#the fact that it was a king & queen is especially enjoyable that they are the bad guys in different ways from start to finish

[xxnghtclls]

Permission

Chapter 38

(Chapter 37; Chapter 39)

True Form Sukuna x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warning: Graphic Depiction Of Violence

Please see Chapter 1 for tags!

Dessert

Knock

Knock

Knock

Fuck.

You jump, not expecting to hear someone knocking at the door, especially not in this particular moment. Sukuna, however, grabs your hand before it can slip away and presses his arm against your back.

No way out. He’s got you in his hold.

And he chuckles, amused by your cute way of stressing out, while you wiggle in his hold like a fish on dry ground, not wanting to be seen like this. The door slides open and you hold your breath. Staring at your fingers pressed into his grip, you hear a maid walking slowly into the room with a cart.

Goddamn his dinner. I forgot.

His nails scratch softly against the small of your back, while your face is pressed against the side of his chest. A bit too harsh for your taste, he’s making it hard for you to breathe.

You manage to peek to the maid and you see Akiko, walking with her head held low, like she’s supposed to. Relief spreads in your gut, remembering her words and enjoyment about you and your King, making you lose your tension a bit.

However, the shy feeling in your chest is still there. Especially when he holds you like that.

She pauses for a second after she placed the cart right in front of the small tea table. Kneeling down, she collects the ceramics and puts the table onto the lower level of the cart, ready to be taken back to the kitchen in the morning. She leaves the bowl with the apples next to Sukuna’s prepared plates and you like to think she left them for you, before she turns around and walks back and out of the door, with the now cold teapot and cups in her arms.

“Tidy.” he comments as soon she’s out.

“Lemmego.” you mumble against his skin and he huffs, before he loosens his grip on you and you sit up, sighing out the anxiety.

After a moment his lips find your right shoulder.

“Why so nervous?” he whispers. “You said you want to be my Queen. Then start acting like one.”

Your heart drops and your face looses it’s colour, as his words vibrate against your skin.

Did he really mean it?

“No one is allowed to look until I say so. You of all people should remember that.” he continues.

You feel his red eyes stare at the side of your cheek, as he kisses your shoulder. His voice and words so dear and soft, you want to melt.

“I felt vulnerable.” you admit, trying to keep focus after what he just said. “Shy…”

He huffs softly against your skin, the warm air from his nose gives you goosebumps.

“…because I’m naked, lying in your arms… my hand playing with yours.” a blush rises to our face. “It felt intimate and…” you hesitate.

“Mhh?”

“… romantic.” your cheeks are cooking.

He chuckles, before he bites your shoulder and you flinch. Sukuna leans in and his lips brush against your ear.

“Cute.” he whispers with a smirk.

You turn to him and frown at him questioningly.

“You never feel vulnerable, do you?” you say, making him grin playfully, while shrugging his shoulders.

“No weakness, no fears.” you continue, while you watch him. His eyes lock with yours again, his eyebrow cocks at your words.

And he stares.

Your heart skips a beat, making you almost crumble under the weight of his gaze.

Shit.

“Oh!” you exclaim, putting an overacted expression on your face. “What if it’s me?” you dramatically put your right hand on your heart, notice how he frowns at you with amusement and soft eyes. You try your best to overplay this situation, hoping that your heart will survive any hint from him that you are, in fact, his one and only.

“What if I get hurt? What if someone stabs me to death?” you continue your dramatic act and let yourself fall back onto the sheets, putting the back of your left hand on your forehead. “Will the great Ryomen Sukuna avenge my soul?”

In the corner of your eye, you see Sukuna leaning over to you, while you continue.

“Will the King of Curses mourn my dead and lifeless body? The body of the woman he lov-“

“If you only knew.” he cuts you off by grabbing your cheeks tightly, his face hovering close over yours and you realise that your attempt to overact just made the situation worse. Heart is beating heavily against your ribcage, as you look with big eyes into his smirking face.

“Knew what?” a voiceless whisper escapes your throat.

His smirk grows and he chuckles darkly, before he kisses the tip of your nose and loosens the grip on your cheeks. You try to focus, after what he just said, as he gets up, but your eyes get lost in the way his ass moves with every step he takes, while he walks over to the cart.

And you get up as well, watch him take the first bite of something human, as you approach him. You let your fingers brush against his buttcheeks, feeling his soft skin and fine hairs beneath your fingertips, as you walk past his back, making your way to the bowl of apples. Reaching for one of them, his deep voice suddenly hits your ears.

“Eat with me.”

His request makes you smile, as you’re about to bite into the fruit.

“Of course, my Ki-“ your words get stuck in your throat, as you look over to him and see him offering you a piece of meat.

Not a finger. Not the heart. Just a slap of meat. Like a steak.

Your lip is trembling, unsure how to react or what to say. Looking from the meat in his hands, back up to his eyes, you see his honest face, his eyebrow risen in expectation, as he bites off a chunk of another piece.

“Is this how your Queen would act? Eat with you?” you ask him.

A sinister grin spreads on his face as he continues to chew, his eyes start glowing. Sukuna swallows and cocks his eyebrow.

“Maybe.” he hisses.

You blink, looking back to the slap of meat in his hands.

Bloody. Red colour staining his fingers.

You lean in and sniff.

It smells how you would imagine a raw, bloody piece of meat to smell like. Inedible.

“Do you know who it is?” you ask, not leaning back.

“No.” he answers. “Do you care?”

His fingers softly squeeze against the meat, more juices are being pressed out by his force.

“No.” you answer truthfully, hypnotised by his fingers. It’s been a while since you ate something decent and it’s showing. Having you even considering to bite into this piece of human meat is something you wouldn’t do otherwise.

Just go into the kitchen.

Eat the apple.

Crack.

Sukuna bites into a finger, his hand still holding the meat under your nose.

It doesn’t look like it’s… human.

Eat the apple…

You blink.

…or be his Queen.

Your stomach rumbles, saliva pools in your mouth. Sukuna watches you, calm, chewing, while you open your mouth and let your teeth close around a tiny edge. He stops chewing, his stare so intently. You look up to him and rip the piece off. His lip twitches in excitement, before the mouth on his stomach opens and swallows the remaining piece.

And you chew.

The tiny piece doesn’t taste much different than blood. The texture not much different than regular meat.

But it’s not about the meat. It’s about the step you took.

For him.

The devotion.

The Queen and her King.

You swallow.

Disgusting.

Evil.

Your insides churn, before your attention is brought back to Sukuna, whose bloody fingers wrap around your chin and he leans in quicker than you can react. His lips meet yours, his tongue slides into your mouth, licks over your tongue, tasting and savouring you. His motions calm and tender, it makes your knees weak. He purrs, while he breaks the kiss.

“Mhmmm. This taste on your tongue.” he mumbles, his voice vibrates against your lips. “Raw.”

“Please don’t get used to it, my King.” you whisper earnestly into his eyes and they grow soft, wrinkles paint into his skin.

I love you.

His eyebrow twitches at your thought and you can’t help to think that he looks so in love with you as well, so happy that you’re there with him in his chambers. Your heart flutters.

Sukuna straightens his back again and you notice his fleshy cocks in front of you. Veins protruding, pumping blood slow and steady. Looking delicious. And you’re salivating again, staring.

“Still hungry?” he whispers.

“Yes.” a voiceless whisper, before you rip your eyes off his dicks to look up to his face, seeing him about to bite into the next finger, while his bottom left eye keeps watching you.

Crack.

“And I see you are, too.” you add. “So it’s true. That insatiable hunger of yours.”

He chuckles, before he swallows.

“Maybe you have it, too.” his voice so arrogant, as he turns back to you. “I can basically see the spit pooling in your mouth.”

Your eyes fall back down to his ever growing cocks.

“How can I not?” you whisper with a smirk on your face, making him chuckle.

Sukuna leans back down to you and places a chaste kiss on your cheek.

“Be careful not to bite.” your King hisses into your ear, before he turns and walks back to the bed. Eyes glue themselves to his ass, as he walks, only being ripped off of it, as he lets himself drop onto the soft surface. A carnally desire sparks in your mind and you rush after him, hopping onto the bed.

“Turn around.” you order with a nudge of your head.

Sukuna frowns at your sudden command, before a smirk crawls back on his lips. You cock your eyebrow in expectation, while he just stares at you, not moving an inch.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” you say sternly, hoping he won’t be mad.

His lip twitches, as his smirk fades and his eyes grow dark. Your King leans forward, close to your face.

“Watch that little mouth.” he threatens with a voice that’s not threatening at all, not for you at least, before he turns around and lays on his stomach, crossing his upper arms in front of him, while his bottom arms just rest next to him.

You smirk in victory, while climbing onto his ass, straddling it, before leaning forward.

“Watch it? Gonna make you feel it.” you whisper hungrily into his ear. “…my King.” you add, before placing a kiss onto his left shoulder, earning a deep grumble from his chest.

“Gonna make you feel my lips and teeth and tongue.” you hiss against his neck.

His head turns a little, his bottom left eye staring at you. You notice and place a kiss on his cheek, before you lean back again, feeling his plush buttocks against your cunt.

And you take in the sight, his pretty back in front of you, his stare in the corner of your eye, not knowing whats coming next. Your eyes wander from the back of his neck, over his tattoos, to his shoulders. The way his four arms split from his body fascinates you.

Beautiful.

You watch the curve of his back, how muscular he is, until your eyes stop right in front of you, at the crack of his ass.

“My King?” you say softly, before looking back up to his face.

“What is it?” he grumbles and you suppress a grin. He sounds so lost and impatient.

“You’re beautiful.” you answer honestly, making him snort.

“You climbed onto my ass just to tell me that?” he says, as he rises his head and looks questioningly at you over his shoulder.

“Don’t act like you don’t like me saying that.” you tease. “I know it’s honey in your ears.”

He cocks his eyebrow at you and you bore your eyes into his, knowing you are right. Sukuna eyes you up and down, before the corners of his mouth twitch in a suppressed smirk, before he lays back down, burying his face back into his arms.

You lean forward and kiss the back of his neck, his hairs tickling against your nose.

“I know you love me saying that.” you breathe, your voice so smooth. “And I know you love it’s me saying that.”

He purrs at your words, his breath elevating, getting deeper.

Yes. He loves it.

“My Love.” you whisper, before you start to place kisses down his spine, notice the little fine hairs on his stand up, as you do so.

Your hands trace down his sides so tenderly, while you arrive at the small of his back. Lips find the dimples right above his butt crack, kissing them softly. His purrs grow more intense.

Left. Right.

Fingers dig into his hips, before you go lower. Your lips find the soft skin of his left butt cheek. Kissing it, it entices another purr from his chest. Going over to the other cheek.

Another kiss. Another purr.

You lean back, only to take in the sight in front of you. His ass is so pretty, soft and…

Slap!

“Oy!” he grumbles from beneath his arms.

“Oops.” you imitate him, making yourself chuckle.

He smacks his lips in annoyance, before you lean in and take a gentle bite. His hips twitches in response and you hear a muffled hiss coming from his face. No complains.

Alright.

You dive in, kneading, kissing and biting and licking his cheeks, feeling the soft tissue move underneath your fingers, lips and teeth and tongue.

And he groans softly at your actions, his gentle noises making you so happy.

You lower your head, making your tongue slip in between his thighs, feeling his perineum and his balls squeezed between his legs. Gently licking the area, you feel a shudder coming over him.

Another hiss. Another groan.

Oh he likes that.

You move further up, exchange your tongue with your fingers and continue to brush them tenderly against the area, over his balls to his perineum and back, while you let your tongue slowly move to the crack, feeling the edge of his hole.

Only one.

You decide not to tease him for it, not wanting him to stop you in your tracks and possibly throwing you out of your chambers. Instead, you circle it with the tip of your tongue, while still stroking the skin between his legs. An open mouthed groan fills the room, while you continue.

Circle. Circle.

His hips start moving slowly, rubbing his needy dicks across the mattress below you. Your face is buried into his ass, while you keep licking and then you dip in.

“Fuck.” he groans into his pillow, as he keeps rubbing himself onto the mattress, causing him to simultaneously fuck himself onto your tongue. Sukuna’s left leg shifts, lifting off his weight from his swollen cocks and you’re quick to slip your left hand underneath his hips. They’re so hard and pulsating against your hand, it makes you moan against his hole. Sticky fluid sticks against your fingers, as you brush over his tips and you start to feel your walls swelling up as well. He purrs and groans so loud, keeps rubbing himself against your hand, the mattress and your tongue, until he grows impatient.

“Get off!” he orders from under his arms, making you remove your tongue from his hole and raise your head. Hissing at the loss of friction against his hole, he turns around and quickly leans forward, kneeling in front of you, grabs your face and kisses you harshly.

“I need your throat.” he mouths so needy against your lips, while he grabs a fistful of your hair with his upper right hand. “Deep and tight.”

You can’t do anything, but to moan at his rough actions and words, your mind already high from his behaviour and the arousal felt between you two, as he harshly pushes your head down.

Having his cocks already aligned with his bottom left hand, you let yourself being pushed easily onto his bottom one.

And you take it, happily, pushing it as deep as you can inside of your throat.

His meat fills you up and you love it, taking it so hungrily, sucking sloppily on his cock, making him moan, so deep and guttural, his noises letting you know that he loves how you treat him. You moan back, letting your voice vibrate against his sensitive and needy tip deep inside your throat, while he let’s his hand rest on the back of your head.

“Aghh, taking me so well, so deep.” he hisses. “Y/n.” he moans and you feel like you could cum untouched, hearing the way he says your name in such a praising manner.

“Treating and sucking me so nice and good, like a Queen should.” he continues and you feel, as if your juices start could start dripping onto the sheets any moment.

So wet. Just hearing his words.

You whine against his dick, dig your nails into his thighs, while he pumps the upper dick himself.

“Maybe I should truly make me yours, make you my Queen.” he grunts in pleasure, completely lost in your throat, before pushing your head down even more, making his words follow a long open mouthed moan.

Tears pool in your eyes, as you hear his words and as you try your best not to gag. However, hearing him being in a bliss like this and using you to his liking, it makes you feel so wanted by the man you love.

And right now, that’s all you need.

You notice that his left upper arm is moving over your body, before you feel his palm and his tongue against your oozing cunt. The badly needed touch against your plush and sensitive folds makes you moan so loud against the cock inside your throat, makes him moan with you.

Sukuna yanks your head back up, your mouth loses his dick and you look at him with teary eyes, tongue lolling out, as a string of spit still connects you to him.

And he continues to lick your cunt with his hand, making you tremble in his hold, making you dig your nails deeper into his thighs, as he drowns in the sight of you. His almost black eyes stare at you, his mouth open slightly, almost drooling, as he tastes you with his hand and fucks you with his tongue.

And you moan into his eyes, your body being curved almost unnaturally from the position he’s putting you in. He’s hovering over you, so tall, forcing you to look up into his face, holding your head in your neck by your hair, while he pushes simultaneously against your cunt.

God.

You love him so much and what he does to you. This evil curse of a man, this calamity that took your heart and makes you eat. You love him. So much and dearly, you could never be without him again. And you hope he thinks the same about you.

It doesn’t take him long to make you cum on his tongue, the arousal that has been increasing over the course of the last hour, makes it so easy, as his wet muscle keeps fucking and fucking and you keep clenching and clenching, until you snap. Crying your orgasm into his eyes, while painting your own face red from pleasure and love, you shake in his hold, while he just watches you come undone.

You’re not done moaning and twitching from your orgasm, as he roughly pushes your head back down onto his upper cock and starts thrusting a few times into your mouth.

And if feels like you could cum again. You continue suck him so deep and wet, the feeling when he hits the back of your throat drives you crazy.

“Lil‘ slut.” he grunts breathless, as he stops. “Getting wet all over again.”

You hum, but your mind is blank, while he says his words and starts to lick the new juices from your hole. Mindlessly, you take his bottom cock into your left hand and start smearing his precum and your spit all over his tip, while massaging its underside occasionally. Sukuna’s breaths are getting shaky, you feel his thighs and stomach tensing up, the more and more you suck and touch and massage. His moans are becoming louder and louder, until he suddenly pushes you off his dick and pushes himself up on his knees, his dicks now being right above your face, as he pumps them aggressively with both of his left hands.

And you look at him from below, his hand still in your hair. You’re so ready for his cum, opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out for him. Your eyes meet one last time, before his breaths grow so fast, shaking so hard, before he starts singing his release into the room. His head briefly falls back into his neck, as beautiful, raspy, jittering moans and grunts fill your ear, while he fills your mouth and face with his cum. It feels warm and tingly against your skin. He looks back at you, not wanting to miss the sight, while his hands keeps pumping and squeezing, slow and steady, not keeping a single drop inside his dicks.

Sukuna calms down and you swallow, making him huff at the sight of your decorated face.

“Look at you.” he says in a soft voice, watching your for a moment, before he grabs your face in both of his upper hands and leans down.

To your surprise, you feel his tongue against your skin, as he starts licking off his cum. It doesn’t take long, until his right hand moves to your jaw and pushes his fingers at your cheeks, making you open your mouth.

And he spits. Spits his own cum back into your mouth.

“Swallow.” he orders in a deep voice.

You press your thighs together and comply, closing your mouth and swallow his fluids, a mix of spit and his cum. He watches you with half lidded eyes, satisfied with your actions, while you stare back.

I’m his.

“I love you.” you whisper, while looking at him like he’s the most precious thing in the world.

Sukuna’s lip twitches softly and he gently squints his eyes, as soon as he hears your words. He opens his mouth, as if he wants to answer. But, he pauses, stares at you so intently and after a moment, all you get is a squeeze on your heart.

“Say it.” you whisper and you can’t help to think, that he looks a bit like he was caught.

“Say what?” he smirks and you know he’s playing again.

“Asshole.” you pout and his smirk grows, before he starts to chuckle and gently pats your cheek twice.

“Asshole.” Sukuna repeats in his most mocking tone, before he leans back and lets himself slump into his pillows. You watch him cross his upper pair of hands behind his head, a satisfied smirk on his face, as he closes his eyes.

After crawling up to him, you force yourself back into his bottom left arm. Making yourself comfortable, you lean your face against his chest and let your fingers gently brush against his used dicks, while they grow soft again. He purrs softly, while your fingers touch him and you let them wander further down to his balls, cupping them.

They feel so soft.

Suddenly they contract and you look up to your Kings face, only to see him even more satisfied, purring louder, smirk grows wider.

“Continue.” he purrs.

You’re confused, but you continue and watch him in fascination. He seems like he’s like pudding in your hand, relaxing and enjoying your touch so much, like a dog that’s getting his tummy rubs.

Speaking of tummy.

A growl rumbles through yours and you are again reminded, that you didn’t eat something decent in a while. Sukuna peeks through his upper left eye at you and you look back to him.

You blush, before removing your hand from his balls and use it to press his cheek against your lips.

“I’ll be right back, my Love.” you whisper, before you get up and dressed and out of his room.

#permission #permission chapters #true form sukuna #sukuna #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #sukuna smut #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #true form sukuna smut #sukuna x you #sukuna x reader #true form sukuna x you #true form sukuna x reader #fanfiction #slowburn #romance

[gina103]

Girl From The Belly Ch 4

Ch 4 - word count: 4050 Previous - Next

Cassian needed to see her again.

He needed to find out if the entire encounter with the tiny woman he rescued from Lord Babbledon’s drunk clutches was real, he was beginning to suspect himself of dreaming the whole scenario. If it was all a dream, then Cassian was lonelier and more depressed than he thought. He couldn’t help but feel like it was real, the way her tiny body felt sitting in the palm of his hand, the way she moved so realistically, exactly like a real person except doll sized. It had to be real, right?

Cassian had no idea, no clear answer. All he knew, was that he thought of the woman often. So often in fact, he was distracted from his regular hobbies and royal duties. He would frequently be caught lost in his own world, daydreaming, imagining what he would say to the woman if she ever showed up again, what questions he would ask. Maybe she would never show up again, it wouldn’t surprise Cassian if she turned out to be some kind of angel, destined to never show herself again. He certainly hoped not.

That woman, whoever and whatever she was, fascinated him. Despite her not being more than five inches tall, she was less afraid of him than other people his own size were. All his life, people filtered themselves and never spoke freely around him, not even people his own status. They were either fearful or wanted to gain something from him. Cassian had learnt a long time ago that people were not to be trusted. However, for the first time ever since his mother’s death, he was impressed by someone. That mysterious little woman intrigued him, there was something about her that pulled him in. Maybe it was her wittiness, or her cheeky smile, or the fact that she wasn’t afraid to tease him. Cassian wasn’t used to anyone teasing him, he also wasn’t used to anyone acting so carefree, it was almost intoxicating. He needed to know more. He needed to speak to her again or else it would drive him crazy. He’d been so deprived of enjoyable conversations that he felt desperate to latch on to this woman and never let go, whether she was real or not.

“Cassian! Has your sleep been interrupted as of late? Do pay attention!”

The prince in question snapped out of his daze, caught daydreaming for the fourth or fifth time that day.

“Forgive me, Father,” Cassian replied, catching the annoyed gaze of his fiancée.

It had been a difficult day for the prince to be present for. Now that the engagement festivities were over, the wedding planning was underway, much to the annoyance of Cassian. He simply hated everything around him, he especially hated being where he was at the moment, sitting on a sofa in the King’s study, his fiancé next to him, listening to his father go on and on and on with his advisor about his wedding, the guests, the celebration in the capital, and most horribly of all, the wedding night.

Cassian would rather die than think about the wedding night where he will undoubtedly be expected to consummate the marriage and start popping out heirs as fast as possible. He glanced sideways at the Duchess, she seemed poised and perfectly polite as usual, nodding along to whatever the King let pour from his mouth. It was moments like this where he felt the pang of his mother’s absence. He knew that if she could’ve been present, she would be on his side, and maybe he wouldn’t feel quite so alone, so lost, directionless, ambitionless, and isolated. God, he missed his mother. It was then that Cassian finally checked back into his father’s ramblings.

“I do hope to finally be rid of the pianoforte which resides in the music room. I’m afraid I do not see the use in continuing to pay for its tuning if it’s not regularly played.”

“Forgive me, Father for interrupting, but surely you recall the piano’s most frequent visitor?” Cassian interjected. His mother used to play his favorite pieces on that very pianoforte.

“The Queen is no longer here to play that dusty thing,” The King waved his hand dismissively, “and you, my son, shouldn’t be playing it either. The pianoforte is a woman’s instrument, an unfit occupation for a gentleman.”

Red hot anger coursed through the prince’s body. He couldn’t possibly be serious. How dare he speak about his mother in such a flippant and disgusting manner? His fists clenched at his sides, doing everything they could not to go flying at the King’s face.

“If I may speak, your majesty. I do play quite a lot these days, I’m sure that pianoforte still has its uses,” The duchess spoke up, trying to ease the tension in the room.

“You make a lovely point, your grace. However, even if that were true, I fear it may be too much of a temptation for the prince. He needs to prioritize more productive pursuits, such as his riding, his fencing, and his royal duties.”

Cassian merely sat, unresponsively. It was a normal occurrence for his father to ignore him, to speak about him like he wasn’t in the room, like nothing he said mattered. It made no difference in the outcome whether he protested the pianoforte’s removal or not. His father would simply remove it anyway, and once again prove the point that Cassian’s opinion did not matter in the slightest to him.

“Father, that pianoforte is an important heirloom to-,” he tried to say, but before he could finish his sentence, the King interrupted him with a dismissive “shh!”

“I will not entertain your childish fixations on this matter.”

All of a sudden, it felt as though the room had shrunk, it was hard to breathe properly due to the intense wave of anger and despair that hit Cassian. He said nothing, merely standing to his feet, crossing the room towards the door in brisk strides, and exiting the room. Tears threatened to spring to his eyes as he marched down the hallway, but he wiped them as quickly as they came. He heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind him, followed by hurried and delicate footsteps.

“Your highness!” The voice of the duchess called. The last thing Cassian wanted to hear.

“Your highness, stop!” He ignored her again.

“Cassian!”

The prince stopped in his tracks. He whirled around to see his fiancé standing before him, looking at him almost sympathetically. He wanted to throw up, he despised the superficial pity of others.

“How dare you address me by that name?” He spat.

“Forgive me, your highness,” she bowed, “I only meant to gain your attention.”

Cassian stared at her impatiently, waiting for her to continue.

“His majesty only wishes to see Feywen prosper, I’m sure, your highness, that you are aware of that?” Cassian scoffed at that, “Aside from this matter, we must discuss our marriage.”

“What is there to discuss?” the prince asked, crossing his arms.

“There are many things to discuss,” the duchess replied firmly, “I understand that you may dislike me, but I do hope his highness can put away his personal qualms in time to produce an heir to his throne.”

“Need we speak of heirs before we are even married?”

“You won’t speak to me of anything else!”

Cassian opened his mouth to try and dismiss her again, but she beat him to it.

“You act as if I am the cause of all your misery! We both realize the purpose of this match. I only wish for his highness to stop childishly avoiding his responsibility to his country!”

“You dare refer to me as childish, your grace?” the prince lowered his voice, “I’d advise you to stay out of my way, nothing good happens to those who overstep their boundaries.”

He turned and marched down the hallway out of sight, leaving his future wife alone.

“Insufferable…” She muttered to herself before making her way back to the King’s office.

-

Lina was almost floating.

Instead of sweeping the floor of the main room, like she’d been told, she was busy humming the beautiful melodies she heard playing at the ball.

The same ball that brought her into the hands of the prince.

Lina twirled around as she swept. Even though the night had gone horribly wrong, from her falling into the cake, to being kidnapped, it had ended in the most fantastically wonderful way. She remembered how hard it was to sneak back into her room and go to sleep as if nothing happened, as if the prince did not make her promise to see him again. Although she didn’t explicitly promise to him, she had every intention of meeting him again. She just had to be careful how she did it.

Even though Lina wanted to run back to him the next day and catapult herself into his hands, she knew she needed to be patient, or else her family would discover her secret. Another day would have to pass before she would meet him again. For Lina, this would be the hardest task in the world. Ever since that fateful night, prince Cassian occupied every thought in her head. How could he not? Lina remembered how it felt to be held by him, his warm calloused hands protectively cradling her to his chest, the amount of strength and care in his touch was almost overwhelming to recall. The way he spoke to her so kindly, asking her if she was hurt, comforting her when she was literally blubbering in his hands.

“Your laugh suits you much better than your tears…”

Just remembering the gentle tone of his voice uttering those words was enough to cause her to squeal. In the past, when she would spy on him, she could never recall seeing the stoic prince smile or be gentle towards anyone. He always seemed very reserved and even cold at times, but he wasn’t like that at all towards herself. His smile was warm, his eyes were alight with genuine curiosity, wonder, and humor. She was rescued by the prince, and he wanted to know her, what more could Lina ask for in life?

Suddenly, the broom she had been using to dance about the room was snatched from her hands. Lina shrieked in surprise at the sight of her sister before her.

“Did you go see the prince again?” Eunice questioned, crossing her arms.

Lina clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath.

“Why would you think that?”

“Lina please, you only act like that when you’ve gone to spy on him.”

“Act like what?” Lina attempted to seem clueless. She had certainly done more than spy on him.

“Like you’re in a fantasy world or something! What did you do this time?” Eunice was losing patience.

Lina fixed her eyes on the floor. “Well, I didn’t exactly go spy on him.”

Eunice stared impatiently, nodding at her sister to continue.

“I went to watch the ball…”

Lina looked up to see her sister pinching her nose bridge in a very frustrated parental manner.

“Why am I not surprised?” Eunice muttered in disappointment, “don’t let mama catch you acting like a fairy princess.”

She handed the broom back to Lina and walked out of the room, sighing loudly as she went.

“Don’t forget we have to babysit for Mrs. Kettle tonight!” Eunice called out.

“I won’t!”

Lina sighed to herself, was she really that obvious?

 She really needed to be more careful. She didn’t want to give herself away to her entire family. At least it was only Eunice who had seen her dancing around. Being secretive would certainly be a challenge for Lina, she was horrible at keeping secrets. Whatever she was thinking or feeling in a given moment was always reflected directly onto her face and body language in an almost exaggerated manner. This habit had certainly gotten her in trouble throughout her life. This, combined with her honest and passionate way of speaking, gained her a reputation as a loudmouth, headstrong, and stubborn girl.

