Guess who is actively working on AGD Chapter 8 after who knows how long -____-'' XD As well as something a bit more personal >w>
Not sure how long it'll take but I do have the next chapter outlined, I just need to write it out. I did have the beginning of it done, just needed the rest as I wasn't sure where I wanted to take it BP
Anyone who needs a refresher or hasn't read it yet, here's part one:
A Grim Destiny
A Grim Destiny (Ao3 for those who prefer their layout more)
For those who don't know, it's a Philip Wittebane X Powerless Witch!Reader during a time before Luz and Lilith came to the past and after Caleb. It has Yandere elements and it will probably become more ramped up in the next couple of chapters once I get them out. NSFW chapters will be marked as they come.
Should be working on refs for OCS for art fight yet here I am
@the-enchanted-archivist, Beloved!!! The one and only!!! If I didn't have same face syndrome, I would draw them with the exact same face shape to make up for the for differences. But alas, I am super lazy and still learning
Badly wanna make two tiny comics with Beloved NGL, also their name is Modesty Stearne. He is AFAB and Genderfluid wasn't known back then but she definitely was, sadly stupid old timey puritans don't like that🙄✋. An icon nonetheless‼️‼️
Also A Grim Destiny!!!!
Also I'd like to point out that his clothes' colors are just inverted from Phillip's clothes. The pants are the colors of his socks because I'm sorry I just couldn't work out bright blue pants. They are Melonie Matsdotter
I'm a simpleton who's always looked for a reason to redraw this meme so I took my chance. The middle is my first toh self insert, they are a half human half witch. He has a construction tattoo enhanced with magic to make it look like she's apart of the coven when infact they are just a wild witch. Alot of lore with him but still alot of lore I need to lore on with her.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9
GN!Reader is a witch with a birth defect: They were born without a bile sac, rendering them helpless when it came to magic. Because of this, certain people tend to bully and ridicule them. They are currently trying to find their place in life and it’s not going well.
From here on, I'm going to tag this series as NSFW for various reasons. (And so I don't forget).
While Philip is trying to find a way to tell his beloved about his affliction, he falls ill at the worst possible time.
This is a slow-burn Yandere fic and it will get darker as time goes on. Fair warning.
Read it on Ao3
It has been weeks since I proposed and I am finding it quite difficult to hide my affliction from Angel. I have suddenly been exhibiting strange side effects. Just days ago, while I was researching our next goal, I found my right arm essentially rotting away without any warning while I was at my desk! My entire arm detached itself from my body in some sort of greenish sludge! I was lucky to have been able to reattach it before Angel had seen it.
I am sure Angel and I are safe for now. I am positive that imbecile Blight believes that we are nowhere near civilization given the direction we took before circling back to Bonesborough. We shall stay here for another week before continuing our journey. However, I am afraid that I am feeling a bit under the weather. I’m sure it’s nothing and I don’t want to alarm Angel. For now, I must somehow tell them what I am. I just hope that benevolent creature shows me mercy after everything we’ve been through…
“Angel, my treasure, I have a confession to make…” Philip inhaled, bringing his hands together as he paced the floor of the cave. “It’s been a long time coming… There’s… I have… Well… I have to consume Palismen to keep myself from turning into a monster, the same monster you ran into the night near the fishing hamlet… that scared you so badly you… refused to leave my side…and… Damn it all…”
Philip dropped into the chair near his workstation with his head in his hands. Each time, he had started strong but it fell apart quickly. He wrote it out several times but each time he would be unsatisfied with it and tossed it. A small mound of discarded paper balls had piled up around his desk and it made him switch tactics. He decided to try to wing it instead, which fell flat entirely. Damn him for waiting too long. He should have told you that night. If he had, this wouldn’t feel so impossible. Confessing and proposing to you was easier than this.
With a heavy sigh, Philip lifted his head slightly to look over his fingers in thought.
“What am I to do? They’ll leave me for sure…”
A moment passed when he suddenly felt something caress his shoulders and he jumped to his feet with a yelp. Spinning around like a deer caught in headlights with his hand clutching his chest, he found you staring at him in surprise.
“O-Oh!” he breathed. “Angel-!”
He leaned back on his workstation with a relieved sigh. You furrowed your brow at his reaction while setting a basket of voidberries down beside the desk.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” you murmured, stepping up to him and placing your hands on his chest. This prompted an automatic response where Philip curled an arm around your waist to keep you close.
“Scare me? No, no, you didn’t- I mean, no, I was just…” he chuckled nervously, waving his free hand dismissively but he wouldn’t make eye contact with you which made you frown. Philip flinched as you touched his forehead.
“Are… you okay? You feel warm and your color is a bit off...”
Philip scoffed and took your hand.
“I’m fine, my love. I have a lot on my mind,” he shook his head and then paused. He gave you a soft gaze as he kissed your palm. “We are engaged now, after all… I have a lot to live up to…”
Your face warmed at the gesture and you couldn’t help but smile. It had been weeks so far and you were still trying to wrap your head around the concept that the man holding your hand was to be your husband.
