Just now realizing that having my chapters done ahead of time leads to me having no idea what I'm posting XD I post my doc that I've finished already and then have no idea what you guys are talking about in your reviews. It has also come to my attention that, along with other discontinuities, I have been calling the evil Wyrmroost forest by the wrong name recently. RIP - (note from when i pu this chapter in the doc manager)

(note from as i post) - uhhh instantly forgot what I was going to say. Um. I was kinda shocked to realize that I have next week's chapter in my doc manager here already too. Didn't realize I got that far ahead. I've been writing a ton of oneshots the past few days instead of working on this XD I have two more done that I haven't posted yet because I don't want to post them all at once, and I also have multiple more in progress. I am living my best life! Also I think it's been not sending email notifications for my posts recently because I've been posting from the app? I'm not entirely sure, which is why I'm posting this from the website. I want to see if it'll email me a post confirmation this time. If you follow me and didn't get the email, I did post another oneshot yesterday :D I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving yesterday and are having a great day today! What are some things you're thankful for?


The portal leading to what Seth now knew as the Blackridge Woods was open, leading into the library room, which was where he now sat in a very comfortable chair. Today was the day he and Eve had agreed upon while talking through the coin for her to come visit the Under Realm again, so now he was waiting for her to show up. He'd let her know when he opened the portal and then come here to wait. He had no idea how long it would take her to get there.

It had been nearly five months since the last time they'd seen each other- way too long in Seth's opinion, but this was the first chance Eve had to leave. Most of the time her parents kept her under pretty strict watch, unless they were away from home for some reason.

He thought briefly back to the last time they'd talked. They'd spent most of the day just sitting and talking, which was surprisingly nice for such a boring-sounding activity. Seth thought about the last time he'd been in the woods, when he'd thought he'd heard a strange voice calling him by name. He'd mentioned it to Eve that day, and she had warned him that Blackridge was unpredictable in every aspect except the fact that whatever happened there would be bad. The beings that lived there would play all kinds of tricks on the mind, trying to lure unsuspecting victims into their clutches.

He'd been glad to get back through the forest to his way back home without incident after that (and he was perfectly happy not to enter that forest again unless absolutely necessary).

The thought made him worry for Eve a bit. She was going through that same forest right now; what if something happened to her? He reminded himself that Eve had done this before and been fine, and she was pretty capable anyway. She'd probably be fine.

Still, he'd feel a lot better about it once she got there.

Seth couldn't be sure how long he waited- time was weird in the Under Realm- but eventually, Eve showed up, safe and sound. She took another ridiculously comfortable chair close by, and they spent a while the same way as they had the last time.

It was strange, Seth noted, that he had trouble looking at her sometimes. She made him smile a lot more than he was used to, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. All he really was sure of was that he really enjoyed her company.

They talked about some familiar themes and some new. Eve complained a bit about her family, and though there wasn't much Seth wished he had more, her discontentment seemed to him to be very much justified. He wished he knew how to fix that sort of thing for her. It surprised him to realize how much it bothered him to see her upset.

After a while of talking, Seth decided to take Eve on some of his favorite Under Realm adventures.

The very first thing they did, Seth's favorite pastime, was attempt pranks on his undead subjects. Due to the fact that it was Seth's favorite pastime, most of them had come to expect it, but that just made it more fun for him to come up with new ways to surprise them. It even worked sometimes! It turned out that Eve was also a fan of pranks, and she helped Seth come up with a few good ideas that he wouldn't have thought of on his own.

Seth showed Eve some of the bigger places in the Under Realm outside of the palace. There weren't many, by nature of the undead tending to be miserable and unfriendly, but Seth had done his best to lighten the place up since he'd lived there.

They passed by the river, which Seth usually avoided. The water was pitch black, didn't reflect light (or, because of that, images), and occasionally appeared to have faces in it. Seth wasn't entirely sure, but he thought they might be some sort of dead souls stuck there. Either way, the river was creepy, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

The one good thing about the river, however, was that it ran through the garden room and kept the plants alive. The garden room was where Seth and Eve ended up at the end of the day.

Walking into the room, somewhat worn out from running around, Seth marveled at the plants again. It was crazy to him how anything could grow down here, which he noted out loud.

"It's not so strange," Eve disagreed. "Different kinds of plants grow in different environments. And now that I think about it, that goes for people too." She tilted her head. "You live down here, and you're still living and growing. And honestly, I'm very glad about that."

Seth smiled and was surprised to find that it hurt his face a little. He'd done a lot more smiling today than usual. He couldn't say he minded. "Thanks," he said awkwardly. He wasn't sure what else to say. "Me too."

Eve laughed- a cheerful sound that seemed to carry a light that fought back against the darkness of this Realm. Seth could almost imagine it physically brightening the room. "And for that matter," Eve said, "I'm really glad we met again. I'm glad I accidentally ran into the Under Realm that one day. That sounds weird to say. Running into the Under Realm wouldn't be a good thing for most people." She laughed again. She laughed a lot. Seth liked that about her. "By the way, thanks for not killing me or something that time."

"You're welcome," Seth said. He could feel a small smile pulling at his face, and he couldn't take his eyes off her. "I'm glad you showed up too." He paused for a moment, then added, "I wouldn't have killed you anyway. Even if you didn't have a good excuse." He wasn't sure why, but he just wanted her to know that. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't been glad to let them think that and keep up the Underking's fearsome reputation, but he wanted Eve to know.

She didn't respond immediately, just looked at him with a strange expression. Seth held her gaze, hoping she wouldn't notice how nervous he was. Finally, she smiled a little. "Good to know," she said.

"Yeah." Once again, Seth couldn't think of anything to say. He waited to see if Eve was going to say anything- neither one had looked away yet- but she might've been waiting for the same thing.

"I guess…" Seth started, not even wanting to finish what he was saying. "You've been here a while. Is someone going to notice you're gone?"

Eve nodded slowly. "That's a good point. Yeah, probably eventually." She sighed, and Seth regretted bringing it up even more. "How long have I been here?"

"Uhh…" Seth didn't know. He didn't have a watch or a clock or anything, and even if he did, he wasn't sure how it would match up to normal time in the living world.

"All right," Eve laughed, that pretty smile back on her face. "I guess it's a safe bet that I've been here a while and should probably go home pretty soon." She made no move to get up.

"I guess it is," Seth agreed. He also didn't move.

Eve looked at him. "Well," she said, but she didn't add anything. With another sigh, she looked away, then back. She slowly, almost carefully, held her arms out for a hug. "Thanks for inviting me," she said as Seth wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad you came," said Seth, and he was.

They stayed like that for a moment longer before Seth pulled back, somewhat reluctantly. He didn't really want to let go. He told himself it was just because she was warm (the warmest thing in the Under Realm, to be honest).

"Well-" Eve started, but she was interrupted. A cold presence had come up on them, chilling both of them.

Excuse me, Your Majesty, but there's been a problem, it said. So with a quick parting wave and word of explanation to Eve, Seth followed the phantom out of the room.


fragile frames fumble in the mystery

afraid to be exposed while we pretend to be

something more than what we are

fools in love with punch drunk hearts

mystified by everything we see