This has to be the longest thing I've ever written. If you'd like a picture of Griselda, PM me, and I'll send you her inspiration! No download needed, just a picture.
A young, round-faced child sat at her desk, absentmindedly twisting her hair between her fingers. The sun was warm on her cheeks, but she couldn't bring herself to relax and go to sleep. Her parchment lay untouched in front of her and a pot of cold ink sat nearby. When a bright yellow butterfly settled her windowsill, she felt a pang of longing for outside. It rubbed its antennae together, stretching leisurely. She stared at its wings with detached interest until it flew away.
She stared off thoughtfully after it, hands folded under her chin. A wispy strand of her hair fell into her face and tickled her cheek. She tucked it back into the tight bun on her head regretfully and sighed deeply in boredom.
All around her, the library was quiet save for the squeaking of mice and the silent steps of her cat Shawlong. Dust settled almost audibly on the shelves, and when the sound of clicking footsteps reached her ears, she jerked to attention, nervously looking over her shoulder.
Her tutor entered the doorway of the library, a heavy volume from the deeper parts of the shelves in hand. The woman's thin lips were scowling as always, hooked nose sharp as ever. On a nicer day, the girl would have likened it to a bird's beak. An old, wheezing bird with drooping feathers and a croaking voice. In the woman's spindly arms was one of the old study texts. On the side was written 'Germanic Politics: a History' in gold lettering.
Groaning, the young girl dropped her head to the desk with a dull thunk. Politics. Oh, joy.
Her tutor ignored the obvious displeasure, striding over and depositing the book in front of her pupil. She flipped the pages confidently, coming to rest on their current chapter, the Great Ages of the Viking. Handing a quill and fresh ink to her student, she straightened up.
"Miss Griselda. Of the paragon describing Thorsday, I would ask of you a twelve-hundred character essay. Please describe the legend's connection to our society today, as well as the structure of…"
Griselda mouthed her tutor's words under her breath, pinching her nose up just-so for effect. She truly did despise learning. She twirled the new quill pen between her fingers while yawning loudly. The woman's eye ticked in the slightest as she tried to rein in her annoyance.
"Why do I have to do these things, Gretchen? I hardly need them on the battlefield." Griselda sighed, thinking warmly of the blood-riled battles in the future, beside her father on his white stallion. The smell of arid and burning grass and iron blood hot in her vein was almost too much to bear!
She could just about hear the crunch of skulls and spines under hooves, and feel the prickles of blood staining the dry grass and seeping into the corpse-cluttered river to dye it red. Her father's phantom battle cry echoed in her head. She could feel the leather grip of her bow in her palm, ready to bring curtains on a man's life. A small shiver raced up her spine when an arid wind blew her chopped hair wildly. No more tight buns, parties or lessons; only battle and glory! The thought was invigorating.
"Battlefield? Miss Griselda! A bloodbath is no place for a lady of your standing, nor any lady with a sense of dignity. Your place is here, in the court where you will assist your father in the politics of this country. Your input on this land's laws are crucial to its survival! And to rule this country well you must study the ways of your ancestors. Now, then." She hummed, setting down a long piece of parchment while Griselda stared off, stuck in her reverie. "I want that essay done by tomorrow. If you'll excuse me."
As her tutor left to fetch more work, preferably Ancient Literature or Hungarian text, Griselda slumped over her work, biting her lip in thought. Doing this sort of study would one day be necessary when she was Madame Griselda, Empress of the Germanic Empire, so she supposed it was all for the best. Besides, it would be helpful to be familiar with past battle strategies. She was daydreaming heavily once again when she caught the distant cry of the hounds. She paused for a moment, listening carefully for the sound of the pack baying. It almost sounded like…
Suddenly leaping up, she raced towards the window, she searched the trees wildly. Griselda pressed close to the glass, straining to catch the action. A shape broke from the trees, a young buck, with a three point head of antlers. Very young for her father's taste. Unless her brothers had somehow managed to weasel themselves into the hunt. The little bastards! She bit her lip in envy as her brothers broke from the trees tearing after it on foot. They fired barbed arrows, clumsily, again and again. Finally one caught the buck, its front legs crumpling from the blow. Her brothers were upon it in an instant, taking the animal's life with their bare hands. Their sky-blue hair was damp with sweat and grime. Their brown eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Griselda whipped around, scattering her books and parchment. Her tutor was returning when she sprinted away, skirts flying. "Miss Griselda!" she called impatiently. Griselda ignored her, running down the long halls of the Palace. She ignored the servants that groveled when she passed and the shriek of maids as she blew past the kitchens. She burst into the courtyard and called to the stableman forking hay over the fence.
