Malleus Draconia X Reader - Tumblr Posts

Hello, I don't know if you've watched Winx Club, but I would like to make a request for Leona, Jamil, Malleus, and Sebek with a reader who is a fairy (the transformation you think is best) if you haven't watched it, I would like to request these characters with a reader who is a fairy similar to Tinker Bell, but she can change her size, so she has her fairy form and a normal size

Having An S/O Twisted From Tinkerbell

Type of Writing: Request Characters: Leona Kingscholar, Jamil Viper, Malleus Draconia, and Sebek Zigvolt Name: Having An S/O Twisted From Tinkerbell Requester: @marinahavik

A/N: I haven’t seen Winx Club, so I’ll go with the second option on this request. So it’s the reader being mainly themed after the actual original book-style Tinkerbell. By the way, these are fairly shorter than my other pieces.. just saying!

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🦁 Leona was very caught off when he felt a small patter on his chest when he awoke the morning after your visit, he normally felt you shifting to get up before you smacked his chest

🦁 Opening his eyes and looking up at you, he saw that you had shrunk down to the size of those fairies in the garden

" Woah there, what in the name of hell happened to you? " " *Jingling Sounds* "

🦁 He understood that fairies were fairly powerful beings, but this was something he hadn't seen

🦁 While sure you could say that transforming was something he should be used to, since he came from a land surrounded by beastman who loved becoming their beast-forms to relax or travel

🦁 But, seeing someone just shrink without becoming an animal was fairly new...

🦁 Though, he had to admit, it was something he found to be quite enjoyable. He could literally pick you up and put you in his pocket now

" Well, I guess I can officially call you short without you getting mad now, right? " *Raising their middle finger* " Love ya' too, short-stuff. "

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🐍 Rarely did Jamil ever get time off from his seemingly never-ending job of caring for Kalim, but whenever he did, he would try resting with you beside him

🐍 With your large wings, you would leave them to rest on top of your resting lover as he allowed you to play with his hair, experimenting on styles

🐍 But, when he felt that you had stopped touching him with the feeling of a massage, he cracked a tired eye open

🐍 Looking around from his position, Jamil sat up and felt a small tug on his hood, and when he pulled his up and saw a tiny you fall down and make a jingling sound, he chuckled

" I knew you fairies had cool abilities, but this is actually kind funny and cute instead of scary. "

🐍 You furrowed your eyebrows his frustration and embarrassment as your boyfriend began to pat your head

🐍 Folding your wings over your flushed face, Jamil fully laughed at you before asking you to transform back and mess with his hair even more

🐍 Oh, how can you say no to someone you hold so dearly?

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🐉 You and Malleus have known one another since your childhoods, since you were the child of a high-ranking fae in society

🐉 So, as you grew, your magical abilities had advanced alongside one another's. That meaning whenever you transformed smaller, Malleus was just smile and carry you around

🐉 This time, you had been running away from a beastman, whom you angered by throwing a piece of machinery at their head

🐉 For what reason? Not sure, you just heard a malicious sounding voice say your lover's name and threw the nearest item

" My dearest? Are you alright? Why are you- " " Where is that little wretch? They threw a piece of metal at my skull! "

🐉 Looking up as you fluttered behind his horns and held on for dear life in your small and more fairy-like form, Malleus slightly glared at the leopard and bear

" I recommend you apologize for such an unworthy compliment. " " Excuse- me... "

🐉 Cocking an eyebrow as the duo apologized and ran off in fear, you sighed with a very low jingle

🐉 Malleus chuckled and held you in his hand as you rubbed your neck nervously awaiting his dozens of questions about why you threw something at someone's head

🐉 Oh, how entertaining could you get?

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⚡ Sebek and you have always had a complicated bond, from you meeting him by shrinking and hiding inside his bag of training equipment when you were younger being the main cause of that

⚡ But, when you began to visit and watch him train with your god-father, Lilia Vanrouge, you and him bonded more as the years passed

⚡ You two had even began to court one another when you both began to attend Night Raven College that year

" My, my, Sebek, where is my little god-child? I am in need of their small-size for assistance. " " I apologize, Lilia, but I have not seen them anywhere. "

⚡ Cue you flying into the room with Floyd on your tail holding a fly-swatter and laughing as you shrunk and flew underneath your boyfriend's hat

⚡ Lilia and Sebek starred at the merman as he groaned and whined as his twin, Jade, and their childhood friend, Azul, dragged him back to Mostro Lounge after apologizing for his actions

⚡ Sebek then lifted his hat and allowed you to fly down and enlargen back to your normal form

" What in the name of Twisted Wonderland did you do, Y/N?! " " I accidentally shrunk in fear when I heard the cackle of that eel and then he started chasing me with a swatter, claiming I was a fly. Can you believe that?! A fly! " " Well- you are small like one... " " I will knee you in the balls, Sebek. "

Lilia wondered if you knew what it meant to be loved by a fae. Did you truly?

To be loved by a fae meant to be worshipped.

To be loved beyond eternity.

To have lasting memories that would never fade.

To be found in all lifetimes until the end of eternity.

Silver and Sebek knew, having grown with faes and learning their culture.

Silver, even as a human, had learned and readily accepted it but he grew with such knowledge.

Sebek had grown knowing such from his mother and grandfather, even his father knew what it meant to be loved by a fae and willingly accepted it.

Lilia watched as you dozed on Malleus’ lap, the prince stroking your hair with a loving gaze upon you.

You, who were loved and cherished by him and Malleus, two powerful faes who made nations tremble at their power.

Lilia knelt by your side, kissing your forehead. His own blessing mixing with Malleus’s, marking you theirs.

Lilia knew that in time you would realized what it meant to be loved by them, maybe you already had.

After all, you loved so gently yet passionately. You loved with your entire self. It was only proper for that love to be returned just as intensely.

He knew you would never come to danger, not with them protecting you: the Dragon and the General of Briar Valley.

You were also protected by the Knights of the Future King of Briar Valley, both of whom considered you family.

You were loved and cherished, and will continue to be so by all you have come to know and will know.

And of course, especially by them.

Tagging @masquerade-of-misery my fellow comrade of this ot3 🫶💚

In which a big scary dragon invades (Y/n)'s pillow cave, claiming the nest itself and the girl as his territory.

(Y/n) doesn't mind though, as long as that big scary dragon is Malleus Draconia.

Request by @amypop122.

"—and, that should do the trick!"

Adding your favourite pillow to the top of your cosy little fortress, you clapped your hands together in delight at how much your effort had paid off. Now, it was time to crawl inside, and sleep a little bit after a long day of school. Letting out an exhausted sigh when you let yourself crash onto the pillows inside of your little cave, you sprawled your limbs around. Luckily for you, Silver had showed a few tricks here and there to keep the walls sturdy and indestructible.

Just as you cuddled into the pillow, eyes closed in contentedness, you heard a little crunch coming from the entrance of your cave. Forcing one eye open, you indeed found a familiar face looking inside the pillow fortress in awe. Bright green eyes illuminated the darkness that clouded the interior of your cave. A little scream escaped your lips, and you jolted upright.

"Stop sneaking up on me like that, Malleus!" you breathed out once you had calmed your erratically beating heart. He didn't react to any of your complaints and words, but instead retreated back outside. It seemed like he was pacing around, inspecting your work with keen eyes. "Malleus?" You crawled out, too, your head poking out from the entrance in curiosity.

Poking a soft pillow that was intended to be the roof with his index finger, he shook his head. "The walls aren't good for protection in case thieves come to steal your treasures..." he murmured to himself whilst continuing to circle the cave, his gloved fingers stroking his chin.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you rose to your feet. "What thieves are you talking about—" you asked, finding it amusing how he seemed so serious about your cave. After a little bit of watching him pace around, you noticed the way his pupils were more slitted — dragon-like — than usual. Once you realised what was going on, you couldn't help but start laughing loudly. "Is this..." You found it hard to speak while laughing so wildly. "Is this some sort of dragon thing? Caves— and treasures?"

Your laughter seemed to have snapped Malleus out of his trance. Sheepishly looking up at you, he admitted, "Oh— sometimes I just get carried away when seeing caves — just like with gargoyles... it's like a dragon's instinct?" Much to his surprise, you started squealing. Tilting his head to the side, he shot you a confused look. Were all humans this excitable? Or was it just his human.

"That's adorable!" Giggling, you got onto your toes ro ruffle his hair, which evoked a raised eyebrows from him. Your gesture was quite questionable with your short height, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Shooting him a toothy smile, you cooed, "So, what does Mr. Big Scary Dragon have to say about my pillow cave?"

Shrugging, he made his way over to the entrance. "Well... I haven't really seen the inside yet," he murmured as he crawled inside, the entrance almost too small for his body to fit through. But he somehow managed to eventually reach the main body of the cave, where more blankets and pillows formed the ground. "Huh... this cave is a peculiar one— so soft... it needs some rearranging though..."

Without waiting for your permission, he started rearranging some of the blankets and pillows, so that they were evenly strewn out. Crawling into the entrance as well, you watched him work like a professional. You furrowed your eyebrows whilst letting out a little huff that went unnoticed by the concentrated male.

"Is this some sort of invasion?" you asked as you sat down, crossing your arms playfully. "Is the big scary dragon gonna steal my cave?"

"Only if you don't behave~" Malleus shot you a little wink that caused your anger to turn into adoration. You simply couldn't be angry at your precious dragon. Silently cursing him in your mind, you waited for him to finish rearranging the cushions to his liking; well, he probably had better knowledge of placing pillows into their right places to maximise comfort, anyway. Once he was finished, he let out an exhausted sigh. "Besides, mates share their caves— so it's our cave now..."

You almost fell over from shock as you numbly sputtered, "M-Mates?"

Malleus let out a satisfied hum, not noticing the distressed and panicked expression on your face. Starting to sweat, you swore it somehow had grown incredibly stuffy and hot in here. You watched him with wide eyes as he somehow turned around in circles in the same spot multiple times before laying down. His behaviour somehow reminded you of a cat looking for the perfect resting space, and you couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh yes, this is the life..." Malleus let out a contented sigh as he snuggled deeper into the many pillows, the stress from today fading away into nothingness.

Clicking your tongue, you realised that you hadn't intended to build the cave for two people — especially not an additional big dragon fae. The fact that he actually was able to even crawl inside left you in awe. But now, you found yourself bubbling away in annoyance when he continued to sleep and occupy the whole area, all while ignoring you. "Great, so this is your territory now...? You almost take up all the space—" Your hand reached out to poke his cheek, but you came to regret it immediately.

A little yelp escaped your lips as Malleus lazily yet somehow quickly extended his hand to stop you by grabbing your wrist with an iron grip. Trying to tug your wrist out of his hold resulted in him suddenly pulling. You toppled over right into his arms, your back now pressed flush against his chest. "Now... be quiet..." he whispered into your ear as he removed his hand from your wrist, and moved it to circle it around your waist. "Your mate needs some sleep..."

"Mate—" Again, the word that made your brain stop functioning appeared. Cheeks burning brightly, you started to squirm a little bit in embarrassment — especially with the way his hot breath always fanned over your ear.

"Hush, my little treasure..." he mumbled softly, nuzzling his nose into your hair. Eventually, you were calm enough to close your eyes and try to fall asleep, too.

Letting out a little sigh, you placed your hand over his other one that lay not too far away from your body. "I could get used to this..." A big smile etched onto your lips, you soon found yourself drifting off into dreamland.

Hours passed as Malleus and you were caught in deep slumber. When the sun had long disappeared behind the horizon, the door to your room was opened, and a gap of light streamed in. "Malleus? It's time to return from visiting (Y/n)—" Lilia began, but shut up immediately once he realised how everything was dark and silent, only soft breathing coming from the strange fortress made out of pillows. Curious, Lilia opened the door a little bit more, so he could step inside and investigate. Sebek and Silver peeked inside, curious as well.

Sticking his head into the cave's entrance, Lilia started to squeal at the sight in front of him: Malleus and you cuddling like a pair of freshly mated dragons in your own little cave.

As he returned to the two retainers, there were tears running down his cheeks. "Sebek! Silver! T-They have their own cave now—" Lilia managed to stutter out as he wiped his eyes with his overly large sleeves. Sebek and Silver seemed stunned, and the former looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

"So..." Silver trailed off after being the first to recover from the shock, "who's gonna look after their kids?"

"Me! Me!" Lilia yelled after he had shooed them out of the room, a big grin on his face. "I'm going to be a grandpa! Let me get my cane and my reading glasses real quick!"

ode to the lonesome prince

Pairing: Malleus Draconia x gn!reader

Synopsis: you adored him so much you would stand by his side no matter what

Tags: drabble, fluff, slightly poetic hehe, reader is a simp for malleus

Word count: 683

Notes: happy birthday dragon boi!! im so sorry im so late🥹 i wrote more especially for you and i promise ill give you another fic soon!!!

Masterlist

Your lover is an enigma to those who perceive him from a distance. The powerful aura that surrounds him is something you've come to see through. His calm and respectful yet cold tone has become a language only a few, including yourself, have learned to decipher. In his presence, you've unearthed layers of vulnerability and passion, discovering the intricate mosaic of emotions that make him who he is. And with each revelation, your connection grows stronger, bridging the gap between the mysterious exterior and the tender heart within.

Your lover is unwavering in his commitment to always give his best, navigating through life with an oblivious charm. Despite his best intentions, there are moments when he may inadvertently cause harm or make mistakes. Yet, what sets him apart is the sincerity with which he approaches apologies, never shying away from acknowledging his fault. He instead offers heartfelt apologies, demonstrating a genuine desire to make amends and ensure that your feelings are heard and respected. It's this combination of genuine effort and a sincere willingness to rectify any missteps that makes your relationship a harmonious dance of understanding and growth.

Your lover transforms into a delightful and childlike enthusiast whenever the conversation veers towards gargoyles. It's as if a spark ignites within him, and suddenly, his eyes light up with unbridled excitement. The usually composed demeanour gives way to a genuine, infectious joy. With each word, he paints a vivid picture of the stone guardians, their intricate details, and the stories they silently hold. His enthusiasm is palpable, and you can't help but be swept away by the sheer delight he radiates. There's a charm in the way he talks about gargoyles, turning a seemingly mundane subject into a respected figure.

Your lover is a fountain of kindness, his generosity flowing endlessly like a river nourishing the parched earth. Whether it's a small enchantment to brighten a mundane day or a grand display of magical prowess to make a special occasion memorable, he’s always eager to take action if it means a smile may find its way on your face. What sets him apart is his remarkable ability to remember the intricacies of your preferences, as though each detail is etched into his consciousness. Whether it's a favourite flower, a cherished book, or a specific type of tea, he effortlessly incorporates these nuances into his gestures of kindness, as if he holding a key to the chambers of your heart.

Your lover possesses a profound sense of possessiveness, a quality that perhaps stems from his draconic instincts. In the intricate dance of emotions, he is fiercely protective of the bonds he forges, especially those that pierce through the walls of his solitude. The possessiveness is not born out of malice but rather from a deep-seated fear of losing the connections he painstakingly nurtures. When it comes to those he cares about, his grip is firm, an unspoken declaration that he would go to great lengths to shield them from the unpredictable currents of the magical world.

You love how he cherishes you with a devotion akin to a dragon safeguarding its most prized treasure. When it comes to those he cares about, his grip is firm, an unspoken declaration that he would go to great lengths to shield them from the unpredictable currents of the world. There's a warmth in the gaze he reserves for you, a flame that flickers with unwavering commitment. In the warmth of his possessive embrace, there lies an unyielding commitment to safeguarding the treasures he has allowed into the sanctum of his heart. And like a dragon yearning for a trusted companion, you long to wrap him in the same sense of security and love.

Masterlist

Your lover may often seem distant from others, but you find yourself consistently eager to stand by his side, becoming his steadfast companion and introducing him to the little joys of life. It’s by his side, that you feel at home and where you’re meant to be.

Your lover, is none other than Malleus Draconia.

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Dream a Little Dream of Me (Twisted Wonderland Cast X Reader)

Summary: A look into the future with the Twisted Wonderland cast, guest staring our favorite magicless prefect.

AN: Can you tell which of these were really hard for me to come up with? Overall I'm pretty happy with them. A few of these I feel like I could come up with full-length fics later. But, man, did I not realize exactly how big the cast was until I started writing it all. I thought I would keep them all to around 500 words but I quickly abandoned that.

Warnings: None that I can think of.

“You can see the future?” 

(Y/N) stood with Ace and Deuce, Grim clinging on to the side of the cauldron, watching the swirling purples, blues, and greens of their latest alchemy assignment come together. 

“Sort of?” Deuce said, looking into his own cauldron, one he hadn’t summoned out of thin air this time. “It’s more like what might happen in the future. Like, if you continue doing what you’re doing you’re more likely to get this result sort of thing.” 

“It's not really specific either,” Ace added. “This is kind of a standard potion for midterms. I think every year is doing it.” 

“The oracleum mycoculous mushroom,” Professor Crewel said, giving a stern eye to the chatting group. “Is said to give premonitions, depending on how it is treated. The method we are using today should give vivid dreams on future outcomes. I recommend when you go to bed tonight, focus on a certain aspect of the future you want more information about. Health, career, wealth, marriage. Something nebulous will work better with this specific concoction. It’s important to note that you will be aware that you’re dreaming, but unable to have any agency or action. Remember you’re not controlling the vision, just let it happen and see what information you can gather.”   

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this magic stuff,” (Y/N) said, ladling their potion into a thick mug. She screwed her face up. “Or the smell.” 

“More for me then!” Grim cheered, snatching the mug out of her hands and downing the entire thing before (Y/N) could protest. As soon as he had drained the last drop, he turned a strange shade of green, despite his gray fur. 

(Y/N) pet his head sympathetically as Grim made gagging noises. “That’s what you get for being impatient.” 

As soon as the rest of the class had drunk their potion, with similar reactions to Grim, they were dismissed. The rest of the day went on as normal, or as normal as it could be at Night Raven College. 

As the sun set and students settled into their beds, some eagerly awaited the possible visions that they hoped would come to them as they slept. Others dreaded the uncertain future. Still others ignored the possibilities all together, not putting stock into an uncertain chance of a glimpse of the future, determined to make their fortune themselves. 

And so, NRC slept and dreamed. 

Ace

Ace vaulted over the overturned trash can, dashing after the culprit. His feet pounded the pavement, heart thundering in his ears with every step. The culprit looked over his shoulder to see Ace still in hot pursuit and he dashing out into the street. Cars swerved and braked hard, trying to avoid hitting him, one overcorrecting and swiping into another car. Ace ignored the angry shouts, sliding across the hood of a crashed car with single determination. 

“Ace!” Deuce’s voice crackled from the walky-talky fixed to his tactical vest. “Where are you?” 

Ace quickly flicked his eyes up to check the street signs. “Heading south down Dodgson street!” South? Was that right? It sounded like the right thing to say, and it’s not like he had time to check the position of the sun. 

“On it!” Deuce called back. 

Ace’s muscles burned, but he refused to break stride. The culprit cut through an open air market, shoving and throwing people behind him to try and slow Ace down. Ace tried to catch them while still keeping the culprit in his line of sight. Just when he felt like his lungs were about to give out, an arm shot out from the corner, clotheslining the culprit. The culprit fell back hard, his own momentum bringing him down. Deuce stepped out from the corner, cracking his knuckles. Ace slid to a stop next to them, quickly kneeling down to flip the culprit on his stomach, handcuffing his hands behind him. Stolen mage stones spilled from the culprit’s pockets. 

Later, back at the Arcane Special Defense Unit headquarters in the Queendom of Roses, everyone was celebrating. Senior officers gave hearty congratulations to the two rookies for their final take down of a mage stone thief ring that had been a thorn in their side for almost a decade. Deuce took the praise with a little more grace, demurely waving off attention, while Ace preened and basked in it. 

“Hey, Trappola!” One of the senior officers called over the din. “You got a visitor!” 

(Y/N) poked her head out from behind the officer, giving a little wave. Several of the other officers whistled and whooped, Deuce elbowing him with a smile. Ace flipped them off and jogged over to (Y/N) pulling her out of the main room to a slightly quieter hallway. 

“Hey, hero,” (Y/N) said, kissing his cheek. 

“Hero, huh?” Ace said with a crooked smile. “I like the sound of that.” 

“Don’t get a big head, now.” 

“Hey, you’re talking to a soon to be detective. That deserves some respect, right?” 

“Sure, sure.” (Y/N) flicked his chest. “You’ve always had a big head anyway.” 

“Alright, that’s it!” Smirking, Ace leaned down, slinging his arms around (Y/N)’s midsection and sweeping her up to toss over his shoulder. (Y/N) shrieked in delight as he spun around. Getting dizzy, Ace tripped over his feet, causing them both to tumble down. Ace pivoted at the last second so he landed first, softening the blow, (Y/N) landing on top of him. They both looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in a fit of giggles. 

Catching her breath, (Y/N) rested her chin on Ace’s chest, gazing up at him. He held her close, brushing a hand through her hair. 

“Marry me,” He mumbled. They both seemed shocked that he had said it, Ace immediately blushing with wide eyes. “I - I mean,” He stuttered. “I didn’t mean - I mean, I did, but I didn’t mean to say it now - Not that I wouldn’t want to or anything but -” 

(Y/N) silenced him with a kiss. “It’s okay,” She said when she pulled away, leaving Ace dazed. “I’ll wait for you.” 

Ace pulled her close, burying his face in her shoulder, purposefully ignoring the cheers from the officers who had stuck their heads out the door. He started thinking about jewelry stores nearby. 

Deuce

Deuce fiddled with the clasp on his cape. He looked in the full-length mirror in his room. His private room - some of the perks of being Heartslabyul’s House Warden. He’d been fitted for the uniform at the end of last school year, when Riddle had announced Deuce as his successor. And now, here he was, finally wearing it. It felt awkward. He looked awkward. Not for the first time, he couldn’t believe he was here, wearing it. It didn’t look right. Or, rather, he didn’t look right in it. 

There was a soft knock at his door. Deuce flinched away from fiddling with the uniform like it had burned him. “Come in!” He called. Why did his voice sound so weird? Was that what a House Warden should sound like? 

(Y/N) popped her head in, wearing the formal entrance ceremony robes. “Just me. Whoa.” She stepped inside, staring at Deuce. She looked at him in awe, a smile spreading across her face. She clasped her hands together. “Deuce! You look amazing!” 

He spread his arms wide, trying to find whatever (Y/N) saw in him. “You think so? I don’t look, I don’t know, out of place or anything?” 

She hummed, walking forward and straightening Deuce’s cape. “I think you look like a fine and respectable House Warden, one that all the new first-years are going to love. Although,” She winked at him and Deuce felt himself blush vigorously. “You’re a pretty easy guy to love.” 

“Yeah?” He said, hoping she would ignore the way his voice cracked. 

“Yeah.” She gripped his lapels and pulled him down for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her. Couldn’t they just stay like this? Did he really have what it took to go out there and give a welcome speech to all those new students?  Not to mention all the returning students who already knew him, all his mess ups and faults and imperfections. 

