captain afab is honestly a very relatable character because whomst among us does not have some great beast that has eluded us all our lives. mine, for instance, is a decent night's sleep.
Ocs featured: Victoria Shard, Grimhilde Shard Von Monarch (Flashback), Virtue of time Vigil(@authoruio)
Mentioned ocs: Zenith Devi(No, UiO, he isn't a god)
Ship: Victoria Shard x Virtue of time Vigil
Summary: The feeling of perfection is something she relished in. Yet the feeling of weakness pained her like the burns of silver. And yet he came to her when she needed comfort the most.
Warning(s): Potential ooc moments, shit writing, emotional manipulation (Grimhilde), Grimhilde in general, implied emotional abuse
{ Apologies for any out of character moments }
[ Reblogs are recommended/encouraged ]
Victoria was tired, and her eyes showed little emotion as she pressed on each note of the piano.
Alone in the music room, wearing her dorm uniform with her hair up, braided yet somehow unbelievably disheveled. And yet she still looked more than radiant.
And the music room complimented the atmosphere. Beautiful, yet solemn. Bedecked in marble for its walls, gold engraved inside and the finest pearly silks for the curtains.
From the atmosphere, down to the scenery, everything befitted Victoria's current mood.
Appearing calm and content, yet filled with sorrow and disappointment. Disappointed in herself.
♝•°•══════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══════•°•♝
"Failed. Again."
Victoria panted, dressed in royal blue, with her hair all over the place."But…. But grandmother-"
"Must I repeat myself, Victoria? You've failed. You have one week to make up for your mistake." Grimhilde interrupted. At the mention of having only one week to prepare, Victoria felt her eyes sting.
"O-One week?? B-But-"
"No buts, young lady. Do you truly wish to honor this family as its next leader?"
Victoria looked down, her face all bruised up."Y-Yes… But grandmother-" she was cut off by a deep, disappointed sigh.
Grimhilde's heels clicked, walking towards her granddaughter, who was sitting tiredly on the marble flooring. Raising Victoria's chin, the young heiress felt a chill down her spine as she invoked eye contact with her grandmother.
"Victoria…. Do you truly wish to honor this family?" The question and the way she said it was bone-chilling.
Desperate, Victoria clung to the hem of her grandmother's dress."Yes…. Yes! Yes, I do, grandmother!-" Grimhilde violently forced her hands off of her.
"Enough."
Tears began streaming down Victoria's face, yet her expression never wavered. Not even once.
Narrowing her eyes, Grimhilde looked away for a moment in order to let out a soft, yet deep, breath.
Bending down, Grimhilde pulled Victoria into a loose hug. One that Victoria quickly reciprocated and tightened.
"I'm sorry, my dear… I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Grimhilde started. Pulling away from the hug, she held Victoria's face and gently wiped away the tears streaming down her bruised face.
"It's just…. I only want what's best. For you, and for our family." She continued, worried eyes staring down at her heir. Her granddaughter.
Letting go of her face, Grimhilde stood in front of Victoria proudly, her cold-hearted expression quickly making its way back to her face.
"Now tidy yourself up, my dear." She turned away, heels clicking as she went for the door.
"We wouldn't want your mother and father to see you in such a state."
Victoria only properly replied once her grandmother had walked out, and slammed the door shut. Leaving her in the dark, quiet room, all on her own.
"..... Yes, grandmother."
♝•°•══════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══════•°•♝
Victoria grunted in frustration, banging on the keys of the piano.
"Why….. Why did I have to mess up?" She questioned herself, "Let alone in front of grandmother…"
Her face had healed from the previous bruises. Not only did she feel preposterous by having them on her face, but she'd have felt guilty if her parents, cousins, and even Zen saw her in such a state.
One that made her appear weak. Softhearted. Unworthy of a title like a grand duchess.
It hurt her to look, to feel, weak. Victoria had ambition, but not even her ambition could stop her from feeling her eyes sting at the mere mention of being a potential disappointment.
"Why are you crying? For someone as divinely marvelous as you are, I'd never expected you to be on the verge of tears."
Victoria stood up from the piano, fast enough for the stool to fall to the ground from sheer speed. Picking up her sword that stood idly by the piano, she unsheathed it from its hilt and wandered cautiously around the room.
"Who's there?"
There was no voice when she asked. At least not for a little while.
".... You can hear me?"
Victoria scoffed, her eyes rolling in a sarcastic sequence."Of course, I can…" she breathed, "What, are you not meant to be heard?"
A hum was heard."You could say that. And you could also say that I just fell from above to watch over you."
"A guardian angel, as you'd call it." That got a snort out of Victoria. A small one, but a snort nonetheless.
She circled the room, preparing to thrust her sword at the intruder. If given the chance, that is.
"Would you prefer it if I revealed myself? To prove that I'm not a threat?"
Victoria lowered her sword, but only by a small percentage."That definitely doesn't sound particularly ominous." She got a chuckle out of the unknown voice, that's for sure.
"Fine then, I shall reveal myself."
She hummed in contentment, lowering her sword to the fullest capacity. When she saw a pair of large wings at her sides, her eyebrows raised.
When she turned around, she caught sight of the source of the unknown voice. Vigil.
"Greetings, Victoria Shard." Vigil greeted, and the light from the windows illuminated him in a way that made him look ethereal.
Shaking her surprise off, Victoria arched a questioning brow at Vigil."How do you know my name?" She inquired, directly facing him.
As Vigil was answering, his words were but a ringing sound to her ears as she began thinking.
For someone I'm supposed to be cautious of… He's actually quite…. When Victoria caught herself thinking in such a way, she shook her head in embarrassment.
Vigil noticed. He noticed the look of shame in her eyes, as well as the tips of her ears quickly turning red before fading to pink.
He hid a smile behind his neutral facade. He was already intrigued by Victoria, but even little things such as that were what intrigued him even more.
Just as she rested a hand over her chin, Vigil gently grabbed her by the chin."Tell me, Victoria Shard," he trailed before he could say his question.
"Why were you crying?"
Not only was Victoria taken aback, but she was also downright offended. She pushed Vigil away with a cruel scowl.
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing!" She picked up and raised her sword at Vigil, pointing it at his throat. She may have been astonished by his height, but height didn't matter as long as you had skill.
Vigil lowered her sword from his chin, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Was what he told her.
Victoria growled, "And why not?" She replied, turning her response into a question for Vigil to answer.
Vigil huffed."Because you can't kill me, Victoria Shard." He answered.
"Don't you dare have the gall to call me that." Victoria threatened, her gaze cold and unwavering."And I didn't cry, I'll have you know that, at least."
"Then why did I see them sting? Like they were desperate to cry more than a river?"
The sapphire-eyed girl paused, stiffening at the mention of desperation. The wishfulness of wanting to bawl her eyes out however she pleased.
"..... That's not any of your business."
She turned away from Vigil, and closed the piano, preparing to leave the music room and hopefully leave him there.
Just as she reached for the door, she heard Vigil.
"Have you heard of the words, it's okay to cry?"
She stopped, her gaze lingering on the doorknob as Vigil slowly approached her. He placed his hand over her shoulder, his touch as gentle as the tone of his voice.
"Have you heard those words before, Victoria?" He decided not to use her surname this time.
"....." She didn't answer. Or rather, she didn't have the heart to answer.
And that was enough for Vigil. He managed to persuade her into facing him again, and he unintentionally had her leaning against the dark oak doors of the music room.
"I'm sure you've heard of the proverb, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, at least."
"Yes, but what does that-"
"If you've heard that proverb, and likely more than a dozen others, then you've most certainly heard someone tell you that it's okay to cry, yes?"
He repeated his question but slightly reiterated it just in case Victoria couldn't get the message. But good for Vigil, since she did understand what he was trying to imply.
It's just that she was afraid of admitting it.
Unbeknownst to Victoria, tears were already falling down her porcelain face. She was just too focused on Vigil to notice.
Vigil's eyes softened, more so than he usually allowed them to. His hand reached for Victoria's face, and she let him gently caress it. And gently wipe away her tears with his thumb.
At that realization, and the feeling of safety, and security she felt by being near him, Victoria realized she had allowed herself to feel weak in front of Vigil. A stranger.
And yet…. For whatever reason, she didn't hate it. And she ended up leaning into his touch, resting her head on his chest.
"I've….. Never heard those words." She admitted, tired with her eyes red from the tears she wept.
Vigil pursed his lips, stroking her hair."I see….." was how he replied. And in the end?
Victoria fell asleep, resting on Vigil's chest.
Awkward, yet flustered in what he'd feel to be the best way, Vigil smiled. It was small but visible.
He took Victoria back to her room in Pomefiore and quickly tucked her in before leaving. He didn't want to stay in long enough to invade her privacy.
Smiling to himself, his touch lingered back to his neck, feeling the small scar from the tip of Victoria's blade against it.
He chuckled, quietly. And his smile widened by only a little bit.
"I shall do what I can to protect you, my lady. And ensure that, hopefully, you shall not shed a single tear."
Taglist: [ I'm gonna Mandela catalogue your ass if you don't reblog /j ]
Congratulations, UiO! This oneshot is officially the last oneshot for the 2023 valentine's event, as it has released on March 14, aka White Day ^^
I'm truly sorry if I didn't do justice to Vigil, I did what I could with the info you gave me on the coconut discord server ^^||
On the other hand, I had a lot of fun writing this oneshot! Especially the flashback segment between Grimhilde and Victoria I'm a monster for saying that, I know
But, worry not, for I will still write oneshots + continue Melodic Misconceptions 🎹 ^^ I'm just gonna focus on my oc lore for a while
So, without further ado, happy white day, and I hope you enjoyed this oneshot, and event in general!
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