"Abarai!" she snapped, put off. "Saddle my mare. I'm going out."
The tattooed man smirked, leaning on his pitchfork. "Wherever to, milady?" he drawled sarcastically. His ponytailed red hair hung in his face. She stopped in front of him and put her hands on her hips.
"Don't give me cheek." She growled. "I'm going out for a hunt."
"A hunt?" He asked, propping the fork on a wooden beam and grabbing a stitched halter, "I thought you were studying."
"I have better things to do than study when the beasts I call brothers are out having fun. I hate being a princess! Learning and poise, balance and fidelity and politics. I hate all of it!" She snarled, kicking over a bucket. Renji sighed, cross tying the black mare. It snapped at his hands when he fitted the saddle and half pad, and he girthed the black mare gently while stroking it while Griselda looked on.
Down the aisle, Pantera stuck out his regal head and whinnied his displeasure at being stuck inside for the day; he could hear the hounds wailing. But Pantera was a war horse, not meant for anything but crushing bones and breaking troop lines. Griselda smiled and fished a sweet and a chunk of steak out of her pocket and held it to his mouth. He snuffled and lipped it out of her palm with and appreciative huff.
Opening the oak door by Pantera's stall, Griselda snatched her rosewood bow from a weapons rack while tying her now loose bob into a ponytail. She tweaked the twine of the crest of the bow in a tense manner, plucking it to make sure it was tight. The string sang perfectly.
Her mother had made it when she was very young; before he had lost his mind that is. It had beautiful carved deer and birds along the sides, and clay-painted bears catching fish. Right where her palm fit, the bow had a long feather curled around the wood. The bow itself was very beautiful; and in all the years it had never cracked or stretched. It still now held a light pink tint in the wood grains and looked exactly the same as it had been all those years ago.
Griselda wistfully tucked the weapon on her back and stepped out of the room to take the now-bridled mare off Renji's hands. He frowned when she stormed out of the stables with the mare in tow.
"Be careful!" He called from the entrance, returning to forking hay when she was out of sight. Griselda ignored him and pulled herself onto the black mare, trotting off into the Southern forest; a favorite spot for exotic game. No sooner had she left than her tutor came stomping in, her bun disheveled and bristling. Renji glanced up at her from his work before snickering silently. He thought she looked an awful lot like a flustered chicken.
"Mrs. Gretchen. How can humble servant such as myself assist you?" He said, smirking while heaving the last bale over with a grunt. The bay mare on the other side ripped into it with abandon, like a hyena into a wildebeest. Gretchen stiffened and crossed her arms uncomfortably.
"You know very well why, you filthy stable rat!" She hissed, moving her hands to her hips, "My student has run off on her horse, and we both know she has to go through you to do so."
"Well, ma'am," He hummed, turning back to his work, "I can't refuse the lady. It's my job to obey th' royalty. You should know that."
She bristled, biting her lip and whipping around to stalk away. "I'll see you punished, Abarai."
"Yes, Ma'am." He sighed in mock resignation, a small smirk on his face.
He put down the fork and instead took up a broom, brushing the dust out of the cobble isle. Pantera squealed in his stall, blowing bedding out of his marble muzzle. The white-eyed stallion gave Renji a baleful look and returned to eating his food; mashed oats and a half ounce of beef. Renji waved in dismissal while the tutor stalked away in the background. He covered his mouth to stifle his laughter when she stepped in a pile of muck, cursing in colorful German. Pantera did not; squealing his laughter in his high pitched whinnies.
"Watch out when ya get back, 'Grisle." He chuckled. She was gonna need every scrap of luck she had when she returned to face her father.