“Hey.” (Y/N)’s voice snapped him out of it. “You’re getting in your own head again. Everyone’s going to be able to see you just like I do.” She brushed a lock of hair away from his face. “Strong, kind, brave, the world’s best boyfriend. That part is just for me, though.” 

He sighed, dropping his head so their foreheads touched. “I’m glad you’re with me.” 

“I always will be.” 

“Maybe I can get one more kiss?” Deuce said shyly, feeling himself blush again. “For good luck.” 

She smiled up at him. “Sure, for luck.” 

Just as their lips were about to brush, the door slammed open. “What’s the hold up, Juice?” Ace said, storming in. “The first-years are getting antsy out there and - oh, I see.” He grinned wickedly and cocked an eyebrow. “Nevermind, this is much more important.” 

Deuce grabbed the scepter that came with the House Warden uniform. He pointed it at Ace, shouting, “Off with your head!” 

Ace cringed back, arms coming up to shield himself. When nothing happened, he looked up, annoyed.“Hey, that’s not your spell!” 

“No,” Deuce said, grinning. “But I can still whack you with this thing!” 

Deuce chased Ace out of the room, waving the scepter. As Ace dashed down the hall, Deuce felt (Y/N) slip her hand into his. She kissed his cheek. “Come on, House Warden,” She said. “There’s a whole school year waiting for us.” 

Cater

“We on in three, Cater,” The producer said. Cater gave a thumbs up, occupied by the makeup team readjusting his cover so his face didn’t shine under the lights on camera. Behind them, the Shaftland’s Glass Slipper Gala was starting up, celebrities of all ilk stepping out of limos to walk the red carpet and show off the cutting edge of fashion. 

Cater took one more swig of water, brushing invisible dust from his blazer jacket, and fixed his most dazzling smile. “Alright, ready when you are!” 

“Okay, get ready everyone!” The producer said, readjusting her earpiece. “We’re a go in 5, 4, 3…” She mouthed the last two numbers, pointing to Cater as a blinking red light turned on on the camera. 

“Welcome, Shaftlands!” Cater said into his handheld microphone, winking to the camera. “It’s your favorite pop culture and social media consultant, Cater! We’re here at the Glass Slipper Gala, the annual exhibition for all things gorgeous, over the top, and innovative! Let’s see who we can find on the red carpet.” 

Cater waved over a few celebrities, getting quotes that, the next day, would be plastered on the front cover of numerous magazines and social websites. People found it hard not to match his energy, smiling and laughing along. 

Cater had just waved off a rising movie star when he saw someone familiar from the corner of his eye. Weaving their way through the throngs of media, cameras, and various fans hoping to get a glimpse of their bias, (Y/N) gave Cater a little wave. She held up a tray with three cardboard to-go cups, the symbol of his favorite coffee shop emblazoned on the front. Cater cried with delight and beelined it for her. The producer started waving frantically as the cameraman followed his movement with a questioning look. 

“We have a super special treat for you, viewers!” Cater said. (Y/N) blinked in surprise as Cater slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling into a sideways hug. “My wonderful, adorable girlfriend is here! Say hi, sweetie!” 

“Umm, hi?” She held up the tray. “I thought you guys might need a break so I brought you a pick-me-up. A blond roast with three shots of vanilla and milk, green tea with half-and-half, and,” She picked up the last cup and handed it to Cater. “An iced chai latte, size medium but put into a large size so there’s room to mix in extra cinnamon, using oat milk instead of dairy, two pumps brown sugar syrup, one pump mocha syrup, two pumps cinnamon dolce syrup, three shots espresso, cinnamon dusting, and vanilla sweet cream foam.” 

“She even knows my order!” Cater swooned, putting the back of his hand to his forehead. “Viewers, have you ever seen a more perfect person in the whole wide world?”  

“Uh, Cater?” 

“Pretty, smart, and super sweet. What more could you ask for? Well, you all know I like things a little more spicy than sweet, but my girl has that in spades, too, just between us.”

“Should you really be saying this on air?” 

Cater shrugged. “They can edit it all out in post.” “Cater,” The producer said, deadpan. “We’re live right now.” 

(Y/N) gasped as Cater blinked, staring into the single black eye of the camera. The cameraman smiled and shrugged. 

“Oh, well then,” Cater said. In a second, his sparkling smile returned. “Then we should give them a show, right?” 

“Cater, wha-” 

Before she could say anything else, Cater plucked the coffee from (Y/N)’s hands, setting it gently on the ground with his microphone. He jumped back up, taking her into his arms in a low dip, kissing her amid a flurry of flashing lights. 

Trey

The bell above the door had been ringing constantly all day. The small storefront was full to bursting, children pressing their faces against the glass display case to point at every confection they wanted their parents to buy. Shop assistants in crisp mint green and white uniforms handed white boxes over the counter to eager hands. Two others maneuvered extra seating outside under an awning to help combat the surplus customers. 

A teen with emerald green hair escaped into the attached kitchen, taking a deep breath of relief. “Well, big brother,” He said. “I think it’s safe to say the grand re-opening is a success.” 

Trey chuckled from the counter, squeezing buttercream to swirl atop enough cupcakes to feed an army. After a fire halfway destroyed this family’s bakery several months ago, there had been talks of shutting down the business entirely and joining up with some of the bigger corporate shops in town. Trey had scrimped and saved and planned to recreate the shop to his own specifics, making sure to blend years upon years of Clover secret family recipes with his new creations. They were still constructing a new upper level for a specialty dining experience. Patrons would pay a flat sum for a pre-arranged dessert tasting menu set up like a full 6-course dinner, using cutting edge technology, foams and gelatin beads and liquid nitrogen ice cream and all the works. There was already a waiting list for reservations. 

“Uh, Chef?” Another worker poked their head through the door. “You have some people out here asking for you.” 

Trey smiled, whipping his hands on his apron. He quickly directed the other pastry chefs in the kitchen then headed out. The group of Heartslabyul graduates, plus Chenya, Grim, and (Y/N), had taken over one of the outside tables. Ace, Deuce, and Grim were competing to see who could fit more cupcakes into their mouth at once while Riddle chided them. Cater was rearranging his plate of mini-tarts, eclairs, and macarons to take the best pictures. Chenya was sneaking  treats off everyone’s plate while they were preoccupied. (Y/N) noticed Trey first, smiling wide and standing to meet him. 

“There’s the man of the hour,” She said, meeting him in a hug. 

“So, Trey,” Ace asked with a sly look. “How many free samples are we getting today?” 

“Didn’t you get enough when Trey was practicing his new recipes?” Riddle scoffed. 

“You can never get enough of Trey’s baking!” Grim cheered, taking a large bite of another cream puff as creme anglaise bursted all over his furry face. 

Riddle huffed at the display of bad manners before turning to Trey with a smile. “Congratulations are definitely in order. Everything is looking even better than you described.” 

“It was a lot of hard work,” Trey said. “I didn’t think we were going to make it a few times.” 

(Y/N) shoved him. “Oh, stop. You had perfect control the whole time. No one ever doubted you. Especially me.” She pulled him down for a kiss. 

“Bleh!” Grim stuck out his tongue. “Not when I’m eating!” 

(Y/N) smiled wickedly and pulled Trey down to pepper kisses all over his face. Grim, Ace, and Deuce made mocking sounds of disgust before bursting into laughter. 

As everyone refocused on their pastries, (Y/N) leaned over to whisper to Trey. “Should we tell them?” (Y/N) asked.  

“Not yet,” Trey said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I want to keep you to myself for a little while longer.” 

Behind their backs, the held hands, matching rings glinting in the light. 

Riddle

Riddle jerked awake at the feeling of hands on his shoulders. He heard an “Oh!” of surprise. A blanket slipped off his shoulders, pooling on the floor. He was sitting at a desk illuminated by a single lamp, the rest of the lights in the small bedroom turned off. Through the window blinds, he could see it was dark outside. He turned to the person behind him who had tried to drape the blanket over him. 

“Sorry,” (Y/N) said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” Riddle rubbed at his tired eyes, peeling off a loose leaf of notebook paper that was stuck to his cheek. He looked down at the mess of notes and textbooks littering his desk. “No, it’s a good thing,” He said. “I don’t have time for sleep right now. I need to study.” 

(Y/N) frowned at him. “You need sleep, Riddle. You won’t do yourself any good if you fall asleep in the middle of the bar exam.” 

Riddle turned back to his desk, rearranging various documents on magical law and court cases. “A good lawyer needs to be prepared for whatever is thrown at him.” “A good lawyer needs to be able to balance work and rest.” 

“I-” Riddle sighed. 

“At least let me make you some tea and take a break,” (Y/N) said, picking up the blanket and folding it over her arm.

Riddle yawned, blushing at how loud it was. “That’s… a good idea. Thank you.”  

(Y/N) smiled at him, leaning down to kiss his forehead before walking over to the tiny kitchen.

Riddle looked around. They were in a small studio apartment. Riddle’s desk was shoved to one side of the room, a bed on the opposite side, blankets thrown open as if someone had just gotten out. He saw his shoes next to the doorway, neatly arranged, next to (Y/N)’s. A slightly ajar closet door showed it was split between his formal attire and (Y/N)’s clothes. They had been living together for a while, it seemed. 

The bar exam was only a few days away. Five years of grueling school was all leading up to this moment. He’d heard too many stories about how it usually took two or three tries for most people to pass. He was determined to pass on the first try, to prove to himself, and maybe his mother, that he had made the right choice. In his career, in his life, in his partner… 

Riddle looked back at (Y/N) in the small connected kitchen, making sure she was busy with the tea. He opened the top drawer of his desk, just enough to peak inside. The box was still there, small black velvet, holding the ring inside. It was plain, just a simple silver band, polished to a shine by his own hand, but it was all he could afford. Originally, he had wanted to use his mother’s ring, the ring that had been passed down his family for generations, supposedly back to the time of the Queen of Hearts herself. But Riddle’s mother hardly approved of his chosen profession over going into the medical field, much less his partner. He remembered the screaming match they had had, how she was absolutely appalled Riddle would want to be associated with someone with no magic, no future as she put it, not to mention no family lineage to speak of. Riddle hadn’t spoken to her in quite some time. 

Riddle sighed, closing the drawer. (Y/N) had worked hard these past few years, supporting the two of them while Riddle focused on school. She’d always said it was no problem, that she was happy to work whatever odd job she could so Riddle could focus all his energy on his studies. The least he could do was make a name for himself as a lawyer, provide her with the life she deserved. 

She set a tea cup down in front of him. “Here,” She said. “With honey, not sugar.” Taking her own cup, she sat on the bed facing him. “And you’re not going to look at those notes again until you finish drinking it and talk to me.” 

Riddle picked up the cup, letting the warmth of the tea soak into his hands. He cast a glance at the drawer with its loaded secret within. 

“Actually,” He said. “There is something I’ve been wanting to ask you.” 

Leona

Leona ducked, sliding across the field as a Spelldrive disk hurdled over his head. Immediately, he was back on his feet, throwing up a magical shield as the disk crashed back towards him. 

The crowded stadium roared around him, stands packed to bursting. Fans wore team colors, red and gold for his Sunset Savannah team, the Lion Guard, and icy blue and white for the Shaftland’s team they were playing against, the Draugrs. 

“Captain!” A voice called behind him. Leona turned to see one of his teammates fly next to him on a broom. “You okay?” 

Leona brushed off the grass stain on his uniform. “I’m fine. We’re starting the new play, the one we practiced yesterday.”  

His teammate balked. “Are we ready for that? We’ve only practiced it a few times, and never in a game. There’s only a minute left on the clock!” 

“Then we’re running out of time!” Leona snarled. “We’re tied. This is our chance to take the game.”

The flying teammate saluted. “Sir, yes, sir!” He flew up, whistling a code to let the other players know to get in position. A few of them cast worried glances Leona’s way, but their trust in their team captain was obvious as they quickly fell into position. 

Leona fell back as the ground members of his team made an arrow shape ahead of the opposing player who currently held the disk. Suddenly, as the flier crossed the 20-yard line, they inverted. The two flanking the point of the arrow knelt in front of the player at the tip. He jumped to their waiting hands, being launched into the air. The player with the disk reared his broom back, not expecting a ground assault. The player who had been thrown in the air took the opportunistic distraction to claim the disk, hurdling it to a flier on the Sunset Savanna team. The flier took the disk, hovering it a foot from him with magic, and shot back to the opposing team’s goal. As the Draugr broom flying players closed in on him, he dropped the disk without warning, to the waiting hands of a ground player. The ground player dashed forward, dodging tackles from the opposing team. As they closed in on him, he tossed the disk back to a flier. This repeated twice more until the opposing team got used to the play. When another ground player got the disk, sprinting to the goal, all Shaftlands players were focused on the flier hovering above him. The ground player faked throwing the disk up and the opposing team jerked their focus upward. Instead, the ground player flung the disk to Leona’s waiting hands. In the seconds it took for the other team to recognize the play, Leona was already steps away from the goal. He flung the disk, boosted with his own magical energy, and it sailed cleanly through the opposing team’s hoop.

The crowd thundered around him as the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game. Leona took a deep breath, throwing his head back in a victorious roar. The rest of his team joined in, supporting their captain, whooping and cheering to their heart's content. 

The team gathered together, slapping each other on the back and jumping in congratulatory victory. A few of them cast sly looks Leona’s way, and before he could question it, he was soaked with an overturned cooler of bright green sports drink. They all laughed as he flung excess droplets at them. 

As the championship cup was brought out, Leona’s ears twitched as a sound. He turned and heard them repeat themselves. “Leona!” (Y/N) ran onto the field, smiling wide. She was wearing an old jersey of his, the one he had when he first joined the pro Spelldrive leagues. She waved her hand high over her head, the light catching on a topaz and diamond ring on her finger. 

He surged forward to meet her, wrapping her in a tight embrace and lifting her up. Without either of them noticing, a camera focused on their reunion, projecting their image on the jumbotron as they embraced and shared a victory kiss.

Jack

Jack held up a hand, stopping the rest of the search and rescue team following behind him. They were trekking up the North Mountain, a popular peak in the backlands in a Shaftlands national park. The snow was more than seven feet deep, and even with their specialized snow shoes they were starting to sink down. They were on the far side of the mountain, bright sunlight blazing across the snow that had been churned up from a recent avalanche. 

“What’s up, chief?” One of the rescue workers asked, readjusting his EMT pack on his shoulders. 

Jack’s ears twitched, trying to pick up the sound he was sure he had just heard. He turned back to his team. “This is the last place the skiers were seen. Everybody fan out to your lanes and start searching.” 

The group spread out, each taking a 40 meter lane as they walked downhill. Each member of the search and rescue team held a thermal meter reader, strong enough to pierce through the snow cover up to 15 meters down. They also inspected the snow for any other sign of disturbance, trying to see if anyone was moving underneath. 

Jack’s ears twitched again, picking up on the minute noise underneath him. He checked his reader, seeing an orange mass that was quickly turning blue. 

“Spotted, 35 meters!” He called out. He unfurled a long thin pole from his pack, carefully jabbing down into the snow. When he met resistance, he slung his pack off and put together his collapsible shovel. He started scooping snow away, flakes swirling up to stick against his eyelashes. Finally about three feet down, he saw a splash of a red coat. He widened his digging circle. “Victim found!” 

The most important thing at the moment was getting the buried person an airway. Jack heaved snow away, using his hands now so he wouldn’t accidentally injure the victim. He heard another one of the rescuers repeat his cry further down, “Victim found!” 

Jack could see the victim breathing, their breath melting a small indent around their nose and mouth. Jack ripped off his glove with his teeth, feeling for a pulse on their neck. It was faint, but it was there. He couldn’t see any visible wounds. The next most important part was getting them out of the snow while moving them as little as possible in case there were any internal or spine related injuries. 

Another rescuer came over to him. “My lane’s clear, sir. Can I help?” 

Jack nodded. “Go get the sled and stabilizing bands.” He saluted, making his way back up. Their team worked with dogsleds for evacuation in these parts, since it was generally less heavy than a snowmobile, and much quieter to avoid any other disruptions. 

Soon, the three missing skiers were loaded up in the sleds. Jack ran through his paramedic training in his head, making sure he and his team weren’t missing anything before they would head back to their base at the foot of the mountain. 

Arriving down, the team moved the victims, two of whom were coming back to consciousness, into a more comfortable and much warmer infirmary. The hospital in the nearby town had already been notified and was sending an ambulance to bring them back for further care. 

After making sure everyone was stable and the victims were being treated for any signs of hypothermia, Jack stepped into the mudroom attached to their rescue station, shaking his head and stomping his boots free from snow. 

“The ambulance will be here in about half an hour,” He heard behind him. He turned, seeing (Y/N) in the doorway, holding a steaming mug of pear tea. She wore a uniform similar to his, indicating they were part park ranger, part emergency rescue team. She smiled softly and handed it to him. “They said they had to take a different route around due to the avalanche. I guess it went farther than we thought.” 

Jack sipped the tea, letting the warmth infuse into his muscles. “Once we get these guys taken care of we’ll have to head back out, then. Try to take stock of any damage.” 

“The other teams have reported back already. Everyone’s been accounted for. Looks like your lot was in the worst shape. It’s a good thing they have you looking out for them, huh?” 

Jack looked away, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, we have a big team. Everyone’s doing their part.” 

“And you're the one who trained them. You’re the one who set up this whole search and rescue station. All those people there,” she waved in the direction of the treatment beds, the people pulled out of the snow, slowly warming themselves by the fireplace and with warm drinks. “Owe it all to you. You’re allowed to brag about it sometimes, you know.” 

Jack felt his face growing hot, tail starting to wag despite himself under her praise. “Well, maybe I just have a really good team.” 

(Y/N) hummed, standing on her tiptoes and reaching a hand up, threading through his short hair to pull his face down to her level. “And I wouldn’t want to be on any one else’s,” She murmured against his lips as they kissed. 

Ruggie

Politics were messy. Ruggie always knew that, but being here in the middle of it all showed him the full web of underhandedness, plotting, and secrets. But, as the Sunset Savannah’s royal family’s, or more directly Leona’s, personal spy master, that’s exactly what he was there for. 

Now, during his days at NRC, when Ruggie first started working as Leona’s unofficial personal assistant, lurking around, being a little more than underhanded in his dealings, did he ever expect he would one day be sneaking around an embassy in the middle of a grand party, planning on swiping some important documents that could reveal plots against the crown? No, of course not. But, man, was it still fun. 

As he slunk along the corridors, Ruggie eyed the attendance, each dripping with enough jewelry and finery to feed a family of four for a year. He inwardly sneered, hand shooting out to discreetly pocket a diamond bracelet some ambassador's wife, or more likely his mistress, was wearing.  But ill gotten treasure wasn’t what he was here for, at least, not today. 

Ruggie cut through a servant’s entrance, turning his coat inside out, turning it from red velvet of party goers to the matte black of the help. He thought it was too easy sometimes. People always saw what they wanted to see. Heading up to the upper floors of the embassy, he spied some hired goons waltzing around the room he needed to enter. Ruggie stayed as far back in the shadows as he could while tracking the one guard who stood a little too close to the stairs. 

“Laugh with me,” Ruggie murmured, casting his signature spell. He jerked his body to the side, causing the goon to stumble and crash down the stairs. To anyone else, it would have looked like he had too much to drink on the job, or had simply slipped. As the other guards were busy checking with their companion, Ruggie darted behind them, slipping into the room unseen. He made quick work, sniffing out the hidden safe, and picked the lock so easily he was almost afraid he was being set up. Securing the documents in the hidden pocket inside his jacket, Ruggie effortlessly slipped out the window, down the drive, and off into the night. 

Later that night, Ruggie shook off the rain as he stepped inside the lobby of Granny Bucchi’s Memorial Home for Lost Children. It was dark, everyone fast asleep upstairs. In the morning, all the children the Home housed would wake up, eat a hearty breakfast, one Ruggie could have only ever dreamed about at their age, and go to school in the attached building. Ruggie didn’t know exactly what strings Leona pulled to get such high class teachers for the Home, but he had learned long ago not to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

As Ruggie was about to head up the stairs to the caretaker's quarters, he noticed the lamp light coming from the side sitting room. Ruggie carefully stalked over to the other room, careful to avoid the floor boards that squeaked. He peered in, the warm light of a floor lamp illuminating (Y/N) on a rocking chair, a toddler hyena beastman fast asleep on her chest. Ruggie leaned against the doorframe, smiling gently at the domestic scene. 

(Y/N) stirred, af if sensing being watched. She blinked sleepily, smiling up at him. “Welcome home,” She whispered. “Everything go well?” 

(Y/N) knew just enough about Ruggie’s work, but never pried. They both knew well enough that Ruggie would immediately spill any secrets if she fluttered her eyelashes and gave him one of those sweet smiles. “Flawless, as usual.” He stepped forward, taking the small boy from her arms. His ears twitched as he was passed between them but stayed asleep. 

“He’s finally been sleeping through the night,” (Y/N) said. “But he had a nightmare earlier. He wanted to wait for you to get home.” 

“Aww, A for effort.” 

They walked upstairs to the children’s dormitory rooms, settling the small boy in his bed and tucking the blankets over him. 

“They’re having their field day tomorrow,” (Y/N) said as they entered their shared room. She sat on the bed as Ruggie kicked off his shoes. “Will you be here? The kids always love to see you.” 

He flopped down on the bed next to her with a sigh, arms behind his head.  “Wouldn’t miss it! It’s amazing how much energy those kiddos have. You think we were ever like that?” 

“Me? No, probably not. I can see you zipping around everywhere, though.” 

“Oh, yeah, I was fleet footed. You gotta be quick to pick pockets, you know.” She halfheartedly punched him as he snickered. 

“Do you ever think-?” She stared before cutting herself off. 

“Only sometimes,” He joked. “I hear it’s a dangerous habit.” He waited for a moment then asked, “Think about what?” 

(Y/N) looked back in the direction of the children’s dormitory, each level for a set of age groups from the babies all the way to the teenagers. “You know, about having our own.” 

Azul

Azul flitted around the room, jumping from conversation to conversion, getting just enough of a word in to be memorable, to make a good impression. So far, this, the grand opening of the Mostro Lounge, was a success. More than a success, it had drawn all ilk of upper crust society. Politicians, celebrities, heirs and heiresses with nothing better to do but try and get their picture in the next tabloid. Horderves were being passed, champagne was being popped, and, subtly, between it all, waiters were gathering secrets and snips of conversations from their patrons. 

The Monstro Lounge worked on two fronts, both carefully cultivated and maintained. The first was the face, the elegant restaurant and tea room that welcomed guests to treat them with all the luxury of the world. The second was more nefarious, the dagger hidden behind the back. Important clientele meant important discussions, important secrets, and important dealings. Whether or not these things were entirely legal didn’t much matter to Azul, just so long as he was in on them. 

