Princess Y/N Stark of York New must marry a man chosen by her brother, by the time she is 21. Her brother’s council have the perfect man in mind, one that is terrifying and hell bent on having his Queen. But Princess Y/N’s heart belongs to another, and luckily so does her hand in marriage.’
A princess is far more powerful than a king, my love. You have the power of merging families and kingdoms. You have the power of carrying hopeful heirs to the throne. You have more power than you know…’
Bold italics are flashbacks.
Series warnings: swearing, medieval views on women, arranged marriage, smut, bloodshed, violence, 18+ readers only
“I think your father will love them, Morgana.” You smiled at her as you helped her pick flowers from the garden.
She hummed, her brow creased in concentration. “You think so?”
You nodded, “I do. What do you think, Steven?” You looked up at Steve where he knelt beside you and Morgana, holding the flowers that she picked.
He nodded. “Your father with love them, Princess.” He smiled at her before lifting what she’d already picked to his nose and inhaling their scent. “They’re beautiful… Just like you.” He winked at her making her giggle and quickly hide behind you.
You let out a soft laugh and rolled your eyes. “Such a charmer.”
Steve shrugged with a grin. “It’s the truth.”
“If you say so,” You pushed yourself up from the floor. “C'mon, little Princess, we should go find some water for these and take them up to your father.” You smiled down at her and held your hand out for her to take.
“Okay… Come along, King Steven.” Morgana grabbed a hold of Steve’s free hand and began leading him towards the staircase that lead back into the castle.
You rolled your eyes playfully in annoyance but you truly didn’t mind. You were happy to see Morgana smiling, and the sight of her and Steve only fuelled your fantasies of Steve one day being a father.
“Your Majesty… Your Highness,” Rhodey walked up to you and Steve as you entered the castle and bowed.
“Sir James,” You nodded. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded, “It’s the King,” He smiled. “He’s awake.”
Even though you began smiling, tears formed in your eyes. You were sure you were going to loose your brother.
Rhodey looked down at Morgana. “Your nanny has been looking for you, little Princess. Shall we go find her?”
Morgana scrunched her face up. “But I need to put the flowers in water, Sir James.”
Rhodey nodded with a smile. “We can do that. Come along, Your Highness.” He reached down and took a hold of her little hand in his whilst taking the flowers from Steve’s hand with a thank you.
As Morgana waved goodbye to you and Steve, he slipped his arm around your waist, pressing a kiss to your temple.
“Do you think it’s good news?” You asked looking up at him.
Steve let out a slow sigh, “Fingers crossed.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Tony.” You smiled at him as you sat on the edge of his bed.
Tony chuckled, “Of course I am. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to finish me off.” He looked over to where Steve stood at the end of the bed. “Thank you, for taking care of things, Steve. You’re a true friend.” Tony nodded.
Steve smiled, “Of course. Besides, I mostly did it for, Y/N, not you… She’s a lot prettier than you are.” He teased, sending you a wink.
Tony rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”
“And it’s not me you should be thanking, Tony.” Steve proudly smiled as he stood behind you and placed his hand on your shoulder. “Without the help, Y/N, gave us, we wouldn’t have gotten the information we needed.”
Tony nodded and smiled at you. “I’m very proud of you.” He took your hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I hope you no longer doubt your ability to be a good queen.”
You let out a puff of air. “I’ve got a long way to go before I’m perfect.”
Tony shook his head, “No one is perfect, Y/N. You’ll make mistakes, everyone does. All that matters is you try to be the best version of yourself and learn from the mistakes you make.” He smiled. “That’s how you become a great queen.”
You lowered your gaze as you thought about his words. “Where’s, Pepper?” You asked.
Tony let out a heavy breath, “… Thinking.” He frowned. “I heard about what she said to you.”
Your eyes widened a little. You cleared your throat as you stood from the bed. “Oh, that, that was nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Y/N.” Tony gave you a stern stare. “Pepper, had no right to say the things she did to you.”
You closed your eyes as you let out a soft sigh. “But it was understandable, Anthony. She thought you were going to die.”
“It’s no excuse, Y/N. None of this is your fault.” Tony grunted. “I’m tired of people blaming you, or miss treating you because of fathers mess.”
“As am I.” You gave him a lovmg smile. “And I appreciate you still wanting to protect me, but it’s time you focused on your family, Anthony.”
His brow furrowed, “You are my family, Y/N.”
You nodded, “I’m also going to be queen of my very own kingdom soon,” You looked up at Steve as you wrapped your arm around his waist, smiling. “With a husband.”
“It’s my turn to protect her, Tony.” Steve held you close to his side.
You nodded. “It’s time I grew up and became my own.”
Tony let out a heavy sigh. “You’re still my little sister.”
“I know.” You smiled. “Has the doctor said how long it will take for you to be back on your feet?”
He nodded, “Couple of weeks. Banner says he’s got a trick or two up his sleeves.” He smirked.
You nodded, “Good, I’m glad.” You smiled. “Because I’d like to be getting married as soon as we can. Brook needs it’s King back.”
Tony took a deep breath and nodded. “How does three weeks sound?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Any word from, Sam?” You asked Steve as you walked by his side, arms linked as you ventured through the garden maze together.