“Well, don’t get ahead of yourself. I don’t want you stressing yourself out.”
“Of course.”
With a quick nuzzle, you pulled away and picked up the basket of voidberries to head further into the cave to put them away. Philip’s smile faded and he pressed a palm against his temple with a wince.
“If you’d like, I can make you some tea to calm your nerves,” you called back but the sound of something sliding across the desk and then hitting the cave floor startled you. Glancing back, your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach upon seeing Philip now laying on his side with his back to you, unmoving. Items from his desk littered the floor around him. “Philip!”
Rushing over, you kneeled and rolled him to his back which made his head lull. He was out cold. Touching the skin on his face, you felt the heat again, this time at a roaring temperature. It had to be the beginning of something bad.
Composing yourself, you began to think back to what had been done when you had been sick. While your parents had other things to tend to while you were growing up, it was the servants who actually took care of you. You just never had the chance to take care of someone sick before.
“Okay…” you huffed. “To the bed…”
It took all of your strength to move him but after some time, you were able to lay Philip onto his bed roll. You just didn’t realize how much of a mess of limbs he had become during the move with the arm he was laying on pulled behind him, the opposite arm bent at his waist and dangling against his lower back, and his legs tangled with one another. His face was pressed into the pillow which you had to turn to let him breathe.
“... … … Close enough… Now… What else…?”
The thought of how the servants removed any extra layers when you were sick to cool you down made your face redden. Kneeling, you carefully rolled him to his back and began to push off his jacket and vest. His head lulled from one side of the pillow to the other and his chest rose and fell with labored breaths as his brow furrowed. Sweat began to form on his face which made you open his shirt.
“... Ohhh… My head…”
“Shhhh, it’s okay…” you whispered, your hand rubbing his exposed chest tenderly without a second thought as you watched his face. “I’m going to take care of you the best I can. Seems like you may have picked something up somewhere. Just rest, my love.”
He let out a groan as his head lulled away from you and you took that opportunity to remove the extra layers from his form, as well as his shoes. He was left laying with his shirt opened and his pants and stockings. Glancing down at him once more, you noticed what looked to be a tiny brightly colored mushroom slowly blooming on his head, parting his hair on the side of his head. In the dim light, you could swear it was glowing blue, the same color as his eyes.
It was the Common Mold. I remembered that Philip kept a book on Boiling Isle diseases and went looking for it only to find the page for the Common Mold bookmarked, which makes me believe he’s had this before. To think he had gone through this once before with no one to take care of him… I also am unsure how this will affect him but the glowing mushroom makes me wonder. What does the Common Mold do to humans?
I did my best to accommodate Philip for now but as I went through the book, I realized that I did not have any of the ingredients necessary to help him fight this. Gathering them meant I would have to make a quick trip to Bonesborough, something I know he would disapprove of given everything that has happened up until now. If Philip is right, then Alder should not be anywhere near here. I swore to him I wouldn’t leave the cave without him or go out of earshot.
Ugh, I can’t just sit here and watch him be delirious. As cute as he’s being, telling me how much he loves me, that I’m the best thing he’s ever had, that he’s been in love with me for much longer than I realized, and such, he needs medication. There’s also a soup recipe I found in the book that may be a great asset for his recovery. I will have to wait until he goes to sleep and he’s just going to get over me leaving the cave without him this time when he’s better-
Growling perked your ears as your pen paused on the page. Philip was no longer in a good mood and seemed more agitated than anything. You were going to ignore it, believing it was just the delirium talking but you froze at what he was saying.
“Those ears… Those damn ears… If it weren’t for those damn ears…” Philip grumbled feverishly. “I detest them… so much…”
“Ears?”
“If it weren’t for those blasted things… you’d be human… Completely human… You’d be absolutely perfect… Why can’t you be human…?”
You stared down at him as your hand reached up to touch the tip of your ear.
“My ears…? Completely human?”
His weak rant went on, whining about how they get in the way, which reminded you of the situation that had happened the night he had proposed to you. The two of you had entered the cave near your hometown for the night after the rain had passed and upon entering, Philip had done something he hadn’t done before. As you went to put the Galderstones in a safe place, his hand settled on your hip from behind to stop you. The strap of the satchel was pushed off your shoulder and the bag hit the floor beside your feet. As you turned your head to look back at Philip in surprise, his free hand settled on your waist and the hand on your hip began to caress it as he leaned over your shoulder with a nuzzle.
“Philip-?”
“Our supplies are back at the tavern,” he murmured, watching you with a warm, sultry gaze, one that you only caught from him a handful of times but only had resulted in cuddling. You felt him step up behind you, his chest pressing against your back. “We may as well forgo any work tonight…”
Staring up at him, allowing the suggestion to process coupled with how he was acting, you finally smiled sheepishly and brought your hand to his cheek. Your heart leaped into your throat. This seemed different. Was it due to the proposal?