Griselda slipped off her horse's back, tying the reins to a tree branch. The leaves were golden green here; not like any sort in Germany and Austria. She stepped carefully over twigs and branches to avoid any noise that could startle prey.
She treaded silently like her father had shown her; heels last and light footsteps. Eventually, the trees thinned out enough to reveal a meadow that sloped downwards, covered in downy gold wheat. She felt like she was walking on the side of a giant bird. When an emerald thrush fluttered out of the grass she shot it dead in an instant, jogging over to collect it and continuing after strapping it to her belt. At the bottom of a hill was a shallow river covered in smooth rocks the size of fists that were smoother than marble to the touch. Other, larger stones littered the edges, jagged and covered in rock shards.
She slipped down onto one of the boulders, landing with an inaudible thump, when she heard splashing. She jerked herself behind a tree shading the stone, peering out from behind the branches to see the source.
It was a beautiful white stag, over fourteen hands tall and with a deep chest and black hooves. Its bone antlers were nine pointers with sharp tines….this stag was powerful. Its legs were long and lean, but packed with enough power to trample a grown man to death, smashing a man's spine with its twenty hundred pounds of muscle would be child's play to this one. Along its neck were distinctive bullet scars and slashes, with one than ran all along its back. Griselda made her way around the stag quietly, observing and gauging it. She didn't see any does around, so this one was a bachelor.
Pretty old to be single she thought, but with his snowy coat he should be covered in does. So where…?
She peered around to scout for a herd, but could see none in the trees. The stag dipped its head to drink in the river it stood in, lipping up the water without a sound. Griselda snuck up, near enough to get a good look at it, and gasped.
Its eyes, focused on the cold clear water, were fiery golden with black sclera, not normal in any way she could imagine- of anything alive or dead. She marveled at the malicious yet mischievous orbs until she shook her head to disperse the thoughts. It didn't matter. A catch like this would more than excuse her absence. She pulled a bow to the twine and aimed it at the deer's fragile skull.
But before she could fire it, her foot slipped on a rock shard, and the arrow bounced off the rock and struck the deer in its leg. With a mighty bellow, it turned and kicked at whatever it could, maddened by its pain. Griselda, rubbing her scraped elbow, rose up quickly to fit another. But before she could fire again, the beast met her eyes. It blinked at her with confusion, then its eyes widened. It skittered towards her, despite the arrow in its leg, snuffing her shirt with an unnatural eagerness. Suddenly, it was no longer a deer, but human. A human…with the palest skin she had ever seen. She tried to move away, but 'he' grabbed her wrist, looking her in the face closely.
"Ah…um, c-can I help you?" she stuttered, shocked into dumbness. Where had the stag gone? The man in front of her had a resemblance, yes, but deer didn't turn into people. Animals didn't turn into people.
The man was very well built and lean, just like the deer, and his chest was broad, too. His hair was long, white as snow and straight with assorted charms braided in. His eyes glowed in the same way as the stag, with golden irises and dark sclera that made her neck hairs scram danger. He tipped his head at her, turning her chin this way and that with his fingers.
"Ya… ya look jus' like 'im…" The man muttered, lifting her face to peer closely at her eyes. "Th' same eyes an everything. Hell, ya even got th' nose."
His voice was watery and wavering, like someone talking underwater. It was a strangely soothing sound, and she found she liked it. Then she realized something else.
He was stark naked.
"Eeeeek!" She squealed, punching him across the jaw. He staggered back a few steps before rubbing his chin.
"Ya punch jus like 'im, too." He warbled, smiling. Then he frowned, getting a good look at her. "Yer hair…" He whispered, stalking forward and grabbing a strand. He stared intently at the cerulean lock before he suddenly gripped it harshly.
"Hey!" She gasped, twisting to get away from the now hostile man. He wrenched her face close to his and snarled in her face.
"Whose yer father?! What's he look like? Tell me, now!" He snapped, jerking her hair. She winced and glowered at him.
"My father's name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Emperor of Germany, asshole. Lemme go!"
