Summary: In a world where soulmates have a word or a sentence written on their wrist, Bucky and the reader find themselves to be less than pleased when they make a life changing discovery.
Warnings: Cursing, insults, fluff, hedge mazes? Getting lost and kissing. If I missed anything, please let me know!
(A/N): This for @simsadventures 6K follower celebration! I have chosen the prompts Castle and "I would call you an imbecile but that'd be cruel as you wouldn't be able to spell it." the latter of which will be emboldened. Feedback is always appreciated. Happy reading ❤️
Divider by @firefly-graphics
"Out of my way Barnes." you scowled at the tall, cocky brunette blocking your path.
"What's the magic word?"
"Out of my way Barnes, please." grinding your teeth together, you stared down at the man.
Since the moment you met each other, the two of you have had a mutual dislike for the other. Why? You weren't sure. All you knew was that Bucky Barnes was the bane of your existence.
"Alright everyone! I have assigned pairs and I want you to go explore and see what you can learn." Miss Romanoff, your history professor announced.
You tuned out while she was listing off the pairs until you heard your name.
"Last but not least, (Y/N) and Bucky. Now off you go! Have fun!"
You have got to be shitting me. Of all the people in your class, you get stuck with your archnemesis.
"Well Lady Stick-up-her-ass, you ready to go?" sarcasm dripped from your partner's voice as he approached you. "To fit with the theme." he elaborated upon seeing your confusion. "We are in a castle after all."
"Let's go then Lord Pain-in-my-ass." you huffed as you entered the historical castle. "And for your information, I do not have a stick up my ass, you just haven't seen my fun side yet."
Bucky rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with you.
There was a surprisingly comfortable silence between the pair of you as you wandered the castle grounds together. You even shared jokes at one point and went half an hour without a petty argument or a verbal jab. That was until you reached the hedge maze...
"We're lost." stated Bucky in annoyance.
"And who's fault was that?"
"Yours!"
"What?! No! You were the one leading us! You said you knew what you were doing!"
"I never said I knew what I was doing!"
Bucky walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat. You followed suit.
"I would call you an imbecile but that'd be cruel as you wouldn't be able to spell it." You rest your head on one of his broad shoulders and let yourself take a breather.
Moving his arm, Bucky wrapped it around you and brought you closer to him.
"If you were to call me an imbecile, you wouldn't be entirely wrong." the brunette chuckled.
As your brain registered the words, you sat bolt up right in shock. Looking towards Bucky, it seemed that he had come to the same realisation.
Slowly with trembling hands, you lifted your sleeve to reveal the words on your wrist. Printed there in a neat black script was the sentence, "If you were to call me an imbecile, you wouldn't be entirely wrong."
Mirroring your actions, Bucky rolled up his sleeve as well. "I would call you an imbecile but that'd be cruel as you wouldn't be able to spell it."
Bucky Barnes was your soulmate. Bucky Barnes was your soulmate! You were in shock. How was this possible? The man that you had loathed for three years was your other half? You knew that soulmates didn't always say their sentences on their first meeting, but three years into the interactions? Apparently this was possible because your soulmate was sitting right next to you.
"Soulmate." Bucky whispered, still slightly jarred from the revelation.
Not able to form words, you nodded.
Staring into each others eyes, you both slowly leant forwards until your lips skimmed his.
Hesitantly, you locked lips. The first of many. It felt right. It felt as if they were made for each other.
Mixed emotions filled you and Bucky. Lots would need to be sorted out, you had spent three years fighting and it wasn't going to evaporate in a second. This wasn't a fanfic on AO3. But you knew one thing. Everything was going to work out, everything was going to be as the universe intended.
That was, if you ever got out of the hedge maze...
Summary: You get lost on a mission with Steve, the guy who gets on your nerves for months.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader
Characters: Sam Wilson, Tony Stark
Warnings: angst, getting lost, language, enemies to lovers, the reader hates Steve, feelings mutual, arguments,mutual pining, sneaky Tony
Written for: @simsadventures SIM’S 6K MIXED ADVENTURE. My prompt and location were: Island + 'Did you just kiss me?'
Divider by @firefly-graphics
“That’s the wrong direction, Captain,” you quip, jerking your head in the other direction. “Fury said we shall head south and turn to the left. The safehouse must be not far from the clearing over there.”
“This is an island, not a forest. We don’t call the place over there clearing and this is the wrong direction, agent,” Steve growls, beyond annoyed. You are getting on his nerves for days and now, he must admit he lost orientation.
“Call it anything you want to,” growling the words you step closer to poke your finger into Steve’s firm chest, “but this is not the right direction, Captain Rogers. If you would just admit you got lost just like me, we could try to find a way back.”
“I’m not lost on an island with you,” Steve huffs, hating to admit he definitely is lost on an island with you. “Fury said we shall take the boat and meet up with the rest of the team at the safe house.”
“Here is nothing but sand, palms, and insects trying to eat me alive!” hands on your hips you glare up at Steve. “I think you navigated the boat to the wrong island! This one is deserted, Rogers.”
“I used the coordinates Fury handed me to meet up with the team,” he’s in your face, breathes heavily, ready to attack you, team member or not. You've got Steve on the edge and he’s ready to topple over if he must.
“Okay—let’s say you used the coordinates, and this is the island we were destined to reach. Why is there no civilization? According to the information Fury gave us there should be a safe house, houses, civilization.”
“Can you just shut up for a moment? Let me check on the data again,” huffing you decide to sit it out. Literally.
While you place your backpack on the ground to sit on it, Steve checks on the information Fury gave him. He holds the GPS so that it has a clear view of the sky with no obstructions, waiting until the accuracy figure has stopped and drops no more.
“I don’t understand why there is no safe house or anything in sight. Look, the coordinates are correct!”
“Lemme see,” getting back up you snatch the GPS out of Steve’s hands to check if the coordinates match the data Fury gave to Steve. “Maybe the device is broken? But it looks brand-new.”
“We are fucked,” Steve grunts, sitting on the ground next to your backpack. “We not only will not meet up with the rest of the team but are also stranded on a deserted island. I don’t think I can hold back and not snap your neck.”
“Perfect gentleman as always,” you mutter. “You should try to calm me, help me cope, Rogers. What kind of leader are you?”
“Can you not talk for a minute? I need to focus on the problem on our hands, not you,” huffing you turn around to look the other way. “Great, now you are pouting like a child.”
“I’m not pouting, Captain Asshole,” you sigh deeply, hating you will miss the date with the nice guy you meet at the coffee shop. “Fine, if you want me gone, I’ll go and try to find a way back to the boat. I don’t need your help, Rogers.” grasping for your backpack you are ready to leave Steve behind.
“You will not leave your Captain’s side, agent,” Steve jumps up, to block your path. “I want you to give me a few minutes to find a way out of this situation, agent. Just calm and cooperate for once.”
“Yes, Captain,” you salute, giving Steve an angry look, followed by an audible grunt. “Please, enlighten me and save me. I’m a helpless damsel in distress, Captain Rogers.”