If you were a woman in The Belly, that reputation was a recipe for spinsterhood. Nobody wanted to marry a woman who couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

It wasn’t like Lina cared about being marriage material in The Belly, that was something Eunice and her mother worried about far more than she did. It was an unfortunate issue to stress over in Lina’s mind because the pool of men to choose from in their community was filthy. All the young men were simple, sloppy, rude, entitled, and incredibly selfish. Although she understood her own mother’s desire to see her married, it was almost insulting to oneself to choose. Lina compared it to having to sift through garbage. This problem is also the precise reason why Lina would prefer to never be married.

In her mind, the prince was the only man who could even measure up to her standards. If he was a borrower, Lina would have married him faster than it took Mrs. Acorn to spread a rumor. It was a real shame that he had to be human. Interactions with humans were forbidden, unheard of, and punishable by exile in The Belly. It was absolutely imperative that nobody was to find out about her little run-in with the prince, less she be exiled to who-knows-where, never to see her family again.

Although she knew about this very heavy risk, Lina had to see Prince Cassian again. Was it stupid? Irresponsible? Risky? Yes. Was she still going to do it? Of course.

Following rules wasn’t exactly her style.

-

The next day brought more wedding planning, arguments, and misery for Cassian.

This time however, he at least tried to be involved. He spoke to his future wife more, and finally remembered her first name, Andrea. He discussed names for their future children, and he did his best to be civil towards his father, whom the duchess was finally able to convince to keep the beloved pianoforte the late Queen used to play.

Through all his fake politeness and civilities, Cassian couldn’t stop thinking about that fateful engagement ball, where he rescued that miniscule woman. By now, he’d concluded that he was having a very intense hallucination due to his stressed and exhausted state that night.

It was almost tormenting him that he never learned her name, which was very strange for Cassian who had just now begun consistently recalling the name of his future wife. There had simply never been anyone he’d met who had left such an impression on him, but he’d never met anyone who was the size of his hand either, nor had he held them, or spoken to them, or laughed with them, or felt as strangely drawn to them as he did that woman.

As he sat in his private study, dipping his quill into the ink, and writing in his journal, he did his best to recall the entire encounter in detail. Cassian figured that if it was all an elaborate dream or hallucination, it would be beneficial to put it into writing. Maybe this would be a fantastic bedtime story for his future children. It would be like the stories his mother used to tell him, about fairies and mythical creatures of the forest, complete with life lessons geared towards children at the end.

In Cassian’s case, he had no idea what the lesson could be. What lesson could be learned from rescuing a miniscule woman? Maybe the story didn’t stop there, it wasn’t finished yet.

The cool nighttime breeze from the open window blew softly over the pages of the journal, flickering the flames from the lit candles. The fireplace crackled and popped in the quiet room, blanketing Cassian’s mind in tranquility, warmth, and fondness as he remembered all the simple details of that fateful night. Like the fact that the mystery woman was almost caked in chocolate, and when he gently wiped her tears away with his handkerchief, there was a brown splotch left on it from the chocolate frosting. Cassian smiled to himself. Although she had clearly been through a traumatic and stressful situation, the mystery woman still smiled as if she didn’t have a care in the world, and for that, he admired her. She was so different from anyone he knew.

Cassian could recall the King becoming enraged when the napkins on the dinner table were not arranged in the correct way he would have liked. Or that time he was forced to attend a coming-of-age ball for a distant cousin of his, where many other royals and noble families were in attendance. Just remembering the slimy smiles of the people who bowed and greeted him, who then turned around to scream at a footman for no reason, made his lip curl in disgust. They lashed out over the most superficial and unremarkable things.

There was just so much about the mystery woman that he didn’t know, that he wished he knew, or wished he asked, it was a shame that he would most likely never know the answers to all his questions for her.

Cassian put his quill back in the inkpot and closed his journal. Slowly, he rose to his feet, crossed the room and stood in front of the fireplace. Almost hypnotized by the dancing flames, he closed his eyes and listened to the crackles and pops emitted by it, letting the warmth of the fire drape him in peace.

Tinkle* Tinkle*

He opened his eyes in confusion. Silence. Instead of turning around, he closed his eyes again.

Tinkle* Tinkle*

What was that noise?

Cassian turned around only to freeze in his place when he saw it.

When he saw her.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing on top of his desk, his journal open, struggling to write something with his quill which looked humongous compared to her, was the mystery woman. He watched her huff and puff with his quill a moment longer, scratching something onto the paper of his journal before he said something.

“It’s you…” Cassian said breathlessly, an excited smile creeping onto his face.

The woman’s face snapped out of concentration mode to notice Cassian standing there watching her. A wide grin broke out on her face.

“Good evening, your highness,” She dipped her head in a slight bow.

“What are you doing?” he asked amusedly, walking slowly back to his desk.

“Oh nothing, just leaving a message…” The woman grunted as she attempted to write.

Cassian took a glance at his journal. She had written an A, a d, and seemed to be writing another a as well. He sat down, folded his arms together on the desk, and rested his head on them. The woman turned and shot him a fake annoyed look.

“Are you not going to help me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I was under the impression that you were self-sufficient,” Cassian shrugged. He reached out and lifted the quill from her grasp, hearing her gasp a little from the sudden intrusion of his hand.

“What do you need me to write?” he asked, leaning closer to the desk so he could hear her better.

He saw her tiny freckled cheeks go slightly pink before she started to spell the word she was writing. Eventually, he ended up with something. A name.

Adalina.

Cassian’s eyes widened in realization. “Is this your name?” he asked.

Her smile widened in glee as she nodded. “I go by Lina, your highness.”

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, “my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Cassian.”

“I’m aware of your name,” She stuck out her tiny arm, still smiling from ear to ear, “pleased to make your acquaintance.”

How was this woman so smiley? Cassian didn’t know, but it was certainly contagious, and he felt himself smiling back at her.

Lina. That name suited her.

 He reached out and carefully grasped her hand in between his pointer finger and thumb. While he shook it as gently as possible, he marveled at the sensation of her microscopic digits. He could feel every individual one against his own fingers. He let go, still taking in her appearance.

“I must admit, it is wonderful to see you no longer covered in chocolate,” he mused.

“Oh yes!” Lina replied sheepishly, “may I ask you to erase that memory from your head?”

“I’m afraid I cannot,” Cassian opened his journal to the entry about her, “I’ve written it down right here.”

“You wrote about me?” Her expression was one of genuine surprise.

“Well of course. It’s not everyday that one runs into a woman the size of one’s hand,” Cassian held up his hand next to her for comparison.

For a split second, her expression turned grave. Worried he may have made her uncomfortable, he quickly added, “I can rid of the entry if you wish.”

“Oh no! It’s alright!” Lina said, snapping out of her trance, “You can keep it! I just want to ask something. Will you please keep it a secret that I’m here?”

“I give you my word,” he said earnestly, “however, even if I were to read this journal out loud for the whole kingdom, I doubt there would be a single soul who would believe me.”

Lina cocked her head to the side slightly at the almost bitter tone in his voice. He noticed the splay of freckles running across her face, made clear to him by the flickering golden light of the fireplace. Cassian quickly corrected himself.

“Never mind that. Why has it taken so long for you to make yourself known to me?” he propped his elbow on his desk, resting his chin on his hand.

Lina let out an amused laugh. “Your highness, it has been four days.”

“Four days too long.”

“I didn’t realize you would miss me so much.”

And there it was, that cheeky, gleeful smile was back. Was she some kind of impish, wingless fairy? He was envious at the amount of joy she held.

“I was worried I had dreamt the entire thing.”

Cassian’s other hand was resting on the desk. She moved closer to it, resting her own miniscule hand on top of one of his knuckles.

“Does this feel like a dream?” she asked, locking eyes with him. Her eyes were hazel, they reminded him of a beautiful sunset.

“No,” Cassian said. He was utterly mesmerized.

“What about this?” She draped her body across the back of his hand.

“No,” He could even feel the soft wisps of her auburn hair on his knuckle. He felt goosebumps erupt on his arms. Thanking the universe that she couldn’t see that, he leaned down.

“May I?”

Lina rose and nodded.

Cassian took his time. Taking her hand in between his pointer finger and thumb, he gently caressed it, feeling every little digit beneath his fingers. Then slowly, he moved upwards, grazing his thumb along her arm. Before he knew it, he had reached her shoulder, then he slowly began caressing her back. Lina leaned back more and more into his hand until he was holding her around the waist. She looked completely blissful, her eyes were closed. He gently began playing with her hair as well, just marveling at her. She was so small, so fragile, and she trusted him. It blew his mind how she was even alive.

Knock* Knock*

Cassian quickly let go of Lina and sprang up.

“W-who goes there?” he asked in a fluster.

“Mr. Cutlet, your highness.”

Cassian sighed in exasperation, marched over to the door, and opened it halfway. He stared expectantly at the butler.

“Correspondence from your fiancée for his highness,” the butler held out a letter for him.

The duchess had traveled back to her home country to visit her family for a time, she must have sent word of her safe arrival. Cassian snatched the letter from Mr. Cutlet.

“Thank you,” he said stiffly, shutting the door.

When Cassian turned back around, a pang of sadness struck him.

Lina was gone.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he could only hope that she would visit again soon.

And he certainly couldn’t wait for it.

#g/t #g/t community #g/t writing #sfw g/t #g/t fluff #the borrowers #giant/tiny #borrowers #oc: cassian #oc: lina #oc: eunice #oc: idris #Giant/Tiny #g/t original story #g/t ocs

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Tangled" (2010)

I've been on a roll with these lately! While I find "Tangled" underrated, there are some things I'd change to make it more enjoyable for me. BTW, I've never watched the animated series in it's entirety; I only know a few things, so I can't include much from that perspective.

In terms of Rapunzel, I'd wanna tweak a couple things, mainly nit-picks. One of them is making her older than 18; I feel like it shows that she's very young, and Flynn felt very mature by comparison, so it felt a bit off to me. I'd also love for Rapunzel to have another outfit. I love her OG one, but the concept art outfits are gorgeous as well. Maybe she packs a change of clothes. Plus I wish she looked a little bit less frail, given her athleticism. I'm not saying she's gotta be buff, but less thin than she was in the final product. Just my two cents. Plus let's think about her using her crossbow along with her frying pan. And I'd probably make her cynical about the world, reeling back on the naivete a bit. And controversial change: make her illiterate. I thought to myself why Gothel would go through the trouble of teaching her how to read, especially if it kept her docile. I could imagine her giving Rapunzel a lot of misinformation, which Pascal does his best to fix. Her love interest would teach her how to read, which I feel like would be a great bonding experience. Speaking of which...

2. Replace Flynn Ryder with Bastion. I find a lovable guy trying to get out of being a thief more interesting than the dime-a-dozen pessimistic thief trope (check out my post on that). He's basically Kristoff, and I love the size difference between them. And given that Bastion is a thief and had a rough life, it's likely he didn't learn to read much, either. Perhaps they learn together--or maybe he was taught how to read and taught Rapunzel. Either way, it makes for a romantic bonding experience. Plus Bastion trying to escape his boss gives him his own story arc; in the OG film, the Stabbington brothers pursue Flynn, but this amounts to nothing because of Gothel. Their biggest role was helping Gothel make Rapunzel think the outside world was dangerous. Bastion is eventually framed for his boss' crimes and blinded, and his dog Beau guides him back to Rapunzel. I did still want Gothel to kill him and Rapunzel bring him back to life, but maybe blinding and death is too much at once.

3. The powers of Rapunzel's hair has different parameters. Similar to the animated series, it is very durable and difficult to cut; this is revealed to be due to Rapunzel's subconscious nature to distrust others. As a result, it isn't until Rapunzel falls in love with (and thus trusts) Bastion that he can cut her hair. I think it's a neat metaphor for letting your guard down, a Samson and Delilah situation--except this doesn't end poorly.

4. Adventures in Corona are WILDLY different. Rapunzel and Bastion spend more time there in the film--in fact, I'd say they spend about half of the movie there. Rapunzel accidentally heals someone else while healing Bastion, and decides to use her powers to heal others in Corona, albeit anonymously because of Gothel scaring her about people wanting to manipulate her. This turns out to be true when Rapunzel's identity is revealed. She is further exotified due to her blonde hair while everyone in Corona has brown, black, or red hair (not sure if this is the case in the OG film, but in my version it is). Gothel makes this worse, revealing the decay incantation while Rapunzel is asleep, harming someone in the process. Bastion helps her escape before she is brought before the king and queen for a trial, and Gothel "rescues" her while Bastion takes the fall for it and his boss' crimes. Plus I'd want to use the demo lyrics for the decay incantation; they feel more haunting (albeit shorter).

5. More of Gothel's backstory is explored, and she is less overdramatic in this version, so that she comes off as more serious and concerned, and may even make the audience question whether she really cares about Rapunzel. Plus her gradual aging is more apparent, as when she visits Rapunzel, she barely recognizes Gothel at first, as she's aged a lot since Rapunzel left.

6. Varian and Cassandra are canon here, given that Rapunzel spends more time in Corona and forms platonic connections. I wanted to work in the moondrop storyline, but the film has enough going on already. I will admit I'm kinda torn about including Varian because of the sci-fi elements that come with him being an alchemist and the clash it makes with the magical and mystical vibes of the film, preferring instead for him to be a wizard to expand on the fantasy aspect--but that's probably an unpopular opinion since it's the exact opposite of who he is, to my understanding. Cassandra is kind of key to helping Rapunzel question Gothel, though--not in a direct way like Bastion, but due to the fact that Cassandra looks like Gothel. This is jarring to Rapunzel, as she first dismisses her as a descendant of Gothel (her mother does adore her youth, after all), though this only gives Rapunzel MORE questions to ask her "mother," especially as she now realizes they don't look anything alike. If anything, she at least wants to ask about her father, which does kinda pave the way for an updated version of the deleted song "Are There Girls In the World Like Me?" I also wanted to include a subplot where Gothel manipulates Cassandra (who in my version, never knew her mother, and doesn't see a resemblance due to her aged appearance) into being envious of Rapunzel for being raised by her mother, but I don't think there's enough time to fully flesh that out with everything else. Honestly, a part of me wants to remove Cassandra and Gothel's relationship entirely and have Cassandra exist independent of her show counterpart's history since there isn't time to really focus on it.

7. Bastion is royalty. Perhaps ripping off of Barbie's Rapunzel a bit, I'd take into account Flynn Ryder actually being royalty and making Bastion the kidnapped son of a neighboring royal, making him once again similar to Rapunzel; kidnapped and used for dastardly deeds. This threatens to throw the kingdom into war, and Gothel hopes it destroys any thoughts of searching for Rapunzel, as she tells King Edmund that Bastion was kidnapped by the Corona royal family. I do like the idea that Bastion does have a sibling or two just so he isn't first in line for the throne, though; it's tough enough that Rapunzel has never learned to rule a kingdom, and Bastion being the heir to his throne doesn't bode well, either--at least not in a practical sense. I love the idea that by the end of the film, everyone is left with introspective thoughts and able to start anew after all the pain they experienced.

Lemme know what you think! I thought hard on it, and similar to "Big Hero 6," I had a lot I wanted to include, but it may be too much for one film.

#tangled #disney #disney animation #rapunzel #disney princess #bastion #cassandra #varian #gothel #mother gothel #flynn rider

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

melda tâe, pray tell: what are the ojv!style/starsev's favorite foods? <3

HELLO MELMË!!! Oooo this is such a fun ask ilysm and I love any excuse to be Incredibly Annoying abt the OrangeJuiceVerse so YEP HERE WE GO!!!

Kyle- Kyle SO has a sweet tooth!!! (I love that that’s a universal Kyle hc btw) that boy is THERE for any baked goods deadass even those shitty gas station packaged muffins (Stan is scribbling out the nutritional information (or as he calls it, Food Lore, well into their 30s)) and Kyle def consumes anything sugary. As for actual real food, he likes Italian a lot which works very well bc pasta is a general hit w everyone. Favorite fast food place is subway and he ALWAYS rearranges the sandwich components to make sure the distribution is right (he claims he doesn’t have obsessive compulsive tendencies) (he does) so this guy is THE reason the ojv is called the ojv, his favorite beverage is orange juice with seven ice cubes and a pinch of salt bc he’s picky even when he claims to not be, he’s also a red wine enjoyer

STAN!!! Oh my god he and Cartman and Kenny are bottomless pits!!! Stan is a big boi and he’s packing away everything he eats bc 1) he hates waste, and 2) he’s just hungry. BUT he’s really more of a savory guy. Veggie king, ofc, and he’s at every fast food place in town ordering any vegetarian option, ALSO!!! This man LOVES spicy food but his stomach doesn’t. He’ll get a couple crunchwraps sub refried beans and slather that shit in Diablo sauce, but there’s a pretty good chance he’s gonna be nauseous a few hours later. Also he loves Kyle’s cooking!!! Bc Ky likes to cook when he’s stressed and Stan likes Kyle, and Kyle makes this really kickass homemade bread (jalapeño cheese bread oh my god I really want some now) Stan is also SO bad at drinking water but he is in fact a soda enjoyer. Miller Lite and the cheapest vodka known to man (before he stopped drinking) are a staple, also he frequents the local smoothie king and gets a chocolate hulk. For most of their life style has been ordering an olive and pineapple pizza. Stan always dips it in extra marinara.

Tweek- he is seriously just a snacker. Like Girl Dinner has nothing on Tweek Dinner. His meals look like a Charlie Brown thanksgiving. If he even remembers food is a thing. But like Craig will come home and be like “what do u want for dinner” and Tweek’s like “oh I ate a whole jar of pickles” the amount of half eaten granola bars in that house smh. BUT he can decimate so much garlic bread. A very big lemonade fan.

Craig! He’ll eat whatever, nonchalant KING unless!!!! He’s having a bad day and is already on the cusp of a meltdown. If he’s overstimulated it’s a sprite and an uncrustable. A grape uncrustable. Also I just feel like he likes seafood? I cannot explain why, but he does. Also he’s really good about hydration, he likes routine and he has one of those bottles w the time markers lmao. And he’s weirdly pretentious abt craft beers like when he and Kyle take their lil excursions to their spot he’s drinking an ipa that’s lowkey gross but then he’s just shrugging at Kyle and being all “idk the citrus hits in the aftertaste” like an asshole.

KENNY ok Kenny is also not picky in the slightest, how could he be with how he grew up, but I feel like he’s especially fond of easy meals like casseroles, frozen pizza, that kind of stuff. When he starts actually making a stable living off his art he hits up ALL the local food trucks and small businesses and broadens his food knowledge, and he’s keeping the smaller struggling businesses going just by his support. He is another example of ojv losers not drinking enough water, thinks Mountain Dew counts, literally he would’ve developed scurvy in college if left to his own devices. SMH ily kenneth also he and Stan have both thrown up bc they tried to one up each other doing shots of hot sauce

Marj my queen! She, like Kyle, likes sugar, if the homies are going to a diner she’s getting pancakes, and she takes her coffee ALL dressed up. Also kenny is the grillmaster and Marj is making the BEST sides for the bbq!!! Omg she loves her some pasta salad and a lil shrimp shishkabab moment like put this girl on the cover of a southern living magazine with her sweet iced tea (she makes the best sweet tea) marj my goddess pls quit causing problems on the internet and just use ur hospitality degree to run a b&b and make the best biscuits and gravy ever

Cartman. Bruh. Eric Cartman. He has THE most expensive taste known to man when he’s older but until he gets into the Rich People scene he doesn’t really care about what he’s eating or if it’s of good quality. In college he dragged the m5 to some shitty steakhouse bc he heard it was a good deal, and also bc he was mad at Stan for belting As Long As You’re Mine from Wicked and he knew Stan wouldn’t have any food options there lmfao that asshole (he did have to put a dollar in the Fuckwad Jar). He will also eat the weirdest combination of things. Who is putting whipped cream and chocolate syrup on fried chicken? This man. He is a Diet Coke enjoyer lmfao also he drinks martinis with olives bc “it makes me look sexy and kewl” he doesn’t like olives btw he’s just an asshole

I HAD TOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS!!! The ask is always open for ANY of my AU’s or if ur just bored or want fic recs I’m a huge loser and my sp obsession is ever ridiculous.

#asks #i had so much fun #NINAAAAA #everyone say thank you #south park #headcanon #OrangeJuiceVerse #kyle broflovski #stan marsh #tweek tweak #craig tucker #kenny mccormick #marjorine stotch #eric cartman

[crunchycrystals]

every book i read in september 2023

i did in fact bring this back because i thought it would be fun and all my followers should know that before everything, i am a book nerd. i genuinely think i only feel like i'm alive when i'm reading regularly. no spoilers for any of the books i talk about because i can only have one cut per post

before i get into the books here's some general info on reading stuff this month. so i read 9 books which i'm really proud of myself for after being in a reading slump for ages. i was still reading then but i really was not enjoying myself nearly as much as i was in previous months and i'm really enjoying myself now. 5 of the books i read were physical copies of them, 1 was an ebook, and 3 were audiobooks. my average rating was 4.29/5 and read a total of 13.78 hours on audiobook and 2476 of pages shout out to storygraph for all this info i am telling you use storygraph if you want to track your reading its so great

the cruel prince. i really liked this surprisingly??? the worldbuilding was great and i loved all the political aspects of it. jude was a really interesting main character and i had a lot of fun with the story (especially the plot twist/s, no i'm not saying if there's more than one). i liveblogged a couple parts of the entire series this month so you can check my tfota tag for more in depth thoughts

the lost sisters. it was pretty interesting to see the plot of the cruel prince from the perspective of a different character but i didn't think much about my enjoyment of it since i was just reading it for more info on the series lol

captain stone's revenge. so i went on a nancy drew diaries binge once and i've been keeping up with the series ever since then just because, and i had a hold on this book for like 2 months at the library and i finished it in a day lol. it's a short book and definitely not as good as other books in the series but yk it wasn't awful still had fun reading

we are okay. this is one of my favorite books and i cried for 40 minutes straight as i finished the last like 50-80 pages. it's a really great exploration of different kinds of grief that are complicated and how it affects people. i posted while reading it "every chapter there's something that makes me take psychic damage" which was very fun but also deeply painful (in a fun way most of the time, sometimes i was in public trying not to cry). the ending is so hopeful it made me cry for a different reason why i was crying for the past 35ish minutes. it's a great book i highly recommend it it's only like 230 pages.

the wicked king. sequel to the cruel prince, i also really enjoyed this but i don't think i enjoyed it as much as the cruel prince. still well written though and i have more in depth thoughts under my tfota and/or reading commentary tags

queen of nothing. 100% my favorite from the trilogy i loved it i thought the characters and plot in this one were all super great and i loved the ending especially. i do have more detailed thoughts that i wrote down for me personally but this is a no spoilers section so i won't share it unless someone asks

cress. this is the 3rd book in the lunar chronicles series and aaaaaaa i loved this so much i had so much fun reading it i love the alternating povs and how they all end up clashing with the dramatic irony in that one scene i loved kai's povs i wanted to keep reading constantly i love these characters so much go read the lunar chronicles please

chalice of the gods. uhhh so i finished this in less than 12 hours i liveblogged it all i really enjoyed it you can see my thoughts there go check it out (cotg or reading commentary tag). a lot of cringe moments (WHY does he mention boomers so much) but i am choosing not to see it i only see percabeth and percy grover friendship content again and i enjoyed reading it

daisy jones and the six. i listened to this on audiobook and it was incredibleeeeeeee the voice actors were amazing it was so entertaining. another taylor jenkins reid book about the drama between famous people and it was very entertaining to read about. stressful at times but overall i liked it. once again there are some notes in the reading commentary tag

i also started winter this month but i am definitely finishing it in october so i don't count it lol

#crunchyposts #books #monthly wrap up #<- in case i end up doing this again

[parttime-creative]

The handmaiden’s beast

WC: 8151

Raiting: explicit

Fandom: Once upon a Time

Pairing: SwanQueen

Emma is the personal handmaiden to a rather frivolous queen. The two women can't take their eyes of each other until one fated night...

Read on AO3

.

Emma was up, even before the first rays of sunshine crept over the mountain tops and the before the first rooster had greeted the new day. She had already made her bed in her small room, had eaten, washed herself and was now opening the curtains in the big dining room. The castle was still quiet. The majority of its inhabitants were still fast asleep or only now gradually waking. The night guards were slowly replaced by the first day shift. They greeted Emma tiredly, whenever they passed each other on their way to their beds, while she was navigating her way through the tight corridors to the royal chambers.

Emma had always been the first one to get up in the morning and the last one to go to bed in the evening. Being the personal handmaiden to her majesty, the queen herself, it was her duty to tend to the queen’s every need, read her every wish from her lips, so she could fulfil her royal duties as pleasantly as possible. Part of this was not only to prepare a balanced breakfast for the queen, but also the thing she enjoyed to do the least: Emptying the royal bed of any leftover residue from her nightly enjoyments.

Since their shared childhood, Emma had spent every day at the queen’s side. As the daughter of the royal cook she had grown up in the castle, just like the princess. It had only been natural for the two to become friends, after all they had been the only two girls their age in the entire castle. Even though it had mostly been frowned upon, that the princess played with such a “lowly peasant girl”, like the cook’s daughter, their friendship had never wavered. When they grew older however, their respective duties had caught up with them and made them see each other less and less. Until the princess had demanded her best friend to become her personal handmaiden.

At the time the position had been barren. The fact, that Emma did not only know every corner, secret passage and daily routine of the castle by heart, but also deeply knew the princess herself, made her rather eligible for the position, despite being from a lower rank. Emma knew exactly how to handle the princess’ fiery temper, what she enjoyed and what she despised. Finding a new kitchen servant or maid to replace Emma was easy. Far easier than finding a woman the princess would trust as much as she did Emma. So the choice had been a quick and simple one. Only two days after the princess’ request, the former king had announced Emma to be her new handmaiden.

The two girls had been overjoyed at the prospect of once again spending their days together. But soon they, especially Emma, would notice their vision and their reality could not have been further from each other. Over time Emma evolved from the friend at her side into a shadow, quietly and obediently following the princess. The older the princess became, the more and more people filled Emma’s place at her side, while her cortège grew with ladies in waiting, noblemen and -woman, maids, princes, lords and ladies. She found new friends, prober ones for her rank, and Emma turned into just a background character of her life.

By now the princess took her for granted and didn’t even notice the handmaiden in her shadows anymore. She was way to engrossed by the pleasures and pleasantries of the royal court. Who could blame her? Certainly not Emma. She had always been the rational one out of the two of them. Even as a child she had always known that one day they could no longer frolic through the meadows around the castle, no longer ride as fast as the wind together, that they could no longer steal pastries from the kitchen and eat them hidden behind the throne, while a wide grin would decorate their faces. Emma had always known that, and yet it hurt watching her princess unknowingly turning her back on her, forgetting her. It hurt to no longer be noticed by those warm brown eyes, which had lit up every they had seen each other as kids. It hurt to longer be there person who produced those wide smiles on the princess’ face, that made her shine radiantly like the sun and Emma’s heart flutter. It hurt to watch her grow into this glorious woman, she had always seen in her, and not be one of the open admirers, who shamelessly court her every day.

And those were countless. The princess was a mesmerizing beauty. Long flowing hair, dark as raven’s fathers, full pursing lips, big amber eyes, surrounded by long, dark lashes and with a knowing look, that deeply perforated your inner soul. The princess had mastered, these looks to perfection. A face over which the royal painters had fought more than once, who would be allowed to capture her on canvas. But not only the princess’ face was the subject of hymns all over the land. In taverns and around campfires people praised her body, her curves, her delicate neck, her slender fingers, her fertile loins. Emma despised these praises, especially since she had noticed they’d made their way into the castle.

Maybe they had started here to begin with?

Nevertheless, she reprimanded everyone she heard disrespect her queen. Whenever she entered a room of off duty guards or late-night partying maids and chamber men, the conversations immediately quiet down. Emma was like a guard dog, who kept her majesties name clean at all times… or at least so she tried, for their former friendships’ sake. Even though she seemed to be to only one concerned about the matter. The princess seemed to not much care about her reputation, after all it was her rank and ancestry that taught other to respect her in her presence. A sort of respect that the princess would use for her own gain and … desires, on a regular basis.

That’s how her once proper and innocent girl friend had turned into a rather promiscuous woman. There were barely any balls after which Emma would not have to rid the royal bed of any leftover liaison. It did not matter if male or female, nobleman or simple servant girl, royal knight or lady in waiting, stable boy or marquise. The princess invited everyone who caught her eye and did not resist her incredible charm. Rumour had it, people from far away lands attended the royal balls only for a chance to spend a night with the princess.

Even after her coronation, following the king’s death, did neither her desire nor her habits change. Only her taste had become more refined, more selective. More and more Emma found familiar faces in the queen’s bed. A steady circle of returning lovers had build itself around her majesty, which could not be more different in personalities, looks and ranks. Only every now and then, came the occasional fling after a ball or other political event.