His eyes widened and he stumbled away, gripping his own head. "I knew, I knew it. I knew, and I let 'im get away. I didn't save 'im…I'm sorry, Ichi. I couldn't save ya. I couldn't get 'im away from ya, an now, look, it's too late. It's all my fault…" he whispered brokenly, pulling on his own long white locks and his knees giving out in his hysteria. A few drops of red ran along his white hair to stain his fingers.
She armed her bow at the man, scowling. Who the hell was-
"Ichigo?"
The man whipped his head up, shocked. "Ichigo?" Griselda repeated. "Are you talking about my mother, Ichigo?"
"Yeah, I am." He hissed, getting up. "He's the one yer fucker dad kidnapped from our home, raped, an sired you with. He was my little bro, and yer dad took 'im and defiled 'im." He growled, and pulled a sharp white stone out of one of the charms in his hair. "An now he's dead."
"He's not dead, you-"
Thwack
The pale man blinked at the arrow studding his arm. The stone dropped into the river with a few drops of red, and the roar of hoof beats rang over the river. Quickly, he dodged another arrow aimed at his leg and avoided a net cast by an advancing soldier, but not fast enough to escape the chain loop around his neck. He roared, pulling on the link with all his strength and dragging the soldier and his horse behind him. Another soldier joined in, and another, until the albino was pinned firmly with iron chains.
"Shiro. How nice to see an old friend."
She glanced behind her to see her father on a black stallion, halting next to her to watch the white buck struggle. The bluenette's cobalt, feline eyes were icy and his spiked aquamarine hair was damp with sweat from morning training. 'Shiro' narrowed his eyes and snarled like an animal, writhing to get loose and to attack him. Instead of returning the gesture, her father chuckled and picked up Griselda by her dress collar to place her in front of him. Griselda blushed at her father treating her like a child, then remembered she was in trouble. Grimmjow turned his horse, nodding to the soldiers to bring Shiro with them. Shiro's gaze burned into them from behind as he attacked any soldier in range. Grimmjow ignored him.
"So. Gretchen told me you ran off without permission today. On the field that would get you killed, kid." Grimmjow said calmly as they walked back.
Griselda flinched and looked up at her father's stern face and nodded. "I wanted to hunt too, Father." She whispered dejectedly. She glanced up in surprise when he began to laugh; his broad chest roaring with laughter. He mussed her hair in his palm while she stared at him in surprise.
"I know ya do, sport. Yer my kid. We Jaegerjaquez always get what we want." He smirked, one of his sharp canines showing. "In fact, I'm real proud of ya fer catchin Shirosaki. I've been looking fer 'im for a few years now an he's been attacking my guys for a while. Besides," He said in a low tone, "I've got a few bones to pick wit 'im."
Griselda nodded and glanced behind them to watch Shiro lunge for one of the guard's throats. His eyes were full of rage and old grief, and she pitied him. He looked like he had lost someone very dear to him.
Then again, perhaps he had. She glanced up at Grimmjow's face in suspicion.
"Bring me another pin, Helga."
"Yes ma'am. Ten or five, ma'am?"
"Five will do, Helga."
The raven nodded and trotted off to fetch the pins. Maven returned to brushing her charge's long sunset locks. "Please try to hold on for a moment. Helga is fetching more." She hummed, setting down the brush. He didn't respond, save for a melancholy look. She sighed and helped the orangette up, stringing a corset along his back.
He didn't respond as usual, letting her do as she pleased in dressing him. She chose a dark blue dress with small sapphires sewn into the trim and small navy flats with tiny diamonds beaded onto the toes. He cared nothing for the stones; in fact he'd probably react the same if she dressed him in rags.
Helga returned with ruby flower pins that Maven fastened into his vibrant braids, stepping back to nod approvingly at him. He looks stunning, she thought, stringing a small necklace of pearls around his neck, But sadder than Death itself.
She frowned and led the despondent Empress through the halls to meet his returning husband.
Grimmjow was putting his sword and jacket away when they arrived and talking to the Empresses' eldest child, his daughter Griselda. She was nodding and looking ashamed, so she must have run off by herself again.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she bowed to them both and left. Ichigo stared blankly at them for a minute before wandering towards the dining hall. Griselda excused herself and flanked her mother's left side, staring avidly at her mother. He blinked back at her, apparently confused. Grimmjow walked up and took the Empress by the hand to lead him to the dining room. Griselda snuck a look at her mother. The orangette was stoic and sad like he always was, but a magic deer?