“You’re a brat only to be a brat, Y/N,” he grits out, chest heaving up and down. “Now be silent.”
“Aw, can Captain America not handle a woman not licking his boots?” you smirk, finger jabbing his chest. “I bet you want to dominate a woman in any situation. Pity you ended up on this island with me, not some random fangirl.”
“You little brat,” Steve frantically runs his fingers through his hair, messes it up a little before he cups your face with his rough hands, lips crashing against yours in a messy kiss. His tongue slides inside your mouth, explores your wet cavern to force moans out of your throat.
“Did you just kiss me?” you pant, looking up at Steve. He doesn’t let go of your face, just cradles it gently in his hands. “Captain Rogers?”
“I guess I found a way to make you shut up,” he grins, diving back in to silence your witty comment with his lips. Steve wraps his arms around you, deepens the kiss when you lean in his touch. “Didn’t think I can defeat your sharp tongue with my lips.”
“Captain, you should not make out with a team member,” someone snickers behind you. “I hate to disturb your intimate moment and your love confessions, Capsicle, but we got a mission to handle.”
“We were about to—” Steve mutters, eyes drifting toward your kiss-swollen lips, “investigate the island further.” you clear your throat, nodding to confirm Steve’s lie.
“Captain Rogers tried to show me how to act if we ever should go undercover, pretending we are a pair,” admiring you lie shamelessly for him Steve smirks before, to your horror, he crashes his lips onto yours again, ignoring the team cheers for you.
Back at the Avenger’s tower, three weeks later...
“Stark, will you ever tell Steve you changed the coordinates to get those blind idiots together?” Sam leans back in his chair, watches Steve feed you with a strawberry. “I must admit, you’re an evil mastermind.”
“I couldn’t watch them pine for each other much longer. It was sickening and disturbing at once,” Tony shudders. “At least Capsicle finally got laid. Good for him…”
Summary :~ Dean spending simple moment of love with Y/N
Pairing /Ship :~ Dean × Reader
Prompt :~ 17.library & 14.If you could just hold my hand and be quiet, that would be nice.
Word count :~ 640.
Characters :~ Dean Winchester
Warning :~ Collage AU, one curse word.
Created for :~ @simsadventures
A/N :~ Any & all mistakes are mine. Any kind of feed back is greatly appreciated.
Dividers by :~ @firefly-graphics
Dean is helping you study. I mean as much as he can, you studying science & him engineering. So he is accompanying you to study in library. You guys found a quiet corner & setup for studying for minimum next 3-4 hours. You directly dived in book & started reading. Deep lines appearing on your forehead as you concentrated, & your pink little tongue poking out from corner of your mouth. Dean thought you look so cute.
He never thought he could be dating you. Because you were a very shy & smart girl. He, well he was totally opposite of her, popular, outgoing, barely passing his classes.
He always had a crush on you. But he never approached you. He almost spilt his coffee when Sammy brought you home as his tutor. You were so good with him, that didn't help at all with his crush.
Then finally one evening, while you were leaving he offered to drive you to your home. He lost his heart to you when you smiled shyly & agreed. Then that became a daily routine, & you became good friends. Then he started studying with you. Your talkative nature was a welcome surprise to him. He thought you were adorable when talking on about your interest topic.
Fingers snapping in front of him brought his attraction back in present.
"Dean. You ok?" She asked tilting her head one side.
" Yeah. Yeah. I am ok don't worry"
"Um. Ok. If you say so." She went back to her books.
He thought love would be tough. But falling in love with you was so easy, even after you because his girlfriend. He soon realised that you value genuine care & gestures more than some fancy things. & He was very good at being caring, because he always has been. He doesn't like very much of PDA, but whenever you are holding hands, the extra bounce in your steps, that constant smile on your face warms his heart. You never pushed him for anything at all, that's what he loves about you the most among many 100 things.
It has been 2 hours, you haven't moved from your seat.
"Babe, let's take 5 mins break." Dean suggested. Having in great need of a cup of coffee.
"Dean. Nooo." Y/N whined. "If I take a break now, I'll lose my link & forget everything!"
"Come on Y/N. I am asking just 5 mins" Dean asked crossing his arms on his chest.
"Dean you know of I have to pass this physics, I have to do good in this test. & This physics is already kicking my ass!" She said slumping in chair & pouting.
"Ok. Fine. Fine." He signed. "No need to be dramatic" Dean laughed.
Y/N huffed, then batted her lashes at her "Will you bring me a cup of coffee though?"
"You know I will baby" he stood up & patted her hand. Telling her he'll be back soon.
When he came back with 2 cups of coffee, he was making notes of what she just studied.
"Here is your coffee. Anytime else I can do for you princess?" Dean asked putting the cup besides her book & smirking when she turn red hearing princess.
She smiled shyly, putting some loose hair behind her ear, and asked in a small voice.
"If you could just hold my hand and be quiet, that would be nice."
Here is a masterlist of all the wonderful stories submitted by amazing writers for my 6K celebration. Links, alongside their warnings and (if provided) summaries will be here at one place, so you all can read the marvellous stories! Enjoy! xx
You can find the guidelines for the challenge here. The deadline is the 12th of May 2021.
Massive thank you to all of you participating and reading these great stories!
Nothing is Permanent by @little-diable
Dean Winchester x fem!Reader
Warnings: 18+, mentions smut, angst, character death, blood, violence, no happy ending
Summary: She’s about to die in his arms, begging him to relieve their favorite moments together
A/N: This is for @simsadventures 6k challenge. I chose the prompt "you've bewitched me, body and soul" and the scenario castle.
I wrote this as a Beauty and the Beast style AU, it's long and it probably sucks in some parts but I absolutely loved writing this. I'm sorry for waffling on in some parts but I couldn't stop. I really hope you like this and Happy Birthday!!
Everyone warned you not to tread too far into the forest at night, to not walk the frozen path to the castle, to stay indoors and not let the ice monster get you.
Because once he did, you'd never leave the castle unscathed.
You'd be frozen, turned to ice and forever imprisoned in his castle of glass.
Horror stories whispered in children's bed at night to make sure they didn't escape, a game amongst friends to see who get as close as possible to the gates and survive.
People went missing, like usual, but it was the ice giant who took them, the ice giant who had taken away their ability to forever live in the sun lest they melt.
All these stories were told you as a child, a warning to stay away, to be afraid of stepping out of line.
What they didn't warn you about was that the ice giant didn't imprison people behind the walls, that he didn't venture out at all.
That he would never be human, never feel the sun, never love like a normal person were all lies too.
And you would know.
This is your story...
Like most stories, you supposed it should begin with Once Upon a Time but could you honestly say that?
No.
Could you honestly say that you woke up every morning perfectly assembled, hair immaculately tamed and full rosy red lips and a smile on your face ready to start the day?
No.
Were you a wealthy woman who had the world at her feet, could be anything and do anything she pleased?
No.