The moment you’d learnt of Sir Alexander’s involvement, Sam was sent back to Brook to gather a small army of men to make the appropriate arrests as Rhodey had gathered his men to do the same in York New. You had a feeling Sir Alexander wouldn’t be in Brook, he was a snake and would most likely have already made his escape.
Steve shook his head with a sigh. “Nothing yet, which only means bads news.” He looked at you and gave you soft smile, “But forget about that for now. This is meant to be me and you time. Let’s not dwell on all that.” He placed his hand over the top of yours that hooked around his bicep. “Are you happy with when the wedding is, my love?”
Your eyes lit up as you nodded. “Oh, yes. Although, I do worry perhaps we might not get everything planned in time.” Your brow furrowed.
Steve grinned to himself as he watched you. You, his soon-to-be wife. “I’ll help as much as I can before I return to Brook.”
You nodded, “I wish you didn’t have to.” You pouted.
Steve chuckled softly, “I know, my love, but I must. There are things to arrange for when we return together, as man and wife.” He grinned at you making you giggle.
The pair of you stopped and turned to face each other, letting the silence of the garden surround you. Although there were guards at all entrances to the maze and some had walked through the entire thing to make sure there was no one lurking where they shouldn’t be, you and Steve were alone. You’re suddenly u were finally able to spend some time together.
“I meant what I said to, Tony… I’ll protect you until the day I die.” He whispered, reaching up to brush a stray piece of hair back.
You nodded, “I know.” You leaned up and pressed your lips softly against his as your hands tangled in his clothes. You pulled back from him with a deep breath. “I know, I won’t be able to protect you like you will me, but I will care for you, and love you, and I’ll find my own way to protect you.” You smiled.
Steve rested bus forehead against yours, “I know you will… My Queen.”
Okaylook it’s not my fault I was writing a really important essay that’s due tomorrow and I took a small Tumblr break and read something that made me finally give in to my recent desire to write a Medieval AU (and also to learn how to spell Medieval). I cannot be blAMED FOR THIS.
For the old @drarrymicrofic prompt: King (even though I already wrote one for this prompt a long time ago I thought of it again and also I wanna re-do it with a different take.)
Draco paces back and forth, nervous, refusing to sit or shed his robes and crown until—
Until.
He glances out the window, the sight of the setting sun enough for dread, a cruel knife, to twist in his stomach. No, he thinks. The day is not over.
Harry had promised he’d be back by the end of one hundred and twenty days. And no matter when the clock chimed, or the sun gave up hope, Harry kept his promises.
He’d sworn his fealty, kneeling in front of Draco, his armor clinking on the marble floor of the throne room, the avid audience around them fading at the sight of evergreen eyes bright with a hope that still took Draco’s breath away at the mere memory. He’d placed his hands in Draco’s, the words of the oath falling from his lips and into the space between them.
“I vow on my heart that I will forever be faithful to my king, never cause him harm and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit.”
Ancient magic flowed over their joined palms, a golden string of light tying itself between their wrists, and Draco couldn’t help but notice the way it glowed against Harry’s bronze skin. It had faded nearly as quickly as it came, and Harry’d stood, wearing a lopsided grin that made Draco want to kiss him, to claim him, in front of the entire kingdom.
They’d had to wait; they knew it. If the enemy had known that the King’s beloved was among the soldiers fighting them, Harry’d have been targeted. It was safer, that way, for Harry and for the kingdom.
Still, Draco promised himself that the moment Harry returned, the very instant he saw him, he’d make a vow of his own. He’d be the one to kneel, to pledge his love, his heart.
And he would, too. Just as soon as the day ended.
Draco turns on his heel to walk another circle around his chambers when the door creaks open. Draco is about to chastise the careless servant for not knocking before entering his private quarters when half of a familiar face peeks through the crack.
The door slams open and Draco flings himself into Harry’s waiting arms, uncaring of the cool metal of the armor against him. He wastes no time in pressing their lips together, in tangling his fingers in sweaty, knotted black hair.
They break apart to breathe, panting against each other. Harry opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, Draco presses a single finger to his lips. Harry raises his eyebrows in surprise, but he remains silent.
Draco summons a small black box from the bedside drawer, takes Harry’s hands in his own, and kneels in front of him.
Sooo…I have been writing my syaosaku medieval/slavic/a little bit got inspired AU for some time now. It is not yet close to being finished (despite being almost totally planned out, to be fair it is quite massive) but you can thank my Uni for that one.
Despite that I wanted to give you all a little sneak peak of sorts, mostly because i enjoy drawing this AU so much that I doodle almost every lecture and by now have like 20 different dresses for Sakura.
(Also I will welcome anyone who wants to beta read it with all the love I have in me…and cookies, but mostly love.)
After resting in front of the gates, our small family makes its way into the city and settles in an inn after a long journey.
Hahahahhhhhhhh I am back. Well, I resurface, not much more lol.
Creating has been quite hard because I’m working 40+ hours a week and because I’m an anxiety-ridden mess. And also, updating has been very hard because, well, I get panic attacks from the mere thought of uploading.
