LOGINShare
Gilded Cage
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56[The Queen]
Kneeling before me is one of my best horsemen, or so I believed until this evening. He came back to me with a story, and as I listened, I found myself growing more and more angry.
How did this little mongrel keep escaping my efforts to bring her here? What is so different from this version of herself than any others? First I send out my Merlin, then I send out my horsemen, and nothing has worked.
I love watching him wither under my gaze as he mumbles. When I took him into my court, binding him to my power and trapping him and the others with the curse of the shadowborn, I gained the power of each of their magics, enhancing my own, leaving them a withered husk of their former selves. Spellbound, they belong to me entirel
Related chapters
Once Upon a Tryst Visions of You
TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of DEATH, VIOLENCE, and RACISM. Please read at your discretion. [Faye] The drive south is quiet. I can hear the sound of the cars moving past, and the growing sound of the waves on the ocean. My eyelids feel heavy. I yawn and… [England, 1595] …I hear music and can smell roast boar. There is singing and laughter around an open flame. I look down and see a slim dress of simply woven cotton, onion-dyed a faded yellow, and hand embroidered along the borders with roses and bluebells--a symbol of my position as one of the Queen’s Ladies. My stays
Once Upon a Tryst Broken Mask
[Devona] I can see it in her eyes. She recognizes me. Her spirit recognizes me. In all the times I have watched her awaken, this is the first time I’ve seen this clear look of recognition. Yes, there have been embers, sparks but this…. This is fire. Could it be that she remembers me? I feel my heart rate increase as I watch her blink
Once Upon a Tryst Playdate
[Arthur] After pointing Embyr towards a room at the end of the hall, Faye and I rush up one more flight of stairs to my own private suite. In many ways, this room is more like my childhood bedroom than the one I have in my father’s house in Kensington. This is where we came every summer, where my mom would sing me to sleep. I twist open the door. The maids kept the room looking immaculate, just as I left it. Since my mother died, I have only been here a few times, and never with anyone else. The memories made all this too painful. As I watch Faye enter before me, I feel myself smile a little. It gives me joy to see her in this place that is so special, so private to me. It feels r
Once Upon a Tryst Revelations (part I)
[Embyr] So apparently the hot chick in the top hat is some kind of wizard. OK, I can go along with that. She’s also in love with my best friend. I know she hasn’t said it out loud but I know sad puppy eyes when I see them and she’s got it bad. It’s like just looking at Faye breaks her heart. And that must really fucking suck. Yeah, love can be the worst muthafucka of them all. So I guess I was feel
Once Upon a Tryst Revelations (part 2)
[Embyr]None of us know quite what to say. Slowly, Arthur’s face starts to turn red, as the words finally sink in. Going into full alpha dude attitude, he pounds his fist on the table, spilling half the food. I jump out of the way as he screams “What do you mean you betrayed her? How? What did you do? How is that even possible?” He then practically leaps across the table to grab her by the collar. What I can’t believe is that Hot Chick just lets him. In fact, she just leans in, her face in full “resting-bitch” mode, not saying a damn thing at first. Her expression is completely flat, her eyes expressing that she has absolutely no-fucks left, she stares Arthur down. She either has no fear, or she has no
Once Upon a Tryst The Company You Keep
[Faye] We follow Devona down into the cellar. As we enter the room, it is eerily lit with candles. The horseman from the night before is trapped in a cage of violet light that glows cold, not warm, like the deepest shadows. I watch as the light seems to dance, weaving itself like a basket around his prone form. It is as I stand here, watching that Devona’s words finally hit me and I almost stumble, an arm holding me steady. I look up at the person holding me steady as this comes into focus within my mind. She is holding me steady, keeping me from falling into the spell. She is Merlin. The Merlin.
Once Upon a Tryst Calling Avalon
[Faye] I wake to the sound of an ungodly shrieking. It is dark. The glasses are thankfully off of my face which means my sight has returned to normal, or at least mostly. Embyr is standing over me, and even now she is glowing faintly, the echo of a young man with golden skin, gently curling hair, and gentle eyes framing her like a holographic shadow. It is eerie. I close my eyes again as I try to stand. Closing my eyes, however, did nothing to stop the glow. I can still see the edges of her, the edges of everyone’s true selves, shining around them through my closed eyes. Whatever those glasses did to my vision, to my mind, has not completely faded yet. Maybe the effects never will. Maybe I’ll always see everyone in a type of twisted double vision.
Once Upon a Tryst Kiss Me or Kill Me
[Faye] My hand stings as I shout in her face, “That is for not telling me the truth.” She doesn’t move, doesn’t do anything as I raise my hand again. “That is for lying, for making me feel insane, for trying to take me to that evil bitch of a queen.” I slap her again. “And that is for…”I begin the cry again. Devona catches me before I fall, cradling me in her arms as I punch at her chest. She rubs my back as she sings me into calmness.
