The Cursed

[SkySong278]

Alivia giggled at the exchange between the two before following the latter downstairs to the dining room for breakfast while listening to everything he said as she did so. “Oh and I bet that’s easier for him to handle it. Okay,” she said just before going into the dining room behind him.

 

After he plopped the prince into a seat along with getting him coffee and put some smelling salts near him, she sat down in another seat. She started to eat her scrambled eggs that was next to chocolate chip pancakes as she heard the conversation between the two men, hanging her head a bit when she also heard the last bit of what Paul said regarding his sister. She felt slightly better, though when she heard Quadir’s response. She reached over and put a hand on one of his gently in comfort before pulling it away again afterward and went back to eating her breakfast afterward.

Edited February 3, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Quadir looked at her with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hmmm..." Paul said as he ate the hearty meal before him. After another cup of coffee he seemed more awake now. "oh gosh, I'm sorry I brought that up. She's gotten better but you're right. Still, you'll have to see her eventually. You know a majority of the royal family will come to your wedding. " Quadir sighed at that information. "Yes I know. But right now I want you to wake up, dress and get those three useless and pathetic excuses of humans out of my land. I will escort you to the inn, however I am going to make the ride back to the capital extremely difficult on Andrew for upsetting my wife last night. " "Really? How are you doing that?" Paul asked, curious.  "Punch him in the groin so hard he'd have a hard time spreading his stupidity to other generations." Quadir stated simply. This made Paul choke on his eggs and was completely awake by now. "It's times like this I am glad you consider me a friend. And I'm reminded not to cross you. "

 

"Oh I wouldn't do that to you. You need to continue the family line, however the rest of your brothers save for the second and third Prince of the late queen won't need to provide heirs. " Quadir simply stated as Paul looked at him in terror as the Lord continues his speech. "However if you where my enemy, I couldn't kill you outright without my head ending up on a plate, but I'll make sure you get no sleep for days and nights, making you so terrified of closing your eyes. I will be your nightmare in the darkness, ever watching, ever waiting for when you show a sign of weakness....." Quadir looked right at Paul when he said that. Paul jumped when the dark tone Quadir was using turned into a chipper one. "But you don't have to worry about that. Now I have grain silos to check on and winter preparation to get to today." He said simply.

Paul narrowed his eyes at Quadir. "I hate you." "Love you too big brother Paul." Quadir snickered and laughed as Paul got flustered, excuses himself and went to go change. 

[SkySong278]

Alivia smiled back at him but like his eyes, hers also didn’t show the smile in them. She was continuing to eat her breakfast when she heard the conversation between the two, blushing a bit when she heard what he was going to do to the third prince for making her upset the night before. She didn’t say anything and just continued to eat her eggs until they were gone and she got started on eating her chocolate chip pancakes.

 

Her eyes widened slightly when she heard the other conversation between them and what her love would do to Paul if he were an enemy, but then looked a bit relieved when she heard the last bit of it. “After I get dressed I plan on heading straight to work to get started on those commissions for Paul for his wife,” she said a few minutes or so after Paul went up to the guest room he had used to get dressed and ready for the day. “Would you like me to help you with the silos and other prep for winter when I’ve gotten most of the broach and bracelet done?”

Edited February 24, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"It's a cakewalk for me now. Without worrying about the monster attacks, although still midsummer, winter can come in a blink of the eye.  However if I finish work early can I help you?" He tilted his head and sighed getting up and tenderly kisses her on the cheek. "I best get going if I'm going to escort him to the inn. " He left and got dressed himself, once again putting a reluctant Void in a vest in a matching color, this time a deep purple before heading out with the prince. 

 

Once at the inn, Paul handed him a scroll with his seal on it to send to the King letting him know about the results of the investigation.  Ahs the four of them (Evens, Gunther, Andrew and Paul) where about to leave Andrew once again stuck his foot in his mouth by saying he knows what really happened and he'd see Quadir at his execution and happily send his wife to a Witches camp.  The first punch broke the prince's nose. "That's for you being plain stupid." The second landed square between the legs and Andrew was down. "And that's for making my wife upset last night." With that, he lifted the still whimpering prince onto his horse and tied him to the saddle so he doesn't fall off. "I pray that you have a very bumpy ride." He growled and patted the rear of the animal gently and it broke to a trot eager to get home. 

 

After that the others left after Andrew and he went and got Lilith and rode out to the country side to check on the farmers. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by AroaraAngelwolf

[SkySong278]

"Oh okay. Well my offer still stands if you'd like some additional help. Of course," she said in reply to what he said and asked before he tenderly kissed her on the cheek and then she watched as he went to get ready to escort Paul to the inn afterward. She finished eating the rest of her pancakes before heading up to her room to get dressed herself in a casual dress that went to just below her knees, put on some flat shoes, picked up Truffle and the drawings Quadir had drawn for Paul's commissions, and then headed back downstairs before she headed out the door towards her store. She unlocked the door with the key, headed inside, placed Truffle down so that he could wander around, went to the safe to get the other order requests that she had finished the day before, got out boxes that they would fit in, and then delivered them to the house they belonged to. When she got back to the store after that, she flipped the sign to say "Open", then she went into the back room with the drawing and the charms after putting on the gramophone to play music, and got to work with putting them on a silver chain.

 

When she finished with it by adding a clasp, she got the mold out for the rabbit broach, and then got to work with putting the gems where they needed to go inside it in addition to putting some kind of sticky stuff (like glue) to keep them in place along the edge of the mold and also to each other. She was wearing goggles with big lenses (like Professor Trelawney's glasses in Harry Potter) so that she could see where she was putting the gems better. She got the upper half of it done before she took the goggles off and left the back room to head towards the front of the store to both take a break and to help take care of any customers that had come in.

Edited August 12, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Several people where their browsing the store. Two where a couple of ladies the other was a young man around Quadir's age and was nervously looking at wedding rings. 

 

After the she helped the customers  Quadir came back in looking haunted and leaned against the door. He was in his armor spattered with black. "It takes two and a half weeks to get to the capital by horse...... " He flipped the sign to closed. "Can you make arrowheads, and cap the bolt heads with silver? How fast can you make it?" He said softly looking distant and was shaking in fear. He instructed that all other employees go have a break now and leave the place before closing the curtains and locking every door. "Call your father. He needs to be here for this. "

[SkySong278]

Alivia happily helped the customers that were there before they bought what they wanted and left. It was a little after the last customer left that she saw Quadir come in and lean on the door with black spattered armor. She had smiled upon seeing him, but now that turned into a slight frown when she noticed that he looked a bit haunted before hearing the trailed off statement he said and the questions he asked afterward. "Oh. I didn't know it took that long to get there. Yes and it depends on how many you need. Possibly 20-30 minutes (just making that up)," she said in reply before hearing his last statement after he told the employees to go on break after he had flipped the sign to the closed side.

 

"Okay," she said in reply while looking a bit concerned again when she noticed that he was now also shaking in fear while also looking a bit distant. "Ada!" she called before briefly going to the back room to get the supplies needed for the arrowheads and then started to work on getting them made at the front counter.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"What is it daughter?"  The Deity said as he appears in the store. He looked for his daughter to his son in law and his black fox lips pressed in a line.  "What is that look for- oh, oh no. Not even my power can stop those. How many?"  He asked nose twitching.  "Just one for now. A Borson who got lost. It was barely transformed but where's there's one the Mordu is sure to come with it's pack. " He said softly and grabbed a rag rubbing the black stuff off his armor. "Apparently in the western part of the land was struck by drought. Gunther has forgotten his tribute too long and the crop was all dead, and the cattle got infected. The Borson village nestled in the mountain range there had to give up all their food for the blue quadvern and with no crop, no grain or water they where driven mad when the Quadvern took the food and abandoned them. I'm surprised they lasted so long, only one resorted to cannibalism, the others perished long before.  I only know about it now because it destroyed one of the settlements to the west of the city, and when I killed it, it shrieked like a dieing bore. " He said burning the rag that was now filthy with the blood of the Wendigo.  "And with wendigos, that means the great white spirit of the north is coming. He probably heard of your adoption of Alivia and coming to see you however you are tied to this land, and it's causing the creatures to flee before it. " 

[SkySong278]

Alivia gestured over to where Quadir was as she was busy making the arrowheads. She was up to about fifteen or so and continued to work on making them while listening to their conversation as she did so. She had made thirty when she looked over at them, seeing that Quadir still looked scared like he had earlier when he had come in and her father looked worried which made her worried as well. “Are we in trouble?” she asked curiously while still worried when she heard what he said at the end regarding the spirit of the north hearing that he (her father) had adopted her and was on his way to talk to him (her father again).

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"The spirit of the North is my Creator. My father. " Deity explained. "Naturally he would like to see his grandchild however his power is so pure in goodness that anything evil flees. Unfortunately this means the most wicked of creatures to come down. This only happened once before, when the first Maelstrom was born and I was refused the child. He came to weep once he felt me turn to stone." 

 

Quadir nodded. "Yes, that's what I read. Wendigos are the most evil of these and live far, far north. In lands too baron for much life so most travelers when caught in storms and are unprepared they resort to basic instinct to eat and end up eating the dead members of their party. This results in a transformation into a thing that hunts by heat and smell, devourers everything it can get it's claws on, even if that is others of this kind. A Mordu is a queen wendigo, they turn into a queen after a wendigo has eaten fifty other wendigos. " He pulled out the deer skull with bronze horns. It still had tusks like a bore and the antlers where not very large. "They can only be killed by silver that's blessed by a spirit. The blessings will have to be done by you Deity." 

[SkySong278]

"Oh okay. I can't wait to meet him although that also means that we'll get some nasty creatures in the process. Oh," Alivia said in reply now with a sad expression on her face before hearing everything that Quadir said afterward. Her eyes widened a bit in both surprise and horror when she heard how Wendigoes are made/created since she thought it was a bit gruesome, thinking that she didn't want to come across these things if she could help it but also thinking that it might possibly be inevitable. She just hoped it wouldn't be soon that might happen. "I made thirty arrowheads with the silver caps but I can make more so that there's one-hundred instead," she said after he was done talking before turning her attention back to being on her arrowhead-making supplies afterward.

 

She got back to work making more until she had around seventy more for a total of around one-hundred about ten minutes or so later. She sat back and sighed before saying a few minutes or so afterward while also stretching her back a bit, "Now my hands and back are a bit sore. I hope this is enough or I can make even more later on if they're needed."

Edited June 7, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"That would be a great start. " He said softly as he went over to her and massages her shoulders.  "Let your workers take care of the rest of the orders today dear. I'll give you a nice massage and manicure. " He said softly as the Deity blessed the silver. Quadir then took them and put it in a pouch before flipping the sign back to open and letting back in the worker's when the Deity disappeared. He handed a copy of the key to her second in command and instructed that she lock up when she leaves before taking Alivia's hand and going back to the castle. Once there he summoned Merry and gave him the arrow tips instructing that they should prepare weapons for the worst monster. Merry saluted and took the pouch away. He then lead her into his study, then into his personal room and had her sit down in a nice comfy chair, placing two stools but her, one tall the other short then left and got a bowl full of warm water letting her fingertips soak as he looked for the tools he needed in a cabinet. 

[SkySong278]

"Okay," she said in reply to both of his statements before she relaxed a bit as he massaged her shoulders while her father blessed the silver on the arrowheads she had made. She got up and closed the door to the back room where she had both the finished charm bracelet and unfinished broach as he put the arrowheads in a pouch and flipped the sign back to the open side. She had Truffle on her shoulder when he told one of the employees that was her second in-command to lock the store up while also handing her (the second in-command employee) a copy of the key before one of her hands was taken. She walked with him back to the castle afterward and listened as he told Merry to prepare for the worst monster as he gave him the pouch with the arrowheads in it after they arrived back there. She then walked with him to his room through his study and sat down in the comfy chair he brought her to, watching as he got out two sizes of stools and a bowl of water. She relaxed a bit more as the fingertips of one of her hands was placed in the bowl to soak while saying as she watched him look for some other tools he needed, "You plan on spoiling me don't you."

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Quadir got the tools and sat down in the little stool moving the bowl and the water to her other hand.  He stated clipping away extra skin and hangnails on her fingers and filing them down. He brought out some lotion and started to massage her hands and arms to her shoulder. "Yes as you should be. Also as a apology for being so dence last night. " He said softly. "I used to do this with my mom, and I'd work on myself once month with a facemask and everything. It'll be fun to do it again with you. " He is as he softly rubbed her ring finger on her left hand. "Reminds me I need to get a ring for the wedding. Anything in particular you want on it?" He asked. 

[SkySong278]

“Oh okay and it was partially my fault as well. It could’ve waited until this morning and I was tired anyway so I should’ve just gone right to bed,” Alivia said in reply before hearing the rest of what he said while enjoying the attention he was giving her at the moment. “Oh and I think it would be fun as well. Can’t wait to do this again but with me doing this same thing to you,” she said before hearing the last thing he said and asked while he rubbed the ring finger on her left hand. “Ah yes, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. No I don’t so you can surprise me,” she said in reply.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"Surprise a jewelry maker? That'll be a tough one to do. I would like a band that won't get caught in my gloves or armor. " He said softly as he pulled out nail polish. "What color would you like? I can do clear too. " He said as  he worked on her other hand. 

[SkySong278]

“You did with this fox bracelet you gave me. Okay,” she said in reply to his question and statements he said afterward before hearing the other question he asked and short statement he said after asking the other question. “Um green with clear over it,” she said in reply.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Quadir nodded and started to paint her nails. "I did surprise you? I'm good at knotwork and weaving, it's something that I was blessed with by a traveling gypsy. Mother had given her new clothing, warm meals and a bed to sleep in after mom found her on the side of the road passed out from dehydration." He explained and let one hand dry moving to another. "Would you like your feet done too? I usually wear socks to bed, but my toenails are painted blue." He chuckled and stopped removing his shoes and socks showing her the dark blue toes with a small golden line design on the big toe. He turned pink. "The other Lords would tease me when I was younger for knowing how to braid hair. Just imagine how they'll react now that I drink from danty teacups, paint nails and give myself a spa day once a month. Then again, it makes me a better husband knowing how to pamper my wife." He said gazing at her lovingly. 

[SkySong278]

“Mhm and I love the bracelet. Oh and that was very kind of her to do,” she said in reply while she set the hand with the painted nails down on the desk so that it could dry and then watched as he started to work on her other one. “No thank you and ah. I wear socks to bed as well sometimes. Very nice,” she said in reply to his question and statement as well as saying another statement at the end which she said while seeing his painted toenails. “That was mean of them to do. You don’t have to tell them and if they somehow find out, let them be surprised. There’s nothing wrong with a self-spa day since that’s your way to relax after a hard day. That it does and I like being pampered by you,” she said in reply to the last things he said with a smile and a loving gaze in addition to a small blush on her cheeks as well.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"May I kiss you?" He asked her after applying the clear coat to one hand. He was pink to his ears. He just realized that they haven't even kissed each other yet. Well, on the lips at least.  When given permission, he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. When they broke apart, he giggles and finished her nails. "There. Done. Would you like a neck massage as they dry?"

[SkySong278]

She blushed a bit when she heard his question and nodded before saying, "Yes" as her official reply. She kissed him back when he kissed her and then looked a bit curious when she heard him giggle after they pulled apart, wondering why he did that but didn't ask. "Thank you. They look really good and yes please," she said in reply to his short statements and the question that followed afterward. "Just so you know, I probably have quite a few knots there and they're probably also a bit stiff since I don't remember ever getting a massage."

Edited February 4, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"I'll keep that in mind." He said while getting up and started to rub ber neck. He was easily able to rub out the knots of muscle, working her shoulders and upper back as well. "This must have been painful with this much tension all the time. I know it is for me. " He said then tilted her head back for another soft kiss. "I'll pamper you like this for as long as I have breath in me. " 

[SkySong278]

She nodded and then closed her eyes as she enjoyed feeling him rub her neck and upper back. She leaned a bit forward as he worked the knots out of those areas, but then it went back up after he was done and she heard a few other things he said. "I didn't actually feel it but I should get a massage more often so that those areas don't get that bad again. Want me to give you a massage from time to time?" she said before he tilted her head back and gave her another soft kiss which she happily returned. "I can't wait although maybe Void and Truffle might get a bit jealous and might want even more attention." She giggled a bit after she said what she did before reaching one of her hands up and resting it against one his cheeks afterward.

Edited February 24, 2022 by SkySong278

[AroaraAngelwolf]

He chuckled leaning into her hand. "You can try to. The downside of being strong is that it takes a considerable amount of force to make me relax. And speaking of.." he said and glanced to the doorway when the cats in question ran in crying for attention. "Did we leave you guys alone? " He coos and scooped them up. "I made you two a rope mouse, shall we play with it? Void is doing good on her training. " He grinned as a thought came to him. "Can you make these guys armor for the wedding ceremony? They can walk down the walkway before you. They are like children to us after all."

[SkySong278]

"Well then I'll take it as a challenge," she said in reply while her expression turned a bit curious when she heard his trailed off statement before looking over towards the door when she heard their fur babies come in and crying for attention. She sighed before smiling as he cooed at them and scooped them up. "Guess we can't leave them alone for too long. That's good," she said before seeing his grin. "Oh sure and also cute little outfits. That's true, they are. Speaking of training, maybe we can see about training Truffle to be our ring bearer."