#nsacad

[sir-tara-harkon]

"Mama! Mama!" Twin boys came tumbling over each other out of the house and the Lady Knight turned, catching both as they slammed into her. Adrian followed after them at a more decorous pace, chuckling quietly. "Are you just going to stand there whilst I get mauled by these hoydens, Sir Adrian?" "I thought you had the situation quite well in hand, Lady Knight." She bent down slightly. "Get'im." The boys didn't need more prompting than that. They turned and barreled across the yard at their father.

[sir-tara-harkon]

She stood by the window, holding her infant son in her arms. His twin was still asleep, but little Bran could be insistent. He loved being up before the sun and she could only humor him. He clung to her, one chubby hand tight in her shirt and the other clinging to her baldric. He seemed to be considering whether it would be good for teething. With a chuckle, she dipped a cloth in water and handed it to him. "Much better for you, my lamb. Now, how about you work on those teeth of yours and I'll tell you a story. But you'll have to promise not to tell that I told you, alright?" He blinked up at her with his solemn eyes and she smiled back. Neither of the twins were talking yet. "Very good. I thought you'd agree. It starts a long, long time ago in Ireland." She gave him a little bounce before sitting in the softest of the chairs. "I know, Ireland, how could I? To think, a knight of the Lion's Guard, telling Elf Tales. What would the neighbors say? Well, that's why I said it was a secret."

[sir-tara-harkon]

Riley grabbed Jessa and tugged her into his room. She was surprised to find Pippa already in there, sitting on Riley’s bed. “We found E.” Pippa said it with no adornment, just that. Jessa stared for a moment and then covered her mouth with her hands. Riley hugged her tightly. “I promised him we’d only tell you. Not even Callie.” “Is he...is he alright? Is he safe?” Riley stiffened slightly and then hugged her tighter. “I don’t know, Jessa. If he’s doing what I think he’s doing, we just need to hope we won’t have to fight him.”

[outofcontextnightshade-blog]

I have a new ship, it's called 'fwoosh'.

@faewildes

[sir-tara-harkon]

Muirne rolled through the grass, laughing as she came to a stop. Ruadh pounced from out of the grass, landing on top of her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he leaned in to kiss her, hands on her shoulders. When the kiss finally broke off, she blushed brightly and looked away. "I should be getting home, Ruadh." He smiled sadly and leaned in to kiss her again. "Do you have to?" For a moment, she considered his words. Then she grinned wickedly, grabbing him by the front of his light shirt. She pulled him in for another long kiss and then whispered. "I think I can stay the night with you, my sly wolf."

[sir-tara-harkon]

With the fight over, the Lady Knight stopped to take her bearings. She knew she had gotten far closer to the cliffside than she had meant to, what with the damn wolves driving her around the battlefield like she was a lost sheep. But it hadn't been until that moment that she processed just how close she really was. Unfortunately for her, that was also when one of the last of the enemy combatants realized right where she was as well. The spell ripped past her and she managed to make a return shot with her bow before the concussion through the air knocked her back. She was losing her balance and there was no question that Flick was about to take a very short flight off that would end on the rocks below. She didn't have time to weave a spell together that would stop her fall, but she did have enough to throw a cord back to Adrian. He grabbed the spell she threw, knowing immediately what she needed. He dropped a root of his power into the ground, solidifying it into an anchor. At the same time, Flick wrapped the free end around her like a harness. She felt the spell hold and she grinned. She might be stuck in midair, but at least she wasn't splattered on the rocks below. "I don't suppose it's clear up there now, is it?" "The situation is well in hand, Mother." Darius leaned over the side of the cliff. "Father wants to know if you need a hand up or not." "That depends. Is he laughing?" She reached one hand up, grabbing the spell-rope. "On my honor as his squire, Mother, I can't answer that question." With a sigh, she pulled herself up, hand over hand. "Well then, Squire Darius, could you tell your father that if he doesn't stop laughing and come help me, he can sleep in the guest room tonight?"

[sir-tara-harkon]

Adrian screamed with fury, power coursing through him from all around. Flick knelt, trying to keep pressure on the wound on her side until a healer could get there, keeping one eye on her husband and one on the space around them. Hadn't their combat trainers all said to go for the one doing obvious spellwork? Always. It didn't matter how much power Adrian had in that moment, or how heavily he'd tapped into the nearby node in his fury, a knife in the ribs would still kill him. She blinked, trying to clear her vision and smiled a little. The field was clear. Then there were strong hands supporting her and she looked up into Adrian's worried eyes. "Lost your temper, didn't you?" "They could've killed you, love." "I'm fine. Just a scratch."

[sir-tara-harkon]

"Mama?" "Yes, baby?" Meriam sat by the window of their small quarters, looking out into the gardens. Jessa stood beside her, looking up at her mother with all the dignity of her four years. "Can I go play outside?" "Not today, Jessa love. How about you sit up here with me and I'll tell you a story?" Jessa scrambled into her mother's lap, snuggling against her. "Which story, Mama?" Meriam was quiet for a moment, her arms around her daughter. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a tower..."

Jessa jumped out of her bed, running to the window to see the sun as it rose. She could see the knights training in the yard and the children of the court playing. There was a cat sunning itself on the stones and a few of the palace dogs were sleeping still by the stables. A door opened and Jessa turned, a bright smile on her face. Then the smile vanished. Her mother wasn't alone. "Your lessons in magic will begin today, Jessa." The King was a shadow in the doorway, his expression closed as he looked down at her. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"She'd lived there for her whole life and didn't know anything about the world outside or anyone other than the person who kept her there. But she had a dream." "What dream, Mama?" "That someday, she would get to go out and see what the lights in the sky were." "You mean stars?" "No, baby. Special magic lights that only happened once a year, on her birthday." "I'd like magic lights on my birthday." "I bet you would." "Did she get to see?" "Listen patient and you'll find out." "Yes, Mama." "One day, a thief broke into her tower, never knowing she was there."

Jessa suddenly felt herself being pulled into the air. That was bad. That was very bad. If she fell- But she didn't fall. The net was soft, surprisingly so. Still, she squirmed, trying to get her balance back. All she found were more and more ways to tangle herself up, until finally she was let down. First, she hugged her brother tightly, but then she found herself gazing at the woman who had trapped her in the first place.

"He took her out of the tower and showed her the world. He even showed her what the lights really were." Meriam smiled, smoothing her daughter's curly hair back. "They were magic lanterns to celebrate the birthday of the missing princess." "But you said it was the girl's birthday, Mama." "I did, didn't I? Well, that's the secret, baby. The little girl from the tower was the missing princess the whole time. And thanks to her thief, she knew it. But more important than that, he showed her that she was loved." "Did he love her, Mama?"

Jessa felt a blush creep to her cheeks as she tried to put the words together to ask for help. She really did want to get better at archery, but she also wanted to give Neasa an excuse to be close to her, to touch her. Neasa smiled uncertainly, her own cheeks hot as she reached for Jessa's hand.

"Yes, baby, he did. Very much. And she loved him too."