“A-All right…”
You followed his lead when he leaned in to kiss you, his hands running up and down your sides before moving you forward toward the bedrolls. His fingers began to tug at your clothes as the two of you lowered yourselves to the soft surface. You couldn’t help but let out a giggle when he went for your throat which earned you a warm chuckle but somewhere between that and getting undressed, Philip yelped and sat up, covering his eye.
“AH! SON OF A-” he snarled. You jumped at his reaction and sat up.
“Are you okay? What happened?!”
Philip sat there, his exposed eye twitching as he seethed, his glare on the floor beside you and his hand curling into a fist before he pushed himself up and headed for the mouth of the cave.
“W-Wait, where are you-?! Philip-!”
“I’m going for a walk,” he growled as he tucked his shirt in and fixed his pants. The heat of the moment slipped away, leaving you confused. You had tried to wait for him to come back but had fallen asleep in that time, only to be awakened by him laying down behind you and wrapping his arms around you without a word, looking disgruntled. The next morning, he apologized for his reaction and swore to make it up to you. You couldn’t understand what got him angry enough to leave like that and he refused to tell you then, but it was clear that you now had your answer. It wasn’t just the fact your ear had poked him in the eye, but it was the one thing he didn’t like about you.
This left you feeling hollow inside. You couldn’t help your ears.
Shaking your head clear, you stood upon seeing that he had fallen asleep. You couldn’t dwell on that. You had a task to do before either he woke again or it got too late. You gathered your cloak and satchel before making sure Philip was sound asleep and headed toward the mouth of the cave. You paused at Philip’s voice in the back of your mind making you swear you would never leave the cave without him, at least, not go far enough that you couldn’t hear him if he called for you. With a deep inhale, you glanced back at the sick human.
“I know you wouldn’t want this but… I have to get that medication…” you murmured. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.”
With that, you pulled your hood up and stepped out of the cave.
“Angel? Angel, I feel horrible… Everything’s spinning…” Philip groaned weakly, his eyes cracking open. “Angel?”
When silence answered him, Philip pushed himself up the best he could, nearly overshooting his goal of getting to his feet. Upon looking around, he realized you were nowhere to be seen.
“A-Angel? Where are you?”
The man stumbled for the mouth of the cave and squinted out into the woods around him, shielding his eyes while continuing to call out for you. Without thinking, he started to wander out to look for you, ignoring how he felt.
“Where have you gone…? Angel… Gotta find…”
Ugh, damn Bonesborough for being so interesting… There are so many stalls here with more knick-knacks and baubles that could keep one’s attention for weeks. I could spend the entire day wandering the town if I had the time. Thankfully, I haven’t run into anyone associated with Alder and the wanted posters seemed to have disappeared.
Well… The good news is that I got the ingredients and medication. I was able to focus long enough to do that. The not-so-good news is my eyes began to wander as I was leaving and… ah… I may have gone a bit overboard…
Before you knew it, you had several items in your satchel that you may or may not have needed, including several books on the Isles and wild magic, a set of Hexas Hold Em cards, and a fully charged training wand that you thought about keeping on you in case of emergency. Oddly enough, it made you feel a bit better about being out on your own without Philip since it would give you enough time to get away from any situation that may arise. It also didn’t help that you left the cave in such a rush that you didn’t have any prepared glyphs and you only had the fire one down to memory. If Philip had known, you were sure he’d have a heart attack.
As you headed for the gates of Bonesborough, your eyes fell on a sign that was tucked away near a closed stall which made you slow to a halt. It was dark blue with imagery of eyes, noses, ears, horns, teeth, and such. In large gold letters, “body modifications” was written out in the center.
“Body modifications…?” you whispered, your hand wandering up to touch your ear under your hood as you spoke. What Philip had said about your ears echoed in your mind. At the bottom of the sign, you found the times the stall was opened which made you realize it was a Night Market stall. Shaking your head, you tore yourself away from the sign and strode for the gates. “No! Philip would kill me if he found out I went to the Night Market!”
As you came up to the start of the path, you paused and glanced back toward the sign in thought. Then again…
A bell of a nearby church made you jump and bolt down the path toward the cave.
“Dammit! I’ve been away too long! He has to be awake by now!”
Upon reaching the cave, you quickly dug through the sachel for the medication.
“Philip! I’m back!” you panted, heading straight for his bedroll but halted when you found it empty. “What…? Philip?”
You turned the cave upside down looking for the human but had no luck.
“Damn! Where has he gone!?” you scoffed, bounding out of the cave to look around. “PHILIP!”
No matter where you looked, you did not see him. A quiet, serene forest by the lake greeted you. Your mind tumbled with the thought of what had happened to him. There was no sign of a struggle or drag marks leading outside of the cave when you examined the ground but you did notice that one set seemed to have irregular markings to them as if they were stumbling and shoeless. Seeing as you had nothing else to go off of, you followed the abnormal tracks.
“I hope he’s okay…” you groaned, quickening your pace. Soon, the tracks began to be accompanied by something strange. A familiar dark green substance lined the footsteps and the scrapes they made in the dirt. Chills raced up your spine. One thing came to mind, only because you were covered in it once before, but you quickly shook it clear. You couldn’t think back to that night. Philip needed you now. The tracks led you deeper into the woods and started to turn into dragging marks. You narrowed your eyes in confusion as it looked as if Philip had passed out and someone started to drag him along.
As you were trying to make sense of the change in the tracks, the smell of fire nearby and men’s voices wafting closer made your head perk. Bushes along the path up ahead rustled, making your heart jump into your throat and you dove behind a nearby tree.
“Hell if I know. Never seen anything like that before,” a gruff voice grumbled as two figures in dark robes appeared and headed in the direction you had just come from. Judging by their attire, you assumed they were Demon Hunters. “We’ll see if it’s logged into any of the archives after we get supplies. Might be some sort of were-beast that got into something it wasn’t supposed to. Should still fetch us a nice price to the right buyer.”
“You sure Horak can hold down the fort with that… thing? He’s still a kid.”
“Psh, he’ll be fine. The beast looked out of it when it was trying to thrash about as we were capturing it.”
“He looked downright terrified that the thing was changing-”
“Look, he begged us to bring him with us out here to experience what we do. If he can’t handle this, maybe he should stay back until he can. Now, let’s get going. The sun’s going to set soon and I want to get to the Night Market before all the good stuff’s sold.”
You watched the two figures wander down the path and once they were out of view, you stepped out, staring after them.
“Were-beast?” you whispered. What did that mean? Turning your attention back to where they had emerged made you bite your lip.
First, the appearance of that goop, now talk of a were-beast? If you weren’t looking for Philip, you wouldn’t have had a second thought about it but memories of Philip trying to tell you something since the proposal began to emerge. Dread rose in the back of your mind. The night you saw that monster was beginning to make sense.
Regardless, you forced this to the back of your mind. As much as you wanted to deny all of it, you had to make sure that what these people had was Philip or everything up until that point was just a coincidence and Philip was just lying out cold in a bush somewhere.
Stepping through the bushes, you found the Demon Hunter’s camp where a roaring fire had been lit with tents surrounding it. No one was in the immediate area, thankfully, so you crept in.
It was a moment or two before something strange stuck out to you. Dozens of crates were scattered about the camp but instead of being filled with provisions, you found things that were supposed to be rare: galderstones, pelts and parts of nearly extinct animals, and trinkets that could only be found while graverobbing, among other things. From everything you’ve ever read, you couldn’t recall Demon Hunters needing any of these items. They didn’t deal in rare or stolen items. Moving through the camp, something caught your eye that made your blood run cold. In one of the stacked crates, you found yourself looking at a massive collection of already carved Palismen, some adorned with what looked to be jewels. A note on the side of the crate gave instructions on where to sell each Palisman to keep them from being found out by the original owners.
In mounting horror, you began to realize that this was not the camp of Demon Hunters. Only Trophy Hunters dealt with stolen palismen. It explained all of the other items as well.
A soft roar made you jump and snap your attention away from the paper and a voice of a young man stuttered out.
“S-Shut up, you-you monster! D-Don’t make m-me u-use this!”
Your hand delved into your satchel and clutched around the handle of the training wand you bought back in Bonesborough. Moving quickly, you ducked behind a crate leading out of the camp where heavy groaning could be heard followed by another roar and a scared yelp. Carefully, you crept around the crate and saw a familiar massive form tied up on the ground with a humanoid figure standing over it in a dark robe. In the figure’s hand, you could clearly make out an electric weapon. It was obvious that the monster couldn’t move or was too weak to do so.
“I-I said shut up!”
The figure brought the tip of the weapon down and prodded the monster which roared louder, this time in pain. Something inside you snapped upon seeing that the monster couldn’t move due to how tight the binds were or that it was too weak to do much at all. The idea that this could be Philip made rage soar through your veins. Without thinking, you pushed yourself to your feet and rushed forward. Before the figure could turn, you shoved the tip of the wand into his neck.
“W-What-?!”
“Drop it!” you snarled. “Do it! You’re too far away from any healer talented enough to deal with fourth-degree burns!”
With a surprised whine, the robed figure did as you said and dropped the weapon on the ground while putting his hands high above his head.
“O-Okay! Okay! L-Let’s not be hasty!”
“Shut up! Back away from him! Now!”
The figure started to do what you said but when the monster let out a noise, you turned your attention to it. You couldn’t help but stare. Its face was turned away from you but the white hair and thin green body that rose and fell from labored panting were unmistakable. This was the monster you woke up to that night. What caught your eye was the small brilliant blue mushroom parting its hair near its temple. Your heart sank.
“It is you…”
With your attention elsewhere, the man suddenly shoved you to the floor beside the monster and pointed a finger at you with a gold circle at the end of it. The training wand you had scuttled across the ground in the opposite direction.