I don’t know how I got here but I don’t like it and I am already trying to change it. But, you know, it’s a long journey. For now have these bread crumbs of chapter 3, I am… Trying.
I hope you guys enjoy it, this fanfic has like, 100k words of pure fluff if I get around to uploading which will usually take around 3 to 4 business weeks haha. So…
And my beta is Grammarly and myself pls don’t judge
The young girl stumbled alongside her mentor who safely held her hand, guiding her over the gravel road until Bonesborough slowly lost most of its sight behind the treetops the farther they descended, only then did Luz let go again.
With a star-struck expression, she turned back to Eda who was already sighing.
“Eda, this is amazing! It’s even bigger than I dreamt it would be!”, she exclaimed and the witch nodded, shrugging.
“Bonesborough is a big city, Luz. It doesn’t surprise me that you couldn’t dream up the size, only a few can.”, she replied to that and despite Luz feeling attacked for a short moment, her amazement was big enough to ignore it.
“I couldn’t even count the roofs! And I thought Latissa was big already…”, she mumbled to herself before skipping ahead a few paces, stretching and standing on her tiptoes to catch another glance of Bonesborough. Since she was so small, she couldn’t even make out the tallest tower of the city anymore, unlike Eda who was still focused on the city’s roofs since she could still see them.
The small girl finally settled back on her heels and continued the way down to the valley where Bonesborough lay, humming and skipping to herself.
She was excited about finally going to the city. She had waited almost her whole life for this, she felt like, and now the moment was finally here.
She would roam the streets while Eda was busy with her sister and explore the daily life of such a big collection of all possible species, people, and demons. Maybe she would even have time not to steal but to take in all the sights and wonders of a bustling city, and explore the daily life without having to worry about being recognized as a thief, after all, there would be a lot of people and she would fit right in.
Luz continued down into the valley, followed by her family, accompanied by soft bickering between Gus and King, the boy arguing that the pup should try stealing from a butcher and the pup whining and huffing in response. They were not entirely sure how far King’s intelligence went, but they were fairly sure he could understand simple sentences and made up for the rest with his cuteness.
The trees slowly started leaning in over the way again, and a comfortable roof of leaves left them with a bit of shade and a protected feeling. They were too close to the city for bandits to prey on them and if that were the case, Eda had her sword and always a loose wrist, ready to slice whoever wasn’t too amused with her.
Luz had always felt comfortable in forests, much more so than in plains and flat environments like the riverbed areas. She wasn’t sure what it was, the trees hanging overhead, the leaves blocking out the sun and sky, or if it was the mossy scent carried through the trees, but she had always felt safer here than anywhere else.
Most travelers didn’t feel safe at all, going through forests, because quite often bandits were hiding, ready to rob them, or predators, monsters, animals, all the like to attack them, injure them, devour them and take what was theirs.
Luz could understand that most chose their travel routes around forests to prevent that from happening. Humming, the little girl wandered through the speckled light and looked up, smiling.
She definitely liked the roof. The different kinds of leaves broke the sunshine, but could also protect the road from bad weather.
Right now, though, with the sun high on the afternoon sky, the different kinds of leaves were projecting all kinds of colors on her face, green along with reds, oranges, and purples, a wonderful play of colors that were painting the floor, all the lower plants and the people on the road, their belongings on carriages and crates, showing the beautiful power of the sun.
Somehow, it gave Luz the impression that she was standing in one of the cathedrals Eda had told her about once, giant buildings full of colorful windows and candles, echoes, and silent people.
People had forgotten what they had been built for, but it had had to be a grand reason. Luz couldn’t imagine their ancestors having built them for storage or any of the other stuff they were being used for now. Some had been repurposed as warehouses, some others as marketplaces, and others even as townhalls, Eda had told her of that. Luz was more than excited about seeing these gigantic buildings, even if their real purpose was lost to time.
Her gaze wandering down after she opened her eyes again, enjoying the play of shadows and speckled light on her face, she looked around in the forest, seeing all kinds of plants Eda had taught her about.
There were some saplings and other small trees she immediately recognized, but also some bushes and roadside plants that she hadn’t seen yet. Eda had told her Bonesborough held some sort of power that caused magic around it, more so than around villages because there was a lot more magic around the city, but Luz hadn’t thought it would be showing itself in nature. Looking back to her mentor, she smiled in awe, and Eda nodded, even if the older witch had no understanding of what the child was thinking about.
She let her gaze wander around again, looking into the thickly grown undergrowth of the forest. Suddenly, she felt grateful for the road they were traveling on because even if it was dusty and the gravel was slowly biting into the soles of her shoes, it was at least free and was drawing a straight line towards the city’s walls and the gate they were aiming for, even if that wasn’t visible yet.
Softly beginning to skip her steps, Luz looked around, trying to find as many mushrooms, plants, and sights as she could that she didn’t know yet. Smiling, she spotted quite a few.
Eda had told her how impressed she was with her child’s ability to perceive things incredibly fast. It was something Luz was proud of herself, not that she wanted to boast or anything.
