#alekashcraft

[agentmonet]

@alekashcraft​

The funeral processions for the deceased Duke of the East Reach lasted four days. His death rippled across Elysi, and beyond, prompting a wave of nobility attempting to share in their grief. It would be heartwarming, if it did not reek of political motivations. The family’s position as gatekeepers to crop and livestock made them valuable in times of uncertainty. With Alistair’s death, many wondered where they would fall under the new Duke’s pecking order. For four days, she and Alek maneuvered their grief amidst the grand memorials. Her husband (well, ex-husband, now) always did have a penchant for grand events, even in times of war. Yet at the reception following his funeral, Alek was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, Ainsley excuses herself from a flock of nobles, in pursuit of the new Duke of the East Reach. She stops, catching him just as the commander of the Reach bid him adieu. “Where the hell have you been?” Ainsley gripes, rolling her eyes as she comes to his side, grasping his arm. “You all but abandoned me in there. Now that Alistair’s buried, all anyone can speak of is trade and shipments. Everyone is looking for you.”

[ladyamela]

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍  :  refugee camp outside glasswater

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒  :  for  Alek Ashcraft /  @alekashcraft​

"Can you just leave me alone, please?" She asked, rhetorically because Améla could care less if they did or did not want to leave her alone. It's what she wanted at that moment. For hours she had been poked and prodded by every person that entered the room, except Jo, that is. The sight of Jo raised Améla's spirits abundantly. Her princess was safe, or at least one of them was. She still did not know about Adaline or her cousin Alek. She could easily find them if she could get out of this bed. A bed that she has laid her head down on many times in her lifetime. Améla found comfort in the fact that they brought to her room at the summer house. It seemed a bit odd that they would transfer her all way to the summer house, Sonnenberg, on the other side of Glasswater lake not far from the mountains.

Could the castle have been that destroyed for everyone to have evacuate everyone to the summer house? Améla struggled with trying to remember what all she saw why they removed her from Glasswater Keep. No matter how hard she tried the only images that came back to her were ones of the rubble and debris all around the door she took refuge behind once the explosions started. "Ouch! Why?" She questioned, the young woman who just placed her hand on Améla's shoulder. I believe I asked you to leave me alone. Go! I would like to get some sleep, please?" While it came out as a question, Améla meant it more as a demand and continued to stare at the other woman until she left.

Alone, at last, Lady Ashcraft took the opportunity to make her escape. Thankfully, she had been changed out of her dress and into a nightgown. It made for effortless movement once she managed to get out of the bed. And to think that had been the simple part. Thanks to her head injury, Améla found herself on extremely unsteady legs as she attempted to make it to the bedroom door. She would have made it too if were not for the fact that she ran out of momentum about halfway there. Having reached her vanity table, Améla slowly lowered down into the chair. She gave herself about ten minutes to rest before continuing with her endeavor. Only as she started to push herself back up, her legs buckled out from under her. Améla luckily grabbed hold of the vanity before falling to the floor. "I probably should have given myself more than ten minutes," she mumbled while trying to get her breathing under control. At the same time, she heard footsteps coming into the room. "I thought I told everyone to leave me alone?"

[stoneward-princess]

“You’re going to do this right now?”

“You’re going to do this right now?” Josefin asked Alek, pulled close into his arms. His strong, waiting arms that had never abandoned her when she needed a friend, when she needed to tell someone the darkest parts of her.

They ducked behind a cart in the little square in the middle of the village they’d been caught in as shouts boomed nearby. She’d thought he was foolish when he’d insisted on coming with her, knowing neither of them would be safe. But he had insisted and she would admit she was glad he was there with her. But finding someone who knew how to cure the magic coursing through her veins, quite literally keeping them blackened, was proving harder than she’d have thought. Her heart jumped at the sound of a magical explosion and she pressed herself against the cart, hoping the rebels wandering the town were just a group of a few and would pass quickly. “I’m sorry I drug you into this...” She brushed a hand down his collar, smiling gently.

Reaching over, Josefin pressed a kiss to his brow and sighed. “Alek I love you so much. You are the best friend I have ever had... and you have so much life to live.” She paused, shifting a bit, “I’m dying... you knew that though didn’t you?” She leaned her head against the cart and sighed. They were stuck between a vendor’s cart and the side of a building but at least they wouldn’t be seen. “And you still came with me anyway...”

She felt so weak. And if it had been anyone else with her, she wouldn’t have shown it. She would have pushed it all back. But it was Alek, the boy who knew her best. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she sighed quietly, “I think you’re going to have to find a new knight...”

[agentmonet]

@alekashcraft​​

“Command suits you.” Ainsley remarks, her voice trembling with joy and relief. She stood by the doorway of her husband’s study, watching closely as Alek filled his father’s seat. A metaphorical and literal shift in power, though the people of the East Reach did not know it yet. Each time she ventured into her husband’s study, it was to pull together his correspondence or take meetings on his behalf. Now, finally, a proper leader occupied the mahogany desk.

It was just shy of two weeks when the Kingdom was shaken by the attack on the Capital. After kissing Alek goodbye amidst the ruins, Ainsley had no knowledge of his well-being. Only hope, that both Alek’s skill and her trusty pendant would carry him to safety. Once Phelix sent word, it wasn’t long before Ainsley made haste to the Red Keep. After her father’s memorial, Ainsley knew that she needed to return to the East Reach. Many presumed she was gone, likely buried in rubble. It was time to return, as per her duty as the Duchess of the East Reach. She beams at him, genuine and bright. How long had it been since she smiled at an Ashcraft man sincerely? “Did you miss your step-mother?” She chides, eyes sparkling with salt water tears.