But one thing did all of them have in common: Every morning they were awakened by Emma and quietly guided out of the royal chambers. Without waking the queen, herself - just as she did now.

Carefully she touched the shoulder of the young nobleman, who was topless and peacefully sleeping, one arm around the queen’s waist.

“Milord, my deepest apologies, but I must ask you to wake” she whispered with a calm but serious tone. Despite her expectations, he actually woke up. However, when he recognized Emma’s face he groaned and waved his hand dismissively as if to shoo away an annoying fly.

“Leave, woman. How dare you wake me? Don’t you see, who my companion is?”

His tone was arrogant. Emma rolled her eyes. She despised people like him. Why did the queen have to choose this one? He considered himself chosen, just because he had spent the night in the royal bed. He felt himself special because he had been allowed to maltreat her majesty’s loins with his pathetic cock. Emma supressed a snort. Judging from last night’s noises, which were barely any, she would not see him again anytime soon. Her queen had become selective. Who could not sate her, would turn boring and lose the queen’s interest and her favour. And this boy, who was still green behind his ears, could not possibly have the experience to fulfil her queen’s expectations.

You’re dealing with the regency of a giant land, a queen who’s power you couldn’t possibly comprehend. Do you REALLY think she will even spend another thought about your measly peen, your ridiculous cock, even once, after this night? All those cheep whores, that voluntarily sprawl themselves in front of your jingling coins, like cats in heat, those whores could not possibly compare to MY queen! Leave your high horse, boy. When she wakes, she won’t even remember you!

Emma would have loved to shower the boy with all the names of maids, servants, stable boys, guards and other noble folk that had brought the queen far more noisy nights of pleasure in comparison to him. In fact, she hadn’t heard her queen at all, and she always heard her queen. There had been nights in which not only the queen but also Emma in her neighbouring chamber could not find any sleep. Nights of which this jerk could only dream of.

But Emma knew better than to say that, she knew how to restrain herself. She had collected enough slaps across the face from wounded egos over the years, to learn when to hold her tongue. Instead she once again carefully should the boy’s shoulder.

“Milord, I must ask you to rise, please. Her majesty has already ordered for you to be served breakfast by dawn and look, the sun is already rising.”

Somehow Emma had actually managed to let her voice sound collected and patient.

“Are you deaf, bitch?!” the boy growled and Emma just sighed.

“In fact I am not, Milord, yet I need to ask you to leave the royal bed. Her majesty does not enjoy waking along side her company. Please, this is for your own good, Sire.”

That wasn’t even a lie. The queen was not gracious towards things and people that disappointed her. Emma, herself, had made this experience first-hand. But it was especially bad in the mornings, after a night not spend alone, as well as for people who had not been able to satisfy her. Whenever she saw them again a look of pure disgust would enter her perfect face and it would turn into a bad day for Emma.

This finally seemed to reach the boy and his sleep ridden face turned thoughtful. Judging from his wary look towards the sleeping queen, he must have heard from her fiery temper and little patience. As alluring as those traits might have been the night before, they also created the sort of respect in her subjects, which he did not seem to be wanting to test.

Eventually he showed himself compliant and only glanced at her disgruntled, which Emma skilfully ignored. She handed him his clothes, which he begrudgingly took. While he clothed himself with a face of pure disproval, Emma just watched him silently, almost bored. She didn’t even think about offering her help. She was not his chambermaid. She had no obligation towards her queen’s lovers and after his behaviour she wouldn’t lift one finger. She didn’t mind whether or not he understood, that she didn’t like seeing him here. At least she felt gratification to see that her guess seemed to be true. This night would just be one of many for her queen.

When he finally had put on his dishevelled clothes, Emma lead him towards the small dining room.

“Eat, Milord. Your carriage will be waiting for you in the courtyard.”

She gave him an unimpressed look. He however stared at her darkly as he sat down at the sparkly decked table.

“No goodbye? I’ll remember this”, he snarled arrogantly. Emma snorted.

“Oh, there is no need, Sire. You won’t return anytime soon.”

He jumped up, obviously agitated.

“HOW DARE YOU! You little- “, but Emma didn’t even let him finish. Instead she pushed him back down into his seat.

“Do you really think, her majesty would invite you back after such a silent night, Milord?” she whispered into his ear. Her tone almost sweet, her voice dripping with pleasure she got from putting his arrogant behind in his place.

“Her majesty pleasures herself fare more successfully than you ever could, Sire. For your own fragile ego’s sake, don’t try to come back. It will just hurt the pathetic reputation you have with those whores you so obviously don’t even satisfy. Poor women. I do hope you at least compensate them accordingly for their… expenses.”

With that she turned on her heels and left the boy speechlessly behind. A soft chuckle escaped her that day, every time she remembered the boys shocked face as his gigantic ego crumbled beneath her words. What a pleasure this had been.

Day by day went by like this. It always would be the same. Emma woke up, drove away the queen’s nightly guests and followed her daily duties, to fulfil her majesties every wish. Emma was used to her life in the shadows. She was a handmaiden. Her place was behind her queen.

Unseen.

Unheard.

Unnoticed.

And yet, she wasn’t…

°~*~°

One hundred and ninety-five.

One hundred and ninety-six.

One hundred and ninety-seven.

One hundred and ninety-eight.

One hundred and ninety-nine.

Two hundred.

Emma put away the hairbrush and let her hand gently run over the ocean of soft, raven black hair in front of her. She smoothed down any last wild hairs and then took a few strands between her finger. With skilled hands she created the intricate up-do her queen had requested.

Dark eyes, sparkling with an inner fire, watched her attentively through the mirror in front of them. Emma was used to it. Whenever it was just the two of them those amber eyes followed her every move. When she clothed her, when she made her hair, when she washed her, the queen never took her eyes of Emma.

“I wonder... Those hands could do all sorts of things just wonderfully, wouldn't they?”

The queen’s dark voice echoed in Emma’s ears. Sensual like the crackling of a fire in the cold winter, rough like the growl of a wild beast and yet velvety like the purring of a cat. Emma knew this tone. She hated it and yet it sent shivers down her spine. It was the exact tone her majesty used whenever someone hat caught her attention. Emma was used to this as well. Her queen enjoyed teasing her, coming onto her and Emma let her. Who was she to refuse her queen? But she never took it seriously. She never responded to it. She had fished too many nightly companions out of the queen’s bed over the years. She would never think anything of it. Emma was nothing special. Still she quirked one eyebrow and looked up from her work. Her eyes met the queen’s in the mirror, where she watched Emma with hooded eyes and a sinful smile playing with her lips. Emma supressed the urge to roll her eyes and stirred her attention back to the queen’s hair.

“Of course, your majesty. For example, they’re perfectly suited to shoo you towards the breakfast they prepared for you. Furthermore, I shall remind you, you’re having an important audience with your ministers today” she said casually and pinned the last strand of hair in its place. The queen sighed theatrically.

“Oh Emma, you’re always so utterly uptight! There is no joy in teasing you.” The queen pouted in a way Emma would almost call cute, adorable even. But only almost. She knew better, she knew this face. It was another one of the queen’s tools. She just quietly put away the hair utensils, while the queen stood up as lithe as a cat and closed the distance between them. Emma could feel her breath caress her neck, felt how goose bumps run down her arms. The queen affected her. Of course. How could she not? Yet Emma showed no reaction. Even when the queen’s slender hand wrapped around her waist and spun her around. Just about the span of a hand could fit between their faces. The queen tightened her grip around Emma’s waist. Still the handmaiden didn’t show any kind of reaction. She had seen this game countless times before, watched from the shadows as her queen played it. She had even been the subject of it a few times before. There was nothing left, that could surprise Emma anymore.

Not even when the queen’s hand slid up her side, resting on her cheek. Soft palms on her hot skin and a thumb that alluringly stroke over her lips. She could smell her breath on her face, and of course Emma noticed the queen moisten her lips. How her eyes looked at her in this certain kind of way. The look of a wild cat. The eyes of a predator ready to jump on his prey. A bright fire burned inside her eyes, a flame of desire and lust and hunger. This as well, Emma had seen countless times before. However, something seemed to make the royal mask slip. There was something tearing at her façade. The queen looked like she got devoured by her desire. This night must really not have sated her.

Emma felt her heartbeat quicken. The excitement beating in her chest, the lusting ache in her stomach. But the handmaiden knew this procedure, she knew her queen, her game, her effect. The spell she kept on her partners. Emma could not hold it against anyone to give into her. It was too easy, to tempting. But not Emma.

Emma was her handmaiden.

Emma did not react to her in any way.

Not even when her grip around Emma tightened once more. Not when she pulled even closer, pressed her voluptuous body against Emma’s. Not when her hot breath tickled Emma’s skin. The queen’s fingers wandered from her cheek to her neck, lifting her head so Emma had no choice but to look into her eyes. The look she met there was enticing. Mesmerising. Demanding. Dominant.

Okay, the queen knew exactly what strings to pull, what made her objects of desire crumble beneath her fingers. She knew what she was doing. But Emma did not give in. Emma knew all that. She had watched it countless times. It was like a mantra for her.

When the queen carefully stroke her cheek, putting one of her lose strands behind her ear, Emma just quirked an eyebrow.

“Breakfast?” she simply said and the queen groaned in frustration. She abruptly let go of Emma and threw her hand in the air.

“What must I do, for you to lose this unwavering composure?!” she asked, her eyes piercing her questionably. Not much more… Eventually she sighed deeply and shrugged.

“Breakfast it is…”, she finally gave in and pranced with swinging hips from her chambers to the dining room.

°~*~°

The queen slammed her door in frustration.

“I hate these old bucks and their dusty believes! Boring, shrivelled potatoes, all of them!” she huffed and Emma just chuckled, while checking the bath’s water temperature with her hand. She didn’t say anything while her queen let out her displeasure about her ministers, she just listened. Emma knew she hated these weekly meetings. The ministers had quite conservative and – according to the queen – outdated values. She despised that they constantly argued against her rather open believes and lifestyle. But what should the queen do? They were rightfully part of the regency. They took some of the load of ruling a whole country off of her shoulders. To do that and still act in her accord, they needed these meetings. The queen knew that, so she wilfully powered through them every time. Only in Emma’s presence she allowed herself to show her true distaste towards them. Emma however was clever enough to keep that to herself. Her loyalty laid fully with her queen and she would never even dare to think about going on behind her back.

Eventually the handmaiden found the water to be suitable for her queen. She finished off her preparations with a few drops of scented oil, before getting up to help the queen undress, who gladly turned her back towards Emma. The queen seemed to have calmed down and Emma knew she was looking forward to her bath. Her queen always wished to bathe after an audience with ‘the old bucks’. Once she had called it ‘washing off their dust’ and Emma found it a rather fitting description.

The queen took her long raven hair over her shoulder and watched Emma out of the corner of her eye, while she unfastened her laces with dexterous hands. Carefully she parted her back laces and the queen let out a deep sigh when she finally could breathe freely again. A soft smile played with Emma’s lips. She knew how much her queen did not like these tight, formfitting dresses. If she could, she would wear lose shirts and her riding trousers all day, but that was not proper for a woman of her rank, yet alone a queen. A queen had to be dressed accordingly. So, the curvy queen forced herself every morning into the countless laces and corsets, which Emma now peeled off of her beautiful body piece by piece.

Eventually the last piece of clothing found its place on the floor and the queen remained only in her thin underdress in front of Emma. Once again, she sighed in relief and stretched her neck. Emma could not stop her eyes from roaming over the queen. The thin dress’ thin fabric did not leave much room for imagination. It was stretched over her voluptuous hips, accentuated her full breasts and Emma quickly averted her eyes when she caught the glimpse of erected nipples, poking through the cloth, as her queen turned around. A smile played with her lips. It wasn’t a smile like before, not relieved… but promising.

Emma could not stop herself from gulping audibly. The queen must have felt her staring. But despite the rising panic in her chest, she managed to control her face. Even as elegant fingers, took the hem of the ridiculously revealing underdress and slowly pulled it over the queen’s head. Her dark eyes drilled into Emma’s, searching for any hint of a reaction in her face. But Emma knew to control herself. She knew, if she turned away it would be an insult to her queen, but if she would let her eyes wander… she would regret it. She would be testing her limits as a handmaiden or maybe even cross them. So, she just held the intense eye contact with the queen. Emma felt a hot shiver running down her spine, when the undress floated to the ground next to her. She bit down hard on her inner cheek until she could taste metallic blood.

No! No matter how much the queen teased her, she would not give in. She would not give her the satisfaction of blushing. Wasn’t this what the queen tried to achieve? She wanted to rob Emma of her self-control. She wanted her to become just another one of her toys, another entry in the guestlist of her bed. Oh, how often has she already tried. Oh, how often had she almost succeeded. The queen had the same effect on Emma as she had on everyone else as well. Of course, she did. How could anyone resist this goddess of a woman? How often had she almost caressed the queen’s velvet skin when she had helped her dress and undress? How often had she fought the urge to burry her hands deep into the queen’s raven mane? How often had the queen’s looks struck her like lightning, hitting her right in her core? How often had her natural scent intoxicated Emma’s senses. How often had Emma spent the night awake, because the sounds coming form the royal chambers had clouded her mind, ruined her thoughts and robbed her of her sleep?

It was not fair.

A forbidden fruit, so close, so within reach. Giving in meant perish and yet infinite desire.

NO! Emma would not give in. She would not give into her. The queen already ruled her life, owned her body, commanded her dreams. She would not get the last thing Emma had left. She would not get the control over the situation. She would not get her stubbornness, she would not steel her restraint form her and Emma would sure as hell not give into her.

She swallowed audibly, her grip around the queen’s clothes tightened. A knowing smile formed on the queen’s lips. She stepped closer to her maiden. Emma cursed silently. Something must have given her away. Cursed heavens! No! The hunger in the queen’s eyes grew steadily. She slowly bent down to Emma, who could feel her breath on her skin, hot and wet. Another shiver run down the maidens whole body and she barely willed her knees to not give in, as the queen whispered honeyed words into her ear.

“Wash my back.”

It was a command. Royal and dominant, yet oh so sweet, delicious even. All Emma could do was nod, before she hurried to put the queen’s clothes aside to get her soaps and towels. In the meantime, the queen slit into the warm water, like a swan landing on a fairy pond. The light from the stained-glass window was caught in the bath’s steam, reflected by thousand tiny water drops. It painted her a goddess, illuminating her with an unearthly glow, a halo of mystery. Her back turned towards Emma, she stood there like an angel cast into marble, waiting. The Water playing around her knees. Her gaze said exactly what she was waiting for: Emma.

Over her shoulder her amber eyes watched the maiden intently. Burning fires blazing through Emma’s soul, who just stood there, staring.

Yes. She was staring.

How often have you seen her? How often has she tried to get to you? Damn it! Stay put or do you want to be just another mark in her bed post? Ignore her! Ignore IT! Be her maid! JUST her maid and nothing more! And now wash her back!

That damn delicate back, with its intricate line above her spine, her filigree shoulder blades and the lean muscles moving underneath velvet skin … NO! STOP IT!

With that Emma had regained her composure and cleared her throat. The look, that moments before had almost been yearning, now turned into a mask of perfect self-control. Just her wildly beating heart remembered the daydreams, which had just invaded the maidens mind moments before. She rolled up her sleeves and kneeled beside the pool. She perfectly ignored the amused chuckle of the queen and instead moistened her hands, while the queen settled down in front of her. Carefully and dutifully she washed her delicate back with gentle hands.

Emma applied scented soaps, massaged the day’s tension out of her muscles and allowed herself only for a moment to indulge in the imagination, how the rest of her queen’s body would feel beneath her fingers. The moment lasted for too long. A sigh of pleasure tore her out of her daydream and sent hot shivers right into her core. She swallowed hard as she noticed the queen’s face. She had put her head back. Her eyes closed, her mouth slightly agape. It was a sight of pure and utter relaxation. Emma felt the queen’s muscles loosen up beneath her fingers. She felt how she leaned back and put more weight against Emma’s hands. She felt her queen’s body come closer and closer. If she pulled away now, the queen would fall directly into her arms. For just a moment Emma imagined how she would hold her then, wrap her hands around her. How they could easily travel down her body. She imagined how her hair would feel against her cheek, how her scent would fill her nose. She imagined who the queen would melt into her, give into her. Emma licked her lips and nervously shifted her weight on her knees. An unwanted heat coloured her cheeks and shot right between her legs.

When her attention shifted back to her queen, she actually found her laying in her arms. Dark eyes and full, tempting lips watched her. A seductive smile clouded Emma’s mind. Without thinking she leaned forward, taking in the queen’s wonderful scent and she could not suppress a small sigh. Hastily she shook her head and straightened her back. Emma pulled her hands back, let go of the enticing royal body and put them in her lap.

“Is there anything else you wish for, your majesty?” she mumbled in a hurry and folded the towels for the queen. Just so her hands had something to do. Her mind desperately needed a distraction or she would go insane right then and there. The queen still watched her with these endless, dark eyes. Her voice was low. Raspy. Challenging.

“I wish for you to join me, Em-mah” she stretched the syllables of her name and another wave of heat soared through the maiden.

“In the water. Bathe with me. Now…”

Her voice was but a whisper and yet Emma could hear nothing but these words. They were echoing in her head and her throat dried out. Her knees weakened and her blood was rushing in her ears. The must have been able to hear her heartbeat, it was racing so fast that Emma could barely concentrate on anything else. She swallowed hard and tried to moisten her lips once more. For a horrible and most delicious second that felt like an eternity Emma let her mind indulge in the thought of following the request, to accept. She knew exactly where this would lead. She wanted it to go that way, to go down that path. Her body, her mind wanted it, craved it, desperately, but not her pride, her stubbornness. Emma’s pride refused to give in. Her pride did not want to be owned by the queen, her queen. It did not want to obey her. The queen already had the power over her life, it did not want to buckle down any further. So instead Emma cleared her throat and deliberately shook her head.

“My deepest apologies, your majesty, but it would not be proper for me to join you. As much as I wish to follow your requests, I also do not have the time to spare for such a bath” she argued with an apologetic tone.

“Great heavens, you always have an excuse, don’t you?!” the queen huffed. “The kitchen maid did not find it improper!” she mumbled and let herself slide deeper into the water.

“Very well then” she finally sighed. “Then, please, prepare me new clothes and come back in half an hour” she demanded and dismissed her with the wave of her hand.

“Yes, your majesty” Emma nodded and disappeared from the bathroom. Only when its door closed shut behind her, a low moan escaped her lips, which had build itself deep inside her throat in the last few minutes. For a moment she allowed her self to lean against the door, pausing. Resting and collecting herself.

Oh, this life was so unfair.

A forbidden fruit, that called for her, engulfed her with its scent, seduced her with its looks. So close, within reach and yet she would never be able to taste it.

Oh sweet, sweet torture…

°~*~°

It must have been just after midnight when a cry tore Emma from her slumber. Within moments she was fully awake. She only needed a few seconds to know exactly where the noise had come from: the royal chambers. Immediately she relaxed. It was not the first time she had heard such sounds coming from the queen’s room. It must mean she was enjoying a rather pleasurable night tonight. Perhaps it was one of her usual bed companions, who knew hot to satisfy her needs. Emma sat back down on the edge of her own bed and was about to go back to sleep, when another cry made her flinch. Now she knew why it had woken her up. The noise, that came from the royal chamber, was filled with desire and lust and hunger, as expected, but the words the queen was calling made Emma’s blood freeze in her veins.

“Eeeemmaaaahhhh……”

The young maiden hesitated. Should she risk it? She really did not want to see her queen in the middle of being pleasured by a courtier. She did not want to witness the dirty hands of the kitchen maid on her queen, nor the pathetic peen of a knight ruining her loins. She did not want to her picture of her queen be ruined. She wanted to keep the purity of their childhood. Back then she had been the most important person in the princess’ life. She had been the only one who had been allowed to share her bed back then, when they still had been friends. Back then when ‘her’ queen hadn’t been called the greatest whore of all the lands, even though no one would dare say that to her face nowadays either.

Yet, the thought of her fiery and stubborn queen turning into a slave of her own desire, being subdued by her lust, it excited Emma more than she dared to admit. Her head painted a masterpiece of her queen’s sinful curves squirming, her mouth screaming of pleasure, pleading for relief and yet begging for more. Emma licked her lips in the pointless try to moisten her dry mouth and shifted fidgety on the edge of her bed. Maybe she should take a look, just to be sure everything was alright. After all the queen had called specifically for her. It had been her name and only hers. What if her queen needed her? What if something had happened? What if she had misjudged the one of her voice and she actually needed real help?

Emma could not take that risk! After all it had been unmistakably been her name! Therefore, the queen had – sort of… well… requested her coming, didn’t she? And after all it was Emma’s explicit duty to assist the queen whenever needed.

Before her head could keep mulling over every possible what-if-scenario, she got up. With bare feet she scurried through the small door, that connected her chamber to the queen’s bedroom. Once her eyes had adapted to the darkness and she realised what actually was going on in the moonlit room, Emma’s breath hitched and she froze.

She gasped for air and her eyes grew wide. Her stomach turned itself into an almost painfully heated knot. Again, the drawn-out moan of her name filled the air and deafened her senses. What she saw in front of her engulfed her mind.

The door, through which she had entered, was opposite of the queen’s gigantic double bed, therefore Emma now stood there with the perfect view of the mattress. Only a room’s length separated her from the incredible show she received.

Against all expectations: The queen as alone.

It was only her sprawled on the bed and yet she was squirming and squealing in ecstasy. Pillows and blankets were scattered all over the bed and surrounding floor. A rather obvious proof of the queen’s eagerness. The queen presented herself in all her nude glory. Her back arched, her head thrown back, her hair a raven sea around her face, her mouth open in another silent scream. Once hand held her right breast, while the other had already disappeared deep between her legs. Emma’s heartbeat was racing, her breathing quickened and her knees weakened. She had to rest with one hand against the cool wall for her legs to not give away under her, when her name rolled over the queen’s lips in another breathless moan.

The queen’s voice vibrated through all of Emma’s body, made her shiver, her body tremor her mind went crazy and her senses were muted and hyperactive at the same time. Every fiber of her being concentrated itself only on the queen and drowned out everything around her. Emma gasped while the queen rolled in her sheets, obviously enjoying the pleasure she was granting herself to the fullest, all while her pursing lips kept on moaning, gasping and croaking Emma’s name in this unbelievable dark, alluring voice.

Emma’s body moved on its own accord, without her really thinking, closer towards the royal bet. When her knees hit the bedframe, the queen’s voice peaked in another excited moan and Emma realised something terrible:

The queen’s eyes were open.

She had seen her.

No.

She had not only seen her.

The queen was watching her.

Emma came the suspicion, that her majesty had done so from the moment she had entered the room and it hadn’t bothered the queen in the slightest. No. She had just continued. No, not just continued, Emma was sure, she had peaked because of it. She swallowed hard and felt her cheeks heating up and yet… she could not take her eyes of the intense look the queen was giving her.

“Well… Em-mah…” the queen whispered. She tasted every syllable of Emma’s name to its fullest, as if it was some kind of delicacy.

“Are you enjoying the show, darling?” she continued sensually.

Once again Emma’s cheeks burned. In fact they felt like there were about to melt of her face, but she still was unable to avert her eyes.

Damned heavens. How often have you already seen her body? You regularly help her undress! You bathe her! It never – bothered her before? No. That was not true. It had always bothered her, always affected her, but Emma had always ignored the desire welling up inside of her. She had swallowed her lust, hidden it, bottled it up. She had never wanted it. She had never wanted it to be true.

But now…

It was overpowering. It swallowed her whole. Desire tore at her like a hungry beast. Voraciously she watched the queen slowly pulling her hand up from in between her legs, spreading them ever so slightly further apart and licking her glistening fingers.

Emma moistened her lips. Her core tightened into a knot of pure utter desire. Her muscles tensed. The urge to grab the queen’s hand, closing her lips around those slender fingers, tasting this divine ambrosia, it was enormous. However, she continued to just stand there, still, motionless. Her body was cast in marble, yet her eyes devoured her queen with a look of fiery desire.

“You aren’t usually this shy…” the queen teased with an alluring smile. She slowly sat up, elegantly like a cat. She rolled over, turning so she could eventually kneel before Emma, her back straight, their eyes on the same level, her legs parted and Emma’s nostrils were filled with the heavy scent of sex. It made her knees buckle and her core yearn. The beautiful face of her queen was still adorned by one of her mesmerizing smiles. Now Emma also saw the desire in her eyes, so great it might have rivalled her won beast. Time slowed as the queen leaned forward. Her hand travelled to Emma’s cheek. Almost lovingly she slid a lost stand of hair behind her handmaiden’s ear.

“You are always so calm, so collected… Even now…” she whispered seductively. Once again Emma had to swallow hard, cleared her throat. Her eyes were glued tot the bare curved of her queen. Her velvet skin, within arms-reach, her full breasts, curious almost sassily erected. They softly followed every movement of her queen’s body, as she leaned in and Emma could feel her hot breath on her neck. Her whole body shook as her queen whispered two little words into her ear. Two tiny words, which opened the gates to Emma’s personal heavenly hell, her devilish paradise, her ruin and her new beginning.

“Let go…”

Emma felt her hand on her cheek, how her slender fingers traced her jawline, her breath on Emma's lips and her other hand suddenly on her waist. She felt how the queen slowly pulled her in and her scent… Heavens this scent, a divine fruit she was forbidden to taste.

"Just once… Let it happen, Emma." the queen's lewd voice was hypnotising.

"I can see your desire, dear, your looks. I've always seen your looks" she murmured. Her hand danced over Emma's side, eventually resting on her hip. Oh how Emma wished the fabric of her thin nightgown would not omit the skin contact. How she longed to feel the queen's handa in her body and yet she didn't dare to move.

"I see your looks" she continued "How they follow me, devour me. I can feel your eyes never leaving me. I can feel you always at my side. My shadow…"

Again the queen's delicate hand began to caressingly travel over Emma's waist. She felt her second hand on her neck and goose bumps run down her body, when the erected buds of the queen stroke past her own. Emma gasped and those royal lips chuckled.

"I hate every second you're not with me. I despise being without you. My body yearns for you. My mind aches for you. I've looked everywhere and have never found anyone who could satisfy my desire for you. All these men, all these women… No one. No one is you, Emma. No one is my Emma. I want you" her voice quivered. "I need you, Emma."

Emma took another sharp breath while her own lust burned deep inside of her, clouding her senses. The beast in her chest growled, eager to sate its hunger, follow its instinct, its desire. But it was her rationality, her pride, which got the better of it.

"Your majesty, you shouldn't…" she took another shaky breath to steady her voice.

“We have been forbidden to… it is not proper for your rank, you-“

But the queen shut her up with a dangerous huff.

“Stop it, Emma! I said I want you! Not any chambermaid, not just any woman. YOU are so much more. And I know you want me too. You’ve always wanted me…”

“Your majesty, I-“

“I said, don’t call me that!”

“My queen-“

“EMMA!”

“REGINA!”

Emma’s voice was loud and harsh, sounding almost annoyed and yet the queen hummed in satisfaction. For a moment her eyes fluttered shut, as if she was relishing in the sound of her own name. Emma’s tongue savoured the word in her mouth as well.

“Re-gi-na.”

She tasted every syllable. How long had she not said this name? How she had missed its sound, the feeling of her tongue forming the word. Another shiver ran down her spine and her core ached. This time however, Emma did not try to hide it and the queen’s eyes sparkled as she noticed.

“No one says it the way you do…” whispered the queen, her queen – no, whispered Regina. Emma could clearly hear the pleasure in her voice, in the raspy tone. The desire was unmistakably.

“Say it again.”

“Regina.”

This time both of them gasped in unison and the beast in Emma howled. It growled and strained against its chains. It wanted more, more of this sound, more of this voice, more of its queen, her queen, her Regina.

Everything moved in slow motion while Emma raised her hands. She hesitated before she placed them on Regina’s hips, who immediately leaned into the touch and sighed deeply. Emma’s beast feasted on the feeling of Regina’s skin beneath her fingers and demanded more.

“No one feels the way you do…” Regina whispered and smiled softly.

“Regina, I…” Emma tried, but an elegant finger shut her up as it found its place on her lips.

“Shh, shh, shhh… don’t say anything.” Regina’s eyes held Emma’s.

“Kiss me” she said instead, now placing both hands in Emma’s neck.”

“Kiss me already, I need to taste your lips.”