But it helped with picking out the right people for pickpocketing, and the right houses to grab some things in because it allowed her to realize who had money and who didn’t. Apparently, that was not usual for kids her age, and that made Luz’s chest swell with more pride and confidence than she already had.
Finally, after another fair bit of walking, they reached the city’s gates. Eda had had to pick Gus up again since he was tired and couldn’t walk anymore when they reached the borders, but the moment he could spot the city’s gate and high walls he was on high alert again, and squirming to be let down to the floor to explore it himself. Eda agreed to take a quick break and eat some of their snacks while her kids would go run around and explore a bit.
It would help her a lot if they could exert themselves a little since she now still had a chance to keep an eye on them outside the city limits. Inside, on the crammed streets and busy marketplaces, she would have a harder time letting them run around and keeping them safe from their own shenanigans. The forest opened up to a fair bit of plains surrounding the city’s walls, presumably to spot approaching enemies faster, but the kingdom hadn’t been attacked ever since the heads of the kingdoms had sworn to a pact of peace until King Belos had broken that pact. Yet, the frontlines were still far away, and thus, Bonesborough hadn’t witnessed an attack on its own walls in over a thousand years.
So she had no qualms leaving her kids running around exploring the wall and the surrounding parameters since she was confident nobody of the outposts here would freak out and call an attack.
They were safe here, after all.
She settled under a tree by the end of the forest and Luz immediately took off, followed by a wobbly but no less excited Gus. No matter how tired, he was never far behind to join his sister on a hunt for wondrous stuff and exciting adventures.
The little boy was finally catching up with Luz and joined her in examining a new kind of plant she had already seen on their journey here, but hadn’t been able to stop because of the packed road that was moving on and had carried her with.
The two kids were crouching down, trying to guess what kind of plant it was, and Luz came up with the most interesting ideas Gus had ever heard. A plant that could heal broken limbs, or a plant that could poison all their enemy’s forces. He plopped to his butt and stared at her wide-eyed.
“Really?”, he asked and Luz kneeled next to him, laughing.
“Why not? I don’t know what this plant does and it would be so cool if it was able to do that! Imagine, just a drop from its poisonous roots and the whole front falls!”, she declared, puffing out her chest and grinning.
“Hey look, what’s that!”, Gus suddenly exclaimed and pointed a few steps farther down the forest line, spotting a small animal that was climbing a tree. It looked wonderful with its slick brown fur and the big eyes, the pupils of which were pulled into slits. Both children got up and kept their distance, watching the animal keeping them in sight to be able to react should they seek to do harm, but when it deemed the witch and demon children harmless, it quickly continued up the tree with its load of prey, vanishing in the treetops. Luz ran towards the tree and looked up but was unable to spot the animal anymore. It had four paws and hadn’t been bigger than her arm in its whole size.
She tried to see where it had gone, but its brown fur made it impossible to see against the bark of the dark tree.
She giggled in delight, before turning back to her brother, grinning widely.
“Did you see its big eyes?”, she asked, seeing the animal clearly in her mind when Gus reached her, “They were green! I’ve never seen eyes that green!”
The two kids continued, running over the plains always within sight of their mentor. At some point, Luz dropped down in the grass to watch the birds flying past, while Gus settled next to her and practiced the spell he had learned from Eda throughout this journey, which was to make a small toy appear in his hand. She had quickly recognized his talent for illusion magic, figuring the orphan boy was from their neighboring kingdom and had started to teach him spells from there, since she had traveled to all the kingdoms to learn their magic.
It wasn’t unusual for witches to mix magic, at least not anymore. History told a different story, of how the kingdoms had been divided in the ancient ages when magic had still been separated and people had been prohibited from learning another area’s skills. Luckily, with the act of peace, the kingdoms had loosened those laws, to profit from other magic as well. By now, plant and healing magic was fairly popular, since it helped poor folks with their farms and brought them better income.
When Gus had shown Luz what he could do, the two of them had their fun letting different toys appear in their hands and playing bandits and robbers, but soon, Luz was drawn to the high stone walls that were surrounding Bonesborough.
She approached them and saw guards standing up there in watching towers, yet nobody had any weapons ready. She knew that in the times before the faraway war, there had been a long time of peace, so no kingdom really feared an attack, but it still impressed her that these guards would keep the city safe.
Gus accompanied her on the wall and the two kids wandered along with it for a little while, away from the gate, still minding Eda to keep an eye on them, but wandering just far enough to look around the city for a bit. The wall was stretching all along its borders, and there were watchtowers every once in a while. Some weren’t even manned, the ones that had harder terrain around them, and Luz did wonder why the ones at the gate were guarded, then.
They turned around again, now passing the little stream of water that came out of the city. Luz had heard the city had a sewage system, she still knew of Eda telling her that because she had been interested to hear that a city actually had problems with keeping clean and a sewage system helped to maintain hygiene.
She had never seen one in practice. Villages usually didn’t have streams running through them, especially not ones specifically made for this purpose. She had only experienced such hygiene as buckets, basically, that were emptied somewhere outside the village. But she supposed, with such a vast city as Bonesborough, some people couldn’t just take their buckets and carry them outside the city.