You grew up in a shack in Asgard. The once-wealthy city was now deprived, needing money and their once powerful leader to come back and make it great again.
King Thor had given up the throne, the riches, everything, to marry a woman from Midgard.
Midgard was a lesser place than Asgard but since Thor went there, it had flourished.
Asgard had been forgotten.
"Y/N! There's more stuff to be done so hurry up!"
It was back-breaking, working the fields and trying in vain to plant more food, nothing ever taking root.
"Pray to the ice giant to let us have some sun."
"Pray that the ice giant isn't angry at us."
"Maybe we should offer a sacrifice."
The same frantic whisperings that were heard every single time a plant hadn't taken root.
"Maybe we should just go to the castle and burn it to the ground."
Nothing was going to make the ground fertile again except for hard labour. The ice giant was just a story to tell children at night. He wasn't real.
Walking into the workspace that provided everyone with their duties, you wiped your soiled hands on a dirty cloth and walked over to the master who overlooked all the work for the day.
"What else is needed?"
"Trees need felling for the shacks and families, more stuff needs planting, houses need cleaning. Take your pick."
Sighing, you looked out of the window, seeing the spires of the castle that haunted everyone's thoughts. You often wondered what you'd find if you went there, riches and beds and no doubt food. Warmth and clothing. But you hadn't exactly picked up the courage to go.
"Well? Which one?" He barked at you and you looked up at him.
"Whichever."
He rolled his eyes, handing you a saw and an axe and motioning you towards the forest.
You always ended up in the forest. You weren't sure why you bothered asking.
And he always gave you the furthest part to fell.
It's not that you weren't liked, it was your father that people were wary of, telling people that the ice giant was a man, that he wasn't a dark entity to instil fear. He was a God.
A lot of people pushed your father off as mad but he was the only one alive who remembered King Odin's rule. The way he sat high on his throne, the way people worshipped him as though he was indeed a God.
That King Odin had two sons, not just Thor, and a daughter.
Although Thor was the only name remembered now.
The one who had left this glorious realm for love.
Kicking at a stone, you trudged further and further into the forest, the trees becoming denser and thicker, the spires of the once glorious castle becoming hidden.
You hated felling the trees, it always left you with sore and blistered hands, an aching back that took weeks to get back to normal again but it was one of a few job ls they assigned you. Each one was more back-breaking than the other.
"Y/N!" A voice cheerfully called at you and you rolled your eyes, knowing exactly who would soon be appearing in front of you.
"Thanos."
To say you hated the man, was a huge understatement. You loathed him, despised him, would much rather stab yourself in the eye if it meant getting away from him.
Better yet, you should just stab him.
"How's your father?"
The buffoons behind him sniggered and you let out a sigh, continuing using your axe to hit the tree bark.
"I'm being serious. How is he?"
"Why do you care?"
"Well, he'll be family soon and..."
You threw the axe down on the floor, glaring up at Thanos. He'd had it in his head for years now, that he'd marry you, that you'd be a dutiful wife and bear his children but you'd rather walk into the lake and sink under its icy depths than be married to him.
"We will never be married. You need to start getting that into your thick skull."
You slapped his forehead before picking up the axe and getting ready to hit again. He stopped you, grabbing your wrist and bringing you close to him.
"We'll be married by the time spring comes around, so get used to the idea you mad bitch." He growled at you, letting you go and sauntering off with his minions in tow.
You pretended that the tree trunk was his face as you continued to whack into it. Just because his family was better off than others, just because he walked around like he owned the bloody place, didn't mean you would marry him. You wouldn't.
He was exploiting your father and his "madness", telling him that he believed him, that he was on his side when in reality, all they wanted was to take him away and lock him up in that god's forsaken asylum and pretend he never existed while he kept you at home, round and full of his kids.
He was disgusting.
Throwing down the axe, you shoved at the tree, hitting your fists against the bark, screaming until you had all the pent up anger and emotions about everything that had happened, out.
Sinking to the floor, you let your head rest against the trunk and you took several deep breaths to calm yourself down.
The rustling came from behind you and you turned, putting the hand on the handle of your axe. You saw your father, looking dazed and confused as he walked through the forest.
"Father?"
"The castle. You see it don't you? The towering spires and the sparkling smooth stone that looks like glass. He's in there. Odin's son. He's in there."
"Father, Thor isn't here anymore. He left."
"Not Thor, silly girl, Loki."
Shaking your head slightly, you stood up properly, reaching out to him.
"Come on, let's get you home."
Your father didn't argue, just took your arm, smiled at you, and let you lead him back to your house.
Trees be damned.
It was eerily quiet when you woke up. Usually, your father is up and about, tinkering with stuff or making breakfast. He had days when he didn't realise who you were but on the days he was good, those were your favourite.
But the silence was deadly in this house.
"Father?" You shouted, wrapping your thick woollen shawl around your sleep clothes and heading downstairs.
He wasn't there, his bed hadn't been slept in either but there was an open book on the desk. The book of myths, one that every child got in school and one that you'd read obsessively growing up.
The picture of the ice giant stood clear, his blue frozen face, blood-red eyes and smirking grin stood a bright contrast against the darkened clothes. Your fathers scribbles in the margins, words that you couldn't quite understand but you saw the words, Loki, Odin, Laufey and you knew, with cold dread, where he'd gone.
"No, no father."
Running back upstairs, you got dressed quickly, pulling on thick winter clothes, and running to the bathroom to quickly rid yourself of morning breath. You placed your hands on the edge of the sink once you'd done, breathing deeply before thinking through what it was you needed to do.
The front door knocked and you went down, quickly grabbing a few knives and concealing them in your clothes.
"What do you want?" You asked Thanos as you opened the front door, sighing deeply. He made to go in but you walked out, shutting and locking the door behind him.
"I was hoping to talk to your father."
"He's not in. Now, excuse me."
"Where is he?"
"Out."
You walked past him but he reached out for your arm, stopping you in your tracks.
"What?" You snarled.
"Even angry you are still beautiful."
Growling, you tried to pull your arm away but he held firm and you heard something snap when you gave one more final tug.
"Let me go. There's somewhere I need to be."
"Where could you possibly need to go? Take a look around, this is your life, this is your shit hole of a town. And I'm here, to make it that little bit brighter."
You punched him in the throat, Thanos choking before he let you go and you moved out of his way, heading towards the alleyway and out into the forest before he could recover. It was a short cut you'd found when you were younger and wanting to get away from home for a while.
It wasn't necessarily a bad childhood, some times had you smiling when you remembered happy times but when Thor left and things started going downhill with other realms raiding and streets being decimated, your mother and brother were killed.
Their deaths didn't help your father's weakened mental state. That's when things got bad, he took it upon himself to research more and more into the Ice Giant, keeping his mind occupied from the deepening grief that he tried to keep at bay.
And now he was gone, aiming towards the castle. The only thing that stayed the same throughout the depraved city.
