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jimblejamblewritings · 1 year

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Rewriting Lightlark | part 1.

Summary: That's it. I literally just rewrote Lightlark and tried to make it better. Read if you want.

Grimshaw’s castle always had the lights on. Not a single corridor of the great stone fortress was without a lantern. It had taken Isla Crown forever to fall asleep and the sunlight streaming through the open windows woke her up after what felt like only minutes. She couldn’t even pull the comforter over her head to avoid the light — the fabric was translucent. Quietly, she sat up and stretched, trying not to disturb the sleeping body next to her.

Her brown bare feet took light steps across the floor, making flowers spring up through the grout between the stone tiles. The cold floor made her shudder. Isla paused and looked down before turning to see the flower trail behind her. She groaned internally — she knew she had kicked her socks off in the middle of the night. Instead of going back for the socks, she continued to the ensuite bathroom. The flowers could be dealt with later. Her bladder couldn’t.

The toilet, thankfully, made no noise as she flushed it. She figured she might as well brush her teeth while she was in the bathroom. Isla cleaned herself up quickly, wanting to get back to the warmth of the comforter. The small daisies continued springing up behind her as she left the bathroom. An undignified scream left her mouth when two hands reached for her. Isla turned to see nothing in the shadow of the bathroom door.

“Get out of there, Grimshaw, before you kill yourself.”

She held her hand out, waiting for something in the shadows to grab it. Grim’s white hand reached for her and he allowed himself to be pulled out of the shadows. Isla rolled her eyes as she led her boyfriend away from his own death. He was always doing that, ignoring his curse. All the realms of Lightlark were cursed. The people were forced to suffer all at the hands of the Grand Queen Aurora — a woman who relished in irony and cruel punishments.

But Grim never seemed to take it as seriously as he should have. He was a Nightshade and didn’t care that being in the dark for too long would literally kill him. He kept pushing the boundaries and lengths of time he could stay in the shadows, worrying Isla that one day he wouldn’t come back from them. Grim looked down at her, playing with the material of her silk nightgown.

“You know, it’s a good thing you are only half-Wildling,” he said with a mischievous smile. “I couldn’t handle my Hearteater being taller than me. It would severely bruise my ego, you know.”

Isla scoffed and gently pushed him. “Oh, please. Your ego disappeared the moment you met me.”

“Do you really think you have that much control over me?”

Isla blinked. Her mouth contorted into odd shapes as she tried to stop herself from laughing. A pansy began to bloom behind Grim’s right ear, touching the bottom of his ink black hair. He could bluff all he wanted but magic never lied. Love was a magic the people of Lightlark still didn’t quite understand.

They supposed it was because Lark Crown, their founder, nurtured the Heart of Lightlark. The Heart was a flower and the source of their magic. When Lark died, the Heart’s original form did too. The people thought it was because the plant was forever indebted to Lark’s love for it.

That was the only explanation they had for why falling in love with someone meant you were able to wield their powers. With Aurora’s curses, the wielding ability wasn’t as strong as it used to be. But it still appeared now and then, usually when the person in love was focused solely on their lover.

Isla picked the flower from behind his ear. “Grim, I want breakfast.”

He kissed her cheek and walked to his bedroom door. “I’m going to have to pick all these flowers out of the floor, you know.”

“Sorry.”

Isla clambered onto his side of the bed while Grim opened the door just enough to stick his head out of. She was only supposed to be on Night Isle when she held meetings with their king, not when she was sleeping in his bed. Grimshaw loved and trusted his people but he also knew how strong fear could be.

If the servants ever thought he and Isla were in a relationship, they would report it to Aurora out of fear of her killing them if she ever found out they had known about it. Children of two different isles weren’t allowed to be born. It made the curses weaker when the babies inherited both of their parents’ magic, turning imminent death into a minor inconvenience. Aurora killed those babies and publicly murdered their parents to discourage anyone from attempting another defiance.

It was a punishment Isla knew too well. Her mother was a Wildling. Her father was a Nightshade and the only person stupid enough to fall in love with a Wildling. If a Wildling loved someone, they were cursed to eat their heart. Maybe because he was a general in the army he wasn’t afraid of dying.

Her father, Ellisar, stayed in the shadows for as long as he could whenever her mother’s hunger took over. Isla heard stories from the servants about the few times that Alenia’s hunger wasn’t subdued but Ellisar had to leave the shadows or die. She almost caught him as he ran through the entirety of Wild Isle, able to smell him from miles away.

They lived well enough to have a proper family— Isla’s older brother was passed off as the son of a Wildling guard. But the happiness wasn’t forever. Alenia didn’t kill Ellisar. Aurora did. A Wildling doctor had told the Grand Queen what the entire isle managed to keep secret. Isla was grateful to all of the castle. They begged Aurora to take their lives instead of hers. Half the castle died for baby Isla’s life. As a child, she swore she would never put the castle through that again. So Grim was forever her secret.