The very thought was stupid. But the white deer that turned into a guy said that her mother was his brother. So that made the deer her uncle and her mother his brother. So it stood to reason he was an animal-thing too.
Or is. She thought from behind her mead glass once they had seated themselves. Ichigo was staring uninterested in his food like he usually was, while Grimmjow ate steak. Her three barbarian brothers were eating like animals, chomping and gnashing until their father roared at them to behave. Her mother had no reaction whatsoever.
Stabbing into a potato with her fork, Griselda peeked at Ichigo. He was tentatively chewing on a slice of lettuce. Deer ate lettuce, right? Or did they only eat hay and grass? Was there hay in the wild? Or was it tree bark they ate?
I'm overthinking this. She groaned mentally, rubbing her temples. She could ask Shiro, but he was confined to a covered cage in the hold. But if she could convince Hisagi, she might get a chance to talk.
With renewed appetite, she tore into her steak.
"Mother?"
Griselda called tentatively, stepping into his chambers. The orangette was sitting by the window dozing, and looked up at her as if in a dream when she approached. "Mother, can I ask you something?" She asked quietly, sitting down across from him. He was unresponsive for a second, but nodded slightly. She leaned forward and folded her hands. "What do you…" She stopped, thinking it over, "What do you think about the forest?"
He blinked at her, his caramel eyes lighting up slightly. "The forest…" He murmured, his voice like honey over stones. She hadn't heard him speak in a very long time, and she smiled at the sound. He smiled too, slightly, and leaned back. "The forest is very warm." He whispered, looking wistfully out the window, "And full of nice people. A lot of my friends live there. Like Chado the Bear and Inoue the Rabbit. Ishida the Mouse was…annoying but still nice." He chuckled. "I loved to talk to them while we grazed in the meadows and collected oak leaves for the fawns."
"Fawns?" Griselda gasped, grinning. This was fitting with what the stag said! "Are you a deer too, Mother?"
"I suppose I was." He sighed sadly, leaning back. "But I can't find my way home. All I see are walls and more walls. I feel sleepy and tired all the time, child. I want to go home, and away from this place, where it's cold and dark. Sometimes I don't even care where I am…" He drifted off, his eyes dulling. Outside a bluebird tweeted, but the sound was heavy and sad, almost.
"And what about Shiro?" she whispered.
Ichigo's eyes cleared instantly, and he stared at her in shock. "Shiro…Shi-…child, where did you hear that name?" He choked out. She shrunk into her chair at his sudden change of emotion. Never in all her life had she seen him so full of life…or fear.
"I- I, um, well…Father was just telling me names of, um, plants and such. I think it's…a flower. A, a white one with yellow leaves... yes that was it. A flower name." She stuttered, unsure how to answer. Ichigo blinked, confused and leaned back again.
"I see." He sighed quietly, eyes on the table. "Could you let me rest, child? I- I'm not feeling well."
"Of course, Mother. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." Griselda said respectfully, hurrying out. She had to talk to the white stag. He would know the full story.
The door shut with a soft click.
Ichigo gripped the fabric over his chest in attempt to slow his breath and his heart. The name of his brother had shaken the orangette. He got up clumsily, needing to get outside. The walls of the room was suffocating and his breath shortened until he couldn't stand. His maid burst inside when he collapsed with a thump.
"M-Milady! Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?"
"Get me o-outside, p-please…outside! I need to breathe…" he whimpered. She nodded, opening the locked balcony and carrying the weak Empress into the gardens. She placed him gingerly on a bench and bowed.
"I-I'll get a doctor, Milady!" She squeaked, dashing off. He coughed and tried to rid himself of the closing blackness that promised pain. He didn't want to go back- not now!
"N-no…" He breathed, his head falling back onto the stone bench as memories flooded his head. "Get a-away…"
"S-stop! Get away!" He wailed, shoving the human away from him. He wanted his brother! This human wasn't gentle like his brother Shiro, he was being so rough! "Stop it!" He whimpered, throwing his head back when the other nibbled on his neck. The human grinned like a maniac, pinning his arms above his head.