For a long, long moment Emma did nothing. Just stood there frozen with the possibilities that opened themselves before her. Then her beast finally won. Its chains burst, her walls crumbled and her world was swallowed by the taste of Regina’s lips on her own. She tasted of apples and cinnamon, of wine and salt and of Regina. Emma drowned in the taste of her divine ambrosia on Regina’s lips. She heard her queen sigh in utter pleasure while she returned Emma’s eagerness.

The kiss wasn’t soft, nor sweet. It was rough and hard, full of lust and need and hunger and it lasted forever. A product of pure and utter desire. Desire which had been hidden, suppressed for too long. A forbidden attraction which made it all the more enticing. A connection which was not comparable to anything else. It was the moment in which Emma’s beast met Regina’s. The dangerous dance of two vile creatures. They circled each other again and again, clashing into each other before going back to drawing their circles, continuing their dance.

Emma had lost all sense of time. She did not know when or how it happened when found herself hovering over her queen – Regina.

She looked down at her, holding her arms captive above her head. She devoured every inch of the view below her. Her look was returned by hungry, amber eyes. Eyes which embodied desire that had been bottled up and was finally able to overflow.

“What are you waiting for?” Regina coaxed. Emma’s eyes snapped back to her face. She hummed as she saw the lust and arousal in them, which this submissive position filled her with. Her beast growled with anticipation and Emma’s face lit up with a dark smile.

“Don’t be so impatient” she teased.

In this moment both of them knew something had shifted. There had been a power vacuum which now had been filled, an imbalance which now as no more. The scale had tipped and Emma was in charge. The tables had turned. The air was crackling of both women’s excitement.

“I want to feel your skin” Regina practically begged as she arched her back towards Emma, who also felt the urge to feel Regina’s breasts on her own. She settled down, straddling Regina’s lap as she tore her nightgown over hear head. Only seconds later two bodies pressed against each other and lips met once again in a fiery kiss, while their beasts continued their dance. The remaining pillows fell to the ground when Emma reclaimed her position. She pinned Regina’s arms above her head, held her hips pressed to the mattress and pressed lips greedily onto Regina’s full breasts. She gently sucked at the velvet skin, kissed her erected nipples and finally followed the urge that had torn at her before. She relished in every centimetre of Regina’s body she got to explore. She bathed in the sounds her lips lured out of Regina. It was divine music in her ears, better than she could have ever imagined.

Again and again she heard her name be moaned and cried, it dulled her mind and fed her beast.

She wanted more.

More of this music.

More of this taste.

More of this drug that was Regina.

Torturing slow her tongue travelled lower and Regina’s body trembled below her. Her back arched, her head thrown back, her eyes closed from pleasured trance she was in. She cried out for Emma, begged for relief and yet demanded more. Emma was long gone. Her very soul possessed by her, her queen, her Regina.

Never could she have imagined how it felled to be possessed, how it felt to possess. But yes, she did not only belong to her queen, no, Regina belonged to her and her alone. They were no longer maid and mistress, they were not even just friends anymore. They were so much more. Prey and predator. Desire and lust.

Emma was no longer owned by the queen but her beast, her lust, her urge and her hunger.

The hunger she could now finally sate.

After all this time she could finally feed. Feed on the ecstasy, the arousal, the pleasure of Regina who completely gave into it. She owned Regina. Her beast owned Regina. She was no longer lurking alone in the shadows.

Unseen.

Unheard.

Unnoticed.

She had pulled her prey along and was about to devour it.

Finally she dove into the core of her prey and ate…

#SwanQueen #Once upon a time #Swan queen smut #A lot of pinning #And looks and gazes and stuff #And maybe a bit too many metaphors #Anyways #I hope you enjoy it anyways

[theliterarywolf]

Hold on, let me compile these latest ToTK asks.

Though, beforehand, let me just say: Anon, you can't just give me a perfect fic description like that and not drop the title!

Anonymous asked: So I don't care for canon Yona, Nintendo writers kinda shit the bed with her feeling really lacklustre. But fanfic Yona? I'm not someone who goes "FANFIC WRITERS ARE BETTER!" Not at all, but I have to give it to the fanfic-writers this time, they took a big nothing burger, and actually gave her some depth. One fic has the Zora not understanding "love" in the same way Hylians do, but more as a general feeling of belonging with someone, and you kinda have that lowkey drama with SidLink, and Yona is the girl who comes through, and she and Sidon research the Hylian concept of love, and it was honestly kinda fun, especially when Sidon "realises" that what he's feeling for Link is the Hylian concept of love. I also have a friend who's planning out a fic idea with 👑-Yona following along Link and Zelda post-Totk, who then starts feeling a kindred spirit with Zelda in friendship, and gets better acquainted with Link, and it focuses on Yona, and her relationship with the Z, L, S and M. Anonymous asked: I don't get why ppl hate Yona. I mean, not happy about it either, but that has less to do with her being Sidon's partner, and more with the fact that I don't like her design. I honestly feel more miffed about how fucking dirty they did Sidon's character this time around. I have no idea who was snoozing while doing Sidon, but he has like no personality? I thought we'd finally get some Sidon focus in the temple and then he fucking bails. I don't even remember a proper cutscene like with the others

Anon 1: It all ties back to how earlier I was saying that I just don't like her execution (and, as Anon 2 mentioned, her design). Because for as much as the people defending the Zora's Domain writing as 'well, she's new so of course she doesn't have much character', there are so many ways that they could have endeared the player to her.

Have a minor escort mission to gather ingredients for her to heal the other Zora with, with Yona stopping every so often to ask Link endearing questions. Have a fetch-quest that combines how they handled the Zora Armor (Yona needing an ancient fish from the sky islands to finish it) with Link having to go into Yona's room to retrieve another component and, while you're there, there's a journal that Yona's been keeping where she could be laying out her anxieties about being the best match for Sidon, about trying to be a good Queen to follow the example that Mipha would have been, to be as much of a support to Sidon and the Domain as Link has been.

Just... Something more than what we got.

Also, again, you have to send me that fic title. Because I have been dreading going onto the SidLink portion of AO3 since ToTK came out.

Anon 2:

Who was responsible for the Zora's Domain portion of this game? I want NAMES!

Because, how is it that every other Sage (at least so far, I haven't done the Gerudo portion of the game yet) is an active companion on the journey to the Temples, giving you the opportunity to get used to their mechanics and their special ability... But with Sidon, you get a 'boss fight' against a Like-Like and then he fucking dips until you get to the Water Temple.

Why?

Like, let's put aside the butchering of his personality (even though, as I mentioned before, I know what the writers were trying to do in having his trauma being the last hurdle to overcome before becoming king, but it is not fun), but Sidon just is not enjoyable anymore. His character and personality peaked in Age of Calamity.

How does such a major character have better writing in the fucking Musou spin-off game?!

#Spoilers #so many spoilers #tears of the kingdom

[youritalianbookpal]

Ten Questions Book Review - The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

What is it? After the murder of their parents, Jude and her sisters begin to live in Faerie, amongst fae and other mythical creatures. With their parents' murderer. Who kinda becomes their father. And kinda passes down to Jude his love for power.

Who should read it and why? I think you will love this (and hence I greatly suggest it), if you listen to Boss by Doja Cat (ironically or unironically, I don't care), if you like your dad but you are aware of the fact that he's a Straight Man and live in fear of the fact that he has done some unknown terrible thing in the past for which you would judge him or hate him, if you have anxiety, if you are the youngest child and you don't get why everyone says you're spoilt, and if you love background female characters who are vital to the plot but somehow remain at the margins even though they are Queens. Bonus points if you are still angry at D&D for destroying the Game of Thrones show.

Which genre(s) is it? Fantasy, YA.

What is the setting? Faerie, modern times (correct me if I'm wrong, but the protagonist is 17 and born in 2001, which means this is set in 2018).

How are the characters? Jude is, of course, the character of whose depts are explored the most. We see everyone else through her, and considering all the mystery and intrigue (and the amount of interesting and colorful characters around) it is probably a given that we get only half the story, half the characters - and the plot thrives on this. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the storytelling, and how characters emerge from it.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the novel? It bears repeating, but I think that the storytelling (and the writing style in general) was one of my favorite things on the novel. It's not overtly complecated, things are surprising but make sense, and the characters don't talk too much like... dramatic book characters. This all felt genuine and I loved it. If I had to pick a weakness... let's say that if you don't stories told in first person, this is not for you (I mention this because I considered dropping the book at page 2 because of this. I'm glad I didn't, but I wouldn't blame you if you did).

Did I cry and/or laugh? I laughed, I do not remember crying, but I think the next few books might be a bit more emotional, we'll see. There's a lot of buildup - and my copy had the first chapter of The Wicked King and I can see this one could become a bit more dramatic.

Any random comment? This year, I wanted to get back into fantasy - a genre I loved for most of my life but to which I had accidentally but organically distanced myself (like you do with old friends, who live in another city but you love dearly). I am dramatic, but it did feel like it, in a way. And when I got back into it, I really thought it wasn't for me, or that during our time apart I had distanced myself too much from it and I wouldn't be able to find something really enjoyable for me in 2023. Well. I was wrong. I loved this, and I will always be grateful for the newfound sense of belonging and rightness that I got while reading this book. Like I was 15 years old me again.

Who shouldn’t read the book? This book comes with a fair share of trigger warnings - there's especially a lot of blood. I am sure you can find a comprehensive list online.

I would also add that you should meet this book with an open mind. I was very cautious, because I tend to not enjoy overly popular things, but I think the popularity in this case is well deserved.

Which quote stuck with me?

What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? If I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.

#ten questions book review #holly black #the cruel prince #book review

[sohannabarberaesque]

You'll never guess what explains why The King IS The King, to begin with ...

So let's start at the proverbial beginning, more or less: "You might say that yours truly picked up on the cool schtick by way of a seriously-in-freefall Wonderland Zoo. I assume you know about the Hair Bear Bunch as were resident there, but it may fascinate you to learn that yours truly happened to gravitate therefrom. And it took the shock closure of the zoo to leave me in discovery mode, to, in essence, learn 'cool' and then some."

So, I take it, you learned your habit over time: "How correct you are! And there can be no doubt that my fondness for the Kookie-model comb routine, Brylcreem and all, on my rather luscious mane, and the denim jacket, slightly faded for the most part, came along gradually ... as well as my troupe."

Could you perchance introduce your troupe? "Ohhhh yessss ... I've Yukayuka, a hyaena fond of the 'old school' sort of practical joke--the fake vomit, the whoopee cushion stuffed with Miracle Whip, the exploding cigarette ends ... not to mention the Johnson Smith catalogues as used to carry such. There's Big H, who I'm fond of calling 'The Original Hungry Hungry Hippo,' and I assume you know the reasoning ... Clyde, the simian class jock type who somehow can't make it among the girls ... and Skids, an alligator who tends to be not only mechanically-minded (as in our jalopy), but also somewhat naive and hesitant. Witness the bucket he's fond of wearing over his eyes."

I understand you happen to have a girlfriend, Sheena by name, and a leonine type herself: "A rather interesting sort of gal. And I can't help but find her especially attractive as much in a nightshirt as wearing but herself. Know, Sheena isn't exactly the one who wants to put herself in that 'Queen of the Jungle' schmaltz, but she's a lioness--a very likable lioness who can't resist such passions as sharing the bed with yours truly and making love with her ... having some wonderful weekend waffle breakfasts ... and just splashing in the surf by our little beachside bungalow out by Malibu, if you know where that is, and maybe pulling off some bodysurfing."

Has anybody ever suggested the likelihood that Lippy the Lion may be a close cousin of yours? "HIM?! That vagabond? Pretty amusing prospect of Your Majesty that Lippy the Lion could likely be a relative of such cool-minded royalty! Still, though, the opportunity to meet him might be worthwhile, and perhaps have Sheena fix up some sliders we could munch on."

What would perhaps be your ideal sort of weekend, just out of curiosity? "Probably at the Malibu bungalow with my queen, Sheena ... just taking in the sheer fascinating power of the surf and the sand. Especially with the bodysurfing, as I noted earlier, and some diving as well. Oh, and maybe grilling some burgers or hot dogs, and try not to be surprised if fascinated surfers show up and demand some 'quality time' with Sheena and me. Too, I think you recall the time when Big H managed to win a surfing competition with a surfboard we happened to make in spite of Certain Devious Tricks from a challenger who was just envious ... but then again, we do enjoy the odd bit of company among Malibu's surfriders."

Rather surprising that lions can actually swim: "However did you guess that leonine fact? I think I owe you a burger plate and a malt for that. A real, old school malted. Hand-dipped ice cream, the rich taste of malted milk powder, whipped cream on top--isn't that heaven!"

*************

@warnerbrosentertainment @groovybribri @jellystone-enjoyer @funtasticworld @archive-archives @thylordshipofbutts @screamingtoosoftly @princessgalaxy505 @themineralyoucrave @thebigdingle @warnerbros-blog1 @zodiacfan32 @theweekenddigest @iheartgod175 @warnerbrosent-blog

#hanna barbera #fanfic #fanfic friday #character profile #heyyy it's the king! #the king #sheena #character personality #backstory #wonderland zoo #malibu #motherbu #hannabarberaforever

[nastybuckybarnes]

Of Kings and Beasts  -  Nine

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings: Angst, Injuries, Fluff, Language, Violence, 

Word Count: 2.9K

A/n: Another chapter is finished!! I’ve got an idea but it’s SO DANGEROUS AND Y’ALL MIGHT HATE ME IF I DO IT BUT ITS SO TEMPTING AND I THINK I’M GONNA DO IT ahem anyway I hope you guys enjoy this!

A/n 2: I’m posting this before work so I’ll reply to asks and comments when I get home tonight! Also, I’ve got the next part of Gangsta written up if y’all want that.... hehe

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Series Masterlist

~*~

“How have you been adjusting to this new home?” Thor asks one morning, a smile on his face. You grin back at him, the weight of Acadia lifted off your shoulders as you take a sip of your tea.

“Quite well. Although Loki has been an interesting addition.” The raven-haired man looks up from his book momentarily and gives you a look, to which you only smile.

From the moment you entered the cottage you knew it would be good for you to stay here.

“Well, we are at your disposal. I will have to go back to Asgard within the weeks to come, but Loki and the Valkyrie shall remain here should you need or want them.” You nod gratefully, looking out the window and pursing your lips as you watch the women spar outside.

“What? What is it?” Thor asks, following your gaze.

“I want to learn to defend myself. To wield a sword and fight off an attacker.” Loki scoffs from where he sits, his nose still buried deep in his book.

“For what reason should a queen wish to learn to fight? You will always have men for that.” Your defence is up in an instant, and you clench your jaw before composing yourself enough to reply.

“I do think that considering both my upbringing and the way I have been treated in my new kingdom, I have every right to want to learn to defend myself. I have many reasons to want to defend myself, none of which concern you, however, if you had the slightest idea of all that I have endured in my short time as queen you would not question me wanting to learn to defend myself. I have been shunned from my palace because my husbands fear someone will kill me. My own husbands have brought me far more pain than I would like to admit. I have every right to wish to learn how to defend myself and I will not hear a word from you about the subject!”

His brows raise to nearly his hairline and he looks between you and his brother before burying his nose back in his book, which elicits a chuckle from the blond king.

“If the situation is so severe that I need be sent away for my own safety, I need to learn to defend myself.”

Thor nods, a strong hand patting your shoulder comfortingly.

“I knew there was a fire in you. I could see it in those eyes when you spoke of running from the Kings. I just needed to find it.” He rises to his feet and straightens his clothing. “Loki does have a special talent for pulling the fire from even the most docile creatures. But I will go speak with the valkyrie. They will be delighted to have a student to train.”

He leaves the cottage to interrupt the sparring outside, and you feel your heart skip a beat at the first piece of control that you will have over your life.

~*~

“If that will be all, You are dismissed,” King Steven says, his voice low and exhausted. The royal adviser bows then heads to the door, hesitating for a moment.

“Forgive me, Your Majesties, but I cannot help but notice the absence of the Queen. Where has she gone?” It’s not the first time they’ve gotten the question in the week that you've been gone, therefore they already have their excuse rehearsed and perfected.

“We simply have no use for her. If she cannot even bear our children then what use is she to us?” Comes Steve’s practiced response.

“We were instructed to find a queen who could produce strong heirs. Our wife cannot. So she is no longer of use to us,” James adds, his voice dripping in boredom as he looks over a document on his desk.

The royal advisor nods then excuses himself, bustling to his own office with newfound haste and purpose.

“It’s been a week and we are no closer to finding who it is than we were when she was here,” Steve murmurs after a long moment of silence, his shoulders heavy with the weight of their decision.

“I’m beginning to question whether it was a good decision to send her along with Thor. Especially after he threatened to make her a queen of his own. What if she were to agree?” James stands up and walks over to his husband, taking his shaking hands in his own and sighing.

“I would not blame her if she were to agree. We have treated her like a prisoner. I have... brutalized her and beaten her and I will never be able to repent. If she were to want him I would in no way blame her. He has provided her with a safe haven. She can confide in him and trust him in a way that she may not be able to again with us.” Steve sniffles and squeezes his eyes shut.

“We need to find who it is that has caused this and we need to make them pay.” James nods, smoothing his thumbs over the back of his husband’s hands.

“We will. But until we do, we must remain strong. The Doctor is recovering and when he is fully recovered we will ask him who it was that attacked him. We will find who is behind this, but we must be patient.”

~*~

“Again!” You raise your sword just in time to block a blow from one of the Valkyrie, grinding your teeth together as you push her back a step then swipe your own sword at her throat.

She hops backward, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You are learning, Your Majesty. But you still hold back. Why? You cannot be afraid to hurt us,” The Captain says, walking forward and looking at you closely.

“You must show no mercy. Not when you must choose between your own life and the life of someone who means to do you harm. You will fight and you will fight to the death.”

Your entire body is burning with the exertion but you hold your ground, raising your sword and ready to go again.

“That’s what I like to see! Now, we go again!” Brunnhild exclaims, a grin on her face as she takes her fighting stance.

It’s just over two weeks since you began your training and everyone is surprised at how quickly you’re picking up on what’s being taught, but none more than you.

You’re just stepping out of the bath, muscles aching with a new type of strength that the Valkyrie have been beating into you, when your eyes catch a glimpse of movement at the window to your bedroom. A figure clad in all black is moving swiftly away from the cottage and disappearing into the darkness of woods, the setting sun aiding in the camouflage of the person.

Thinking that it’s none other than Loki going to wreak havoc on some poor defenceless wanderers, you don’t question it. Instead, you get dressed into a soft Asgardian gown and start preparing yourself for bed.

You’re just about ready to settle down with a book when a flash of white catches your eye from the window. You hesitantly investigate, heart hammering in your chest as you see a letter tucked securely in the window.

You open it and snatch the envelope before it can be taken by the wind, then shut the window again.

The seal on the envelope is that of Acadia, and your heart is in your throat as you realize that this could very well be a letter from the Kings. You’ve no idea what it may say, and cannot decide if you are more nervous or excited as you open it.

The script is not one you recognize, but your eyes greedily devour every word, the smile fading from your face at what lies on the page in your hand.

Thor finds you sometime later seated on the floor, the letter gripped tightly in your hands and your eyes focused on a point on the wall.

“(Y/n?” He asks softly, knocking against the doorframe to try and get your attention. You make no indication that you’ve heard him.

He enters the room, brows furrowed as he sees what you’re holding. “What is that? What does it say? Is it from the Kings?”

It takes a very long moment, but eventually, you find the strength to speak. But even then your voice is a weak rasp.

“Did you know the truth? Did you hide it from me as well?” Thor is beyond confused as he approaches you, taking the page from you and reading through the contents quickly.

‘Your Majesty,

Do not ask who I am nor how I know where you are, just know that you need be more careful who it is you call your lovers. They have sent you away, not for your own protection but because you failed at the task they wanted you for. They have sent you away because you failed to bear their children, this I promise I have heard with my own ears. I know not what they have told you but it is what I have witnessed. They have said this directly and I have heard it with my very own ears. You would do well to stay away from them, for they are dangerous. But I am certain that you and your late child are more than aware of that.

Consider this a warning, your majesty, for I know you are unsafe. You must take care and be far more careful of who you allow in your court.’

“Loki!” The prince is in the room within the same moment, his eyes full of confusion.

“Have the Valkyrie secure the area and find me the man who sent this! Travel to Acadia and alert the Kings. The Queen is no longer safe here.”

You’re confused. If the kings have directly told someone this, why then is Thor responding in such a way?

Loki is on horseback heading towards Acadia only moments later, and Thor is leaving the room as soon as the Valkyrie enter.

Brunnhild crouches next to you, a frown on her face as she glances at the note on the floor, its words echoing in your ears.

“Do not allow this to scare you, Your majesty. Do not give them the satisfaction of that.” You scoff and shake your head at her, “it is far easier said than done. All my life I have been punished for ever speaking, much less standing my ground. I have perfected the art of cowering, for men wish to do nothing but hurt and maim all so they can gain power.”

She sits down and shakes her head, taking your hand in hers and squeezing it tightly.

“You forget that we are all brought into this world through blood and through pain, your Majesty. We are the daughters of savage women. We are their savage daughters and we will act like it. We will bite and scream and we will take up space. We will not conform to their ideas of what women should be.” Her words are whispered into the still air of the room as if she were hiding them from any listening ears.

“Do not lower your voice for any man. Do not cower beneath them. You are a powerful being. One that can create life and you can also take it away, never forget that.” She pulls a dagger off of her belt and hands it to you, curling your fingers around the hilt before she continues speaking.

“You have the blood of goddesses and witches flowing through your veins. You hold a power that men could never understand. With every step we take, every time we refuse to cower... we honour our mothers, our grandmothers, and the ones before them. The ones who stood and fought and were torn to pieces. We will not be silenced. You will not be silenced. You are more powerful than that. You must remember your strength and your power. Do not let the men convince you that you are anything less than what you are.”

Your eyes sting and your throat gets tight, but she only hugs your shoulders and continues speaking.

“Your power is what scares them. Why else would they try to assert their dominance in such a way? But you will not fall. You will not allow them to treat you like that because you are the daughter of a savage. You are yourself a savage woman and you will act like it. Royal title be damned.”

You sniffle once, twice, three times, then nod, wiping your eyes just as Thor re-enters the room.

The Valkyrie take their leave and the King sighs, crouching down next to you and gently stroking your cheek.

“I’m so very sorry, Petal. You are no longer safe here. If someone was able to bring you this letter then I fear you are in far more danger than we had thought. The conspiracy against the Kings runs far deeper than any of us could have anticipated, and if we are to keep you safe then we must act quickly.” He pulls you to your feet and bustles around quickly, covering your shoulders in a thick cloak and packing a bag of your belongings.

“Wait, where do you mean to take me? If I am not safe anywhere?”

He tosses your bag over his shoulder and grabs your hand, entwining your fingers and giving your hand a soft squeeze.

“The only place you will truly be safe.” You’re still quite confused.

“We make for Asgard.”

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[sylvie-writes]

Roi de Coeur

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗: 𝖀𝖓𝖊 (𝕺𝖓𝖊)

𝕻𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: 𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊!𝕽𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖔𝖒 𝖝 𝖁𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖗!𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗

𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝕮𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 5.2K

𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢: it’s finally here! to be honest, the first chapter isn’t my favorite (well maybe that’s because I’ve stared at it more then 10 times) yet it gets much better :) my attempt at writing slow burn has finally succeeded, yay! 

𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖓𝖋𝖔

In the moment of the precious silence, you sat with your legs crossed and dangling over the edge of the tufted velvet on the wooden carved armchair. Slowly, you added ladder stitches to your latest dress, while relishing in the peace and warmth of the fireplace beside you. Focusing on the last few stitches before knotting the thread, your mother called out, immediately making you throw down the dress, and stand up. 

“Yes, Mother?” 

Rounding the corner, your mother came into the parlor, wiping her flour covered hands on the soiled white linen apron resting around her waist. Her hands now cleaned, your mother reached into the pockets of her dress, holding a few cents in the palm of her hand. Gently, she extended her hand into your own, passing over the metal coins.

“I’ve heard from your father that the Prince and his men shall visit this evening.”

Your eyes widened at the mere mention of the Prince. How would he even know of your small village, it must’ve only consisted of at least a hundred people. You pondered about the intentions of the Prince’s visit. Oftentimes, a visit from the Prince himself was not a good one, yet the people of the kingdom still must show respect despite the hatred for him. Maybe the Prince had finally listened to the pleas of his lower class folks? For years, the people of your village protested against the King, Prince Hugh’s father. Although, looking back, it was mainly the Queen, who ran the kingdom more than the King ever would. Her husband had his fair share of mistresses, it was a well known fact. You could only think that maybe she was taking out her anger on your folk. Their voices went unheard and for a long time, your people continued to pay the price. Over time, those taxes took a toll on the small village, leaving it to be rundown and unkept by the nobility, after all it was their land and you all were simply just living on it. 

“Enough of our gossip. Take your sister into the town for the finding of fabrics. She’s in need of a new dress. Now go on, my love.” 

Your mother gently tutted you, slightly pushing on the small of your back. As of now, your seven year old sister, Marjorie, was most likely out in the garden, watching the ducks waddle through the overgrown scutch grass. Although against your parents’ wishes, Marjorie would save the tiniest piece of her bread, and give it to the ducks. With money sparse in your household, food was a necessity any of you would never waste. If your parents were to find Majroie “wasting the bread on foolish animals,” she’d be in for a beating over your father’s knee. Being her much older sister, Marjorie looked up to you and you weren’t going to be the one to break her childhood, especially with the precious smile on her face at the sight of the ducks. You can even remember those days, learning to sew your own doll from flour sacks. Poverty could destroy and tear apart families, but you and your own always tried to make life enjoyable, even if it were just the small things.

From the many rumors, varying from distant whispers to straight up gossip, Prince Hugh, called Ransom by those he adored, was quite the man. He put up a caring facade for the lower class people, claiming he was their ally, when in reality he was just flashing a smile for more time with his mistresses. The thought of him angered you. How could he turn a blind eye to your struggling friends and family. To think of the many lies the man had spewed made your rage grow up to your eyes. Tonight, if you did indeed meet the Prince, it would be very difficult to keep your anger at bay. For if you were to speak out, they could have your head on a block. 

“Marjorie, Mother requested I take you into the city for fabrics. The Prince may be visiting the village this evening.”

Her little blonde braids whipped around, a bright smile on her face. She was so innocent to the wicked doings of the Prince. In her eyes she, the Prince, could do no wrong. Oh how she’s read too many fairy tales. Quickly, she stood from her seat on the ground, brushing off the dirt that made home on the cotton of her dress. Marjorie skipped her way over to you and placed a hand in your inviting one. 

Entering the humble little shop, you were met with the welcoming smile of Mrs. Johnson, the woman who had run the fabric shop for as long as you can remember. The two of you were like old friends as you shared sewing tips with each other all the time. On your birthday, she even gifted you with a cotton fabric you’d been eying for months. Marjorie politely told the older lady what color cotton she was looking for. Hurriedly, Mrs. Johnson rushed off and soon returned with a copious amount of baby blue fabric. As you were handing over the payment, Mrs. Johnson started making some small talk. 

“Did you hear Miss? The Prince is visiting your village tonight!

The draper leaned over the counter and whispered as if it were a secret. News such as that traveled fast, even in the more urban parts of the city. The people lived for drama, no matter where they were from. You returned a kind smile to the older woman, not showing much excitement. 

“Indeed. Marjorie is in need of a new dress for his visit, hence our visit. I’m much obliged for your assistance, Madam.” 

As your attention was directed to the shoes clicking against the cobblestone of the street, Marjorie voiced her excitement, talking endlessly about the Prince’s “dreamy blue eyes”. 

Once home, your father and older brother, Louis, who were working on the broken railing that sat upon the porch, waved you both over. Quickly, you said your greetings, but then rushed off to work on Marjorie’s dress as time was ticking away. 

Your father, a man ahead of his time, believed that women had much more of a purpose than they were titled. As a young child, your father taught you many trades that a woman should not know. In the fields, you’d assist him, or he’d show you the works of a carpenter. You may have been the only woman in your village to know how to use such tools. Ever since you were a little girl, your father would always say, “When you grow up, do whatever your heart desires, and don’t let anyone, even a man, stop you, my dear.” And as the years passed, you kept that saying close to heart. In that time, little had you known that your father was setting aside money, just so you could purchase a nice fabric. When you were 16, your father presented you with the money, and despite your attempts to give it back, he wouldn’t take it. So now, as an 18 year old woman, you’ve put that money to use, and created the finest dress you own. One you’d be wearing to see the Prince tonight. Sewing was your passion, as you were skilled in the art, and clearly your father knew that as well.  