He came back to the bed with a tray of food. The two were quiet as they ate. Isla closed her eyes in delight at the taste of eggy toast. It was made with sunbread. The Sunlings were the best bakers of Lightlark. Isla had tried to make her own bread for eggy toast but nothing ever tasted as good as sunbread. She finished her last bite of breakfast and snuggled back into Grim’s open arms. Her fingers trailed up down his arms covered by his long sleeve sleepshirt.

“I have to leave soon,” she muttered more to herself than to her boyfriend.

“You’ll be missing my celebration. It isn’t every day a man turns twenty.”

“Well, you’ll be missing my coronation.”

“Hmm, I believe birthdays are more important.” Grim hugged her tighter. “I am sorry about your brother.”

Talon Crown was more adventurer than ruler. He left Wild Isle only a couple of weeks before Aurora’s Decennial in hopes of finding a way to end the curses. Lightlark might have been abundant in magic but the newlands had a little bit of magic as well. But the storm grabbed Talon before his ship ever reached the other continents. The storm was another one of Aurora’s gifts to Lightlark. It surrounded all the islands and made trade or travel to the newlands a rather dangerous feat. Not everyone died but few made it back, including Talon.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Talon’s gone. We always knew it was a possibility. I’ve been training to be his heir ever since the day he took the throne.”

“But you’ve never trained for the Decennial.”

Isla kissed the corner of his mouth. “Let’s not talk about the Decennial. We still have three days and I must leave in an hour or two. I’d rather spend that time with you.”

Grimm peppered kisses all over her face. “Is that spending time with me dressed like this or with my shirt off?”

Instead of answering him, Isla pulled away from his grasp. Grim eagerly took off his shirt. When the white fabric no longer covered his eyes, he found Isla straddling his lap. The hands roamed up and down each other’s bodies as their lips touched. They kissed like they wouldn’t see each other tomorrow. The Decennial’s arrival made them desperate. The two of them realized how little time they might have left. At any moment in the tournament, one of them could die. Isla pulled back when Grim hissed.

“Did I bite you?”

He shook his head. “It was probably my fault, really. I got a bit too eager… You look beautiful.”

“You say that all the time.”

“I mean it.”

He began to kiss her jaw and down her neck. Isla threw her head back, eyes closed. She and Grim never really got the chance to savor each other. They were always quick, just to calm down their excitement, before having to leave to handle duties on their respective isles. Her eyes opened as she felt saliva fill her mouth. Isla swallowed it down.

“Grimshaw, wait.”

“Are you okay?” he asked as he pulled away eyes wide. “Hey, hey, it’s alright, Hearteater.”

Isla squeezed her eyes shut. Grim could see the teeth in her mouth that went from smooth to sharp. Part of the wildling curse. Being half-Nightshade, the curse wasn’t deadly but Isla still felt hunger whenever her excitement and passion became a bit too much. She snapped at the air before doubling over in pain as if she hadn’t eaten for weeks. Grim wormed himself out from under her, knowing she needed a moment without their bodies touching. Isla took in slow and deep breaths.

“Thank yo—” Her hand reached for Grim’s throat.

He watched the brown of her eyes turn completely black. Grim grabbed Isla’s other hand before it landed on his chest. He grunted in pain as her nails turned claws dug into his palm, drops of blood landing on the bed. The only thing between Isla’s snapping teeth and Grim’s face was his foot on her stomach. He tried to extend his leg to push her away but she wouldn’t budge. Wildlings gained a ridiculous amount of strength when hunting for a heart.

Isla breathed through her nose as she glared at Grimshaw, letting go of his throat. Before he could move, she bit his leg. The pain made him let go of her hand. Grim’s breathing became short and shallow as he found himself pinned. A silent scream left his mouth when Isla’s claws dug into his chest, trying to tear through the first layers of his body. Grim’s hand flailed as he tried to move just enough to reach the pillows shoved against the headboard. His fingers stretched until he felt the burning sensation of darkness. Grim grabbed the shadow and pulled himself into it.

Isla’s head shot up in confusion. She could smell her lover but she couldn’t find him. The pillows garnered her attention. She squinted. She was half Nightshade but never bothered to learn that magic properly, too fearful of upsetting Aurora. But some things still came naturally. She knew Grim was in the shadow of the pillow, hiding somewhere from her deep in the Shadow Realm. But she couldn’t reach into the shadow herself and grab him.

A growl of frustration erupted from her throat. Isla’s eyes went wide. She scrambled backwards until she hit the wooden footboard of the bed. Her hand covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. She could feel the sharp teeth become normal again. Isla felt her chest tighten. She had never lost control before. Her head shot up when Grim slowly crept out of the shadows.

“No, Grim, stay away from me.”

“Isl—”

“I almost killed you… I almost killed you.”

“You didn’t.”

“Grimshaw.”

“I knew what loving you might bring,” he said, offering his hand.

Isla gently took it. “But I never thought it would bring this. I thought the curse was supposed to be mild.”

“When you think about it, it was. I felt the teeth and you were able to warn me. We both just didn’t take it seriously enough.”