The forests were getting thicker and thicker the further along you got, the chill from the day seeping under your woollen jumper and a thin jacket. You wrapped them tighter around you, keeping your head down and to the outer edges to avoid being seen by the next batch of people working that day.
Your heart stopped when you reached the gates, the floor beneath your feet shining different colours under the winter sun.
It was as though you'd stepped into a different world entirely.
White wisps of frost fell out of your mouth as you walked slowly up the path, eyes darting everywhere to see if there was anything that would jump out at you.
You came up short when you noticed your fathers hat on the path, heart rate spiking as you started to run, not caring now if anyone jumped out at you.
"Father!" you shouted, booted feet making dull thudding noises along the path, skidding as you neared the doors.
They were open ajar and you walked in, seeing pillars and wide hallways, a staircase leading up to one side.
You didn't know where to go, heart pounding as you took everything in, trying and failing to think of where he'd go.
"Father. Father where are you?"
A small noise to the left of you made you turn that way, running down the hallways, bypassing the portraits hanging from the walls. The sound got louder as you got nearer, someone was rummaging for something and as you stepped through the door, you saw your father on his hands and knees pulling things out of boxes.
"Father, what are you doing? We need to get out of here."
"No, no, it's in here. I know it is."
"What is? Father look at me!"
"The stone!" he shouted, all madness gone from his stance and voice, instead replaced by a desperate edge, "The stone that can bring them all back. It's blue. It's attached to a stick. I can find that, I can go to their graves and bring them back and then we'll be happy again! It had to be in here. All my research, everything led to this..."
You watched with watery eyes as your father paced around the room, pulling things off shelves and your heart broke. He was gone so far in his grief that he was believing in things that would never happen.
"Father, they aren't coming back. Nothing can bring them back."
But he was muttering to himself, still looking and you followed him out of the room, keeping an eye on him as he went up a staircase, leading to a circled centre with other staircases leading in different directions up.
"We need to go home. Father."
He wasn't listening and you followed again, leading to a dark room, bricked pillars in the four corners, windows having been broken, tree limbs climbing through them.
In the centre, was a marbled table, a helmet inside. Golden horns curved from the top, the helmet seeming to have been made to perfectly frame a face. You walked nearer, touching the glass case it was behind, seeing flakes of the gold that adorned it come away, falling from the bottom.
"What is that?"
"I told you he was a God. Grab it, we'll need it."
"Father, I don't think..."
But he snatched it from the table, grunting under the weight and the Palace started to shake, the walls and floors seeming to rumble with an unknown power.
You touched your father's arm, telling him to put it back but as you turned to look in the doorway, your heart leapt into your throat, blood running cold as you saw who stood in the doorway.
The Ice Giant was real.
"You dared to take my helmet?"
"It's needed," your father brushed off, not really taking into account who he was talking to. If he was shocked, he didn't let on, carrying about as if nothing was happening, "I need this. Along with that blue stone of yours. I have someone to bring back, two people actually and you are in my way!" he shouted and you ran to him, ready to hold him back but he shoved you off, pushing forward and slamming into the Ice Giant.
The latter grabbed your father's arms, causing the helmet to fall to the floor. You expected the case to shatter but it didn't crack, it stayed the same.
You breathed heavily as you looked from the case to the two people in the doorway.
"Unhand me!" Your father bristled.
"You touched my stuff. Ready to steal from me."
"I need it."
"But first, you came into my home, destroyed my things and expect me to let you carry on? Maybe I should throw you into the dungeons and let you rot. That's what happened to thieves back in the day. That and whipping."
"Please. Don't do that." Your voice was shaky but firm. At least you hoped it sounded firm.
The Ice Giant looked up at you and you saw a frown cover his features, his red eyes darkening as he took you in.
"Your father?" He asked and you nodded.
"He doesn't mean any harm... I swear."
"He was stealing from me."
"He's..."
But your father stopped you from what you were going to say by stabbing the ice giant in the side.
The roar he let out was deafening and you didn't know what to do as your father reached down for the helmet in the glass, his frantic footsteps echoing down the hall but within a blink of an eye, the ice giant disappeared in front of you.
You didn't know where he went but you followed your father's footsteps, running after him, hoping there would be some way to get him to stop, to think. The front door slammed shut, your father stopping in his tracks, holding the helmet close to his chest as he backed away.
The ice giant appeared right in front of him again.
"Give me the helmet."
"I need it to bring them back!"
"You stupid old man, that won't bring anyone back! No one can bring back the dead!"
You took a sharp intake of breath, watching at what would happen next, hoping he wouldn't do anything stupid again or that the ice giant wouldn't turn your father into ice itself.
"Give me the helmet."
"Give me the blue stone."
With a flick of the ice giants wrist, a stone appeared to hover in his open palm before he handed it over to your father.
"It won't bring anyone back."
"I have to try."
He dropped the helmet to the floor, hands reaching for the stone and it held it to his chest, holding it like a newborn babe. You went to walk towards him, to hold onto his arm but your father looked up at you and then the ice giant, sniffing before he pocketed the stone.
"You can keep her. Asgard needs a sacrifice to make sure you don't come and kill all our crops. I hope this will appease you for a while."
"Father... What?"
"I only needed a son. You were an inconvenience." He said, before leaving you in the castle. You ran towards the door too but the lock wouldn't open, no matter how many times you tried to pull at it or slam against it.
"Let me out."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Your father gave you up as a sacrifice. You can't leave until winter is over and the crops have grown."
"What?"
"There are multiple rooms, take your pick but stay out of the west wing and away from this helmet."
"Aren't you going to...?"
"To what?" He snapped at you.
"Kill me? That's what a sacrifice is isn't it?"
The ice giant shook his head, disappearing in front of you, leaving you alone in a castle. You sunk to the floor, hands over your head, knees tucked up to your chest as your father's words floated over you; "I only needed a son."
You couldn't help but cry.
You shivered awake when you realised where you were, lying on a stone floor in a castle. You sat up, body stiff from lying there and you groaned as you leant your body up against the door.
"You've been there all night. Here."
You jumped when you heard his voice, his blue hand reaching out to you. You took it, shivering as his cold fingers wrapped around yours, helping you up from the floor.
He dropped your hand quickly, motioning with his head to follow you, which you did.
He led you up two staircases before he reached a door, opening it up and allowing you to step in.
The room was huge, the four-poster bed in the centre of the room was covered in a heavy brocaded cover, the pillows fluffy with the same material over them.
Clicking his fingers, the fireplace roared to life, the fire green flamed instead of the normal and you frowned before turning back to the room.
"I would have thought you'd put me in a dungeon."
"And why would you think that?"
You realised his voice was soft, melodic. Different to how you expected it to be.
You hadn't really had a clear image in your head but that wasn't it. It made him seem more human.
"I'm a sacrifice. I shouldn't be regarded this luxury."
"Sleep wherever you want, I don't care. But start being a little more grateful perhaps that you can sleep in a warm room. Supper will be in an hour. I suggest cleaning up and getting rid of that..."