As for your brother Louis, he was 19. A year older than you. Growing up, you two were inseparable and to this day you still are. Being so close, you called Louis “Lou.” In return, he’d often teasingly call you “Birdie”. When you were younger, you loved to watch the birds up in the tree, Louis being an older brother obviously teasing you for your fascination. To this day, you both still call each other those nicknames, but not to get on each other’s nerves. (A thing you did as kids.) Around Marjorie’s age, Louis taught you how to play baseball, something you loved to play. When your little sister was born, you and Louis had the best time being able to live as young kids again. Now, Louis was a young man, finding his way in the world. It was always thought Louis would be the first to go off into the world and leave home, but oh how the tables would soon turn. 

Women of your era were supposed to wear petticoats and bustles, yet you had neither. Maybe then Prince Hugh would be able to see that even the smallest of things, your people could not afford. Hopefully then it would go through his thick skull since the only thing he was interested in was what was beneath a dress. 

You and Marjorie shared a room, but at the moment, she was getting dressed with your mother, leaving you and your thoughts all alone. Hurriedly, you put on the corset, leaving it slightly loose as you’d rather get ridiculed than suffocate. Next, you put on your dress, which neatly resided in your closet. This dress was the most expensive thing you owned, and as everything you owned, you took great pride in it. It was a white cotton dress, layered with a bit of embroidered chiffon, along with Juliet sleeves that came to your elbows. Since you had neither undergarments to make the dress puffy, it lightly laid around your hips, accenting your figure. As for your hair, you wore it half up and half down. A bun on the top, while the other half was curled in the fashion of “Shirley Temple” curls. Having owned no jewelry, save for your grandmother’s earrings, you were nothing but an overdressed village girl, or at least in the eyes of nobility. 

Exiting the bedroom, and walking towards your parents, you found Marjorie sitting on the bench in front of the vanity, your mother behind her, plaiting the two braids into one. From the minute you stepped foot into the house, you spent the time diligently sewing Marjorie’s dress, not a soul dared to bother you. Many girls and women could sew, but not as fast as you. Over the years, you perfected the skill, able to sew beautifully while being quick. Sitting in a peaceful room and sewing till your heart's content was your happy place. Now, all that hard work had paid off, as Marjorie happily sat in the dress, telling your mother how much she adored it. Your mother caught sight of you in the mirror and flashed you a smile full of gratitude. 

Delicate sandwich crumbs fell on the Prince’s pristine white linen top, smaller specks making home on the ruffle of his collar. His posh black and gold embroidered baroque blazer hung on the back of the metal garden chair.  

“Ransom, were you even listening to a word I’ve said?”

His mother angrily snatched the half eaten sandwich from his hand, making the man sit up from his slouched position, brushing the fallen pieces of his hair out of his eyes. It was evident that the Prince had experienced a long night. 

“Yes, Mother. You were talking about the peasants.” 

The foreign word leaving a bitter taste in his entitled mouth. 

“Listen up, cause I’ll only say it once, son.”

The queen, with fire in her eyes, held her son’s chin towards her determined stare, making sure that this time he was listening and not letting her words escape his ears. If it was one thing, Queen Linda did not like her words to fall upon deaf ears, even including her son’s. She was a woman married to her work, caring more for the kingdom than she ever would her family, maybe that would explain her son’s petulant behavior. The queen held herself high, and that meant everyone else would too. Her husband, King Richard, was nothing of a king and instead let her handle the ruling while he’d fool around, a trait passed onto his son. Ignoring the many rumors of her husband, despite them being true, Linda still managed to rule the kingdom without so much as turning her head to the tales. 

“Tonight, you will go to the village. Satisfy the people, make them believe they are being heard. Pick one resident, and they shall “represent” the people here in the castle where we will satiate their needs. I’m tired of hearing the complaints, it strains me so.”

One thing about the Drysdale household was their love for drama. 

With that the Prince nodded his head, accepting his fate and then continuing to scarf down the lunch.

Evening had come and you and Marjorie had helped your mother prepare a feast while Louis and your father cleaned up the residence a bit. No one knew for sure if the Prince was coming, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Your village, small and humble, with the houses not too far apart, allowed for any sound to be heard. Including the royal fanfare, signaling the arrival of the Prince. Peeking out the front window, you could see the back of who you presumed to be the royal man himself, stopping in front of one of the houses, knocking, then going in. To describe your village in simple form, would be to say that the houses were practically in a row, at least twenty of them lined up. Although twenty houses did not seem to be a lot, many times more than one family shared a house, luckily your own not being one of those families. For now, you, Louis, and Marjorie sat in the parlor, entertaining yourself as your parents busied themselves with more housework, bringing the house to tiptop condition. The Prince may have been a mere four houses away, but who knew how long that could take.

After what felt like ages, a heavy knock resounded on the wood of the front door, everyone in your family lining up as your father went to answer the door. The man who surprisingly knocked on the door was in fact the Prince, two of his guards trailing behind. Upon entry, the Prince looked around the house, almost as if he were judging the interior design. At his facial expressions you wanted to scoff. He was only in your house for a few quick seconds and you wanted to scowl at him, but instead, you plastered a fake smile on your face, trying to contain Marjorie who was a bundle of energy at the sight of the Prince. You couldn’t exactly pinpoint an age on the man, but he did indeed look a bit older than Louis, the slight creases on his forehead saying so. Immediately, you and your family paid your respect to the man, bowing and curtseying. For a moment, the silence in the room was becoming unpleasant, especially when the Prince did a once over on your dress, making you feel slightly self-conscious. Before the silence could overwhelm you anymore, your brother made the first move as your parents were practically frozen in shock that the Prince was standing in their humble parlor. 

“Please do sit down, your Highness.” 

Louis motioned to the velvet armchair you had been sitting in earlier, the Prince gracefully taking strides towards the chair. As he did so, your mother pushed you and the family towards the small sofa where it sat directly across from the Prince. The sofa could only fit two people, so you and your mother sat down, Marjorie bouncing around in her lap, while Louis and your dad stood near the ends of the couch. None of you knew the reason for the Prince’s visit, so you sat and waited patiently till he opened his mouth.

“I’ve been sent here to answer your calls for help. Now, please enlighten me with your problems.”

The way he wouldn’t look any of you in the eyes disgusted you. His tone sounded so mocking and factitious. When your family members started to speak up one by one, voicing their woes with a glimmer of hope, you internally grimaced knowing what kind of game the Prince was playing. You weren’t going to fall into his little trap, so instead you kept your lips tightly sealed. 

Or so you thought. 

“What about you, Miss-”

Your mother discreetly shoved your back, making you look up to the Prince. Thank goodness you were slightly listening to his ever annoying voice. 

“Miss. (y/n).”

The Prince nodded, a look of approval on his face. 

“Well, Miss. (y/n), tell me. What do you think needs to be done here?”

A passionate fire ignited inside of you, and you were ready to voice your opinion, regardless if it were the Prince or not listening. You knew the minute you did so, your mother might just slap you right there and then.

“For starters, our people are constantly paying taxes worth more than our incomes. We are practically taking the nobilities’ taxes for them! They are reaping what we sow. If you think about it, we are the base of this kingdom. We take care of all the produce and materials, to earn what? Now, I know you’ve probably heard of the cries for money, making us look like beggars, but it’s truly not that way. For most of us anyway. We need recognition in order to live. Have you seen our village? It’s falling apart and we can no longer afford to care for it, let alone ourselves. We need some support as the nobility is often awarded, even though they do not need it. I do apologize for stepping out of line, your Highness, but it had to be said.”

Taking a deep breath after your long speech, you bowed your head, preparing for an outlash from the Prince or your own mother.  Quickly when the man didn’t respond, your mother rushed through many different apologies, her ragged breath ceasing when the Prince outstretched his hand for her to stop.

“No. Do not be mad at her. She is just what we have been looking for. You know, the past few families I have just visited were self-oriented, but you are speaking not only for yourself, but others.”

You looked up with the expression matching that of a deer staring into headlights. It felt so surreal that the Prince would even agree with you. 

“First thing tomorrow morning I shall come get her myself.”

The Prince rose from the chair, his statement leaving you all baffled. Your parents, ever the obedient ones, didn't dare defy his statement, as your protective brother stepped in and asked the question you all wanted to know.

“I beg your pardon? We never heard anything about anyone leaving the village.”

He spun around on his heel, lips parted to form an “o”, as he heavily placed a hand on your brother’s shoulder. 

“Ah yes. Well, I came here to find one person to represent the village, to practically give me some insight as to what you all need. You do want the help don’t you?”

His tone was mocking, but if leaving home meant to help it, you’d gladly do it. Just as Louis was about to give a piece of his mind to the Prince, you quickly cut in curtseying so he’d just leave already. 

“There is no problem, your Highness. I shall see you tomorrow.”

A small smirk grew on the man’s pink and plush lips as he grabbed your delicate hand that lightly rested on top of your dress. Slowly, he brought your hand to his lips, the softness of them surprising you. His blue eyes bore into your own as he placed the gentlest of kisses to the back of your hand. Your fingers then uncurled from his own as he pulled away, receiving the acts of respect from your family. With that, he walked out. Your mind was racing and your feet were implanted to the ground. You were sure that if you stood there for one more second you’d just melt into the earth as you hoped. Suddenly, your brother’s booming voice snapped you from your daydreams.

“You guys can’t be serious. There is no way (y/n) is going with that creep! Did you see the way he looked at her? Kissed her hand and such? He’s just going to use her like the rest of the women that step foot into the castle. I think we all know that she won’t be doing us any service unless that means being on her knees in front-”

“Enough!”

Your father quickly spoke up as your mother rushed Marjorie out of the room. This conversation was no place for children.

“Do not tell me ‘enough’ when my little sister is about to be thrown to the wolves!”

He came face to face with your father, not showing an ounce of fear. Never had Louis ever spoken out against your parents before, let alone ever been this angry. Hurriedly, you moved from your place and rested a hand on Louis’s shoulder, his tense figure loosening. 

“I’ll be fine, Lou. Do not fret, it will take a lot for the Prince to break me.”

You stood on tippy toes to kiss his cheek and pat his chest comfortingly. With the argument settled, you dejectedly shuffled away and to your room.  

Amongst the yelling between you, Louis, and your parents, no one had taken account of Marjorie’s feelings.

Your bedroom door was slightly shut, and just as you were about to open it, a few sniffles halted your actions. 

Marjorie was on your bed, her knees tightly hugged to chest as her tears flowed down her nightgown that you had crafted for her. Her back was leaned into your pillow and she snuggled herself into your bedding. 

Unaware of your presence, Marjorie continued to cry her heart out, stopping immediately when she felt the bed dip. 

“Oh my love, what is wrong?”

You opened your arms to her. At your offer, the little girl crawled into your arm, her face shoved into the soft curls of your hair. 

“Why! Why is the Prince taking you from me?! I thought he was supposed to be a good man!”

As much as you hated the Prince, knowing your appearance at the castle would most likely be overheard; you were still determined to make it work somehow. The Royals’ plan would backfire on them, but it seemed that the Prince was trying to find a firecracker as yourself, someone who wouldn’t back down. Maybe the Prince was finally changing his act, and sticking to his word. Even though you wanted to bad mouth the man to Marjorie, you couldn't do that. Not yet until you knew him personally. What the people were saying were just speculations and you really couldn't go by those as true as they seemed.

“Mar, Prince Hugh isn’t bad. He is trying to help us.”

She looked up at you, reading your expression to make sure it was true.

You brought a thumb to wipe her tears, “I promise you will see me soon.”

Nodding, the little girl leaned her forehead against your own, the two of you resting in silent peace.

“Now that everything is as right as rain, how about you help me pack?”

Marjorie excitedly nodded and you smiled at her. Together, you and Marjorie packed away your minimal selection of clothes, neatly folding them into the luggage given to you by Louis. 

By the time you had finished, the wooden wall clock read a little past nine. Marjorie was starting to drift as you got situated for bed, changing into your own nightgown. Standing in front of the vanity, you softly brushed your hair and tied off the bow on your sleepwear, when suddenly a little hand gently tugged at your arm. It was Marjorie, bashfully swaying side to side.

“Sissy, can I sleep with you tonight?”

At once, you set down your hairbrush, and turned to take Marjorie's hand in yours. Silently, you lead her to your bed, pulling down her side of the bed and tucking her in with a kiss to the forehead. 

“G’night.”

Marjorie curled into herself, a plush teddy bear in her arms.

“Sweet dreams, love.”

Running a quick hand over her hair, you rounded the bed to get in on your own side. 

Morning light came quick, but your mother came in quicker. 

Last night you had trouble sleeping, toiling over your family and your own fate with the nobility. Frantically, your mother shook your shoulder, waking you up in a panic.

“Mother, what’s wrong?!”

It was barely above a whisper, “He’s here.”

You looked over to the clock, seeing as the time was only seven in the morning. The Prince had never said he’d be there so early, but eager to please you hopped from quickly tidying yourself up a bit. In such a frenzy, you forgot one major item. Your nightgown.

Entering the parlor, you found no one else to be in the room, except for the Prince who had a mischievous smile on his face. At his expression you quirked an eyebrow and he motioned to your attire, a laugh slipping from his lips. Immediately, you felt the heat rise to your cheeks, and in shame you looked down at your feet, hoping the floor would open up and swallow you whole.

In a few strides, the Prince stood before you, his hand raising your chin to his line of sight.

“I didn’t mean to make you embarrassed, Miss. (y/n). You look quite adorable, might I add.”

You just smiled, not sure what to say. His flirtatious comments, although nice, were irritating, as they could ruin your whole chance at being respected. 

“Well, are you ready? Lead me to your bags.”

At his request, your jaw dropped, “Your highness, do you mean that you are going to carry my baggage?”

He wore an amused smile and nodded. “Indeed I am. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No! Not at all, thank you very much for your assistance.”

With that, you led him towards your room, a once asleep Marjorie, now gone, leaving just you and the Prince alone.

Hurriedly, you went to gather your things into one location as Prince Hugh sat on the edge of your bed, observing the quaint room.

“Might I ask why you came alone, Prince Hugh?”

“Let’s just say that my mother wasn’t pleased to hear that I found someone who cared.”

The man chuckled and just gazed into your eyes, a glimmer of playfulness in those orbs of blue.

“I will be honest with you, I thought the same, your Highness.” 

“What do you mean?”

He was being so friendly and genuine, you felt you like giving him a chance. The anger dissipated in your mind and changed to something else. Gossip and rumors were something you tried to rid your brain of at the moment. With him in your presence, you’d be the judge of his true character. 

“I knew the true intentions of your visit were just a mere illusion, to pick a random villager and make it seem that you all cared.”

Prince Hugh, quite the charmer, stood from your bed and gently took the baggage from your hands.

“I defied my mother’s orders because you seemed so passionate about change. Actually seeing you and the villagers made my whole attitude change. Do not fret, you and I will make a change for your people, this is my promise to you.” 

The man snaked his hand up to your face, his warm palm enveloping your cheek in what you were hoping was a friendly manner. He hesitantly placed his hand, and when you leaned into his touch, you somewhat fauxly reassured the Prince’s fears. You were just openly giving him a chance. In hopes of pursuing this blossoming friendship. 

After the interaction, the Prince carried your bags down as you held only a jacket, trailing behind the man who walked with determination. You both crossed towards the junction where the front door and kitchen met. In the room, you found all of your family, each of them already dirtied with dirt and grime from working. Each of their eyes widened at the sight and Prince Hugh just snugly smiled, setting down your luggage on the floor beside him.

“We are off Mr. (y/ln) and Mrs. (y/l/n).”

The Prince reached out to shake your father’s hand, and to kiss your mother’s. All of you were shocked at his humbleness. Next, he shook Louis’s hand, placing a hand on his shoulder. Your brother, still grounded in his opinion, wore a faux smile. 

“Take care of my sister,” Louis growled. The Prince, not intimidated, nodded and respected his wishes.

Finally, little Marjorie, who hid behind your mother’s leg, was offered a hand from the Prince. Shyly, she pried her hands from your mother’s leg and extended a hand. With a kind smile, Prince Hugh placed a kiss on her small hand, aware of her little crush, one you had mentioned on the way down. His warm interaction with your family made your lips curl into a small smile, but you’d never let him know.  

The Prince walked out, giving you some privacy with your family.

“Precious girl, stay safe, and please keep in touch.” your father held you close as tears finally fell from your face. You leaned back with a sad smile, going to hug your mother. 

“You’re gonna make us so proud, dear girl.” With a pitiful smile of her own, she gently kissed your hair, exiting the room with you father, leaving Marjorie and Louis behind. Heavy sobs racked the little girl’s body and she jumped into Louis’s arms who held her around his hip.

You looked at the two, mouthing the words, “take care of her,” to Louis who nodded. Sadly, he held out a hand, pulling you in for a group hug. 

“If he lays a hand on you, Birdie, I swear-”

“Louis, hush. Give him a chance, okay? You know me, I’ll let you know at once. Besides, you didn’t teach me how to throw a punch for nothing.”

He shook his head and kissed your cheek in response. Louis then walked off with Marjorie who waved goodbye and was too sad to truly say farewell. 

In the empty room, you took a deep breath, assuring yourself that it would all be okay. Taking a step out the front door, you knew there was no turning back now. 

The Prince stepped out from the carriage, opening the door for you, and once again amazing you with his manners. The same ones you thought were non-existent. 

Once in, you sat a mere foot apart from the Prince. Your hand rested on the velvet seat, lightly touching the side of his own. No longer able to take the suspense, you asked the question you’d been dying to know.

“Why are you so kind to me?”

He thought for a minute, before turning back to answer. 

“My reputation precedes me, there’s more to me than you know.”

His hand reached for yours, yet you slightly moved it away. The man was a bit shocked although he quickly and nonchalantly hid the reaction. 

“Oh Prince Hugh, you have much to learn about me as well.”

𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖉𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐!

it gets better in the next chapter hehe...

#ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x you #ransom drysdale x reader #prince!ransom drysdale #roi de cœur #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans au #chris evans x reader

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

have i asked for stan and kyle's favorite books/movies yet? i assume ur stan can read unlike mine smh

Lmfaooooo what a slay ask as ALWAYS from the wife!!! OJV Stan can, in fact, read, he just gets distracted (adhd boy across the ncu/ojv board!)

I got sooooo many ideas for this one YOUR HONOR THEY ARE MASSIVE DORKS!!!

They like a lotttt of the same stuff, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, oh my god they are HUGE Bill and Ted fans they’re definitely being “excellent to each other” if ya know what I mean ;) another favorite is Percy Jackson and Stan 100% cried during that part in MOA (same) Kyle made the rest of the M5 listen to the audiobooks and Cartman has definitely read every depraved fanfiction ashdhdksl. Stan and Kyle are SUCH fantasy nerds especially Stan out here learning tolkien elvish to rizz the sbf up smh

Style went FERAL over The Last of Us show they loved the games so much and oh my goodness they… may or may not have had a Voltron phase (it was Cartman’s fault) BRUH!!!!! Ok these two LOVE Kevin Smith’s filmography!!!! Kyle’s favorite is Tusk and Stan’s is Clerks 3 he SOBBED HIS EYEBALLS OUT!!!

Kyle’s definitely also into documentaries, particularly historical ones, where Stan kind of spaces out unless it’s animal planet (king shit) also DUDE How To Train Your Dragon is a fave. Kyle LOVES Dead Poets Society.

So Kyle definitely is a little more inclined to reading, though they’re both a sucker for a story, but he’s the one who actually sat down and read GOT, actually enjoyed the assigned reading in high school, like this man was out here enjoying the HELL out of A Separate Peace, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, and HOLY SHIT he ADORES Ray Bradbury. OrangeJuiceVerse Kyle is such an idealistic guy, he fucks that magical realism UP!!! Def likes poetry, Kipling is a FAVE!!! Also down to read think pieces, absolutely loves when something gets him thinking about human nature. Shakespeare too! His favorite is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stan’s favorite is Titus Andronicus.

Stan Marsh, our resident hopeless romantic, ADORES MUSICALS! He has made everyone in the Star Seven watch every single Team Starkid Show (his favorite is probably Twisted) (Kenny likes Starship because he loves him some puppets) (kys fave is The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals bc the title made him laugh) Stan, Cartman, and Marj are THE trio to go see musicals it’s so fun! And Stan’s favorite broadway musical was in fact The Lightning Thief. He’s a big enjoyer of The Music Man too. And LITTLESHOP!!! Oh dude he watched the helll out of Austin & Ally lmfao

I’ve mentioned before Stan watching alllll the sappy ass Dog Movies when he’s depressed, holed up in the Sadsack Hoodie with Old Yeller, 8 Below, Homeward Bound, Where the Red Fern Grows, Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (that one’s a fave bc happy ending and the kid in it looks like him) and that poor guys just making himself more upset :(

Oh Kyle is SO into The Hunger Games he read the books and analyzed the SHIT out of them!!!

Oh! Stan loves Supernatural lmao and he and Tweek binge watched it while Stan was out of work w the broken ribs and Tweek was detoxing (Operation Beat Tweek’s Withdrawals/Stan’s Boredom as referenced in chap 6 of BBFA2) Stan also made Tweek watch Poultrygeist (Tweek hated it) (I also hated Poultrygeist like my husband is friends with Lloyd Kaufman and I’ll watch that weird old man’s work but all of it grosses me out lmao)

Thank you for the ask Melda Tâe (my beloved queen) I LOVE BEING ANNOYING!!!

#asks #south park #THANK YOU NEEN!!! #OrangeJuiceVerse #my au #headcanons #style #lmm voice: look at my son #my shit #kyle broflovski #stan marsh #main 5

[yolkyeomie]

The Art of Hearts | Lee Juyeon

summary — trembling hands? flushed face? nervous stuttering? this wasn’t like you, you’ve never reacted like this to anyone before. so why is it that when you were with him you acted this way?

word count — 17.2k words

pairing — juyeon x female!reader (w/ mentions of chanhee, sunwoo, younghoon, and hyunjae)

genre — princess!reader, knight!juyeon, fluff with a hint of angst if you really squint, slowburn-ish, strangers to lovers-ish

disclaimer — mentions of minor violence and sword fighting !! I spent three days writing this through a hyper fixation and I REFUSE to get this beta read, so if u see any errors pretend like you didn’t see it at all 👁 this is also really self indulgent and I’ve never even written for tbz I’m so so sorry if this is extremely inaccurate

I.

You were a little upset with yourself, you weren’t going to lie. For the past few months you had found yourself curiously leaning over your balcony railing, trying your best to catch a quick glance of all the knights in training that were just a few feet below. Eagerly you watched as they honed their skills, determination fueling their bones as they swung, slashed, and clanged their dull and worn out swords against each other in a mock battle.

They fought with all their might to become the next knights of your kingdom’s army or the next royal guards that would patrol the palace with the king and his family. Though, you knew that your mere presence made them strive for their goal even harder than before. Who wouldn’t want to demonstrate their rising abilities in front of the princess of their nation?

Your prying eyes made them itch with anticipation and wonder. Will they get a chance to greet you if they flaunted hard enough? To take your dainty hands in theirs, rough with hard work and tenacity, and place a gentle kiss atop your skin?

You weren’t interested in them, per se. In fact you had never been very interested in the upcoming knights that trained in the barracks below you. Since you were a child, the tiara and gown lifestyle wasn’t really for you, longing to hold the hilt of a long sword within your hands and slash your opponent in one clean swing. You wanted to fight, you wanted to run, you wanted to get rough and dirty with the knights that were sworn to protect your kingdom. It had been your biggest dream and fascination to even sit in on one singular match between the generals and their young and hopeful squires.

However, the amount of times you’ve been scolded for your unattainable dreams was too many to count on one finger. How unprecedented of you to even think such a thought! Young ladies are to never step foot on the battlefield, dirtier their long gowns or scraping their soft skins, that’s what you’ve been told. The swords are for the young men who fight for their country and the women who stay home and wait for them. A sword was to never be picked up by a lady, especially the princess.

But it was so boring! Why must you have to sit and smile like a porcelain doll too expensive to be rough housed with? You could never understand how your mother, how past queens and princesses, could handle such a repetitive job. Smile for the allies, smile for your king, smile for your people, and most importantly, produce an heir that will make the kingdom thrive. That was nothing you wanted to do!

Yet you were the only child of your nation’s queen and king, so that’s what was expected of you. You had no brother to hide behind and force to take the throne. You had no sister you could hide behind and force to smile and wave. You had to do it without any questions and without any backlash.

You’d think they’d at least let you learn to defend yourself since you were the only heir to the throne? Sure you will have royal guards protecting you for a majority of your life but it wasn’t bad to be a little precautious just in case a happy incident occurred.

Just thinking about the mistreatment made you frown, slumping over the balcony railing with a huff and using your hand to prop up your head in annoyance. Not even watching the knights-to-be scramble to display their tiny growing muscles or aimlessly swinging their blades around could make you feel any better.

And then you heard it, a deep and loud horn echoing across from the barracks all the way to the balcony you stood on. It caught your attention almost immediately, standing up straight and leaning over the railing to see what was going on. Unfortunately you hear what they must be saying from the height you were at, but the slow opening of the barrack gates was enough to clue you in on what was happening next.

“Oh, I’m just in time!” A voice chirped behind you, your skin jumping off its bones at their sudden appearance. You turn your head innocently to catch the sight of a fellow member of royalty slinking you to your side, his tiny physique making his footsteps light and silent as he stepped across the marble flooring of the balcony.

“Why, if it isn’t his Royal Highness, Prince Choi Chanhee of Fantasia!” You teased, watching as he rolled his eyes at his formal title. Only recently had the boy been pronounced the next king of his nation and he still wasn't used to the new form of address he had been given. You took this as an opportunity to poke fun at him, knowing all of the times he’s done the exact same to you. “What do I owe the pleasure of seeing his Royal Highness today?”

“You are so annoying,” Chanhee snided, earning a knowing smile from you as he leaned over the balcony railing just as you did before. “My father has come to discuss some important matters with your family, something involving the trading between the two kingdoms. I was forced to tag along being the next heir and I came to give you a bit of company, but it seems as though you’re already a little preoccupied.”

You couldn’t help but scoff at his last words, knowing he was trying to jab right back at you for watching the squires of your kingdom. “Very funny, Chanhee, but I’m not here to watch the scrawny pretty boy’s fight for a simple smile from me.”

“You find enjoyment in their pinning though, I know you do,” He noted, not taking his eyes off the barrack gates. They were completely open now, leading out into the field that was right front of the balcony the two of you were standing on. “You would never give a singular one of these men a chance because the little she-devil inside of you likes toying with their hearts.”

“You describe me so coldly, it hurts,” you laugh, watching a smile etch on the prince’s face at your words. You enjoyed your little banter like this, fighting back and forth like a pair of siblings rather than potential suitors. And let it be known that everyone in the palace wanted Chanhee to be the one who would finally court you, but he didn’t seem too interested in the idea either.

Once again a horn was blown to catch the attention of the people, it’s deep sound resonated across the field and the two of you turned your gazes towards the barracks once more. This is what Chanhee was looking forward to, the weekly evaluation that the knights-to-be of your kingdom endured four days every month. To be honest, you looked forward to it as well, as it usually was used as a way to not only assess the squires but show off the power of the kingdom’s next knights and royal guards.

After a few moments two horses shot out of the barrack gates, galloping across the open field at such intense speeds that if you blinked you would have missed them.

“This week is archery!” Chanhee exclaimed, clapping his hands together in glee as he pointed out the worn red targets that were placed about the field.

You narrowed your eyes as you finally settled your eyes upon one individual, Chanhee’s gaze following the other rider as they rode in the wind. The boy you were watching was riding upon a black stead, the steeds jet black coat nearly matching his slate colored hair. The only reason you could see the boy upon the black horse was because of his contrasting blue tunic and the evergreen colored grass underneath them.

As the two approached the first target, the boy began to rise off of the saddle straightening his back as lifting up a bow and arrow held in his hands. He focused in on the target in front of him, quickly snatching an arrow out of the quiver strapped around his back and nocking his bow. Both you and Chanhee watched in silence as the boys drawed back on their bowstrings, aiming carefully for the bullseye with unheard precision.

Thwish! Chanhee’s boy was the first to release his arrow, the object flying through the air and sinking deep into the plywood of the target. The boy let out a cheer as his chestnut steed began to pick up the page, charging straight for the other two targets that were left to clear. Only a few seconds after the first the boy you were watching released his arrow, stabbing into the target just as, if not harder, into the target than the first.

