispair. “You should leave the room. Your brothers must be coming to keep you company. We shall call you when the child is born.”
“I’m not leaving my wife.” was the only thing he said with firmity, holding Y/n’s hand and kissing her soft skin gently.
She turned to him, a change in her demeanor, eyes full of tears of terror. “I’m scared, Anthony. It hurts.”
“I know it hurts. It’s okay, love. You will be alright and then we will have our child with us.” he whispered. A feeling of guilt washed through him. How could he have made his wife suffer through childbirth? “You are the bravest person I know. So so much braver than me and everyone else. I’m so proud of you.”
"I can't do this. It hurts too much. Make it stop, Anthony, please." Y/n cried.
It was only then that Anthony saw the look in his mother. She was worried, exchanging looks with the midwife. And as much as the Viscount would like to also show his anguish, his first priority was to comfort Y/n. "It's going to be okay, my love. Just a little longer, you're being so strong."
But she no longer had the strength to respond. It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open and she just wanted to sleep to escape the pain. Between her legs, an increasingly larger pool of blood was forming. Anthony's eyes were wide and there was enormous pressure in his chest. It felt like I was running out of oxygen, and it only got worse when Y/n finally gave in to unconsciousness.
"What's happening?" he whispered, looking in alarm first at Violet. Afterwards, he turned to the midwife furiously. "What's wrong with her? Help her! Do something!"
"Anthony, you need to leave." Violet advised, trying to remain calm for everyone's sake. Anthony was becoming more and more desperate, tears falling from his eyes as he grabbed his wife's hand tighter and brought it to his lips.
"I'm not going anywhere!"
"Viscount Bridgerton, the baby is in pain. You won't want to see what I'm going to do. I promise I'll try to save both of them." the midwife said, taking a small knife and flying it over Y/n's stomach.
"If you need to choose, save my wife's life." Anthony begged, now more desperate as his mother called his brothers to take him out of the room.
"Anthony..."
"No, mother, you save my wife's life!" Benedict and Collin grabbed the man by the arms and began to carry him outside, despite Anthony's struggle. "You hear me! My wife is going to survive! Let me go! Mother, save Y/n!" he shouted before the door closed in his face.
The last thing he saw was the woman making the cut on Y/n's stomach, who woke up with a jolt. She then let out a scream that would torment Anthony for the rest of his life.
With a cry of anger mixed with sadness, Anthony broke free from his brothers' grip and put his hands to his face. He didn't want to think about the possibility of losing the love of his life. He simply couldn't take it.
"Wow, Anthony, calm down." Collin whispered when Anthony, in a rage, threw a punch against the wall. "The Viscountess is a fighter. If anyone is capable of overcoming this, it's her."
"You don't tell me to calm down, Collin. Not when my wife is in that room fighting for her life over something I did." he cried, jaw shaking and eyes red that only showed the immense pain he was in. He sat on the floor, leaning his head back and looking at the ceiling. "I need her to live."
"And she will live, brother. I will bring a drink, and we will wait together for news." Benedict said, rushing to bring the alcohol when Y/n's screams became louder.
On one hand, each scream was like a stab in the heart of Anthony, who was increasingly pale and looked like he was going to vomit at any moment. On the other, it was the only way to know she was alive.
Moments passed. The Viscount didn't know if it had been seconds, minutes or hours. Things seemed to be getting mixed up in his mind. Nothing made sense, not when the love of his life was in the next room in pain and he was away from her. He had to protect her, it was his obligation as a husband. And he failed.
And then came the moment when Anthony's heart stopped. A baby's cry was heard, and he allowed himself to smile a little. He had a son or daughter. A mini version of his wife. And then he burst into tears when Y/n stopped screaming and everything became too silent.
It was uncontrollable. He cried without being able to stop, making it even difficult to breathe in. Anthony refused to believe that he would have to raise this child without Y/n. Without her affection, her kindness, her love. He didn't want to open his eyes and realize that all this wasn't a nightmare, but reality.
Benedict and Collin didn't know what to do. But one thing was certain, they would be there to help Anthony with whatever he needed and never let that child forget the wonderful mother he had. Then, Violet left the room holding a pile of blankets that held the baby.
"You have a daughter, Anthony."
He just cried more. His body was shaking and he couldn't even look at his mother and the baby. "Y/n... Is she...?" He took Violet's silence as a yes. "Oh god..."
"Enter the room, Anthony. She is waiting for you."
Anthony had never stood up so quickly in his life. He quickly opened the door, stopping momentarily when he saw the amount of blood on the sheets, but the most important thing was Y/n's half-open eyes. She was alive and looking around the room in confusion.
"Anthony? Where is my baby?" her voice was hoarse and extremely weak.
The man fell to his knees at the edge of her bed, and lowered his head to rest on her chest. A feeling of relief spread throughout his body when he felt the rising and falling movement of her chest, indicating that she was breathing and that it wasn't just his imagination.
"I love you so much." he cried, feeling her hands start stroking his hair. "I'm sorry. You were so brave and strong. I'm so proud of you, my love."
"Where is my baby?" Y/n didn't want to seem like she didn't appreciate Anthony's words because that was a lie. He was the most important person in her life. But at that moment, Y/n just wanted to know where her baby was.
"She's right here, dear." Violet reassured with a smile, announcing her presence.
Very carefully, she passed the child into the arms of her son's wife, her smile widening as the little family was finally together again. The new parents had a gentle smile as they looked at their creation, a new love emerging for this fragile human being.
Anthony kissed Y/n's temple. "We have a daughter."
"She is beautiful."
"She takes after her mother." Anthony quickly said, never feeling so much love as he did in that moment.
He was extremely proud of Y/n admiring her strength and courage. Now, he was going to protect his two girls until the end of his life. Nothing was more important than his family.
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