It was important that at least most of their patrons didn’t notice the dagger. It was better for them to let their guard down, enjoy their night of revelry and relaxation. And Azul, with his charming smile, silver tongue, and perfectly business-like attitude, acted as the perfect cover. 

Azul was mingling with a group of bankers when he felt a gentle hand clasp his arm. “Excuse me,” (Y/N) said. “I’m afraid I need to steal my fiance for a moment.” The bankers held up their glasses in a cheers as she led him away. She glittered in a black sequin dress, pearls at her throat. On her hand was a delicate pearl and pink coral ring, the coral arranged like flower petals around the pearl. 

“Is anything wrong, angelfish?” Azul asked as they strolled through the lobby. 

(Y/N) hummed. “Maybe I just wanted some time with you. I’m allowed to be selfish like that every once and a while, aren't I?” 

“Of course. I think I like when you’re selfish.” 

An ignorant observer might have commented that (Y/N) made quite the trophy on Azul’s arm, but those in the know were quick to correct any misconceptions. (Y/N) was just in touch with both sides of the Monstro Lounge as Azul, just as involved. If any of Azul’s more unscrupulous dealings or shady past came up, it was easy for one to dismiss pressing concerns. After all, look at his soon-to-be wife! (Y/N) was more than capable of smoothing over any worries or uneasy feelings. And, possibly more importantly, keeping some of Azul’s more underhanded ambitions  in check. 

“Zuzu!” Azul nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard his mother’s voice. (Y/N) took a skilled step back to allow room for Mrs. Ashengrotto to envelope Azul in the kind of hug only a proud mother could give. Of course, the hug was missing a few limbs since Mrs. Ashengrotto was currently in human form, but it was still just as tight. She kissed both his cheeks and, while Azul was always happy to see his mother and show off his accomplishments, he couldn’t help but cringe at how the act tainted the elegant and stern reputation he was building for himself. Releasing him, she turned to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. (Y/N) accepted her hug with a little more grace, the benefit of seeing an affectionate attack coming. 

Azul readjusted his glasses, greeting his mother and step-father. “I’m glad you both were able to make it.” 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” His step-father said, giving him a firm handshake and warm pat on the back. 

His mother had started to tear up, (Y/N) patting her hand sympathetically. “Oh, my. My little Azul, all grown up. I remember when you were just a little fry, darting in your octopot at anything. Look how big my boy has gotten! Have you been eating well, Zuzu? You look so thin!” 

“Why don’t we grab a table?” (Y/N) neatly interjected. Azul cast her a grateful look and quickly waved a waiter over who brought the small group to a VIP section. An aquarium that took up the entire back wall cast elegant blue light over the private section. 

After the waiter took their drink order, Mrs. Ashengrotto laid her hands flat on the table, looking seriously at Azul and (Y/N). “Now,” She said. “When can I expect grandchildren?” 

Jade

“Anglerfish,” (Y/N) said. 

Jade grinned, turning back to her as he held his lantern high. “What was that?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all.” 

Jade smiled, looked down at (Y/N) as she zipped their tent closed. The cool spring night air swirled around them, moon bright and sky clear. 

While Jade mostly lived in the Coral Sea, studying with his parents to prepare to take over the family business, part of his heart would always remain up in the mountains. He’d published a book last year, Roots of the Earth: Flora, Fauna, and Folklore of the Bald Mountains, which had become a bestseller almost overnight. In depth discussions and depictions of dry land environments were apparently pretty popular underwater. His publisher had been eager for a follow up. Which led him here, camping in the Mount Moln mountain range, ready to set off on an overnight exploration. 

He didn’t, however, expect certain company. Not that he minded (Y/N)’s presence. Quite the opposite in fact. 

While she hadn’t been an official member of the Mountain Lovers club back at NRC, she had participated in a few hiking trips, whenever her schedule, or Crowley, would allow. They hadn’t seen much of each other in person since Jade graduated, but they did exchange correspondence regularly. Jade knew that (Y/N) kept up with everyone from NRC in a similar fashion, but couldn’t help hoping that his particular letters were a little special. At least, the ones he sent back to her were. 

When Jade had arrived in Harveston the day before his expedition, he was surprised to see her with the lilac haired Felmier family. (Y/N) had cried in delight and thrown her arms around him, making his heart speed up in a not unpleasant way. Over tea, (Y/N) had told him that she had mostly been jumping around Twisted Wonderland, still trying to find a more permanent place in a land she wasn't native to. With the apple planting season coming up, Epel’s family had offered a position, one she had eagerly accepted. And, when he slyly implied that he would need assistance traversing the mountain and keeping track of his gear and research, she had enthusiastically agreed. They both decided to ignore the knowing glances from Grandma Felmier. 

They had risen before the sun that next morning, beginning their trek up Mount Moln. While the weather was defiantly warming, small clumps of snow still stubbornly clung on the higher they climbed. They’d made camp early, with the sun still up, digging into warm soup the Felmier’s had prepared for them, before turning in. They knew they would be getting up in the middle of the night, so they tried to get as much sleep as possible beforehand. 

Which brought them back to the present, Jade sweeping his lantern across the trail with (Y/N) staying close behind. 

“So,” (Y/N) said. “Remind me what we’re looking for?” 

“Panellus pusillus,” Jade said. “Otherwise known as the little ping-pong bat mushroom.” 

(Y/N) snorted a laugh. “That’s pretty cute.” 

“They are bioluminescent. During the day they look like normal white fan-like mushrooms. But at night they glow beautifully. They wrap around tree branches so they often look like string lights. I’ve been wanting to take back a few samples for my project back in the Coral Sea.” 

“For your next book?” 

“That, and something else. I’ve been working on an underwater biome meant to replicate various ecosystems from the mountains I’ve traversed here on land. It would allow sea-dwellers a chance to experience environments they normally wouldn’t be exposed to. I’m still gathering funds, but I think it will be a fascinating experiment when completed.” 

“Sounds like a big undertaking.” 

“Definitely.” Jade cast a glance over his shoulder, meeting (Y/N)’s eyes. He quickly looked away again, holding the lantern out a little farther so (Y/N) wouldn’t notice the red tint to his cheeks. He only ever had to worry about that in human form. “I’ve actually been gathering a team to help me set everything up. Having someone native to land would provide a unique perspective. If you would be interested, after your work in the orchards here. I wouldn’t want to impose on any previous commitments.” 

“I don’t think you could impose on me even if you wanted to.” Jade stopped, turning around to fully face her. He watched (Y/N) gulp, readying herself, before she took a step forward. They were just a breath apart from each other now. Her hand reached out, stopping between them. “I - I’ve really missed you. I didn’t expect to this much, but then you showed back up and it kind of punched me in the gut all at once. Sorry, I feel like I’m not saying this the right way. But… I really missed you.” 

Jade let the silence sink in as his thoughts turned in his head. Crickets, owls, and other night creatures filled the air with their songs. (Y/N) looked down, shuffling her feet. Jade transferred his lantern to his other hand, reaching forward and taking hers. 

“My,” He said with a teasing grin. “This is certainly unexpected. Not unwelcome, of course. What would you do if I said I harbored similar feelings?” 

Underneath the soft glow of mushrooms overhead, (Y/N) stood on her toes and kissed him. 

Floyd

Suffice to say, most people were pretty surprised when Floyd decided to take an engineering course for the first leg of his NRC 4th year internship. With his happy-go-lucky and action-first personality, it was easy to forget that he was surprisingly good with technical skills. Even still, most people assumed he would get bored soon, skipping off to a more physically exciting internship for the next quarter. However, he stayed for the entire year. It definitely helped that the particular engineers he had partnered with specialized in roller coasters. 

And now, here he was, standing in the middle of a brand new theme park just a few weeks away from opening. When he had first approached Kalim for funding for his dream project he hadn’t expected much resistance. After all, both boys could appreciate a good time, whether from an over-the-top party or an exhilarating thrill ride. 

Floyd’s specific idea was for a theme park both land dwellers and merpeople could enjoy simultaneously. This led to the unique structure of Marine Canyon. The theme park was nestled perfectly in a natural canyon carved out thousands of years ago by glaciers. A slim river still ran through the canyon. Half the park was located in the canyon while the second half descended underneath the water of the sea the river emptied in. Guests would be able to easily traverse either side, either by assistance of underwater breathing potions, temporary form transformation potions, or a clever half-scuba half-submersible vehicle Floyd had designed when (Y/N) first met his parents.  

He stood with his hands on his hips, watching the cars roll along the track of one of the premier coasters in a test run. Everything was going perfectly. In a few days, Kalim would be coming out for the last run-through of testing and they would launch for a media day before officially opening the park. 

“Papa!” 

Floyd turned, wide smile getting even bigger. He crouched down, opening his arms, as one of his sons rushed to meet him. He swept Argonaut up in his arms, spinning him around as the boy cackled. He threw his arms around Floyd’s neck, waving at the two others approaching. (Y/N) waved back, walking over with their other son, Caspian. 

“Do we get to ride it now, Papa? Can we, can we?” Argo asked giddy, bouncing up and down. 

Cas cast a wary look up at the empty car plunging down the coaster track. “Can we go in the dark ride first? The pirate one?” 

Floyd ruffled his hair as (Y/N) answered, “We still have to wait for the safety checks to make sure everything is working properly.” 

“But,” Floyd told the twins. “The water park part is ready! And we need testers to make sure it’s fun for humans and mers. Do you know anyone who could help me with that?” 

“Me, me, me!” 

“We can do that! We’re human and mer!” 

The boys wiggled their ways out of their parents arms and dashed off, already kicking off their shoes in anticipation for changing from their dry land form to their eel-mer hybrid form. 

“Be careful running!” (Y/N) called after them. She sighed as Floyd came over, wrapping her in a backwards hug and resting his chin on the top of her head. “They really do like going between the land and sea. Do you think they have a favorite form?” 

Floyd hummed. “Don’t know. I like both of them. It’s just all different, you know? But they can use both their forms here. They can be with all their family and friends at the same time.” 

“Is that why you wanted to build it like this? You’re really kind, aren’t you?” 

Floyd grinned. “Only for Shrimpy and the guppies. Don’t let anyone else know, okay? I still have a reputation, you know.” 

(Y/N) poked his side. “Ooh, scary Floyd Leech, big bad family man. Don’t think I don’t remember you crying on the boys’ first day of school.” 

Floyd sniffed. “My guppies aren’t going to be guppies any more! What am I going to do when they get too big to carry, or when they go to NRC and we can’t see them everyday?” 

(Y/N) took his hand and started pulling him in the direction the boys had darted off in. “Then I guess we just need to make the most of the time we have with them now, right?” 

Floyd tightened his grip on her hand, smiling wickedly. “Or we could just make more guppies.”  

Kalim

“Mr. Al–Asim, I need your signature here, please.” 

“Mr. Al-Asim, when would you like to schedule our shareholder meeting?” 

“Mr. Al-Asim, I have those reports and next quarter’s budget for you to review.” 

Kalim was drained. While he was more than proud that he had managed to expand his family’s business to not only the sea but also the Briar Valley, he didn’t quite anticipate all the paperwork that would come with it. Now that Jamil was off leading his own life outside of the Asim influence, Kalim had taken on more responsibilities. Not that he wasn’t happy for Jamil, of course. He was thrilled when his friend told him of his plans after graduating NRC, even if those plans didn’t directly involve Kalim. Kalim was mostly just happy that Jamil seemed happy. But he did still miss Jamil’s presence, his guidance, how he always knew what to say. 

Kalim groaned, falling face first on his bed, not bothering to change clothes. Warm evening sun streamed in from the balcony windows, casting golden rays across the room. (Y/N) blinked at him from her side of the bed, sliding a bookmark in her book. She leaned over to him, gently petting his hair. 

“Rough day?” She asked. 

Kalim groaned again, twisting to catch (Y/N) in his arms so they crashed down together in a tangled hug. “There’s so much paperwork!” He lamented. “Why do we still even have so much paper? Isn’t it better for the environment if we use digital or something?” He sniffed, eyes watery. “Just think of all those birds whose trees we cut down.” 

“With great accomplishment comes great busy work,” (Y/N) nodded sagely. “It just shows how much so many people are relying on you.” 

“I guess,” Kamil muttered into her hair. He suddenly perked up. “Oh! I own the company, so maybe I can just tell everyone they have the day off tomorrow!” 

“Maybe, but then you and everyone else would just have a backlog of work when they come back.” 

Kalim face planted back onto the bed. (Y/N) regarded him for a moment before sliding out of bed. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Kalim gave a half-hearted thumbs up. 

As (Y/N) padded out of the room, Kalim kicked his shoes off, curling up on the bed. He grabbed her plush pillow, holding it to his chest. Hints of her fragrant shampoo still clung to it. 

Kalim didn’t think he could ever really express how grateful he was to have (Y/N) with him. Not only had she worked hard to repair his and Jamil’s relationship at NRC, but she gave him the in that helped him bring the Asim name to the Briar Valley in the first place. The land of night fairies was notoriously difficult to expand foreign trade to. But (Y/N) with her easy way of making friends and stubborn determination had given him the connections he needed to do something no other Asim had. He signed again, happily this time. It was just another reason he was so glad that she was going to marry him. 

(Y/N) nudged the door open with her hip. She carried a large silver tray holding a pot of spiced hot chocolate and several small plates with cake slices. “We still need to choose a wedding cake flavor,” She said. “Your mom has been asking me about finalizing details. We’re going to look at takchitas this weekend.” 

Kalim popped back up, a wave of fresh energy zipping through him. A party! This he could do. Not just any party, but possibly the most important party of his life! He and (Y/N) spent the next hour discussing wedding plans, colors and flowers and music. In between, they would eat bites of cake, chocolate, champagne strawberry, vanilla with raspberry filling, orange olive oil. At one point, Kalim smeared some frosting on his nose. At  her laughing, Kalim took a forkful of fluffy buttercream and painted it across her nose. They collapsed together in a giggling fit. 

“How about I come with you tomorrow?” (Y/N) asked. “I should start learning everything anyway. I want to be helpful to you.”

“You’re always helpful! Look, I'm feeling way better already!” 

“I think that might be the sugar rush.” 

As the sun set, the two of them lay together, crumbs of cake and the empty chocolate pot soon forgotten. As (Y/N) fell asleep in Kalim’s arms, he quietly said, “I can’t wait to be married to you, azizati.” 

Jamil

The air conditioning in the dance studio had gone out a few days ago and it quickly became sweltering with the aerobic activity. (Y/N) had drug in a large swiveling electric fan at some point that was working overtime to try and cool the room. Jamil whipped sweat off his forehead, watching the soon to debut idol group run through their routine again. Jamil had been working as the lead choreographer for Corona Talent for about a year now. While the agency was still relatively small, they were picking up preeminence, especially with their stylized music videos. 

“Figaro,” Jamil said to a cat beastman with black and white hair. “You need to work on controlling your tail. Having it flick around like that makes you look nervous. Sebastian, I know you’re still getting used to your land legs but remember to not lock up your knees, it makes you jerk and you’re more likely to fall. Let’s go back to just before the switch line and take it again.” 

While Jamil’s teaching style could easily be described as strict, no one could deny his results and the quick time in which he produced them. 

A little while later, and combating fears of overheating, Jamil called a water break. The group of boys formed a semicircle around the fan waiting for it to oscillate over their faces. Jamil watched them chat in benign amusement. They were about as old as he had been during the Song and Dance Championship at NRC. Jamil would never admit it, but he had recycled some of Vil’s methods during their training in the Ramshackle dorm. 

And speaking of NRC, his phone pinged. Jamil knew who it was before he even looked at the screen. 

Kalim: Jamil! I had an idea for the wedding! What if we have a grand entrance with you riding an elephant? 

Jamil: You know (Y/N) and I aren’t even engaged yet. 

Kalim: I’m planning ahead! It’s good to be ready. 

Jamil: No elephants. 

Kalim: What about peacocks? Or birds that warble on key? Or a tiger! 

Jamil: Do I even want to know where you’re getting these animals? 

Kalim: ~Secret~ 

Jamil laughed under his breath. Ever since he and (Y/N) had started dating during her last year at NRC, Kalim had basically been planning their wedding. When he had given Jamil two tickets on a week-long river cruise for his birthday last year he had called it a pre-honeymoon. 

And speaking of…

Jamil’s phone pinged again with a video attachment from (Y/N). The video showed (Y/N) next to a perch with a red and green macaw parrot. “Come on, Alfie,” (Y/N) prompted. “Show Dad your new trick.” 

The parrot tilted his head to think for a moment before tilting to the side and raising a claw in a wave. “Love Dad!” It croaked. He then started vocalizing to the tune of one of the first songs Jamil choreographed for, bobbing his head and side stepping. (Y/N) hummed along, nodding encouragingly. The macaw stretched his wings wide and gave a victorious cry. 

“Good job, Alfie!” (Y/N) praised, giving him a treat. Alfie shuffled onto her shoulder, nibbling the treat. “See you soon, Jamil. Love you.” (Y/N) blew a kiss to the screen, Alfie mimicking the sound. The video ended on a still frame of (Y/N)’s smiling face. Jamile smiled, content. Warmth, having nothing to do with the heat of the studio, filling his chest. 

“Ooh,” One of the idol’s said, wiggling his eyebrows in Jamil’s direction. “Was that your girlfriend, Coach?” The other boys cooed and whooping in good natured teasing. 

“Alright, Sven,” Jamil said, standing back up. “You just earned everyone another round of drills. Come on, on your marks.” 

The boys groaned, taking their places. As they began stretching and doing calf raises, Jamil texted Kalim. 

Jamil: Do you still have that jeweler’s number? 

Kalim: :D

Vil

Vil double checked his lipstick in a compact mirror from the backseat of the limo. His eyes cut across the back cab to (Y/N) fiddling with the hem of her dress. “Stop fidgeting,” He said. “You’ll wrinkle your dress.” 

(Y/N) jumped, smoothing her dress. “Sorry, just nervous, I guess.” 

“Nerves cause wrinkles, too. Besides, there’s nothing to fret over. Star Crossed is destined to be a hit.” 

Star Crossed was to be Vil’s first directorial debut, with (Y/N) taking a lead writing role for the script. The idea had come when the two had been discussing media back from (Y/N)’s world during one of Vil’s photoshoots. (Y/N) had been acting as somewhat of an unofficial assistant then. Although, and Vil would never admit this, he more just wanted an excuse to have her around. As they talked, (Y/N) made references to classic story ideas shared between both worlds, focusing on ideas of forbidden love. She gave a lyrical and poetic soliloquy, one that Vil immediately latched on to. She explained it was from a play called Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous plays in her world and a story that had been retold countless times. She said it was standard school curriculum in her world and had memorized several passages for homework. Canceling the very hard to get dinner reservations the two had, they instead worked deep into the night, reworking the romantic tragedy between their two world’s cultural differences, writing the first draft of what would end up becoming Star Crossed. 

“What if they don’t like the ending?” (Y/N) worried. 

“Then they’re fools with no sense of depth.” 

“But won’t that look bad for you? I don’t want a box office bomb to affect your career.” 

“I assure you, nothing I’m associated with could bomb.” Although Vil wasn’t in the starring role for this film, instead preferring to focus on directing, he did keep a cameo as the rewritten Prince of Veronia, now the Prince of Fleur City. 

“We kept a lot of the traditional language,” (Y/N) continued as if she hadn’t heard Vil. She looked out the window, the tall buildings and bustling crowds as they got closer to the theater. “Not word for word of the monologue, but still. You don’t think it was too old-fashioned or metaphorical?”

“Sweet potato, we’re going to the premier, you know. It’s a little late to be thinking about rewrites.” 

(Y/N) sighed again, flattening her hands against her lap. “Yeah, you're right. The costumes were amazing, though.” 

“That’s thanks to you as well, you know. Professor Crewel wouldn’t be willing to design for just anyone.” 

(Y/N) smiled weakly. She fidgeted in her seat. She switched sides to sit next to Vil instead of across from him. He raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow but didn’t say anything. 

“Vil,” She said, choosing her words carefully. “I really liked working with you on this.” 

“Well, you’re not the worst person to collaborate with either, (Y/N).” 

“Would you want to, I mean, maybe later if you don’t have other projects already lined up, do you want to work together again? I mean, there’s a ton of Shakespeare plays. I don’t know all of them by heart or anything, but I know a good couple. Hamlet is dramatic with political intrigue, Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is another romantic comedy with magic and everyone falling in love with the wrong person, well, that one has fairies so I don’t want to offend anyone or anything, oh, and Macbeth is all dark about going mad with power - people said it was cursed back in my world even if we didn’t have real curses, it was just something people said, you know, but I was also thinking maybe we could do others like Pride and Prejudice or if you want to do something completely different there’s this series called Star Wars that-” 

Vil abruptly cut off (Y/N)’s ramblings with a kiss. There, in the back of the limo, it was just the two of them, alone in the world. No fans, no expectations, no competitions. Just them, and a warm growing feeling between them. 

Vil pulled back, taking a moment to appreciate (Y/N)’s dazed face and bewildered smile. “I would love to work with you again, (Y/N). I’m not sure I would ever want to work with anyone else. Come, we’re here.” 

An attendant opened the door of their limo, the roar of fans and flashing lights breaking the stillness on the cab. Vil stepped out in one graceful movement, lifting a hand in greeting. A red carpet stretched out before them, littered with other actors from the movie or celebrities there to give support. Vil leaned back, offering (Y/N) his hand. She stepped out of the cab, blinking at the sudden lights.

Vil tucked her arm through his, whispering, “Stick with me. I’m certain we can get through anything together.” 

Rook

Rook flicked on his flashlight, illuminating the cavernous chamber. His team of archaeologists and researchers followed behind him, sliding down a rope through a ventilation shaft into the long buried and forgotten temple underneath an old gnarled tree. 

“Is it what you thought it was, Hunt?” A fellow archaeologist asked him, shining her own light around the foreboding space. 

“I’m not sure yet,” He replied. “But I think… Ah ha!” Rook cheered, bounding over to the far wall. He took out his magical pen, casting a fire spell into a trough of dark liquid that ran the perimeter of the chamber. It caught alight, flooding the room to showcase the detailed carvings and relief work decorated on the walls. The team gasped, immediately taking detailed notes of the pictographs and images. Carvings of mermaids in a grotto, a pirate ship looming off the coast of a tropical island, and what appeared to be a flying boy with his arms outstretched were just a few of the designs that had been painted and carved on the walls millennium ago. 

“Magnifique!” Rook breathed in awe. “The Temple of the Second Star! Just as we thought!” 

“Just as you thought, sir,” A stoat beast-man researched said. “Your instincts were spot on again.” 

Rook preened but brushed off the comment. “Non, non, we’ve all put so much work into this discovery. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished, n’est-ce pas? But, we’ve only begun our exploration. There’s something very important here I need to find.” 

“Is that safe, sir?” The archaeologist asked him. “We haven’t mapped anything out yet, who knows what it’s like down there?” She nodded her head to a dark doorway leading further into the temple. 

“Ah, but what is our profession without the allure of danger? Allons-y!” Leaving the others to their detail oriented inspection, Rook bound down the adjoining hall into the depths of the temple. 

Rook traveled down the halls, stopping only briefly to poke his head in adjoining rooms, none of which held what he was looking for. He paused every so often, checking a trap or pitfall that had been left how many hundreds of years ago. Finally, he came to a split in the corridors. 

“Hmm,” He muttered to himself. “I believe it was… Second star to the right.” He chose the right passage. 

The passage led him to a large stone door, once more inlaid with gem studded pictographs. “Ah,” he said. “A clever lock. Let’s see if I’m more clever.” He looked closely at the depictions. A group of four children flying over a cityscape, a towering clock with a large round face, a sun and moon arranged on either side, and, of course, the signature stars. He noticed several of the gem motifs could be moved. He suspected the right one would unlock the door, while the others might lead to disaster. And, as thrilled as he was to see what kind of disaster it could be, he was on a mission. “Second star to the right,” He said to himself again. “And straight on till morning!” He adjusted the hour hand on the clock face, changing it from pointing at the moon to the sun. A mechanism groaned and the door slowly fell open. 

He swished his flashlights around the chamber. It was littered with jars upon jars on a sparkling yellow dust. He tapped the glass on one of the jars, feeling lighter, his hair floating around him. And, while this was a fascinating discovery, and he would definitely have to report back to the Roi de Dragons that their study of ancient fairy lore had been a success, there was something more valuable than pixie dust he was after. There, in the center of the room, was exactly what he was looking for. An acorn and thimble dangling off a delicate chain - the ancient symbols of a pure kiss. 

As Rook turned to confront the mechanical crocodile that had emerged from its hiding place, a clock ticking in its chest, he tucked the treasure into his pocket. He shrugged his bow from his shoulder, knocking an arrow, thinking about how beautiful the necklace would look on (Y/N) when he proposed to her. 

Epel

Epel undid his tie for the third time. Nothing was looking right. Should he keep his hair up like this, in a high ponytail that cascaded down his back? Was his suit not fitting right, stretching over muscles he had worked so hard for so long for? 

That was one thing directors loved about him, how he could flip from appearing sweet and docile to ablaze with righteous fury in a second. It helped boost his popularity at the box office, his latest action movie breaking records. But that limelight also came with its drawbacks. Like how today, possibly one of the most important days of his entire life, Epel had been distracted with checking with security at every odd occurrence. They had already kicked out a couple of unscrupulous paparazzi the other day. Epel was glad he was back in Harveston for something so monumental, surrounded by his family, but he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at the strain he was putting them all through. But they would always wave him off with smiles, saying that it was the least they could do for all the publicity he had brought to their farms. And besides, what was family for, if not to lend a hand on your wedding day? 

There was a knock and the door opened before Epel could reply. Vil stepped in, checking a clipboard with a meticulously maintained schedule. “The cake finally got here, thank the Seven,” he said. “Everyone’s taking their seat. I knew people would be late - that’s why you put the ceremony time on the invitation a half hour before you actually want it to start. Now we just need to-” He stopped, looking up, and glared at the cloth around Epel’s neck like he had glared at Epel himself so many times during their NRC days. Vil sighed, setting the clipboard down and pulling at Epel’s tie. “Honestly, have none of my lessons stuck with you?” 

Epel felt a momentary sense of pride against the scolding as Vil had to look up to speak with him. “Nothing looked right,” He said. “I wanted it to, you know, look right.” 

Vil hummed. “Are you sure that’s what this is about?” Epel didn’t reply. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you? I’ve never known you to be one who runs away from problems.” 

“No, never!” 

Vil gave a final tug on the eldredge knot. “Well, that’s the only thing that matters, isn’t  it?” He gave one of his rare sincere smiles. “And she chose you, Epel. Remember that.” 

Epel shrugged. “It’s a lot to live up to.” 

“And you’ll rush to meet those expectations with flying colors. Now hurry up, we have a schedule to keep.” 

They had set the ceremony space in the middle of the apple orchard. Soft pink apple blossom petals swirled around the air, beautiful organic confetti cascading over each guest as they took their seat in the circular audience. Epel looked around, smiling back at friends and family beaming at him. His mother hadn’t stopped crying happy tears since before breakfast that morning. His grandmother reached out and squeezed his hand as he walked past. 

A group of local boys had been recruited to play music for the wedding. As Epel took his spot under the flowery arch up front, they began playing. Epel felt his heart thundering in his chest, jumping like a jackrabbit. He felt more nervous now than he did at his first premier. 

Everyone stood, looking towards the back of the aisle as the bride started to walk down, billowing white dress, cascading flower bouquet, lace veil covering her face. It felt like forever, Epel transfixed. She stepped up to the alter and Epel gently lifted the veil away from her face. (Y/N) smiled up at him. 

“Dearly beloved,” The officiant started. Before he could get another word in, Epel surged forward, kissing his bride. (Y/N) started laughing, wrapping her arms around him to return the kiss. 

“Hey!” Vil called jovially from the crowd. “You’re ahead of schedule!”  

Idia

Idia was curled  up on the couch, the room dark, light from the three computer screens in front of him illuminating the space and searing his eyes. He chewed on his bottom lip, writing code only to immediately delete it. 

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Blinking away dark spots in his vision, he glanced over at the left computer screen where he had taped a photo of Ortho and their parents. Ortho was wearing a director’s coat, showing off for the camera. Idia smiled, straightening the photo. At the time, when Ortho had volunteered for the position of S.T.Y.X. junior director in Idia’s place, Idia didn’t expect the rush of relief that swept through him. It had been about a year so far and the two brothers talked almost every night, Ortho regaling him with stories of new advancements and studies they had made, his enthusiasm peaked in every word. 

But what Idia hadn’t expected was the sudden sense of helplessness, like he’d been cut free of some invisible tether. He’d just hang around for a while, working in this tech company, that cyber security industry, before he got bored. He was able to improve every company by leaps and bounds before deciding to drop it and head somewhere else whenever the mood took him. A few military weapons companies had tried to recruit him, but he’d swiftly rejected their offers. 

Eventually, a small group of eager indie video game developers had reached out in an email he had almost deleted without reading. He knew a few of the names from discussion boards on Star Rogue fan sites. They asked if he had wanted to join them for a new project and, having nothing else pressingly important going on, he’d agreed. Soon, however, he’d found himself absolutely engrossed with the game, bringing in more money and resources than any of the other teams members had ever seen for a similar project. 

And now, here he was. Stuck. The team couldn’t figure out their next steps, couldn’t solve problems with the set up and coding. They had hit a wall. Idia had hit a wall. 

He heard movement from the bed behind him, a sigh of someone waking up. “Idia?” A sleep addled voice called. He didn’t move, fingers clacking on the keyboard. He heard movement behind him, getting out of bed and dragging the blankets with them. 

(Y/N) tumbled onto the couch next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “You said you were going to come to bed like,” She squinted at the clock. “Four hours ago. Idia! You need sleep!” 

“Want to get this done,” He mumbled back. 

“It’ll still be there in the morning.” 

“I have to work on it now or I’ll lose momentum.” 

“You’ll lose your eyes if you keep working in the dark like this. And I like your eyes. And your hair. And your smile. And your-” 

“This code is a total mess. It’s full of redundancies. There’s an explote here that would basically make you able to walk through any wall no problem. And they’re focused too much on feature creep, it’s like they want to add a cool new gimmick every day. Like, yeah, connecting to the microphone during the stealth section so if the player is loud the enemies can find them easier is cool, but it’s only in that one part of the game and it’s making a whole bunch of unnecessary complications. Or there’s this part with the poisoning spell basically breaks the game if you unlock it too early. Or this part with the character modeling where-” 

“Idia!” Idia startled, blinking at (Y/N). “Your girlfriend is asking you to come to bed with her.” 

Idia’s hair immediately burned bright pink. “Oh, yeah, okay.” 

Silver

Silver rolled his shoulders, adjusting the weight of his heavy armor. He was in a tent, getting ready for his bout of jousting for an annual tournament in the Briar Valley. This wasn’t the first tournament he’d participated in, of course, but there was always a nervousness that built up in his stomach, an eagerness to prove himself as worthy of being Malleus’s retainer, Lillia’s son, a loyal knight of the fae kingdom. 

“Knock, knock.” He turned to the front flaps of the tent. (Y/N) pulled aside one of the flaps, sticking her head inside. “Sorry, there’s not really a place to actually knock or ring a bell or anything…” She cleared her throat, stepping inside. She wore a traditional Briar Valley dress. “Wow,” She breathed, taking in Silver in his armor. “You look like a real knight! Not that you aren’t, usually, I mean. It’s just really formal now I guess. I’ve been able to see everything from up in the royal viewing box with Hornton and Lillia. It’s great watching you and Sebek, competing and everything. It’s like a whole Renaissance fair out there.” 

Silver set down his helmet. “Is that something from your world?”

She nodded. “I’ll have to tell you about it some time. They were always fun.” She looked away nervously, trying to find the right words to say. “There was this kind of tradition, at the Renaissance fairs, for knights. I think it went back to medieval history in my world. I was hoping you could help me with it.” 

“Of course,” Silver said. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, gently reaching out to take her elbow and turn her back to him. They were so close their bodies nearly brushed each other. “Whatever you need.” 

She hesitated for another second before reaching up and pulling a ribbon out of her hair. He noticed it was (favorite color) instead of a matching shade to her outfit. “When knights would go for tournaments, they would wear a token or flag from their partner. It’s for good luck or something.” She twisted the ribbon around her fingers, not meeting his eyes. “I was hoping…” 

Silver untangled the ribbon from her hands, tying it around his forearm. He felt a swell of pride at how it stood out from his armor, gently waving in the breeze. “I’d be honored,” He said. “To wear your token.” 

(Y/N)’s eyes lit up, a smile blossoming on her face. “Okay, yeah, sure, of course! I’m glad you like it.” She pressed her lips together, considering something, before adding. “Would it be okay if I gave you another token? For good luck. Not that you need it or anything, you’re going to be great.” 

Silver smiled at her nervous deflection. “I’d love anything from you.” 

(Y/N) looked around nervously again, fiddling with her fingers. Just as Silver was about to speak, she reached up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and pulled him down for a kiss. 

Lilia

Lilia leaned against the railing of the barge, watching the glowing red lanterns float gently above the river, their reflections casting ruby ghosts against the dark water below. The Floating Lantern Festival in the Land of Red Dragons never failed to excite, but this year was especially memorable. 

“It’s even more beautiful that you describe it,” (Y/N) breathed in awe next to him, stretching out over the barge railing to take in every sight and sound around them. Her eyes trailed the parade along the banks of the river, party goers dressed in red hanfu carrying more lanterns and a long red paper dragon on tall sticks. 

“The best stories are the ones you experience in person,” He said. 

They’d been traveling together for a while now, by boat, by train, on foot, exploring the whole world. (Y/N) had always been bothered that she had no frame of reference for the world of Twisted Wonderland, no practical understanding of its cultures and countries. Lilia tried to alleviate some of her frustrations with stories about his numerous travels before finally deciding a more hands-on presentation would be a better fit. 

Lilia snuck up behind her as she marveled at the lanterns drifting into the night sky. He suddenly grabbed her shoulders, as if to push her off. She gasped and turned to give him a halfhearted glare as he laughed. 

“Well?” Lilia asked. “Do you feel more prepared to conquer the world now?” 

(Y/N) frowned. The Land of Red Dragons was meant to be the last stop on their tour. (Y/N) had said she had no real plan for after the journey. While the multitude of friends she had made during her years in school were more than happy to lend her a place to stay during their travels, (Y/N) had confided in Lilia that she felt like she was taking advantage of their good nature if she lingered to long, without finding work or direction in this strange world. Maybe she would return to NRC to see if Crowley had any work for her? (He always did.) 

“I mean, I suppose?” She said. “Everything has been so wonderful. It’s almost a shame to be stuck in one place after all this.” She gave a mirthless laugh. “I can see why you like moving around so much.” 

Lilia hummed, leaning back against the railing. He turned, considering (Y/N)’s profile, lit against the red glow of the lanterns. He felt himself pause, lost in the marvel of her eyes, full of delight and wonder at everything around them. There was a strange stirring in his chest, one he had experienced multiple times over their journey together, a feeling he hadn’t had in almost 500 years. 

Lilia shook his head, trying to reign his focus back in. “You know,” He said, casually. “I’ll be heading back out again soon. Malleus came up with the idea of sending out ambassadors from the Briar Valley, trying to strengthen relationships between fairies and the rest of the world.” 

(Y/N) nodded. “That seems like something he would do. You’re going to be the first one, then? It seems like a good job for you.” 

“Not necessarily the first.” (Y/N) turned to look at him and Lilia felt himself squirm under her direct gaze. Goodness, he would have thought he was a lovestruck teen of 200 years by the way he was acting. “I proposed that you should join me as an ambassador. I thought it might make things easier, having a fellow human to represent dual interests. And, I must admit,” He purposely looked away. “I’ve grown fond of our time together.” 

When (Y/N) didn’t reply he looked back at her. She was smiling up at him and he felt his heart stutter. “I’d like that a lot,” She finally said. Which part she didn’t specify. He didn’t need her to. 

As they watched the lantern festival continue around them, their hands slid together on the railing, fingers entwining.  

Sebek

Sebek’s heart was beating a mile a minute. He knelt in front of Malleus, in the grand throne room, crowds of nobles eagerly watching his knighting ceremony.  

Malleus, regal sword in hand, stood over him. “Sebek Zigvolt,” He said, voice echoing around the chamber. “Do you so solemnly swear to uphold the code of knightly honor, to defend the Briar Valley with all your might, your will, and your faithfulness?” “I do,” Sebek replied, trying to keep his voice to a reasonable volume, not letting his giddiness shine through. 

“Do you so solemnly swear to serve your king and country and never waver from your duty?” 

“I do.” 

“And do you so solemnly swear to be truthful to yourself, loyal to your loved ones, and show bravery in the face of doubt and fear?”

“I do!” 

Malleus smiled down at his friend, pride for his retainer crinkling the corners of his eyes.  “Then, as rightful king and ruler of the land of night fae and the Briar Valley, I hereby dub thee, Sebek Zigvolt, high knight and warrior to the crown.” Malleus lowered his sword against Sebek’s shoulders and the crown of his head. “Stand and receive your blessing.” 

Sebek stood, fist thumbing against his chest. Cheers started up from the assembly. Happy tears pricked the corners of Sebek’s eyes, his smile wide as he tried to keep a serious face for the occasion. 

After the ceremony, everyone congregated in one of the grand ballrooms of the palace. Sebek stood with his mother, father, and grandfather. His mother was flitting over him, brushing away an invisible speck of dust every other second. 

“My darling boy!” She cried. “Look how big you’ve gotten! Oh, you’re so official now! Dear, what happened to our little Sebek?” 

“You’ve done a lot of hard work, Sebek,” He father said, nodding proudly. “You should be proud of everything you’ve accomplished.” 

“Of course he’s proud,” His grandfather scoffed. “He’s a Zigvolt! Greatness and duty is embedded in our history!” 

His mother rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, Papa, so you’ve said many times.” Her eyes cut behind Sebek, smiling and taking hold of either of the two men’s arms. “Well, we wouldn’t want to monopolize your time, Sebek. There are many people who want to congratulate you, after all. Come along, dear, Papa!” Ignoring their protests, his mother dragged them away. 

As Sebek waved in a confused good-bye, he felt a thump on his back. “Look at you!” He heard a familiar voice say. “So do I have to call you Sir Zigvolt now or something?” Sebek turned to see (Y/N) beaming up at him. It was surprising enough to see her here, but Sebek’s breath caught in his throat as he saw her dress. Zigvolt colors. She was wearing Zigvolt house colors. 

“H-hum- Er, (Y/N)? What are you doing here?” 

“Horton invited me! Or, I guess I should say King Malleus here, shouldn’t I? Well, either way, he told me you were having your official knighting ceremony. And I got a letter from your mom, too! She thought it would be a fun surprise to have your friends from school show up to support you.” She indicated one of the banquet tables across the room. Sebek saw Grim, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Ortho, and Epel milling around, all dressed in their own formal wear, catching questioning glances from the various fae knights and nobles. 

But they weren’t wearing his house colors. So why was she? And why did it make his heart thrum like that? 

A band started up, couples taking their places along the dance floor. “Ah, would  you…?” Sebek felt like he could’t find the right words. He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly falling all over himself like this. 

(Y/N) clasped his hands in hers. “I’d love to dance! I might not know all the steps, since this seems pretty fancy and formal, but you’ll just have to show me, okay?” Sebek nodded stiffly as she pulled him to the dance floor. 

Sebek took one of her hands in his, his other settling on her waist. He felt it burn with the contact. As he swept her along the floor, he finally said, “Your dress…” But couldn’t manage to finish, his thoughts tumbling around. Had it really been so long since graduation? Since he had last seen her? Sure, they had written multiple times, he kept up correspondence with many NRC alumni, but how had she changed this much since then? Had her eyes always shined that way? Was her hair that beautiful? Was her smile that dazzling? 

“Oh, your mom lent it to me,” She said. “I didn’t have anything that would fit, so she lent me one of her old ones. Although with all the adjustments I think it might just be mine now. Do you like it?” 

“You look like a Zigvolt,” He said. 

“Oh.” She seemed surprised at that, heat rising to her face. They turned around the floor a few more times. “You know, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon.”

Sebek felt his heart flip. “I’ll have to put up with you more, you mean.” 

(Y/N) stifled a laugh and gently hit his chest. “Rude. I mean Horton offered me a position here. Ambassador for human and fairy relations. I’m not totally sure what it will be like next, but he’s given me a townhouse just next door. It’s near your parents, I think. So, you know, I’ll be around. If you ever want to see me or anything. Or I guess if I want to see you, I’ll know where to come to bug you.” She laughed awkwardly. 

Sebek unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand. “I think I wouldn’t mind that. It’s a knight’s duty to look after those he cares about, after all.” 

Malleus 

Malleus turned over in his bed, hands crumpling the sheets next to him. He was in his chambers back in the palace in the Briar Valley. The bed next to him was cold. Cool dawn light was just beginning to spill through his window behind the heavy velvet curtains. 

The dreaming Malleus, the one all too aware this was a premonition of a possible future, sighed. He had completed this potion many times, both at NRC and in his private education in the Briar Valley. And, no matter how many times he drunk the noctious concoction, his future always remained the same. A lonely bedchamber, government work, fawning lords and ladies vying for his favor. If he was lucky, he would get to interact with Lilia, Silver, or Sebek. Although he dreaded the times when he could clearly see age lining their faces while he remained the same. 

The door to his chamber creaked ever so slightly. Someone was entering. The dream Malleus, the one projected in this future vision, tensed in his bed. The dreaming Malleus, forced to watch everything unfurl, was confused. Was this some sort of half-baked assassination attempt? Had relations between the country of fae and the rest of the world degraded to such an extent under his reign? Was he destanted to watch his own death? 

The dream Malleus closed his eyes. There was a sound of soft padding feet, a giggle, then a sharp hush. The intruders were right next to him now. 

“Ready?” A voice whispered, familiar but changed with time. “One, two, three…” 

“Happy birthday, Papa!” 

The dream Malleus opened his eyes, a slow and easy smile crossing his face. The curtains were thrown open, revealing the three young boys standing at his bedside, rosy cheeked, green eyed, and horns curling up from their ebony locks. One of them held a plate stacked high with pancakes, dripping with strawberry syrup. Another held a party popper, which he pulled releasing a torrent of confetti and ribbons. The third held a paper card tightly in his hands, his grip causing it to crumple at the edges. 

“Did we wake you up, Papa?” The boy with the card asked in a concerned voice, pouting. 

Malleus smiled, sitting up in bed as the young boys climbed up to sit around him. “Not at all, Grimwald. What’s that you have there?” 

Grimwald shyly held the card out. Malleus gently pried it from his fingers. It was obviously homemade, colored pencil drawings of a family of five holding hands across the cover, four with Darconia horns crowning their heads. He opened the card. There was a large birthday cake drawing inside, with the words ‘Happy Birthday!’ in large blocky lettering above it. Around the cake, the artists had scribbled their names: Grimwald, Lilianos, and Malachite. 

“They wanted to surprise you,” A soft voice said. Malleus, both in and out of the dream, felt his heart skip a beat as (Y/N) came around the bed. She sat down at the edge, catching the plate of pancakes from Malachite so they wouldn’t splatter on the floor. She turned to him, carding her fingers through his hair, and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “Good morning, Horton. Happy birthday.” 

“We made them ourselves!” Malachite proudly proclaimed. “Grandpa Lilia showed me how!” 

“Don’t worry,” (Y/N) whispered to him. “I supervised.” 

“Do you have to work today, Papa?” Lilianos asked. “You can’t ‘cause it’s your birthday, right? You have to stay and play with us today.” 

Malleus gathered his boys together so they all fit on the bed. “Birthdays are family days. I’d love nothing more than to spend the entire day hearing about  how you’ve been terrorizing the palace.” 

“Oh, oh!” Malachite called, hand shooting up. “I breathed fire and it burned up the curtains in the grand dining room!” 

(Y/N) looked at him sideways. “On accident, right?” 

Malachite blushed. “Yes, Mama.” 

“Can we go watch the knights train?” Lilianos asked. “Uncle Sebek and Uncle Silver said they would teach us to ride a horse!” 

“Why would you want to ride a horse when you can fly?” Malachite said, spreading his arms wide. 

“I want to go to the menagerie,” Grimwald added. They began to talk over each other, making plans for their father’s birthday without his input. 

Malleus smiled, watching his family. He turned back to (Y/N). She smiled at him, as glorious and warm as the sun after a year of frozen nights. He reached up, cupping her face, and brought her close. 

“I always knew my future would bring me to you.” 

🍰 demented devotions & dark chocolate cake

— ꒰ pairings ꒱ : m.draconia x reader x r.flamme — ꒰ warnings / tag ꒱ : obsessive behavior (rollo), possessiveness, slight power dynamics, soft yandere, rollo calls you 'my lamb', twinge of religious themes because it is rollo event masterlist

NOBLE BELL COLLEGE, bathed in the gentle light of the moon, was a breathtaking sight. The buildings, reminiscent of sanctuaries with their time-worn stone walls, bore intricate carvings that appeared to come alive in the ethereal glow of night. Every archway and pillar whispered stories from the past. The bell towers stood as dark silhouettes against the starry canvas of the night sky, and each chime of the bells echoed through the entirety of the campus.

For Rollo, it had become a nightly custom to wander through the college gardens, a torch in hand, casting light upon his path. The garden provided him with a haven away from the cold, austere chambers of his dormitory.

As he strolled along the cobblestone pathways, the moonlight cast elongated shadows from the trees, while the warm torchlight bathed the surroundings in an almost magical ambiance. However, even in this tranquil setting, memories of a recent festival continued to plague him. The festival began with promise, a colorful whirlwind of music and laughter, but unsurprisingly, it swiftly descended into chaos. And yet, among these memories, your presence stood out as a bright spot amid the less pleasant recollections.