There was no cheering coming from him, no gesture of victory, not even a hint of an eager smile. He only grabbed onto the reins of his horse and commanded it to continue forth.

After the first moment of hesitation, he was no longer the one waiting for his fellow knight-to-be to make the first move. He surpassed the other boy in a matter of seconds, shooting his arrows deep into the plywood targets in a heartbeat.

“That’s incredible,” Chanhee couldn’t help but comment, reaching out for your arm as he stared down at the field in pure amusement. “Did you catch that Y/N? Each one of those shots, straight into the bullseye? And on the back of horse running at full speed? He’s inhuman, there’s no other way.”

“What can I say?” You bragged, a smile donning in your face as the boy’s horse began to slow into a casual trot. Only then did the remnants of a grin don his face, basking in his easily gained victory. “My kingdom’s soldiers are the best in the region? There is a reason everyone wants to be our allies and not our enemies? The boys from the village could crush yours in a fell swoop.”

The current squires weren’t everything to brag about now, but once they finished training? Ascending to the ranks of knights and royal guards? They were unstoppable, worthy of not only your praise, but the kingdom’s as well.

“That’s so unfair,” Chanhee pouted, stepping away from the balcony to throw a small fit. It was nothing too serious, just blowing off some steam from being the lesser royal member in the room. “You should really send some of your knights to Fantasia once you become queen. We could really use the unstoppable knights of your kingdom to better protect our own.”

You snort at his words, glancing down towards the open field where the targets laid. “Not a chance, your Royal Highness,” you tell him, your eyes glued to the slate colored hair of the squire below you. In a heartbeat he turned his head to the balcony, turning to the side like a dog as his gaze met yours. “Not a chance.”

II.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn,” you say, your brain barely keeping up with the words that were spilling out of your mouth. “But what? You’re doing what?”

Your father couldn’t help but smile at your confusion, leading you down the busy hallway of the barracks. Any knight or general that would walk the same path as the two of you would gasp and bow before you, letting the king and his daughter pass them before even daring to continue on their way. Squires young and old would all gawk and stare from the windows and doorways of their rooms, their gazes never leaving their sovereign’s side until they were out of view.

You were in the barracks. For the first time in your life you were walking the corridors of the knight’s barracks, their training grounds, side by side with your father’s permission. Sure, you were still dressed in the long feet covering dress and shiny silver crown you had inherited so it meant you were not going to do any sort of fighting while you were here, but they didn’t matter to you. This was a big step for you to be taking in first place! Just walking within the barracks was a simple dream come true.

“Progress has been made,” your father’s royal adviser spoke first, explaining the situation to you as simply as he could. “The general in charge of training the newest squires from around the nation had reported that he believed that some of them were ready to ascend the ranks. So your father is here to judge and give the final verdict personally.”

“You saw the evaluation a week ago, didn’t you?” Your father suddenly asked you.

Your brain was doing marathons around the room as they spoke to you, trying your best to keep up with the conversation. Though the mentioning of the weekly evaluation snapped you back into reality, remembering the talented boy that rode across the field on the black stallion and easily demolished his competition. “Of course,” you responded, a little too fast for your liking. Quickly you added on, “who doesn’t remember the evaluation? Prince Chanhee was so impressed by the skills of our knights-to-be that he begged me to send some to his kingdom.”

“I know,” your father sneering, reminiscing over a memory you hadn’t witnessed. “These boys, the ones I’m going to evaluate, are around your age. I thought it was useful for you to see them personally, as there is a very strong potential that you’ll be growing as the next queen alongside them.”

“So…,” you mumble, stopping with your father in front of the door archway led to the courtyard where most of the knights-to-be were being held. “No training with the knights?”

Your father shot you a glance before laughing to himself, allowing his royal advisor to pass by him and walk out first into the courtyard. “No training with the knights.”

“May I present to you, his Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness, Princess Y/N!”

Both you and your father stepped out into the courtyard, everyone in the vicinity of the two of you bowing in respect. Your father spoke a few words to the general in charge, an exchange of words you didn’t quite catch. You were too distracted by your surroundings to focus on what was being spoken to you.

The ground around the archways was paved in cement, creating a small pathway to be walked on around the courtyard. Yet in the middle courtyard was completely dirt, grass only making an appearance in spotty areas from being traversed on so many times. The dirt stained the hem of your dress with a brown tint, having it been raining a few nights before and the ground hadn’t completely soaked up all of the water that had been doused upon it.

But you didn’t mind, why would you care about your dress when you were finally in the barracks! Your eyes were glued to the more important things, like the targets that were hung up against the walls with arrows puncturing the wood or the many dull swords and swords that were littered across the ground forgotten with the king and your arrival.

You must look like an idiot as you looked around the barracks like it was the most exquisite place of the century. To them squires, it was just another building that barely had anything to give. But to you? This was heaven on Earth, the garden of Eden in a cold and unforgiving world.

“General, please, no need to flatter,” your father’s voice spoke, finally snapping you out of your daydream-like state. When you looked up towards him, he was laughing and smiling with the man over all of the knights-to-be, turning towards the younger boys with an expectant glint in his eyes. “I am here to see the potential we’ve gathered within our ranks.”

“Of course, your Majesty!” He replied in an instant, turning towards the young men as urging a few of them to stand in front of him. It was only three of the boys close to your age that stood before you and king. “These are our finest boys to date, great fighters they’ve proven themselves to be, and hopefully even greater knights as well. Kim Sunwoo, Kim Younghoon, and our prized apprentice,”

It was him, the boy who has easily shot three arrows into a target’s bullseye on horseback. “Lee Juyeon.” You had never seen the boy up close before, you had never seen any of the knights-to-be up close before yet somehow, he made you falter. Your breath stopped upon finally laying eyes on him, unknowingly eying him as you tried to regain control of your brain. You weren’t used to this, being the person who was struggling to compose themselves, it was usually the other way around.

Most knights and knights-to-be were all talk and no bite, carefully trying to court you with sweet words and no skills to back up their courageous attitudes. Not even a single bat of an eyelash could make you want to give them the time of day. Yet Juyeon simply stood there, his head held high with well earned confidence and naturally captivating looks. He knew he was better off than most of the boys that had been spent off to become knights for the king, he must know!

Why else would he drop his gaze from his father to you, unspoken words passing between the two of you before he turned back towards your father. He knew you, he recognized you, and he was simply going to continue about his day. It killed you to know that you had been caught lacking, bewitched by his skills and appearance after being known as the princess who plays with knights for so long.

Was anyone watching you? Of course they were watching you, you were the princess and were standing right next to the king! Everyone must have seen you gawking at the boy before you and who could tell what was racing through their minds now?

“You're the boy from the weekly evaluation last week, aren’t you?” Your father questioned, addressing Juyeon first. You glanced between the two men for a moment, racking your brain around so you could follow along with the conversation. “Mounted archery, black horse?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” he responded politely, his voice making your hands twitch with a sudden spark. Immediately you put your hands behind your back, fumbling and fidgeting with your fingers nervously. How did he do that? The boy said three words and now your body was beginning to lose control!

You pinched the inside of your palm, cursing at yourself for allowing yourself to act in such a way. What was wrong with this? This wasn’t supposed to happen, you weren’t supposed to be reacting this way to a person you had just met!

Your father gasped in response to Juyeon’s answer, not even noticing your change in demeanor. “They don’t call you the finest for no reason then. Truly, your one of the most talented people I’ve seen come into our barracks in years. How long have you been with us, Juyeon? It must have been a year or so, hasn’t it?”

“You flatter me, your Majesty,” he smiled, his ears burning at the compliments given by the sovereign. “It’s only been two months.”

“Two months?” Both you and father exclaimed, sharing nearly identical expressions of shock. You cover your mouth with your hands, not meaning to speak out of turn. Your father cleared his throat not long after, trying to shake off the minor embarrassment from reacting in such a way.

Juyeon didn’t seem to mind though, his smile growing from ear to ear as he glanced over towards you once again. Your eyes followed his as he leaned down just slightly before speaking to you. “Are you okay, your highness?” He questioned, his own hands twitching from their place at his sides.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” you quickly reply to him, cutting the conversation short between the two of you almost immediately. Was your face red? You hoped it wasn’t red, that would have been embarrassing.

The entire courtyard’s breath stopped as they started at the two of you. Juyeon, the finest upcoming knight, and you, the princess of the kingdom, spoke to each other. Out of turn and slightly more casual than expected, none of the knights and squires had ever gotten close enough to even get a decent response from you. Yet Juyeon had not only gotten a reaction out of you, but a flustered response as well!

“Juyeon,” your father called, snapping the boy’s attention from you to the king. Thank the heavens he stopped looking at you, you didn’t know how much longer it was going to be until you melted on the spot. You hated it, the sudden and newfound emotions the squire was putting you through. Your head was going to explode if you shared one more conversation with him, and that was barely a conversation to begin with. “How good are you with a sword?”

“Excellent, your Majesty,” the general cut in, giving the boy a stern pat on the back. Juyeon didn’t move from the position he was standing in, but it definitely looked as though he felt the brunt of the general’s hit. “He probably rivals those of the recruits from last year, already on their level or higher.”

“Perfect,” the king smiled, glancing around the courtyard for a moment. Before turning back towards the general and Juyeon. “Then shall we have a mock battle? If you don’t mind, I’d like to see your skills in action.”

“Of course,” Juyeon responded, “I can do anything for you, your Majesty.”

III.

“What the hell was that?!” Sunwoo yelled, punching Juyeon in the shoulder as hard as he possibly could. The boy winced as a result, numb from the mock battle he had participated in just a few minutes earlier. Though he didn’t retaliate like he should have, slumping into the bed that was provided for all the knights within the barracks. He was exhausted, having to exert a lot more energy than he was used to in order to impress the king as best as he could.

Had he known the king and the princess were visiting the barracks today, he wouldn’t have stayed up the night before.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Juyeon responded, his voice muffled against the worm pillow he laid his head on.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” the boy insisted, twirling the dull longsword in his hands by the hilt. He stopped as he pointed the tip at Juyeon’s back, threateningly hovering the blade over him. “You? And the princess? Flirting not only in front of our faces, but the king’s face? Are you crazy or what!”

“I wasn’t flirting with the princess,” he answered, turning to snatch the sword out of Sunwoo’s hands. He wasn’t even supposed to be bringing weapons within the sleeping quarters, all of those were supposed to stay within the barracks army for safety reasons. “I have no reason to flirt with the princess.”

“You were kinda flirting with the princess man,” Younghoon spoke from the other side of the room, glancing at the two boys with a curious glint in his eyes. Juyeon had totally forgotten he was even with them, quietly slinking around the room to eavesdrop on Sunwoo and his conversation. Usually he could tell when the boy was trying to sneak around them, but it seemed as though he was too tired and preoccupied to notice this time. “I mean, what else could that whole situation with you and princess have been?”

“I said like five words!” Juyeon insisted, holding the right amount of fingers up. “Five! How could I have flirted with her when all I asked was if she was okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, leave out the important details like the way you were smiling at her when you spoke to her,” Sunwoo pointed out. “Or the way you specifically were fighting much harder than normal to catch her attention during the mock battle? Huh? How do you explain that?”

“The king!” The boy argued, “the king was right there! Did you want me to slack off right in front of the sovereign of our kingdom and embarrass myself? You saw the way the general and king kept showering me with compliments, I had no choice.”

Younghoon shook his head in disappointment before dropping it up with his arms and speaking. “The princess couldn’t keep her eyes off you man, you suddenly became eye candy for her. And it definitely wasn’t just because your skills were really good, the princess doesn’t know enough about swordsmanship in order to be watching you for your skills.”

“You don’t…,” Juyeon stuttered, trying to find a way to defend himself. “You don’t know that…”

“Yes, I do,” Younghoon confirmed. “Everyone knows the princess barely knows a lick of swordsmanship. She was watching you, Juyeon.”

He knew that, everyone knew that the princess didn’t know anything about fighting in general. It’s the first thing that a person learns upon reaching the barracks from their hometowns, the princess does not know how to fight. She’s tried for years to run towards the barracks to even just watch the knights train their apprentices but every time she’s been denied access to the barracks.

Truth be told, he also knew that the princess was watching him during the mock battle too. How could he not, for every glance he threw the king’s way he would nearly make direct eye contact with the king’s daughter. Juyeon would quickly look away, ducking below blades that were swung above his head or dodging a jab that was aimed directly at his chest.

Everyone wanted to impress the king and the princess now, knowing that it was up to the king to decide whether or not they’d ascend the ranks and become fully fledged knights. The only thing in their way was Juyeon, the two month old apprentice from the more rural area of the kingdom. If they could take down him in a mock battle, or even get a small nick on his body, they’d get a sure fire way into the ranks of knights and royal guards.

The mere fact that the princess was accompanying her father for the first time ever wasn’t really in their favor either. Juyeon knew how much everyone adored the princess of their kingdom, scrambling and begging for just a peek of her from the balcony above the barracks. Now she had been right in front of their faces, breathing the same air as them and watching them carefully for the first time in her life. There could be no mess ups here, for who knew when they’d next see the princess within the walls of the barracks once again.

But it seemed as though Juyeon continuously kept snatching up every little opportunity there was to catch her attention. It wasn’t even on purpose, but his charms and skills stood up more than anyone else who had fought against him.

It’s impossible to catch any woman’s attention when Juyeon stood in the way.

The worst part about it was that he didn’t even mind all the attention he was receiving. Usually he’d humble himself, placing his fellow peers on a pedestal to try and uplift them and provide a source of support and strength for them. Yet the electrifying feeling he got from watching the princess’s face shift from bewilderment to flustered was addictive in the worst way possible, Juyeon almost cracked a smile just thinking about it. His power was truly unrivaled in a way he didn’t even mean for it to be.

Juyeon covered face with his hand, trying his best to conceal the ever growing flush on his face. This feeling… it shouldn’t have been this addictive.

“Either way,” Sunwoo began, cutting straight through Juyeon's thoughts like a sword to the chest. “You can’t be flirting with the princess.”

“Why not?” He asked, responding a little faster than he anticipated. Both Younghoon and Sunwoo gave him a knowing look, as if the boy had confirmed their suspicions of courting the king’s daughter. “I’m not saying I was, god! I’m just asking… why I can’t if I ever wanted to try…”

“Number one!” Sunwoo called out.

“There are dozens of knights trying to court her at this very second,” Younghoon pointed out. “Becoming one of those people will not only give you an unfair advantage but also make you gain a lot more enemies than you think. I’m almost one hundred percent sure you don’t want to mess with the already established and trusted knights within the king’s circle.”

“Number two!”

“She’s a princess, daughter of the king of the entire nation,” Younghoon stated, pointing an accusing finger towards Juyeon. “What are you compared to that?”

Juyeon rolled his eyes at their words, leaning up against the bed once again before answering. “I’m a knight’s apprentice, son of a barely known blacksmith in the rural areas of the kingdom.”

“You’ve got nothing to offer. She’s got a whole kingdom, you’ve got nothing but a sword and your face,” Sunwoo told him, shaking his head in disappointment. “If you’re going to try and court a princess of all people, I think you’d need a decent background to even try. Most of the people who try and flirt with her are people with lots of money, connections, or are just close to the king and his circle.”

“Alright then…,” He mumbled, glancing between the two of them. “What’s number three?”

The two boys looked at each other for a moment, a smile growing on her faces as they turned back towards Juyeon. “We kill you for leaving us behind!”

IV.

“I hate this stupid game,” you mumbled, keeping your head propped up with one hand as you stared down at the chess pieces in front of you. Chanhee had come to visit again, companying his father on legal matters that neither of you could care for. With nothing to do for the day he had offered to play a game with you, a game he was learning to play back in his own kingdom.

You agreed believing that both of you wouldn’t be very good and manipulate the rules in order to play, but that wasn’t the case at all. Chanhee was beating you badly, snatching a majority of your black chess pieces off of the board and assaulting your side with his white pieces. He said he wasn’t good but it seemed as though he was natural at this game. “It’s not a stupid game,” he corrected you, placing his white pawn near your black queen. “This game is all about trickery and strategy, if you can’t do that how will you win a war?”

“There is no war to be fought,” you explain to him, grinning to yourself as you moved your black knight piece and took his white pawn. “Even if there was, I have generals, allies, and a council of people to help win said war. That’s kind of their job after all, planning battle strategies and executing them flawlessly.”

Chanhee snorted at your answer, innocently looking down at the board and carefully plotting his next move. “Thinking like that will make you a weak queen, Y/N. I hope you know that. It’ll make you easy to manipulate if you can’t think for yourself… checkmate.” He stated finally, using his white bishop to move diagonally towards your black king. You curse to yourself quietly as you realized the predicament you were in.

Without knowing, Chanhee had nearly completely surrounded your king. His white chess pieces were all clustered up around your king, his bishop, both his knights, two pawns, and his queen closer to him for backup. “This game is so stupid!” You call out in frustration, moving another the last black pawn on your side to take his knight. Without hesitation the prince moved his bishop and quickly took your king within his hands, replacing your most crucial piece with his mocking white bishop. “I don’t want to play anymore.”

“You don’t want to play because you’re bad at this game,” the prince teased, placing the chess pieces back into their original order as you pushed your chair away from the table like a child. “It’s not my fault you can’t use your brain to its full capacity, my Royal Highness, Princess Y/N.”

“You’re so lucky you’re my friend,” you threatened, mentally wiping that catlike smile off of his delicate features. “Had you been any other person I would have hurt you by now.”

“Oh no!” He gasped, sarcasm dripping off his tongue as he mockingly waved his hands around in fear. “The princess with no fighting experience is going to hurt me! I’m so scared, what will I ever do?”

“Chanhee!” You yelled, jumping out of your chair in a heartbeat. The prince laughed at you as he leaped out of his seat, sprinting out of the room and closing the door behind him as fast he could knowing he was going to be faster than you. While you’ve been wearing fancy dresses and expensive, custom made heels your entire life, that didn’t make it any easier to run in. “Chanhee, you annoying little prince! Come back here and take back those words!”

You grumble to yourself as you kick off your shoes, desperate to catch the boy and give him a piece of your mind. You may have little to know fighting skills, but you didn’t need to know how to defend yourself to choke someone out. In a rush you hurry towards the door, swinging it open with an intense speed you didn’t think was possible only to open it to the face of your father’s royal advisor. “Good day, your Royal Highness.”

“Oh,” you say, trying to compose yourself as best as possible before properly responding to him. “Good day, sir. Is there anything I can help you with today? I’m kind of in a rush right now… his highness, Prince Chanhee—”

“—Can wait,” the royal advisor finished, urging you to open the door wider so that he could step in. Awkwardly push it open a little more, stepping to the side and inviting him inside. He gratefully entered, not hesitating for even a moment to begin explaining things to you. “As you know your father, the king, had decided a month ago to allow a few of the knights in training to ascend to the ranks of true nights and royal guards.”

“Of course I know,” you respond, grabbing the heels you had discarded in your attempt to chase after the Fantasia prince and throwing them off to the side where the royal advisor couldn’t find them. “He told me and my mother about it, he was thinking about adding new royal guards to the ranks since a few of them had notified my father of their retirement from the ranks.”

“Excellent, I’m glad you’ve been caught up that far,” he explained, making you raise a skeptical brow. Caught up that far? What else were you missing? You were the princess, it was rather important that you were updated on things that involved you and your family’s safety and security.

“Unbeknownst to you, the king and queen had sworn in a total of five knights earlier in the day while the king of Fantasia and his family were discussing their own matters of importance.”

“Without me?” You questioned.

“Without you.” The advisor confirmed. “Prince Chanhee of Fantasia had you occupied, and no one wanted to bother you while you were having one of your very few days off within the palace.”

You didn’t know whether you should be grateful for the privacy with Chanhee or upset with the fact that your father and mother did not think to invite you to the swearing in of the new royal guards. “Do not be distraught, your highness,” the royal advisor told you, a small smile playing on his lips as he began to speak. “It was simply a matter of keeping your best interest within sight, you will meet the newest royal guards whenever you feel the need.”

You nod your head in understanding, there was no need to be upset now. The damage was already done and it wasn’t too hard to move from. “Can I at least know who has joined us in the palace?”

The royal advisor nodded his head in response, standing up straight in response as he began to recall the names of all the knights that had joined them. “The most notable names I can recall at the moment are all from the barracks here within the palace walls. Knights Kim Younghoon, Kim Sunwoo, and Lee Juyeon, your personal guard.”

You froze upon hearing the royal advisor’s words, slowing processing everything in your brain as the gears began to turn inside of your brain. “I’m sorry but,” You laughed softly, trying your best to hear correctly. “Can you repeat that one more time? Who is the new royal guard?”

“Of course, your highness,” He agreed, “the new royal guards are Younghoon—“

“The last part! I just need the last part.”

“Lee Juyeon, your new personal guard. He was the barracks finest apprentice, being the most talented and skilled boy we have received in a few years.” Your father’s royal advisor explained, highly praising the boy as he spoke, “your father decided to place him as your personal guard, to protect you from any dangers while your father is away. It’s simply a safety precaution— Princess Y/N!”

It was too late. By the time the royal advisor called your name, you had already thrown on whatever pair of shoes you could find and scrambled out of the door to find your supposed personal guard. Out of all the people the king could have picked to be your specific guard, he chose Juyeon? The one that had made you flustered and fidget? The one that made your face and ears burn with a pinkish hue at just the mere sight of his smile? The talented mounted archer from just a month or two ago? That Lee Juyeon?

You stepped out into the corridor with a disheveled look on your face, your eyes darting around anxiously for the boy. Why him? Why was he popping up into your life again, right after you had gotten over the way you had completely embarrassed yourself at the barracks?

“Princess Y/N?” You sucked your breath as you turned around, coming face to face to the boy you hoped to never see again. He was still just as breathtaking as before, his eyes shining even brighter than when you first saw him full of confidence as his face glowing like the sun rays filtered through the windows was just a simple accessory for him.

Nothing much had changed about him since the day you first saw him, the only difference was now he had a genuine sword held within the scabbard that was hanging from his belt and that he was wearing your kingdom’s crest on the fabric of his tunic. Juyeon smiled at you as he pushed himself off of the wall, taking a few steps in front of you before speaking once again. “It’s been awhile since we’ve last seen each other, hasn’t it?”

You finally exhaled, the emotions tied into your sigh unknown as you worked up the courage to reply back to him. “I believe it has been… Sir Juyeon, I guess I should start calling you? With the whole… rank change and all.”

He shook his head at your suggestion, unable to shake the happy grin off his face as he spoke to you. “No, you don’t have to. I don’t like being too formal, plus we’re around the same age, aren’t we? You can just call me Juyeon.”

“But… you’re a knight now, a royal guard even,” you insisted. “You’ve worked hard to earn this rank, to earn this title even, I should address you the correct way at least.”

Though Juyeon was persistent whether you liked it or not. “Seriously, I don’t really care about titles and things like that. You can just call me Juyeon, it’s fine I promise.”

You nod in understanding, feeling your hands begin to twitch in anticipation once again. How were you going to handle being Juyeon being your personal guard when you could barely keep yourself from nervously fidgeting around? The boy was stuck with you until your father appointed a new guard or took away his knight status completely and you could barely compose yourself just standing in front of him.

You hated this feeling he gave you. It was like he casted a spell on you, where you could no longer think correctly or control yourself upon being in the same room as him. But you didn’t know how you could get rid of it, you don’t know if you could even get rid of it at all.

“I see you two are already acquainted with each other,” your royal advisor noted, smiling at both you and Juyeon. “Perfect this will be a smooth ride from here on out.”

V.

It had been about three months since Juyeon had been assigned to you as your personal guard and you genuinely hadn’t believed things would ever shift between the two of you. Your original dynamic had been stiff and tricky, you were withholding yourself from trying to become close to the knight and he was very determined to get to know you better.

Every time he would flash you one of those dashing smiles of his while the two of you would walk down the hallway you’d have to force yourself to not twitch, hands down at your sides and face turned forward to avoid making eye contact. Though the boy seemed to enjoy your very clear struggle to compose yourself, carefully prying into your thoughts when no one was around and teasing you about how you could never truly look him in the eyes.

For a good four weeks or so, that’s how the two of you functioned. Juyeon would smile, you’d become flustered, and he’d tease you for your reaction.

That’s as far as he’d ever go though, never reaching over boundaries or talking out of turn when he was with you. Because of the clear line of comfort the two of you had placed in between each other, you never thought that you’d become any closer. You put him at arm's length for two months because you were afraid of shaking and fidgeting under his gaze.

But then somehow, he had been able to crack your nervous shell. Juyeon had pointed out one of the swords you had hooked up against the wall, shining in the dim light of your room and covered in rare and bright gemstones. Somehow he had finally found the on switch for you, pressing the button and watching you suddenly ramble on and on about your interest in swordsmanship like no one had even tried to ask you beforehand. It was a little embarrassing to explain your long term obsession with fighting, but Juyeon never seemed to mind.

After that the two of you clicked. No longer was your relationship just ‘Juyeon your personal royal guard and Y/N the princess of the nation’, but Juyeon and Y/N. Two people of the same age that got along like birds of a feather. The palace itself seemed to notice this change the two of you went through, their eyes lingering on the two of you as you passed to try and decode your muffled giggles and his beaming smile.

Though the person who was most astonished by the change was none other than Prince Chanhee of Fantasia.

He hadn’t visited the palace at the same time you had first gotten Juyeon as your guard so he had not first hand experienced your growing friendship with the knight so it was understandable how he was a little confused. “Y/N…” Chanhee began, fumbling with his fingers as he glanced between the two of you. You looked back as well to find Juyeon walking behind the two of you, distracting himself with the walls of the palace to give you and the Fantasia prince some privacy. “Of all the people you could have picked… it had to be the archer from that day?”

“It wasn’t my decision,” you insisted, turning away from Juyeon to walk forward once more. “It was a situational circumstance and it was bound to happen now that we were going to walk the same path as each other, literally walk the same path as each other.”

“I know, you’ve told me this a million times.” He nodded, yet still unsatisfied with the answer you had provided him. Chanhee quickly picked his pace to match yours, not wanting to be any closer to Juyeon than he already had to be. “But I can’t help but… odd about this.”

You raised a brow at his words, letting it sink and marinate within your mind. “You feel… odd about me getting close to Juyeon?”

“Not in a weird jealous way,” Chanhee clarified, “I would never care about you that much. I mean I’ve been noticing your body language when you’re around him. You’re very much relaxed and it’s very clear that you enjoy his company but you have… nervous quirks. When you talk to him your hands shake like a woman with hand tremors and not to mention the way your ears will burn like a night’s lantern at the same time!”

“They still do that?” You whispered, holding your hands close to your chest. You could have sworn that once you and Juyeon had become friends all of your nervous habits stopped. You were anxious around the boy because you barely knew him and the way he made you felt in a crowd of people made you embarrassed, but that should have all ended once the two of you had gotten close! “God, do you think he’s noticed at all? I tried to get over the whole hands shaking thing after our first encounter at the barracks and I didn’t feel my hands shaking at all after I started treating him like a friend.”

The prince had to conceal a very heavy sigh that wanted to escape his mouth, glancing around the hallway for a moment to find a place where the two of you could receive some privacy. Without warning Chanhee grabbed your hand and dragged you towards the study on the right side of the hall. “Juyeon!” You called, allowing the boy to pull you along with little to no effort. “Give us like… five minutes? Stand guard, we’ll be out soon!”

You didn’t get a chance to see or hear the boy’s reaction as you were yanked inside of the study, the door closing behind you as Chanhee finally let go. “What was all that about?” You demanded from him, standing in the middle of the sunlight study with a scowl donning your face.

“I can’t believe it took you this long to realize… it took you three months to realize!” Chanhee exclaimed, shaking his head in pure disbelief as he paced back and forth. “Honestly at this point you’re either completely clueless or stupid, though I could bet it was both at the same time.”

“That was rude,” you bite, slapping his shoulder in retaliation for his harsh words. A smile broke out on the prince’s face for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe you had the utter audacity to hit him. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Chanhee. Explain yourself.”

“Y/N! Her Royal Highness, Princess Y/N of her nation!” The boy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air before bringing them down onto your shoulders. “The princess has finally fallen!”

“Fallen?”

“Fallen in love!” Chanhee dodged out of the way of your fist this time, skipping around the room with a spring in his step. You couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. You? The princess known to make knights and squires squirm for just a small glimpse of you? Fallen in love?