"Rid of what?" You breathed, arms folded across your chest.
"Stench of poverty that's oozing from your pores." He snapped and you raised your eyebrows, shocked. You took regular baths and used the harsh soap that everyone was given but you didn't think you smelled that bad.
"Of course. I'll try not to dampen your delicate senses with my stench." You said through gritted teeth, suddenly angry.
"Not delicate in the slightest. I could smell you approaching from the gates. You have 50 minutes."
"And who said I'm coming down after that?"
"Then starve." He said through gritted teeth, mimicking your own angered voice.
The bedroom door slammed behind him when he left and you let out an annoyed shout at his retreating back.
You wanted to roll around in the sheets, cover every surface of this castle in your "poverty-ridden stench" but the idea of a warm, hot bath overrode your anger and you found yourself heading to another door, leading into a bathroom.
The tub was huge, enough to fit two people in, the floor marbled, another fireplace up one wall and cupboards full of scented body wash and soaps.
You took a few down, smelling each one of them, picking the one you liked the smell of more than the others and you poured it into the bath, picking a soap that smelled the same.
Pulling off your tattered clothes and boots, you settled into the steaming bath once the water had stopped running, groaning as the hot water soothe your aching muscles.
You dipped your head under, wetting your hair, lathering the soap all over your body, face and hair and once you were clean, you lay back, letting the steam relax you...
The water was cold by the time you woke up, stomach grumbling at the lack of food, so you finally got out, wrapping a big, thick, fluffy robe around you.
You didn't want to put your dirty clothes back on so you hoped the big wardrobe in the room housed clothes.
Pulling open the doors, you found dresses of varying colours and styles, dainty shoes on the bottom shelf. The next side housed thick leggings and tunics, thick socks and boots and you chose the leggings and tunic combo, opting for thick socks.
Once dressed, you headed downstairs, hoping you'd eventually find the kitchen and not get lost and ended up somewhere you shouldn't.
When you got there, you noticed it was at least 4 times bigger than your bedroom and you felt overwhelmed. Where the hell would you begin? You mainly ate stale bread and cheese, soup when it was available. You wouldn't even know what to make with all the ingredients that were probably in the cupboard.
You moved to where the fridge was, noticing a plate on the side that had been covered in film. A note was on top, simple addressing you as "annoying girl" and you smiled a little, pulling at the film. He'd made you food and kept it.
In all honesty, you expected it to have been thrown away or smashed against a wall.
It was cold but that didn't bother you, you were used to eating cold food after all, and you ate quickly, tearing into the pieces of bread and vegetables, the cheese and fruit. It seemed as though he'd just placed a lot of stuff on the plate and called it a meal.
It was a good one.
The grumbling in your stomach stopped at least. You pulled a glass out from the cupboard, filling it with water and drinking it whole before making your way back up to your room, your stomach more full than it had ever been in your life.
Making your way back up to your room, you flopped down on the bed, letting the soft covers mould to your body shape and whisk you off to sleep.
"What are you doing?"
You jumped as you heard his voice behind you, the coldness from his body seeping into you a little.
"Admiring the library."
"Why?"
"Asgard doesn't have books anymore."
You saw him flinch a little at that and you whirled around to look at him fully.
You'd been here a week, a week of exploring the castle and only seeing him occasionally. You hadn't been able to leave through the front door, the locks not opening for you but after a whole, you stopped trying to leave.
You'd gotten used to being here.
It was weirdly comforting, being in a castle with the ice giant. You had a lot of luxuries, food that you could eat whenever and plenty of places to explore.
And you didn't have the annoying meeting with Thanos every day, claiming that you would soon be his.
"What was the flinch for?"
"I didn't flinch."
"Yes, you did. Why does mentioning Asgard bother you so much?"
"It's..."
"It's what?" You asked but he growled, stalking off towards the doors but you moved quickly, stopping him before he left.
"Why are you so..."
"Tell me why it bothers you?"
He watched you, staring you down and you folded your arms across your chest before he relented and stomped his way over to the desk, sitting down as he waited for you to follow.
Smirking, you made your way over, sitting opposite him and with a click of his fingers, food and drink appeared. You got used to that after day 3.
"Are we actually going to talk?"
"I'm talking, you'll listen. If, you can do that."
You pursed your lips together and nodded, reaching for one of the Victoria sponge slices.
"Asgard, the history of it is long..."
"I know the history."
"Are you going to interrupt throughout all of it?" he snapped back and you laughed, motioning for him to carry on.
"It's long, as you've learnt, but... My father ruled Asgard well. And I suppose Thor did in his own way but Asgard needs a king to make it flourish. Thor fell in love too easily, no one thought it would last and then he left, Midgard became his realm, Jane his Queen. Then Odin died and so did my mother and I..."
He looked up at you, expecting you to say something but you didn't. He took a deep breath, reaching out for your hand and you took it, the cold seeping through your skin and then you were somewhere else...
"You aren't my true son."
"What?"
"That is why Asgard cannot go to you." Odin said, shaking his head.
"No, no I'm..."
"Loki, I have loved you as my son, raised you, Frigga loved you more than anything but I have to let you know; you can't take Asgard."
"Then who does it go to?"
"No one. Thor has Midgard, Hela is the leader of Hel... You... You are the true leader of Jotunheim."
Loki's blood ran cold. Jotunheim was a barren, cold landscape, full of men and women with blue faces and ice in their veins. It was not a place people survived in easily and there was no way he was from there.
"No... Hot blood runs through my veins."
"It does, I assure you that it does. When we found you, you were human, flesh and blood and we knew we had to take you in. There was no mother around, no father. But your eyes. Your eyes were red. They changed over time and we knew where you'd come from but Frigga loved you, Thor was happy to have a baby brother and so we kept you. Loved you, raised you. Then... Then one day a witch from Laufey's land came, told us that when you turned 21, your true form would come out and nothing could stop it. You were Laufey's heir. You were needed in Jotunheim. 21 came and nothing happened but... The curse is starting. Your touch is cold, your eyes are becoming red... It won't be long until the curse happens."
Loki was silent, dread icing his veins as he looked at his father.
"Is there a way to break it?"
"Your helmet, the gold is coming off slowly, if you can't find someone to love you by the time the gold comes off, you'll be in your ice form forever...."
The image blurred and you were back in the library, hand gripping Loki's.
Loki.
The name in your father's book. He was right; Odin, Thor, Hela...
You looked up at him, not seeing the ice-blue skin and red eyes but seeing the shoulder-length black hair, the green eyes and the smile on his face. You could imagine the pumping of warm blood under his skin and you traced a finger along the white veins.
"It's a curse. But you stayed here, you didn't go back to Jotunheim?"
"I'm stuck here until the gold comes off. After that, I go there."
"You don't think anyone could love you?" You whispered and he turned those red eyes on you.
"No. Who could love a monster anyway?" "But... But the sacrifices..."
"Young girls who snuck in here in the hope of snagging some dresses, others were genuine though but it didn't last. They ran or killed themselves or said they loved me but didn't. Even if someone did, I couldn't rule here..."
"But you could," He looked over at you and you reached out for his hand, fingers weaving in between his, "You are Loki Odinson. Whoever Laufey was, he didn't care about you. Asgard is yours."
He watched you for a few moments before nodding oh so briefly and then he smiled and you couldn't help but smile back.
"Will you join me for dinner?"
"I'd love to."
It carried on like that for weeks, the pair of you meeting for dinner. Then it became breakfast too, then lunch and walks around the gardens where Loki pointed out different meanings behind the statues and different parts of the gardens that were made for sitting and talking or dining.
The more you spent time with him, the more you enjoyed your time here.
You didn't miss home, you didn't miss your father nor anyone else from the village. They never treated you with respect due to your father anyway, so you hardly doubted they were missing you either.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
You turned to smile at him, looking at his face and not seeing the red eyes or blue face anymore. You can't remember when that started happening but you now saw beyond that.
"Just... You have a ballroom. And I've... I've never..."
"Danced?"
"No. We don't get the time down in Asgard. Too busy trying to rebuild."
He nodded his head before standing up and you frowned over at him as he made his way back to the castle.
"Where are you going?" you shouted after him.
"Wear one of the dresses and meet me downstairs at 6 pm." He called back.
You smoothed down the silk fabric, feeling unlike yourself as you turned to look in the mirror. The dress was gold, swathes of fabric draping around your body, corset cinching in your waist. You weren't entirely sure what to do with your hair so you left it as you normally did. You put on a pair of silk slippers and took a deep breath, looking behind you at the clock.
It would be chiming soon.
Opening the door, you made your way down the various staircases, the chimes starting just as you reached the final steps to the ballroom.
A fire was lit, the chandelier glowing with candles and there, stood in the middle of the ballroom, dressed in green and black, stood Loki.
Not the ice giant. Loki. How he would have been.
"What's this?"
"A little bit of glamour. I can use it sometimes but it won't last long."
You reached out, your hand smoothing down his cheek, running through his hair and you watched as he shuddered, taking a deep breath.
"Do you care to dance?"
"I do."
Music flared from somewhere and Loki twirled you around the ballroom, dipping you and spinning you, making you laugh as you stepped on his toes or did a move wrong but he laughed along with you, showing you the steps, letting you pick them up until you seemingly became fluent.
The music kept going on and on and on, each song different to the other, each dance different and then Loki dipped you, his arm around your waist and you saw the sparkle in his eyes as his free hand brushed your cheek. He brought you back up slowly, hand on your face until you were flushed together.
"You have bewitched me," He whispered, "Body and soul."
You nodded, not quite wanting to break the spell and he kissed you. Mouth tentative at first but then it became stronger and firmer, needier as you kissed, your hands in his hair, his holding you tightly.
And then you felt the shift, the icy feeling of his lips against yours and he pulled back, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, it didn't last long."
"I don't care." You whispered, bringing his mouth back down to yours, a gasp falling from his lips at your comment.
You'd known for a while now, knowing what you were feeling and it needed to be said.
"Loki... I..."
And then the doors to the castle burst open.
"There he is!"
You knew that voice, could just imagine his face turning purple in anger as he looked at the pair of you on the dancefloor.
Thanos.
"Get your hands off of my fiancee!"
You pulled out of Loki's arms, stalking over to him and slapping him hard across the face.
"I am not your fiancee. What are you doing here?"
"Your father informed us that he'd kidnapped you..."
"Did my father tell you that he left me here?! This is ridiculous, leave. Now."
"Not until I have his head..."
You turned to where Loki stood, a small imperceptible nod on his face.
"The stone didn't work did it?" Loki whispered
"He just said he needed your head and your head he'll get. Move Y/N!"
Thanos pushed you out the way, and you fell into the arms of his minions behind him, the other people from Asgard were there too.
"Don't be so bloody stupid!"
"Silence her!" Thanos snarled as he lunged towards Loki with an axe in his hand. Loki moved quickly, his body moving from one place to another in a blink of an eye. You'd seen bits around the castle; how he clicked his fingers and food appeared, how he glamoured himself to look human. He had magic.
There were rumours that Odin had had magic, well, rumours that came from your father.
Magic.
Gods.
It didn't change how you felt about him though, nothing would, but at this moment, you wished he'd do more to stop his impending death.
You stamped on the foot of the person holding you, running towards where they were fighting once the hold had loosened. You stopped in the middle of them, your hand on Loki's chest as the other held out towards Thanos.
"Stop!"
"Move out the way!"
"Don't do this Thanos."
A shout came from Loki and you turned to see what had happened. A knife was lodged into his side and you saw the moment his eyes went a darker red, ice lashing out of his hand towards the person who had stabbed him. The person shattered into pieces, glittery ice falling to the floor and you breathed deeply as you looked up at him.
"Do you see what he is now Y/N? A killer. It seems as though we have ourselves a monster to hunt." Thanos's grin was all feral and you pushed at Loki, trying to get him to move.
"Run," you told him, "Please run."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Please..." You whispered and Loki looked at you, and then to the crowd before he gave a little nod.
"Go to the west wing." He told you, before blinking out of the way.
Thanos roared and you ran, hoping that Loki would be okay on his own.
The steps wore you out, other footsteps thundered behind you but you eventually reached the west wing. His helmet still stood under its glass dome but the gold had almost gone and you cursed yourself for not saying anything sooner.
"Nowhere left to run. You should come back with us, leave the ice giant to Thanos..."
"I'm not coming back with you."
You didn't know the men in front of you, but they were something to do with Asgard and the foreman who dealt out jobs. They had ropes and knives with them and you shook your head, backing towards the window frame.
Thunder roared in the distance, lightning following in its wake before the rain started and you could see the silhouettes of Loki and Thanos in the background, high above on one of the ramparts.
You stood on the ledge, holding on as wind ripped around you.
"Loki!" You shouted but they didn't seem to hear you.
You stood further out on the ledge, slipping a little and you righted yourself before going to shout again.
A sharp pain was felt on your side, red covering your dress and you almost lost your balance until you were pulled back inside.
"I didn't want to do that but if you insist on being stubborn..."
A loud shout came from outside and your heart lurched into your throat as you wondered what had happened.
"You hurt her?"
You heard Loki's voice behind you and you spun around to see him, feeling off-balance as you did so.
"You... You aren't hurt?"
"Far from it. But you are."
Ice blasted out of his hands again, not as much as last time because the figures just froze.
"Y/N, Y/N, look at me. You're going to be okay. I promise you."
"Loki look..."
He was shoved from you, Thanos finding himself in the room with you. Blood was on his head, his arm had wounds on them too and he growled as he pulled something out of his pocket.
"He said this would work... Let's see."
A shining blue bracelet wrapped itself around his wrist and you saw Thanos grit his teeth against whatever was happening.
He picked Loki up from the floor, hand wrapped around his throat. It was tight, really tight and you watched the blue of his face slowly turn purple.