“I-I don’t know what made you think y-you could just come here and t-try to do… whatever you’re t-trying to do, but-!”
You only stared up at the circle as your hand felt around on the ground under you for something to defend yourself with. Your mind blanked entirely on the glyphs you were taught. All you could see in your head was Philip showing you blank circles as if the centers had been erased but when you wrote them, something was certainly there. As panic rose in your chest at how unhinged the man was becoming as he spoke about what the “others” may do with you when they got back, your hand fell on the prod he had dropped which was now pressing into the side of the monster behind you. When you tried to grab it to defend yourself, it went off. A roar of pain made you jump as the hot end severed one of the binds holding the creature down. This caused the monster to rear back, breaking several other ties, and it turned to the hooded man who stumbled back out of fear.
“O-OH NO!” he gasped then bolted toward the camp as you scrambled to your feet. Seeing him face to face, those blue eyes glowing menacingly in an unhinged gaze as he turned his head in your direction, caused you to freeze. At that moment, you were unsure if he remembered you due to the feeling that he was looking through you instead. When he moved, you clenched your eyes shut, bracing yourself for an attack. The large form brushed past you and you heard the man start screaming in fear as the slamming into the crates echoed over the woods with the clear intent to do harm or worse. Your relief of not being the target was short-lived and you turned on your heel to see the tents and crates in the sleeping area start to be torn apart. The man’s yelps at least told you he was still alive.
“Wait! WAIT!” you cried out, chasing after the monster. “PHILIP!”
He had the man cornered near a stack of crates when his head shot up and snapped in your direction. The dread of being attacked returned and you froze, slowly putting your hands up.
“E-Easy… I-It’s me…!” you lowered your voice to a soothing tone. The monster you were sure was Philip panted hard as he slowly stalked toward you, almost feverishly. The man he had cornered near the stacked crates took this opportunity to sneak away not before catching a glare from you which made him suppress a yelp and scramble into the woods.
“An… gel…” A deeper voice croaked out, one you were not used to. It still held the soft accent, but was almost the voice of an entirely different person.
“Yes,” you nodded. Swallowing down your fear, you reached out to touch him. “It’s me… W-What happened to you…?”
“An… gel… I found...”
Philip leaned his head into your hand, his glowing eyes boring into you. A shiver rushed down your spine as you felt how clammy his “skin” was, even if you could call it that.
“Y-Yeah, y-you did…”
Ignoring the feeling, you hesitantly reached out to touch the other side of his face. This earned you a trill which made you smile some.
“How did you even get out here…?” you whispered. Philip watched you only for a moment before his massive body collapsed onto the ground without any warning and the blue of his eyes disappeared. The fall not only forced you to your knees to try to catch his head but had caused some of the nearby stacked crates to topple. You couldn’t move. Your legs were pinned under his massive form. With no other course of action, you quickly shielded Philip’s head the best you could while bracing for the impact yourself. More smashing followed and you were lucky enough not to have anything fall on you. Instead, you heard one of the heavier crates smash into the one right next to you and the sickening crush that followed made you realize it was the crate holding the stolen palismen. Your heart sank and your eyes widened in horror upon seeing the green magic oozing out of the broken wood near your leg.
“No!” you gasped. Without warning, the ooze morphed into a green cloud and descended on the creature in front of you. “W-What…?”
You watched in confusion as Philip’s monstrous form rose with a deep inhale as his nose and mouth took the cloud in. Before your eyes, his form became smaller and more human-like. The white hair slowly took on a dark brown hue and the clothes you had left Philip in began to take shape, his white opened shirt, brown pants, and white stockings, now dirtied with the dark green substance. When the transformation had finished, Philip let out a labored pant. His hair was now sporting more mushrooms due to his affliction.
With a furrowed brow, you glanced between the smashed crate and your fiance.
“So this…”
It took all I had to get Philip back to the cave before those hunters came back. I was unsure how I pulled it off but I did and now my love is resting on his bed. Several more mushrooms had sprouted during our walk- er, hobble home. Once I got him settled, I immediately made the soup and gave him that and the medication but I noticed something on his bare chest that made my blood boil. You could see where that monster had been torturing him. Those horrible witches! Barbarians! He was already tied up, how could they do something so cruel!?
… … … Be that as it may… I may not exactly be the best one to judge cruelty as I have done something dreadful myself. Seeing the result of palismen magic on Philip, I gathered as many of the creatures as I could that were still intact. Thankfully, they wouldn’t come to life for me as I am not their owner or anyone they trust so that made this a tad easier. I can’t say it is the best feeling in the world, quite the opposite, but… it’s for Philip and this… curse of his… My love, who did this to you? No matter, he’ll only use them until I can figure out a cure for it. It has to be linked to some sort of forbidden magic, right? I will have to do my own research into this. Maybe a demon hunter would know or there could be a book in one of the many libraries we pass on our journeys.
I also came to the realization that Philip’s strange behavior may have stemmed from wanting to tell me about this. As well as despising my ears, I guess… but more importantly this. Thinking back to that night, he must have been more scared of me leaving than I was of him harming me. He did keep his promise of not leaving my side at any point.
