I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY!
This is a story written by Voltage and was on the Lovestruck app that was shut down due to lack of funding.
I am simply writing the stories from the app out as I prefer to read them this way and nobody has yet to do so.
I have typed this out word for word from the app except for a few bits to help identify people sense there are no pictures to see who is talking.
If you have any suggestions on how to make this flow better, please let me know!
Love & Legends - Saerys Route
Season 1: Chapter 8
I wake up to morning light filtering through the fabric of the tent...and the feeling of fingers threading through my hair.
"Good morning."
"G'mornin' to you too."
I nestle closer to his chest, and after a moment feel his lips press against my forehead.
"Hey, Saerys."
"Mm?"
"Down here."
As he looks down, I tilt my head up, and meet him in a light kiss.
"How very sneaky of you."
We kiss again, once, twice; quick pecks that last only a moment.
"I'll have you know I'm a master of subtlety."
And of course, my stomach chooses that moment to let me know it doesn't agree with me skipping dinner.
"Subtlety requires a full stomach, I see."
"Oh you wipe that smirk off your face!"
He passes his fingers though my hair one more time, chuckling, then sits ups.
"Come on, we can forage up enough out here for a decent breakfast."
(In the daytime everything seems so...alive.)
(Last night was so tense, it's surreal to think that's all it was. One night.)
"So...what are we foraging, exactly?"
"There should be raspberry bushes in the area, and there are a few loaves of bread in my pack."
"I would still prefer not to make a fire, and that means no cooking."
We set off together into the trees.
"So...you travel a lot, right?"
"Wherever I can, yes."
"What do you do on the road? Just see the sights?"
"I suppose you could call it that. I try to help those I come across, but..."
"Unwanted attention, right?"
He sighs.
"Yes. I often have to move on quickly."
"You've been pretty much everywhere then, huh?"
"Everywhere in the kingdom."
"I have not left the kingdom yet, though I would like to."
"So long as I remain within the kingdom, I can return to Lord Reiner with only a few day's notice."
"A week, perhaps, if I am in the dwarven realm."
"...But if you left, it could be a lot longer than that before you even heard that he needed you."
"Precisely."
"You know something, Saerys?"
"Hmm?"
"I don't think a 'monster' would be so worried about being there when his friends need him."
"..."
We walk in silence for a bit after that, each scanning the undergrowth for telltale glimpses of red.
(Aha! There you are, you sneaky bastards.)
(I see red! It's the one with the dark waxy leaves, right?)
(That's what raspberry bushes look like, right?)
I jog ahead to the bush, and discover that no, that is not what raspberry bushes look like.
The bush has small round berries in shades of red and green.
(Damn.)
"Those would not make much of a breakfast."
"What are they?"
They are called era'bija, a demon name."
"It translates to 'bitterseed,' which is what humans call it."
"My people made a drink out of it, somehow, but the technique was lost."
"Huh. I guess we'll never know."
Saerys looks around the clearing.
"Ah, there we are."
Another bush nearby is loaded heavily with fresh raspberries, and we collect all we need.
There's not much cooking to be done with berries and bread besides putting one on the other, but they make for a tasty breakfast all the same.
We sit with our feet in the river as we eat, side by side.
Our humble little breakfast of berries and bread goes quickly.
(Not exactly biscuits and gravy, but it'll keep my stomach quiet.)
(...For a little while. Probably.)
"So...what do we do now?"
Saerys stands from where he'd been loading a few things back into his pack.
"I worry about going far."
"Lord Reiner did say he would send for us if-when they are able to restore order."
"Maybe just a town over?"
"I mean, we can't just hang out in the woods forever, can we?"
"You'd be surprised. Once you get settled in, you can-"
"We can't just hang out in the woods forever, Saerys."
"...I see your point. Comfort does play a part in things."
(You're damn right it does.)
(I dunno how long he's comfortable going without a hot bath, but my limit is like two days.)
He sighs and sits back down beside me at the water's edge.
"Even so...we cannot risk going to a village, and particularly not one nearby."
"If we are recognized by a member of Lennox's cult..."
"It wouldn't be long at all before we had another riot on our hands."
A breeze through the trees is enough to make me shiver and I scoot a little closer to Saerys.
(He's like a sexy space heater. I could get use to this.)
"I guess we've got some time to kill, then."
"As long as it takes for things to settle down, yes."
There's a crease to his brow when he says it, and it gives away that he's not certain as he'd like to be.
"...Maybe we could trade questions?"
"I'll ask you something about this world and answer the same about my own?"
That got his attention.
"I have been curious, I confess."
"From what you've said, it seems so...different than ours."
"It really, really is."
"So, about that demon language..."
"Still wanting to learn more, are you?"
He shakes his head with a chuckle and a grin, mumbling to himself.
"Basech zhesal, jan quwa."
"Just gonna jump right in, huh?"
"It's just an old saying. 'You have cat's blood,' more or less."
"...I have cat's blood? I can't even guess what that means."
"You're curious. You tend to poke your nose into things."
"What about your would? Does it have many languages?"
"Oh, yeah. Probably hundreds of them, if i had to guess."
"Hundreds-!"
"Your would sounds like a very busy place, MC."
"Okay, last one. What's your favorite place in the kingdom?"
Saerys thinks for a moment, watching fish dart about under the water.
"I have always enjoyed my visits to the fairies and merfolk."
"They have been kind to me whenever I visit, and are always, ah..."
"Highly hospitable."
(Wow, okay, subtle. He's gonna drive a girl to envy, talking like that.)
