《Alliance by Marriage》Chapter 24
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As the days go by, life is slowly returning to normal. The food taster still does his job, and the guards still follow me everywhere, as per advice of ever careful Sagaristio, but there're no more poisoning attempts and no more attacks on me or anyone else in my surroundings.
Emilio keeps to his room most of the time, in sharp contrast to his past demands to be allowed outside. I assume that this fearfulness will pass, but Sagaristio thinks that for now it should be encouraged, at least until we're sure that Messenio has acted alone.
"He didn't just want to fuck him," he says. "He wasn't that out of control. Emilio was openly asking questions, talking to the servants, trying to figure out the identity of the poisoner. Perhaps he's gotten too close the truth, and Messenio decided to silence him forever—as well as have some fun in the process."
The word 'fun' makes me wince, but the theory sounds reasonable. We should remain on high alert until we're sure the crisis is fully behind us.
Slowly, as one uneventful week passes, and then another, the dramatic events begin to fade from my memory, and so do Emilio's bruises. Now that he's a door's distance from my room, I see him more often. In fact, I'm beginning to find his company quite enjoyable, him being smart and well educated. He's also genuinely pleased to discover that I have a library.
"I thought you were just a bunch of barbarians," he says as I lead him into the tall room, its ornate walls almost completely concealed by the dark oak shelves full of books. "Have you actually read any of those, or do you just steal them on your raids, like jewels and livestock?"
"We're not stealing," I say. "We're collecting taxes."
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He rolls his eyes briefly and turns to the shelves. His eyes light up with excitement, an expression I'm pleased to see after the listless stupor he's been lingering in after the attack.
He makes a few tentative steps, and then heads to the shelf with a row of similar thick leather-bound volumes.
"The adventures of Aikateros?" He turns to me, his eyes shining. "I've read those a few years ago. Loved them. Father had a huge library, too, although I don't think he's ever read a book in his life."
I smile. This sounds familiar.
"Neither did my father. Books were only expensive possessions to him. He brought them from his travels, and I...yes, I couldn't get enough of them." I run my finger lovingly down the spine of a thick volume. "Aikateros's adventures were the best. Couldn't put them down. I'm surprised you've only read them recently—they read the best when you're ten or twelve."
He shrugs. "Didn't have access to the library then." As I puzzle at his words, wondering if Bawdrick's children weren't allowed to read at too early an age, he reaches out and pulls one book out, opening it on a random page.
"Oh, the island of the mermaids! I loved this one."
"Me too." I nod. "How he stole their tails when they slept, and then the princess had to marry him to get them back."
"And then their first son has conquered the underwater kingdom."
We grin at each other, embarrassed by our own excitement over something so childish.
"Let's go," I say. "You can read it to me out loud."
And so, during the middays, when I used to rest alone, I have company now. He reads to me, and sometimes we discuss the stories, and other times we just put the books away and talk. I find myself telling him about my childhood and my travels. He's a good listener, and even though he never tells me about his own past, his sharp wit and erudition make it easy to share things with him.
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As I preside in the court during the mornings, I sometimes find myself wondering what he would say about the issues at hand, looking forward to spending time with him in the afternoon and hearing his opinion.
Even though his past animosity hasn't disappeared completely, he's clearly getting more comfortable around me. When I call for him, I can see glimpses of eagerness in the outward display of reluctance he keeps putting on as he rolls his eyes and sighs before entering my room.
I keep reminding myself that he may still be an enemy, but it's getting harder to think of him that way. One time, I even fall asleep when alone with him, lulled by his reading and the warmth of the lazy afternoon. I wake up with a panicked feeling of impending danger, but I find Emilio napping peacefully by my side, his head resting in the crook of my arm. I brush his hair out of his face, and just lie there, listening to his steady breathing, feeling inexplicably calm.
It becomes a part of our routine—the reading, the talking, the resting together. He no longer tenses at my proximity, and even though I don't try anything, I begin to think it may be the time to take the next step. As much as I enjoy the intellectual connection that's forming between us, I want more. I want to feel his skin against mine, I want to hear him to cry out in passion, I want him to beg me for more, and I want to give him more. No amount of talking and spending quiet time together can replace that.
Yet there's no sign of interest on his part, and I fear that if I press too hard too early, I may lose what I already have.
The thing is, I quite like what I have right now.
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Clock Link: A Story of Magic and Murder
April 1st. For eight minutes, a section of downtown Portland and everyone in it comes to a complete and absolute standstill. During that time a bank is robbed... and a young girl is murdered.Three high school students, a shut in, a man involved in organized crime, and an amateur mage. The events of "the day the world stopped" start a chain reaction that will change the destinies of these six people, and the city, forever.
8 224King's Genesis
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8 177Jeremy's Guide on How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
My name is Jeremiah Jackson and I'm 16 years old. But you can call me Jeremy. I just wanna get some stuff out of the way. ZOMBIES HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING! Well, okay, I have a baseball bat. And I can swing it around, and hit zombies on the head. Yeah, I'm basically useless. But somehow, I've survived this long. So I decided to write a rule book on how future generations can live just a little bit longer in a world infested with zombies. That way, when my brain gets devoured, I will live on as my book will pass down my knowledge to future generations of apocolypse survivors. But I'm not gonna die yet, I have to actually write this book first. Anyway, let's get straight to the point. Here's are all my rules on how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Listen to my suggestions and you'll make a desolate, bleak world just a little bit better. Enjoy! Or don't, your choice.
8 160Everdell: A Critters Tale
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon Challenge] Critters roam the Evertree, the tallest tree in the world and peace has been had for hundreds of years, but not all is as calm as it seems. Prince Fir has been put into the Everguard for disobedience and must train with the guard, but disaster strikes and Prince Fir is sent to establish an outpost on the Outside, having to put up with a Guinea Pig that seems to hate him with a passion. Florence hates nobility with a passion, blaming them for sending his father and mother on a mission that they never returned from. So when he is told he has to train and set up an outpost with a Prince? Lydia, a rat has been tasked with an impossible mission, infiltrate the Everguard and destroy it from within. What happens though when you start to make friends with the enemy? What's a critter to do? ...................... Ideas and concepts taken from the Board Game Everdell, I'm a new author and I don't take this book that seriously and am just using this as practice for third-person writing in a light setting. I don't own the cover art and will gladly take it down should asked.
8 240Redemption: a Pokemon story
Celeste Faye has a problem that only she can solve. She has 10 years to completely change history, literally. With over 982 million lives on the line, she has to save the city from impending war with other cities, a civil war as triads wrestle for control, overcome type racism and prevent the systematic purge of over 40 different species of pokemon. Trouble is, she can't get directly involved, or so she thinks and to make matters worse, she only knows the result, not the cause of the cities destruction. Her plan? Change the lives of key pokemon that have some role to play in the original history and hope that causes a domino effect to change things for the better. Her targets? A city leader that is way over his head, a special forces police recruit struggling to live up to his father, a student with a dangerous obsession with a taboo relationship and a trainee doctor turn gang leader. What actually happens? She changes more then she could ever imagine. Prosperity city is getting a second chance at survival, no wait, a third chance. She didn't manage it the first time she tried. Good thing she is a Celebi.
8 103MEMY
No jak nazwa wskazuje będą się tu pojawiać memy. Tak od 3-5 dziennie. Wiem, że jest tego mnóstwo na wattpadzie, ale po prostu uwielbiam memy😂
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