[agentmonet]

@alekashcraft​

“Where have you been?” Ainsley Ashcraft hisses, voice just above a whisper at the sight of the Lord himself. On her arm was her husband, stinking of wine and the scent of the other woman he bedded during the ball’s festivities. It certainly wasn’t the first time that the Duke of House Ashcraft over-indulged and made a spectacle at a grand event. But the times were changing, with the threat of the rebellion looming closer. In the face of uncertainty, their house needed to show strength. Both in the face of cut-throat noble lords, and to the people of the East Reach. The sight of Lord Ashcaft in such a state would only stir rumors of his incompetency. There was little love between the married couple, but Ainsley grew to care for his people and her safety.

After sending a trusted lady-in-waiting to fetch Alek, Ainsley only grew frustrated when he arrived twenty-minutes later. “Help your father, I cannot carry him up the stairs myself.” Due to their diplomatic relations, they were afforded apartments in Glasswater Palace. Unfortunately, it was at least two stories high. “And hurry, we haven’t much time before the Stoneward’s or Derocher’s come this way.”

[agentmonet]

@alekashcraft​

The shards of glass and debris digging into her back felt inconsequential at the time of its initial landing. What unfolded before her eyes was nothing short of terrifying. Her ears rang with the screams, whilst the scent of smoke and blood wafted into her nose. She squints, her body haphazardly strewn on the steps of the palace. Ainsley turns her neck, the unmistakable sight of Valarr from across the garden in plain sight. There he stood, shocked yet safe. With a breath of relief, her eyes land back on the castle. Without allowing herself a moment of doubt, she pulls herself from the stairs and pushes into the chaos. Despite it all, the irksome nature of the past fourteen years made the Ashcraft’s her family. Ultimately, their safety was what propelled her through the crowds, cringing through the pain of her wounds. She had to find the father and son before the palace crumbled upon them. Ainsley staggers through the halls, managing to use the remnants of her shawl to cover her features. Finally, she manages to turn a corner just as Alek began pulling Alistair out of his bed chambers.

“Alek,” Ainsley speaks, just loud enough for him to hear. The hallway had its share of wreckage, but at least there was not another soul in sight. In that moment, the hostility and resentment between them failed to matter. They were bound by name and the pains that came with it. Maybe they weren’t family in its most traditional sense, but they were something to each other. She walks over to him, placing both hands against his face in concern. “You’re alright,” she whispers in realization, a tender sigh of relief as she presses a kiss on his forehead.

[agentmonet]

@alekashcraft​

“I thought we had an accord. I would ensure a home for you to return to, and you would return in one piece. Seems only one of us has kept their side of the agreement.” The exasperated words were intentionally demanding (if not harsh). But one only need to look upon her face, to catch the restless concern of the past four days. When the blond-haired Ashcraft was spotted by the guards of the East Reach, the entire household fell into a frenzy. Alek returned with a disjointed shoulder, and had fallen into an unconscious state. They made haste, calling upon the best healers and commanders to secure the Reach. Thankfully, recent agreements afforded the additional security. The return of the Duke was not just an assault on Alek’s well-being. But a clear attack on the East Reach. A symbol of the immediate threat that existed.

The days passed slowly, with Ainsley puttering between his chambers and the study. The loose lips of farmers and merchants alike would guarantee the news would spread. After all, his return was not subtle, but a spectacle. She wrote hurriedly, ensuring the Duke’s well-being. Another shift in power would only make them appear weak. But on the fourth day, the healers reported his shoulder well and his heart rate steady. All they had to do, was wait. When his blue eyes flicker open, her lips line into a shaky breath of relief. From her position by his bedside, she gently extends her hand to wipe away his strands of blond hair.

“You are safe. You are home. Everything is well.” Ainsley states clearly, placing a soothing hand against his head. “Can you sit up?”

[agentmonet]

✵

Their first impression of your muse: While most people were in awe of the handsome and romantic Ashcraft, Ainsley thought little of him. She thought his views on relationships were archaic, and his entire demeanor off-putting. Of course, once she married his father, their relationship only grew worse

Current impression: To this day, the two are still at odds with one another. A decade of misaligned resentment was hard to wash away. But they have since grown a new-found respect and tenderness for one another. In fact, even unconsciously, they see each other as family  

Are they attracted to your muse?: Even Ainsley cannot deny that her step-son is a dashing man, yet since marrying his father, she can only see his face in Alek. Needless to say, it’s squashed most of her attraction towards him from their younger years

Something they find frightening about your muse: The cool yet cruel way his resentment could still hurt her, even after all these years

Something they find adorable about your muse: His old-fashioned view on love and marriage. As an Amaranthe of the Red Keep, she always found it rather humorous

Would my muse sacrifice themselves for yours?: Even if she doesn’t know it yet, yes 

Would my muse go on a date with yours?  platonic/romantic: Likely not. Even before she became an Ashcraft, their romance only extended into the bedroom. Even then, it was mostly fueled by being young.

One word my muse would use to describe yours: Noble

Would my muse slap yours if they could?: LOL yes, although she probably wouldn’t want to keep up the chain of bad behavior in the Ashcraft house

Would my muse hug/kiss yours?: Yes