I will have to keep that stall in mind-
You stared down at the page for a moment before carefully and quietly tearing those pages out. In the event that Philip got ahold of your journal, you couldn’t let him know you knew about how he hated your ears or that you had been wandering around Bonesborough while he was sick. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to know since you had already ditched the items you bought in favor of filling your satchel to the brim with stolen palismen which you side-eyed as you crumpled the paper with a heavy heart. You had abandoned it by Philip’s workstation when you brought him in.
A groan made you tense up and glance back toward Philip’s bedroll where he was now laying back, fed, medicated, and clean with his shirt removed and his hair fanned out over his pillow. The sight of him made your gaze soften. He looked so peaceful as several more mushrooms began to slowly grow and part his hair. When Philip settled back down instead of waking, you turned your attention back to your satchel. The transformation back into human form from the monstrous one after the Palismen were killed played over and over in your head as you picked it up.
“I’m sorry…” you murmured as you moved to your station, removed the scrolls from their place in the basket beside the desk, and placed the satchel inside, the flap slipping away to show the gleam of one of the jewel-encrusted Palismen sitting atop several which you immediately fixed. “I swear if there was any other way, I’d take it…”
Hearing a groan, this time a more conscious one, you quickly replaced the scrolls, hiding the satchel entirely.
“What was that?” Philip groaned. Turning, you found Philip sitting up and stretching, his head now full of shrooms as he looked your way with a sleepy gaze. “Angel?”
“Hm?! O-Oh, I-I was just-!” you tried to smile but stopped yourself and shook your head while clearing your throat. You quickly went to his side to keep his attention away from the basket. “Nevermind. How are you feeling, my love?”
“Horrible, if I’m honest,” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair and disrupting the growth. Upon seeing the dislodged fungus that fell into his lap, Philip only rolled his eyes and muttered something about “not again” before he froze, his eyes wide. “... … …”
“What?” you frowned with your head tilted.
“Did you… Have you been…?”
“Taking care of you? Of course,” you smiled when you pieced together his thought process. “I couldn’t just leave you sick like that…”
Philip looked away, his face reddening.
“You didn’t have to…”
This made you stare before giving him a playful smile.
“Of course I did. You are going to be my husband, aren’t you? Maybe this is practice for what may come later…” you nuzzled him while placing a hand on his chest. “For all I know, the next time it could be the fire flu.”
Philip didn’t answer but leaned into your affection as his own hand found its way around yours and his free arm wrapped around you, pulling you close then back onto the bedroll.
“... Fine…”
You couldn’t help but grin like an idiot as you laid your head on his chest and settled in.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” you sighed upon feeling a kiss on the top of your head.
A comfortable silence fell over the cave and you suddenly found yourself mulling over everything that had happened.
“I had the most terrible dream while I was ill.”
Your head perked at the sudden break in the silence to find Philip staring at the cave ceiling with his brow furrowed.
“Hm?”
“It felt so real but I dreamt that you had disappeared and I had to go out and find you…”
You listened as he recounted the whole ordeal but when he didn’t bring up the monster form part, you frowned. The way he spoke and refused to make eye contact with you made you think he was hiding something.
“That’s all you remember?” you whispered. “O-Of your dream, I mean…”
Philip was still for a moment then nodded.
“Yes.”
“I see… Well, you were quite feverish,” you sat up with a slightly nervous smile which made his eyes narrow. Seeing this, you cleared your throat, your face reddening in return. “You were also telling me a lot of things that I did not really think were true…”
Philip cocked a brow.
“Like?”
“Like… you being in love with me since the moment you laid eyes on me…”
Philip’s look of shock coupled with the brilliant red that exploded on his face made you realize it was true. Your heart leapt in your chest. Him immediately grabbing his pillow and laying back with a hard flop while holding it over his face as he groaned amused you to no end.
“So… that’s true?” you poked his side. “Let’s see, what else did you say…?”
“We’re not talking about this!”
“I take that as a yes?”
“I’m going back to sleep! I'm still too sick for this!”
“Aww, but you were so cute when you were telling me all of this-”
“Y/N, no!”
“Y/N, yes! Now, what else…” you teased which earned you a muffled grumble. As much as you liked the turn in the conversation, you frowned slightly. He still didn’t come clean. Now you had a new conundrum on your hands. Do you tell him you know or wait until he is ready to tell you? How would he react if you told him you knew about a secret he had been guarding this entire time? With a sigh, you settled back down against him and stared toward the wall. Maybe it was best to wait.
Leaves and twigs crunched under your hastened footsteps as you forced yourself forward, holding your side. Blood seeped through your fingers heavily and it was beginning to make you feel woozy but you couldn't stop. The wound felt deep. You had to get as far away as possible from the castle. If you didn't, you would be-
Before you could finish that thought, you were hit with a strong wind that knocked you off your feet and into a tree. Quickly, you were able to get your feet but a figure appearing out of the corner of your eye made you stumble back into the tree.