“No, Chanhee, I haven’t—“ you tried to explain, distracted by the boy’s overwhelming excitement. “—I’m not in love. That’s crazy, Chanhee. Get a grip on yourself, this is absurd!”

The boy turned to you with his catlike grin, refusing to take no for an answer as he began to take light steps toward you. “How is this absurd, your Royal Highness? I mean, does the pieces not make a clear picture for you? You’ve fallen in love with your personal guard, that’s what all these nervous habits you have are suddenly about! Plus the fact that you turn as red as rose when you address him sometimes, there’s no other way to describe it!”

You wanted to fight back the Fantasia prince’s words, debating him on what your true feelings were and that you simply saw Juyeon as a new close friend of yours. But when you looked back on all your memories of him, the ones with the two of you together and the ones where you were alone, your words didn’t match up with your actions. All the tiny stolen glances you’d give Juyeon when he wasn’t aware, the way your heart would accelerate every time you saw him in the morning, the way your hands twitched in anticipation when speaking to the personal guard.

“No…,” You mumble to yourself, standing there in disbelief, before trying to find a chair to sit in. “There’s no way…!”

“Yes way!” Chanhee insisted, almost as if he was reading straight into your thoughts as he walked towards you. “Y/N, it’s time you come to terms with the facts that've been placed in front of you. Your own body is telling you that you enjoy your personal guard’s company a little more than the average person! Face it, Y/N, you like him.”

“This has got to be some sort of mistake, I don’t like Juyeon. Yes, I think he’s attractive, one of the most stunning knights my kingdom has ever seen, but they doesn’t mean—“

The prince let out a frustrated groan, covering his face with his hands as he fell on to a chair not far from yours. “Do you even hear yourself at this point? Y/N, you’re telling me to get a grip, you need to get a grip! How are you going to deny all of the evidence that is right in front of you? What else do you need to confirm my suspicions?”

“I don’t know!” You snapped, a burst of confusion and frustration exploding out of your mouth in the form of your tone. “I don’t want to believe that I’ve fallen in love with Juyeon, do you know how awkward that’ll be for me? I’m with him at every waking moment of day, I’ll never get a moment's rest if I really do like him. And there’s no way I could like him, I’m the one who makes knights and squires swoon, it’s not supposed to be the other way around.”

Both you and the prince sat in silence for a moment, struggling with each other to come to terms with the arguments you presented. The worst part about it is that if you have in fact fallen for your personal guard, you wouldn’t be too bothered by the thought.

Chanhee suddenly spring up out of his seat, a smile growing across his face as his brain began to twist and turn at the new thought that had popped into his head. “That’s it!” He exclaimed, turning towards you with a mischievous look on his face. “I know a way you can figure out if your feelings for the boy are true or not, and you actually like the idea I’ve come up with. It keeps your best interest in mind.”

VI.

“Prince Chanhee of Fantasia…” Juyeon began, peering into the sleeping quarters cautiously to make sure no other knight was inside of the room. The only people inside were Sunwoo and Younghoon, both who had shot up out of their beds at the sound of the boy’s voice. “Who exactly… is he to the princess?”

“You see us for the first time today and all you have to talk about is the princess?” Sunwoo snorted, falling right back into his bed with a huff. That was a fair reaction, seeing as Juyeon spent nearly twenty four hours with the princess on a daily basis. He could at least have something new and different to talk about when he was with his friends. But he couldn’t help it this time, not when he was curious about the prince who had visited for the day.

Both the prince and his father were gone now, sleeping in their giant and extravagant beds of their own kingdom instead of spending the night here. But Juyeon couldn’t help but feel some sort of way about the Fantasia prince, his eyes had been locked into his head since he had first approached the princess when he arrived. Though whether he was watching him out of intrigue or jealousy was unknown to him.

“He’s the princess’s close friend,” Younghoon shrugged, answering for the stubborn boy who refused to give him any sort of help. “I heard they’ve been friends since they were children and many people including those outside of the palace walls thought they were going to be betrothed to each other at one point. It made sense, both of them were of royal descent and have known each other well enough for it to happen. The kings of their respective nations were close to each other.”

“Oh,” Juyeon responded, falling into his assigned bed a little harder than he had originally planned. “That’s good to know.”

“Prince Chanhee has not tried to court the princess though,” Sunwoo explained, staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed. Despite handing over the information he knew, he still seemed upset with Juyeon but the boy was simply stubborn like that. “They’ve been friends since forever and not once in my life have I heard he’s ever tried to make a move on her. As much as the kingdom wants the two to get together, they’re probably just friends.”

A quiet sigh of relief left Juyeon’s mouth as he nodded, covering his face with his hands as he responded in a slightly chirper tone. “Oh, that’s good to know.”

“Hey!” Sunwoo scolded, sitting up at the speed of light as he caught the boy’s tone of voice. “What did we say about the princess?”

He groaned in response to Sunwoo’s words, sitting up out of his bed as he recited, “dozens of knights are trying to court her, she’s a princess and I have nothing to offer, and you’ll kill me if I leave you behind.”

“Exactly,” Younghoon smiled. “I’ll drive a sword right through your stomach and Sunwoo will shoot your heart with an arrow if you even think about abandoning us for the princess.”

“I can’t shoot an arrow through his heart,” Sunwoo argued, shooting a mischievous smile towards Juyeon as he called out. “Not when the princess already shot one in the bullseye!”

“Leave me alone!” Juyeon hissed, ignoring the boys devilish giggles behind him. He couldn’t help himself from being so enamored by the princess’s mere presence, especially when he was around her for the majority of the day.

When he first came to the barracks, he couldn’t have cared less about the royal family’s daughter. He simply there to train as a knight for his kingdom and provide some sort of stability for his family back home. Juyeon was usually the one innocently teasing the other knights and squires for their one siding crush on a person they could not have, but the tides had completely turned on him. Now he was the one secretly pining after royalty.

His attention was caught when he heard soft knocking on glass, turning his head towards the window as confusion crossed his face. Sunwoo and Younghoon didn’t seem to notice the noise as they were too caught up in their teasing of the boys unfortunate feelings so the boy didn’t even bother to alert them at the sudden intrusion.

As swiftly and quietly as he could he slipped out of the bed and peered through the window’s glass, trying his best to see what had caused the sound. So one could only imagine his disbelief when he caught sight of your face in the window, standing in your tiptoes to look inside of the barracks. When your eyes caught each other's, you immediately smiled back at him and confirmed to him that you were truly standing outside of the sleeping quarters. “Y/N?” He exclaimed, a little louder than he originally had meant to happen.

Juyeon turned around and saw both Younghoon and Sunwoo staring at him, unable to comprehend the fact that he had called you by your name instead of addressing you by your full title. “You’re…,” Sunwoo began, struggling to get the words out of his mouth, “you’re on a first name basis with the princess?”

“I’ll be right back, okay?” He assured them, knocking the glass to signal that he was coming to meet you. Immediately both Younghoon and Sunwoo jumped up, scrambling towards the boy with a million questions on their mind. Juyeon just narrowly dodged their onslaught, dashing to the door and closing it on their faces. “Just give me ten minutes! I promise I’ll explain everything when I get back!”

“You’re in a lot of trouble when you get back!” The younger knight whispered, but there was just enough diction in his voice to know that he was threatening him. Juyeon only smiled to himself as he took a few steps away from the door, searching for the nearest archway to lead him into the courtyard. How had you even gotten this close to the barracks? If he remembered correctly, most guards within the palace would have stopped you before you could even get close. Did you really only need to walk inside the barracks once to sneak in for good?

“Want to explain how you got here without getting caught?” He asked you as he rounded the corner, leaning up against the wall with a knowing smirk on his face.

You stood up from where you were sitting on the ground, the white nightgown you were supposed to be wearing to sleep practically glowing in the moon’s light. You hesitated to respond to him as you played with the sleeve of your nightgown unconsciously, though sharing that same smile you had given him earlier in his sleeping quarters as you asked, “did you call me by my first name in there?”

“I did not.”

“You did!” You gasped, pointing an accusing finger towards him as you walked toward him. “I know you did, you said my name without any titles attached to it. You can’t play dumb with me, I knew as soon as you noticed I was there and said something from behind the glass.”

“You’re avoiding my question,” Juyeon pointed out, putting a hand out in front of him to keep a small distance in between the two of you. “How did you get here without being caught?”

“You’re avoiding my question!” You argued. “Did you call me by my first name when you were with your friends? It’s totally fine if you did, you realize this right? I don’t mind if you don’t use titles with me, but I just want you to admit what you said.”

The two stood stared at each other in silence, refusing to let up first and wanting the other to reveal the information they had. Juyeon would have thought you would go on for longer, being the fiercer out of the duo about what you wanted. Though after a few seconds you nervously cleared your throat, stepping back and away from Juyeon to stay out of his personal space. “You know what, forget it, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Yeah, you were just about to tell how you got into the barracks without anyone catching you,” he insisted, watching as you rolled your eyes in annoyance. Despite losing the ‘staring contest’ you weren't about to give away any of your little secrets to him. “That’s a big achievement for you, isn't it? Knowing that you haven’t stepped foot into the barracks since the day you arrived with your father makes it even—“

“I want you to train me, teach me the whole swordsmanship thing,” you blurted, cutting off Juyeon in the middle of his sentence.

Slowly his smile began to drop into a look of disbelief, unsure of whether or not he had heard you right. In a rush, you quickly rambled on, “it doesn’t have to be as intense as your training from when you were a squire! And I don’t need to know everything you know, I just want to be able to fight. You know, slicing and dicing my enemies up in order to protect myself if need be— I know I have you and the entire royal guard on my side but this is just something I’ve always wanted so… please?”

“Why… why me though?”

You froze upon being asked his question, struggling to form coherent sentences to continue the conversation. “Because…,” you stuttered, your ears turning a rosy red hue as you tried to make an excuse. Juyeon attempted to not notice, keeping his eyes focused solely on you and waiting patiently waiting for your answer, but he couldn’t help himself. Whatever you were going to say to him next wasn’t going to be good enough erase the undertones of your silence.

There was a very likely possibility that you harbored the same feelings for him as he did for you, if he was reading the nature of the room right. Of course, there was the offset chance that you were simply embarrassed to give him your real reason, so he couldn’t just put all his money on one option only to be disappointed in the end.

“You’re my friend,” you finally explained. “Not only are you my friend, but you’re my personal guard and the ‘supposed’ finest knight within the kingdom’s men at the moment. So wouldn’t it make sense to learn from someone who is an acquaintance and is skilled in the area I’m trying to learn in? I don’t know, it sounds like logic to me.”

“Right,” he nodded, thought speaking more for himself than for you. Juyeon couldn’t get his hopes up, not when the person he had fallen for was a member of royalty. High hopes would only get him utterly disappointed when everything came back around. “That’s logical thinking, you’re right.”

VII.

Two nights out of every week you snuck out of your room and met up with Juyeon at the barracks. He’d cautiously sneak you inside of one of the very many training rooms that the barracks had to offer with the help of his friends and there he would teach you all he knew about sword fighting. Well… kinda.

It was a very difficult process to endure as you were something less than a beginner and Juyeon was something more than a master. Your varying levels of proficiency made it hard to work together since the personal guard wanted to skip the basics immediately and you had never even touched the basics beforehand. All your experience of sword fighting had only ever come from watching others from afar, so you truly didn’t know anything.

The perfect stance, how to hide your weak points, you didn’t even realize how heavy a genuine sword was! The mere thought that you were supposed to be the one controlling the swords slicing and slashing and not the other way around was astounding to you.

It was embarrassing to know that Juyeon had watched you nearly topple over yourself when you grabbed a sword for the first time, your arms not used to the amount of weight that you were carrying. You could barely pick it up, let alone sling it over your shoulder as the boy did ever so flawlessly. He’d giggle and tease you for floundering all over the ground with the sword in hand, slightly mocking you as he twirled his blade with ease. You’d sit there mumbling under your breath small threats and empty promises as your face would burn in shame.

If anyone had caught you two in the act of training, they would think you were a lost cause at first.

“A quick jab and turn isn’t going to do anything, Y/N,” Juyeon innocently told you, his sun rivaling grin growing across his face as he pointed the tip of his blade towards you. You were on the complete other side of the room, keeping your distance away from the personal guard instead of attacking him head on. “This isn’t fencing, these weapons are made to cut, not poke.”

“I know,” you angrily reply, growing tired with his ongoing cat and mouse game you two played. “You’re just really obnoxious.” You tried to attack him, rushing in with no genuine plan in your head. The dull swords clashed together with an angry metal screech when you swiped your blade at him, your attack quickly being blocked by Juyeon as he lifted up his own sword to block against your attack. Frustrated, you began to press the majority of your weight onto the sword, forcing it to move towards the boy’s torso at a slow pace as he fought against it.

Wordlessly he stepped forward, pushing back against your attack and forcing you to move back with a heavy foot. You yelped when you suddenly lost your footing, the weight you had pressed into the blade betraying you as you hit the ground with an unfortunately loud thud. You stayed down on the ground for a little longer than you wanted, catching your breath and making sure you didn’t potentially crack your head open on the stone floors. The two of you couldn’t train in the courtyard in fear that someone would catch you in the barracks, but now you were willing to risk the chance.

“I’m not obnoxious,” the boy defended as you secretly rolled your eyes at his words. “You’re just bad at fighting and… wildy easy to predict.”

“That’s because someone didn’t teach me the basics like they were supposed to!” You complained, lifting yourself off the ground and pointing an accusing finger at him. Juyeon sheepishly smiled as you continued to call out, “you just threw a sword at me the first day and said hit me! I nearly fell when I grabbed that thing and you wanted me to fight first thing? I thought I already established to you that I knew nothing at all?”

“I know the basics are so boring after you’ve completed it all. If you want someone else to teach you just say so, I’m sure that Sunwoo and Younghoon would kill to be in your presence and teach you how to fight,” Juyeon argued, leaning up against the pommel of his sword and curiously looking down at you. When you didn’t respond to his suggestion, he shrugged his shoulders and joined you in the ground for a moment. “That’s what I thought.”

The entire ‘Juyeon teaches you sword fighting’ idea was all Chanhee’s plan, conjuring up the brilliant idea in a matter of seconds. The Fantasia prince had suggested it as a way for you not only to learn swordsmanship but figure out if you truly held feelings for the personal guard as you would be engaged in a lot more close combat and would be alone with each other for a few more hours within the day. Honestly you think that was the first time you had ever called the boy a genius, mainly for the reason that you would finally dabble in your long term interests.

However instead of falling completely and uncontrollably in love with Juyeon, you just wanted to slice his head off. He was nothing like he usually was when it came to fighting, his condescending smirks and over the top mocking getting the best of him whenever he had fought against you. Though his continuous and annoying teasing only fueled your drive to master sword fighting even stronger than before, so you guessed that was one thing that was working out for you.

Though, if you had to be honest, you did have your moments where you faltered not because of your own lack of skill but because of Juyeon in general. Let it be known that whether you had feelings for the personal guard or not, he was conventionally attractive. Running his fingers through his hair, his beaming smile of knowingness, even the arrogant looks of victory was enough to distract you from your adrenaline fueled drive to stab Juyeon in the chest. Did he even know he had that effect on you?

Maybe it’s best he didn’t know, you didn’t need another weakness to add to your ever growing skill set of cans and can’ts.

“Why didn’t you actually teach me the basics though?” You asked him, catching his attention almost immediately. “I mean… I learned the basics by myself with no help by mock battling you for several nights straight. I’m not the best fighter but I’d at least like to stand a chance against you instead of humiliating myself over and over again.”

Juyeon thought to himself for a moment, staring at the ceiling and anxiously running his hands through his hair. “Is ‘because it’s fun to mess with you’ a valid answer to your question?”

You gave the boy a strained smile and you hissed, “No. Absolutely not.”

“Then i don’t know,” he admitted, lifting himself off of the ground and fumbling around with his hands. Juyeon wasn’t looking directly at you as he spoke, staring off into the void with an unknown emotion swirling around in his eyes. “I’m not that good of a teacher for close friends if I’m gonna be honest. I get competitive, more focused on the fulfillment of my joy and worth than actually… teaching someone how to do a task or skill.”

You nodded in understanding, all of the frustration and annoyance from earlier gone within a flash of his words. What he said was fair, some people just don’t have the ability to teach others and he just happened to be one of them. “So then why’d you agree that night?” You asked him, now trying to wrap your head around that fact. “I mean if you knew you’d have a hard time teaching me how to sword fight, you didn’t have to say yes… you do know that right?”

“I know,” he responded, before turning to you with his signature smile. Your hands began to shake once again at the sight of it, the same exact smile he had the audacity to give you in front of all the knights and squires when he was among their ranks. The one that would go from ear to ear in pure amusement and endearment from your words and reactions. That one, the one that started this mess in the first place. “I know I could have declined if I wanted to but… something in me wanted to help you anyways.”

“And that something was…?” You questioned, your words trailing off just a little as you urged him to explain. You don’t know exactly what you’re expecting for him to say. That he agreed out of obligation? The kindness of his heart? That he simply wanted to spend time with you? Did you even know what you wanted his answer to be? Or how disappointed you’d be if it wasn’t anything that would give you the false hope you were unconsciously reaching for?

He sighed to himself for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know, really. Like… I know but at the same time I don’t? It’s complicated and I don’t really want to bug you with it.” Juyeon explained, glancing down to your nervously trembling hands with a teasing smile growing on his face. “What’s with the shaking hands? When you were holding that sword you were as tough as a rock, feeling a little vulnerable without it?”

“Shut up,” you snapped at him, immediately putting your hands behind your back, squeezing them together as you tried to keep a straight face. Of course he was going to notice that nervous tick of yours one day, it was inevitable especially after the Fantasia prince had caught onto it. Chanhee wasn’t even at the palace every day to even pick up on it, he just knew you well. So why would you ever believe that Juyeon, your personal guard for heaven's sake, wouldn’t have noticed it? “It’s just cold,” you lied, “we aren’t doing anything right now and the night’s cold just gets to me something.”

“Well why didn’t you say so?” Juyeon questioned, earning himself a skeptical look from you. In a heartbeat he reached behind you and scooped up your hand and his, holding it tightly in his grasp with a grin.

You snatched your hand in retaliation, your ears burning the unfortunate rosy red as you shout, “woah! Hold on, what are you doing?”

“Relax, Y/N,” the boy laughed, gently taking your hand back and holding it up for the both of you to see. “I’m holding your hand because you said you were cold, and exchanging body heat might warm you.” His hands were so much bigger than yours, rough and firm from the work he put in as he trained with the other knights of your kingdom. It was a very stark difference from your dainty and softer hands, the only work you had ever done was smile and wave to the people and royals of other nations. Yet somehow, despite these differences, his hands fit perfectly into the gaps of yours.

You wondered how many knights and squires would have ridiculed Juyeon if they could see you two now. The princess of their nation, who was notorious for playing knights like lyres and rejecting their advances, was willingly holding hands with the finest and most favored knight within the palace walls. “Well don’t tell anyone I let you do this,” you warned, relaxing after a moment of silence. “Not even your other knights friends can know I let you do this! I have a reputation to keep up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the boy nodded, no longer paying attention to you specifically and simply observing the way his hands fit in yours. “I promise I won’t. Your secret is safe with me. I like the way your hand fits in mind anyways.”

VIII.

When your parents asked you if you had found a potential suitor to be your future king, you told them no almost immediately. Your quickness made your father raise a skeptical brow at your answer and your mother nearly fainted in shock, gasping hysterically.

Their daughter, the princess, the future queen of their nation, had not yet found a boy to be her king? Unacceptable, impossible! They couldn’t allow this behavior of yours to continue, knowing how you had played with the hearts of countless knights within the palace walls. So they had decided to take matters into their own hands, they needed to place down a platter of men around your age that you could pick and choose whatever your little heart desires.

A ball, they had told you, they were planning a ball and were inviting all their noble and royal allies to attend. They were going to bring their sons ,have them attempt to court you, and then you would pick one of the boys to be your king. Genuinely, when they first informed you of their plans you thought they were joking. They wouldn’t actually do all of that because you said you didn’t have anyone in mind yet right?

And they did.

Here you were, standing on the ballroom floor with Chanhee by your side with the most bewildered expression your face could muster. You were adorned in a large wine red ballgown, matching your family who wore nearly identical, with jewels scattered across your arms and ears for an extra shimmer to your already extravagant look. Not to forget the most important piece of the whole attire, the signature silver rhinestone crown that identified you as the princess of the nation.

The tiara and grown lifestyle, the lifestyle you haven't been fond of even as a child. You were unwillingly living it.

“Careful,” Chanhee whispered, placing a comforting hand on your bare shoulder. “I don’t need you exploding in front of everyone right now, who knows what kind of scene that’ll create.”

“I might as well!” You snap, catching the unwanted attention of the nobles around you. Both of you turned to them and smiled, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about your true feelings of the event. When they bowed in greeting before finally turning away from you and Fantasia prince, you were back to being the ticking time bomb you had entered the ballroom being. “You think I wanted to have this event planned? You think I wanted to have this event at all?”

“Of course you didn’t, I know you. You like to horseplay and run around like a little village girl.” Chanhee explained, rolling his eyes at your prevalent attitude. “But you can’t really do that right now can you? One small misstep and you’ll embarrass your parents right before their eyes, you need to keep it together.”

“How?” You asked him, maneuvering through the crowd of nobles so that you and Chanhee could have a little more privacy. Who knew what random noble or king’s son would walk up to you in the middle of your conversation and beg you to have a dance with him? “I don’t feel comfortable in what I’m wearing, I don’t want to be here in the first lance, I’m getting on my last nerves, and who knows when some random boy I don’t know tries woo me into liking him? I might actually lose it here!”

Chanhee struggled to keep up with your demands, trying to think of another quick solution to your problems like he always did. He must have something in that brain of his doesn’t? Or was it all just full of strategies to absolutely destroy you at chess? “I got it! Just talk to me.”

“What?” Chanhee’s suggestion stopped you dead in your tracks, giving him the most bizzare expression you could make at that moment. “Your very Royal Highness I’m sorry to inform you, but people won’t care if I’m talking to you, you understand that right? They know you wouldn’t even attempt to try and take my hand in marriage so they’ll just barge in anyways.”

“I don’t mean like that,” he hissed, softly hitting your shoulder in retaliation. “Talk to me about the personal guard and I’ll lead you away from the party. We just need to super busy in order to pull off the act that we’re walking around and definitely not trying to leave the ball.”

You nodded in understanding, though feeling your face begin heat up and turn into that all telling rosy red color. “Why— why him specifically? Can’t I talk about something else?”

“Where is he now?” The Fantasia prince questioned, holding out his arm for you to take so he could drag you out of the ballroom. “He's your personal guard isn’t it, your Royal Highness? Why isn’t he flanking your every step and protecting you like a dog to its owner?”

The boy snickered at his words until you elbowed his side, stopping both of you in your tracks to watch him crumble to his knees for a moment. Did he really think he could get away with insulting Juyeon like that? To your face no less? “He’s on duty with the rest of the royal guards,” you explained, nonchalantly glancing at your nails as you waited for Chanhee to recover. The boy was all sticks and bones, easy to hinder thanks to his small body. “They’re patrolling around the palace and the ballroom to make sure no incidents occur.”

“Incidents?” Chanhee questioned.

“Like putting the king and queen pieces into checkmate type incidents,” you told you, referencing the game of chess they had played months ago. “Either way, Juyeon couldn’t come with me and enjoy this god forsaken ball with me, but maybe that’s for the best.”

“Is that in terms of you two had a sudden falling,” The Fantasia prince tried to clarify, “or as in you think you’ve finally gotten your feelings figured out?” You grimaced at the thought, unsure of how to exactly answer Chanhee’s question. Did you have your feelings figured out?

Juyeon (with the exception his friends) was the only knight whose heart you hadn’t ever attempted to toy with. You let him get away with countless things: saying your name without a title, holding your hand when it trembled, willingly allowing him to make you flustered and not suffer any sort of retribution for it. On top of all of that, you even enjoyed his company! Juyeon didn’t make you feel like a prize that needed to be one, just made you feel like… you. And you liked it.

At first, you loathed the thought of being in the knight’s vicinity because he made do and feel things you weren’t used to. You thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to use you in the way that you lead the squires and knights of the palace along. But he didn’t, the only thing he had done to you was send you flying deep into this well of the unknown without even realizing it.

“Oh I hate you,” You mumble under your breath, shooting Chanhee a knowing look. “I hate you so much.”

He blinked a few times at your hurtful words before it finally clicked in his brain, covering his mouth with his hands as he squealed. “You’ve figured it out? You realized that you like him? Y/N I’m so—“

“Princess Y/N!” The two of you turn your heads in alarm at your name being called, the worst case scenario of someone actually having the audacity to stop you coming true. You tense up upon seeing your mother wave her hand towards you, bringing attention to both of the royals from all the bystanders around you. With her was an older man, perhaps around your fathers age, staring up straight and tall with a curious glint in his eyes. His attire for the ball was littered in gold and silver medallions, purposely flaunting all of the achievements you wouldn’t bother to learn.

Though beside the older man was a boy, around your age this time, nervously glancing between the queen and the man who seemed to be his father. He tugged on the man’s sleeve desperately, trying to get him to take action but was ultimately getting ignored due to the adults taking the lead in the conversation. The queen pointed to both the boy and man with an expectant look on her face as she spoke, “please, Y/N, come join us! I’d like you to meet someone.”

“Potential suitor,” you whispered to Chanhee.

“On the count of three, run in the total opposite direction and get out of the ballroom,” He replied back.

One. “This is General Lee from a neighboring kingdom near Fantasia,” your mother explained, quickly introducing the two of you and unaware of the chaos you and the Fantasia prince were about to create.

Two. “This is his son, Prince Hyunjae. The general is the brother of the kingdom’s current king and his son will be taking the throne as the king and queen of that nation cannot produce an heir on their own.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hyunjae began, awkwardly bowing in front of you now that all eyes were on him. “Truly it is, I’ve heard so much about you Princess—“

“Three!” You and Chanhee split from each other as quickly as possible, darting through the crowd of people in a desperate get away. You could hear the general and the queen call for you, struggling to keep up with your speed fueled by adrenaline but you paid no mind to it. They needed your presence so that you could sit and have an unfulfilling conversation with Prince Hyunjae and you weren’t going to give it to them. No offense to the prince or anything, you just don’t think you could handle that situation knowing your heart had settled on someone entirely different,

It only took you a matter of two minutes to reach the ballroom doors, muttering soft yet empty apologies to everyone you ran into and slipped through the crack in the door.

IX.

“Stupid princess,” Juyeon muttered, charging down the palace halls as fast as his legs would take him. “Stupid Y/N!” One could only imagine his panicked expression when he was suddenly approached by Sunwoo with a nervous glint in his eyes. He was so used to seeing the younger knight’s bright smile that it took Juyeon completely off guard when the boy grabbed him by the shoulders and steadied his footing.

“The princess,” Sunwoo told him, glancing between him and the corridor leading to the ballroom. “Princess Y/N, she ran from the ballroom and no one knows where she went.”

Juyeon thought he was joking at first, brushing off his words with a small laugh and teasing smile. Yet when Sunwoo’s expression didn’t change and the weight of the situation had finally processed in his mind, he shot off like an arrow towards all the spots the princess could have been hiding.

He knew you didn’t enjoy the big fancy balls and extravagant dresses of the royal life, but he thought you were going to be able to stick it out. Every time you had mentioned the king and queen’s wild idea to throw a gathering to find you a suitor, a king of your own, you were relaxed. You weren’t bothered by the thought of all and even joked about it with him every so often, so Juyeon had trusted you to be fine.

He didn’t like the idea of the ball for completely different reasons from you. He liked you, and the thought of your parents sending you off to some noble child or prince he’s never heard of made his blood boil. Because why have a ball to father suitors when he was right there? But the constant reminder from Sunwoo and Younghoon that he had nothing to offer to you and he wasn’t even in the status to even try to become betrothed to you, made him unwillingly back down from voicing his opinion to you and opposing it.

Now he was regretting, because you were missing somewhere in the palace and he didn’t know why.

He wasn’t in the ballroom when it all had happened, instructed to stand guard and patrol around the perimeter of the gathering to protect all the guests and the royal family. Juyeon didn’t understand why he was tasked to do such a thing in the first place, when he ascended the ranks into becoming a knight he was specifically told he was your personal guard. He was supposed to watch over you and protect you, so why did they have him stationed away from you?

It wasn’t until he realized that a majority of the palace, specifically the knights among his rank, had recognized his growing fondness for the princess. If they couldn’t have the princess to themselves, then neither could he.