The two kids jumped over the stream that went underground fairly close to the wall, which was why they hadn’t spotted the stream before, and saw a few bars that were installed under the wall. Pouting, Luz crossed her arms. She had wanted to sneak into the city unseen, but it seemed the city had made sure nobody could do that.
They inspected the little archway that was built into the stone for the stream to come out when suddenly, Eda called them and waved them closer, a clear call for them to venture into the city now. Grinning, Luz nudged Gus’ shoulder.
“Last one at Eda’s is a sour pickle.”, she exclaimed while already starting to sprint and Gus grimaced, quickly running after his older sister. He didn’t want to be a pickle. They would have those in winter a lot and Gus didn’t like them.
Of course, Luz was the first to reach Eda, because Gus was still exhausted from the long journey today, but she was quick to assure him that he was not a sour pickle after his chin had begun quivering when she had tapped Eda’s hips first, to mark her win.
Eda merely chuckled at her kids’ antics, before grabbing the boy and perching him up on her waist, and grabbing Luz’s hand.
“I want you both to stick close to me when we get in there. The city is big and some people might want to kidnap children. As soon as you get separated from me, start screaming, understood?”, she talked to the little girl on her hand and despite the warning, Luz didn’t seem bothered by her excitement.
Only after she received a nod from the girl, she started walking again, towards the heavy gates of the city to state her business in Bonesborough.
After a little while of arguing back and forth and Eda refusing to give up her sword, they finally got in. Luz didn’t know exactly how Eda had done it but she suspected it wasn’t exactly the most legal way. Her mentor had a tendency for the illegal, and Luz had seen her bribing guards wanting to arrest her quite often if she didn’t run away and get caught first.
Somehow, Eda was still on the loose, and while she was the cheapest when it came to things they needed, she somehow always had a bribe to stay free. Luz supposed she didn’t want to be arrested so badly that she even gave money for that.
Just when they walked through the large city gate, her senses went into overload. She ripped her eyes wide open and stared at the surroundings since she had never seen anything like it before. Well, on a smaller scale, she had, but she had never been to a city yet. Houses stood closely together, hanging over and making the little roads and ways in between shady and dark. At some points, the roofs even touched.
The houses were all decorated and there were stores on the ground floor in every single house that they passed, with vendors and sellers screaming and having a competition over who could attract the most customers.
There were all sorts of shops, ones Luz knew like blacksmiths, bakers, butchers, and other necessary ones, but also exotic shops for the rich and wealthy of which she had either seen few or none at all yet. Jewelry, delicate decors, flower shops, all sorts of smaller things to buy and put in their doubtlessly big houses.
She even found some blacksmiths that specialized in weaponry and armory, something she had never seen before in the smaller, poorer villages where blacksmiths had to craft all sorts of things to stay in business and sell as much as possible.
Some bakeries only sold sweets, there were chocolate shops and candy shops and while Luz had never tried any of those treats, she didn’t know how there could be two different shops for this when all she knew had been the baker selling loaves of bread and buns, as well as cakes, chocolates and candy and only if the village was big enough and they had some in stock.
There were whole shops about dairy products, like cheese and milk, without being together with another craft to make more money.
And she had never seen as many people on the road. There were witches and demons, all walking along with them, dressed so differently that Luz’s head was spinning. She was looking at tall ones, small ones, ones she had never seen, ones that dressed like she could pickpocket them, and ones that dressed like kings and queens, walking through the houses, buying stuff, and doing errands, and Luz knew these people weren’t even of the richer kind.
Eda had told her how most wealthy people would only be driven around the city in carriages and small wagons, and wouldn’t bother walking anywhere. Most of them wouldn’t even come to the parts of the city where the common folks would do their errands, have their daily lives, and have their shops and homes.
Her mouth open, Luz looked around and took in all she could see of the demons and witches around her, the houses and shops and the alleys and shady figures that were tumbling out of bars and taverns in the middle of the day, drunk and swaying and falling over themselves.
And there were a lot of children. Most were well dressed, all the same as if they were wearing some sort of uniform, and a little backpack that only held books, papers, and quills. Luz knew that because she watched one kid recollecting all her stuff after her backpack had fallen off her back.
This was so curious.
She had never seen that many children before, not even in the orphanage where she had grown up until Eda had taken her in.
Obediently holding Eda’s hand, she tried not to stumble or fall, because she feared she would just be trampled to death since there was a dense crowd around her, all of it moving, but she couldn’t stop staring at everything new to her, everything that was new and exciting and wonderfully chaotic that she wanted to spend all day looking at the whole mess that was still having some sort of weird order.
Finally, though, they entered the first marketplace. In an instant, Luz became overwhelmed again, this time letting Eda pull her along as she found herself unable to walk properly in a direction that made sense. She followed her mentor as they passed stands and little huts, selling toys, candles, brooms, tissues, dresses, and all sorts of things in the middle of the marketplace. She saw a stage erected in the middle with a crowd in front of it and a theater play on it. She had never seen a play, she had only ever seen the entertainers in villages that promised big riches if anyone could win their unfair games, and advertisers for a certain career or shop nearby.
She had never witnessed a play happening right here, out in the open, in the marketplace, and surrounded by shops, citizens, and bustling business wherever she looked.
Her attention was soon ripped from the play as Eda pulled her along, though, past stands that sold little cakes and jewelry, towards another road that led further into the city and looked exactly the same as the road where they had entered.
She saw another blacksmith, another shop that sold jewelry and expensive décor, and wondered why they were so close to each other. Whenever she had been in a village, there had been two bakers at most, because they supplied the citizens with necessary goods, but she had never seen two blacksmiths in such close proximity. How many were there in Bonesborough, if she had already seen two?
Stumbling along, Luz did her best to stay upright and stared at the facades of the houses they passed. Most looked old and wise, with color painted over repaired areas like patches, indicating they had been standing there for a long time already. She saw a lot of ancient shops, dating back some decades already when they had been founded by the fathers and forefathers of the current owners.
And she saw a lot more people running around, of all different social circles, poor and rich, dressed in suits or pathetic lumps. There were also a lot of beggars.
If there was something else that she knew about besides stealing, it was begging.
She saw grown adults sitting in the shadows, bare legs stretched out in front of them and a dirty wooden cup between their feet, their beards long and their rags dirty.
Children were running around asking for money, and old women carrying babies, holding out their hands and asking for some food in low, broken voices. Eda quickly pulled her along when a woman tried approaching her.
It wasn’t long before Luz finally started shaking off her stupor and started trying to explore, if still on Eda’s hand. The witch would not let go, not even for a little bit until would have learned the ways of the city and how to behave in its crowded streets not to get in trouble, but she at least got to look around more freely, dancing around Eda’s hand like she was doing a performance.
There were so many interesting people around. Witches that looked hard working and run down but so kind, with a big smile on their faces when they met a colleague or friend on the streets and greeted them loudly, to sound over the noise of the roads.
Some educated demons, carrying books and weird shapes on their noses, something called glasses, Eda whispered to her. Some others, holding all sorts of curious instruments, apparently for their studies because they kept looking at them.
There were some messengers around, most of the time small boys to deliver mail, or older people to heave heavy loads off of their post wagons. Luz saw many workers, walking with them into the city, and realized they were dirty from the mines they were working in. Eda had told her all about the mines around Bonesborough, and all the expensive and rare goods they were digging up. These workers probably came from work from outside the city to enter again and find back to their homes and families in the crowded streets.
There were a lot of wealthier demons, ones that needed protection in villages from thieves or robbers, but here, they were walking around like everyone, their jewelry and fancy clothes on display and no guards around. Luz shot a questioning gaze up at her witch who just shrugged non-committal at that.
Apparently, they felt safe enough with many other wealthy people around that they wouldn’t even flinch at the possibility of being robbed of their goods. Either that didn’t happen often, or they didn’t mind, and Luz was heavily leaning towards the first assumption.
Turning again on Eda’s hand, she looked back down the road from where they had come from, back to the lighter area of the marketplace where she still heard the theater playing and the sellers praising their goods. Some had even come from outside the city, mostly farmers and hunters, Luz had recognized their goods from outside, like wheat and furs.
Many people were going their way. They had come through the gate just like Eda and her little family and were walking into the city to go back home, find their business here, check-in at a tavern, or simply enjoy the nightlife of such a bustling city while neighboring villages only had one or two taverns to be entertained in if any at all.
She managed to turn back around, feeling Eda adjusting her grip on her hand, before she could once again look at all the shops in more detail again, looking through the windows and getting a glimpse of the everyday life of the city’s market.
Inside a baker shop, she saw a big demon kneading dough and another one assembling smaller buns on a tray to bake them. In the next shop, she could spot a witch sniffing on some soap, asking the seller something as she turned to them, holding two bars of soap in each of her hands as she was weighing them.
There was a demon trying to negotiate over a piece of cloth they wanted to buy and, in another window, she could see waiters pouring into cups and serving meals she could hear her stomach growling from. Everything was so different and new, there was so much to see and explore, and even if her mind was already stretching and yearning for the freeing outside world with its many fields and forests, she was astounded and amazed by the city. Not only by the amount of business on roads as small as this one, but also by the seemingly endlessly running machine that was feeding the city’s life, a well-oiled run that went smoothly and always transformed into a different kind of program, instead of coming to complete halt. Despite the sun already going down and the sky being painted in all the wonderful colors of a sunset that was difficult to see through the many roofs, the roads and people didn’t even think of calming down. Surely, at lunch, there must be pushing and pulling in these streets, if the crowd was already thinning out towards the end of the day.
Finally, Eda turned into a street off the main one, and only a few travelers followed them, getting less and less the more they walked down the road, a few walking from the other direction and one or two smaller carriages standing on the way, but this one was decidedly smaller and quieter than the main roads which Luz wasn’t entirely ungrateful for.
She followed Eda down the road and only let go of her hand when the witch lifted the small kid, she was carrying off her waist.
Gus’ head was sleepily rolling on his shoulders and when Luz took him in her arms, he gratefully curled up around her and placed his head on her shoulder to continue dozing. Luz patted his head and sympathetically rubbed his back, humming for him while Eda took off her sword before marching into the inn she was going to check in at, gesturing the kids and king to come with her.
Luz followed suit and avoided eye contact with everyone in the tavern at ground level, just following her mentor to the bar for her to ask for a room. She ordered one with a big bed to house them all and replied to the remark not to bring pets with a snarl that king was no pet.
Seeing her sword, the inn keeper seemed to change his mind about the demon wolf pup and kept his mouth shut as Eda slammed a small fee on the bar, before taking her kids and the pup up the stairs to the room the keeper had said was free.
Upon arriving, Luz softly placed Gus on the bed and watched him cuddling himself in, so he could take a little nap before Eda would get them some dinner. The witch sat down at the small table and pulled out a letter when Luz climbed on her lap and sat down, leaning against her mentor contently.
“Is that the letter your sister wrote?”, she asked and all the tension from the roads below fell off of Eda when her daughter came cuddling. She wrapped an arm around her and smiled, nodding down to her kid but Luz had closed her eyes.
“Yeah, the one she sent from the front.”, the witch explained and Luz hummed, before opening her eyes again and making grabby hands at the letter.
“Can I read it?”, she asked and Eda skimmed over it again, trying to find the information she wouldn’t want Luz to know but when she deemed the letter safe for her to read, she handed it to her and repositioned her on her lap, so Luz could lean against her with her side and sit more comfortably sideways, and so Eda could look at her and cuddle her in turn.
It made her smile how Luz started focusing on the letter, sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth as she was concentrating. For such a small girl she was surely learning fast.
As a seven-year-old, Luz’s reading and writing were advanced and Eda couldn’t be prouder of her to be curious and happy to learn about everything she taught her.
She had seen Luz’s eyes flickering around in the streets today, taking in all the sights and surely connecting information, comparing to what she had known before, and learning the behaviors and ways of the city and how to handle it for an advantage.
She knew the girl was smart and she knew exactly what kind of expression Luz made when she was analyzing something to save it somewhere in that big head of hers.
That was something she was amazed about as well.
Luz hardly forgot things that she was interested in. She could forget where to meet up again within a second when they parted for the day to go about their jobs, but if she had found something she found fascinating, amazing, and wondrous, she could be thinking about it for the following hours and recall it months later.
The girl lifted her hand to the letter, stretching out her finger to run it along the lines to concentrate better, while Eda placed a soft kiss on her head. She was a smart kid and she would make sure Luz could get all the possibilities she deserved someday. She would teach her everything she knew and hopefully, Luz would learn to navigate through the demanding, cruel world she had been born into.
But with how she was doing already, Eda had little to no doubts that Luz would be successful someday.
And she would be there all the way to ensure her little girl would reach for the stars.
Finally, after Luz had read over the most difficult parts, she rose her voice from a whisper to read the letter aloud, making Eda close her eyes.
She hadn’t seen her sister in years and she couldn’t deny that a certain fondness had stayed, even after all these years and fights they had endured, with each other, with the enemy, with some friends even, physically and verbally. There had been a lot to create a rift between the sisters, but they had somehow always kept their affection for the other because if there was something Eda believed in more than anything, it was their sisterly bond that would prevail.
Even after Eda had resigned from being a knight and betraying the army of the king, Lilith had frequently sent letters to the Owl House, which Eda had only belatedly replied to after returning from her travels, but she had always felt their bond when she had read Lilith’s greetings.
“Dear sister.”, Luz began, her childishly high voice contrasting so much with the deep voice Eda remembered for her sister, making her smile a little wider, and her arms curled a little tighter around her child, “I write to you today in the hopes of seeing you soon again. Following an injury, I have to be sent home from the front and will return to Bonesborough.”
Her pace was slow and she was still figuring out the words and stressing, but she was already so much ahead of her age.
For now, the child stopped to read over the next sentence again, furrowing her eyebrows.
“… The-… The next ship following the summer solstice will begin my travel back to the homeland.”, she read and Eda nodded. Lilith was already in the city and Eda would sure take her sweet time to get in contact with her sister. Despite what she had written in her letter to lure her in, Eda was still expecting her to have some strong words regarding Eda deserting the armed forces and of course trying to ask for something, as she had hinted.
“Very good, Luz. Continue?”, she asked and the child nodded.
“I am expecting you to visit me in Bonesborough as soon as possible. I will be waiting for you in the old birth house to honor our parents’ death that occurred while I was sadly away, and I want to talk to you about a deal I had in mind.”, Luz once again furrowed her eyebrows, reading a bit ahead, before speaking up again, making Eda’s chest swell in pride once more, “It is a delicate matter, so I expect you to come alone. Do not make yourself a name before I haven’t spoken to you. For old times’ sake, treat our relationship with respect. Of course, you can be expecting a reward for your troubles.”
Snorting, Eda ruffled Luz’s hair, then she hummed.
“She’s awfully demanding, is she not?”, the older witch mumbled and the child leaned against her chest, shrugging as she read the last few words, which were just a greeting to Eda’s name.
“It really seems like it’s important…”, Luz softly replied and folded the letter again, showing real worry that Eda couldn’t help but smirk at.
