May 4th is a very special day. It’s the day my dearest friend, my sister, completes one more year with us here on Earth! I am so incredibly thankful to have known you and to have you around. It pains me that we live so far from each other because I can’t help you when you need it. I know it’s not much, but doing art is the only way I can show you how much I appreciate you.
Happy (early) Birthday, @sweenyalice! I am so thankful you’re here. I wish you happiness, health, love, success and everything positive! I love you and you deserve the entire world!
Prompt #9: "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Original Fiction: Broken Mirrors Series
Rating: T
Warnings: Implied abuse
Characters: Gilbert Lehmann, Alice Sweeney, Firmino Amello
Ships: N/A
Gilbert eyed the new boy from across the room, he could tell that he didn’t want to be here. He knew the other kingdoms didn’t have the same tie to their royals as the Sweeney and Lehmann of Ephariel did, but he honestly didn’t understand it until he started following Alice to the other kingdoms on her trips to royal gatherings. He couldn’t believe that some of the other royal families treated their servant clans as expendable toys to be used, abused and tossed away. His fists clenched when he recalled the look on Alice’s face when the boy was ‘gifted’ to her in the cage that still sat in the room with him. The boy hadn’t said much outside of telling Alice and him to stay away from him, and honestly, it was getting on his nerves. He hated watching how upset Alice looked every time she tried to help the boy only to receive an insult thrown at her.
His eyes widened when he watched the boy try to swing at Alice, “Hey, I wouldn’t do that if I were you! She might be nice, but I’m not! You hurt her and I’ll break your arm!”
Gilbert kept his eyes on the boy but crossed his arms when Alice waved him off, “Gil, relax. He’s new and scared. I don’t know what they did to him in Atadell, but he’s entitled to not trust me and see me as a new enemy. If it’ll make him less scared to be able to take a swing, so be it.”
“I’m your guard, I’m not going to le-”
Alice rolled her eyes, walking by him, “Gilbert, I’m not asking. Now, I’m going to see what I can grab from the kitchen, keep him company.”
Before Alice slipped out the door, she quickly shot him a glare, “And be nice, or else we won’t have our weekly sleepover!”
A snort caught his attention as the boy finally glared at him, “What are you, her dog?”
Gilbert returned his glare, puffing out his chest, “No, I’m her best friend! And her personal guard! I’ll be head of the royal guard one day!”
He frowned as the boy rolled his eyes, “So you’re a glorified show pony until she gets bored of you.”
“Don’t talk about her like that! I don’t know what your problem is! She’s done nothing but be nice to you!”
Gilbert felt his anger rise when the boy waved him off, “She’s a royal, no different than any other. She’ll brand me and then I’ll be just another toy until I’m not useful anymore. You’re not special because you’re higher on the pecking order of servants here.”
“I choose to serve her! It’s the highest honour in my family to be the personal guard to the heirs of the Sweeney Clan! Even before they became the rulers of Ephariel!”
The boy scoffed again, “So you’re from a long line of pets.”
That was the last thing Gilbert needed to hear before he lunged at the boy, only to be pulled by the back of his shirt.
“Gilbert! I said be nice! Go stand outside while I get him settled into his room!”
Gilbert gave Alice a pleading look, he hated disappointing her, but turned a quick glare at the new boy, only stopping when Alice gently pushed him out of the room.
Prompt #2: "Don't worry, I got you."
Original Fiction: Broken Mirrors Series
Rating: T
Warnings: Implied suicide attempt
Characters: Alice Sweeney, Kazimir Barkov, Gilbert Lehmann
Ships: N/A
“Hey! Are you alright?!”
Kazimir startled awake as he felt soft hands shake his shoulders, he quickly leaned away from them, reaching his own shaky arm to shove the hands off of him.
“Oh, hey, it’s ok. You’re badly hurt, are you able to walk?”
He quickly pulled himself back away from the calm voice, “What do you want?”
His vision was gone, when he tried to open his eyes nothing changed in the darkness before him.
“My name is Alice, can you stand? I want to help. My home is close, I can get you healed up.”
He didn’t want her help, “I don’t need help.”
He stood on shaky legs before starting to fall only to feel the girl under his arm as she supported him, “Don’t worry, I got you. Let’s get you healed.”
He tried to pull away from her, but quickly found he couldn’t in his weakened state as her grip tightened, “Why are you helping me?”
He relented, stumbling along without fighting her as he felt her pull him along, “Well, I saw you when I was passing by and you looked like you needed a hand.”
“I didn’t want help. I wanted to be left.”
He felt her stiffen under him, “Then you need more than a hand.”
He followed her lead until he began to smell lavender and bread, “Where are we?”
“Sweeney castle, I’m bringing you through the kitchen. I don’t want my parents to think there’s a battle or something, plus I snuck out while Gil was polishing his sword so I don’t want to run into him yet. He always gets mad when I sneak out.”
He lifted his head toward her, “Sweeney castle? Sneaking out? Wait, you can’t b-”
He felt her giggle before he heard it, “Princess Alice, yes. Now let’s get you to Kikuma, he can get you bandaged up.”
Kazimir couldn’t help the confusion filling him, “What do you gain from helping me?”
He felt her small frame shrug, “Well, I wasn’t really thinking about that… But I guess I gain a new friend.”
“Alice! There you are! Wait why are you covered in blood?! Who is that?!”
Kazimir flinched at the sudden loud voice booming in front of them.
“Relax Gil. I don’t know his name yet, and the blood is his. He was injured by the castle and I wanted to get him help.”
Kazimir felt her grip on him tighten, likely trying to tell him to go along with her omission of how she found him.
“Kazimir. My name is Kazimir.”
He could feel the smile in her voice, “Well Gil, this is Kazimir! Now, help me get him into my room before one of your brothers sees us and runs to tell Dad. Oh, and then I need you to get Kikuma.”
Kazimir listened to the long sigh from Gilbert before he felt his other arm get lifted over strong shoulders.
“Fine, but if we get caught, you owe me a new sword.”
Song: I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Characters: Alice Sweeney, Firmino Amello, Gilbert Lehmann, Erin Mitchell, Antonio Castellano
Ship: Isabella x Firmino
“Can you stop?”
Gilbert rolled his eyes, “Look, just because you don’t want to hear this, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
Firmino glared at Gilbert, “Can you just leave me alone?!”
Gilbert leaned against the sofa, “Firmino, I know this is tough to hear but just hear us out.”
Firmino stormed past Gilbert, “I’m not going to listen to your lies!”
“Mino, I’m not lying. I wouldn’t say she did something like this just for fun! Do you think I want to hurt you?”
“Just shut up Antonio! You, Gilbert and Erin can get out of my house!”
“Hey, watch it, I haven’t even said anything yet!”
Firmino rolled his eyes, “Then why are you here?”
Erin sighed, “I’m just here to make sure Antonio and Gilbert don’t get into trouble, Alice would be pissed if anyone started trouble right now.”
“So you’re here because Alice made you come?”
Erin’s eyes rolled, “She’s worried about you, just like those two are. She’s giving you the space you asked for, but not everyone will respect your request.”
His eyes met Firmino’s, “I’m here to warn you that your bridge with her is burning because of all this, and you run the risk of exile over being a toy for Isabella. Alice asked that I make sure those two don’t take their worry too far, but I came to warn you. They’re already starting to talk about revoking your rights to the suitcase.”
Firmino’s eyes narrowed, “Then she can do that! If she’s so mad about me being happy, then so what?! I don’t want to be stuck here with everyone anyway!”
Erin’s eyes widened as Gilbert suddenly shot forward, pinning Firmino to the wall in front of them by his neck.
“Gilbert! Let him go!”
Gilbert glared at Firmino, “If that’s really how you feel, then don’t you dare come back when you find out we were right. If you come crawling back, I will make sure it’s the last thing you do.”
Firmino gasped as Gilbert let him go, allowing a rush of air to fill his lungs again.
Erin grabbed Gilbert’s arm, “It’s time for us to go. You shouldn’t have done that, Gilbert.”
Gilbert huffed, shaking Erin off of his arm before storming out the door. Erin sighed, shaking his head before rushing after him.
Antonio frowned, “Mino, Isabella is using you to get to me and Alice. We heard her say it. You don’t have to listen to me, but I just… I don’t want you to get hurt. You deserve better.”
Firmino watched him walk away, following Erin. He didn’t need any of them anyway.
Song: Last Resort by Papa Roach
Characters: Alice Sweeney, P. Firmino Amello, Gilbert Lehmann, Kazimir Lupei, Einarr Landvik
Ship: Alice Sweeney x Jason Lund
Alice took a deep breath before stepping through the glowing mirror before her. She couldn’t wait to return to her home. There was finally good news to bring to the others.
“Alice! You’re back!”
Alice gripped the frame of her mirror as she tried to focus, her head always took a while to catch up to her when she traveled, “Yes, and with good news.”
“Alice, you need to rest!”
Alice smiled softly at the familiar chastising of Kazimir, she missed everyone, “I’m fine, Kazimir. Where’s Jason?”
The silence that followed was deafening. It didn’t take long for her to feel the familiar dread growing within her. It was the same as when Jason had to tell her that her father was dead.
“Gilbert, where is Jason?”
She watched closely as Gilbert refused to meet her gaze.
“He was captured a few weeks ago, Queenie.”
Alice flinched at the new voice, “Einarr? What are you doing here? And what do you mean by weeks?!”