"Don't be like that, kitten." He purred, gripping his wrists tightly. Ichigo snapped at his hands with his teeth before being backhanded sharply. The human growled and pressed the redhead against the boulder harder.
"Ah, ah, ah." The human tsked, running his tongue along Ichigo's cheek, "You really think I'll let you get away with that?" He chuckled, trailing his palm along Ichigo's lower half. He pressed the teen's ass apart when he secured him with his belt, smirking as the other flailed.
"Stop it! Don't- don't s-spread it, don't look!" He sobbed, turning his head away as the bluenette ran his tongue along the teen's pucker. He received a startling reaction, surprised when Ichigo bucked into the sudden jolt of pleasure with a whine.
Ichigo now knew Grimmjow's intentions of claiming him; he wouldn't be able to escape him. Resigned to his fate, he forced himself to accept the other's advances by baring his neck, shutting his eyes tightly. When it was over the human would leave him alone, and he could tell Shiro-nii what had happened. He hid his face behind his bound arms.
"Aw, don't be shy, berry." Grimmjow chuckled, forcing the teen's mouth open to suck on his fingers. "We're just getting warmed up here. Don't worry, I'll make sure yer havin' fun in no time." He smirked, pushing two slick fingers inside.
"No! Take it out, take it out! That h-hurts!" Ichigo screamed, twisting away from the pain. Grimmjow ignored his obvious discomfort and forced him into a missionary position, removing his fingers and instead placing his cock at the teen's entrance. "No…" Ichigo hiccupped, small tears running down his cheeks. "D-don't h-hurt me, please…"
Grimmjow ignored him, pressing hard enough to force the head in, with a small hoarse yelp from Ichigo. He held the smaller boy under him and hiked the boy's legs over his shoulder. "Yer so tiny I can fuck ya while holdin ya in my arms, Berry." He whispered, smug. He cradled his new lover to his chest while pistoning his hips forcefully. "Yer gonna be a screaming fer more soon, I promise ya."
"No… I- Ah! w-won't…hic-" Ichigo sobbed, rocking against the bluenette unwillingly. Grimmjow grinned and drove into Ichigo with all he could muster, ramming into the younger's prostate again and again. "Ah, ah, ah!" Ichigo screamed, mind going fuzzy. He clumsily wrapped his arms around Grimmjow's neck, eyes rolled back into his skull. Grimmjow grunted and pulled Ichigo into his lap, bouncing the other. In this position, Ichigo felt the other's cock driving deeper and deeper into him, wiping his mind blank. "Gri-grimm!" He whimpered, gripping the other's neck. "I can't-hya! I need it! Pl-please!" He cried, throwing his head back. The sounds of his lovers cock pounding into his ass-pussy was driving him insane.
In and out and in and out, over and over and over.
He was sure everyone in the forest could hear him screaming.
"Yeah, berry?" Grimmjow grunted, slamming Ichigo down again. He could feel the berry tensing and releasing his dick, and the needy cries from his little pet ringing through the trees was pushing him over the edge. "I'll give ya my offspring, yeah? Yer gonna be a good mother." He laughed, shoving himself into Ichigo again. The other started to pull away, eyes wild.
"O-offspring?! I can't, I-I can't have fawns! I can't! I'm s-still 17!" He wailed, trying to pull himself off and away but failing. Grimmjow kept a firm grip on his legs, forcing Ichigo to watch as he piqued, emptying himself into him, some of the thick substance dripping down his thighs. "Not inside! Don't cum inside, don't-Oh~" Ichigo moaned, throwing his head against Grimmjow's shoulder as cum filled his insides and poured, rather that spurted from his own spent cock. The hot substance burned him like acid, and all he could do was whimper as his captor pulled out, cum leaking out in copious amounts with some blood. Grimmjow gripped his uke's face and smirked as Ichigo hiccupped and squirmed in discomfort as Grimmjow forced himself in again, his face arrogant and ignorant of his lover's pain.
"Ready for round two, berry?"
Fin
I hope you liked it! It was really hard to write, and I'm not sure if I should continue it. What are your thoughts?