(Alright, MC, you chill yourself out right this second.)
(Saerys can have all the hospitality he wants! It's fine!)
I send a rock skimming across the water, and nearly concuss a duck.
(It's totally fine.)
I'm winding up to send another stone whirring across the water when I hear Saerys inhale sharply.
He whips his head toward the trees, falling into a half-crouch and scanning the tree line.
"...Sae-?"
"Shh!"
There's a hard set to his jaw, one I've seen before.
(Only last time, it was directed at me-and it was when I crossed a line.)
I drop my voice to a whisper even I can barely make out.
"What is it?"
"..."
He sets a finger over his lips, then beckons for me to follow as he rises just enough to crouch-walk towards the trees.
(Okay, that's eerie. It's like he hit the mute button on himself.)
Saerys moves so silently I can hear my own heartbeat louder than any sounds he makes.
As we creep through the undergrowth, I start to pick up voices, right at the edge of hearing.
There are too goons walking in the woods. One human and one dwarf.
"...not the same, you know?" says the human.
"They put too much spice on it here, it ruins the flavor of the meat."
"I am fairly sure they only use salt and pepper." says the dwarf.
"Exactly! Now our cooks, they understand the importance of purity. None of this spicy nonsense."
Saerys waves me to a spot behind a dense bush a few trees back from the road, and we wait.
"And they do not even cook it all the way! Meat should be cooked thoroughly."
"You will just have to bear it, for now. The generals will not be denied."
"No, they will not. The sooner we seize this damned castle, the better."
Saerys' eyes narrow tO slits, and their glow flares for a moment.
(They work for the Witch Queen's generals!)
(And they have bad tastes!)
"It will not be long now. They plan to move against that fool Reiner very soon indeed."
At that , Saerys only just manages to bite back a gasp.
I catch his eyes and hold them, whispering urgently.
"We need a plan."
(If we could catch them...maybe we could get some more info about what the generals are planning.)
I slam a fist into an open palm, pantomime tying a knot, and point toward the soldiers.
Saerys' eyebrows inch up in surprise, but he nods.
"I'll distract them."
I creep closer to the road as Saerys moves to circle behind them.
"Perhaps once the true ruler is back on the throne, this kingdom will-"
"Damn it sure does suck to be lost!"
Through a gab in the bush I can see both soldiers freeze, hands falling to their weapons.
The sight sends a chill though me, but I know Saerys has my back.
"What ever am I gonna do with all this bland, overcooked beef and watery beer?"
"Who goes there? Show yourself at once-!"
There's a rush like a sudden breeze through the leaves, a pair of muted thumps, and a matched pair of groans.
When I poke my head out from the bush the two are in a heap in the road, and Saerys has their weapons unbuckled and tossed well out of reach.
"You remain as subtle as ever."
Amusement gleams in the look he gives me.
He swipes a coil of rope from one soldier's pack, and sets to binding their wrists and ankles.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"
Saerys hauls the pair back to our camp with ease, and wakes them with a generous splash of river water.
"Wha-?!"
"Who-?!"
Their eyes widen as they take in the sight of Saerys.
"A demon-?!"
"Oh, damn. The demon."
"That is correct. You want to cooperate."
(Damn, okay, that voice is kinda hot.)
(...Alright MC, this is really not the time for that.)
"The generals. Tell me all you know about their plans for the kingdom."
"I cannot tell you-!"
Saerys crosses his arms, flexing subtly.
His arms look for all the world like chiseled stone, unyielding and unforgiving.
(Also kind hit! Not helping!)
"...Cannot tell you...everything, because we lowly soldiers only know sparse details, of course."
The second goon glares sidelong at him, but keeps silent.
"Quickly. I do not have much patience for your ilk."
"Y-yessir! The generals are gathering their strength and preparing for war-most of them, anyway."
"General Lennox has seldom been seen with the armies; he seeks to destabilize the human domain from within."
"..."
Saerys beckons me out of earshot of our captives.
"They are not the sort to know much more than that, unfortunately."
"What do we...do with them?"
"There is always the river."
"Saerys!"
He laughs his breathy chuckle.
"only joking, MC."
"We just need to make sure they don't go back to working for the generals."
Suddenly, a devilish look crosses Saerys' face.
He strides back to them, looming menacingly over them both.
"We are only soldiers, we do not know-!"
"Silence."
The glow of his eyes flare nearly bright enough to hide his pupils, even in daylight.
When he speaks again, he drops his voice an octave.
"Servants of the generals, you are mine."
"I will rend your souls from your flesh and grind them between my teeth."
"I will drain every drop of blood from your veins, and that will only be the start of your torment."
"W-we are n-not afraid of you, d-d-de-!"
"Not afraid? Then bear the demon's curse!"
"Base'kath mocht, tsaeth jin puwa'jul xeinai-!"
"No! We yield, we yield!"
"Spare us, mighty demon, and we will leave these lands and never return!"
"You swear it? If I so much as scent your souls again..."
"We swear!"
Saerys' hand darts out in a blur, slicing through the ropes, and the goons bolt, tripping over each other in their hurry.
I give Saerys a swat, biting back laughter.
"What was that, Saerys?"
He smiles, looks away and shrugs.
"The words? Part of a grilled catfish recipe."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Authors Note:
I plan to try and add a chapter once a week but I hold no promises.
I also plan to do all the routes for Love & Legends as well as the other stories that were on the app.
If you would like to watch the scenes that this story is typed from simply search the story name in YouTube and you are sure to find it.
If anybody has any questions please do not be afraid to ask.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did!
Again I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY!