take me from the dark

❝ The flow of TIME is always c r u e l; its speed seems DIFFERENT for each person, but NO ONE can change it. A thing that does not change with time is a m e m o r y of younger days ❞ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ mumu for sallowhillshq

[echinocereus]

oh christopher eccleston, your shit eating grin and emotionally charged voice cracks hath captivated me.

[hollowedheavens]

Sweetest Devotion | Lily & Harry ( @ambiticvs​ )

“Bloody he- yeah, yeah, watch it! Sorry Missus Jameson!” Lily called, dodging around the corner and practically flying down the street in front of her. She couldn’t believe she’d lost track of time like this. Well, she could, her mind had been all over the place today so really was this actually a surprise? 

Her eyes landed on the familiar door and she let out a sigh of relief. She had only been twenty minutes late from returning from her allotted hour for lunch and other errands, and it seemed like no one had missed her presence. Not that she had exactly expected them too. The antique shop wasn’t exactly a bustling hub for the people of Sallow Hills, being closed for twenty minutes past the usual lunch closing hadn’t exactly incited a riot in the streets. 

Still, Lily hated being late. 

Hence her mad dash through the streets, pastry crumbled in one hand and tea held gently in the other. She hadn’t even given herself time to wipe the ink smudge from her cheek, a hazard of continuing to prefer quills over pens when it came to writing utensils, even in this time. The people had seen her look worse, she supposed, so really, what was the harm? 

She was pulled from her own thoughts but the presence of a figure standing out against the display window of the shop. How in Godric Gryffindor had she missed a whole person? 

“Incredibly sorry, time seemed to slip away from me! Give me just a mo’ and I’ll have the shop up, I hope you weren’t waiti-“ 

The words tapered off of their own accord as she finally registered just who the kid standing in front of her was. Or.. at least the striking image of. 

The kid in front of her looked around her age, probably a few years older, actually. Which entirely negated the word kid, but for whatever reason Lily couldn’t think of them as anything but that. But that wasn’t what had frozen the words on Lily’s tongue. No, the person in front of her was such a striking image of James- it was almost uncanny. But James had been an only child, and Lily had met almost every cousin possible at their wedding. None of them had looked quite like this. She felt.. something.. stir in her gut. None of them had made her react quite like this either. 

What was going on? 

[hollowedheavens]

This old thing? | James

So they weren’t going to talk about it.

James was strangely, enthusiastically, alright with that idea. Having a repeat of what had happened with Lupin would be disastrous. With someone like her, he wasn’t sure if he could emotionally recover from another fight. Those iron cords in his chest tethering James to her would be brutally, bloodily torn out. Learning to function after that, to look at her face, seemed impossible.

Continuing the previous conversation seemed wrong. The hurricane of emotions that swirled across her face, each one appearing far more painful than the last, demanded acknowledgement. Should he risk that path? If he did, it could end up just like how he had left things like Lupin. If not, she would think he was an arse.

She would be right, of course. However, James was trying to keep that fact a secret for now.

He felt his smirk falter as a reflection of her own whirlwind of emotions, but the teasing comments brought it back. James leaned forward, a mirror image of her. Far too close for perfect strangers- one of which could be a stalker- , but James couldn’t find it within himself to pull back.

“Maybe I just want you to like me. If it helps you not giving me something cursed, that’s just a bonus.”

“Tell me your name.” While not the best follow-up, it was so much better than asking her the only other thought that came to his mind ‘Are you alright?’ would end in tears, he was certain of that. “Please. I want to know everything about you.”

Presumptuous? Yes. Did James care? No. He wanted to know, take anything and everything she would give him.

Her breath caught in her throat, and Lily once again found herself questioning those silly romance novels she used to take the absolute mickey out of Petunia for reading as children. Even while her heart was breaking, he was still stealing the air right out of her lungs. 

She itched with the need to reach a hand out, to twirl a lock of his long hair around her finger lightly before sweeping it back out of his face. The gesture had once been second nature to her, as were so many other little things in their relationship. Breaking herself of them would be a struggle, and she wasn’t sure she could fully do it without breaking herself in the process. 

“Well, it just so happens to be your lucky day, Potter. I only give cursed objects to my closest of friends, so it looks like you get to walk out of here curse free.” She shot back, unable to stop the level of snark that filled the words. Merlin, it was just so easy- 

No. Stop it, Lily. Pull yourself together. 

“What’s in a name?” Lily found herself answering, tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. A few strands of red blocked her vision, and she huffed as she reached up and pulled her wand from her hair. She let it all settle around her shoulders, not bothering to try another updo with her wand. 

“Everything? Quite a request of someone you met mere minutes okay, don’t ya think?” Her eyebrow rose, giving him a look she had perfected when she was thirteen. The irony of the statement set heavily against her chest and she forced herself to breathe through the added weight. 

Lily felt like she was being torn in two. One half aching at the loss of her husband. The other half was optimistic, constantly trying to bask in the presence of the man in front of her and the way he was almost her James. Just slightly off. She wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible, but she also wanted to prolong it forever. 

If she had any sense of self preservation, she would listen to the half of her that whispered for her to run. To shut this down before it led to something that would hurt much much worse. 

“What could you possibly want to know about the odd woman who spends most her time locked in the back room of an antique shop? Not exactly an exciting life, is it?” She added, absently twirling her wand between her fingers as she was known to do. 

[hollowedheavens]

At long last | Remus    

     HE WAS  MEANT  TO  BE  VISITING  NORTH  WALES  TO  RUN  WITH  A  PACK.    per  dumbledore’s  orders.    He  didn’t  normally  look  forward  to  the  missions  Dumbledore  handed  him,  but  after  the  fight  with  Sirius.    It  wasn’t  like  he’d  had  a  home  to  go  back  to  after  that.    Sure,  Sirius  wouldn’t  kick  him  off  the  couch,  but  how  could  he  force  that  upon  Sirius.    He’d  had  every  right  to  turn  on  him,  to  not  trust  him.    There  was  so  much  he  couldn’t  tell  his  friends,  even  if  it  wasn’t  for  Dumbledore’s  orders  to  keep  his  missions  secret.    They’d  never  been  one  to  follow  rules  before.    No,  he  couldn’t  speak  about  the  things  he’d  seen,  the  things  his  parents  had  kept  him  from  all  these  years.    He  prayed  that  Dumbledore  would  send  him  to  the  packs  that  weren’t  everyone’s  worst  nightmares.      But  those  weren’t  the  ones  being  swayed  to  Voldemort’s  side.   

*̩̩̥͙      BUT  HE’D  ENDED  UP  HERE  INSTEAD.    in  a  time  bubble,  almost  exactly  forty  years  in  the  future,  and  trapped  from  the  world  he’d  come  from.    It  was  a  breath  of  fresh  air,  in  some  ways.    But  he  worried.    James  and  Lily  had  just  gone  into  hiding.    Sirius  was  being  reckless,  as  usual.    And  Peter  was  becoming  more  and  more  frightened  of  the  war  at  hand.    He  couldn’t  just  stay  here  when  his  friends  were  out  there  somewhere.    But  he  couldn’t  leave,  he’d  tried.  

*̩̩̥͙      SO,  REMUS  HAD  LOOKED  INTO  SURVIVING.    he’d  been  living  out  of  the  bed  and  breakfast,  getting  food  from  them  and  the  community  kitchen  that  was  open  every  dinner.    But  he  couldn’t  survive  off  of  that,  and  the  local  newspaper  was  looking  for  new  editors.    Remus  knew  grammar,  he  could  do  that.    It  seemed  fun,  ish.    And  the  interview  seemed  to  go  well.    They  didn’t  even  bat  an  eye  when  he  said  he’d  need  two  days  off  a  month,  sometimes  three  (if  transformations  were  really  bad).    Which  was  good.    Muggle  jobs  didn’t  tend  to  ask  as  many  questions  about  that.    

*̩̩̥͙      THE  CAR  HONK  WAS  WHAT  GRABBED  REMUS’  ATTENTION.      that  came  before  the  flash  of  bright  red  hair  and  the  perfume  he’d  recognize  anywhere.      He  could  see  the  fear  in  her  eyes.    Not  the  same  wariness  that  he’d  seen  in  his  friend’s  eyes  when  they  asked  where  he  was  going  on  missions.    No,  this  one  was  a  vulnerability.    He  closed  the  distance  between  them  in  two  steps,  wrapping  Lily  in  one  of  his  rare  hugs.    ❝ Thank  fuck  you’re  here.    You’re  safe.    Merlin  Lily  you’re  here. ❞

*̩̩̥͙      THEY’D  GONE  INTO  HIDING.    they  were  at  risk  for  reasons  dumbledore  wouldn’t  say.    Or  maybe  Dumbledore  wouldn’t  say  to  him,  because  they  all  thought  he  was  the  traitor.    But  Lily  Evans  Potter  was  standing  in  front  of  him,  safe  and  whole  and  alive.

She melted into the embrace, clinging to the man in front of her like he was her last lifeline in the entire universe. As far as Lily was concerned, right now he was. 

“God,” Her voice cracked, the sound escaping her lips a mix between a laugh and a sob. “You’re here, fucking hell.” 

It was so nice to see him, and not only because of her ever growing fear of being alone. Even before Lily had been whisked away to this.. whatever it was, she had hardly seen the man she had considered one of her very best friends. Her family. James and her had been forced into hiding, cutting them off from almost everyone they had loved and depended on. But even before that, Remus had been a scarce presence in their lives. The less she had seen of him, the bigger the hole inside her had grown. Was he okay? Where was he? They were at war, and having almost zero tabs on him or his whereabouts terrified Lily more than she had ever been willing to voice to her husband or any of their friends. 

She buried her head further into his body, her fingers clenching at the fabric of his shirt hard enough to leave wrinkles in their wake. Lily would give him his space back in a moment, but for now she needed the reassurance his comfort provided for her. The promise that she wasn’t alone, that this wasn’t some insane dream. Or maybe it was, but at least she didn’t have to suffer it alone. 

“What in the bloody hell have we gotten ourselves into this time, Rem?” She finally murmured, words slightly quieted by the fabric she refused to tear her face away from. The scarcely used nickname falling from her lips easily. Lily was sure they made quite the scene, two strangers colliding like they had in the middle of the street, refusing to relinquish their hold on one another. Later she would chuckle at the image they probably made, but that was for later. Right at this moment she could care less what any of the people walking on the sidewalks thought of them, they continued to give the duo a wide berth, and that was all she cared about. 

She had Remus, and he had her. They would be alright. They would.

[hollowedheavens]

came home like a stone | merlin

ARTHUR LOOKED  LIKE  HE  HADN’T  LEFT  HIS  ROOM  IN  TWO  WEEKS.    which  given  that  merlin  had  spent  the  last  near  fortnight  scaling  his  damn  place  to  make  sure  that  the  freaking  plant  excalibur  didn’t  die  …  merlin  knew  that  arthur  hadn’t.    He  hadn’t  been  much  better.    Work  was  keeping  him  away  because  he  ❛ nearly  drowned ❜  and  they  wanted  him  to  ❛ rest. ❜    Which  was  frustrating  on  the  front  that  it  wouldn’t  matter  because  he  couldn’t  die  anyway  and  making  him  stay  at  home  just  meant  he  spent  the  whole  time  worrying.

*̩̩̥͙      GWEN  WAS  A  BLESSED  RELIEF.    he  was  glad  she  was  here,  that  she  had  moved  in.    Because  at  least  he  wasn’t  alone  for  the  last  weeks.    He’d  had  someone  to  smile  at  him  and  distract  him.    But  now  Arthur  was  standing  in  front  of  him,  saying  that  he  looked  better  when  they  both  knew  that  wasn’t  true.

                     i  trusted  you.    i’m  sorry.    i’m  sorry  too.

*̩̩̥͙      IF  HE  WAS  IN  A  BETTER  MOOD,  HE  MIGHT  ROLL  HIS  EYES  AT  ARTHUR  BARELY  PAST  THE  DOOR.    but  instead  he  just  wrapped  his  blanket  tighter  and  sunk  further  into  the  corner  of  the  couch.    ❝ If  you’re  here  to  off  me,  you  might  as  well  do  it.    Or  would  you  like  a  fight  to  make  you  feel  better? ❞

*̩̩̥͙      PERHAPS  IT  WAS  STUPID  AND  IGNORANT.    but  merlin  could  only  see  the  pain  on  arthur’s  face  when  he  realized  the  truth.    He  could  only  think  if  arthur  hadn’t  been  dying.    His  whole  life  he’d  been  raised  to  hate  magick,  why  would  Merlin  be  any  different?    ❝ Actually,  if  you’re  going  to  off  me,  I’d  like  to  not  do  it  here.    I  don’t  want  it  to  be  Gwen  who  finds  me. ❞

Arthur had barely registered the words before he felt that familiar rush of hot frustration flow through his gut. God even that felt more in place now, double lives aside. 

How could- Arthur would never- 

Except.. Arthur would. Arthur had basically said he would. Or he hadn’t said he wouldn’t, and truthfully wasn’t that the same answer to someone like Merlin? I don’t know what I would’ve done. How could any sorcerer look upon a Pendragon and find any ounce of comfort there? Who in their right mind would feel safe when in the presence of a member of a house solely responsible for the attempted eradication of one’s own kind? 

His frustration turned inward, and Arthur felt a wave of pure nausea flow through his body. What right did he have to feel even the slightest bit of frustration at Merlin? How had Merlin even been able to look him in the eye? How had he managed to even be Arthurs friend again? Much less- well. 

There wasn’t much that overlapped between the life of King Arthur and the life of Farm boy Arthur, but the one thing that did was that regardless of what life he lived, Arthur hadn’t deserved Merlin, and at this rate, he never would. 

“I deserved that.” He finally managed to choke out, eyes cast down upon the floor beneath his feet. He deserved much worse. He took a deep breath, fists clenched in the fabric of his pants as he tried to steady himself. 

“You have to know that- no.” Arthur sighed, scrunching up his nose as he tried to redirect his thoughts. Merlin didn’t have to know anything. Arthur’s previous track record had certainly never inspired any ounce of faith in this regard. 

“I’m not here to.. to off you.” He tried again, the words soft yet broken as they left his lips. “I won’t even come any closer to you, if that’s something you’re truly worried about.” He added, though he loathed to do so. Regardless of the tension filling the air, all Arthur wanted to do was be closer to the man huddled into the couch. He had always been tactile with Merlin, more-so in this lifetime, and two weeks of rethinking his entire existence in complete isolation had only made him crave that comfort even more. 

“I just.. needed to see you.” 

[hollowedheavens]

This old thing? | James 

James was hit by a sinking feeling, oh so similar to the way his heart had dropped when he walked into The Sallow Times. Another person that ‘knew’ him. Just like Lupin. He should have known the moment he laid eyes on her, with that insistent tug in his chest to be closer to her. To hold her and ignore whatever screaming part of his mind that this was wrong.

Had he been hit with a love spell? His ex wouldn’t have, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing with any kind of attraction magic. It would have had to be slow acting, James had been careful about any kind of magic headed his way since the breakup. Even so, a love spell wouldn’t explain Lupin’s insistence. Or how she knew his name.

James might be okay with the confusion this one time. It wasn’t like the ginger had actively insulted him the moment he finished speaking.

He leaned forward, hands resting on the counter as that smirk he had perfected in high school graced his lips. “I’m not complaining- really not complaining- that a pretty girl is talking to me but-”

Confession time. “-I don’t know you. Have you been around Town Hall and seen me or?”

This would either crash and burn terribly or he’d find out he’d had a stalker for a while. Weirdly, he wouldn’t be angry about the stalking part. He should be concerned about that, probably should tell his therapist about that, but he couldn’t find it within himself to care.

Not as long as she kept looking at him like T H A T. Like he was the only thing that mattered to her in the entire world.

There it was. 

If seeing him had caused the world to stop turning, his own words had definitely caused it to restart. She felt the precious feeling inside of her shatter, and all the warmth that had touched her very soul was leeched from her body as if it never existed in the first place. 

I don’t know you. 

The words felt like a crucio straight to her chest. 

I don’t know you. 

Fate had always been been a balanced force for Lily. One cruel act, later balanced out by something good. It had been cruel when she turned eleven, ripping the last shreds of a relationship between her and her sister from her grasp, only to turn around and be kind by introducing her to the world she belonged in, and the people who she belonged with. It had been cruel when it had ripped her parents from this life in the most mundane of accidents, but it had been kind when it had restored that family bond by blessing her with the loving home that was the Potter’s. Balanced. 

It had been cruel to rip her from her husbands very arms, to tear her away from the world she had known and the people she had cared for with no perceivable way back. Lily expected fate’s next move to be good. 

This was decidedly not. 

She wanted to scream. Cry. Throw her fist into the wall until something inside of her broke. She wanted to shake the man in front of her, shake him until whatever memories he had lost were forced back into place. Until he remembered her green eyes, the ugly vase that decorated the entryway of their home, the song that played every time they danced in their own kitchen in the middle of the night. Everything that made Lily and James... well, Lily and James.

She didn’t do any of those things. 

Instead, she left her arms on the counter, turning her palms to grip at her elbows until her knuckles turned white. She needed the pressure to ground her. Her smirk had dropped, there was no way she had kept any of the feelings she had cycled through off her face, not with him around.  

She brought the smile back, and while she was sure it looked less bright, at least she had mustered up enough will to have one at all.

“Something like that.” She finally managed to say, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she went. He was giving her his patented smirk, the same one he had given her since the day they met. The same one that used to make her insides bubble, first with heated frustration and later with pure love and infatuation. Now it just made her ache. 

“That’s two compliments in just under a minute, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to butter me up for something. Laying it on a bit thick just to purchase some antique, aren’t we?” 

Deflecting. Acting normal. It was sixteen year old Lily’s specialty. Something she normally couldn’t get away with these days, not when her husband saw right through her, as did their friends. But when said husband was standing right across from her with no idea what they were to each other? Lily considered it a fair game. She had too, because if she let herself slip for even a single second? Well, Lily wasn’t sure she could hold back the flood of tears trapped behind her eyes and the screams of anguish buried in her throat. 

Play Pretend, Mrs Potter, Play Pretend. 

[hollowedheavens]

Royal Bat’s | steph 

Steph hummed as she finished making lunch, piling the sausage, peppers, and onions into three waiting bread rolls. She’d missed these sandwiches, she could never make them like they did back home. Steph had been trying to push Merlin and Arthur towards staples from her childhood, introduce some sort of variety into their lives.

Creature variety didn’t count. It was surprising how mundane vampire attacks became after only a few years of living in Sallow Hills.

She placed Merlin’s sandwich into a container to bring to him at work, setting her own and Arthur’s onto respective plates. Then began her daily, internal argument. Do what she was good at and relentlessly bother Arthur into leaving his room? Or leave the food at his door with a knock?

The last time she’d properly spoken to him… they were fine. And then Arthur came home looking like he’d been attacked and Merlin hadn’t been with him. Neither had told her what happened. Which was fine, they were all adults- in fact, Steph was convinced the two were far better at being adults than she was- and could solve their problems on their own, but it hurt. Knowing that something had happened, but not exactly what or how to fix it.

She turned to grab a container for her own food, appetite slowly disappearing the more she thought. As she reached for one, the soft sound of footsteps on the floor of her apartment. She stood there, frozen. Crying should be her first reaction. No, screaming. No… She didn’t know. Steph finally brought that container down to the counter, eyes fixed on it while her back was facing Arthur.

“Are you out for good now?” She asked, unable to hide the saddened twist to her features. It’d been close to two weeks.

People always had made big deals out of the truth. It set you free and all of that. Arthur wasn’t so sure he could handle any more big truths, at least. Not if the way he handled this last one was any indication. In all honesty, he still wasn’t sure he was prepared to leave the sanctuary of his room to face any of this. But he was Arthur Pendragon. Whether he was former king of Camelot, current farm hand, or some striking combination of both that he had yet to fully balance, he was not one to cower. No, ready or not, it was time for him to deal with everything that had been laid out before him. He would not run from this. 

However the mere sound of Steph’s voice almost sent him right back into his room. 

Shame flooded his being. He may have not been the most perceptive of people at times, but he had liked to think that he had a good handle on understanding the people he had kept close to him. He knew exactly what Steph sounded like when she tried to keep tears at bay. He had always been the one who swore to take care of her, even if she didn’t need him to. If anyone else had reduced his vibrant best friend to this, he wouldn’t have hesitated to make them regret it. 

He let his shoulder lean up against the entry way to the kitchen, eyes locked on the form of the girl across from him. God how could he have sat in that room for two weeks and not have realized what she had gone through dealing with that? She had tried every day to coax him out, had left him food, had sat with her back against solid wood, comforting him in the only ways she could with the way he had chosen to lock himself away. He didn’t deserve her. 

“Think I’ve finally gotten my head out of my arse, so yeah.” He whispered softly, wanting nothing more than to pull the other blonde into his arms. He had pulled his head out of his arse. somewhat. He was still reeling, confusion and hurt and also understanding swirling around him. He tried to not focus on those so much, nothing could be done about them anyways. Not until he talked to Mer- talked to him. He had to talk to him. But he needed Steph first, and honestly, she deserved an explanation. As well as Arthur was a bit selfish, and if he could spend a bit of time in the presence of someone he cared for he craved that. Especially if it gave him just a little bit longer to put off his other fears. This thing between Merlin and him, it had been going on a lot longer than the few agonizing years Arthur had thought, it could wait a bit longer. 

[hollowedheavens]

At Long Last | Lily and Remus ( @wickedpotions​ )

Welcome to Sallow Hills! 

Pleasant words printed on even more pleasant looking pamphlets. 

Lily hated them. 

She had no idea where she was, or how she got there, and no one was any bloody help whatsoever. They were all confused eyes or sympathetic smiles but no one had straight answers to give. How had a woman gone to sleep cradled in the arms of her husband one second just to wake up entirely alone in a foreign place? 

Was it magic? Had that night with James really been her last memory? Why was she here and why was she here alone? 

She felt a sharp pang in her heart at the mere thought. Alone. She hadn’t been truly alone since she was twelve, despite any of her efforts to the contrary. The boys had shaken most of that out of her, and she had grown so used to having them within reach. She had forgotten entirely what it felt like to be alone, and sorrow and fury rolled around inside her at the reemergence of it. 

It hadn’t even been a week, and she was already such a mess. Merlin, she missed the boys. 

She stared once more at the material clutched between her fingers, fury winning out as she crumbled it harshly in her fist before throwing it to the ground. 

All her anger seemed to fade away as soon as the wad of paper rolled to a stop. She sighed, bending over to pick it back up. Throwing a tantrum wasn’t going to help her here. She leaned back against the wall of a shop behind her, trying to clear her mind. Lily let her eyes settle on the small flow of people traveling throughout the streets, using the movement to distract herself at least until she could get herself under control. The last thing she wanted to do was have a bout of uncontrollable magic. She was in her twenties, and breaking the statue of secrecy at that age was not exactly on her list of things to do. Sirius would have never let her live that one down. 

She smiled at the thought, so wrapped up in her imagination that she almost missed it. 

A flicker of movement stood out from the rest, snapping her eyes to focus in on it. Across the street someone was coming out of a building, maybe a shop of some sort? Lily hadn’t exactly had time to really take in what everything was here yet. She squinted, looking closer as she honestly wasn’t sure why this particular person had grabbed her attention, I mean sure he was a bit taller than any of the others- 

She felt her heart stop and restart violently in her chest. 

Her feet were off before she could even blink. Crossing the street in a mad dash, ignoring the honk of a horn as she inevitably darted in front of a car. She stopped as soon as she hit the other sidewalk, doubt and maybe a bit of fear halting her. 

“Remus?” The words were a soft whisper, and for once Lily cared little for the vulnerability that was heard in her voice. 

[hollowedheavens]

This old thing? | James 

The coven had several important rules. James was good at following most of those rules. Little things. Don’t hurt humans, be nice to the less powerful witches, don’t anger the Sidhe or wild vampires. All of those James could get behind. However, there was one that he had broken. Not that it was exactly a rule just a guideline. A guideline James didn’t see as important: don’t date other coven members.

Or as their high priestess liked to say: don’t shit where you eat.

Evidently, James had. It was fun. He’d give it that. A fun three months, but there wasn’t anything more. He’d gotten to the point where he wanted substance in a relationship, some magnetic pull towards the other and the poor witch just didn’t cut it. There was nothing there. He’d hurt her without meaning to and it was almost impressive in how severely she had retaliated.

He had found and disposed of the coffin nails, the hex left in his shower, and the poison hemlock flowers laid across his windows easily enough. What he hadn’t discovered until now was how thoroughly she had spelled his sofa. Baneful sigils stitched into the underside of the upholstery, curses carved into the legs. It was better just to remove the whole thing before it caused some irreparable damage to both James and his magic.

Today’s outing was entirely about replacing said couch. He stepped into the antique shop, eying the no-doubt heavily cursed items lined up along the shelves. With his luck, anything he’d manage to pick up another cursed sofa and start the cycle all over again.

He slowly made his way around the store, idly waiting for the employee that had called from some store room. He had already had an opening line of ‘I need a sofa, my ex tried to make mine kill me’ in his head, an explanation of just how that happened quick to follow if needed. Yet landing eyes on the ginger seemed to erase any thoughts from his head, more effective than an Obliviate.

She was gorgeous. Gorgeous and so very magnetic. A pull from his chest to hers, a quiet yet insistent tugging. When he looked at her, he couldn’t explain the growing longing and excitement. James could see a depth in her eyes that could only be noticed by one with years of familiarity. None of it made sense. James had never taken much stock in his late mother’s words of ‘the soul remembers’ and past lives, but he was beginning to wonder if she had been right.

Either way: he didn’t know the stranger, but he wanted to.

“You’re gorgeous,” was the only thought that escaped his lips, the day’s errands long forgotten.

As emerald eyes locked onto brown, Lily was sure the world had ceased turning. 

He was here. 

She felt her lips part, but nothing but air left them. It was James. Her James. Her bloody husband was here. She felt the pressure build behind her eyes, but refused to let it build. James hated to see her cry, only in the sense that he hated seeing her so upset and not being able to fix the problem. It had only been a month since she’d seen him, but she felt the loss very keenly. Married life, it had made her soft apparently.

Still working on building a coherent sentence in her head, she took a few moments to take in her husband. He looked.. different. Most obviously, his hair. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen it that long. It had gotten close a few times, sometimes a depressive episode would hit him hard and it would grow out a bit before Lily would step in with soft whispers and kisses as he handed her scissors and let her cut it back down to it’s normal length. The fact that it was so long right now opened up quite a line of questioning she knew would hurt if she delved too deep into it at the moment. 

“Gorgeous, huh?” She finally fired back, resting her arms on the counter as she leaned forward, a smirk pulling at her lips. “Quite the charmer you are, Mister Potter.” 

If asked, Lily couldn’t tell you what it was that kept her behind that counter. Why she stayed rooted firmly to the spot instead of vaulting over the old wood and into the arms of the man who held her very heart next to his own. Perhaps her own magic had felt something off, maybe her own conscious had recognized it would be bad to jump anyone in the middle of the store she worked at. 

Or perhaps, it was his eyes. 

Those eyes had frozen Lily in place, because they were oh so familiar. They were a comfort promised to her always. She had seen every look James had thrown her way since they were eleven years old, and while some took a bit of time and a few well-meaning but incredibly nosy friends to understand, she had gotten there in the end. James was looking at her right now in clear awe, and dropping lines was so him it damn near made her cry. But this look- while similar to the one she had grown used to seeing since she was seventeen, was still.... different. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, not with her mind whirling over his mere presence, but until she did, she wasn’t sure her feet could move from the spot they were glued too. 

[bicanthropus]

╷╷╷╷╷ merlin x arthur pendragon╷╷╷╷╷

╔════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╗

I T had  been  a  week,  inching  closer  to  two,  since  merlin  had  seen  arthur  last.    a  week  of  burying  himself  in  work,  bother  zelda  (though  they  would  insist  that  he  wasn’t),  and  helping  guinevere  get  settled  in  town.      a  week  of  distractions  that  he  needed  because  if  he  didn’t  have  the  distractions,  he  thought.    he  thought  of  times  that  he’d  buried  long  ago.    of  conversations  he’d  avoided  digging  up.

it  is  once  again  clear  to  me  that  those  who  practice  magick  are  evil  and  dangerous.    and  that  is  thanks  to  you.

―    ARTHUR  WAS  REMEMBERING  NOW.    he  was  remembering  who  they  were.    who  they  had  been.    the  betrayal  that  merlin  had  brought  to  him.    how  merlin,  in  the  end,  had  failed  him.    had  failed  to  save  him,  even  with  all  the  magick  in  the  world.    would  arthur  had  even  forgiven  merlin  back  then  if  he’d  not  been  dying?

―    HE  KNEW  HIS  SCRUFF  WAS  GROWING  OUT.    that  he  needed  to  shave  for  work.    that  he  needed  to  do  anything  but  let  himself  fall  into  a  pit.    but  today  was  his  day  off,  by  force  more  than  will,  and  both  zelda  and  gwen  had  other  things.    which  meant  merlin  was  on  the  couch.    staring  out.    trying  to  not  remember.

i  can’t  let  you  die.    it  doesn’t  change  anything.

―    THE  KNOCK  ON  THE  DOOR  RIPPED  MERLIN  FROM  HIS  MIND.    he  stumbled  to  his  feet,  his  socks  slipping  a  little  over  the  hard  wood  floor  and  the  blanket  he  had  wrapped  around  his  shoulders  dragging  behind  him.    he  pulled  the  door  open,  ever  bit  of  him  freezing  at  what  he  found  on  the  other  side.    ❝arthur.❞

you’d  have  chopped  off  my  head.    i  don’t  know  what  i  would’ve  done.

―    THERE  WERE  NO  WEAPONS  ON  ARTHUR.    none  that  merlin  could  see.    not  even  excalibur,  though  he  wasn’t  sure  if  he’d  imagined  that  bit  of  the  whole  drowning  situation.    so  arthur  wasn’t  here  to  kill  him.    at  least  not  yet.    though  he  doubted  even  arthur  could  make  him  stay  dead.    ❝come  in.❞    merlin  tried  to  spin  around,  but  got  caught  in  his  blanket.    he  balanced  himself,  quickly  moving  to  the  couch  and  pushing  himself  into  the  corner  of  it.

→ @hollowedheavens​

╚════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╝

[hollowedheavens]

God this was a mess. a whole fucking mess. 

He was a mess. 

It had been nearly a fortnight since his world had quite literally shattered around him, only to rebuild itself in a mix matched patchwork of old memories versus falsified ones. It was.. exhausting? terrifying? Arthur couldn’t even find the words to describe it. 

He still couldn’t. Nearly two weeks locked away in his own room, trying to piece together just what this all meant. His final moments as a king of a kingdom long fallen, his new life living in an apartment in some small town. Merlin’s role in both. 

Merlin. Arthur had no idea what to think. Magic. Merlin had magic. Arthur knew that, had been made aware of it before he died. But mere hours of revelation was nothing now. Arthur had been so quick to push aside the true depth of that revelation at that time, knowing he had very little time left with the man he had come to.. care for. 

But it was different now. and they were different. Kind of. Maybe. 

That’s what he was here to find out. 

Whatever properly prepared piece of dialogue Arthur had crafted in his near two weeks of solitude slipped through the cracks of his patchwork mind as soon as he laid actual eyes on the man in question. 

He looked.. worse. Which was impressive considering the last time Arthur truly saw him he was a man half drowned. The scruff was.. new. Interesting. Definitely something to revisit at a later date. He needed to focus.

His lips felt like they were glued shut, and his body thrummed with enough energy that the mere thought of sitting was preposterous. He stood there, feet glued to the floor of Merlin’s home while his eye’s took in the state his… Merlin had turned into. 

“How- are- you look a lot better than the last time I saw you.” He stuttered, wincing and cursing himself all the way to hell and back. He was a king. Trained in every form of diplomacy under the bloody sun, and the best he could do was an obvious remark with no substance, stuttered out like a pre-teen. And a lie on top of that? His father was rolling in his grave, Arthur just knew it. 

[hollowedheavens]

this old thing? | open starter

“Bloody hell.” She cursed, eyes focused solely on the silver plated comb resting in front of her. It was a beautiful piece, although she was a bit miffed at the fact that it was now considered an antique. At most it was from the 1950′s, in fact, Lily was sure her mother had a similar looking piece, if only a little less extravagant than this one. Antique. 

Lily still wasn’t sure how she had went to sleep as a somewhat normal twenty year old girl in the start of the eighties just to wake up forty years in the future. No husband, no Order, no ba- Enough. She reminded herself, refusing to go down that particular road again. It was just her right now, her and this beautiful comb. This beautiful comb that was unfortunately, cursed with merlin knows what. 

“Specialis Revelio.” She murmured, aiming her wand pointedly at the seemingly innocuous piece of silver in front of her. She waited, cursing softly once more at the lack of results her recent attempt had provided. She sat her wand down none to gently, wincing at the sound it made. She really needed to reign her temper in on that front. She was grateful she at least still had her magic here, but if she snapped her wand, it would be game over on all fronts. She doubted they had anything close to Ollivander’s here. 

“Stubborn old thing.” She glared, as if her own gaze could pry out just what had been cast on this comb. She racked her brain, searching for anything that could maybe help. She supposed she could try an Aparecium, it was out of the box, but that was the whole point to curse-breaking.

She had just picked her wand back up to give it a shot when the bell above the door rung. Her eyes widened, quickly placing a few wards back around the comb before she rushed out of the backroom she had hid herself away in. 

“Hello! Be with ya in just a mo’!” She called out pleasantly, securing the door to the back room. quickly throwing her hair up and shoving her wand through it to hold the locks in place as she rounded the counter to place herself behind the register. “Sorry about that, Welcome to Goodwin Antiques! How can I help you?” She said, finally raising her eyes and catching sight of the person in the store with her. 

[bicanthropus]

╷╷╷╷╷ kate && sam winchester

╔════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╗

K A T E had  seen  incredible  things  in  her  life.    truly,  remarkably  incredible  things.    she’d  seen  demigods  and  mythical  creatures.    she’d  seen  aliens  and  meta  humans.    here  in  sallow  hills,  she’d  seen  supernatural  creatures  of  all  kinds.    but  dragons.    D R A G O N S ?    truly,  it  felt  like  something  was  out  there  just  to  make  her  even  more  confused  and  frustrated  than  she  already  was.    how  were  you  supposed  to  take  down  dragons ?  

―    WHICH  IS  EXACTLY  WHY  SHE  SOUGHT  HIM  OUT.      sam  winchester,  the  man  who’d  offered  his  assistance  once  before.    back  when  the  most  she  had  to  worry  about  was  vampires.    now,  she  had  questions  about  dragons  and  anything  else  that  might  be  lurking  in  the  shadows  or  hibernating.

―    SHE  TRIED  THE  LIBRARY  FIRST,  only  to  find  that  he  wasn’t  there.    so  she  started  around  town.    checking  the  reconstruction,  and  then    …    caffi  rhees.    of  course.    kate  order  a  coffee  before  heading  over  to  where  the  man  was  set  up.    ❝ can  i  join  you ?    i  don’t  know  if  you  remember,  but  i’m  kate  kane.    i  ran  the  investigation  a  few  months  back. ❞    

→ @hollowedheavens​

╚════════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════════════╝

[hollowedheavens]

Dragons. 

Fucking dragons.

Holy shit, take that Bobby.

Sam wrapped his hand tightly around the mug in front of him, letting the heat build in his palms. He remembered reading about dragons, both in a fictional setting and in a hunter one. Which, to some hunters, was the same thing. John had berated Sam the moment he found him engrossed in that subject, telling the young boy that he was wasting his time. There was nothing his drill sergeant of a father hated more than wasted time. and disobedience. Which Sam continued to present in spades. 

He felt a pair of eyes land on him, and he did his best to leave his body relaxed. No need to overreact until he knew who it was. 

“Miss Kane,” Sam was pleasantly surprised. Reaching out during that investigation was a shot in the dark, and a dangerous one at that. Normally, unveiling the existence of the supernatural to people never ended well, but, Sam figured with everything happening in this town, it was a safer bet. 

“Not sure how good of company I might be, but,” He pulled one hand away from the comforting warmth of his mug, gesturing to the open seat across from him. 

[hollowedheavens]

Bye Bye Bishop | Merlin

W A R M T H. was  this  what  death  felt  like?  warm.    like  home.    like  his  mother  tucking  him  in  at  night,  or  making  him  his  favorite  stew.    like  laying  his  bedroll  against  arthur’s  to  starve  off  the  cold.    like  gwen’s  hugs  and  gwaine’s  laugh  and  arthur’s  praise.      if  this  was  death,  he  didn’t  hate  it.    it  wasn’t  like  the  other  times  he’d  died  only  to  be  ripped  back  to  the  earth.    because  he  couldn’t  die.    or  so  he  thought.

―    THOSE  times  had  been  cold.    like  plunging  into  an  ice  bath  and  being  dragged  back  up.    like  it  was  a  punishment  that  he  couldn’t  die.    he’d  failed  to  keep  arthur  alive,  so  now  he  had  to.    but  this  was  warmth.    maybe  now  that  arthur  was  back,  they’d  let  him  go  in  peace.

arthur

―    HE  couldn’t  leave  arthur.    

―    AND  then  the  pain  came  back.    his  lungs  screaming  out.    he  coughed,  his  whole  body  shaking  as  water  gurgled  to  his  mouth  and  out  of  it.    he  clung  to  the  person  holding  him.    a  sopping  shirt.    warmth.    warmth.    

―  HE  forced  his  eyes  open,  looking  up  at  arthur.    arthur  who  was  holding  him.    who  was  begging  him  not  to  die.    he  didn’t  have  the  words  to  express  everything  he  was  feeling.    didn’t  have  the  time  between  coughs  to  say  he  wouldn’t  leave.    that  arthur  was  the  reason  he  fought  to  live.    for  all  these  years.    for  these  centuries  he’d  been  forced  to  live,  he’d  fought  for  arthur.    to  be  with  arthur  again.

❝hold  me.    please.    just  hold  me.❞

―  HE  managed  to  croak  out  between  coughing  up  salt  water,  and  he  was  surprised  not  a  whole  lung  with  the  way  his  body  was  burning.    he  clung  to  arthur,  tears  staining  his  cheeks  with  the  salt  water  still  dripping  from  him.    arthur.    his  strength,  his  warmth.  

―  HE  didn’t  know  that  he  was  the  reason  merlin  forced  himself  through  everything.    the  reason  why  despite  the  horrors  that  he’d  seen,  he  stayed  human.    don’t  ever  change.    that’s  what  arthur  had  asked  of  him.    but  arthur  didn’t  know  that.    couldn’t  know  that.

‘What, who do you think you are? The King?’

‘You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you.’

‘He’s trying get rid of me, and if you weren’t such a clotpole you’d see that!‘

‘Let me see. Your first battle wound.’

‘Seriously, I haven't seen you smile these past three days‘

‘You've lied to me all this time.‘

‘I thought I knew you.‘

‘You were going to kill me.‘ 

‘All your magic, Merlin, can’t save my life.‘

‘Just hold me, please.’

Arthur’s mind completely shattered. 

He was alive. Of course he was alive. He was a farmer. No, a king. Both. His two lives collided, memories of royal court lessons slotting next to memories of basic high school geography. Where was he? Sallow Hills. How had he gotten there? He moved there. Every question he had, the answer slowly bled through his mind, but it was too much. He couldn’t think. 

He felt his arms shutter. No, not his arms, the person in his arms. 

Merlin. 

His manservant. His best friend. The man he loved. 

The man who he trusted with his life. The man who hadn’t trusted Arthur as much in return. 

The war inside him grew stronger, his thoughts and memories leading him in two separate directions. He didn’t have time. He never had time, did he?

“No. You don’t get to- you’re not saying goodbye. You- I-.” Arthur couldn’t get his thoughts in order long enough to even string a coherent sentence. “I order you to live, do you hear me?” 

If he heard him, Arthur would never know. He felt Merlin grow weaker and weaker in his arms, and Arthur could do nothing but shake and scream, incoherent words spewing from his mouth as his brain fogged over with pure fear. Arthur needed answers, he needed to figure out what was going on. He could do none of that if Merlin left him. Not now. 

“Sir? Sir, please, you have to let us take him.”

Arthur’s head shot up, the jarring motion causing more pain to build behind his eyes. Emergency services, when had they gotten there? He finally felt their hands on him, trying to pull Merlin from his arms. Trying to take him.

“I- I can’t, please he- don’t-”

“Sir, we can save your friend, but you have to let us take him. Please, trust us.” 

Arthur felt the tears continue to rush down his face. Trust them? He couldn’t even trust himself, apparently. Who even was he? 

‘I believe in you. I always have.’

He let them take him, his arms falling limp in the wet sand of the beach, but he didn’t stay down for long.

“I’m coming with you.”

And he would. He’d ride with them, he’d keep merlin in his sight. He didn’t have time to break down, to think about his kingdom, nor his own death or the life he led this time. He’d make sure Merlin was okay, that he would remain okay. Then he could go, could lock himself up. But not until he was sure Merlin would survive.

[shallowmagics]

​   — •  hallway pity party | s. &  arthur pendragon • —

She had been keeping it together pretty well, all things considered. Steph had only cried for a few minutes on the way home, the rest of the journey spent in quiet, numb state. the only sounds had been her own breathing and the crunch of her boots against re-frozen snow. That tentative sort of peace had stayed even after she climbed the stairs to her apartment, after the soft click of her keys sliding into the lock. 

Yet everything had crumbled the moment she saw the plate she had left for Arthur that morning untouched. That singular plate. It was nothing fancy, just the portion of breakfast she usually left for Arthur each morning, the portion supposedly for Merlin still sitting untouched in their fridge. Her legs nearly buckled, having to slide down Arthur’s locked door to keep herself from falling into the wall. 

“I got into a fight with Kate today,” Steph began, voice wavering as she pulled her knees to her chest. If the blonde closed her eyes, she could pretend that this was normal. It was just the two of them sitting in the hallway, passing some nearly expired drink between the two of them. “It wasn’t really her fault, I said some things I shouldn’t have. But she just… She was babying me. I’m not helpless, I can handle myself. I probably could have been a little nicer but I just didn’t know what to do without you and-”

Without you and Merlin. 

“-without any other help. I guess it’s better you weren’t there, probably would have been pissed at me the whole way home.” 

I miss you, asshole.

@hollowedheavens​ for arthur!

[hollowedheavens]

Arthur’s entire world was crumbling. He was a simply one single atom, entirely unprepared for the big bang it had been put through. His mind was a kaleidoscope, all these fragmented pieces swirling around, broken and jagged but somehow fit into a perfect picture if twisted into the right angle. Except Arthur hadn’t found that angle. Didn’t know if he ever would. 

Arthur had never been more confused by his own head in his entire life, or lives he should say.

King of Camelot or mere farmhand? Who was he? Which was the real Arthur Pendragon?

And Merlin, no he didn’t even want to test that train of thought right now. Magic. It had taken everything from him. His mother. His father. It was evil. But no, it wasn’t. He had been in awe of magic, attracted to it even. It had healed his wounds and brought stunning swirls of gold to already breathtakingly blue eyes. He had begged for more of it, pushed to see more and more of it this time around. It was the furthest thing from evil, it was good. It was beautiful. 

His head tore itself apart trying to decipher the twisted codex of his own conflicting thoughts. 

He was withering, and he wished he had the energy to feel bad about that. His eye flickered to the corner of his destroyed room, quickly catching on the gleaming silver that haunted his waking moments. He felt the bile rise up as he quickly tore both his vision and his thoughts away from it. 

He hadn’t left his room in days, hadn’t even left this bed in almost a full twenty four hours. The mere thought of food sent his stomach rolling, the thought of sleep sent enough adrenaline spiking through his system to stave off the tiredness for a little longer. Company brought a new feeling of fear and paranoia into his bones. He felt entirely numb, drifting off into the unknown with no tether to bring him back to the world of the living.

What parts of him were even real?

Her voice pulled him back to the surface.

He felt something ache deep within him at the sound of her distress, maybe if he was in a better headspace, he would call that feeling guilt. Or maybe he would classify it as the worried feelings of an older brother. He found himself stumbling from his bed, feet tangled in sheets that were in desperate need of a wash, slowly making his way across the room to slide down his own door, mirroring the girl sat on the other side. 

“Never actually pissed at you” He mumbled, and oh, was that his voice? It sounded so foreign against his ear drums, all crackled and brittle from little to no use of his vocal cords over the past few days. “I’m sure she’ll forgive you, Kate’s never been one to stay mad at you for long, not if you apologize.” He sighed, letting his head fall back against the hard wood that was currently supporting both their weights. 

[hollowedheavens]

Bye Bye Bishop | Merlin

P A R T of  merlin  registered  that  it  wasn’t  the  merrow’s  claw  that  was  on  his  shirt,  but  a  very  human  hand.    because  of  course  idiot,  martyr,  arthur  pendragon  had  dived  in  after  him.    merlin  wasn’t  even  sure  if  he  could  die.    and  arthur  was  risking  his  own  life.

╷╷╷    this  felt  like  death  though.

╷╷╷    if  anything  was  going  to  kill  him,  merlin  thought  this  must  be  it.    arthur  was  back,  arthur  was  safe.    what  was  merlin’s  purpose  outside  of  that?    steph  could  keep  arthur  safe,  she  would  keep  him  safe.    if  he  was  going  to  die.  

╷╷╷  he  couldn’t  stop  the  hiss  of  pain  when  he  felt  arthur  tug  on  him.    everything  hurt.    gods  he  was  going  to  die  while  arthur  tried  to  save  him.    the  prat  would  blame  himself  for  the  rest  of  his  life.    merlin  aimed  another  kick  at  the  merrow,  but  it  lacked  energy.    just  like  his  lungs  were  beginning  to  lack  oxygen.    it  stung,  in  the  way  he  knew  he  wouldn’t  be  able  to  hold  his  breath  much  longer.    darkness  started  to  press  into  the  corner’s  of  his  eyes.    he  never  wanted  death  to  be  painful.    but  maybe  he  failed  enough  that  he  deserved  it  to  be.

╷╷╷  he  saw  something  glint,  but  it  must  be  the  lack  of  oxygen  kicking  in.    but  no.    there  was  definitely  blood  that  wasn’t  his  filling  the  water  and  the  claws  on  him  stopped  trying  to  pull  him  down.      he  wanted  to  go  to  the  surface,  to  kick  his  way  up.    but  his  lungs  burned  and  his  legs  ached,  and  all  he  could  do  was  reach  back  and  cling  onto  arthur.    all  he  could  do  was  hope  that  arthur  would  drag  them  out  of  this  before  it  was  too  late.

╷╷╷  please.    he  didn’t  want  to  die  like  this.

╷╷╷  it  would  be  cruel  to  die  like  this.    

╷╷╷  he  could  stop  it.    his  lungs  were  desperate  and  he  breathed  in  water.    he  could  feel  himself  trying  to  spasm  his  way  to  the  surface,  but  he  wasn’t  sure  which  way  was  up  anymore.    he  just  knew  arthur  was  here.  

His lungs burned. 

His head was pounding, an all encompassing pain that was held at bay by the feeling that cotton was growing inside him. 

He felt Merlin wrap around him, and that was the only sign Arthur needed before he was kicking as hard as possible, slicing through the harsh waters that were fighting for the right to be their very tomb. He wrapped his arms securely around the body that clung to him, making sure there was no chance of losing him again.

His head broke the water, and the ragged gasp was the only noise to fill his ears.

Ragged gasp. Singular. Only one. 

Fuck.

Everything burned. His lungs, his head, his heart. Arthur had all the muscles in the world. But what fucking good did it do to have it now? No matter how hard he pushed, it still felt like ages before he managed to reach the shore line. Even longer before he could drag Merlin’s body through the wet sands, far enough away from the danger they had escaped. 

He didn’t even glance at the item that had saved them, couldn’t spare the time. He tossed it off in a random direction. It wasn’t important.

Not compared to Merlin. Merlin who wasn’t breathing. 

“Fuck, fuck you bloody fucking arse.” Arthur cursed, hands hovering over the prone form beneath him. “No, no you don’t get to-” Arthur pulled his head up, eyes searching for any kind of help. They landed on a woman, a blonde woman. The boat shed lady. Her lips were moving, but Arthur couldn’t hear past the beat of his own pulse. “Call emergency services!” He hoped his voice was working, she had nodded, and that’s all Arthur could hope for. 

“You don’t get to do this.” Arthur spat, his body settling over Merlins as his arms started in trying to kick the water from Merlin’s lungs. “Is this some type of payback? I didn’t let you die back then, what makes you think you can die now?”

Back then? What? Arthur’s head felt like it was splitting with every passing second. Images flashed across his mind, each too fast to grasp but each bringing familiarity all the same. 

Gold. Red. Chainlink. Goblet. Kingdom. Magic. Touch. Betrayal. Love. 

Death. So much death.

“No. It doesn’t get to end. Not like this.” He gritted out, his stomach rolling from the pain, but he refused to stop. The sirens were so close, please hold on a little longer. “You’re it for me, I can’t bear to lose you.” He whispered, praying to any entity that was listening to give him this one thing. 

The Bishop has fallen, the King soon to follow. 

[hollowedheavens]

Secrets and Solitude  | Link 

  ━━━━━━━   ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ━ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ━━━━━━━

So she was going to act like that.

He honestly didn’t think she had a right to. He wasn’t the one who made her feel like she was all alone. Question that maybe Hyrule didn’t exist and he had made it all up. No one else remembered the country, not even one of its own Triforce wielders as far as he knew. So it hadn’t been much of a stretch to assume Link was just pretending. All those memories were just delusions of grandeur to deal with the relative monotony of Sallow Hills. Zelda just the person he had a crush on, given a larger than life role. The Zoras created from the things in the water here, the Gorons… well he hadn’t thought of a Sallow Hills counterpart for them yet.

The fact was, Fi let him believe he was completely alone.

‘I think it’s the normal response when your friend has been hiding something for months now.’ Link didn’t even bother to sign slowly or use the usual accommodations he gave for Fi. The anger clouded his every movement. Harsh jabs and furrowed brows. If he could yell, he would.

Months and months of feeling utterly alone. Having no one to even mention what had happened to him back home. No one would understand, they would think it was all insane. He had, once. The one time he was born outside the kingdom. That sentiment had changed quickly after a curse and an angry little imp.

“When were you going to tell me you’re Hylian?”

His friends back home would be so proud of him, finally using his words. But they came out broken and cracked, having not spoken to anyone since before the murder investigation. Signs couldn’t cover the depth of the hurt that pooled in his chest.

 Her shock was surely clear when it passed across her face. Her understanding of sign had been tentative at best, but even if she hadn’t gathered enough to get his full intent, his voice filled in the blanks. It had been ages since she had heard her friend speak. Some lives he never uttered a single word, some lives it was rare, but he spoke ever so often. 

Her mind was whirling over that aspect, and she would have maybe spent more time processing it if voice wasn’t laced with pure anger. Directed at her, no less. 

Oh. 

“Never.” She let the words settle around them, their weight a suffocating burden. They tasted bitter on her lips, but she spoke them simply. There was no point in lying, not to him. “And why would I? What does it change, Link?” The desperation tinged her tone, and she slid her eyes shut for a mere moment to regain her composure. 

What did it change? What did this one slight mean when it came to them? Weeks of avoidance, apparently.  

Hylian. Could she even call herself that? She was not a child of Hylia, no. She was a weapon. She was a tool, forged by Hylia and thrust into creation with a single duty. She was something that faded into legend. A being that had a form, had a mind, had a voice, turned into a mere piece of imagery in the stories. She did not serve Hylia. She did not worship Hylia. She was not a child of Hylia.

She was simply the weapon passed through hands and pedestals, locked away in temples and forests and seas. Forgotten by all but the ones that also resided within her blade.

and occasionally him.

But this was not one of those occasions, and she would not force the matter.

“You wouldn’t know me from then, I wouldn’t be someone you’d ever recognize.” 

And wasn’t that the issue? Fi could have spun this a million ways. She could have claimed Hylian heritage from the beginning, could have spoken up and given names to the people and places and events he told to her only in half truths. She had slept through entire era’s of Hyrule before, but she had been awake for just as many. It would have been an easy feat to mold herself into the narrative, mold herself into someone not real. Given herself the opportunity to open him up a little more. It would have been nothing more than an illusion. 

Fi had hoped, somewhere deep down inside this new body that was warm and human and no longer thought solely in the form of statistics and facts, that he’d remember her. The real her. The one that floated behind him to guide him on his journey. The on that danced to the melody that his fingers plucked from the Goddess’s Harp. The one who discovered friendship, just in time to lock herself away inside the very blade they forged together, forever warring with the very enemy they had fought valiantly together, just to ensure his protection. 

It had been so long since one of his lives had actually remembered her. She should have thought with her head, rather than her heart. 

Just like the beginning. 

[hollowedheavens]

library chats | open starter 

Sam sighed, bringing his head forward to bang slightly against the desk beneath him. It was so quiet. 

Sam loved this job, truly. It was no law position, but it was also no family business either. It was just Sam, surrounded by somewhat normal people and stacks and stacks of books to pass the time. It was calm, and relaxing, and after everything Sam had been through in his life, it’s what he deserved. 

That didn’t make the slow days any better though. Sam had been clocked in for over two hours now, and the only other interaction he’d had in his time here was old lady Tilly. and all old lady Tilly ever wanted to talk about was whether or not the library had received any new books or magazines on crochet patterns. If Sam had to listen to one more rant about broomstick lace he was going to take one of Tilly’s hooks and stab it into his own eye. 

The opening of the front door brought his head back up quickly, and Sam felt relief at the sight of another person in front of him. Thank the lord. 

“Welcome! Please let me know if I can help you find anything.” Sam greeted, making sure to keep his voice lower than usual. There was no need to add getting shushed onto his list of things today.