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Lilith has always been a bit big on her words. I’m sure she just wants to offer me a job.”, Eda waved it off and took the letter from Luz who snuggled against her chest.
“But Eda, what if it’s really important?”, the kid asked and looked at her with big eyes, sounding worried, “The solstice festival we had, with the big bonfire, was a few days ago already. Why didn’t we go to Bonesborough earlier?”
At that, Eda couldn’t help but smile, shaking her head. Her kid was too bright for her to lie.
“Because I like to keep my sister waiting. And whatever she wants, it’s probably all about her little political machinations and useless diplomacy. She’ll be fine until I check in with her.”, she reassured the kid and even if Luz still seemed troubled, she did back down a little bit.
Grinning, Eda recognized that pout anywhere. She was still unsure.
“Tell you what, I’ll take you and Gus with me to my sister.”, she suggested and her daughter immediately lit up as if Eda hadn’t planned to do that from the beginning, “And you’ll listen to her really hard and then decide if it’s important or not.”
Immediately, a big grin broke out over Luz’s face and she began beaming like the late afternoon sun over the fields.
“You entrust me with this?”, she asked and Eda could feel the pride radiating off her. Humming, she nodded.
“Yeah, you’re my right hand, after all, eh? You listen to her really hard and Gus can help you, and then you kids decide if we’ll do what she wants me to do.”, she promised and Luz knitted her eyebrows, slowly nodding, before finally looking over to Gus who was still fast asleep on the bed.
“But… I’ll help Gus listen.”, she decided before looking back over to Eda again. It was the most important thing in the world to her to correct, as she recognized, that she had to help Gus, not the other way around, “He’s not that good at listening yet.”
Putting on a serious face, Eda nodded, even if she had to bite back a soft chuckle at her daughter’s cuteness.
“Okay, absolutely. But I’m sure you two can do it.”, she finally replied, and Luz gave a satisfied hum.
“And then we can decide?”, she asked and Eda nodded, but not without lifting her finger.
“I decide with you two. But yes, you can help decide.”, she quickly altered the terms, but Luz was still so honored that she didn’t mind that much. Her daughter grinned widely, before jumping off her lap and puffing out her chest, standing wide and nodding with a determined expression.
“We can help you decide! When do we go to Lilith?”, she asked and Eda chuckled, shaking her head.
“Tomorrow, Luz. You can rest for now. I ordered dinner for us up here and we’ll rest until tomorrow, okay?”, she got up as well, brushing through Luz’s hair, before stretching and beginning to undo the straps of her chest plate that she hadn’t taken off yet. Her daughter merely huffed at that and moved to sit on the bed next to her brother who was still mercifully sleeping.
“I could go now…”, she nodded, determinedly, but her mentor shook her head.
“It’s okay to take a break, Luz. Now come on, take off your shoes and get comfortable, dinner will still take a little while, okay?”, she also gestured up to Gus who was curling up, “And don’t wake your brother, he’s tired. We’ll wake him for dinner.”
It took a bit to settle down Luz’s hyperactive spirit, but after a while, she seemed to settle down enough to play a game or two, with the dice that Eda had carved for them before someone was knocking at their door to deliver dinner. Eda took the plate with simple bread and a few smaller things like a bit of cheese and sausage inside, sending Luz to wake Gus who was sleepily rubbing his eyes before spotting the plate and suddenly being wide awake to eat.
After that, Eda settled both her children in the bed and made sure they were comfortable and warm, before joining them and blowing out the candle on their nightstand.
Soon after, they were all asleep.
—
Since I’ve lost my heart to Noble Pursuit and had it broken several times over the fanfic getting rejected by multiple people, I want to find a new au I can write fluffy oneshot content for, for the sake of not having a story driven by continuity like Built To Last or Noble Pursuit. Right now I’m a bit torn between
Warnings: this fic includes noncon/rape, coercion, voyeurism, abuse of power, double penetration, cheating. My tags are not exhaustive, proceed at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary:Your marriage is challenged by the wandering eye of the king. (Medieval AU)
Characters:Peter Parker, Tony Stark
Note: Okay, it’s actually 9k long so apologies but hope you’re ready for this one shot I was like oh it’s gonna be 4k and quick but I’m that bitch.
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. Thanks to everyone who reads this one and thank you for all your energy.<3
Love you all like Prince Charming loves mirrors. Take care.
The breeze is balmy as it blows through the leaves and rustles the skirts heaped around you. You kneel on the ground without a care for soiling your dress, the sweat dripping down from your hairline as your fingers are stained purple with the juice of berries. The queen dares to taste one as she laughs with the duchess, Wanda, and you add a handful to the basket you share with Lisbeth.
The way Peter manipulated her into performing for the king was so slick. It really shows how he’s all about himself. Now I need for bae to poison his ass so she can get that ye old midieval insurance.
Cuz ain’t no way he gon sell her body for a fucking job and get away with it.
And fuck Tony too! He needs to be a parliament meeting or with his wife, not in other women’s nookies.
Last week I had designed a medieval Vader wielding a zweihänder and @coralnoodle had made this awesome knight Luke so, I decided to make them fight. Detail shots and progress gif below the cut.