Your hair, like the finest silk, would sway gracefully when caressed by the breeze, and the sparkle in your eyes resembled stardust. However, what had left an indelible mark on Rollo's memory was the scarf that clung to your neck.

Rollo's fingers gently brushed against the soft fabric of that very scarf tucked in his pocket, and a wistful smile played upon his lips. Pulling it out, he pressed the scarf to his face, captivated by the lingering scent that still held traces of your presence. Ah, he could vividly recall how the scarf's color complimented your eyes. You had left it behind by the bell tower that day, and he had stumbled upon it. Although he had intended to return it to you, his search for you had proven fruitless.

No matter, he thought to himself, pocketing the purple fabric, he was certain he would find you sometime during the week.

Suddenly, distant sounds of laughter reached Rollo's ears. The alluring and familiar sound called out to him, and he couldn't resist its pull. Step by step, he followed it, drawing nearer with each move. As he cautiously peeked around the corner of an academic building, his heart sank upon witnessing the scene before him.

Your lips bore a wide, giddy grin as you were swept up in Malleus Draconia's embrace, twirling gracefully in a delicate dance. The fae's lips barely brushed your cheek, a subtle smile gracing his features. The enchanting dance held you both captive in a world of your own, oblivious to your surroundings.

"Heavens," Rollo grimaced, torn between watching the spectacle and turning away. The sight of Malleus pressing a kiss to the side of your neck only deepened his disapproval.

Brazen, lewd, and odious. It was a vile, depraved display.

Unable to watch anymore, Rollo cleared his throat and stepped out of the shadows, shattering the enchantment that had held you both in the dance's spell.

"There is a strict rule on public display at Noble Bell College, one that I had hoped you were aware of," he called out, his tone firm and disapproving.

In that moment, your eyes widened in realization, and you hastily pulled away from Malleus's embrace. Rollo couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the faint frown that momentarily marred the fae's face.

Embarrassment lined your features as you ran a hand through your wind-tousled hair, gesturing with the other, voicing your remorse for breaking such a basic rule.

"I will overlook this transgression for now," Rollo assured as he advanced toward you. His hand reached up to cup your cheek, and you tensed at his touch, your cheeks flushing a pretty shade of red. As you instinctively started to pull away, his hold on your chin remained firm, coaxing your gaze back to his.

Rollo extended his torch closer to you, wishing to see your features more clearly. The flames danced perilously near, a few errant sparks floating in the air, almost singing the tips of your hair and the lapels of your coat. He observed your reactions with an amused smile, enjoying your wariness as you wrinkled your nose at the acrid scent of smoke.

Cute.

Rollo then leaned in closer, the flickering torchlight casting intriguing shadows across his face. His voice dropped to a low, confidential murmur, mindful of the fae hovering over you two.

"What a delicate soul you are," Rollo whispered, his intense crimson gaze locked on yours. "It's rare to see someone like you, tainted by the presence of magic, and yet somehow, still… pure despite it all." His words hung in the night air, a puzzle in his eyes, as if he were unraveling a secret you weren't even aware of.

"Pure?" you blinked, tilting your head in confusion, your curiosity piqued. "What do you mean by that?"

Rollo's lips curled into a wry smile as he brushed his thumb against your cheek. "Oh, my lamb, it's a complex matter, one best left for another time. You're already dealing with plenty, especially with those miscreants at NRC. Those fools are probably driving you mad."

The endearment he used sent a warm shiver down your spine, and you felt flutters in your stomach. Your eyes nervously shifted from Rollo to the serene surroundings of the garden, the moonlight casting a soft, ethereal glow on the foliage.

Malleus, unable to stand and watch any longer, clicked his tongue disapprovingly, signaling his irritation at the unfolding situation.

Wordlessly, he positioned himself behind you, his large, possessive hand gently running up your back. Despite the seething anger within him, Malleus restrained his magical abilities, aware that any inadvertent spells or outbursts could only serve to worsen the situation. As much as he wished to unleash his fiery wrath on this little man, that would have to be reserved for another time.

"If you'll excuse us. We have somewhere to be," Malleus murmured, his voice laced with urgency as he swiftly pulled you away from Rollo and led you out of the garden.

Unbeknownst to you, Rollo's gaze bore into Malleus with an intensity that bordered on obsession. His crimson eyes radiated an otherworldly fire, and sparks ignited at the soles of his feet. As the flames danced beneath him, the once lush and vibrant grass around him withered and turned into dry, lifeless ash. Rollo then scowled, turning his attention to the scorched ground. He pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to his face, muttering to himself in frustration as he stepped away from the darkened earth, dusting his shoes off with an absentminded air.

"Blasted fae."

🍰 . . .

Once you were safely out of earshot and view, Malleus came to a halt and his demeanor took a shift.

"Malleus?" you murmured, looking up at him curiously. The fae didn't say a word and instead turned to face you. The moonlight cast soft shadows on his face as he suddenly knelt down before you.

With a look of reverence in his eyes, Malleus took hold of both your hands, his touch warm and tender. He began to lavish adoring kisses along your palms, wrists, and fingers, each press of his lips filled with a tenderness that spoke volumes. It was as if he were trying to convey a silent promise, a pledge to protect and cherish you.

"Mine," he whispered, his emerald eyes sparkling with an almost possessive light, his voice tinged with a sense of ownership that sent shivers down your spine.

"Mine and mine alone."

The day that (Name) disappeared.

Reader is Gender Neutral!! Ruggie is wearing a dress for comic relief. No spoilers for any chapters. Enjoy!!

"Now (Name) what could be sooo urgent that you decide to drag me out of my busy schedule, for a tea party?" Leona sat himself down around a table full of different types of food and drinks.

"Leona, me and you both know that your schedule today was to sleep in and play with your nephew", Sighed (name).

"Actually, me and Cheka were going to get manicures" he grinned "you know for our health".

(Name) rolled their eyes, "It's about Malleus".

Leona's eyes perked up, "Oh! Are you calling off the wedding?".

(Name) spitted out their tea, "NO! Of course not! It is just overbearing".

"What, the royal life?". Leona grabbed himself a sandwich.

"Well......"

Flashbacks

"Love? What are you doing down here?". Malleus teleports behind (Name), wrapping his arms around them.

"Oh, I was about to make us breakfast?"

Mallues smiled and turned (Name) around so they could face them, "You don't have to do that, we'll have the servants do that for us in the morning. Come, let's go back to bed".

"But-". Green Fireflies glittered around them, teleporting (Name) and Mallues back to their room.

"Now, go to sleep we have a busy day tomorrow".

End of flashback.

"So, does he use a sleeping spell all the time?", Leona grabbing more food.

"Not all the time". (Name) grabbed the plate of food away from Leona, "Save some for Grimm".

"If you are going to make me listen to this sob story, get me something to drink at least". Leona snapped at the nearest servent, asking for beverages.

(Name) rolled their eyes, "Seriously? It is only the afternoon".

"I drink, you continue with your vent. I'm not going to be a therapist without some sort of compensation".

(Name) could only sigh when they looked at Leona picking several different beverages on a menu.

"As I was saying".

Flashback

(Name) explored Blair Valley Market place, unlike Sam's shop they used to love, everything looked stuck in time. To avoid any conflicts, (Name) decided to wear a cloak and some old casual clothing from NRC.

'Malleus wasn't kidding when this place didn't have any recent technology'.

(Name) looked endlessly at the venues, trying to shop for the foods they were running out of in that palace. Trying to enjoy the peace they sp little get.

'Just a few more things left, then to find some sort of convince store that sells Grimm's stupid "luxurious" tuna.... that cat is going to end up spoiled and fat'.

A few droplets of water on their hand, tracing them out of their thought. 'Looks like it is going to rain'

'Shit.... Malleus'.

The sound of hooves rumbled throughout the street. Causing many to fall to the ground. "HALT, IN THE NAME OF THE LAW".

'Well. Shit'

(Name) was surrounded by knights; pointing their polearms at them. "Stay down men, arms down".

(Name) took off their hood, and nervously smiled at Silver. "Heyyyyyy.....Youuu".

Silver sighed as the rain fell "Please.. just get on the saddle".

Back at the castle, there was chaos everywhere. Knights and servants searched every room and blocking every exit.

Lilia sat on a chair, watching the chaos unfold. "Lilia, how can you be so happy when your future (king/queen) is missing". Growled an angry Malleus.

Lilia just smiled and drank his tea, "Well I know where they are".

"WHAT?" Thunder grew louder outside. "WHERE?". Malleus was having a mental down at this point, reminding the old fae of when Malleus was a young fae.

Smiling, Lilia stired his tea, "Behind you~".

(Name) and Sliver walked into the throne room. Malleus ran towards (Name), hugging and coddling them as if they were a lost child.

Malleus pecked every inch of (Name)'s face, "My love, where did you go?".

"Oh, I made a couple of errands. I noticed we were getting low on stuff so I decide to pick some stuff up". (Name) struggled to pick up their bag, showing the contents to Malleus.

Malleus smiled and cupped their cheek, "My love, those are the servant's job. You don't need to do that anymore".

Flashback Ends.

"Sounds like you don't like the royal life". Leona took a sip of his drink.

(Name) sighed, "It isn't that. I just want to be independent, I don't want to have someone hover over me or tell me not to do something".

The two sat in silence, (Name) was in deep thought. They love Malleus, they really did but they just needed a day to themselves without Malleus having a separation anxiety.

Leona stirred his drink, "Well, it isn't like you can switch bodies for a day, also your lizard fiancee is covering the bill, correct?".

(Name) had a light bulb sparked in their brain, "What if I could switch bodies with someone? And yes, Malleus is covering the bill". (Name) stood up, pacing around the table.

Leona sighed, "Too bad no spell exists. Thank you (Name) for the free meal and alcohol. But it is time for me to leave, I have a crown prince to entertain".

"Wait, Leona".

"Yes?".

"Do you know when Ruggie is available?".

♡

"Now (Name) or should I say 'Lady/Sir Draconia'? What do I owe the pleasure of? I'm glad we could schedule this meeting jn such short notice.." Azul smiled.

"Azul, I know you are such a busy man. So I'll get right to the point. I need a spell that allows me to switch bodies with someone, temporarily".

Azul, sipping on his tea. "Well, I am afraid no spell exists (Name). Although there is another spell, a mirroring spell. While you look like someone and you'll appear as that person. The mirror will show your real reflection". Azul explains.

"That will work. What is your price?".

Before Azul speaks the door slams open, "OH Shrimpy~ You didn't tell me you were dropping in! You never vist NRC anymore every since that big lizard made you homeschool!!" Floyd whinned.

Azul sighed, "My price? Hmm, how about 'Maid of honor' at your wedding?". The man smirked.

"Bride's maids and I'll let you talk about politics at dinner".

"Deal". The two shook on it. While Azul makes the contract, Floyd continues to hover over the two.

"Awee Shrimpy. I wanna come to your weddding".

" Azul, let me see Floyd's behavior chart".

The three looked at the chart, "yeah.... get 50 more green days and I'll let you in the wedding".

Floyd grumble.

♡

"Listen..... (Name) as much I would love to switch places with you... are we sure? What if we get caught? I do not want to deal with an angry dragon".

"Ruggie that's the best part, Malleus is going to be in a meeting with the elders all day. So you won't have to be around him! Besides wouldn't you like to pampered?? Think of it as a vacation".

(Name) looked at Ruggie with hope in their eyes, pleading with the Hyena, "Fine! Enough with the puppy eyes".

"Great!! Now give me your clothes!"

"Excuse me?"

♡

"Why do you wear so many layers? I don't understand this rich shit". Ruggie fumbled with the laces.

(Name) walked over and helped pulled the corset tighter on Ruggie, "HEY! I HAVE RIBS".

"I really don't know, it kinda was my only wardrobe. The elders kinda picked everything out for me".

"Ugh. Just tell me how this stuipd spell works".

(Name) grab a small box from the desk, pulling out two necklaces. "Okay so Azul said to just put these on and they'll last for two hours and do not stand in front of a mirror"

"Why not?"

"Because it is just a reflect spell, so the mirror will just show us our reflection".

"Got it".

The two put on the necklaces; with shimmering light, their appearances changed.

"Holy shit it worked" Ruggie looked at (Name) or himself.

"Okay now for some rules".

"I'm not kissing the damn dragon".

"What! Of course not. Now I shouldn't be doing anything today, so just allow whatever service. But we will meet at the mirror chamber at NRC in a hour and 45 minutes".

"Okay, while your at NRC... could you do me some small favors".

"Anything! I owe you big time Ruggie!".

Ruggie snickered.

♡

'Now when I said anything, I didn't know it would be just chores'.

(Name) was running around NRC finishing Ruggie's "favors". Favors included, finishing his schoolwork, and completing favors that he owed to other students.

'Whatever atleast I'm getting out of that castle'.

"Ruggie senpai, can I speak to you real quick??"

'Shit.. Jack'.

"Yeahhhhh, what is up buddy?".

Jack looked at (Name) or Ruggie, glancing at them, "Anyways, where were you at Spell-Drive practice?"

(Name) was silently panicking, they don't have any magic to use at practice. 'If I don't get out of this, the jig is up'.

"Um, I didn't feel good enough to practice".

"You didn't feel good? But you feel good enough to do your school work?". Jack was glaring at them, (Name) felt so small under his glare.

"Well- I".

(Name) was then dragged toward the field.

'Ruggie I hope you are having a better time than me'.

♡

Ruggie infact was not having a good time. Turns out (Name) did have stuff to do today, wedding planning.

"Ma'am? What do you think of these colors?"

Ruggie looked at the two cloths, "um, they are the same color?".

A woman behind him scoffed, "really the same color? You can totally tell that one is 'Timeless' and the other is 'Jasmine White'". A few other Fae women laughed behind Ruggie.

'Wow such great in-laws you have (Name)'.

"Miss? Here is your book. You have your plans and theoretical colors you wanted". Ruggie took the book and skimmed through it. "Um, yeah let's stick to-"

"OG Please, wouldn't you want Fae to help you? Plus this is a royal wedding that needs Fae traditional clothing. We aren't going to get another wedding for a few hundred years". The woman snickered.

Another woman piped in, "Humans like yourself think these events are big in your short life, but they are bigger for us! Your human brain couldn't even comprehend how important this is".

"Agree, you should just let us handle it, after all, humans are just known for their-"

"Okay listen here, woman!" Ruggie was interrupted by his phone ringing.

He glared at the fae women, "excuse me".

Ruggie walked into the hallway, "(Name), you really screwed me over"

"WHAT? YOU SCREWED ME OVER"

Ruggie winced at (Name) yelling into his ear, "You had spell-drive practice and didn't tell me!".

"Just go to practice! I don't see the big deal. What is a bigger deal is the wedding planning you left me to deal with!".

"Oh shit was that today? But! Ruggie! I don't have any magic. How can I practice?".

"Just break your ankle".

"RUGGIE IM SERIOUS!".

"I'm serious too! You letting your in-laws or these random people walk all over this wedding planning. How am I supposed to know what you want?"

"I don't know! Just tell them to ask me tomorrow!".

The two bickering over the phone, unaware of a certain guest. "Ohhhh (Name)~"

'Shit is that Lilia?' Two both thought.

Ruggie was panicking, "Listen, I do not have any car warranties! Do not call my number again random scammer!".

"Wait Ruggie!!".

Ruggie looked at Lilia and nervously smiled, "Oh hey... Lilia. Whatcha doing here?".

The old fae grinned, "Oh I came down here to see how the wedding planning was going. I heard some ruckus from down the hallway".

"Oh yeah... it is going good! You know, picking fabrics".

Lilia smiled, "Oh really? Well I bring good news!"

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Malleus is on break from his meeting, he would love if you joined him at lunch".

Ruggie's heart sank, "oh, um, well I have sooo much planning. I should get back to that".

"Oh nonsense, let's walk together. Malleus has missed you, also do me a favor and try to convince him to take the deal. You know how the elders are~".

Ruggie was pulled into a luxurious dining hall, filled with servants setting up a long dining table.

'Fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to die'.

♡

"Ruggie stop trying to get out of practice", Jack snarled.

'I'm going to actually have to break my leg for this'.

"Um listen, Jack. What if I ran laps instead of practicing? You know that would teach me not to skip practice". (Name) smiled nervously.

Jack glared at them, walking up to them, then picking them up and throwing them over his shoulder.

"JACK LETS NOT BE TOO RASH!! Please man, I can't do this. I'm actually really sick".

Jack put (Name) onto a broom, "You are going to practice like everyone else, we are too close to Spell-Drive season to be slacking off".

The broom started to levitating, even if the broom was flying (Name) couldn't control it, "Listen Jack! Please I learned my lesson! Get me down please!".

"Not untill you get the disc in the goal atleast five times!".

(Name) looked down at the field, 'holy shit. I'm going to die'. Other students started gathering around the field, picking up other brooms to play a practice game.

"Come on Ruggie Senpai! Stop being such a pussy!!"

Other students chimed in, teasing "Ruggie", (Name) hasn't even sat on the broom but clutching it like a koala.

"Alright! Let's play!" Cheers among the Savanah students.

One of the students decided to throw the disc at (Name), making the broom spin upside down.

'FUCK I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO DIE'.

"Come on senpai! Just play the game!"

Jack flew by (Name), "Come on Ruggie, stop whatever this is".

(Name) tried moving them self upwards, but while trying to get onto of the broom the necklace started falling off their head.

'SHIT! NO!'. (Name) took one hand off the broom to grab the falling necklace.

"Shit! (Name)!?".

(Name) slipped off the broom, falling towards the ground. Jack tried to fly toward them as fast as he could. Just before (Name) could fall to their death, Jack grabbed them by their shirt them gently put them on the ground.

"(Name). Why the hell are you here?".

Just before (Name) could answer, their phone went off.

'Shit the alarm'

♡

Ruggie sat across Malleus, one of those outrageous long dining tables.

"My love how is your day going? I feel bad for not being apart of any of the planning".

"It's okay, We are doing okay so far, I guess".

Ruggie felt so uncomfortable under Malleus's puppy eyes gaze. This whole situation was way too weird for him, he was wearing a dress and pretending to be the most powerful mage in the world's fiancée.

"Is the food not to your liking love? Should I ask the chefs to get something else for you?".

Lilia laughed, "Oh that won't be necessary, after all Ruggie will eat anything".

Ruggie dropped his fork and slowly turned around with a horrific stare at Lilia. Lilia giggled and pointed towards the window.

Ruggie's reflection was in the window.

The rain started hitting the windows harder, "Ruggie, where is (Name)?".

'I'm going to die'.

Ruggie chuckled nervously, "Well, you see-"

The power went out, the rain hitting the windows harder, "Ruggie, I swear to the heavens-".

Ruggie's phone went off, "oh wow, would you look at the time! I really got to go! Thank you so much for the food!".

The thunder got louder, lighting lite up the room, "RUGGIE!".

Just about Ruggie was going to leave, he looked behind him, "Also tell your fucking family to stop being cunts".

"RUGGIE!!"

♡

"Ruggie! Where have you been I've been trying to call you! Jack is on my ass!".

Ruggie couldn't breathe, "Well I had to deal with lover boy over here".

"RUGGIE!".

"(NAME)!".

The two cringe.

After a heated argument from both sides, the spell eventually wore off.

"Well I hope two of you learned your lesson" Lilia lectured.

(Name) rolled their eyes, "What lesson to be exactly? Next time don't get caught?". Malleus glared at (Name) and then back at Ruggie.

Ruggie growled, "Whatever at least you're not stuck in a dress in front of your underclassmen. Jack we will never speak of this".

Malleus sighed, "Love, why would you go out of your way to do this? Did Leona set you up to this?"

"Ugh, no Malleus. I just wanted a day where I wasn't coddled like a baby. I want to do my own things!"

"Well you have the wedding planning"

Ruggied laughed, "Like hell they do! Not with those in-laws or something! They aren't even allowed to breathe the same air as them! I couldn't even get a word in!".

Malleus's face frowned, "Is that true love?".

(Name) signed, "Yes, I don't feel comfortable. I don't even feel like it's my or our wedding. I don't know why you invited them, I wanted to have my friends help me. Riddle, Vil and Jamil would have been the best planners".

Malleus hugged (Name), "I am sorry love, I didn't take your feelings seriously. We'll get new planners and you can invite your friends. If they don't ring up a bill... again".

(Name) laughed, "I guess I should mention I invited Azul to our wedding".

"God damn it (Name)".

Dance With Me.

Kinda Malleus x Reader!Yuu. Slight spoilers for Chapter Seven (I haven't read nor looked at translations). But enjoy! Reader is Gender Nuetral.

WARNINGS: SLIGHT CHAPTER SEVEN SPOILERS, captivity, deliriousness.

Timeless.

Endless.

Dizziness.

That's all (Name) felt as they waltz with strangers. It was endless, the music was never-ending, the same symphony would get quiet and then repeat.

Once it got quiet (Name) would hear humming.

(Name) got off the stranger, politely excusing themselves. (Name) walked around trying to find the source of the humming, it was quiet, but soothing.

(Name) went up stairs only to re-enter the ballroom they were just in, same with going down stairs. They always re-enter the same ballroom.

'This is getting stranger and stranger by the minute'. (Name) was lost, the humming wouldn't get louder or softer, it was consistent.

The symphony slowly picked back up where it started, 'how did I get here? Where am I' (Name) looked around, feeling dizzy by the guest waltzing around them, the spinning and laughter around them was endless.

"Mind if I steal this dance?"

(Name) looked up to the figure, 'he is enchanting'. Feeling heat rise to their face, they nodded.

The man chuckled, leading them to the center of the ballroom.

(Name) felt eyes grow on them, but the humming stopped, causing them to look around.

"Is everything alright my dear?"

(Name) looked at the man, "um, yes".

"Are you sure? You look so uncertain, are you nervous?". His smile was warm but felt so sinister.

(Name) rested their head on the man's chest as they danced, "Well, kinda. Where are we?".

The ceiling was endless as were all the rooms, the room stretched, what looked like hundreds of people dancing around the two.

(Name) looked closer at the man, his horns where decorated with lace covering his eyes, but oh was it his eyes that stood out the most. The envy green eyes that pierced their mind, their soul and swallowed them whole.

"Say, have we met before?"

He smiled at them, adoring thier curiosity, "Of course, once upon a dream".

"A dream?" (Name) was puzzled, when was the last time they dreamed? They felt like they were so busy, but they can't seem to remember anything before this dance.

"NAME!"

(Name) looked around, "did you hear that?".

"Hear what love?" The man hummed, humming, that irritable humming.

(Name) felt themselves getting angry, that humming was making their head hurt, "My name! That's my name! And your name... what is your name?".

"Names are very powerful, Little one, do you really wish to know my name?"

"Well, I think that I know you"

"NAME! WAKE UP!"

The whole room shook, dust falling on everyone, people around them were glitching, in and out of place.

"Wait, wake up? Am I in a dream? Sir, where are we?". (Name) tried to break away from the man, but was shoved back into his arms.