“Y/N!” Juyeon called, completely throwing out the titles and addressing you by your first name. It’s not like anyone was around shooting him dirty looks for having the sheer audacity to call the princess by your name only. Even if they did, he wouldn’t mind. There were more important things to worry about than what he can and can’t call you. “Y/N, where’d you go? Come on, we can’t play this game of cat and mouse forever.”

He stopped at a door at the end of the corridor he was running down, grabbing a hold of the handle and shoving it open with unnecessary ferocity. Could you blame him for being a little too aggressive? With every growing second you weren’t in his sights the more anxious he was becoming. What if you were hurt? What if you were crying? What if you were—

“Juyeon, right?” Prince Chanhee asked, sitting in a chair with his feet kicked up on top of the desk. Juyeon has opened the door to one of the very many studies within the palace and out of sheer coincidence he opened the doors to the one the princess’s friend was using. Well at least… he thought it was a coincidence. I hoped it was a coincidence.

“Prince Chanhee of Fantasia,” he began, looking the boy up and down for a moment. It didn’t seem like you were with him, not a trace of your existence left in the study. It was possible that you didn’t even come in this room at all. “Where is she?”

“God, you skipped right to the point a little fast for me,” Chanhee grimaced, taking his feet off of the desk and sitting up straight. “Do you have to know where she is like right now? Because I had this whole speech I was going to give you set up and I really wanted to—”

“Prince Choi Chanhee,” Juyeon demanded, putting emphasis on each word that came out of his mouth. He didn’t have time to play around with others right now, as much as he would have loved to encourage him any other day. You were somewhere in the palace, alone, and he had to know where you were and what happened. He needed to know if you were hurt so that he could find the culprit and drive his sword straight into the chest of the wretch.

The boy raised his hands up in defeat, shooting Juyeon an annoyed glare before clearing his throat. “Y/N is at the balcony above the barracks, where the field for the mounted archery evaluations was held months ago.” The memory of the weekly evaluation was immediately triggered in his head, seeing him back months prior to his falling for the princess. The day he had proved to all of the knights and squires around him that he was the best of the best, the day he had first laid eyes on you.

“I know where that is,” he breathed, turning in his heel and getting ready to rush out the door once again. Though Chanhee scrambled out of the chair to catch up to Juyeon, stopping him from moving any further towards the balcony to reach you. “What?”

“Before you go,” the prince began, letting go of Juyeon with the hope that he wouldn’t run off at the sight of freedom. “Please don’t do anything stupid, Y/N is my friend. And as much as I tease her and bully her, I won’t let anyone hurt her. Even if that’s her wildly skillful and kinda scary personal guard.”

Juyeon couldn’t help but laugh at Chanhee’s words, reminiscing on the fact that only a few months ago he couldn’t tell whether he was intrigued by the prince’s closeness with you or jealous of it. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare.”

X.

You leaned up against the railing of the balcony taking night time air with a deep breath. It was hard trying to avoid all the royal guards and knights within the castle, knowing that after the scene you caused they’d be searching for you. It felt like a scene from a fairy tale really, clutching the fabric of your wine red dress so you wouldn’t trip and hastily running up the stairs. Behind you you could hear the calls of all the knights and royal guards of the places looking for you, their boots heavy against the marble floors and their armor clanging against each other.

They were like walking bells, unaware of the fact that their prized armor was alerting you of their position. If the guards were coming up the corridor, you turn around and run the opposite way. If they were going down the corridor, you’d spin on your heels and make a complete u-turn. Sometimes you’d sneak into a room on whatever hallway you were on and wait for them to pass, sometimes you’d just keep running and hope your legs didn’t give out on you knowing you were wearing heels.

It was a little funny in your eyes, but that’s because you were you. You’re almost one hundred percent sure no one else thought this game of cat and mouse you were playing was fun.

“Wait, I should have gone and found Juyeon first,” you realize, shooting up off of the ground. You were so busy with attempting to successfully make your get away that you had forgotten that Juyeon was also one of the knights in duty. He was probably worried about you, searching for you around the palace like all of the other knights within the palace. With no explanation of exactly what went down in the ballroom, he’d have no clue on what was actually going on.

“I should go find him, leaving him with no context will probably drive him insane,” you nod to yourself, marching towards the balcony doors to run back into the palace. Though you stopped once you reached the door, your hands hovering over the door handles hesitantly. You should tell him what happened, it was the right thing to do after all. But were you really ready to face him again?

In the middle of that ballroom, just seconds before you had been involuntarily introduced to Prince Hyunjae, you had a revelation. You liked him. You liked your charming person guard that had caught you weak kneed from the first time you laid eyes on him. No one had ever made you feel the way you felt about Juyeon and he had done it nearly completely by accident. He was trying to court you and you simply fell for him anyways.

His skills, his face, his smiles, his personality, just him a person entirely. You adored it all, you liked him.

Well liked was an understatement now, you had truly fallen deeply in love with him and you just had to realize your genuine feelings in the middle of a party meant to find you a king. Horrible timing on your part but you just weren't sure until then.

So maybe you should wait, wait until you can gather your thoughts and feelings together without fidgeting and shaking in front of him. The nervous habit probably would have increased tenfold now that you realized why exactly you trembled when he smiled at you, and you weren’t ready to watch that whole fiasco go down. How embarrassing would that be? To get completely weak kneed in front of Juyeon without a coherent thought in the brain? Surely you’d like an idiot, wouldn’t you?

“I’ll wait,” you convinced, stepping away from the door with cautious steps. “I’m not even going to be able to look him in the eye if I see him again, I should just wait until tomorrow… but I’ll probably get scolded by my parents for running away during the ball when they had done all that planning just for me. But it’s not like I asked them to throw that ball in the first place, just because I didn’t suggest any suitors I liked!”

You yelped in alarm when the door to the balcony swung with great speed, making you jump out of skin at the sudden intrusion. “Heavens, do you know how to knock?” You asked in retaliation, your heartbeat running marathons as you tried to calm yourself down from the shock. Though when you turned to look back toward the door again, you were greeted by the rather familiar sight of your personal guard, “Juyeon?”

The boy’s eyes widened at the sight of you, as if he couldn’t believe that you were standing in front of him right now. “Y/N,” he said in between gasps, trying hard to catch his breath as he reached his hands out for you. “Y/N, you're okay.”

“Of course I’m okay,” you tell him, unsure of the thoughts that were running through his mind. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Juyeon didn’t respond to your questions, letting go of the door handle before running towards you and scooping you up in his arms. Instinctively you wrapped your arms around him for support, not wanting to fall out of his grasp despite knowing he wouldn’t dare drop you even if he commanded to. “I thought something bad happened,” he confessed, “when Sunwoo came to me and told me you had left the ballroom, I thought someone had hurt you.”

“No, nothing like that happened,” you assured him, urging him to let you go. Just looking at his relieved face made your heart begin to race again, though this time marathons weren't the only thing that it was running. “My mother was trying to set me up with his prince from another kingdom and instead of doing as she said me and Chanhee ran for it out the room.”

“Why would you do that?” Juyeon questioned, stepping away from you in disbelief. “The queen, she’ll be furious when she sees you again. The king— your father, what will father say about you running away?”

“Juyeon I don’t care about what they think, haven’t you noticed by now?” you argued, your hands beginning to tremble at the rising tension between the two of you, “they can’t just force me to pick a boy from that gathering when I didn’t even bother to learn their names. When none of them are you.”

Juyeon thought to himself for a moment, letting your words sink and replay inside his brain. “When none of them were… me?”

“I wish I had realized before they even had a chance to plan the ball but I just have the worst timing possible,” You admitted, thinking back to all the very clear signs of your growing feelings for Juyeon that you had avoided. “I think I fell in love with you, Juyeon. Not think, actually, I know I have.”

“You’re serious?” Juyeon questioned, unsure if he had even heard you right. When you nodded your head to give him confirmation, he pulled you closer to him with warning, his eyes growing wide like the full moon that was hanging above the two of you. “You’re not joking at all, no tricks, no teasing, you’re being one hundred percent serious with me right now?”

“Of course!” You exclaim, grabbing him by the shoulders with a beaming smile etching across your face. “I’ve never been so sure about something in my entire life. Why do you think I asked you to train me in the first place a few months back, because I was just trying to use your skill set to my advantage? I know I have the reputation of being desperate for sword fighting, but Juyeon I was in love with you! I was just using the training as a way to figure my feelings or not.”

“I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” he confessed to you. “I wanted you to like me back, but Sunwoo and Younghoon didn’t want me to get my hopes over a fruitless crush. They told me that pursuing you wouldn’t work, because I didn’t have a decent enough background for me to even compare to anyone else. I mean, you’re a princess! I’m just barely a knight, I’m a blacksmith’s son, Y/N, not some high ranking noble from across the land. I have no connections, no power, no money, nothing to give you in return for your affection.”

“Juyeon,” you respond, confusion crossing your face at his words. Did he really think you wouldn’t like him just because his status was up to the standards of the king and queen? He thought you cared about things like that?

“I have nothing to offer you,” Juyeon whispered, holding your hands in his as gently as possible. It was if he thought he’d let go of you now he’d wake up from this dream like scenario you two were in, where you were no longer in his arms and in a place he could not reach. “There’s nothing I could even dream of giving to you.”

You can’t help but smile at his words, removing your hands from his and cupping his face instead. He didn’t even flinch at your touch, only turning a crimson red at your next few words. “Why do you think that matters? None of that matters to me, it never has. You could be a poor boy from a family of farmers and I’d still fall in love with you.”

“But your parents—“ he tried to argue with you.

“They mean nothing to me,” you assure him, pulling his face towards yours as you whisper, “they may be able to control this kingdom to their will, but they can’t control who exactly I fall in love with. They couldn’t even control my urge to learn sword fighting and that’s an interest I’ve had since I was a child.”

“I hate you so much,” Juyeon laughed, the words he spoke not carrying the same weight thanks to his jittery and hopeful tone. He was happy, happy to know that you felt the same way about him and that you didn’t care for anything of the things that should have been hindering your feelings for him.

“Clearly you do,” you tease in response, “you haven’t even attempted to kiss me yet.”

You didn’t need to tell Juyeon twice. He gave you one small kiss on the forehead, pulling away as fast as he registered what he had done in that moment. It felt illegal to be kissing a princess after being told countless times that trying to pursue you was a horrible idea. Though you didn’t give him any time to try and open his mouth as you threw your arms around his neck and kissed him back, grabbing onto his shirt collar and pulling him close.

His eyes fluttered closed immediately, smiling against your lips as he brushed his thumb against your cheek. “Does this mean I get to become king if I end up marrying you,” Juyeon questioned, his tone lightheartedly as he stopped for a moment.

You didn’t even open your eyes as you pulled him back towards you again, a sly grin prevalent on your face as you whispered to him. “Only if you finish the sword fighting lessons we started,” you teased, “maybe then I’ll consider making you my king.”

#kpop imagines #kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #kpop au #the boyz #tbz juyeon #the boyz fluff #the boyz imagines #tbz imagines #the boyz juyeon #juyeon imagines #lee juyeon #juyeon x reader #royalty au #knight!juyeon #princess!reader #the boyz x reader #I’m a simp #genuinely I’m such a simp #Also I cannot write kiss scenes #that was so fucking hard?

[thetypedwriter]

Cold Iron Heart Book Review

Cold Iron Heart by Melissa Marr Book Review 

I don’t think many people are aware or have read the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, but that’s alright. I originally started this book blog as I had so many thoughts and feelings about the books I was reading and yet no one to share them with. 

So I might be talking to me, myself and I in this book review, but at the end of the day, it’s still a way for me to express how I feel about the literature I’m consuming even if no one else is reading this. 

Wicked Lovely is one of my favorite series from when I was young. I still remember very clearly how my love story with these books started as it was odd and coincidental. I was at the grocery store with my mom and a promised “quick” trip quickly turned into an hour-long shopping spree as my mother was prone to do. 

Back then I was in middle school, had no cell phone, and was bored out of my mind. So what is any pre-teen to do? I went over to the small, sad book selection in the grocery story and picked up the novel with the most interesting cover. 

This book was Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. 

I read it the rest of the day and finished it that night, consuming page after page. I was completely transfixed. It was dark, gritty, violent, sexy-all things that my twelve-year old self found entirely fascinating. 

It was a fantasy book about fairies, but these fairies were deadly, life-sized, cruel, violent, beautiful and loving. 

I’ve been enamored with fairies and fairy lore ever since. All because of this book and the series that followed. It hooked me in ways that I still don’t fully comprehend, but I understood then that I hadn’t read anything like it before and I was drawn into Melissa Marr’s world and never quite left it, even all these years later. I’ve gone back and re-read Wicked Lovely multiple times and each time I still found it enjoyable and alluring. 

Cold Iron Heart is a different beast. 

A few days ago, my best friend (who is a journalist) sent me an email saying that local Arizona author, Melissa Marr, was releasing a new book and that she might have the opportunity to interview her. 

I was ecstatic, of course, and not so subtly tried to persuade my friend to let me silently snoop in on the interview (I didn’t, by the way). 

It was then that I realized I hadn’t checked in on Melissa Marr for some time-what had she been writing? Imagine my surprise that one of my favorite series of all time not only had a new book-a prequel no less, but also several new short stories. 

I was flabbergasted. And beyond excited. 

So I ordered the book immediately and read it the moment it arrived on my doorstep to eventually find myself with...mixed feelings with a negative tinge. Okay, more than a tinge, more like a cascading waterfall of negative feelings. 

First off, the book is a prequel. 

Now. Melissa Marr could have done so many cool things with this. There are so many interesting characters that I would have loved to see more in depth or delve into their histories. 

Like Miach and Beira, for example. I’ve heard about the late Summer King since book 1, but never got to read about him as he was dead before the series began. However, his legendary love with Beira, the Winter Queen, would have been so incredibly bewitching to read about it, especially if it involved the birth of Keenan. 

This would have been an awesome choice. 

Irial and Niall would have been another incredible one, probably the best one. We’ve been told over and over again throughout the series that these two hot-heads with a past used to run the Dark Court together, wreaking havoc, taking lovers, seeking new heights, etc. 

But do we get to see this transfixing time? Nope. 

I would even have settled for a story about the Hunt, Sorcha and Bannanach, literally any character done in the right way. 

But...no. Melissa Marr decides to write a prequel that is literally a carbon copy of the first book Wicked Lovely, but innumerably worse. 

Everything in the prequel is exactly the same as the original novels. Miach is dead, Keenan is looking for his Summer Queen, the Winter Girl is pissed off for not being the chosen love of Keenan’s, Irial is temptation in the flesh, Niall and Irial are at odds, Bananach is causing discord, Sorcha is isolated and frigid, the list goes on and on. 

Nothing of consequence, novelty, or importance happens in this book. 

Frankly, it just felt like a terrible redo of the first novel, just set 100 years back. 

I didn’t give a single flying crap about Thelma or Tam or whatever her name was. She was a worse version of Leslie, of Aislinn, of every other cool female character we eventually get to read about in the main series. 

Thelma was contradictory in the worst of ways. She said one thing, like she would rely on no man and never have children and then turned around and did every single one of them like some sort of hypocrite galore. 

She was so irritating and boring to read about that I tended to skim her parts because it was just paragraph after paragraph of bitching and moaning about the same goddamn things over and over again: stay away from fairies, oh god this fairy likes me, no sex, no children, no love and then bam! She just throws it all away. 

Urgh. 

The worst part too is that this isn’t a well written book. It’s repetitive, quite boring at times, and caters way too much to the reader. 

Something I loved about the first Wicked Lovely is that Melissa Marr kinda just tosses you into her world and calls it a day. She doesn’t hold your hand or over explain. She just describes and lets you glean for yourself. 

I loved this aspect of the original series. I liked learning about her world and the characters this way. 

Cold Iron Heart spits on the idea of this concept. Marr repeats herself so much about the same things, who Irial is, what fairies are, why this is happening, that I grew increasingly irritated as the book went on. 

Who on earth is she explaining this for? New readers? Why in the world would any new reader start with this book? The newest one that comes after six others???? It makes no goddamn sense. 

So not only did I feel patronized and aggravated, but the love story between Thelma and Irial grated on me as there was no basis for their love. 

It was ridiculous with no shred of authenticity and I hated it, especially knowing that he already loves Niall and Leslie only to come back and say, “wait a moment! I had another true love that I’ve never mentioned before. Yeah. Her name was Thelma. Or Tam. Or whatever, I don’t know. I knew her for three days, most of which was just sex, and then I lost her after she had my baby but I conveniently forgot about it because of nonsensical plot! Hahahah, good right?”

No. Not good. Horrible. 

Overall, this book is a waste of time and trees. 

I don’t know why Melissa Marr even wrote and published this. I can see her writing this for herself because why not, but as a fan and a reader this was beyond disappointing. 

It’s like how all Harry Potter fans felt when J.K. Rowling wrote The Cursed Child and we got movies about Newt Scamander when we literally wanted anything else-Marauder series anyone??

It’s a particular kind of egregious offense when a favorite series or author of yours ends up ruining the canon you’re in love with. For that reason alone, I am stripping Cold Iron Heart from my heart and mind, like it never existed. 

Just like I did with Cursed Child, or the fact that you-know-who dies in Death Note (if you know, you know). I just...don’t believe it. It ruined all the lovely things Marr had previously written and the stories that defined so much of my love for YA, for fantasy, and for my own writing as a whole. 

I know for a lot of you this was a bumbling mess of a review with little to no clarity of the plot or who these characters are. Frankly, I’d be surprised if you are still reading if you didn’t know the book or the series in the first place, but that’s alright. 

Like I said at the beginning, this is a way to get my intense feelings and thoughts down onto paper and now that I have I feel marginally better, although still pissed off that this book exists and that I currently own it. 

Sigh. 

Well if you stuck around for the ride, I appreciate it. If you skipped this particular book review, I understand that too. 

Recommendation: Burn this book. However, if you want a gritty, tantalizing fantasy story, pick up the original Wicked Lovely and be whisked away into a world that has stuck with me since the first moment I read it on the fateful day at the grocery store. 

Score: 3/10

#cold iron heart #melissa marr #wicked lovely #book blog #books #book review #Book Recommendations #YA Book Review #ya book rec #booklover #3/10

[alex51324]

Bridgerton, Historical Accuracy, and the Black Queen of England

SO, up until the middle of episode 4 of the new Netflix series Bridgerton, my enjoyment of seeing diverse characters in a costume drama--where the Black ladies actually do get to wear the dresses--was at war with my historical accuracy obsession.  Up until that point, the Black (and at least one Asian, that I noticed) characters are presented completely without comment, and I grasped the artistic choice being made--it’s a fantasy in which Regency England was more inclusive than it really was in our world--and while that struck me as a cool thing to do, I kept wanting some world-building on the issue.  

And  then, in the middle of episode 4, we got it: a character talking about the fact that the Queen is Black--which I had noticed, of course, but up until then had not been acknowledged on screen--and what that meant for other Black people in the setting.  

And then I went to the Google-box, and found that the actual historical Queen Charlotte probably did actually have African ancestry.  The difference, in the fictional world of Bridgerton is that she is openly Black, and that she had Black courtiers and elevated other Black families to the nobility.  

So, it’s a “one small change” historical AU, and the one change isn’t that King George III had a different Queen, but that the Queen he really did have said Black Is Beautiful.  

IDK, but I just think that’s great.  Obviously, it’s still a fantasy--it doesn’t seem likely that even a proudly-Black Queen of England would have resulted in a post-racial society in a single generation, especially when you put into the mix how many English fortunes were built on the backs of enslaved Black people in the Americas--but that bit of historical grounding makes it seem like something that could have happened, in a world just a little bit better than our own.  

#Bridgerton #period dramas #diverse history #Black history

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 1: La Seine no Hoshi (1975)

1. Introduction

Well, dear reader, here it is. My first ever official review. And, as promised, this is one of the pieces of Frev media that you have likely never heard of before.

So, without further ado, sit down, relax, grab drinks and snacks and allow me to tell you about an anime called “La Seine no Hoshi” (The Star of the Seine).

“La Seine no Hoshi” is a children’s anime series made by Studio Sunrise. It consists of 39 episodes and was originally broadcast in Japan from April 4th to December 26th of 1975.

Unlike its more famous contemporary, a manga called “Rose of Versailles” that had begun being released in 1972 and is considered a classic to this day, “La Seine no Hoshi” has stayed relatively obscure both in the world of anime and among other Frev pop culture.

Personally, the only reason why I found out about its existence was the fact that I actively seek out everything Frev-related and I just happened to stumble upon the title on an anime forum several years ago.

So far, the anime has been dubbed into Italian, French, German and Korean but there is no English or even Spanish dub so, unfortunately, people who do not speak fluent Japanese or any other aforementioned language are out of luck ( if anyone decides to make a fandub of the series, call me). That being said, the series is readily available in dubs and the original version on YouTube, which is where I ended up watching it. The French dub calls the anime “La Tulipe Noire” (The Black Tulip), which could be an homage to the movie with the same name that takes place in the same time period.

Unfortunately, while I do speak Japanese well enough to maintain a basic conversation and interact with people in casual daily situations, I’m far from fluent in the language so the version I watched was the French dub, seeing as I am majoring in French.

So, with all of this info in mind, let’s find out what the story is about and proceed to the actual review.

2. The Summary

(Note: Names of the characters in the French dub and the original version differ so I will use names from the former since that’s what I watched)

The story of “La Seine no Hoshi” revolves around a 15-year old girl called Mathilde Pasquier - a daughter of two Parisian florists who helps her parents run their flower shop and has a generally happy life.

But things begin to change when Comte de Vaudreuil, an elderly Parisian noble to whom Mathilde delivers flowers in the second episode, takes her under his wing and starts teaching her fencing for an unknown reason and generally seems to know more about her than he lets on.

Little does Mathilde know, those fencing lessons will end up coming in handy sooner than she expected. When her parents are killed by corrupt nobles, the girl teams up with Comte de Vaudreuil’s son, François, to fight against corruption as heroes of the people, all while the revolution keeps drawing near day by day and tensions in the city are at an all time high.

This is the gist of the story, dear readers, so with that out of the way, here’s the actual review:

3. The Story

Honestly, I kind of like the plot. It has a certain charm to it, like an old swashbuckling novel, of which I’ve read a lot as a kid.

The narrative of a “hero of the common folk” has been a staple in literature for centuries so some might consider the premise to be unoriginal, but I personally like this narrative more than “champion of the rich” (Looking at you, Scarlet Pimpernel) because, historically, it really was a difficult time for commoners and when times are hard people tend to need such heroes the most.

People need hope, so it’s no surprise that Mathilde and François (who already moonlights as a folk hero, The Black Tulip) become living legends thanks to their escapades.

Interestingly enough, the series also subverts a common trope of a hero seeking revenge for the death of his family. Mathilde is deeply affected by the death of her parents but she doesn’t actively seek revenge. Instead, this tragedy makes the fight and the upcoming revolution a personal matter to her and motivates her to fight corruption because she is not the only person who ended up on its receiving end.

The pacing is generally pretty good but I do wish there were less filler episodes and more of the overarching story that’s dedicated to the secret that Comte de Vaudreuil and Mathilde’s parents seem to be hiding from her and maybe it would be better if the secret in question was revealed to the audience a bit later than episode 7 or so.

However, revealing the twist early on is still an interesting narrative choice because then the main question is not what the secret itself is but rather when and how Mathilde will find out and how she will react, not to mention how it will affect the story.

That being said, even the filler episodes do drive home the point that a hero like Mathilde is needed, that nobles are generally corrupt and that something needs to change. Plus, those episodes were still enjoyable and entertaining enough for me to keep watching, which is good because usually I don’t like filler episodes much and it’s pretty easy to make them too boring.

Unfortunately, the show is affected by the common trope of the characters not growing up but I don’t usually mind that much. It also has the cliché of heroes being unrecognizable in costumes and masks, but that’s a bit of a staple in the superhero stories even today so it’s not that bothersome.

4. The Characters

It was admittedly pretty rare for a children’s show to have characters who were fleshed out enough to seem realistic and flawed, but I think this series gives its characters more development than most shows for kids did at the time.

I especially like Mathilde as a character. Sure, at first glance she seems like a typical Nice Pretty Ordinary Girl ™️ but that was a part of the appeal for me.

I am a strong believer in that a character does not need to be a blank slate or a troubled jerk to be interesting and Mathilde is neither of the above. She is essentially an ordinary girl with her own life, family, friends, personality and dreams and, unfortunately, all of that is taken away from her when her parents are killed.

Her initial reluctance to participate in the revolution is also pretty realistic as she is still trying to live her own life in peace and she made a promise to her parents to stay safe so there’s that too.

I really like the fact that the show did not give her magic powers and that she was not immediately good at fencing. François does remark that her fencing is not bad for a beginner but in those same episodes she is clearly shown making mistakes and it takes her time to upgrade from essentially François’s assistant in the heroic shenanigans to a teammate he can rely on and sees as an equal. Heck, later there’s a moment when Mathilde saves François, which is a nice tidbit of her development.

Mathilde also doesn’t have any romantic subplots, which is really rare for a female lead.

She has a childhood friend, Florent, but the two are not close romantically and they even begin to drift apart somewhat once Florent becomes invested in the revolution. François de Vaudreuil does not qualify for a love interest either - his father does take Mathilde in and adopts her after her parents are killed so François is more of an older brother than anything else.

Now, I’m not saying that romance is necessarily a bad thing but I do think that not having them is refreshing than shoehorning a romance into a story that’s not even about it. Plus most kids don’t care that much for romance to begin with so I’d say that the show only benefits from the creative decision of not setting Mathilde up with anyone.

Another interesting narrative choice I’d like to point out is the nearly complete absence of historical characters, like the revolutionaries. They do not make an appearance at all, save for Saint-Just’s cameo in one of the last episodes and, fortunately, he doesn’t get demonized. Instead, the revolutionary ideas are represented by Florent, who even joins the Jacobin Club during the story and is the one who tries to get Mathilde to become a revolutionary. Other real people, like young Napoleon and Mozart, do appear but they are also cameo characters, which does not count.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI are exceptions to the rule.

(Spoiler alert!)

Marie-Antoinette is portrayed as kind of spoiled and out of touch. Her spending habits get touched on too but she is not a malicious person at heart. She is simply flawed. She becomes especially important to the story later on when Mathilde finds out the secret that has been hidden from her for her entire life.

As it turns out, Marie- Antoinette, the same queen Mathilde hated so much, is the girl’s older half-sister and Mathilde is an illegitimate daughter of the Austrian king and an opera singer, given to a childless couple of florists to be raised in secret so that her identity can be protected.

The way Marie-Antoinette and Mathilde are related and their further interactions end up providing an interesting inner conflict for Mathilde as now she needs to reconcile this relationship with her sister and her hatred for the corruption filling Versailles.

The characters are not actively glorified or demonized for the most part and each side has a fair share of sympathetic characters but the anime doesn’t shy away from showing the dark sides of the revolution either, unlike some other shows that tackle history (*cough* Liberty’s Kids comes to mind *cough*).

All in all, pretty interesting characters and the way they develop is quite realistic too, even if they could’ve been more fleshed out in my opinion.

5. The Voice Acting

Pretty solid. No real complaints here. I’d say that the dub actors did a good job.

6. The Setting

I really like the pastel and simple color scheme of Paris and its contrast with the brighter palette of Versailles. It really drives home the contrast between these two worlds.

The character designs are pretty realistic, simple and pleasant to watch. No eyesores like neon colors and overly cutesy anime girls with giant tiddies here and that’s a big plus in my book.

7. The Conclusion

Like I said, the show is not available in English and those who are able to watch it might find it a bit cliché but, while it’s definitely not perfect. I actually quite like it for its interesting concept, fairly realistic characters and a complex view of the French Revolution. I can definitely recommend this show, if only to see what it’s all about.

Some people might find this show too childish and idealistic, but I’m not one of them.

I’m almost 21 but I still enjoy cartoons and I’m fairly idealistic because cynicism and nihilism do not equal maturity and, if not for the “silly” idealism, Frev itself wouldn’t happen so I think shows like that are necessary too, even if it’s just for escapism.

If you’re interested and want to check it out, more power to you.

Anyway, thank you for attending the first ever official meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention. Second meeting is coming soon so stay tuned for updates.

Have a good day, Citizens! I love you!

- Citizen Green Pixel

#review #french revolution #anime #history #television #frev media #Jacobin Fiction Convention #marie antoinette #French Revolution anime #la seine ni hoshi #la tulipe noire dessin animé #la tulipe noire