Latest chapter
Once Upon a Tryst NOVELLA Side Quest 004: Peace, Balance, Tranquility, Grace
[Kaydence]I place a hand on her wrist. "Stop."She blinks up at me. In my mind I trace the rune for "peace" and watch in amazement as her body begins to relax, the flames melting away as her breathing stilled.Queenie's first reaction is relief. Her face goes still, every crease leaving her features. But then just as suddenly her relief turns to anger."How dare you!" she screams pushing over the table and running for the back door. The other players stand in a rush as drinks, cards, and chips go flying. Shouts chase her retreating form as she dashes between players."Balance," I call out, tracing the rune with my hand and watch in amazement as Queenie falls backward, her arms pinwheeling."Tranquility," the room goes still, everything stopping as if time itself couldn't be rushed. The people who were once angry and pushing their way towards us stopped moving. Soon Queenie and I are the only ones moving."Grace," I finish the incantation, moving with the speed and agility of a dancer,
Once Upon a Tryst NOVELLA Side Quest 003: Queen of Hearts
[Queenie]We are getting low on supplies. It takes quite a bit of baneberry juice to make the sleep potion. Because we need to keep him perpetually asleep, I need a constant supply. In Torq, baneberries are not very common and the cost of exporting them is stretching our finances thin, even with Mab’s hidden stash of gold.“This is why we should have stayed in Delas,”Mab argues.“We didn’t need to buy anything when we were still there and…”“It was teeming with knights. I had to stay indoors the entire time,” I argue. “Torq is better. I can actually go outside and talk to people here.“You
Once Upon a Tryst NOVELLA Side Quest 002: The Search
[Kaydence]The morning is bright. Too bright. My eyes hurt from too much mead and not enough sleep and I find myself for not the last time wondering why I let Devona trick me into this quest.I must have been getting on her nerves. Either that or she just needed me to find something to do so that she could focus all of her attention on the queen. It doesn’t matter.“Are you still with us, Sir Kay?” Gawain is annoyingly chipper. He’s a morning person. He also has this annoying habit of deadnaming me that is getting under my skin.“It’s Kaydence, you dumb ass,” I grumble, blinking at him while I shield my eyes, my other hand firmly placed on the pommel of my saddle.He
Once Upon a Tryst NOVELLA Side Quest 001: The Mission
[Kaydence]It's been two months since we lost Arthur in the battle for Avalon.Two agonizing months since my best friend fell into an enchanted sleep. I watch my mentor, Merlin Devona, cry over her every night. She tries to hide it from everyone else, but I know. How could I not? We spend most mornings together working on my skills as a paladin. I'm getting stronger, and more skilled, but not nearly as strong or as skilled as I was in my past life as Sir Kay. Kay had a lifetime to learn. I've only been at it a couple of months, and I know this, but it still doesn't keep the whole situation from feeling pointless and frustrating."Tell me why I have to do this?" I whine as Devona grinds some herbs in her pestle. "This has nothing to do with fighting.""All g
Once Upon a Tryst EPILOGUE
“Good night, my love,” I kiss her brow before sitting by her side in an old wooden chair, its velvet cushion long shredded with time. Faye does not respond, her eyes closed tight, her breath shallow. She has been like this since the night of the battle, unresponsive and unmoving, preserved by her own magic, for the last three months. Technically we won; Mab is dead, her forces are scattered, and I am serving as regent, bringing the powers of Avalon back together once more as we work together to reconstruct our world. But we also lost. Arthur is gone, missing. I cannot feel him through the bond, not since I saw Mab pierce him through the heart with her bone blade. Nobody is sure why his body was taken. Some suspect that Mab had one final plan in place and that somehow he plays a part in it. We are searching for him, following every lead throughout this world and the next, but each time we th
Once Upon a Tryst Falling (part 2)
[Faye]I can't breathe. Something is in my throat. Choking, I sit up. Monitors in the room begin to ding erratically as I continue to gag, my heart beating fast."Hold on, Mrs. Drake" an agitated voice advises. "We just need to remove your breathing tube."Breathing tube?"Heart rate is elevated," a nurse records. "All other vitals seem to be within normal ranges."The long tube is removed from my lungs and I almost vomit at the pulling sensation. Like a fish caught on land, I begin to gasp."Breathe, Mrs. Drake, breathe," a calm hand rubs my back. “You’ve been incapacitated for a few days. We had to put you on a ventilator when you stopped breat
Once Upon a Tryst Falling (part 1)
[Queen Mab] The moon is rising full and bright over the fields of Camelot. My head is light, heady with the power of nearly a thousand souls, freshly harvested. The blade I carry was crafted from the very bones of my enemy, Morgana, whose rotted corpse lay buried beneath the tower itself, along with her granddaughters, the famous oracles who predicted my doom. There is something satisfying about destroying their legacy with their own bodies that provides me with a sense of peace. Stretching my limbs, I feel invincible, unstoppable, as I prepare to move through the battle. My agents have served me well. Guinevere, ever the loyal servant, was more than eager to take her position mixed amongst Arthur's trusted advisors, staying invisible, passing the corruption of my curse onto those two gullible knights as she waited for my signal to attack. She knew that she’d
Once Upon a Tryst Old Friends
[Arthur]A page helps me into form-fitting leather armor I’ve never worn in this lifetime as I suit up and prepare for war. It doesn’t matter that I am only 19 years old. I am the king, whether I want to be or not. I was born to this, it is my destiny. It doesn’t matter that I have no memory of living this life. As soon as I pulled Excalibur through time to my hand I became the leader of these troops in the fight that has been building for centuries. No, millenia. Now the enemy is sitting just beyond the gates, setting up camp, watching and waiting for the right opportunity to strike.It is my duty to lead these soldiers, these knights into battle. But what do I actually know of war? I have tried to access the memories of my previous life, but unlike Faye and Kaydence, I do not have a deep connection to the King Arthur I was. I have flas
Once Upon a Tryst Missed Connections
[Lance]Holding my head, I scream, falling to my knees.“Camelot…Camelot…Camelot…Camelot…Camelot…Camelot”“Monsieur,” a hand shakes my shoulder, “Est-ce que ça va monsieur?”“Non,” I shake my head, “non…non…non…non…”The earth starts to shake. Glasses on tables begin to rattle, some falling to the stone floor of the cafe. People sitting at tables continue their conversations, laughing as if they do not see or hear everything else happening around them. Even my screams, echoing through this restaurant, are something they are trying to ignore.On the edge