"It seems that we are being distributed". The man holds (Name)'s cheeks, rubbing them softly.

(Name) feel nauseous, worry crept up their spine, alarm bells ringing in their head, "I think I should be going sir".

"Oh no, we can't have that, shhhh. It's okay, just relax" The man picked up (Name), rocking them as if they were a baby.

The man softly hummed as he rocked (Name), the ballroom got dark, the music finally stopping.

"Shhh, it's okay (Name). I'll give us a better dream, where no one can disturb us". The man kissed the top of their head.

(Name) felt themselves relaxed, listening to the soft humming, their eyes slowly closing once last time.

Sorry! This was kinda rushed, I had to get this off my mind. I hope you enjoyed! Ask and request are always opened!

Adopted Sibling! Kingscholar x Malleus

A/N a very small wip that I'm writing at work since it's been dead. Also slowly trying to get back into writing, so many requests! Thank you all!

Leona checking up on adopted sibling!(Reader) who was married off (more willingly) to Malleus. (Nb Reader)

Leona: "just promise not to have kids-"

(Reader): "about that-" *shly holds up baby dragon like an cat*

Leona: "what the hell is that".

(Reader): "you're nephew!"

Leona: *unamused* "nice pet, but don't joke about that".

(Reader): "why would I joke about this? Look he has my eyes!".

Leona: "how does that even work-".

Malleus: "Well when-"

Leona: *glaring* "I don't need the talk, but-"

*Baby or hatchling wraps it's body around Leona's arm*

(Reader): "aww he likes you"

Leona: "no how does that work? Both of you only got married five months ago-".

Slasher!twst introduction…graphic for those who are sensitive to murder and overall fucked up shit in general.

I do not condone or support this behavior in any way, this is for entertainment purposes and for those who enjoy slasher films (it's where I got inspired off of) and not glorify actual serial killers.

basic tw. murder, human trafficking, abuse of power, clearly unhinged and purposely not good characters, mentions of snuff films, stalking, cannibalism, mentioned beheading.

Note: might come back to add more stuff and fix grammar lolz

Riddle

A doctor who craves to see his patients insides. Riddle finds everyone to be unique, during his years in the medical field he’s seen it all. Unlike most people he’s intrigued on the human body, almost taking the role as a psychiatrist but it’s nice to be up and personal with a corpse.

He wishes to understand every single aspect of the human body and brain, there is so much to learn and see. He’s kept a couple of his patients eyes in his lab, staring back at his favorites in remembrance of their once living memory.

Hot tempered however. Abuses the power that he’s a doctor, someone you should trust in health and well being. It kinda gets him off. Besides that he can’t stand patients who don’t listen, snobby and lack manners when he’s asking questions. An easy killer to avoid, just don’t catch his attention.

Trey

Did you see it coming? The friendly baker who’s pastries taste so good yet different no matter the brand. Trey is great at avoiding conflict, his victims are loners, people who don’t have much of a name. No one would suspect him because Trey made it his duty to befriend the law, clean from their records.

Trey had killed off a classmate that bothered him or snuck their nose in places it shouldn’t be. Resulting his decision to hide the evidence by making it into deserts. Or better, meals prepped for guests he plans on bringing over. When he doesn’t need to use his unique magic he eats it as it is. Human flesh doesn’t taste as bad as media says.

Calm and friendly. Someone you wouldn’t expect. Probably lures his victims by giving false hope, he can help you with anything you need. Seduction if needed, get you to isolate yourself so no one would suspect he was behind it. Another easy killer to avoid, don’t pry into his business.

Cater

Makes snuff films. Pretty popular for his cherry attitude and quirky kills. Got into this kind of stuff in high school, at first he was disturbed, but it grew on him the more his curiosity got the better of him. Becomes more self aware of people’s likes and dislikes, this sick thought that he can harm someone. Kill, someone’s daughter, son, and baby he could kill. With hopes and dreams, he can take it all.

Two-faced, he’s great at pretending, a little too good at being your trendy friend who enjoys giving his fans what they want. And he does exactly that. It was the attention he never thought he’d be addicted to. The praise and vulgar language, amusing.

Victims range from how popular and known you are, or if you really caught his eye and he thinks you can scream just right. His unique magic makes great use, multitasking on being in places he shouldn’t be, getting information and learning his victim’s routines. Those who love dressing cute, may you never cross this man.

Ace

A shitty killer, does it for fun. There’s nothing tragic for him he just thinks breaking the law is great….when he’s not caught, thanks to a little friend of his. Likes the adrenaline of a fight, resistance gets him off badly. Pants like a fucking dog if you’re bitchy, finds it hot when his victim can bite back. Brings him more of a challenge.

Picks up his victims from diners or the bar late at night. He’s got charm, unlike his high school years he’s learned to bite back his tongue and instead seduce his way through in situations. Here to impress, after a couple of failed attempts he’s gotten rid of he knows how to play his cards.

Gotten away with a lot of things. Like Trey he has befriended the law, the more corrupted side. The one that enjoys hurting the innocent, that understand the power trip of accusing and punishing. Deuce is his partner in crime, the two are almost regularly seen together.

Deuce

Genuinely wanted to help those in need. He saw himself as the savior in the story, he’s doing good by getting rid of the bad guys. But it’s starting to get boring. No matter how many times he’s slapped himself with water or stare at the cells. The way some more of his aggressive officers handle their suspect started to irl him. In a way others would deem normal.

Man did he miss the feeling of slamming his fist into another’s, the crunching sound of his knuckles and their jaw was exciting. Like a rush of youth, their cowering expression brings him memories that he didn’t know existed. Who is he to lie to himself that what he’s doing is wrong, it feels right to put criminals back in their place.

Respected by all. No one would bat an eye regarding his past records of violence during his school years. Deuce is a changed man they say, even when he’s with that play boy friend of his. He’s gotten better at controlling his bloodlust, the law honors a great officer like him.

Leona

It’s gotten rather lonely and boring lately. Leona had gone into some shady places to get the things he wanted. He’s no stranger to things such as assassins and human trafficking. That was something he was interested in, you only live once to do something fun. Such as owning a person. He’s a prince, it’s the least they can do to shut their mouth and let him have this moment.

Just as him, his family is corrupted, turning a blind eye to Leona’s hobby in collecting different types of victims to play with before discarding. Too many times did he wash the blood away and under his nails. Ravishing in their cries and last moments before taking it. Maybe it was the hunt he was after, but thinking about it that way reminded him of that hunter. Possible chance of them hunting together for sport.

No law can touch him. Not when hush hush money is being covered. Every eye witness is ordered to be silenced with threats and a wad of cash hovering above. Leona takes great interest in enthusiastic people, they rub him off in a nice way that makes him want to see them squirm.

Ruggie

Works for Leona. When Leona doesn’t find the time to buy his next toy that’s where Ruggie comes in. Ruggie has a good eye for candy that’s either sweet or sour, didn’t matter as long as they’re warm and breathing. Ruggie had dug himself deep into things he shouldn't at a young age, but the money was tempting, food was scarce so often relied on the dead people left behind after harvesting their organs.

Leona often gives him a treat for a job well done, getting rid of witnesses or naughty toys. Hyenas have teeth that can easily chew through bone, he's basically a garbage disposal for him. Not that he minds. In fact he loves the lifestyle he has at the moment.

This can go multiple ways, Ruggie is either Leona's personal assassin/helper or a cannibal by heart. But he prefers to work in the crowd, working all alone can have it's flaws, no better way than to have easy access. It's simple, when Leona is happy so is he.

Jack

Some sort of vigilant. Unlike the rest, he beats himself up for not controlling his emotions better. His more animalistic side gets the better of him when he sees the weak get pushed around. Multiple times has he actually tried to stop and get help, but his brain mushes and stretches each time he's seen something dead, unmoving, bloodied and crying in front of him. As if it was right to hurt them. There's so many people who are bad, he'll do the right thing by getting rid of them one by one.

This doesn't go as planned, he's built up some degree of blood lust, a need to excuse his behavior. Slowly getting into denial that what he's doing is ok, as long as no one knows. From killing off bad people to taking in those he deemed interesting. It was normal he said, a wolf needed to protect the weak. Whether they want it or not.

Jack isn't dumb but his victims are usually scared shitless to reason with him. But with a more collected person they can try talking it out with him. Jack however can get possessive because said victim has a point. You understand Jack, you helped him with all the burden and worry. He can't let you leave now tho...

Azul

Everything Azul had was all built up from scratch. He's made some unpleasant decisions to get to where he is now. High off of power and greed he cared little. His morals stripped the second he shakes hand with governments officials. They pay large sums to trade, buy, and sell things for the sake of their country. Organs play a great game into his empire, with the help of the twins social net work he was able to be top dog. Yet up in the surface he's nothing but a gentleman.

Azul gets his hands dirty by obtaining illegal substance and trafficking. Getting himself into these types of business opened his eyes to a whole new world, people are willing to do anything to survive, it's horrible and harsh. But it's starting to grow on him.

He's built connections with corrupted officials for the sake of enjoyment, it's nothing but fun for his customers. He's all too happy to supply them with things that'll keep them satisfied. All of this influenced him to have a cute thing of his own. Wouldn't it show just how much power he has?

Jade and Floyd

They work for Azul, he's just full of surprises! Jade and Floyd are kept busy with doing Azul's dirty work, relieving in targeting their newest victim so they can be sold off. Or knocking at a mans doorstep because he didn't pay Azul back on time. It's a sense of rush, the urge to harm and cause chaos among the innocent. Their job is to keep tabs on clients for any potential scammers, snatching people off the street in the middle of the night, sort of like the mafia but worse.

There is a low chance in encountering them or becoming their victim because of connections to their business. Alter egos, well associated with celebrities or people in power. And they're mostly seen with Azul as body guards, the ones actually doing the more "dirty work" for him. Discarding bodies or simply eating them to quickly get the job done.

Jade is interested in keeping something for the sake of experimenting or true relations. Floyd often have quick hook ups with people he finds interesting before getting bored again. Horrible and cruel with their things, none yet to survive, their parents have yet to complain in need of grandchildren and to further expand family business.

Kalim

Has some type of connection with Azul. Not much besides the trafficking. Something much more sinister under all those smiles, either because of his position or he's great and should do theater is the reason he faces no consequences. Family like the Leech are similar when it comes to traditions, keeping those in power satisfied with twisted and inhumane products. Kalim is probably desensitized, because at a young age it was taught to be normal to traffic those paid high enough. No longer seen as human.

Still very kind to others however, just much more aware and less dense when it comes to more darker subjects. Doesn't get his hands dirty, controls what route or person is taken in, receipts and what not. No hard feelings, maybe just don't be poor/jk

Encountering him is hard, must be related through connections or snooping too much. Like Leona, had many playthings in the past almost like a harem of those who passed his test. Nothing but sweet to his victims because he believes they get to experience pleasure before dying.

Jamil

Plays the same role in canon, Kalim's bodyguard/servant. In this AU he has not yet to envy Kalim as they set foot in the same page. Instead understanding each other through words and acts of loyalty. Has killed at a young age in order to protect Kalim, finds it his purpose to enjoy life while he has the chance. Disturbingly enjoys his job because he has an urge for bloodlust, possible sociopath. Helps get rid of unwanted enemies that are after Kalim in revenge.

Taunts his victims a lot, usually uncaring unlike Kalim. Innocent or not he's ruthless when it comes to disposing of them, gives him a sense of adrenaline in hurting those who did no wrong. Power abusing his status and strength for the fun of it. When not protecting Kalim he goes on his way to meet potential clients who wish to buy someone off or have them killed.

Stalks his victims and always a step ahead, interestingly enough if he finds them intriguing he might just keep them alive for a while. It's nice getting to know someone unwillingly before taking their lives, the thought of their future and life in his hands irks him to continue. Until he gets attached.

Vil

A killer who nobody would suspect as well. Vil is a famous and well known celebrity, who knew his hobby was stalking some more attractive fans and committing unspeakable crimes. Started this hobby in high school. Was somewhat detached as a child as he used to kill small rodents and was home schooled by private and strict teachers. As an actor he does an amazing job in not getting suspected of things people wouldn't think he had the guts to do.

With his magic in going undercover the paparazzi have trouble finding him, they're exhausting so he takes out his frustrations by eyeing pretty things that either adore him or unsuspecting. His reasons are fueled with envy towards those who are kind and considerate, a nobody that catches his eye. So he starts going for both.

Money can do a lot to satisfy his killing spree taking those he favorites and keep their bodies somewhere in one of his penthouses. In a room hidden underground, their body is plastered in a way he'd call art, hanging on the ceiling or kept in glass containers.

Rook

Family tradition to take unsuspecting hikers or foreigners as a sport. Instead of hunting for animals they hunt for people. Once a year the Hunt family meet up with their victims to set them free in whichever area was picked to search for them later on. A game of cat in mouse and usually Rook beats his siblings to these types of games. Can get very attached to his victims, finds every one of them beautiful when alive and dead.

He lives rather far from the city, having to move place to place because of his family's games. This gives him more opportunities to meet new people and find potential victims. Like any hunter, he's sharp and gets straight to the point, police have trouble finding the killer that's been abducting random hikers.

Pretty basic to encounter, because he spends most of his times living in the middle of the woods far away from civilization. I've seen the trend of Rook being a slasher like ghostface and I'm here for it, this is just my take on him in this au, much more darker.

Epel

The type of slasher to get away with everything because of pretty privilege. In this au Epel willingly cross dresses to trick his victims. Bias he was inspired to become a slasher because of movies. What exactly spiraled him to get into these type of things was for the sake of petty revenge. Tired of being seen as weak and fragile, he finds it amusing to see the confused and terrified look on their face when he's revealed to be their misfortune.

He gets really into his hobby, deceiving men who assumed he was a girl and easily befriending their families in case fingers were pointed at him. In fact Epel actually has several identities regarding cross dressing. He doesn't stay very long in places and tends to move when he can.

Victims? Majority are men he dislikes when first meeting. It's rare of him to go after girls, at times he will correct them if they misgender him or he plays along. Meaning putting up the act of a girl best friend. This usually happens if he's interested.

Idia and Ortho

Corrupted during his childhood. Had access to the internet and parents just weren't watching what he was looking at. Idia has seen it all, with the murders, snuff films, and inappropriate ads. It stuck with Idia through adult hood, all his years he's lived in guilt and fear, he's more unstable and lets his thoughts get the better of him. And Ortho makes it worse. It's unsure if Idia is seeing Ortho and hallucinating his voice, he blames that he's the source for all of his killings. All of the failed experiment and loved ones that "passed" away.

Ortho is dead in this au, Idia just can't accept that. But this forms him into who he is now, his family cover up whatever shit he's done, in fact they encourage Idia to do what he must if it made him happy. I wouldn't say they are shitty, because they know exactly what they're doing.

Idia had grown an obsession with trying to revive the dead, or make humans stay longer, he already failed with Ortho and is willing to spare more lives for the sake of science. His victims are people he met online, trollers or crushes to be exact.

Malleus

Malleus is a powerful fae who is influenced by his status, with that power comes a tendency for arrogance and a sense of being above the rules and law. This can be seen in his treatment of others in his kingdom, but it's (not) safe to say he prefers to go after humans instead. it could certainly lead to a sense of entitlement and a lack of regard for the lives of others. Additionally, he is a very passionate character who can easily become consumed by his emotions, and if those emotions are negative, it can lead to a desire for revenge or a need to assert his power and authority through violent means.

After years of being neglected only anger was left, he doesn't see people around him as equal rather than pawns. It's due to jealousy does he tend to lash out on those who either wronged him, throwing fits and tantrums when things don't go his way. Malleus has a glimpse of a child-like behavior when consumed by these emotions, having to replace one too many maids when crossed his paths.

He may be attracted to targets that are also powerful or notable in some way. This could include powerful magic users, royalty, or prominent figures within the magical community. Alternatively, he may also target those who have wronged him in some way, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Lilia

war veteran that craves the glory and violence when it came to the human and fae war. He’s not like crazy sadistic or anything but killing when “necessary.” Which is a bad excuse because he doesn’t feel bad when harming bystanders that accidentally trip their way into his business. Also being a war veteran he’s highly respected so no one is on his ass when suspecting.

I’d say he’d miss the way skin goes under his nails, having a life in your hands is exhilarating to say the least. It’s almost comforting to him because of how harsh his days were back then. Headcanon that Lilia fought in war at a very young age, traumatic yet he’s addicted to the very thing that harms him. It’s unhealthy but I think he’s in a position to not care, being highly respected of his status is a free way ticket.

Silver

Not a slasher. A poor unexpecting citizen who’s friends with psychos. Silver is kind of a victim in this AU…? Sometimes Silver finds things he should’ve left behind, but in the goodness of his heart he seeks out the problem of his “friends” disappearance. Because of this Lilia regularly has to keep up with Silver so he doesn’t make those mistakes again. Using magic to reduce his memory of the night he saw a woman get beheaded, his son too kind for this world.

But he can be your friend in here!!! Befriending Silver is almost like a golden token, less likely to be victim depending on who’s eye you’ve caught. Some won’t care if you’re under his protection and Lilia’s. Silver could get attached to you tho, causing him to get unpleasant thoughts of wanting to keep you safe, even by force.

Slasher of a making? Lilia would find this an opportunity to fill his head with scenarios and create a false impression of his doings. He’s right to keep you, it’s for your own good and everyone around him keeps leaving. You’re all he has left.

Sebek

By slasher I mean background character lmaoo. As usual, works with Malleus as his personal guard. You could’ve been so many things to get in a situation with Sebek/Malleus, having been bought or maybe a friend of Malleus that he grows to resent. Sebek knows better then to let anger get the best of him, having blood on his hands are a normal occurrence especially when assassins tend to come left and right. So he’s always alert and very distanced when it comes to forming a relationship.

Some sort of executer, gets rid of any evidence from either within the castle or a good hunt. Much more connected to his animalistic urges but can easily overcome them. Anything grotesque sets him off to harm those around him. His hunger for any sort of flesh is unmatched, worse than any other beastfolk as he consumes it raw and alive.

Sebek would be the last person you’ll ever meet because encountering him is very very random. He’s a busy person who is barely seen in public unless it’s for important events that includes Malleus being there.

Happy birthday, Malleus Draconia! <3

"Happy Birthday Tsunataro, may you have a beautiful birthday!" Yuu said happily as they handed their gift to the dragon-fae, who smiled at his Child of Man.

His smile was everything Yuu ever wanted to see. He deserved this moment and the love behind the gift, after all loneliness is something no one should ever face, and Yuu wanted to make sure that their Tsunataro won't experience that ever again.

His lips curled up in a soft smile as he spoke "Thank you, Child of Man." With one hand he held the gift and the other moved to lift up Yuu's head as he leaned in and softly kissed their forehead. The (s/c) skinned human blushed at the gesture but flashed a smile to the fae prince.

"You're welcome, Tsunataro."

THERE HDHD SOME MALLEUS CONTENT-

Hi~ first, i love your work, wish to have more twst work. if you don't mind can i request malleus x fem reader, who are feeling burnout or like empty and not feeling excited to anything due to overblot incidents. You can write it as a headcanon or scenario type and edit it as you wish. I hope you have nice day!!!

Hihi! Thank you for the ask♡

𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓽𝓱❦

𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎! 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝗧𝗪: 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳, 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲! 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘂𝘀♥︎

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾"𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢"☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

𝘓𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘬𝘺, 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳.

"𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶?" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦. "𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮.. 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺." 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥.. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧!" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰..! 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶.. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺, "𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘯?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧.. 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺.

𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴? 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. "𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐.. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵.. 𝘠𝘰𝘶?" 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘹 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳- 𝘩𝘮.." 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 "𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶..". 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬. " 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?" "𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴?" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. "𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥.

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙩𝙝. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺.

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦.." 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵? 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥?" 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. "𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶" 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵.

"𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬, "𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦" 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥.

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘢 '𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨'?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘬𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺. "𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭.. 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥.. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳" 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. "𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰-" "𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶" 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥.. 𝘞𝘰𝘢𝘩. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘍𝘢𝘦.. 𝘈 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘱, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.

"𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘯. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾"𝐼'𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢"☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

𝗔/𝗡: 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗼𝗰! 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟮 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸! 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 ♥︎

Malleus as The Island Waka-Sama 🌺🐘🦚

I really did it, @wolken-himmel. I’ve made more of these masterpieces.

(Possible chance of a part two–)

Y/N and the Magic of Pegasus; Part 2

Part 1 can be found here

EVERYONE COME GET Y’ALL JUICE, ESPECIALLY YOU @wolken-himmel 🤡

Once again, Malleus as Wenlock is something I didn’t know I would need in my life. And plus, a poorly edited movie poster I hope you guys might like too, teehee.

@i-exist2spite-god Hope I’m not too late to give you this 👀

Help, my bisexual ass is gonna make more of these lmao 🤡

@i-exist2spite-god

SERENITY, YOU'RE SO AWESOME!

@i-exist2spite-god go get ur food, fam

And I oop- Thank you very much for your kind words, Malleus 😳👉👈

I’ll continue making edits for you and everyone else, hope y’all have a nice day uwu

Hey Malleus, it’s so good to finally talk to you! Just wanted to say that I love you as much as you love your Y/N 🥰

For the question, how do you feel about the edits people make of you? And dare I say, do you particularly have a favorite? 👀

I thank you, oh nice follower of mine!

My favourite edit? I have to say that I am in love with your edits that involve that pretty blonde woman (no one is prettier than (Y/n), of course). I like the one where I play the princess of the island, but I also like the one where I am the misunderstood villain that just wants love (as long as I get an happy ending, of course)!

@skzskrt, @i-exist2spite-god, @leonakingscholarship, and other friends

I HAVE ALSO JOINED THE PARTY BUT WITH AN ADDITIONAL GIANT WOMAN Y’ALL!!

YOU’RE WELCOME FELLOW SIMPS 😩👌

*cough*

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH JSDNWJ❤❤ We really have good taste in women 😫

Give this amazing woman an Oscar or whatever award that exists for this masterpiece NOW 😤❤️💗

In which Princess (Y/n)'s parents and friends get turned into stone when she refuses to marry the evil yet love-sick sorcerer Malleus.

Now, she and her companions — a pegasus, a stray cat, and her new friend — embark on an adventure to forge a Wand of Light to overpower Malleus' magic before it is too late.

[Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus AU]

Part 1: During a celebration for Princess (Y/n)'s seventeenth birthday, a stranger shows up and introduces himself as Malleus, her future husband. When he is rejected, he turns everyone into stone, and (Y/n) barely manages to escape with the help of a mysterious pegasus.

Today was a particularly hard day to sneak past your protective parents with how every single guard in this castle seemed to be more on edge than usually. The stray cat with thick grey fur, which had stumbled in front of you earlier while you had been out ice-skating on a frozen-over lake, sat snugly in your arms, enjoying the warmth you provided.

The runners of your ice-skates clicked against one another ever so slightly whenever you ducked behind a column to avoid being spotted by any of the guards and maids. So far, so good.