Isla stared at the cut on his chest, inches from his heart. “That isn’t good enough… I… I’m not ready to accept it as easily as you.”

“What are you saying, Isla?”

She pulled his hand to her mouth and kissed it. “I’m saying I need time… Grim, I’m asking you t—”

“No.” Grim pulled his hand out of her grasp.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“You want me to hide your memories of us in the shadows of your mind and make it like you’ve never met me. I won’t do it. I don’t want to end my relationship with you.”

“I don’t either. But I need time to think about how to be with you when the curse is stronger than I thought.”

“Then take all the time in the world but don’t end us.”

“You don’t understand. The Decennial is in a few days. I won’t be focused if I can only think about how I almost killed you.”

Grim clenched his teeth. He looked around his entire room before facing Isla again. There was truth to her words and they both knew it. Distraction could mean death. With a slow nod of his head, Grim let Isla lay her head down in his lap. His fingers gently rested on her forehead.

“Go to sleep, my Hearteater. You’ll be back on Wild Isle when you wake and it’ll be like we never met past a Realm Dinner. I’ll never forget you.”

“I’ll come back to you, Grim.”

Isla closed her eyes and let the shadows of her mind pull her into sleep.

#lightlark #alex aster #isla crown #grimshaw #booktok

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lovebytheoutlaw · 1 year

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id like to request an imagine where it’s arthur with a younger sister- not like super young but maybe like 2 years younger than john (like 24 or 25) she does something dumb in camp and dutch yells at her like a father would. arthur’s like “you can’t yell at her she’s literally an adult” and then arthur just comforting her after the interaction. 🥸

I feel like this isn’t very great, but it was fun to write!! Thank you for the ask! I hope you like it, I apologize if it falls short. Also I don’t hc Dutch as being sexist for the record. He just lives in a time where it was common to separate the two sexes and their responsibilities.

POV: you're Arthur's younger sister and get caught doing the men's chores instead of the ones Mrs. Grimshaw gave you. Dutch finds our, big bro Arthur comes to the rescue.

CW: sexism

Tired of the monotonous jobs the women always got stuck doing, you decided to bribe the men into letting you do their jobs

You'd much rather split firewood than prick your finger one more time doing a shitty sew job

It was easy at first. You mostly traded doing chores with Arthur so he could go out scouting more, Lenny so he could finally finish his books, Javier every now and then with guard duty since he got restless a lot, and could do more robberies

But then Molly noticed you chopping wood the one day and told Grimshaw. She in turn noticed you hadn't done any of your regularly assigned chores, leaving more to do for your fellow ladies

Molly of course spouted it off to Dutch as well. You knew by the sound of his tone when it rumbled across camp, you were about to get lectured

“Yes, Dutch?" You said in a sweet, innocent manner as you walked to his tent "Is it true you've been neglecting your chores around camp?" No! Well, yes. But I have been. I just like the men's chores better." You explained, Molly and Mrs. Grimshaw glaring at you from either side of Dutch. "Well, you aren't a man, and you can't just leave slack for others to pick up for you." He roared

He went on, saying how he's not angry, he's disappointed. But his words were harsh, berating you for trying to do a job meant for a man. This caught Arthur's passing ears as he walked by

"And what's going on, here?" He intervened, looking between Dutch and you

You internally rejoiced knowing Arthur would save you, as much as he could anyway

Dutch explained the situation, but instead of the anger displayed moments before, he softened his tone, trying to make his side sound more favorable

"So what I'm hearin' is that (y/n) here was doing chores she actually enjoys doing, and in turn, letting the guys pull in more leads, and money, and you're angry about that? How about letting her do them, and having Uncle pick up her weight." He laughed. "And you can't exactly yell at her, Dutch. She's literally an adult."

Dutch blinked at Arthur, and then looked at either side of him to see Molly and Susan had both dropped their glare in exchange for an awkward stare "Well, I-" He choked out, flustered by the reasoning. He huffed, excusing himself and walked away.

Susan gave a defeated shrug, and Molly put her hands on her hips, "so we're just gonna let her do whatever she wants?"

Arthur and you took the opportunity to make a break for it away from Dutch's tent. Arthur laughed, and patted you on the back. "Don't take anythin' Dutch said to heart. You can do whatever chores you like. There shouldn't be a restriction on a chore jus' 'cause yer a fella or a lady. Don't let people tell you what you can't do because of that, okay?"

You nodded, and smiled fondly at your understanding elder brother. You were grateful for him, and looked up to him. Even though he's told you many times not to. You knew he was a great man, even if he wasn't a good one.

"Come on," he said leading you towards the horses. "Let's go to Valentine an' have some drinks. You deserve to relax after that."

*Cue the scene in A Quiet Time where they're all line dancing*

#arthur morgan headcanons #arthur is a good big bro #arthur morgan hc #dutch van der linde #dutch van der linde hc #dutch hc #dutch headcanons #dutch van der linde headcanons #vdl gang #grimshaw #molly #uncle #Arthur morgan

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