"Stop it. Stop it you're killing him!" you shouted, hitting Thanos on the arm, trying to pull him off.
But nothing was happening.
You looked at Loki, then at the helmet and you knew it was now or never.
"Loki Odinson, Loki Laufeyson. It doesn't matter what name you go by, what your form looks like... I love you."
Thanos shouted as he dropped Loki to the floor, the green light surrounding him grew bigger and bigger until he stood up, helmet on his head, green and black leathers on his body and twin blades in his hand.
His face wasn't blue anymore, his eyes weren't red but back to the green colour you'd seen previously. His black, shoulder-length hair looked shiny and fresh and he had a smirk on his face as he watched Thanos.
The castle started shifting around you, the ground shaking and you held onto the marble table as tightly as you could as you watched Loki face off against Thanos.
Two knives were flung at him; one in his neck, the other on the hand that had the bracelet on and then the green flames came, shooting at Thanos as he tried to dodge and weave. He got closer and closer to the windowless arches, feet slipping on the ground before he toppled out, his screams getting lost in the thunderstorm.
Those who had turned to ice unfroze and ran, the castle around you shifting as the arches were covered in windows again, the cracked floor repairing itself and colour bursting back into existence.
Loki ran over to you, catching you before you fell to the floor.
"Stay with me."
"I'm tired." You whispered.
"It'll be fine. I promise you. Just stay with me."
"Loki..." You whispered before your eyes closed.
That isn't where the story ends but the next parts are too long to go into detail. Loki became King of Asgard once Thor had heard what had happened, his guilt at leaving weighing heavily on him. Laufey tried to get Loki to rule his kingdom, to embrace the ice giant side but Loki and Thor defeated him in a war.
That left Jotunheim without a ruler but Loki unites the countries together, putting them under Asgards jurisdiction.
Thor was more than happy to leave Asgard to his brother once the differences were settled.
Asgard thrived. Loki's magic helping to repair a lot of the damage, those who fought against him at first were made to prove their loyalty until he was satisfied they wouldn't go against him again. Your father... Well, some damages couldn't be repaired and he was sent to Hela's realm for 10 years.
And you? Well, this was your story after all and you supposed you should tell what happened next.
You survived.
It wasn't that deep a wound but the loss and shock of that day had gotten to you, but with rest and love, you pulled through.
Shutting the notebook and marking your page with a rose Loki had plucked from the garden, you watched as your husband walked into the room, hair curling, shirt off and he grinned at you before tossing the covers aside and crawling up between your legs, his mouth hot against your skin. He smiled up at you and you nodded before his mouth came over you, your back arching off the bed as a breathy moan fell from your lips.
Oh, he knew how to use that sacrilegious mouth of his to perfection.
Your body rose higher, Loki's fingers digging into your skin as his mouth worked you and he pulled away before that tight line broke.
He smirked as he kissed up your body, clicking his fingers so his trousers disappeared and so did your nightdress.
He entered you slowly, hands interlocking with yours as he held them above your head, your legs wrapped around his waist as he moved, his body all clean lines and muscles. He hit that spot over and over, making you bite your lip but he grabbed both your hands in one of his, pulling your lip away before he kissed you deeply, legs tightening around his waist as he gave one delicious movement that caused you to shout out, Loki's head buried in your shoulder as he thrust twice, spilling inside you.
"That feels like Valhalla."
"You say that every time." You laughed, kissing him.
"That's because it's the truth," he smiled, "What were you writing?"
"Our story. I want people to know, years from now what happened. What's the truth. We should start doing that. Get a royal chronicler in."
"I like that." He hummed, leaning down to pepper kisses over your neck, your collarbone...
"Maybe there's some other news you'd like too."
"Hmmm?" He asked, getting distracted by the scent of your skin.
"Asgard will have an heir."
Loki stopped what he was doing, looking up at you with wide eyes, "Your...?"
"Yes."
Loki laughed rolling you over with him so you straddled him, hands caressing your slightly budding stomach. It was still small but you could see a noticeable change.
"My Queen is with child."
"Yes." You smiled down at him, fingers tracing his face and then his smiling mouth.
"Are you happy?" Loki asked.
"Always," You told him, "Are you?"
"Always."
You lent down to kiss him again, both of you happy and content in how everything had turned out.
I wrote this for the 6k challenge of @simsadventures congratulations, I hope you like it and happy birthday!!!
It is an Alfred x female!reader imagine.
The prompt I chose is: “You have bewitched me, body and soul” (Pride and Prejudice, 2005), and the place I chose is a lake.
Warnings: yearning, a lot of it
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
When Ivar Lothbrok, a wealthy unmarried man moved into the Netherfield estate the people of Netherfield were thrilled, seeing as every daughter of every household was a potential fit for the rich and handsome gentleman.
The ball thrown at his honour was the perfect opportunity for you and your sisters to find a match, even if you couldn’t see yourself marrying anyone yet.
Much in contrast to your sisters your goal in life wasn’t to marry well but rather to stay true to yourself and to find your happiness, which complicated the search for a husband that had been forced upon you.
“One of these days someone will catch your eyes and then you’ll have to watch your tongue”, your sister told you as you stood in the hall the ball was taking place in, the two of you expectantly waiting for the rich newcomer to arrive.
Your eyes were caught by movement at the door but they didn’t stay on the man who held most of the people’s focus, but rather the man standing beside him, looking rather not amused by the event he was attending.
Your sister’s eyes were trained on the man in focus before she glanced at you, seeing you watching his companion and giving you an approving smile.
“He looks miserable poor sir”, you chuckled at your sister and she laughed out loud, watching the men move past you to the front of the ballroom.
“Miserable he may be but poor he most certainly is not”, she answered you with a gleam in her eyes, making you chuckle in turn.
Of course your parents did their best to introduce you to the two gentlemen, the silent one capturing even more of your attention.
“Do you dance Mr Winchester?”, you asked him carefully, watching your sister dancing with Mr Lothbrok, which brought a smile to your face at how happy the both of them looked.
“Not if I can help it”, he answered you in a dry tone, his eyes mostly trained on the floor, a sign of arrogance or shyness you couldn’t tell.
His rude reply set you off so you turned your back to him and left, waiting for your sister to return from the dance floor to have a nice gossip about the men and women present.
You were smiling along with your sister and best friend when you caught onto the conversation the two gentlemen were leading, unaware of their silent eavesdroppers.
“Come now, Winchester, I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing by yourself in this stupid manner”, Lothbrok chuckled at the beautiful but silent nobleman.
“You know how I detest it”, he answered, giving you the slight hope that he hadn’t entirely disliked you but rather just really hated dancing.
“I've never seen so many pretty girls in my life”, Lothbrok gushed, ignoring his friend’s comment as he glanced around the room.
“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room”, your heart sank when you heard the snappy comment from the man that until now had held your interest, your smile dropping to make way for pure outrage.
“Oh, she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld, but her sister is also very agreeable”, the kind Lothbrok said and your sister smiled at you, squeezing your hand she was holding.
“Perfectly tolerable, I dare say, but not handsome enough to tempt me. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me”, you hated that you ware merely described as tolerable, anger boiling up inside you at the man you had originally had had your eye on.
Your anger didn’t lessen over time but he stayed close by, living with his friend Lothbrok at his mansion, who formed a beautiful and profound relationship with your sister.
You stayed on your own and were happy to, even though the handsome gentleman didn’t leave your head, you thought of him as much as your sister talked about the man that held her interest.
The events added up, creating a crescendo until you saw Alfred again, meeting him in a mutual friends’ house, but trying desperately to avoid him.
You had managed to slip away into the gardens and found a safe space in a grecian looking summer house overlooking a lake.
You were surprised to see that Alfred had followed you, slightly out of breath even though the climb hadn’t been very exhausting.
“Miss, I have struggled in vain but I can bear it no longer... The past months have been a torment”, he paused, watching you carefully while you waited for him to continue.
“I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you... l had to see you”, he said breathlessly, taking you by surprise even more.
“Me?”, you asked, not believing your ears as you watched him in wonder.
“l've fought against my better judgement, my family's expectation”, he added, pausing once again as he took you in, waiting for you to catch onto what he was saying.
“The inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance...”, he was stuttering, but still kept talking, trying to bring his point across.
“All those things, but I'm willing to put them aside and ask you to end my agony...”, he was talking faster again, more passionately and you could see determination mixing with the uncertainty and unease he emitted.
“I don't understand”, you answered him, turning to face him completely while Alfred raised his eyebrows.
“I love you. Most ardently”, he exclaimed, his cheeks tainting red as he watched you, waiting for you to come to terms with what you had heard from him.
You were taken aback, his rude behavior, his original disinterest along with what you had heard about Alfred Winchester not in tune with what he was telling you at all.
“Please do me the honour of accepting my hand”, he whispered, the vulnerability and honesty shocking you further, but even though you had always been interested in him, had always yearned for him even if he was completely rude and insulting, you couldn’t be happy about his proposal as much as you wanted to.
“Sir, I appreciate the struggle you have been through, and I am very sorry to have caused you pain. Believe me, it was unconsciously done”, you tried to let him off easy, but Alfred pressed on, not giving up just yet.
“Is this your reply?”, he asked you and you nodded, not quite meeting his eyes.
“Yes, sir”, you answered, a pained smile on your face as you turned away from him.
“Are you laughing at me?”, he asked you, his voice sharp but his face soft, vulnerable.
“No!”, you answered as you turned around again, making sure that he could see your emotions as clearly as you were able to see his.
“Are you rejecting me?”, his voice was grief and emotionless, clinical, probably to spare him from more pain.
“I'm sure that the feelings which, as you've told me, have hindered your regard, will help you in overcoming it”, you answered, watching the blush on his cheeks turn pale, just like his face lost its expressions.
There was a while of silence until he finally spoke up again.
“Might I ask why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus repulsed?”, he asked, not understanding your rejection yet, and you felt terrible to explain it to him, even if you knew you were doing the right thing, with everything you had heard of his wrongdoings.
“I might as well enquire why, with so evident a design of insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your better judgement. If I was uncivil, that was some excuse”, you said but he interrupted you, the two of you too emotional to let each other speak out.
“Believe me, I didn't mean”, he began but you interrupted him in turn, making sure that he heard what you had to say.
“But I have other reasons, you know I have!”, you raised your voice, your face mirroring his own expression of anger, grief and confusion.
“What reasons?”, he asked you, and you told him.
You were eager to explain it to him, telling him of the key role he had played in your younger sister’s misfortune, the things you had heard about him ruining a friend’s life, but Alfred looked hurt, even if he had managed to defend himself about some of the accusations.
“So this is your opinion of me! Thank you for explaining so fully. Perhaps these offences might have been overlooked, if your pride had not been hurt”, he shot back and you interrupted him at the audacity he had.
“My pride?”, you glared at him but he continued on as if you hadn’t interrupted him.
“by my honesty in admitting scruples about our relationship. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your circumstances?”, his voice was dripping with some kind of sarcasm and pain.
“And those are the words of a gentleman? From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry”, your words were harsh and you didn’t mean them, but you felt the need to say them either way.
“Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time”, he replied, curt and sharp, leaving you by yourself, feeling as hurt and sad as he did as well.
Time went by and Alfred did everything he could to make up for what you had told him, helping two of your sister to find their happiness and explaining a misunderstanding between the two of you via letter, your feelings flaring up inside you and strengthening the love you knew you had for him.
Your unhappiness intensified with every passing day, especially when his mother came by to tell you to stay away from him.
The night after his mother’s visit you were too agitated to find any rest so you gave up on sleeping, getting out of bed to walk along the fields at night, which you loved to do to clear your head.
You were happy about your sisters but grieving for the happiness you knew you wouldn’t be able to attain, headlessly walking through the fields until you encountered a silhouette, and Alfred Winchester stopped to stand in front of you.
It was an obscure scenario even if your heart leapt at his sight, but you were just happy to see him again.
“I couldn't sleep”, you interrupted the stifling silence, finding relief in Alfred’s face at the fact that you had managed to start a conversation.
“Nor I. My mother?”, he asked you and you nodded carefully.
“Yes. She was here”, you answered, your voice dry, finding a pained expression flashing over his face like a shooting star.
“How can I ever make amends for such behavior?”, he asked you, his voice grief, but you sent him a grateful smile instead.
“After what you have done for my sisters it is I who should be making amends”, you answered him, the atmosphere of gratefulness and understanding contrasting the pain and anger of your last conversation gravely.
“You must know, surely you must know, that it was all for you”, he told you, his dark hair not carefully combed like usually but rather messy, depicting his inner state very well, and you were sure you looked the same.
“You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my mother last night, and it has taught me to hope as I had scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me forever”, his voice was so low and gentle that it sent a shiver down your spine, or maybe it was just the cold.
“If, however, your feelings have changed...”, his voice sounded so hopeful, so vulnerable, that when his eyes met yours your breath stopped, your heart racing at what he was about to say.
“I could, I would have to tell you, you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love... I love... I love you. And never wish to be parted from you from this day on”, you were so moved by his words and you felt so utterly seen and understood that you took a deep breath, the relief in your face visible, which you could see by his hopeful expression, his eyes were studying you as if you were the only thing keeping him from dying.
“Well, then”, you answered him, a wide smile on your face as you watched him in the same manner as well.
He took a hesitant step towards you, coming closer to you than he had ever been before as he tentatively stretched his hands out, which you took without hesitation.
You were so incredibly happy about the developments, about the fact that you were finally able to be with him, looking back at the series of unfortunate events that had tried to keep you from each other.
“You're cold”, you whispered, a small laugh in your voice as you looked up at him, finding the amusement returned when his lips moved upwards in a loving and endearing smile.