Just as you had thought you had managed to get away without consequences, ascending the grand staircase that would lead to your bedroom if you took a turn to your right, you let out a relieved sigh, and a small smile appeared on your lips. You never had understood why your parents wouldn't let you go outside, and they would never tell you their reasons either — so there was no other choice for you but to sneak out to skate on the lakes that froze over during the everlasting winter in this kingdom.

"Young woman!" It was a shrill voice that belonged to the speaker. "Where have you been?!"

You winced and jumped in your place, squeezing Grim so tightly that he let out wheezes and whines. The angry glares of your mother and father, the queen and king of this castle, made your movements stutter in fear; it was only through slow and ragged steps that you managed to turn around to face their wrath.

"Mother!" you exclaimed with a nervous smile on your face. "I was just on my way to my room—"

Queen Cater looked like she was about to faint with how she had her hand dramatically placed on her forehead, panting so heavily that King Trey turned to her and shot her a worried look. Your father's eyes hardened again when he returned his attention to you once he had made sure his wife was alright. 

"(Y/n), how much more do you want to scare your poor parents like this?" King Trey asked, his usually so soft voice suddenly full of anger that made you lower your gaze to the carpet in shame. A sigh escaped his lips — one that allowed you to feel his disappointment. "There is a reason why we do not let you out by yourself—"

"It is my seventeenth birthday today, for God's sake!" you cut in, your head suddenly snapping upward for your gaze to meet your parents'. The queen and king looked horrified at the anger and exasperation that swirled deeply in your (E/c) eyes burning intensely. "I am no longer a young girl… and I can protect myself!"

"(Y/n)," Queen Cater whispered while clutching her heart, as if wanting to tell you something she couldn't; so, instead, she shook her head and gave up again — like countless times before. "You don't understand."

A groan escaped your lips. "You never tell me anything, anyway! I'm sick of having to stay inside all day long…"

King Trey pursed his lips, just as conflicted as his wife was. They both shot each other a look, quietly communicating with one another to decide their next course of action. Finally, they nodded to each other and turned their attention to their rebellious daughter again. "We are simply trying to protect you!" King Trey exclaimed, pushing his glasses up. You jerked back, surprised that your father had raised his voice at you. "Now, up to your room! You will not leave your room for the rest of the week!"

Your surprise soon turned into anger again. "I hate you!" you bellowed before promptly marching off to your room, your ice-skates and your cat companion tightly clutched to your chest. There were tears burning in your eyes, and you were even more determined to attend the ice-skating festival held for your seventeenth birthday in a few hours. Why should you listen to your parents? You were old enough to protect yourself!

"(Y/n)—" Queen Cater stepped forward and extended her hand to reach out towards you, but her husband held her back. 

"No, Cater," King Trey whispered, disheartened, "it is for the best…"

The pair of rulers soon turned around and silently retreated to wherever they had been before they ambushed you. Your eyes burned with hatred as you watched them depart completely. Only when the hem of your mother's red dress disappeared around the corner did you jump out of your cover and lower Grim to the ground, who eagerly yapped for air after how tightly you had cuddled him.

An apologetic chuckle escaped your lips, and you leant down to pat his head, to which he replied by eagerly leaning into your touch. The stray cat you had picked up was quite large, which is why you had mistaken him for a bear cub at first — but on second look, you had realised that he was just a grey cat.

"Let's go, Grim," you whispered and straightened your back again to venture to the grand exit of the castle. "Let's have some fun tonight."

The walk to the frozen-over lake where the festival was held was very short and of no special importance. Grim lazily trotted beside you, sometimes pawing at your legs to be picked up; eventually, you grew so annoyed at the cat that you really bent down and pulled him up into your arms. He was rather heavy, but it was nothing you couldn't manage.

Once you arrived at the festival, you hid behind a bush and slipped off your boots to put on your trusty old ice-skates. You made sure to have the straps and ties tied correctly before you slid out from behind your cover and made your way to the lake, out in the open now.

Heads turned your way, and people that were formerly skating around the lake in pairs or alone shied away from your presence. Your entrance made people gasp, a circle of people soon forming around you with the band standing in the gazebo not too far away stopping their cheerful playing. All eyes were on you, and you blanched slightly.

Etiquette lessons had taught you to always greet your subjects and be polite, as expected of the only princess of this kingdom. After having set Grim down onto the ice, who then began skidding around clumsily with his paws and claws, you raised your hand and waved at the other people sheepishly.

Much to your luck, a small boy with bright blue hair soon came sliding towards you, not afraid or fearful of you like all the other adults were. He seemed skilful as he came to a stop in front of you and offered his hand to you, shooting you the brightest and most innocent smile you had ever laid eyes upon. "May I have this dance, Princess?" he asked giddily.

You giggled in amusement and eagerly put your hand into his, soon skating off into the middle of the lake with your hands locked. "Of course," you whispered, which made him laugh in happiness. You still felt a little bit awkward about the way everyone stared at you as if you were an alien — well, a princess. So, shooting them a sheepish smile, you flicked your wrist. "Oh, you may resume!"

You had the fun of your life, skating around with the brave boy and seeing other people enjoy this wonderful evening, too. The music in the background made you feel more alive than ever in this boring and grey life of yours. Grim often stumbled across you, still a little bit clumsy on his paws, and you made sure to avoid him unless you wanted to fall on your bum again like you had when first meeting and finding him earlier this day.

Eventually, you parted ways with the young boy to skate a few rounds on your own. Spins and jumps — all of those managed to make people stop in their movements to watch you skate around the area, skilful and elegant on your feet as if you had done this countless times before, which yes, you had. You were so immersed in your skating that you didn't spot how the sky darkened ominously and a green fog lay itself over the lake. The night sky that had previously been without a single spot of cloud was now covered in a thick blanket.

It was soon that a man riding a griffin appeared from between the heavy clouds and descended towards you, the rider's green eyes wholly focused on you. You didn't really notice as he landed on the ice and gracefully climbed off his companion, the end of his large staff clicking against the hard ice. People stared at him and shied away, and the music once again stopped playing.

It was only when you heard ominous clapping that you snapped out of your trance. Your eyes fluttered open, and you found the citizens of your kingdom standing on the sides while in the middle of the lake, a tall young man stood with his head held high. His gloved hands still were clapping, and a large grin adorned his face as he ventured toward you in an elegant fashion.

You froze in fear and immediately picked up Grim when he began pawing at your legs. The young man exuded an intimidating a scary aura, so much that you had to control yourself from running away when he came to a stop in front of you and bowed politely, yet still staying silent as ever.

Concerned by his strange behaviour, you finally managed to croak out, "Who are you?"

The stranger straightened his back again and rose to his full height, forcing you to crane your neck to be able to look him in the eyes. It was only then that you noticed the pair of horns protruding from his black hair, winding intricately. He used your temporary moment of distraction to step even closer and grab your chin with his slender fingers. "You truly are the most beautiful gem I have ever laid eyes upon," he cooed, his voice deep and velvety, as he tilted your face left and right, delighted. "Ah, the wait truly was worth the wait."

You forced your chin out of his hold and narrowed your eyes at him, only clutching your unnerved cat companion closer to you. "Who are you—?" you asked once again, which made him chuckle in amusement.

"Ah, how rude of me." His slitted eyes peered down at you, amused and excited. Putting one hand on his chest, he bowed his head and confidently announced, "Greetings, I am Malleus, your future husband."

Splutters of confusion escaped your lips, leading you to eventually scoff, "I don't think so."

The man with pointy ears didn't seem disheartened by your rejections at all, only finding them amusing, much to your frustration. "Oh? Feisty. I like it." A genuinely happy smile appeared on his lips as he extended a hand to pat your head, treating you like a small child. He exhaled in fondness, and his eyes were full with nostalgia as he looked down at you lovingly. "You've always been a stubborn one, (Y/n), my dear treasure. Despite your brother's dislike of me, you still snuck out to meet me."

"I don't have a brother." You were growing more and more confused by the minute, and it didn't help that Malleus wouldn't explain a thing, instead acting as if you knew what he was talking about. When he tried to take your hand into his, you immediately pulled it out of his grasp again and skated a few metres away from him. Your eyes were burning with fury as you screamed, "And leave me alone!"

Malleus frowned while he stepped closer to you again. "That is no way to talk to your future husband."

"I am not marrying anyone!"

The mysterious man quirked an eyebrow at your defiance. "Oh? What a shame… I have been waiting a long time to come back for you to fulfill your promise, but now that you are about to break it?" he drawled, a little bit frustrated by your continuous rejections now. You shrank back in fear when his eyes darkened in anger. "Do you know what happens when you break promises, Princess? As a punishment, I shall turn everyone you love into stone until you decide to keep the promise you made to me by marrying me."

You shook your head while doing your best to not let him intimidate you too much. "I never made any promise to you—!"

Malleus opened his mouth and was about to reply to your accusations, but was interrupted when a carriage with guards — and surprisingly, your parents — arrived by the road to the lake. The king was the first to storm out of the carriage, a sword in his hand as he hurried towards the mysterious stranger trying to close the distance between you two. The queen followed behind, a worried frown on her face.

King Trey glared at the stranger and pulled you behind his back when Malleus was daring enough to try and get a hold of your hand again to force a costly-looking ring, an emerald embedded into the golden metal, onto your finger. "Malleus, get away from our daughter!" King Trey exclaimed and pointed the tip of his sword at him.

Your eyes were wide in surprise in wonder that your parents truly seemed to know this stranger. Simultaneously, you grew angry that they had never told you about this.

Malleus merely chuckled and pushed the sword out of his face, swatting it away as if it were a pesky little hindrance. Once he stood face to face with your mother and father, he bowed in a mocking way and murmured, "Ah, King Trey and Queen Cater, my future parents-in-law… so we see each other again."

King Trey narrowed his eyes, a rare sight for the people that only ever saw him treat even criminals with nothing but kindness and compassion. "Do not call us that, evil sorcerer."

Malleus exhaled in feigned hurt and put his hand to his forehead. "Oh, you wound me…" he cried out before he pried one eye open to gaze at you again, whom your father tried to hide behind his back as best as possible. You were still clutching onto your cat companion ever so tightly. A vicious grin appeared on Malleus' lips. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand." He extended a hand out to you, his unwavering gaze glued to you. "Keep your promise and marry me, (Y/n)."

"Please," Queen Cater cried out softly. "Please, Malleus! Leave her alone! You already took Riddle from us."

Malleus clicked his tongue and let his hand retreat to his side again, dissatisfied by the answer your mother had given him. He shook his head and let out a drawn-out sigh that had everyone in his near proximity sitting on the edge of their seats. "Ah, I am afraid we have to do this the hard way then…" he said, his voice resonating with feigned sadness even though his face was contorted into a twisted grin. His eyes still fixated on you, he slammed the end of his staff against the ice. "Say goodbye to everyone you love, (Y/n)! And if you do not marry me in three days, they shall stay like this forever."

You gasped when you looked to your left and right to find people turning into stone, frozen in their movements — your father trying to attack the perpetrator and other people trying to run away — like statues of stone. Tears were threatening to run down your cheeks when you turned in every direction to find yourself alone with the mysterious sorcerer. Even your parents weren't spared from becoming stone.

"No— Father, Mother!" you cried out as you skated over to your parents, watching their frozen bodies in horror — and to think that all of this was your fault.

A hand wrapped itself around your upper arm firmly, making you wince at the thought of it leaving a bruise there later. You were whirled around to come face to face with the evil sorcerer that had just cursed your parents and every citizen of your kingdom. A large smile adorned Malleus' face as he pulled you closer to him, drawing a yelp from your throat when you collided with his body. Grim, too, seemed frightened with the way he had his face buried in your chest.

"Now," Malleus cooed as he bent down, his face closing in on yours eagerly. "Come here, my dear."

You tried to pull away, but his hold on you was strong. It looked like his lips were about to collide with yours — but before that could happen, Grim brought his paw forward and slapped him with as much force as he could. Malleus was sent tumbling back, not because Grim was particularly strong but because of the surprise that made his eyes widen in horror.

You used the chance of freedom to skate away, but knew that Malleus would catch you sooner or later with the griffin that bared his teeth at you, ready to pounce should his master give him the command to. Yet, before all hope died down, you looked up to find a winged horse descending from the cloudy sky. The animal's red fur immediately jumped into your eye, and you grew even more surprised when the horse yelled out, "Hold on tight!"

You readied yourself to climb onto his back should he be close enough. And indeed, you somehow managed to jump and grab onto his mane, Grim clinging onto your arm in desperation and fear. A deep breath of relief escaped your throat when you sat on the pegasus properly and finally allowed yourself to turn around to see if the evil sorcerer was following you.

Malleus' griffin looked like he was about to take off into the sky and chase after you. Much to your luck, Malleus stopped him by putting his hand on his companion's wings before the beast could jump up into the sky. "Do not, Sebek," the sorcerer said in a still hopeful tone. "(Y/n) will eventually come back once she realises that she loves me. We are soulmates, after all."

Malleus watched you disappear from his sight with a heavy heart before he swung himself onto his griffin and flew off into the darkness of the night, retreating to plan his next move on how to win your heart.

Meanwhile, the pegasus had carried Grim and you high up into the sky, until you could no longer see the earth beneath you with how thick and white clouds covered the sky like a carpet or floor beneath you. Once you had regained your breath and composure from this sudden encounter with the strange sorcerer, you peered down at the pegasus, grateful yet suspicious. "Where are you taking me? And who are you?"

The pegasus seemed reluctant to answer you at first but soon couldn't bear to stay silent anymore. Although he kept his gaze trained forward sternly, he calmly explained, "I am Riddle, and I am taking you to the Cloud Castle, my home. Cloud Queen Acette should be able to give you shelter."

You bit your lip, about to protest and tell him that he should take you back to the lake — but you soon realised how stupid that request truly was. Instead, you decided to not be fully unreasonable. "I… have to thank you for saving me from Malleus…" 

"It is something that I should have done ages ago and failed to do. But now, I at least think I managed to correct my mistake before he could take you once and for all."

"I am afraid I do not understand," you replied and tilted your head to the side in confusion.

"You will," Riddle whispered with a heavy heart, "in no time."

He didn't say much more afterwards, and the only sound audible was his strong and majestic wings carrying you across the shimmering night sky. You exhaled and thought about his words, but they only caused a throbbing headache to form in the back of your head. Thousands of thoughts began flooding your mind — from regret of sneaking out tonight to questions that piled up in your brain.

"Who even is this Malleus?" you eventually blurted out, too curious to keep it in any longer — especially since Riddle seemed to know him with how he spoke of him.

Riddle clicked his tongue and shook his head in distaste at you even mentioning that name. "Malleus is a powerful prince and wizard from a foreign kingdom," he muttered, as if holding a personal grudge against the sorcerer. "He is feared and cruel…"

You hummed quietly, not wanting to pry any further with how irked the pegasus seemed with just such a simple question. And you didn't get to think about today's events much further when the beautiful sight of a castle up in the clouds came into your vision. A gasp escaped your lips, and even Grim, who had managed to fall asleep during the ride on the pegasus, woke up again to marvel at the sheer beauty of the castle.

Riddle entered the castle and expertly flew through the wide and high corridors. Your eyes grew wide at the interior that seemed even more beautiful than the outside of the large building. The sound of more pegasus wings flapping up and down snapped you out of your trance; looking left and right, you found three boys riding their own pegasi. One boy looked cheerful, the other looked serious, and the last one looked to have fallen asleep on his pegasus.

"Riddle, you're back!" the cheerful boy exclaimed in excitement, especially when his bright red eyes fell on you and your cat companion. "And you have someone with you!"

Riddle smiled at the three boys as they guided and accompanied you through the corridors. "Hello, Cloud Princes Kalim, Leona, and Jack," your pegasus muttered, a little bit tired and on edge with the sudden turn of events. "May you take us to the Cloud Queen?"

Jack nodded politely. "Of course."

It wasn't before long that the four pegasi arrived in what looked to be the throne chamber of the whole castle. The three smaller pegasi retreated to their resting places up at the ceiling of the palace, and the three cloud princes now stood behind you curiously. Your legs trembling, you climbed off of Riddle's back and lowered Grim to the floor, who immediately clung to your leg again.

Soon, the woman you assumed to be the Cloud Queen stepped out from behind a corner and skipped towards you, a bright and energetic grin on her lips — just as colourful as her bright red hair. She immediately ventured over to Riddle and wrapped her arms around the pegasus, who only replied with a few annoyed huffs through his nostrils.

"Riddle!" the Cloud Queen cried out dramatically. "I was afraid you would not return."

The red pegasus sighed and pushed her away to be able to look her in the eyes again. A little bit exasperated, he nodded over to your direction, and it was only then that the Cloud Queen finally noticed your presence. Curious, she approached you, looking you up and down in concern at the way you were trembling and shaking. "I had to save (Y/n) from Malleus, Cloud Queen Acette," your saviour pegasus explained, his tone grave and heavy.

The Cloud Queen pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Malleus, that bastard, struck again?"

"Yes…" Riddle bowed his head, still a little bit shaken up by your narrow escape. "And I came just in time."

"I see…" the Cloud Queen trailed off before throwing her arms into the air, very exasperated and worried at the news of her most powerful opponent returning from years of laying dormant. "What did Malleus do this time…?"

"It is horrible! My parents and everyone else — he turned them into stone!" you explained, close to breaking down into tears since; now that you had to say it out loud, the feelings you had pushed down came back tenfold. You buried your face in your shaking palms, and Grim cuddled up to your feet to cheer you up a little bit. "And they will forever stay that way if I do not marry him in three days…"

The Cloud Queen sighed and put a hand on your shoulder. "I… am so sorry," she whispered before guiding you deeper into the castle. "Well, come with us."

The cliffhanger tho–

Malleus bout to come for our asses y’all 😭😳

In which Princess (Y/n)'s parents and friends get turned into stone when she refuses to marry the evil yet love-sick sorcerer Malleus.

Now, she and her companions — a pegasus, a stray cat, and her new friend — embark on an adventure to forge a Wand of Light to overpower Malleus' magic before it is too late.

[Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus AU]

[Masterlist] Part 2: Seeking refuge within the Cloud Castle, Princess (Y/n) is safe to hatch out a plan to defeat the evil sorcerer Malleus: They need to build a Wand of Light to overpower his powerful magic.

About an hour later, all three Cloud Princes and Riddle had retreated to the sleeping chamber all of them shared, and Grim had accompanied them. The Cloud Queen had pulled you away to put you into a new dress that was much warmer than your previous clothing, along with a pair of warm boots. After getting new clothes and tying your hair together with your trusty (F/c) hair ribbon, you felt much better already.

When you entered the resting chambers, you found Cloud Prince Leona already sleeping in his bed while Cloud Princes Jack and Kalim were both busy caring for Riddle, brushing his red mane and putting accessories into it.

Cloud Prince Kalim immediately turned towards you and shot you a giddy smile. "We never had a real person here," he cried out in utter excitement while clapping his hands together. The innocent smile on his face made your mood rise again. "This is so exciting!" 

Cloud Prince Jack nodded gruffly, although he casually chimed in, "Well, except for your brother, of course."

"Brother?" you repeated and quirked an eyebrow. Malleus had mentioned a brother of yours earlier, too — but you couldn't remember ever having a brother. Granted, most of your memories from your childhood were a little bit fuzzy and blurry here and there, but you definitely couldn't recall ever having a sibling: Ever since you could remember, you had been alone in the castle, confined by your overprotective parents.

"Are you daft?" Cloud Prince Leona grumbled and pried one eye open to glare at you before he let his eyes flutter close again. "Riddle is your brother."

Your eyes grew in surprise, and you immediately turned your head into the direction of the pegasus that had saved you earlier. When he wouldn't deny Cloud Prince Leona's words, your jaw fell down in utter shock. "Riddle?" you croaked out, your voice breaking at the end. "You are my brother?"

Riddle averted his gaze but nonetheless muttered, "Yes…"

"How?!"

The Cloud Queen saw Riddle's hesitancy for speaking about this particular topic, but being as direct and brash as she was, immediately chimed up to explain, "He tried to protect you from Malleus." Riddle raised his head to glare at the Cloud Queen, but couldn't do much since sadly, she was much stronger than him — physically and magic-wise.

Everything suddenly made sense to you: Why Malleus spoke about you like he knew you from the past, and why Malleus acted like you had promised something to him that you couldn't remember ever promising. "So I really knew Malleus before?" you asked yourself and scratched your head sheepishly. A long sigh escaped your lips, and you suddenly felt frustrated for not having found out about this earlier.

Riddle shook his head and shot you a pained look. "You couldn't have remembered him. After all, the head-injury you sustained because of him made you forget everything up until that moment," your brother exclaimed, which made your eyes grow in size. Riddle huffed and sighed to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. "That was the last straw for me… I pulled him aside and forbade him from ever talking to my dear sister again."

"So we were childhood friends?"

"Correct. You found him on a frozen lake one winter while you were out ice-skating with me… and you just stumbled upon this small boy," Riddle continued with his face contorted into a large grimace that made you feel guilty. "I told you not to become too attached to him, but you did not heed my advice. When I found out that you promised to marry him once you were seventeen, I was furious."

By now, your eyes were threatening to fall out of your skull with how much you were staring at your brother. So many consecutive revelations coming after one another, causing your brain to feel like scrambled mush. You buried your face in your palms, really feeling stupid as you cried out, "So he really did not lie, huh?"

"Sadly, he did not." Riddle scoffed, clearly disliking Malleus — and well, you were about to understand why your brother harboured such a strong resentment towards the powerful sorcerer. "Well, after I forbade him from ever seeing you again, he was so angry that he turned me into a pegasus… I remember his words after the irreversible transformation was complete: 'Do not weep! You have not lost a son but gained a pet.' How humiliating…"

"Riddle," you whispered, your voice breaking  as you stepped forward and patted his head. "I am so sorry…"

Riddle avoided your gaze as he continued, "Father and Mother tried everything to turn me back into a human, but nothing worked." One could hear the pain that truly resonated with his voice, and even you could feel yourself wince at the raw sadness his words held. His eyes were full of shame and anger — at himself and Malleus, too. "So, I eventually fled to the Cloud Kingdom, and the Cloud Queen took me in with open arms. Ever since then, I have been living up here, anxiously waiting for the day when you would turn seventeen."

All the new information was too much for you, and you felt like the world you had known was breaking down on you all at once. "Why did no one ever tell me…"

"They wanted to keep it a secret," Riddle whispered and nudged your arm to cheer you up. "When you awoke from your coma and consequently lost your memories, Father and Mother moved to the farthest edge of the kingdom and built a castle — no, a fortress…"

"I… should have listened to them… They were only trying to protect me… Ugh, I'm so stupid!"

"No, don't blame yourself…"

"Is there nothing we can do?!" you suddenly yelled out, all your pent-up anger and stress coming out all at once. Everyone shot you a surprised glance, but the Cloud Queen smiled at your determination and courage, yet that smile quickly vanished when you turned to her with a look that sought out her help.

The Cloud Queen shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, a sad frown on her face. "I am sorry, but Malleus is too powerful— even for me."

Cloud Prince Kalim gasped, having a brilliant idea, before yelling out, "What about the Wand of Light?"

"Shh, Kalim!" Cloud Prince Jack hissed as he clasped his hand over his friend's mouth, a sheepish look on his face as he turned to the red pegasus standing right next to them. "You know Riddle does not like to talk about it…"

"A Wand of Light?" you asked, your curiosity now piqued. "What is that?"

"A Wand of Light has the most powerful magic out of all, which even overpowers Malleus'," the Queen Cloud explained with a thoughtful and hesitant frown on her face. "Sadly, nobody knows how it is built."

You quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded, deep in thought. "Well," she began eventually, "myths say that it is built from a measure of courage, a ring of love, and a gem of ice that is lit by hope's eternal flame."

A gasp escaped your lips once she finished talking, and for once, you could feel hope burning in your heart — even if it was only a small ember that needed to be fanned. You clasped your hands together and shot your brother a large smile. "That's just three things! It can't be too hard, can it?" you exclaimed, your hopeful voice instilling some sort of faith in the pessimistic pegasus.

"It does not exist!" Riddle cried out nonetheless while slamming his front hooves against the marble floor, which made you wince back in surprise. His face spoke of exasperation and deeply ingrained hopelessness — a result of years of failure. Riddle had an angry grimace on his face. "I tried for years… without success.."

"Come on, Riddle." You sighed and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting the side of your head against his. Riddle eyed you sceptically; his face spoke of fury at your unrelenting determination, angry that you would not listen to him. Truly, it was your naivety and positive outlook on life that was the reason all of this happened in the first place. Yet, you held a strange endearing innocence to you as you raised your gaze and exclaimed, "We can do it together!"

Riddle sighed, torn. "(Y/n)..."

"I am going to build a Wand of Light! Somehow."

"Well…" he trailed off and shot you a crooked smile, but a smile nonetheless. There wasn't much more you could do: Either stay here at the Cloud Castle forever, or try and build a Wand of Light. Although Riddle would have preferred the first option, since it would keep you safe from Malleus, he was aware that you could never live with the guilt of being the reason why your parents and everyone else would be frozen forever. So, admitting defeat, he nodded. "Alright… let us embark on our journey…"

You laughed in joy, wanting nothing more than to jump and celebrate your success — but you had more important things to do and even less time to accomplish your tasks. "Do you know where we need to go first?" you asked your brother.

"The deepest, darkest part of the Forbidden Forest…"

Meanwhile, in a dark castle sitting on an island shrouded with ominous fog and clouds to shield it from passersby's views, a young prince sat on his throne, his three retainers by his side and all of them attempting to cheer him up. The griffin named Sebek tried to nudge his young master's arm, but was ignored — as were the silver-haired and black-haired servants' efforts to cheer their lord up again.

Malleus sat slouched forward, his cheek resting in his palm and his elbow planted on the armrest of his throne made out of thorns. His pale face was contorted into a large frown, and here and then, one could witness as he exhaled longingly.

The small boy with short black hair sat on the other armrest that his young fledgling didn't occupy. He had a playful pout on his face at the gloomy mood that occupied the whole castle — and no one dared to disturb their master as he was busy sulking and impatiently waiting for three days to pass by.

"Malleus, dear!" the sorcerer's guardian cried out. "Stop sulking…"

Malleus begrudgingly lifted his head, his eyes narrowed in pain and agony. He clutched his tall staff close to him, but even that couldn't cheer him up as he gazed at his caretaker. "Oh, Lilia…" the prince whispered, his voice hoarse and vexed. "Why does she not love me?"

Lilia immediately floated to his feet again and wrapped his arms around Malleus, who accepted the hug eagerly. The wise fae ran his hand up and down his young child's back, a small smile on his face as he stayed optimistic despite the knowledge that things looked grim. "She does! I am sure!" Lilia cooed in a soft tone, his voice so honey-like that Malleus could feel his mood shifting for the better. "She just needs to remember how much fun you two had as children!" 

Malleus, although in a slightly better mood now, still didn't seem wholly convinced by his guardian's words. A wistful frown on his face, he muttered, "I patiently waited for more than a decade to hold her in my arms once again." His other two retainers couldn't bear to see their young master like that and averted their gazes in pain. Malleus let his eyes flutter close and exhaled. "Maybe I really deserve to be alone forever…"

"No," the silver-haired human cut in, "don't say that, young master."

The sudden interruption made Malleus raise his gaze to look at his knight in surprise. Lilia, too, scooted away and went back to pestering Sebek, the loyal griffin. As the two were busy with jabbing one another, Malleus ignored them and instead shifted his whole attention to the human. "Silver, should I have done anything differently?" Malleus asked, a frown on his face.

Silver nodded hesitantly, softly exhaling before he, as gentle as he could be, explained, "You did not have to stroll up to her and demand her to marry you like that."

Malleus' eyes grew in desperation. He shot up from his throne and yelled out, "But she promised—!" His chest was heaving up and down as he threw himself into his seat again, burying his grimacing face in his trembling hands. Every one of his servants was aware that he had been looking forward to this day with a feverish excitement… and to think it would end this tragically.

Silver sighed and patted his master's shoulder in an attempt to lend some comfort. "Still, you frightened her and everyone else," he muttered with a small smile on his lips that in no way should patronise the young prince. "Maybe taking a more calm approach would have done it."

Malleus removed his hands and shot Silver a crooked smile. "I am sorry…" he whispered, embarrassed. "Maybe I was too excited…"

"Ah, do not worry about it, Malleus!" Lilia exclaimed as he jumped behind him in order to not be torn into shreds by the agitated griffin. A giant grin was on the wise retainer's lips as he let out booming laughter that brought hope and comfort to the lonely sorcerer. "Not all is lost, yet!"

Malleus nodded and smiled at his three retainers that were something akin to his family by now. He straightened his back again to a posture more fit for a regal prince. "I will try to be hopeful, Lilia… Thank you, you three…"

H E L L Y E A H ! !

HOMEBOY DEUCE HAS FINALLY ARRIVED 😆😭

In which Princess (Y/n)'s parents and friends get turned into stone when she refuses to marry the evil yet love-sick sorcerer Malleus.

Now, she and her companions — a pegasus, a stray cat, and her new friend — embark on an adventure to forge a Wand of Light to overpower Malleus' magic before it is too late.

[Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus AU]

[Masterlist] Part 3: To find the three components needed for the Wand of Light, Princess (Y/n) and her companions head to the Forbidden Forest, where they meet an enigmatic young man by the name of Deuce.

The moment you jumped off of Riddle's back after having arrived in the Forbidden Forest, you knew that there was no going back, even if Riddle voiced his second thoughts here and there as you trudged through the darkness. Dark and tall trees covered the sky and thus prevented any sunlight from reaching you. There were shadows everywhere, and you swore you could hear footsteps thumping close by whenever you sharpened your hearing.

Yet, when you turned around, you only ever found empty air.

A sigh escaped your lips as you let your eyes wander around the dark area, everything looking the same to you: bleak, sad, and dark. This was the place where you would find the measure of courage? Things didn't look too optimistic…

"This place surely lives up to its name…" Riddle muttered and gestured you to keep close by, afraid you would never find one another again if you lost track of each other now. You obeyed and walked so closely that your hand brushed against the soft feathers of his wings. 

Sadly, Grim seemed to be the most frightened out of you three, his paranoid eyes snapping from one shadow to another; he looked like he would bolt out of fear anytime now. 

"Yes…" You nodded and let out a few chuckles. "We better tread carefully—"

A startled gasp escaped your lips when you suddenly felt soft fur brushing against your ankles, the hem of the long dress that the Cloud Queen had given you to wear billowing up slightly as Grim dashed right through your legs and ran ahead of you. You quickened your pace and tried to run after him. "Grim!" you cried out, too worried for your companion to be mindful of traps. "Hey, where are you going—?"

Before you could get a hold of Grim, he managed to trip onto a slide made out of a carved out wooden lodge, leading down into an abyss of darkness. Unfortunately, Riddle and you managed to activate a trap and were pulled up into nets. An exasperated scream escaped your lips as you swung back and forth in your own net while looking to Riddle, who was stuck in another trap, in panic.

Riddle, too, seemed taken aback, although he was much calmer than you were. "A trap?"

"I need to get to Grim—" you cried out and wrapped your fingers around the strings of the net to somehow fight your way out, shaking the strings back and forth as if you were a lunatic. "Grim, hold on! I'm coming—!"

"Hush," Riddle hissed, his ears raised in alarm, "someone is coming…"

And he was right: Soon, a young man stepped out of the shadows and revealed his striking blue eyes to you. He led a horse by its reins as he ventured towards you, eyeing you with curious and surprised eyes. You furrowed your eyebrows in frustration, especially when his moves were slow and calculated — you had a cat to save!

"What an interesting catch," he said with a serious frown on his face. Pushing a strand of his dark blue hair out of his face, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. "The Forbidden Forest is no place for a princess like you."

"Tsk, I hadn't noticed," you retorted with a roll of your eyes. "Could you please get us out of here?"

The stranger clicked his tongue once again as he unsheathed the shimmering sword from his belt and ventured over to the rope that held up the two nets you and your brother were caught in. With one easy swing of his weapon, the sharp blade cut through the coarse rope easily. A loud scream escaped your lips as you gracelessly dropped to the floor, scrambling to get back to your feet again.

As you lay on the ground and worked on getting up again, the blue-haired male loomed over you with a suspicious look in his eyes. "Why did you come here?" he asked while watching your every move, alarmed and ready to strike with his sword if you should try anything funny. Riddle recovered much quicker than you, anyway. You groaned and rose to your feet, then dusted off your dress. "Only idiots enter the Forbidden Forest."

A sarcastic chortle escaped your lips as you shot back, "And yet, you are here!"

His eyes grew to the size of saucers, and he seemed taken aback for a moment at your wittiness. It seemed like he wasn't the brightest, but you had to admit that he was quite adorable when he was thinking hard to throw back a response. "Well, uh—" he stuttered out eventually and stopped rubbing his head sheepishly. The small glare he shot you made you cross your arms triumphantly. "But I was not swinging from a tree!"

"Thank you, sir," Riddle cut in before you could throw back another retort. You merely scoffed and turned your head away in a haughty manner.

"Sir?" the stranger repeated with a quirked eyebrow, obviously very sceptical of the way he had just been addressed. A small chuckle escaped his lips, and he shook his head in amusement. "I'm Deuce."

"I'm Riddle, and this is my sister (Y/n)."

"Sister?" Deuce let out a hearty laugh, one that made him come off as genuinely friendly despite his serious facade. He put a hand over his mouth as he pressed out between wheezes, "I can see the resemblance."

You gasped and glared at him. "Hey!"

His snickers soon died down, although he still was quietly chuckling to himself when he removed his hand from his mouth to shoot you an apologetic smile. "Oh, I'm sorry—" he muttered timidly as he bowed awkwardly, which made you tilt your head to the side in amusement. "I didn't mean to offend you."

You were about to throw back another remark, but quickly shut your mouth again when the panic from earlier seeped in again: You still hadn't found your cat companion. Quickly snapping around and marching away, which surprised Deuce, you looked around the area, your hand pressed against your forehead. "I can't find Grim!" you cried out while strolling to the edge of the platform you currently stood on to spot the wooden slide you had seen earlier already.

Deuce quirked an eyebrow and walked closer. "Who's that?"

"My cat…" An exasperated and concerned sigh escaped your lips as you quickly pointed at the slide that you suspected would lead you to your missing friend. Your eyes turned to Deuce, who furrowed his eyebrows at you. "Where does this slide go?"

"To danger," he answered, nothing less and nothing more. His reply angered you, especially when he turned around and led his horse away, probably about to disappear to where he had come from in the first place. When he couldn't hear you reply, he briefly turned around to shoot you one last warning. "You should step away from it and forget about your cat."

"Fine, don't show me," you grumbled and crossed your arms, intending to prove him wrong and find your friend at the same time. A smug grin made its way to your lips as you stepped forward and let yourself fall onto the slide. "I'll find Grim myself!"

Deuce gasped and darted over to you upon realising that you were sliding down the slide. "Hey— you can't just—!" he screamed after you and even extended a hand to grab you and pull you up again, but you were too far gone already. So, he merely sighed in resignation and turned to your brother, shooting him a look of disbelief.

Meanwhile, you were sliding down the curvy slide that took you down multiple metres until it ended just above a metal pot that seemed to be used for cooking. You landed on your behind and let out a series of groans at the throbbing pain in your back. When your eyes fluttered open again, you found soft paws nudging your side in the hope of waking you up again. Your eyes fluttered open, and a giant smile spread on your lips upon having found Grim again.

You exhaled in relief as you picked him up into your arms and cuddled him close to your chest. "Grim, there you are…" you whispered into his fur, a large smile blossoming on your face. Once you had recovered from your initial surprise, you rose to your feet and looked around the area with the intention of finding out where you were.

Like you had observed earlier, you were standing in a large metal pot. The sound of fire crackling and the bottom warming up comfortably, so much that Grim wiggled out of your arms to enjoy the warmth of the bottom. You let out a little chuckle and turned back to the walls of the pot, thinking of a way to get out — sadly, the walls were too high and too smooth for you to climb up on. But! The hook that connected the handle to the pot looked like it would be helpful for an escape.

Before you could work on your plan any further, the sound of loud footsteps and stomping filled your ears, causing you to wince in fear. Upon getting onto your toes, you managed to sneak a peek at the giant entering his little hut with vegetables in his arms. He threw them down on a nearby cutting board before walking over to the pot over the fireplace and peering inside with a large grin on his face.

"More lunch for Ruggie!" the giant with fluffy hyena ears exclaimed in an overjoyed tone, rubbing his stomach with his hands. He grabbed onto the edge of the pot and tilted it over to his side, so that he could get a better look at you. "I like lunch!"

You gulped when he let go of the pot again, causing you to lose your balance and stumble back and forth until you had regained your footing again. You didn't plan to be devoured by a ravenous giant for lunch today, so you had to come up with a plan real quick.

Ruggie hummed the tone of a child's lullaby, never really hitting the correct notes, as he chopped up the ingredients he planned to boil along with you. A hearty laugh escaped his lips as he grabbed a handful of vegetables that were the size of Grim and threw them over his back, most of them landing in the pot. You covered your head when carrots rained down upon you. "Carrots!" Then, more ingredients followed. "Turnips and onions!"

A relieved gasp escaped your lips when finally, the rain of vegetables had come to an end. The ambush of food hadn't been so bad, after all, either! You finally had something that you could use as a hook along with the (F/c) ribbon that tied your hair together. Picking up a carrot that lay by your feet, you promptly wrapped one end of the ribbon around it and tied it into a tight knot — there, your grappling hook was finished. Now… you just needed to distract Ruggie.

"Oh, poor Ruggie!" you yelled out, which made the giant stop with cutting his vegetables and venture over to the pot instead upon hearing his name being called out. His giant face loomed over you and Grim, who clung to your leg in fear. Ruggie shot you a questioning look, wanting to know why you had called for him. You cupped your hands around your mouth and began to laugh. "Maybe after you eat us, you won't be so weak and scrawny!"

"Ruggie scrawny?!" The giant gasped, offended, and began to glare at you. "Ruggie is not scrawny! Ruggie strong!" The angry look he sent you made you shrink together in fear, but at least he looked determined enough to fall right into your trap. He put his hands on his hips and cried out, "How can Ruggie prove?"

"Can you break a log apart with only your jaw?"

Ruggie rolled his eyes and stepped away to grab a log. "Of course!" he exclaimed proudly before opening his mouth wide open and putting the log between his rows of sharp teeth. With little effort, he managed to snap the sturdy lodge into two with mere jaw strength.

"Wow… but I bet you can't do it with that whole tree log over there!"

Ruggie spit out the pieces of wood and marched over to the largest log in his possession, one that was almost as tall as a tree and could actually count as a whole tree trunk. He rolled his shoulders before opening his mouth once again to place the humongous log into his mouth, his teeth clamping down to the point where you could hear the faintest cracking noises. "Watch and see," he said, his voice muffled. Then, he pressed his eyes shut and began increasing the force of his jaw. He required the utmost concentration and strength for this task.

You hummed in satisfaction upon seeing him so distracted. The grappling hook you had crafted earlier in your hands, you bent down, so that Grim could climb onto your back. "Come on, Grim…" you cooed, and he didn't let himself be told twice as he eagerly jumped on and dug his claws into the fabric of your dress. Your eyes trained on the hook where handle and pot conjoined, you threw the carrot and let out a happy gasp when it lodged itself into the hook. "Let's get out of here!"

"See? It's close to breaking!" Ruggie exclaimed proudly, although the lodge barely had any cracks yet. The pride on his face immediately disappeared when he finally noticed you climbing over the edge of the pot with your makeshift grappling hook. Unbelievable anger filled his eyes. "Hey, where are you going?!"

You hurried and unwrapped your ribbon from the carrot to throw it back into the pot. Once that was done with, you jumped down from the edge of the pot and made a run for the door with Grim clinging to your back tightly. "See you, Ruggie!" you shouted out as the giant tried to chase after you.

Ruggie had great difficulties with how he couldn't look down properly since the lodge was still firmly lodged between his teeth, so much that he couldn't remove it even if he wanted to. He was close on your tail, and the ground shook with vibrations whenever he stomped down. Angered, the giant tried to follow you out of the door that served as an exit for his hut. 

In his blind fury, he forgot that he had the wooden lodge still between his teeth, and thus he attempted to run through the door, too. The ends of the lodge collided with the door frame, too big in width to let him pass through the door without a problem. The force sent him tumbling back and falling to the floor, his eyes dazed and his vision blurry.

"No, come back here!" he whined as he lay on the ground, unmoving with how heavily his head spun. "Ruggie wants lunch!"

Not listening to his pitiful pleas, you ran and ran without looking back. It didn't take long until you rounded the corner and entered a deeper and darker area of the forest again, one where you were certain that Ruggie couldn't follow you to, even if he had recovered and was now searching for you.

Your chest heaving up and down, you placed your hands on your knees and breathed raggedly. Grim jumped off your back and threw himself to the floor, his limbs sprawled out in relief at the closeness of the situation.

Much to your surprise, you could soon hear the sound of footsteps approaching. You raised your gaze to find Riddle, as well as Deuce and his horse, approaching you.

"(Y/n), you're alright!" Riddle cried out in happiness. "And you have Grim!"

Deuce, on the other hand, looked much more sceptical and less happy than your brother did. An annoyed frown appeared on his face, and Deuce made sure to give you a disapproving look. "You made it out yourself, huh?" He scoffed, causing you to cross your arms and glare at him challengingly. In response, he merely shrugged and clicked his tongue. "I was going to rescue you. Again."

You waved him off with a flick of your wrist before presenting the ultimate weapon that had gotten you out of there: your hair tie. A proud smile on your lips, you presented the long strip that usually tied your hair together to your companions. "I got out with my ribbon!" you exclaimed, to which Grim nodded eagerly.

"Wow…" Deuce quirked an eyebrow and let out a little whistle. "That's impressive."

You were about to rub it under his nose when the pegasus interrupted you with a surprised gasp, his eyes bright in realisation and excitement. All eyes now on Riddle, the pegasus nodded at the exact length of the tie you were holding up. "Wait— the ribbon is as tall as you!" he explained, unable to hold his thoughts to himself any longer. "It's your measure… your measure of courage!"

As if on cue, the long tie for your hair turned into a (F/c) staff that was much shorter but of course heavier than your ribbon. Your eyes were wide in shock as you clutched the staff in your hands, letting your fingertips run over its smooth surface.

"Wow, we got the first component!" you cried out in happiness, and Grim soon joined in on the cheering. A triumphant grin on your lips, you raised the staff into the air with newfound strength and hope — maybe your task that other people deemed impossible wasn't that impossible after all. "Now we only need a ring of love and a gem of ice, lit by hope's eternal flame!"

"You want to build a Wand of Light?" Deuce asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, to which you responded with an eager nod. A scoff left his lips, and he merely rolled his eyes at the innocent and naive shimmer in your eyes. "It's just an old fairytale."

"Did you just see what happened to my ribbon? It turned into a staff!"

Deuce pursed his lips and stayed silent at how he couldn't find a logical explanation to counter your words. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed and admitted, "Alright… maybe that was strange." Before you could sneer at him for being wrong, he narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth again. "But nothing is too strange in this forest. This doesn't have to mean that a Wand of Light truly exists."

Before you could counter his statement with another argument, he briskly turned around and led his horse away from you, silent all the time. Your eyes grew at his sudden retreat, and you stepped forward to cry out, "Wait, where are you going—"

Although he stopped in his move, he didn't turn around as he stated, "Home." When you couldn't find any fitting words or anything to say, Deuce took it as a signal to further retreat from your sight.

"He's such an idiot!" you cried out, exasperated.

Riddle chuckled at your frustration and wiggled his eyebrows at you teasingly. "But cute, right?"

Your brother's teasing made you avert your gaze to the floor in embarrassment and cross your arms to shield yourself from the pegasus' mocking glances. "M-Maybe?" you stuttered out with a shaking voice that was also an octave higher than usually. Your feet prodded one another, and you suddenly felt the need to hide your face from your smug brother. "I didn't notice…"

"Go!" Grim cried out as he pawned at your legs, not wanting Deuce to go.

You gulped and swallowed your pride, knowing that your cat companion was right. Taking one last breath, you then reached out towards Deuce and yelled out, "Wait, Deuce!"

Deuce sighed and snapped around, an irked frown on his face. "Do you need something?" he snarled, which caught you off-guard. His glare softened when he realised how much he had frightened you. You nodded timidly, your eyes avoiding his gaze and instead focused on the sword on his hip. Deuce took notice of it very quickly, amused by your staring. "You seem to be interested in my sword. I made it myself."

Your eyes grew in size at how much of a help he could be when you needed the Wand of Light to be forged together from all three loose components! A determined look flashing over your face, you raised your gaze and looked him dead in the eyes. "Then we need your help!" you exclaimed, your voice desperate and loud.

Deuce furrowed his eyebrows. "Why…?"

"Once we have all three components of the wand, we need a smith to put them together!"

The blue-haired male seemed hesitant with the way his grip on the reins tightened. Eventually, he sighed and turned away from you, merely stating, "I'm busy." He got into motion again, walking away without sparing you a second glance.

You shook your head and took several steps towards him. "Please, Deuce. My time is running out!" Your voice broke at the end, and it turned meek and quiet again. The tears began to well in your eyes again. Clutching your staff close to your chest, you let out a long sigh. "I made a mistake… and I need another chance…"

"...another chance?" the male repeated, to which you hummed in a grave tone. He seemed conflicted by your words, suddenly torn if he should aid you in your quest. His eyes were closed, and he bit his lip, thinking deeply. Eventually, his eyes fluttered open again and, having made up his mind, he turned around to face you again with a slightly less serious and hostile frown on his face. "Alright fine, I will help you."

You shot him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Deuce."

"Don't mention it."