"Oligarth! Please!" you pleaded between pants, trying to keep your vision from blurring. "We've known each other since we were children! Don't do this!"
"I'm sorry. I really am," your childhood friend stepped into the moonlight with a sorrowful expression. In his hand was a bloodied decorative dagger that was used as a letter opener in your study. "But I can't let a powerless witch take the throne. This is for the best of the kingdom. It's nothing personal."
"T-Then I'll just give you the crown! I-I don't even want it! Just please don't kill me!"
The man sighed and tapped the blade of the dagger against his palm, staring down at it.
"I wish you had said that before I did what I did. Unfortunately, I can't trust that you wouldn't say that this happened. Sure, I can heal you, but you could have me arrested the moment we were in front of your guards. Even if you left the kingdom, there's a chance you could change your mind and come back. I can't have that."
Your head swam as he spoke, tears streaking your face.
"Don't do this..." you repeated, your back sliding down the bark. "Please."
"You can't live, your highness. The moment you were given that crown you were marked for death. It's either you or the kingdom and... well, the choice, while one of the hardest things I've ever had to make, it is very clear. Please understand."
Oligarth moved closer during his monologue and once he was close enough, he raised his arm. Your vision blanked as the dagger was brought down in one quick motion.
-----
The sound of footsteps on marble made your eyes crack open. The ceiling above you told you were somewhere in the castle but in a room that you did not recognize at first. A fire crackling in a fireplace on the far wall had provided enough light for you to see that you were not in your room. Each room had a different painting on the ceiling and you began to realize you were in one of the guest rooms. Your room had a caged unicorn and this one displayed one of the various creatures on the Boiling Isles.
The footsteps that woke you stopped at the side of the bed and you caught sight of a figure standing over you.
"Your Highness, you're awake," a soft, familiar voice made you focus on the figure. You sat up when you recognized the mask he wore.
"Lord Belos...? What-?"
"Do not fret. You are safe. I was able to thwart your attacker and bring you back to the castle," he murmured.
"... Attacker...?"
Memories of the incident came flooding back, causing your chest to start hurting. It began to play over and over again, from the stabbing while you were trying to talk to him about situations in the kingdom up until he tried to finish the job. Glancing down at your side, you found a scar where the stabbing had been but showed that you had been healed.
"O-Oligarth-! He-!"
"Betrayed you. I know. I had speculated as much when he started acting strange outside of meeting with you. I'm afraid he has aligned himself with wild witches who seek your downfall. I'm sorry I could not get to you sooner. I believe some of your servants tried to distract me so he could get away with it."
You stared off toward the fireplace in shock.
"O-Oh my Titan..."
Belos cleared his throat after a short amount of time and lowered his voice as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Forgive me for asking, Your Highness... but I have been hearing rumors that you may not have the ability to perform any magic of your own, that you were born without the aid of a bile sac. Are they true?"
Your hands gripped the blankets in your lap as your shoulders tensed up. His tone told you he already knew the answer to that. However, if he knew already and still saved you, did that mean you could trust him? He could have let Oligarth kill you but here you were, safe and sound. With a deep breath, you nodded.
"... ... ... I see. That's why you didn't fight back. You couldn't-"
Something beating against the bedroom door accompanied by yelling grabbed both of your attentions and Belos growled, pushing himself to his feet.
"Damn. They're at it again."
"What?"
Belos turned a soft gaze to you.
"I have been keeping you away from everyone since I saved you and refused them entry until I know where they stand on the issue. You were nearly killed by agents hidden in your own court. I will not allow them the luxury of a second chance."
"O-Oh...!"
"If you wish, I can put up a shield and allow them to communicate with you through it until we know for sure who is safe to be around. I will monitor them myself as well and weed out the traitors."
Before you could respond, a question started to nag at you in the back of your mind. With a deep breath, you opened your mouth.
"W-What happened to Oligarth?"
Silence followed and Belos looked away. Your heart fell into the pit of your stomach.
"He's... dead?"
"... ... ... The monarchy had to be saved by any means necessary. I hope you understand and don't think horrible of me."
"I... I-I see... N-No... I-I guess you did what you... had to..."
"I am glad you see it my way. I have witnessed your strengths and I do believe that you are essential to lead this kingdom regardless of magic. Spiketoria needs you, not wild witch sympathizers that will raze it to the ground."
You stared up at him and suddenly felt feverish.
"R-Really?"
"Of course. You were overlooked for something that wasn't a necessary part of leadership. You are too great of an asset to lose."
Hearing those words made something well up inside your chest and you nodded. You knew where your strengths lay but no one ever took them seriously. Lord Belos may have been the only one to have echoed your sentiments. Feeling more confident, you opened your mouth but were interrupted by more banging and yelling. Belos gave a hard sigh.
"Unfortunately, those out there believe I may have murdered someone in cold blood and spirited you away. It seems they do not understand that I am trying to protect you."
Hearing what the people on the other side were saying, your eyes hardened into a glare. He was right. They were calling him all sorts of things through the door. Your confidence turned into anger and you threw the covers off to get to your feet. Your head began spinning, and Belos lunged forward as your legs gave out in order to help you back onto the bed. A brush of his hand on your exposed thigh made you realize you were half-dressed and wearing an oversized white poet shirt that had to belong to a man about Lord Belos' size.
"Wait, where are my clothes-?!"
Belos cleared his throat and glanced away with a bashful tone before kneeling beside the bed.
"I... couldn't put you on white linens while soaked in blood... I took the liberty of changing you out of those clothes after I healed you as I was afraid of calling for any of the servants to do it themselves. I had planned on delivering your clothes to the laundress before those people tried to access you. It was quite awkward and I am truly sorry."
"O-Oh!" you murmured, trying to shake off the extra heat that had been applied to your face. "I see. T-Thank you."
Once you were able to calm yourself down, you took a deep breath and glanced at the prophet.
"Put up the shield and let them in. I need to know who I can trust as soon as possible... I noticed my guards were not at their posts last night..."
"As you wish, Your Highness. I am at your command."
Soft moments with Belos/Philip, possibly during the courtship in PreLuz or in A Grim Destiny:
Brushing his hair. Maybe even braiding it as he's reading to you or the two of you talk about nothing in particular. This could even extend to bathing.
When you're not feeling good mentally, he sits behind you and starts kneading and massaging your shoulders and back.
Philip, once the two of you were close and he was in a particularly playful mood, developed a habit of pouncing on you, scooping you up off the ground, and spinning you.
(PreLuz) Watching the Coven Scouts train and making stupid commentary on what they're doing, something that Philip did with Caleb when "people watching" in their town. He can really make you laugh with some of the stuff he comes up with.
(PreLuz) He shows you through illusions what he looked like as he did when he was closer to your age. When the illusion fades, he seems a bit melancholy and apologizes, wishing he had somehow met you when he was younger instead of what he is now.
When he's having a hard time with his monster form, he'll curl up somewhere and try to stay away from you. You, of course, figure out where he is and sit with him, running a hand through his hair and talking to him softly.
Speaking of his monster form, after the two of you are married and are getting used to each other intimately, it interrupts right before the deed and he gets upset about it. Upon seeing that he was still hard, you calm him down and suggest that if he wanted to, the two of you could continue. After some back and forth of him worrying about hurting you, he agrees. The fact that you were willing to go further with him despite the monster form told him how much you trusted him.
(PreLuz) When he found out you were pregnant, he would appear behind you as you were daydreaming and wrap his arms around you from behind, and gently sway with you, humming softly. He had to curb pouncing on you so he didn't hurt you.
He also carries you like a scruffed kitten in Monster form if he ever needs to move you:
Not sure what it is about Dark Tides, but it's kinda hilariously giving Grim Destiny vibes...
if Beloved was wise to Philip's villainous nature.
btw, in AGD, not sure if it's a spoiler question but; DOES Beloved ever learn Philip is a witch hunter?
A Grim Destiny doesn't have Beloved in it XD That's Reincarnted!Reader/1600s Gravesfield 8U
AGD has Angel who is solely a powerless witch without a bile sac. It can tie in with the reincarnated reader stuff if we want it to, but it's stand-alone otherwise. Reincarnated Reader stuff can be anyone from Beloved to Angel to Trinket (Witch Relic Hunter!Reader), pretty much any past life brought to the current day.
No, ANGEL (AGD) will never know that Philip is a witch hunter. BELOVED is human and knows he's a witch hunter because they grew up in the same place and time. They are the only one out of all the readers who don't see Philip's actions as "villainous" due to the climate of the time.
Dark Tides is pretty much Human!Reader and can have the potential of being Reincarnated!Reader.
Just imagine King Deadward walking around and finding a young human kid.
Kid: Deadward? Do you mean Edward??
King: No. Also, what do you think about becoming royalty?
Kid: ...what?
Deadward (Edward): Human!Reader
Spiketoria (Victoria): Powerless!Reader
Illizabeth (Elizabeth): Witch!Reader
Bloodgorian (Gregorian): Wild Card (Demon or can be switched for either above)
Spewart (Stuart): Wild Card (see previous)
While each one is an era in British history, it could be what each monarchy is on the Titan and their territories come to the center of the Titan. The one on the head has control of the area containing the heart.
Deadward is probably not all there in the head, or at least that's the consensus when people realize he ADOPTED A HUMAN and put the in charge when he finally kicks the bucket.
Working on AGD and I'm sticking with the idea that the BI were kingdoms before Belos' reign. It's going to also allude to the idea that demon witches are considered lesser than humanoid witches.
I'm also thinking that Kikimora knows more about Belos than he initially realized, including his real first name. How does she know this? Even he doesn't know but it highlights her obsession with him. Considering she's kept it all to herself to show her loyalty, he doesn't stress over it too much.