Einarr frowned, “I thought you’d be happier to see me. Jason wasn’t very welcoming either. My idiot younger brother betrayed my declaration of neutrality and was helping the Andersons. When I found out, I rushed out here to personally warn you and Jason. I didn’t want to drag the kingdom into this war, but I don’t want my friend and cousin dead.”
Alice allowed Kazimir to guide her to her desk, “That doesn’t explain where Jason is.”
Einarr sighed, leaning against the wall, “I got here too late to warn you. You were gone, and Hannah caught wind of it. Leifr helped her use the secret passages under your castle, the ones that connect the Lund and Sweeney castles.”
Gilbert eyed his feet, handing his head in shame, “We were overpowered by them, they had magic. We weren’t prepared for all of that… Samantha said they were taking Jason prisoner…”
Einarr pulled a small white bracelet from his pocket, “He made me promise to give this to you. He said it was Christa’s. I think they planned on torturing him for information on where you were.”
Alice nodded, numbly taking the bracelet, “Weeks ago…”
“We made a few attempts to get him back, but with everyone still recovering we just didn’t have the forces. I ordered your people to prioritize survival over rescuing him. I don’t want to lose my last family, but I couldn’t risk you losing this war either at this point. Leifr and I have chosen our sides.”
Kazimir was the one to stop the conversation, “Alice, you must rest. We can finish this tomorrow. We will plan another offensive, but you must rest.”
She nodded, allowing herself to be guided to her bed. Her mind was racing, but she felt numb. Her best friend was gone, captured, tortured, while she was enjoying herself visiting her friends and cousins. Sure she managed to gain treaties that would help their war effort, but what was the point if she couldn’t even protect her best friend. For gods sake, he was her betrothed!
As the night began to overtake the kingdom, her restless mind began to imagine what Jason was going through. She needed to save him, even if it was the last thing she’d do. She couldn’t sneak into the enemy camp with others, they’d slow her down. She quickly sat up, reaching for her spell book.
“I’m not an idiot.”
Alice jumped as her hand was caught by a familiar tan one, “Firmino…”
Firmino sighed, standing up in his old leather armor, “You aren’t going alone. Gilbert and I knew you’d want to go as soon as your magic replenished. He has two horses ready. If you want to do this, we’re going with you, or I can have Kazimir restrain you here because you can’t be trusted not to get yourself killed right now.”
She tried to blink away tears before finally allowing them to fall. Alice pulled Firmino to her, crying into his shoulder. She didn’t want to risk anyone else, but she knew these three idiots wouldn’t obey her. She didn’t have to do this alone. Now she just needed to bring Jason home, alive.
Song: Happy by Saving Jane
Characters: Gilbert Lehmann, Klaus Lehmann, Maylin Fuentes, Amelia Wilson, Victor Wilson
Ship: Klaus x Maylin, Maylin x Amelia
Klaus laid on the ground, relaxing against the dirt, where he belonged. His eyes stung from the tears he was fighting back, forcing them shut. His chest burned with each breath he took.
“You overheard us, huh?”
Klaus flinched, he hadn’t realised his brother noticed him rush out of the house.
“You don’t have to talk to me, just listen, ok?”
Klaus grunted at his brother, he honestly wanted to be alone to wallow in his feelings.
“Victor was visiting to celebrate his sister getting married. Amelia and Maylin as getting married.”
He didn’t need it spelt out for him, he knew which sister Victor was talking about and he knew she was dating Maylin. He wasn’t an idiot.
“I know you have feelings for Maylin…”
His eyes sprung open in surprise as he glared at his brother, he shouldn’t know that. He hadn’t told anyone.
Gilbert chuckled, “I’m not an idiot Klaus, I know when my little brother is eyeing his friend.”
“It was that obvious?”
To his annoyance, Gilbert nodded, “Of course it is. You are not a very subtle person. You don’t go out of your way to bake dad’s famous chocolate cake for just anyone.”
“What do you want then?”
Gilbert shrugged, sitting on the ground beside him, “Maylin is going to invite you, she wants you to be her best man along with her brother.”
“So you wanted to warn me?”
Gilbert shook his head, “No, I think you’ll go and smile and support her the whole time. I just want you to know that I know how bad it’s going to hurt, and I’m proud of you for knowing you need to let her go.”
Klaus glanced up at his brother, watching him pull his knees up, “How do you know? I could storm over to Maylin and tell her my feelings.”
“Because, you know she makes her happy. You want to see Maylin happy, with or without you. You’re her best friend, and you won’t risk losing her friendship or making her feel bad for not sharing your feelings.”
“Is that how you feel about Alice?”
Gilbert’s glare told him his answer, “We’re talking about you here kid, not me. Don’t push it.”
Klaus finally let out a small laugh, “Is this a family thing?”
Gilbert’s laugh joined his own, “I don’t think dad had that hard of a time, he was married twice.”
Klaus smiled softly as he leaned back into the ground, his brother was right. He wants to be happy for Maylin, and he will, he just needs time.
